Able Business Radio: Small Business | Automation | Systems Zachary Sexton - small business productivity expert

Stephen Warley is a self-employment expert.



He came on to discuss the 4 major trends that are causing work to change and what you can do to prepare for them.



This is a must listen to episode for all the new or soon to be solo-professionals out there.



Enjoy!





In this episode we cover:



How automation will change a majority of jobs by 2030. 

What the half-life of skills means and how it will affect your career.

Why it's not a good time to be in middle management.

How you can make it big in business by going small with your market.



Quotables:



"I believe the future of work is all about self-management."

"Automation will lift productivity and economic growth, but millions of people will need to upgrade their skills."



Links and resources mention:



Get Apprenticeship 

How Work Is Changing

Building Your Community ABR #2

Life Skills That Matter Podcast



The Big Leap

Full Disclosure: I earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.



The Million Dollar One Person Business

The 100k Freelancing Podcast

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

The Likable Expert Advantage w/ Michael Katz ABR #48

The World Is Flat

Case Study: No revenue to $200,000+ in less than 2 years!

Free 12 week self-employment self-assessment course



Connect with Zack and Stephen:



Stephen's Twitter: @stephenwarley

Stephen's Website: lifeskillsthatmatter.com

Zack's Twitter: @zwsexton

Zack's LinkedIn: @ZacharySexton

Leave iTunes Review: zacharysexton.com/review



Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure.







The shownotes can be found at zacharysexton.com/53

In previous careers, Nathan has been a designer, author, and blogger. After learning the power of email marketing he gave up a successful blogging career to build ConvertKit.



He's come on the show to let us know how you can start using email for your service based business.





In this episode we cover:



Why starting an email newsletter isn't a priority when starting out.

What email you should write first to get more clients for your business.

When you should consider writing your first automated email series.

Where to find your first newsletter subscribers.

How to demonstrate your expertise through teaching everything you know.



Quotables:



"Email marketing is just a method to push out something useful to people who want it."

"We have written, video and audio as ways of conveying a message."

"With email, the expectation is that you either read, archive delete or reply to every single message. So people engage with it."

"I wanted to make sure people had all the information they needed to decide whether or not to buy [my book], before they had the opportunity to buy."

"It really helps with the marketing to be able to narrow down what you do and who you do it for."

"If I had to start over as a freelancer, I'd get really specific on what I want to and an industry you do it for. I'd find that specificity by looking at what's in demand and what I like doing."

"First write a case study. Second, I'd send an email on my philosophy or principles used. Anything that makes me different. Then maybe once a month I'd write about a project I was working on."



Links and resources mention:



The Craft + Commerce Conference

ProductHunt

Article on Nathan's Commit App

iBooks Author

Wordpress

TextExpander

Case Study Example

Webcomics mentioned:



The Oatmeal

The Cooper Review





Anything You Want by Derek Sivers



ConvertKit

Full Disclosure: I earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

- Email marketing made easy. See demo here.





Connect with Zack and Nathan:



Nathan's Twitter: @nathanbarry

Nathan's Website: nathanbarry.com and

convertkit.com

Full Disclosure: I earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.



Zack's Twitter: @zwsexton

Zack's LinkedIn: @ZacharySexton

Leave iTunes Review: zacharysexton.com/review



Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure.







The shownotes can be found at zacharysexton.com/52

Does a majority of your new business come from referrals? Do you often wish you had a bit more control over when and where your next client will come from?



Then today's show is for you.



My guest, Patrick Ewers, is Silicon Valley’s top relationship management expert. Patrick and his team at Mind Maven train business leaders to reach their full potential by ensuring they hear about more of the right opportunities.



Startup founders hire him to uncover venture funds or their next big hire. You and I can use his actionable insights generate more of the opportunities we want in our business.



(Hint: More referrals!)







Patrick's opportunity finding tactics are simple, effective and easy to implement.

In this episode we cover:



The 5 best emails to send when you don't know what to say.

How to make sure every interaction you have with your network is meaningful, relevant and valuable.

Why it's important to walk into every meeting knowing how you might help.

The massive benefits that come from creating positive mico-experiences.

The 'one email a day habit' that will generate more breakthrough opportunities.

How timing and mindshare lead to opportunities. (But you can only control mindshare, that is, the ability of people to think of you when an opportunity arises.)



Quotables:



"The quality of your life is directly proportional to the quality of your relationships."

"If you want to make a friend ask a favor." - Benjamin Franklin

"Don't ask people if they need help. Offer help when you see opportunities."

"Professional challenges change every 6 months. Passions never die."

"Making introductions is easy to suggest but hard to implement."

"Positive Alacrity is the skill of creating micro-experiences that cause an emotional uplifting in others."

"We get the best opportunities from people we know and trust. That's just a fact in my view."

"Referrals are a process. The better we understand that process the better we can manipulate it."

"Never, ever say, "How can I help you?" It's the worst thing you can do for a relationship."

"Change is a skill. You need to invest in improving it if you want to reach your full potential."



The Forgetting Curve



Img Source: Mindmaven



Links and resources mention:



Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath

Patrick's Bonus Resources: mindmaven.com/able

Contactually (affiliate link) – Strengthen your professional relationships and grow your business by following up with the right people at the right time.

Accompany - Networking tool that helps you become the first to know and the first to respond to relevant people in your network.





Connect with Zack and Patrick:



Patrick's Twitter: @patrickewers

Patrick's LinkedIn: /in/Patrick

Zack's Twitter: @zwsexton

Zack's LinkedIn: /in/ZacharySexton

Leave iTunes Review: zacharysexton.com/review



Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure.







The shownotes (and Contactually tour mentioned in the outro) can be found at zacharysexton.com/51

Follow-up is important for sales, marketing and the growth of your business. You need to follow up with your:



leads

clients

potential joint venture partners



and more. Even if you are a solo professional, business is a team effort.



But it is easy to let your follow up activity slip down the to-do list.



Unless you are careful, more urgent tasks or more entertaining distractions can botch the best intentions. Fortunately, seasoned entrepreneur Meredeth Bell came on the podcast to share her strategy for making the important but not urgent follow-up process a little bit easier.





In this episode we cover:



Why prioritizing your follow-up will pay off in the long run.

How to make following up a fun game (vs a dreaded chore).

What types of follow-up you need to do to grow your business.



Video Trailer:





Links and resources mention:



Meredith's video on LinkedHelper app

The Power of Listening ABR #14



Connect with Zack and Meredith:



Meredith's LinkedIn – Meredith Bell

Meredith's Twitter – @meredithmbell

Meredith's Website – Strong For Performance

Zack's Twitter: @zwsexton

Zack's LinkedIn: @ZacharySexton

Leave iTunes Review: zacharysexton.com/review



Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure.







The shownotes can be found at zacharysexton.com/50

Jennifer Bourn is an award-winning website designer. She also runs her own small business.



At the beginning of 2011, her web design business ate up all of her time. 100+ hour work weeks were the norm. Travel (her passion) was impossible. Stress was high. Important tasks were falling through the cracks.



Then, during her annual business retreat, she created a simple system to help onboard her new customers. Instead of repeating herself, she sent a series of automated emails that:



set expectations

outlined the project

requested specific information

sent useful tips



and pretty much delighted all of her customers. Her automated email onboarding system worked so well, she added it to other parts of her business.



In 1 year Jennifer was able to year cut her 100+ hour work week, filled with admin and email, to a 30-hour work week where she can focus on the thing she does best... design beautiful websites.







I love this story so much. Listen in to find out exactly how Jennifer managed to:



save time

increase profits

provide a better service



by creating simple client management systems for her web design company. These automations worked when she played, didn't need to be managed and never let any step slip through the cracks.



Enjoy!

In this episode we cover:



Specific automation tools.

How to scale without hiring.

What you need to do before creating your first system.

Why systems can give you the confidence to raise your rates.

Where to find time to create your systems.



Quotables:



"I was surprised by the amount of information I had to repeat to my clients."

"You can't delegate crap unless you have a system for people to follow. Otherwise, you are just setting everyone up for failure."

"Systems will boost profitability in your business."

"The larger clients you get, the less automation the appreciate [but we still use the same systems, just took out the automation]."

"You have to work on your business, not in your business."

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." -  Maya Angelou



Links and resources mention:



Zapier - Connect apps and automate workflows. It's like the duct tape of the internet.

MailChimp - Email marketing automation.

AgileCRM - Contact management and sales automation.

Ryan Clover - Zack's amazing web developer.

TextExpander – Expand custom keyboard shortcuts into frequently-used text and pictures.



TextExpander podcast #010





Emyth - famous book on small business systems



Emyth podcast #012

Work The System





MemberPress - membership plugin for WordPress

AffiliateWP - affiliate program plugin for WordPress

Chris Lema - smart WordPress developer

Profitable Project Plan (aff link) - Jennifer's full system and training in a 12-week starting January 23, 2018

Client Captivation Webinar - Thursday, January 18, 2018, at 12:00 pm Pacific Time

Relationship Engine – A private Facebook community to help service-based entrepreneurs get more clients. – zacharysexton.com/relationship



Connect with Zack and Jennifer:



Jennifer's Twitter: @jenniferbourn

Jennifer LinkedIn: /in/jenniferbourn

Jennifer Website: jenniferbourn.com

Zack's Twitter: @zwsexton

Zack's LinkedIn: /in/zacharysexton

Leave iTunes Review: zacharysexton.com/review



Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast,

Michael Katz is a likable marketing expert for solo professionals.



He came on the podcast to show you how you can get more and better clients by positioning yourself as a likable [fill-in-your-service] expert.



No marketing budget? No problem!



After listening to this episode, you'll know how to attract all the clients you need with word-of-mouth marketing.



Like exercise, all it takes to see results is:



finding a routine you don't hate

the commitment to show up every day







If you've been struggling to stand out from the crowd and find the clients you can't wait to work with, this episode is a must listen.



Enjoy!

Video Teaser:





In this episode we cover:



Why being a subject matter expert is not enough.

How to attract more of the right clients by adding personal stories to your marketing.

What percentage of your time should be spent on marketing.

3 criteria for being a likable expert (and getting hired as a solo professional):



People need to believe you are capable and see you as an expert.

People need to like you, feel comfortable with you, value your point of view.

People need to remember you, understand what you do and think of you first when a problem arises.







Quotables:



"Raising your likability is an easy and practical way to gain more clients."

"The mindset of content is education. The mindset of networking is making friends."

"If you connect with enough people. And you are helpful to people. It does come back to you."

"You need to be as authentic as possible because you are trying to attract the people you click with and push away the people you don't."

"Nobody comes to your blog or talk to hear your stories. But the stories are what stick with them."

"Your audience isn't your peers. It's the people who will hire you."

"Personal stories are a competitive advantage to small business owners. Verizon can't tell you what they did over the weekend."

"Success comes from showing up every day."



Links and resources mention:



ConvertKit - Email marketing made easy. It has the power of Infusionsoft, but easier to use than MailChimp. See demo here.

Michael's Likable Bonus - michaelkatz.com/ableradio

How To Generate More Revenue w/ Contactually Podcast #041

Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers by Seth Godin

Contactually - Strengthen your professional relationships and grow your business by following up with the right people at the right time. See demo here.

Relationship Engine - A private Facebook community to help service-based entrepreneurs get more clients. - zacharysexton.com/relationship



Connect with Zack and Michael:



Michael's LinkedIn: /in/MichaelJKatz

Michael's Twitter: @MichaelJKatz

Michael's Website: bluepenguindevelopment.com

Zack's Twitter: @zwsexton

Zack's LinkedIn: /in/ZacharySexton

Leave iTunes Review: zacharysexton.com/review



Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, PocketCast or your favorite podcast player. It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure.







The shownotes can be found at zacharysexton.com/48