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- [00:00]
Julie Solomon
Their challenge is is that they keep thinking that more followers or just more content creation or this or that is going to help them get there. But it's really that that messaging and really making sure that you are standing out for being known for something specific. Welcome to the Influencer Podcast. I'm your host, Julie Solomon. If you found yourself here, it means you are ready to unleash the powerful visionary that lives inside you, turning you into an authentic leader who creates influence, impact and change. Let's get started. Welcome back to the Influencer Podcast and welcome to another summer show flip episode. If you have been listening this summer, you know what this is all about. I've been peppering in these flips and it's where I bring you some of my favorite guest conversations from other incredible podcast shows and I've had the honor to be on. These are very unfiltered, value packed episodes that I didn't want you to miss because sometimes the best conversations happen when someone else is asking the questions. So this week's flip comes from my friend Steph over at the Entrepreneista podcast. And let me tell you, this conversation hits different Inside this episode we talk about something I think so many women need to hear and it's not about being the best, it's about being different. The only. So you're going to hear us break down the exact strategies for building a personal brand that stands out without burning out and why. Your messaging, not the marketing, not the content, consistency is what truly moves the needle. We also dive into a few key things. The first is how to start owning your genius without comparison, stealing the momentum, which I know that we can all relate to. That why the fastest way to scale is through what you own, already know and how to protect your energy in this ever changing online space and really allowing social media to be a complement to that, but not your entire business plan. So if you have been in a season where you are just feeling like a lot of shedding, a lot is moving forward, a lot is feeling sticky, but you see the next level that you're meant to step into or maybe like you're feeling this constant shift to keep up, this episode will remind you to ground yourself in your message, your genius, your uniqueness. So let's flip the mic and dive into this empowering conversation with Steph from Entrepreneista.
- [02:43]
Stephanie
I am so excited to have you back on the podcast right now. It has been a few years and I have so much to chat with you about because your business has changed and evolved over the years. And I feel like, especially this year in 2025, like, this is the year of the personal brand. This is what everyone needs to be focusing on in their business right now. And there's no one better to talk about this than you. So thanks for coming back.
- [03:08]
Julie Solomon
Thanks, Stephanie, for having me. You know, I just absolutely adore you, and your community is absolutely incredible. So it's such an honor to be here.
- [03:16]
Stephanie
Well, Julie, I just want to dive right into it and get to all the good stuff with you today, because I want to remind, of course, all of our entrepreneur listeners that you were on the podcast a little over two years ago and talked all about your backst and journey. So if you all want to go back and listen to that episode, we will also link out to that in the show notes. But I want to dive deep today on talking about personal branding strategy, messaging. There. It's really never been more important. Like, never been more important. There is so much noise out there on social media and being able to really cut through the clutter and get to your ideal customer or audience. Like, you really have to have a strategy and a strong personal brand. And one of our members actually asked me last week at my office hours in the Entrepreneurista League, she's like, I know I need to focus on this this year, but I don't even know where to begin. What do I even do? And I told her, I'm like, just wait. We're having Julie back on the podcast, and she's going to share all of her secrets with you. So what do you say to people that are just getting started trying to build their personal brand? Where should they start?
- [04:18]
Julie Solomon
Yeah. So, you know, this is one that I think so many entrepreneurs navigate, Especially as we start to build the businesses, they typically grow, you know, far greater than we could have ever imagined. We start to build a small but mighty team. We put the systems in place, and it's like everything's kind of churning. And then there's this idea, this feeling of visibility, of wanting to be seen, of wanting to share and spread our message even further. And so how do we make that happen? And really, that's kind of where the idea of a personal brand comes from. And I think to answer that question, you first got to get clear on what a personal brand is, because it's not what a lot of people think that it is. Meaning a personal brand is not a logo. It's not your website. It's not even really your messaging, although that's a huge component of it. Your personal brand is Your reputation, essentially, it is the perception of whatever, of what people have, of whatever it is that you're throwing out at them. That's where the messaging comes in. And a lot of times where the challenge comes in is that as long as what you're throwing out out there is targeted, it's in alignment, it's for that ideal client, it's really showcasing your genius, then you are good to go. The problem that a lot of people have is that most of the time, what they're throwing out there, it's not corralled where they want it to be and where they want it to go. And so that's where this idea of here's my expertise, here's my genius, here's my offer, here's what I do for my ideal clients, and I'm not being seen as that kind of falls and gets a little bit murky. And so really, the idea of a personal brand and building that is learning how to fine tune and effectively articulate what that reputation is, what do you want to be known for, is really the kind of the question that you have to lead with. And so that's really the first piece. And then once you get clear on that, then there is a lot that comes with messaging and visibility that you really have to start honing in on so that you can grow a personal brand that is seen as credible, that is seen as reliable, that is seen even by other people in your network, in your industry, as some, as someone that they want to align and partner with. This is how you finally get those doors that you've been knocking on to open. All of that really does stem from the personal brand. But before you're there, it's really about the components of what it is that you want to be known for. And am I actually putting that out there? You know, I was just having a conversation with a client last week about this, and she just said, julie, I just realized that, you know, I just kind of looked at the last two months of my content, and I just realized the stuff that I'm putting out on social media, that's not what I want to be known for. It's not even really what. What my genius is or the problem that my offers solve. And what I thought was so incredible about that conversation is that, you know, she's been at this. She's in the health and wellness space. She's been at this for a very long time. So this idea of personal branding and the growth of a personal brand also kind of goes through EVOL and waves itself because every level that you come at and kind of quote, unquote, accomplish, for lack of a better word, there's going to be a next level of depth, you know, another piece of the onion that you have to pull back to really start to evolve into. And so it's kind of a never ending evolution, growth and process. But it's also one that as long as we can be intentional about it, it can really benefit the sustainability of our businesses.
- [08:01]
Stephanie
Definitely. Okay, so once someone has gotten clarity on what they want their specific message to be and their purpose for building their personal brand, and they have that clarity now, what do you recommend they do next?
- [08:15]
Julie Solomon
So it's about getting that clarity out into the world. And the way that we do that is through messaging. Messaging literally is the foundation of what you just explained. What messaging is not, is content. So we also have to get clear on the difference between those two things. If messaging is the foundation, content is the vehicle that we use to get the messaging out there. So content can be anything. Emails, your About Me page, anything on your website, social media that, podcasting, blogs. That is the content. The messaging is the foundation of effectively articulating your genius, your expertise, and most importantly, who that's for through that content. And that's what builds the personal brand.
- [09:02]
Stephanie
And you are, of course, a messaging genius and now have incredible programs, which we're definitely going to talk about, that can help lots of us entrepreneistas figure out what our messaging should be and what our messaging strategy should be. Because I feel like so many times, and even for myself, right as founders, like, we're really good at building our businesses, but messaging and copywriting, that messaging might not be our area of expertise. It's like we know, like what we want to get across. Awesome. We know what our purpose is. But how do we actually get the right words to be able to actually message what that is and correct me if I'm wrong, but that's where you come in to help many of us founders who don't necessarily have those words put together.
- [09:45]
Julie Solomon
Yeah. So, I mean, that is my genius and where I come in. And, you know, I come by it honestly in the sense of my background before I was in the online space, helping other online entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses through messaging. I was a publicist, and so I used to do this for other people for a very long time. And it wasn't until I started to try to grow my own business that I saw as well. I had the same issue that so many people have, that what you were just describing. And a lot of times it's initially because we think we don't understand a certain strategy or process or methodology that we need to know. And that is true. But what is also true, it really first stems from that confidence and that energy that has to come come first. And I remember when I was really starting to navigate this in my own business, I had to get really honest with myself about the places where I was playing small, the places where I wasn't being unabashedly audacious with my authority. I wasn't allowing the genius that I had to truly come. I would kind of, you know, mold and fix and kind of fine tune and shape things the way that I thought that I needed to in order to be accepted, in order to be followed, in order to be liked, in order for people to buy from me. And that's when the messaging got really muddled. And I remember thinking to myself, I was like, how have I been able to do this successfully for so many other people? But I can't quite seem to figure it out myself. So yes, there was some clarity that needed to happen first, the strategy. But more importantly, it was about me stepping into and really owning the power that I had within me. And we all have that within ourselves. We all have that brilliance in us that, that thing that we know, that we understand, that we help others do that is, is that unique genius inside of us. And until we really give ourselves that full permission to let that be seen and let that be heard, the words, as you said, are not going to. And so that really is the first piece is kind of doing an audit of our messaging as it is now, and asking yourself, like, where am I? Maybe holding back a little bit, where am I playing safe? Am I kind of placating to certain types of trends or certain types of ways or doing things? Because I think that that's what I need to do in order to, you know, get the views or get the likes. And once we get really clear on that, we're going to be able to start to see some of the gaps in holes of where we're not just truly owning our power and really owning what we are meant to do in this world. And so I love to always say that it's not about being the best, it's about being the only. And where are those opportunities that you can really start to tap into that onlyness that only you can bring to the table for those people that are meant to be led by you, to learn from you, to be guided by you, to be supported by you, and really where you can start to build that relationship, because that's really the point of messaging. I don't really understand why anyone would want to have a personal brand if they didn't really get to the root of it. It's about creating that impact in that messaging and in that relationship piece. And so really looking at these opportunities to be seen, to serve, to be heard as these beautiful opportunities to build really authentic connections and relationships with those that you're meant to serve, that is kind of the first key. And once we can start to unlock that, maybe rewire some patterns and belief systems about what that means to be seen and heard, then the words can start to come with the processes and the frameworks and the strategies that you learn along the way.
- [13:44]
Stephanie
When you shared before about just getting to this place where you realize, like, you needed to be out there as this authority and not playing it safe. When. When was this in your business that you really had this revelation that you needed to just go for it.
- [14:00]
Julie Solomon
Yeah. So, Stephanie, I'll say that this journey is not linear. As you probably know. There's actually been a few instances. I'll say the first time was back in 2016 when. And that was really at the beginning stages of the business that I have now. I was so flipping exhausted of my corporate job. I was so ready to work for myself. I was so tired of kind of living buy this story that wasn't mine, you know, trying to build this life that wasn't mine. Maybe it was, you know, a life that my parents wanted me to have or where I grew up or whatever those kinds of things were. And so that was the first instance there was a net, another instance that I remember this, when after being a CEO and an entrepreneur for years, I had finally hit seven figures in my business. And on the outside looking in, everything looked amazing. Right. It's like. Like Julie Solomon has a podcast and she's got these offers and she's got this great community, and, you know, she's making seven figures in revenue every year. And she has a healthy profit margin, too. And it's all of the things. But what was happening behind the scenes that people didn't see and that I didn't see until I became aware of it was this imposter syndrome and this complete lack of worthiness. And all of this stuff that was happening, I did not feel worthy of, to have the quote, unquote success that I had had at that point. And what that caused me to do, Stephanie, is not trust myself, not trust Myself in making decisions, not trust myself, you know, in knowing what was the right direction for the business to take. So I started. I started to take a lot of advice from people, or I started to kind of look around and see what other people were doing and comparing myself to that and, oh, well, if this person is working with this person, then I need to do that. Or if this person launching this thing, I need to do that. Well, if that person has a cfo, then that means I must need a cfo. And I remember that I hired a lot of people. I grew the business really big. Like, I did all of these things that I was looking around and making up and telling myself, well, I'm not a legitimate entrepreneur. I don't have a legitimate online business unless it looks like X, Y and Z. And so I really started to kind of lose sight of. Of my vision of, you know, what I was really meant to do, what I was called to do and how to best do that, because I kept looking outside of myself. And so that was another moment where I was like, okay, I've got to get back to the root of my vision and my purpose. And it was kind of this other, you know, come to Jesus moment where you're like, what has just happened? And how did I lose myself? And, you know, I thought I was this confident person, but here's some other gaps in this. And. And then from that, you know, came a beautiful iteration of, you know, having a small but mighty team and really getting back to basics, you know, is what I call it of, you know, what am I really, really good at, that people also find so much value in so much so that they would be willing to invest in it. And can that just be enough? Like, do you have to keep moving the measuring stick farther and farther whenever you reach the goal? And so that was another point that happened, I want to say, probably during that Covid era, you know, when. When I had to really come to terms with. With. With who I was as a personal brand and how I wanted that to be seen. And so I was able to kind of make a lot of internal shifts that were hard, but it took a while. But that also affected how I was seen on the outside and how that personal brand came out. And so those are two big instances. And then from that internal shift, it did allow me to get back to basics. It allowed me to really get true and honest with that worthiness piece and that confidence piece and just feeling lit up and truly alive with just who I was as I was not needing to be Anything else, accomplish anything else like this can be enough. And from that, I was able to own that authority that I was talking about earlier. And the more that I was able to do that from a place that felt. Felt just truly natural and not something that felt forced or felt outside of me, the more that the content and the messaging started to speak from a place of that. And that's what I love, supporting female entrepreneurs. And now is that authority driven content, that authority driven messaging, I call it power content. And how are we embodying that and then how are we articulating that out into the world?
- [18:47]
Stephanie
I'm so glad you just shared this story. And I know I can relate so much to it and I know so many of our members of our community can as well, because I feel like so many times, you know, we're all spending time on Instagram or other social platforms and we just see what everyone else is doing. And of course, on Instagram, from the outside, we all say this, right? It's not as glamorous as it actually looks. On Instagram, there's so much that's going on behind the scenes, but if you just take it at face value, it can feel like everyone else is doing this. Or like you said, this person's hiring this coach, this person's working with this cfo. And when we step back and say, like, what do we actually want for ourselves, Our lives and our business, like, at the end of the day, we can all build the business of our dreams and what we want for ourselves, it doesn't have to be for other people, because we're the ones that are building and growing our businesses. It's not other people. It's. At the end of the day, it's for us. And it doesn't matter if someone else is raising all this money and selling their business. If you're building a sustainable, profitable business where you love the work and you're doing it every day, like, that is the best business you could ever build.
- [19:55]
Julie Solomon
And that is more than.
- [19:57]
Stephanie
That's the best thing ever. Yeah. But I'm so glad you just shared that story because it's just so easy to get caught up in all of that. And so easy.
- [20:07]
Julie Solomon
And the way that it affects the. The outward, you know, the way that it affects the marketing, the way that it affects the energy, the way that it affects how you position your offers, the way that it affects how you're talking about yourself, your business, your genius, what can. What you can provide. And so the biggest lesson that I learned from that, and you know, have spent really the last two years stifling through, is that, you know, there's this saying, we hear it all the time. It's like nobody knows what they're doing. So, you know, don't. Don't worry about it. Just go all in because no one knows what they're doing anyway. And although I understand where that idea comes from, you know, because we want people to remember and ourselves included, that, like, we're all, we're all in this together. We all have to start from somewhere and don't hold yourself back at the same time. I think that we can, we can take that to heart too quickly. And when we do that, we. We start to lose sight of how much we actually do know and how much brilliance and experience and expertise that we can bring to the table. Doesn't mean that we know everything and it doesn't mean that. That we're the smartest people in the room. I never want to be the smartest person in the room, but I think that there is something that needs to be said about owning that genius and owning that brilliance and owning that authority and saying, you know what? I actually do know a lot, and I have learned a lot along the way, and I have failed more times than I would like to admit, and I have fallen on my face and I have done it wrong, but I've also done it right sometimes. And I have a lot to share on this matter.
- [21:39]
Stephanie
Yeah. Well, I want you to talk to me about some of your favorite business tools that you're using right now to grow your business. Because the landscape has really changed so much over the past five years. There's so many new tools, different automation platforms, a lot of things to just make things a lot easier, actually, if you probably think about when you first launch your, like, first online course, what, nine, 10 years ago, like 2016.
- [22:02]
Julie Solomon
Oh, my gosh, it was so clunky and manual and just was like, oh, the heavy lifting. But I learned a lot.
- [22:09]
Stephanie
Yes.
- [22:09]
Julie Solomon
You know, and so it's like, I feel like, you know, in some ways there are still some systems and processes that I use. Like, I use. I use ConvertKit for my email service platform and have for years. I, I even left ConvertKit and went to something else because somebody told me that was what I was supposed to do, right? So I did that many, many years ago, and it wasn't a right fit. So I ended up leaving and going back to. To what fit us in our business. So I use ConvertKit, I still use Zapier, I use Zaps, to automate. I love Zapier. It's amazing. When it comes to any kind of recorded trainings that I may have, whether that's a webinar or something like that, I use easy webinar. It's been around for years. Whenever I'm doing live, I'll either do Zoom. I really like Zoom for live, or I'll do Demeo. Demio is a great one. When it comes to podcasting, I use Riverside, which we're using right now. It's a great tool. I learned about Riverside back in 2022 when I was doing my book tour because so many podcasters would have me on it. But I mean, I remember when I was doing podcasting on Skype, I mean, like way back in the day. And so that's great. And then when it comes to other ways that I really help, efficiencies, my own work, I really do. I think of ChatGPT the same way that I think of Facebook ads, meaning it's an amplifier. It is only going to amplify what you put in it. And so if what you're putting in it is not clear, concise, and straight to the point, then you're probably not going to get something that is great back. You're not going to see that return. So I spend a lot of time on first, refining my messaging, refining the positionings of my offer, really working on that offer flow. And I call it your, your offer ecosystem. You know, how are your offers? Are they speaking to each other? Because they should be. And if they, if they aren't, how do we start to connect those pieces? So you have a thriving ecosystem with your offers. And then once I'm really clear on that, I'm really clear about the refinement of my messaging, who am I speaking to? What do they need from me? What is the transformation that I'm promising? Again, Stephanie, like, this is not rocket science. I mean, this is very, you know, marketing 101. But so many times we lose sight of that or it's not clear enough.
- [24:32]
Stephanie
Yes.
- [24:33]
Julie Solomon
And that's when people come to me is for that refinement piece. And so I will help people refine and I will use, I'll use AI if it gives me ideas to help me do that again. Maybe it's going to amplify what's already there or not. And I really like those kinds of tools. Grammarly is another one because I am, I am not a grammar police chief. So I need some help there. And really just having those opportunities to again, just fast track a lot of the frameworks and the systems that we're using. So I'll create custom GPTs that are based off of the frameworks, the messaging frameworks that I teach inside my programs, the processes that I have, and the methodologies for creating content using your unique messaging. And it will shoot me out results based on my strategy and my frameworks. And so I really like to use it for that. We've even implemented it into our programs and so now our customers and our clients get to use it, which is really beneficial. But those are some of the processes and systems, if you will, that I use. We have funnels in place, we run ads. As I mentioned, I have a small but mighty team. When I say small, I have two full time employees. One is myself and the rest are contractors. And that is what we have. You know, when I started my business it wasn't because I wanted to be a full time marketer. I just wanted to do what I love and help people. But nobody tells you how much time marketing will take or how hard it can be to get it right. And that's why I'm so glad I found Constant Contact. Their all in one platform makes it so easy to manage everything from emails to events to social all in one place. No more more tech overwhelm and their AI tools. It is a total game changer. I can create campaigns that look and sound just like me in seconds. Marketing used to feel like a full time job, but now it finally supports the work that I actually want to be doing and helps me expand on the marketing that I've already done. I'm so glad I found Constant Contact and cannot wait to help you get started. Get a free 30 day trial when you go to constant contact.com you can try constant contact free for 30 days at constant contact.com that's constant contact.com when I first launched my online coaching business, I was juggling everything like so many of us. Writing the content, managing the DMs, setting up the offers, doing all the backend funnels, figuring out how to make it all look and feel aligned not only from a brand perspective but from a customer experience perspective. And honestly, it was so overwhelming. I remember thinking back at that time how I wish that I had business partner that could really support the backend while I focused on what I do best, which is messaging strategy and serving my clients. But as we know, being able to do our best requires us to have a lot of systems and processes to support that. And that is why I love to recommend Shopify Shopify powers millions of businesses globally, including coaches, service providers and creatives. Building personal brands and businesses with beautiful, ready to use templates and very smart AI tools that write product descriptions and headlines for you. Shopify makes it really easy to build a brand, a line storefront that actually sells so you can focus on what you do best. Turn your big business idea into. With Shopify on your side, sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com influencer go to shopify.com influence shopify.com/influencer found to really flow for the optimization of our business.
- [28:31]
Stephanie
No, that, that's amazing. And you have to find like we were talking about before, like what works for your business and what works for someone else doesn't mean that it's the, the right fit for your business. And for everyone listening to this conversation right now, like that is okay. Like build a business that works for you and there's solutions for everyone. And that's like the great thing now. The. So many of these technologies and solutions didn't even exist five years ago and definitely didn't exist 10 years ago. And now if you want to build a business with only contractors, like amazing, I highly recommend doing that. Like, that is the best possible thing, especially as you're building because when you bring on, you know, full W2 employees, that's a huge commitment. Right. And if you're first building your business in the early days, like you don't know if they're going to be a right fit to work with you. So.
- [29:16]
Julie Solomon
And you don't really know what you need yet. You know, it's like I've been at this game for so long and you know, I've, I've had seven employees. I've had one, I've had, you know, I've had it all. And I think you, you learn along the way, like who you need in what seat and why.
- [29:30]
Stephanie
Yeah.
- [29:31]
Julie Solomon
And especially if you're, if you're listening to this and let's say if you're a service provider or a coach or a course creator and you're, you have an online business that is predominantly ran through digital products and services to a degree, a lot of your business should be automated. What's really not automated is that human touch element, the customer support, the customer service, the coaching, where some of that heavy lifting comes into play. As you as the leader of the business and the face of the business. A lot of the content creation, I still do, I don't farm out any of my content creation. I'VE tried that, it doesn't work. So you start to kind of, kind of figure out what really makes sense for your growth and find the foundation there so that you can start to show up and really build that personal brand from a place of sustainability.
- [30:20]
Stephanie
Definitely. Well, I will say we've said this already. Like, you are just a messaging genius on Instagram. Whenever I see your stories, your content, like, I want to read and hear everything that you're saying because of the way you create this incredible content. I know you teach a lot of, of how you do this inside your, your courses, but talk to me about what you're seeing on social media right now, especially on Instagram and the changes, because I feel like just the landscape of Instagram especially has changed so much, even just over the past 12 months. What are you seeing right now?
- [30:55]
Julie Solomon
Yeah, so I do, I do think that features change a lot. I mean, even just this week as we're recording this, they, they've extended reels. They used to be 90 seconds long and now they're giving us three minutes. What people forget is like several years ago you used to do be able to do a 10 minute reel, it was called IGTV, but now it's like we're getting all excited about these three minute reels. So like the, the features will always change based on what's trending, based on, you know, consumer, consumer behavior, things like that. But what I always try to remember is that that foundation has to remain the same. And I think that this is a lot of times when we can start to go a little haywire if we feel like, oh, I need to jump on this trend or I need to change something or do something, something here to kind of keep up, so to speak. And so one of the challenges that I see people face when this happens is really how the messaging gets watered down. You know, they start creating more of a watered down version of their messaging instead of more of that potent power and pleasure content that I talked about earlier. And I'll give you an example. So a lot of times I will see content that reads a little like this in a caption or even in a reel. Like the person did this and then they did this and then this happened and then that happened and then that happened and then I did this and then she did this and then, and then, and then, and it reads just like a laundry list. And so one of the things that I really try to infuse in my own content and of course when I work with my clients is what I call momentum. Messaging Momentum messaging is really about content that is super Microsoft. So the first thing is that we're not talking about a bunch of generalized things. So it's very potent and poignant into one specific concept idea transformation, how to point whatever that is. It's very, very micro. The other thing is that it has movement in it. So you're not listing and, and, and, and, and. But you're actually putting in there what I call so and, but transitions. And this is what actually creates stories. And so this happened, but then this happened. So I did this, but then this happened. So then this happened, but then. And it can read more like that. That's what actually creates literal movement and storytelling. The same goes in the messaging that you're putting out on social media or even in emails. And so that's the second piece. First piece was the micro content. Second piece is that momentum piece using those so but transitions. And then the third piece and I know I've been screaming it since we started this conversation, but the authority, really making sure that your authority is in that caption. I don't care if that caption is three sentence long, three sentences long or three paragraphs long. Your ideal client needs to know within five seconds who you are, what you offer, why they should care, and how you're going to help them get to that desired transformation. And so really showcasing the authority. I've seen a lot of people just kind of of stop doing that. Which again goes back to what we were talking about earlier. Maybe it's a fear of being seen or playing safe or what have you, but I'm really hopeful in 2025 that there's going to be more of that desire to be visible and that desire to be seen and just not giving a crud anymore about what other people may think and just owning that authority and genius. So that's the third piece there. And then the final piece is the calls to action. You know, when I see calls to action a lot in content, they're either very transactional, which is fine, you know, the comment X word to then get this thing using Mini chat, which is another software that I use. So I love manychat, I do this myself. But you want to be thinking about what is going to make my ideal client take time out of their day to type this word into my comments to actually get this thing that I'm offering. So we have to make it less transactional and more really, really geared and focused in on the desired transformation that they want. And so by using those components together in momentum messaging so you've got the micro content really focusing in on something super hyper specific, using those. So, but transitions, making sure that your authority is in there and that it's powerful. We're not just here to inspire people, we're here to help them solve problems and then having that call to action. So we're telling people where we want them to go and what they want them, what we want them to do. I think those are the core components foundationally that should never waver, even if trends change and features change and all of that.
- [35:40]
Stephanie
Were you always doing this as your methodology in your messaging or did this come about, you know, over the past year or two since things have changed with Instagram?
- [35:50]
Julie Solomon
Yeah, so I, I have. Even if I didn't realize it or not, Stephanie, I think I have always done this just because this is how I've always approached messaging ever since I was 21 years old and I had to write pitches for my PR clients. I mean, I have always approached this idea of messaging in, in any form of content creation. Right. Whether it's a pitch or it's a reel. I mean, and it's all the same thing. It's all, you know, messaging that it's stemming from. And I think I've always had it there. The way in which I now teach it though, has come about in just the last couple of years, specifically through my high level VIP sessions, my mastermind, but then also for people that like a self paced process through my signature program, the brand Accelerator. That is when, when I really started to see the challenges that people were having, not just with pitching or not just with creating content, but with messaging at its core. I said there's something here that I've always had in me that I've always naturally done because I learned it at a younger age in my career that I think I need to package this in a way that I can really help people figure it out because I am so process driven and it's always been there. So hopefully that answers your question. It's been there because. But it's, it's conceptualized over the last couple of years.
- [37:15]
Stephanie
Yes. No, it's so exciting. Uh, we're going to talk more about this at the end of all the places everyone can start working with you, but I know you do have a specific special messaging offer that you have where people can learn it self paced, right?
- [37:29]
Julie Solomon
Yes. And so actually for those that are just interested in kind of getting a taste of what it's like, my signature program is the brand accelerator. However, if you're like, well, I don't know who this chick is and what's happening, but maybe I want a little taste of something you can actually go to. Juliesolomon.net entrepreneista and that is going to give you access to a program that I have called the Visibility accelerator. It's a 90 minute training that gives you a couple of the messaging frameworks that I teach inside that signature program. So I've basically taken just really quick, juicy bits, bits that give people I'm all about the tangible action, really, really fast. So I want someone to be able to not just understand the theory of what I talk about, but they actually can apply it to their business. So I give you the Momentum messaging framework. I give you templates in there. I share, you know, about 90 minutes worth of really good actionable things that you can take away. It's $22 to go and learn that and just, just see how it helps you improve your messaging. That is my. My biggest thing. I want people to sell more so they can create more impact, so they can be more visible, so they can share their gifts with the world. And the unique way that I help people do that is through messaging. So this will give you a little taste of that. And then if you like that and you're like, okay, I want to know what's next, you can then go and enroll in the Signature program, the brand Accelerator, which gives you far more frameworks for messaging, but also a lot when it comes to the personal brand building piece.
- [39:03]
Stephanie
I love that. All right, everyone, go ahead to the Show Notes and we're going to talk more about it in just a bit. But all of those special links and offers from Julie are in the Show Notes, so head over there. All right, Julie, we have to have this conversation. And I realize we probably should have led with this from the beginning because this is the first podcast we've recorded since the craziness of TikTok over the past couple of these. Wow, what a. What a whirlwind. I wrote about it in our newsletter today. I'm like, I felt like it was like whiplash of like, is it going to go away? Is it going to come back? And I had a feeling it was coming right back. What were your thoughts on everything?
- [39:36]
Julie Solomon
Yeah, I know. I didn't buy too much into that. I was like, I'm not saying that they're not. That there's going to probably be some regulations in place and we'll see what happens. I think it's 75 days from the time that we're talking that they are going to figure that this out. But I think this was just a beautiful reminder to the world to not put all of your eggs in one basket. And what's interesting, Stephanie, I will say this. So I actually asked my community, I think you might have too, I said, you know, is this going to affect your business? And like, 96% of my community was like, this doesn't affect me at all. And so I love seeing that feedback because that goes to show me, okay, you're not putting all of your eggs in one basket. This good. But I think it's, it's just a reminder for all of us of, of how futile this kind of stuff can be. And even though I love social media, especially Instagram, that's the platform that I chose to kind of go all in on. I love podcasting, you know, I, I love my email community. I, I have these things. But I, I do believe that it really is about, you know, you don't have to do everything, but if you can, can kind of go in on two to three things. But also remember at the root of it, going back to what I, when I talked about relationships, relationships really are the biggest key, because if Instagram goes away, your email list goes away, the Internet crashes. You know, you cannot put a price tag on referrals, on relationships, on being able to transform someone's life and business and then, then go and tell somebody about that. And so I always talk about being relationships first. I think we can spend so much of our time being consum. Consumed with content and content creation and how do we create better content and how do I get more followers and how do I go viral and all of these things? And it's like, well, no, how do we actually get your messaging to a place where it's building relationships for you, it becomes your relationship system for you, so that if these things happen, your brand and your business is not as affected as if it could be if you didn't have those components in place.
- [41:46]
Stephanie
Yeah, absolutely. I was thinking about this this weekend though. You know, had it been the reverse, had it been Instagram that was down, I mean, man, it would, would have been a, a big challenge for I think a lot of us. I feel like, you know, with both of us, both of our audiences are like big Instagram users. Right. And actually an entrepreneur. We have a lot of members that have built incredible businesses through TikTok and TikTok Shop and.
- [42:11]
Julie Solomon
Right.
- [42:11]
Stephanie
You might know, do you know Sarah and Aaron Patempa, founder of the Beach Waiver.
- [42:15]
Julie Solomon
Oh, I know, the beach waiver. Yes, yes.
- [42:17]
Stephanie
They're part of our entrepreneur community and they have, you know, they're diversified across all their channels. But they, you know, went really all in on TikTok because they had tremendous success on TikTok. They built a huge TikTok show, like huge Purdue show, like, incredible. Doing substantial sales through TikTok.
- [42:35]
Julie Solomon
Right.
- [42:35]
Stephanie
So for brands like that, where it's not just like a top of funnel, you know, awareness channel, it's a heavy sales channel. It's a big problem when something like this happens and it just makes all of us think like we have to be preparing now for what happens. Look, Instagram's gone out for a few hours or, you know, I think it's only been a few hours at this point before that Instagram and Facebook have gone down. But even in those moments we're like, oh my God, like imagine if all this went away permanently, right? We have to build those relationships. We have to build our email list. And something I talk a lot about during office hours with our community is using social media, whether it's TikTok or Instagram, whatever your, you know, channels are going to be, but get it, having that strategy to get people's emails to then be able to have that one to one connection with them or get them into your community or have them listening to your podcast, these channels that you own, because that's what I say.
- [43:29]
Julie Solomon
You, you need, you need an email list and you need a long form nurture channel, whether that's a podcast or a blog that you to some degree own. I mean, I don't own WordPress, so if it goes down, it goes down. But to me, those, those places feel a little bit more stable than a social media platform.
- [43:48]
Stephanie
Definitely where we don't own the algorithm. Like we have no control. We have to keep tweaking content to get things to perform. So everyone, if you, you're going to take away a lot from this conversation, but definitely collecting, get those email addresses and have a nurture sequence and great messaging.
- [44:05]
Julie Solomon
Yes.
- [44:06]
Stephanie
Julie, what are you most looking forward.
- [44:08]
Julie Solomon
To this year for 2025? I am really looking forward to just feeling lit up and excited to just serve my people. I feel like. And I mean, you get it, Stephanie, because you've, you've been, you've been doing this for a while. I think when we first met was, was like maybe 2018 or something like that. I mean, we met earlier on and I always say I have this kind of benchmark in the space. There was pre Covid and then there was post Covid. And so if you were here during that pre Covid era, you know, we kind of saw what it was like before that boom. And then we saw what it was like after that boom. And I think that it took me, you know, not externally with my business and like my offer so much, but it took me and I think my just me second guessing myself for a while when I've like, like, am I really doing what I'm supposed to be doing? Am I really serving who I'm meant to serve? Like, we all kind of come to those moments of burnout or confusion or second guessing ourselves. And that time kind of came for me. During that kind of COVID era, I had also had a new child. I had my daughter. During that time, my family and I moved from LA to Nashville, Tennessee. I wrote a book. Like, there was a lot of things that were going on that just kind of made me feel a little unstable. And it took me a while to kind of just root back into the gratitude and letting what is here kind of be enough and again, not chasing this, this yardstick, so to speak. And I'm really excited because I feel like we've, we've gotten, so we've gotten far enough from that Covid era where the online space, I believe, is starting to stabilize a bit more. We had so many people come into the space, which is a beautiful thing. Like, you want, you want that, you want competition, you want abundance, you want that. But I think a lot of them came in not really wanting to be here. And so it took a couple of years to kind of shake that out. You know, you had people that were kind of dipping their toes into it as buyers, and you also had people dipping their toes into it as coaches and service providers and service. So we needed a couple of years to kind of have that shake out. And I think that we're on the other side of that now. And so I'm just really excited to see what happens when people root into their communities, when people really learn, take the time to really learn. And I'm not talking about like your ideal avatar and their demographics, but taking time to really learn. What are people coming to me for? You know, when I look at the top 20% of my buyers, like what, what was the, the language that brought them in here? What did they see? What did they believe? What did they learn to know about me and my world that brought them, brought them here? And how can I, instead of trying to just keep casting a wide net, how can I Go deeper and double down just on this. And so I'm excited to really see people hopefully do that and not get so lost in trying to keep up up so much as it's to root into who they are and what is that message that needs to get out there and who needs to hear it. And so that's what I'm excited about. I'm going to be doing that. I'm going to be helping my community do that. And letting that be enough feels really good.
- [47:34]
Stephanie
I love that. Who would you say are your ideal clients or audience that you do want to work with this year?
- [47:42]
Julie Solomon
Yeah, so my ideal client is, is a female CEO in the online space. Typically I do work with, with people that own agencies. I don't work with a lot of people that have actual physical products because that's not my zone of genius. But anyone that has a, you know, a service provider of some kind, they create courses, they're a coach, the health and wellness space, the. I run the gamut with the different kinds of industries, but really a digital product or service of some kind, or they run an agency of some kind and they're, they're looking to refine their messaging. You know, when people ask me, what problem do you solve? It's not messaging, but it's really that lack of refinement. People come to me to go not from zero to good, but they come to me to go from good to great. They've gotten themselves to a certain level. They most likely the revenue's there, the offers are there, they've got some form of a team, they've got some form of a systems in process, and they're looking to become more visible, they're looking to put. Become seen. They want to speak on stages, they want to get on podcasts. They probably have a book on their heart that they want to bring to the world. They probably want to work with brands, you know, and these are all the things that I've been doing since I started, even before I started as a publicist, you know, of that. Those types of things that help you get visible. But their challenge is, is that they keep thinking that more followers or just more content creation or this or that is going to help them get visible. But it's really that, that messaging and really making sure that you are standing out for being known for something specific. And, and that's when they come to me. They're like, I'm ready to refine my messaging, Julie, so I can speak on stages, get on podcasts, start opening those doors, get in front of bigger players. I want to get, you know, better partnerships and sponsorships. And yes, I want to scale my business too. I want to make more, More money. So can you help me do that? And that's. That's where we meet.
- [49:47]
Stephanie
I love how clear you are on that. Obviously, you are. That is the business that you are in. I have to ask you this, Julie, before we wrap up for today. What is your biggest business secret?
- [49:57]
Julie Solomon
I. Yeah, I'm like, okay, now it's hitting me. My biggest business secret is that there's not this end place. Like, for the longest time, I kept thinking, like, once this happens, then blank. Once that happens, then blank. You know, once I hire these people, once I get the visibility, once I speak on that stage, once I get the book deal, once I get this, then blank. And what I've learned through my business is that the biggest secret is not this in point. It truly is the evolution of who you become through those things and what that reveals to you and to me. That's the beauty of entrepreneurship. That's the beauty of, of being able to. To work for yourself and to be able to pour into other people is to really have the freedom to grow and evolve on your terms. And, And I don't think I realized that that was a secret, at least for me, till I started to really dive more into my business. And so it's probably more of a gift, I guess, than I would say a secret. But I think that's kind of the biggest thing that my business, business has taught me is that it's, It's a total evolution of growth. And if. And if I'm lucky enough, like, that will never stop. And there's never an end point unless I choose there to be. But it's. It's always just evolving to the next thing.
- [51:23]
Stephanie
You just gave me the chills. That's my word of the year this year is evolve. Because I feel like I came to the same place and I, I got a new little word, little words project bracelet that says evolve on now for the word of the year. But I just so, so, so appreciate everything that, that you just shared, Julie. I think so many of us just resonate with your journey and story, and it really is an evolution. Business is an evolution. Life is an evolution. And we all need to be there for each other, to help each other, to support each other, and to work with incredible women like you who can help us find what that message needs to be for the world. If we haven't figured it out yet and work with you, amazing. Thank you again, Julie, I'm Stephanie is the best business meeting I've ever had.
- [52:11]
Julie Solomon
As always, thank you so much for joining me today and every week here on the Influencer Podcast. If you're wanting to dive deeper into the topics and discussions that we have here, I would encourage you to head over to juliesolomon.net and sign up for my weekly newsletter. It is in our amazing newsletter community that we are able to really support support you on a much larger scale. And I love to do a ton of amazing things that I send inside your inbox every single week. So just head over to juliesolomon.net you'll see a little spot there that you can add your information in and you will get on the list and start receiving all of that good stuff.