Launch Your Blog Biz Lauren McManus

Finding some stability in your online business can be really tough in a get-rich-quick-ai-enhanced world. It seems like there are 5 billion side hustles out there and every 5 minutes, you're getting an ad or a post from someone making $5,000 doing something online. But what does this mean for business sustainability?
A lot of these side hustles and platforms provide income and traffic that come in waves.
But what happens when the wave crashes? Sure, you can pivot to the next hustle. Been there, done that. It can be really profitable, but if you don't do it right, it's certainly not going to be sustainable. 
We're very much living in a time right now of quantity over quality and I think it sucks. There is way too much shitty content on the internet and on our phones and on our TVs, and it's because of us. It's because we spend too much time on these devices and this is what makes others profitable.
How do we ensure that we are building our business in a sustainable way that is going to survive the next 2-5 years and beyond?
That's the real question and this is what I'm talking about in the latest episode of the podcast. 
Episode Highlights:
Income and traffic wavesNew game of quantity over qualityHustle and bust cultureHow to focus more on sustainabilityFor additional resources and show notes, visit the episode podcast page on our website.

Understanding your strengths and weaknesses and what you bring to the table in your business is so important. Identifying the characteristics in your personality that make you really great at a particular task and also what makes you not so great at other tasks can help you remove blockers to your growth.

Sometimes and for some people, this can be really easy. But in some cases, people have huge blind spots when it comes to the areas they are lacking in.

This isn't about pigeonholing yourself or creating limiting beliefs around the things you suck at. It's about identifying what you're GREAT at, knowing that this is where your strength lies, and knowing where to fill the other gaps.

This applies to whether you’re running a business by yourself or as part of a team – and it’s also good to know this because it can help you understand your colleagues better.

Episode Highlights
Different types of roles you can have in a businessHow to identify your strengths and weaknessesHow this can help you to run your business betterFor additional resources and show notes, visit the episode podcast page on our website.

Since Noah bought out half of Create and Go, we have been super hard at work on new content - YouTube, podcast, and course updates. It's all very exciting but not always easy. Noah has definitely felt a huge responsibility stepping into an already-established business and learning where he fits in as a new owner.

We've been cutting costs and taking on the responsibility for almost all of the work again as we begin to rebuild our foundation from the ground up. I'm talking about everything except for customer service and some affiliate program management, which is still handled by Cathy Dean on our team.
But down to every video edit, thumbnail, and email... We're back to basics for the moment as we decide what's truly important in this business both for ourselves and especially for our audience.  Sometimes, that's just necessary in order to move forward in the right direction.
There have been some struggles along the way and definitely some burnout here and there. Noah is on the podcast today talking about taking navigating new responsibilities in the business. We're also sharing some insight into our thought process for what's going on right now in the business. 
Episode Highlights
Noah's experience buying a blog and how it feels stepping into an established business like Create and GoCutting costs, taking responsibility, and rebuilding our foundationWorkload struggles and dealing with burnoutInstagram and shorts contentWhat we're focused on nowFor additional resources and show notes, visit the episode podcast page on our website.

We are [FINALLYYYYY] back with another episode of the podcast – after a 1 year and 4-month hiatus. Wow!
This hiatus wasn’t necessarily planned, although, at some point, there was a conscious decision to drop the podcast from our priorities. I never recorded anything to let y’all know that we were going to stop recording episodes.
Actually, I did record an episode and then I deleted it. I’ll explain more about why in this return episode.
But it saddens me to know that we went from being a really big inspiration to our audience to kind of a ghost town somewhere along the way.
We never actually went anywhere. I never stopped working on the business, but I let myself fade further into the background because of a lot of personal and business-related reasons.
The truth is, I lost my mother and I very nearly lost my father as well. Alex and I weren’t seeing eye to eye on much as business partners anymore. We became pretty terrible co-parents to the business.
Our lives were just on different paths with different goals and that’s okay and to be expected but our business has suffered because of it.
But a lot has happened in the last year and a half.
Noah, our SEO and YouTube manager, bought Alex’s ownership in Create and Go!

Since then, Noah and I have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to rebuild the foundation of our business to make it stronger than ever!
To hear the full story of what has happened over the last year and a half as well as what we’re working on now, listen to the latest podcast episode!
Episode Highlights
Why I took a year and a half off of the podcastHow we tried to sell Create and GoAlex’s exit and Noah’s buy in to the businessWhat we’re working on nowFor additional resources and show notes, visit the episode podcast page on our website.

029. Hey, y’all! This episode is a little different from my usually-at-least-somewhat-planned-out content.
Sometimes I actually script out entire episodes because I have a lot to say on the topic and I want to make sure I say it right or say everything I want to say. But this time, it’s the opposite.
I had 3 words written down in my notes before I hit the record button: Ads, Redesigns, and Rebrands.
The truth is that I’ve been super bogged down by a lot of difficult things going on in my personal life. Both of my parents went into the hospital around Thanksgiving of last year. My mom passed away and my dad damn near did too.
Because of all of this, it’s been hard to find the time or desire to create a creative space in my business these past few months. I’ve been trying to keep my head above water and juggle a lot of personal stuff. 
Long story short… this episode is just an honest chat about some of the things I’ve been prioritizing lately.
They're not flashy or particularly exciting topics, but advertising and optimizing your products is an important part of any business--especially if you’ve hit the stage of growth that we have. 
Today, I’m sharing some of our experiences with paid ads for our blog, including using an ads company for almost a year now. 
I’ve also been spending most of my limited work time on redesigning our sales pages, and I’ve found a helpful work-around for improving the sales pages within Teachable, which should lead to higher conversion rates. 
Finally, I’m talking about why I’ve rebranded one of the courses, and what that means for our students.
So if you’re dealing with any of these business steps right now, or might be in the future, I hope the info and experiences I’m sharing today will help you in that process.  
What I’m talking about in this episode: 
Ads (webinars and more)Redesigns (new sales pages!)Rebrands (new course name change – Six-Figure Course Creator)For additional resources and show notes, visit the episode podcast page on our website.
Resources and Mentions:
LeadPagesTeachableCourse Mentioned: Six-Figure Course CreatorTutorial: How to Start a Successful BlogStart your first blog with our Free 5-Day Blogging Bootcamp

028. I have some exciting news to share today:
I sold a website!
Well, okay–Alex and I sold our first website together.
(Technically it’s our second website, but we don’t count our first failed website for obvious reasons.)
If you’ve been following us at Create and Go for very long, or if you’ve taken any of our courses, then you’ve definitely heard us mention the blog we’re talking about today–Avocadu, our health and wellness blog.
It’s crazy to think about how a health + wellness website I started with Alex after we met on Tinder changed the whole trajectory of my life.
We wouldn’t have started Create and Go without this first successful website.
I definitely wouldn’t be talking to all of you on this podcast.
And I probably wouldn’t have met my husband, most of my friends, moved to Germany, or had anywhere near this much financial freedom.
This website is truly my first business baby, and deciding to part with it was no easy task. 
So join me today as I take a look back at this journey, and how it changed my life. 
I’m also sharing some helpful tips and resources for those of you who might be thinking about buying or selling a blog, including our favorite marketplace for doing that. 
In this episode, I’m discussing:
The transition from starting this first blog, to deciding to finally sell itWhy we waited until now to part with itOur biggest accomplishments + everything we gained with AvocaduHow this health + wellness blog changed our lives forever Who we sold it toHow much we sold it forTips for buying or selling a own blogAnd moreFor additional resources and show notes, visit the episode podcast page on our website.
Resources and Mentions:
The blog we sold: AvocaduWhere you can find Cathy Dean:Our team pageHer keto blog: Healthy AmbitionsHer social media channels:YouTubeTikTokInstagramPinterestFacebookMarketplace for buying + selling blogs: Empire FlippersTutorial: How to Start a Successful BlogStart your first blog with our Free 5-Day Blogging Bootcamp