The Design Business Show

Melissa Burkheimer
  • 5.0 (15)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Hosted by Melissa Burkheimer, The Design Business Show is a podcast that shows expert entrepreneurs how to use strategic design to build credibility and increase conversions. Learn what works, what doesn't, so you can get the tools, strategies and design inspiration you need to grow your business your way. Melissa Burkheimer is a conversion + sales page designer whose clients 10X their sales goals, change the lives of their customers, and get featured in places like The Ellen Show, Access Hollywood, Entrepreneur, Forbes, and other top-rated media outlets.

  1. 02/29/2024

    The Design Business Show 249: Creative Copy for Entrepreneurs with Tepsii

    Tepsii is an expert copywriter, and life/business coach who has been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine, and many renowned podcasts. She regularly speaks live and online and has taught thousands of people how to grow successful businesses since 2015. Tepsii's mission is to impact 1 million Africans within 5 years by empowering them to break generational patterns of poverty as they grow businesses with help/partnership from prominent business leaders, social activists, government leaders, and corporate entities.     Here's what we covered on the episode:   Tepsii's Start to Copywriting We share how Tepsii and I officially met during a conference in 2016 Tepsii shares the first time she saw my sales page design and how it influenced her to write her copy differently I share that I used Tepsii's story of remembering my work years later in an email sequence to show how your work can leave a lasting impact The drive to be an entrepreneur has always been there for Tepsii because she likes to do and is good at many things Over time, Tepsii transitioned into a business coach and consultant working with entrepreneurs and dealing with higher-level strategy Tepsii is from Vermont and South Africa and is the mom of 3 beautiful girls Make friends with your designers as copywriters because collaboration is more important than competition After college, Tepsii got her first job by reaching out to the president of a haircare product line that she liked and offering to help with their website and messaging When Tepsii started helping with the haircare line, she had no idea what digital marketing or copywriting was, but she helped increase their sales by 600% Tepsii was googling how to work from home and came across Marie Forleo's B school, which brought her to other connections and programs Because Tepsii was spending money on these programs to get started, she decided she was going to take up space, be visible, and ask for what she needed We chat about how, as women, we need to work on articulating our value so we can get paid our worth for the work we're doing AI + Industry Trends Even though AI is here to stay, Tepsii believes teaching copywriting will always be important because there are components that AI can't master Tepsii is still teaching and writing for entrepreneurs but shares that she now uses a holistic approach to their strategy that includes traditional media As part of her 360 communication strategy, Tepsii includes speaking training, sales training, and all things that go into becoming more confident in your words Currently, Tepsii is consulting for the cannabis industry in Vermont and is working on a big project in South Africa designed to help creatives digitally transform If Tepsii could tell her younger self one thing, it would be to guard her heart and open her eyes to see that the world is diverse Tepsii shares all the tips she wishes someone had told her when she was starting I believe the days of "My 7-step magic formula will solve your problem and change your life" are ending I share current design trends, including text from the early 2000s and '90s. The word of 2024 is authenticity - people are craving a real connection   Check out Tepsii's website to connect with her   Links mentioned: Tepsii's Website   Like what you heard?  Click here to subscribe + leave a review on iTunes. Click here to download my Sales Page Trello Board Let's connect on Instagram!

    44 min

  2. 01/30/2024

    The Design Business Show 248: An Inside Look with MemberVault Co-Founder, Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly is the CTO and Co-Founder of MemberVault, living in Olympia Washington with CEO Wife, 3 kids, and a giant dog.   Here's what we covered on the episode:   The Creation of MemberVault  Mike shares that he started writing code in the 5th grade and has been a developer his whole life - before MemberVault, he was a freelance developer At one point, Mike and his wife Erin started a business where she would design websites, and he would build them, but shared that it was a disaster  Mike took time off to be a stay-at-home dad after having their first child, where he started building MemberVault as a side project that came as a need from one of Erin's clients After getting enough interest in the platform, Mike and Erin created a beta, and it slowly started to gain momentum In 2019, Erin reached a crossroads in her business and joined Mike at MemberVault full-time Mike shares some mistakes he and Erin first made when they started MemberVault Early on, Mike and Erin realized the demand was for more than courses; people wanted to sell digital ebooks, one-on-one service, etc, which made it hard to identify the platform at first Leaning into what they were good at set them apart from other big platforms in the market Mike explains the difficult decisions he and Erin had to make about their business model so they could scale but continue helping individual customers on a personal level MemberVault is rolling out a new tiered system for membership that Mike explains Mike is the only full-time developer but brings in people on contract to help - they also use a company that monitors their servers 24/7 MemberVault has evolved from just selling digital products to having pages, navigation, blogs, comments, file uploads, questions, and so much more because they listen to their users and can implement their ideas quickly As a freelance developer, companies push for the fastest and cheapest option, so Mike felt he couldn't do his best work and take care of the finished product, which bothered him Mike talks about how it is to run a business from home and homeschool their 3 children How To Use MemberVault + Updates MemberVault wants to be your central hub for all your services and products so people can go to one place to find all your offerings 88% of people who enter your MemberVault for a freebie will click around to see what else you offer  In MemberVault, you can see what people are clicking on so you can meet them where they're at and start a conversation instead of having a fixed automated funnel A big thing MemberVault is working on right now is automated sales tax because Mike explains that the tech around it is a nightmare, and the solutions are expensive With MemberVault's tighter integration with Stripe, you'll be able to manage your subscriptions in one place Mike's tips for any platform are having a quality and consistent logo, readable brand colors, quality product images, linking up your socials, and showing your range of offers so people know how they can work with you Check out MemberVault - when you sign up for a free trial, you'll get access to all their resources to help you and an invite to their Facebook community    Links mentioned: MemberVault Website MemberVault on Instagram MemberVault on Facebook   Like what you heard?  Click here to subscribe + leave a review on iTunes. Click here to download my Sales Page Trello Board Let's connect on Instagram!

    47 min

  3. 12/08/2023

    The Design Business Show 247: The Ins and Outs of Creating a New Business with Dominique Jackson

    After struggling to find adequate support and resources during her own pregnancy and postpartum, Dominique Jackson made it her mission to improve access to maternal health education, support and community for other moms to be. Here's what we covered on the episode: Creating Hatch + Nest  In the Summer, Dominique came to one of my workshops, where we worked on launch ideas for her, and I suggested she come on the podcast to talk about what she's doing Dominique shares that her background is in health technology and public policy  After the birth of her first son, Dominique struggled to balance taking care of her newborn, herself, and going back to work, which inspired her to create Hatch + Nest During pregnancy you are surrounded by support from friends, family, and doctors, but most of that goes away after you deliver The first thing that helped Dominique bring Hatch + Nest to life was talking to other entrepreneurs because she had no experience with starting a business or figuring out her brand  Dominique explains how they expanded from just postpartum support to prenatal through parenthood support Hatch + Nest is a maternal wellness platform that offers support through classes like breastfeeding, birth planning, infant CPR, and in-home support through doulas and relationship specialists   Mothers in central Ohio can take advantage of their in-home support services - Dominique shares the educational resources on their website and says they will have upcoming in-person and virtual events Dominique explains that they can get grant funding to help mothers who can't afford their services and says they are always looking for sponsors Hatch + Nest has some upcoming sponsored workshops that include lactation specialists, Doulas, and mental health consultants  How Dominique had to figure out what to prioritize in order to launch and generate revenue  Dominique shares that she had to shift her business model and audience to attract sponsors because that is how they primarily make money Some sponsors support through educational events by providing the space, catering, or gifts, and others sponsor a portion or all of the in-home support after birth Dominique explains her choice to keep messaging targeted towards mothers, but says they have plans to expand messaging to other audiences once they are more established They are planning a program for later in 2024 for dads and adoptive parents Check out the Hatch + Nest website and follow them on Instagram to learn more   Links mentioned: Hatch + Nest Website Hatch + Nest on Instagram    Like what you heard?  Click here to subscribe + leave a review on iTunes. Click here to download my Sales Page Trello Board Let's connect on Instagram!

    24 min

  4. 11/20/2023

    The Design Business Show 246: Creating Organizational Design with Lindsay White

    Lindsay is a sought-after leadership coach, organization design expert, speaker, facilitator and podcast host who believes that every business, no matter the size, deserves three things - great leadership, an impactful people strategy, and a culture that inspires. First, and foremost, Lindsay is passionate about guiding business leaders at all levels in creating a leadership style that is authentic and grounded in their own values and purpose. Her powerful coaching style leverages her extensive background coaching senior leaders, executives and entrepreneurs as they develop and embrace their personal leadership practice. Lindsay also utilizes her 15 years in strategic talent management to guide these incredible leaders in creating inclusive cultures and developing the people strategy that is often missing from their business plans. Knowing when amazing teams are connected by purpose, programs and processes that inspire, they create amazing results. As an entrepreneur, working Mom, and first-time Grandmother, Lindsay knows that the blend between work and life can be difficult to create. That's why she loves to coach and guide leaders as they navigate their personal leadership journey and create the work & life blend they long for. Her focus on people strategy, team engagement, communication and leadership development all help her clients drive their business goals while creating work environments where everyone feels like they belong.     Here's what we covered on the episode:   Organizational Design + Leading Yourself First Lindsay White found her love for organizational design and development while working for an organization whose HR department disintegrated - she became the go-to person for questions from managers who needed support Over the last 20 years, Lindsay has found a passion for helping leaders design and develop organizations that are meaningful and allow people to do quality work  Designing organizations is about creating structures that allow the work to flow and the people to do meaningful work that achieves business goals  If you don't have the right organizational design, the work isn't flowing, you lose momentum and ideas, plus people don't understand how they impact the customer or the next person in the process Lindsay explains that leadership is an inside job; think about what's important to you personally and in your business, and lead yourself first When Lindsay started her business, she focused on coaching leaders but quickly realized these leaders also needed organizational development to help their teams and businesses thrive You can be the best leader in the world, but if you don't have the right processes and programs in your business, it won't work, and vice versa; if you have good processes but don't lead well, it won't work either  Processes can work for you and not against you - Lindsay explains that processes are really about defining the connection to understand how everyone's work fits together for the end result/customer experience Lindsay breaks down performance management that creates inclusive and belonging spaces where people gain the confidence to be their best selves and do quality work   High Voltage Leadership   The name of Lindsay's business, High Voltage Leadership, comes from her life's purpose statement: to be the high voltage extension cord that connects people to their own inner brilliance Lindsay works one-on-one, in groups, or in organizations with female entrepreneurs to help them bring what they care about most to their work, create a work-life blend that serves them, and teach them how to create organizations where everyone experiences that  When it comes to attracting clients, Lindsay shares that she spends a lot of time nurturing her clients, which gives her referrals, and she is active on social media, specifically LinkedIn On LinkedIn, Lindsay posts consistently and focuses on what's happening in the leadership space, culture content, and providing value through information or questions she hears from her clients Last year, Lindsay had to take a big step back after dealing with multiple personal and work things all at once - she also shares how she was able to overcome being close to burnout Lindsay's podcast, Female Founder Friday, focuses on how successful business owners got to where they are today and the mistakes they made during their journey Check out Melissa's episode on the Female Founder Friday podcast Reach out to Lindsay on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn, and check out her website   Links mentioned: Female Founder Friday Female Founder Friday - Time to Reinvent with Melissa Burkheimer Connect with Lindsay on Instagram Connect with Lindsay on Facebook Connect with Lindsay on LinkedIn High Voltage Leadership   Like what you heard?  Click here to subscribe + leave a review on iTunes. Click here to download my Sales Page Trello Board Let's connect on Instagram!

    39 min

  5. 10/27/2023

    The Design Business Show 245: Release Your Rebel Spirit with Ann Bennett

    Ann Bennett is the founder of Renegade Branding and has spoken across the country and around the world. She is a Best Selling Author, Coach, and Brand Profit Builder. Ann has shared the stage with Thought Leaders like Les Brown, Jack Canfield, Sandra Yancey CEO of eWomen and You're a Badass Author, Jen Sincero. Ann uses her marketing and branding genius to help women entrepreneurs (and a few good men) build their STAND-OUT personal brands and boost their profits. Ann works with purpose-driven entrepreneurs who do transformational work so they can liberate and ignite their unique genius, and authentic voice to build a profitable brand platform. Ann has 25 years of experience in visual and graphic design and has brought her talents to many major magazines from Popular Mechanics to Vogue; "Where the Devil Really does wear Prada". Ann's personal slogan and the cornerstone of all her programs is, "Liberate Your Rebel Spirit & Rake In The Revenue."     Here's what we covered on the episode:   Ann's Start in Design When Ann Bennett started in design, they would cut out letters, paste them together, and take a picture for layouts.  How Ann learned all she knows about design "on the street" through doing hands-on work  Ann shares how she got her job at Vogue without fashion in her portfolio or knowing anyone in the company by taking their pages, redesigning them herself, and calling the design director each day for a week. The biggest thing when it comes to getting work, Ann says, is your impression and the feeling you give people in your presence.  As designers, we discuss how important feedback is and how to listen to your clients.  Ann shares that she originally went to art school as a painter and went to New York for her painting career, and along the way, everyone worked in graphic design.  In New York, Ann witnessed the first plane hit the World Trade Center on 9/11 while working at Vogue and says it changed her life forever.  Shortly after, she moved out of New York and realized she wanted to support people in building their businesses. Renegade Branding + Personal Storytelling How Ann created the 4 Renegade Brand Archetypes: Nurturer, Disrupter, Innovator, or Geek, and from that, she can help develop your visual brand, messaging, programs, etc. Liberating your rebel spirit is about allowing who you actually are to be at the forefront of what your brand is and what you do.  Ann explains and gives examples of each of her 4 Renegade Brand Archetypes and shares a quiz that you can take to help pinpoint which one you are  There are so many options and opportunities that it's difficult for people to make decisions, which is why branding is so important - so your brand stands out. The whole point of a brand and a strong message is so people can see and understand your value.  We chat about AI, how we've tested it, and the uncharted territory we are going into as designers because it will use your online work and give it to others. Ann explains that head-whipping hooks are strong statements that disrupt people's thinking, so you can bring the value of what you do to follow it.  Ann shares that a client of hers was in a car accident where her nose was severed from her face, which led her to the beauty industry - her head-whipping hook was "nobody wants to be stared at unless they're stunning."   Personal stories are powerful for branding and marketing because people want to connect with you. How Ann gets each client to write a story from each decade of their life to help share who they are, what they do, and the value of it. Ann works with clients through her programs, masterclass, and one-on-one work.  I share the results from my Renegade Brand Archetype Quiz and some details of the Innovator Archetype.  People come to Ann for work because they have an inner rebel who wants to become an outer rockstar, and she'll help them do it through development work.  Ann says it's not about being the best, it's about being different.  Take Ann's Renegade Brand Archetype Quiz and check out Ann's website to learn more about her   Links mentioned: Renegade Branding Renegade Brand Archetype Quiz  Ann Bennett's Website   Like what you heard?  Click here to subscribe + leave a review on iTunes. Click here to download my Sales Page Trello Board Let's connect on Instagram!

    44 min

  6. 09/22/2023

    The Design Business Show 244: Strategies for Creating Engaging, Interactive Courses with Nancy Giere

    Nancy Giere is a course creation expert. She works with businesses of all sizes from solopreneurs to Fortune 100 companies turn their expertise into high profit courses. She creates engaging, fun, and interactive programs that get results.   Nancy Giere shares how she on accidentally fell into course creation while working for a bank and was asked to put together training for employees Melissa shares how her background in launch strategy, funnel design, and instructional learning and teaching at her community college helped me understand the importance of what goes into a course Nancy shares how it's important to look at your entire business and look at how a digital course can fit into your business model and the best way to market it  One mistake that people make it they throw spaghetti at the wall, and Nancy uses a phased approach that takes people through a phased approach Another mistake is that course creators aren't considering the desired outcome and lacking a logical flow Why the introduction and title should be the last thing you write  Why it's important to make sure that your course is a great experience for your audience  One simple shift that creators can make is pausing to create a break within your course content to give people a minute to process the info Breaking content into shorter, consumable chunks increases engagement AI tools like Udley can provide basic feedback, but deeper level feedback requires personal interaction Why online courses are effective for teaching certain skills, but some skills require feedback and practice Online content allows for scalability and time efficiency in serving more people Shorter content is trending on platforms like TikTok and YouTube and breaking course content into shorter, consumable chunks increases engagement The concept of Minimum Viable Product (MVP) determines if a product is good enough to go to market Nancy also suggests incorporating activities or personal reflections to keep viewers engaged Planning and timing of audience engagement are essential in online presentations Tools like Zoom and Prezi Video enhance the presentation experience without high costs and help you stay on brand  Nancy shares how she works with clients in both a done with you and done for you capacity Nancy is turning their book "Bundle Your Brilliance" into an online course using Zoom, and shares how she plans to participants can complete modules, assignments, and receive coaching to give them a really great experience  Why Nancy is researching corporate training methods to incorporate into the course for entrepreneurs Nancy shares the strategies she uses for getting clients, including JV partnerships, running her own launches and asking for referrals Nancy shares the inspiration for writing her book, Bundle Your Brilliance and how it drives home a tip that she shared at the beginning of the episode of writing your intro after you create the course   Links mentioned: Connect with Nancy on LinkedIn Nancy's book Nancy's Create a Training That Sells    Like what you heard?  Click here to subscribe + leave a review on iTunes. Click here to download my Sales Page Trello Board Let's connect on Instagram!

    44 min

  7. 09/08/2023

    The Design Business Show 243: Clearly and Concisely Communicating in a Way that Resonates with Kristen Noelle

    Kristen Noelle is a Copywriter and Online Sales Strategist who helps business owners soulfully sell their high-earning offers. She works with service-based entrepreneurs to transform how they run their business, from "scattered to systemized". Her framework, Systemize Your Sales, empowers clients to consistently connect their message, attract high-revenue opportunities, and grow their business without all that overwhelm. She offers done-for-you written sales copy and 1-on-1 marketing coaching.  Here's what we covered on the episode: How I was introduced to Kristen through my former guest, Keshia White  Kristen shares how as a young girl, she had a big imagination and always wanted to own a business  She decided to go to school for marketing, and she started to learn how to craft stories and tell the story about a product and an experience  She spent a lot of time learning, and even studied the culture of design and life in Italy Her first job was a government job, but everything about it was uninspiring for her She ended up moving to Thailand, and decided to freelance, and catapulted her dream of helping put their dream out there  She tried a little bit of everything, including web design, SEO, influencer marketing, and from there she refined her craft to do what she enjoys She found purpose in helping people put their story out there, and how she really loved the messaging piece of copywriting in addition to strategy The Kristen explains her point of view on messaging Messaging is the consistent conversation that you're having with your audience and moves people to take action How she helps people with strategy, systems and soul - and learning more about what your clients are dealing with to help them  Kristen shares her thoughts about AI, and why she's happy for its' presence, and doesn't think it will ever replace copywriters  Why Chat GPT is a helpful tool, but it needs a human element  Why AI is imperfect, it's just a tool that helps us  Why you should clearly and concisely communicate in a way that resonates, and an easy way to do this is by coming up with your own framework Kristen's process for market research, and why it makes your job a lot easier  If you're a business owner and does your own content marketing; and when you get close to your market to find out more Why you can put market research inside your own framework within your copy and messaging Why it's important for service providers to have experience working with clients so you can get to know what their actual problems are, and that way you can solve their problems  The breakdown of Kristen's offers and what they look like now For solopreneurs, Kristen offers done-for-you copywriting and marketing strategy and coaching  Why she loves helping her clients train VA's and their team to help save them time  Why it's important to assess where your clients are at when working with clients   Why Kristen thinks it's important to focus a lot on relationships, consistent conversations, and stop doing what isn't working for you   Kristen flips the switch on me and asks me what my why was, and I share where I'm at now in my business   Links mentioned: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-noelle/ www.kristennoelle.com https://instagram.com/getkrissed

    46 min

  8. 09/01/2023

    The Design Business Show 242: The Magic of Consistency + Power Positioning to Skyrocket Your Brand Sales with Hillary Weiss

    Hillary Weiss is a creative director, positioning coach, and founder of Statement Piece Studio @ hillaryweiss.com. She's also the former co-host of the cult-favorite YouTube marketing talk show Hillary and Margo Yell at Websites (#HAMYAW), and has had her work featured on Business Insider, The Next Web, The Observer, and more. Since 2011, she's helped thousands of brands all over the world get seen and heard (and make serious cash) through her 1-1 client work, writing, coaching, and videos. Nowadays, she's on a mission to help more small businesses define their "statement piece", a.k.a. the bold point of view that makes them radically relevant to their perfect people. Wanna know more? Catch her riffs on all of the above on her blog, or say whaddaaap! to her on Instagram @hcweiss. Here's what we covered on the episode: We first met Hillary Weiss and how she went from copywriter to creative director on episode 128 Why I invited her to come back on the show because I like how she tastefully shares her success stories and what she's doing now as a creative director How Hillary was first on the show in 2020, she officially retired her copywriting business and was making the transition to creative director She worked on projects for 10 years of the copywriting space before copywriting courses existed How copywriting puts you on the engine room of lots of businesses to see how people do things, and she had to fill in the blanks of launch strategies, offer design, positioning, execution She realized that she loved strategy + creative direction and started to seek mentorship and moved slowly to the space because it felt selfish because it felt easy to her, but she wasn't feeling the satisfaction it used to give her How she made a 52-point turn from copywriter to creative director for 3 years  Why Melissa relates so much to Hillary's story when she was working with clients and offering the entire kitchen sink but charging for the faucet  The scoop on how Hillary booked $500K in revenue by June of 2023   The details behind the post that Hillary shared on social media that prompted me to invite her back on the show Hillary breaks down how 50% of her business is coaching + mentorships and 50% done for you services She shares how she launched an offer every quarter because she knew she was going to build new brand equity She shared how she hired a CMO and team to help her with social media so she could focus on sales  By doing that, she filled her programs and gave people a heads up about what she was selling, how it worked, and she became an evangelist of your own work By being consistent on social media helped her build that new brand equity and sales  The breakdown of Hillary's offers and what they look like now    Thunder, which is on ice now, her group program of 15 people where she did business coaching The breakdown of her creative direction services, where she offers positioning, photoshoots, oversees website design and web development for some clients  Power Positioning, her group program, the framework, the offer suite, messaging and all of it  Hillary shares how positioning can help your business between your audience, offers, differentiators and your unique selling proposition Hillary shares an examples of positioning with clients  Hillary shares how she first charged $3000 for her first creative direction clients, and photoshoots now start at $15K Hillary started out charging $5000 for positioning clients, and stayed at $6500 for a long time, and finally listened to her coach Susan Hyatt who told her it was a $10K offer She charges $6500 for VIP Days, and $1800 for a 90-minute session Hillary shares her thoughts on whether you should list pricing on your website (or not) and shared her experience of listing and not listing prices on your site Melissa shares her strategy for approach to pricing her new services in new industries How Hillary balances her mental health, spiritual health, and doing all the things she's doing now Hillary shares how she had a panic attack in a restaurant when her sister was visiting; and before that, all the things she was doing to help her mental health were not working anymore Hillary shares what she did to help her anxiety, because her anxiety door was still open, and wasn't mentally stabbing herself on her leg, and got her energy back and deepened her spiritual practice  Melissa shares how her mental health has improved since starting medication How Hillary balanced her workload by limiting the amount of clients she worked with and shortened the time frame When it comes to her team, she decided what she wanted to do, and what she didn't want to do anymore And how she has a schedule director + OBM, and shares what they all do inside her business How she only does calls on Tuesday, Wednesday's and Thursday's, and does her content on the fly   Links mentioned: Connect with Hillary on Instagram   Like what you heard?  Click here to subscribe + leave a review on iTunes. Click here to download my Sales Page Trello Board Let's connect on Instagram!

    51 min
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5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Hosted by Melissa Burkheimer, The Design Business Show is a podcast that shows expert entrepreneurs how to use strategic design to build credibility and increase conversions. Learn what works, what doesn't, so you can get the tools, strategies and design inspiration you need to grow your business your way. Melissa Burkheimer is a conversion + sales page designer whose clients 10X their sales goals, change the lives of their customers, and get featured in places like The Ellen Show, Access Hollywood, Entrepreneur, Forbes, and other top-rated media outlets.

Information

  • Creator
    Melissa Burkheimer
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2024
  • Episodes
    248
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2023
  • Show Website
    The Design Business Show