The Boss Mom Podcast

We often make the mistake of thinking our prospects don't want to hear our life stories, what we learned from our mistakes, or why we do the things we do. Stories do more than share your expertise—they create connections. What types of stories should you tell? What makes your story unique? On this episode, Dawn Gluskin shares how she uses stories to grow the businesses of her clients. Never lose your leadership when you share your story. Even if you look vulnerable, let them see the leader in you. -Dawn Gluskin 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Being yourself is the best differentiator (04:35-05:40) In a world where everyone is trying to fit into the mold, being yourself is a valuable differentiator. People are sick of seeing perfect stories. They want something that resonates with them. While your clients want someone competent, they don't expect perfection. The small cracks in the mask is what makes helps them connect with you. The naked approach (13:40-14:40 You can't express yourself and share your story if you're constantly living in fear of being judged by others. Social media makes it even harder to share our mistakes and what we learned from them since everyone is sharing only positive aspects of their lives on social media. The naked approach refers to using your own stories and own vulnerabilities to connect with others. We evolved to respond to stories better than raw data (17:40-18:47) To survive, we needed stories to share with our peers about survival tactics, food locations, and more. While facts and figures do have value, they become even more powerful when they fit into a larger story. Stories are easier to remember and can make you more likable than stats and data. Not all stories are created equal. Not all stories are made to be shared. Ask yourself, is sharing this story relevant to my business? Does it show something I've learned from it? You want to be relatable, but make sure you don't undermine your skills and talents by doing so. Write your stories from a position of leadership and learning. Guest Bio- Dawn decided to start her own business after she was pressured to come back to her job soon after having a child. In only 3 years, she made around $3 million by helping entrepreneurs share their brand story in a meaningful way. You can find out more about her work at http://www.blissedcommunications.com/

Our emotions dictate how we interact with our environment and people around us, and we often do ourselves a huge disservice by shutting out negative emotions. Why is it important to give all your emotions room to come to the surface? What happens when we push aside feelings like anger, fear and disgust? On this episode, I talk about a very important lesson we can learn from the cartoon movie, Inside Out. Maturity involves recognizing that emotions are not black and white. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Decide the things that you love and start looking at them with a dissecting eye to see what you can learn from them. Pushing other emotions aside and trying to be happy all the time can put us under a great deal of stress If it's hard to pull yourself together in life, it will be tough to do it in business Cartoons have so much to teach us about ourselves and business. In the case of Inside Out, we learn that it is important that we face all our emotions when things happen to us. It's easy to choose to just be joyful all of the time but that can do more damage in the long run. Feelings like sadness, happiness, fear, excitement and anger are all interconnected, and sometimes we can't experience one without another. There's nothing wrong with this. Allowing ourselves to feel the full scope of our emotions gives you-- and your business-- a resilience and ability to heal.

As a society, we are more focused on ourselves than we've ever been before. How can we interrupt this selfishness and help make the world better? How do you figure out your purpose and mission in life? How can you gauge whether you're going in the right direction? On this episode, host of The Daily Helping podcast, Dr. Richard Shuster shares how he found his life's purpose after a near-death experience and how he's paying it forward. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Your values and mission will always steer your towards what's authentic (08:16 - 09:15) If you're really clear about what your values and mission are, you can always ask yourself if an action is in alignment with them. This will help to keep you in the right direction. People and moments matter (10:56 - 11:45) As we get older, we all start to realize that people and the moments we share with them are things we're going to be nostalgic about in the future. These are also the things that keep us connected, loving and strong-- and they really matter. Giving is just as healthy as receiving (15:11 - 16:42) Our society is so focused on the self, but what we haven't been taught is that being giving and selfless actually makes us feel as good as the people we give to. The same biological mechanisms in our brains fire when we help others and give selflessly in the same fashion as if we were the recipients. Even though social media often makes us feel like we exist only to please and improve ourselves, we need to be able to look outward. The mission is to make the world a better place for our children and make us all happier as people. If we can put energy into the meaningful things, our society will be stronger, more connected, and more loving. Guest Bio- Dr. Richard Shuster is a licensed clinical psychologist and the host of The Daily Helping with Dr. Richard Shuster: Food for the Brain, Knowledge from the experts, Tools to Win at Life which is regularly downloaded in over 60 countries. On his podcast, Dr. Shuster's guests educate and inspire listeners through their stories, expertise, and passion for helping make a difference in the lives of others. His mission is to help people become the best versions of themselves and as a consequence, make the world a better place. A sought after media expert, Dr. Shuster's clinical expertise and podcast have been featured in such publications as The Huffington Post, NBCNews.com, Glassdoor.com, Reader's Digest, and others. Learn more at www.thedailyhelping.com

Once you've created content that builds trust, the next step is promoting yourself-- but this can be challenging. Why is it so important to promote your business and your work? How do you get people to talk about and want to buy from you? What factors can you leverage? On this episode, I discuss why it is so critical to actually get out there and start talking about your awesome work. Every single day, do at least one thing that promotes you and your business. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Recognize your real estate; recognize where you have space to show what you're selling. If you're not leveraging the free real estate that you have, you're missing out. Pinterest is more of a long term search engine. From a visibility standpoint, you want to create a good amount of varied imagery for the main ways in which people get on your list. You don't want to send people directly to your sale pages because conversion is going to be low. People need to see you 7-10 times before they buy from you. Your sole job as a business owner is to sell. Without that, you can't be profitable. Tiptoeing around the fact that you have a business doesn't help anyone, and it won't get you anywhere. Commit to promoting yourself. Everyday, you need to be out talking about your businesses in some way. You can do this through all sorts of content and platforms but the end goal is making sure people see you regularly so they can move towards buying from you.

In this information age, people get so excited about the possibilities of their ideas that they jump the gun and start in the wrong place. When you have an idea, what are the steps you need to think about? How do you avoid prematurely floundering? On this episode, idea strategist and inventor Lisa McCarthy gives insight on doing things in the right order when you have a new idea. You need to retrain your brain to think in a positive way, even when you're slamming through the slime. It's about you empowering yourself. -Lisa McCarthy 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Before you can empower anyone you have to empower yourself first (04:04 - 04:30) A lot of us are driven by purpose and the need to make an impact on something outside of ourselves. The truth is, if you want to make an impact externally, you have to do the hard work of empowering yourself before you can do it for anyone else. Be intentional and proactive about what you say to yourself (08:09 - 09:26) We all have an inner monologue, and often we allow the message to be negative. What if you learned to drown that out with something you purposefully and intentionally chose to say to yourself? Imagine how that would change everything. Plan first before taking any action on a new idea (14:20 - 15:44) When you come up with a new idea for something, it's so easy to get carried away that you miss the foundational steps that ensure success. To avoid this, take the time to map the details so that questions and obstacles can be anticipated. When excitement and inspiration form around a new idea, we can easily forget the important details that go into executing it. Missing crucial steps can actually hinder progress, so it;s worth it to take the time to map out your ideas. Figure out "the who, what, when, where, why and how" so you have the right game plan to move forward. This will make the process of executing on an idea a lot less daunting and ultimately more effective. Guest Bio Lisa is a Strategist at Make My Idea Real and the Inventor of the Affirmations Mirror. Go to makemyideareal.com for more information or get in touch with Lisa success@makemyideareal.com.

If you're a service-based business, you're going to do a group program at some point. When do you know that you're ready? How do know how many people you can handle in a coaching program? What is the most effective way to structure it? On this episode, I share how to get group coaching started! "If all you're doing on your group calls is teaching them stuff, then you're not really a group coaching program. You're just a live course." - Dana Malstaff 4 Things We Learned From This Episode Don't start a group program unless you've coached a minimum of 10 people on a one-on-one basis. People in groups feed off each other and become friends, which accentuates accountability. Remember that at any given moment about 50-70% of the participants are going to really engage with you. Every group coaching program should come with at least one 1-on-1 call in the beginning of the program. Group coaching is not only a way for you to touch more people at once, but also a great way to add an extra layer of accountability and relationship. How you go about your coaching is very important. In addition to teaching, it's about listening and communicating with them to improve their lives. This is what makes you a coaching program.

For a lot of women, the demands of our lives make us suppress the light inside of us. Why is it so important for the world that we embrace what makes us unique? How do we step out of society's expectations and judgments? How can we shift our thinking and choose to live in a woman's world? On this episode, photographer and speaker Jennifer Rozenbaum is here to talk about her mission to take back femininity. The more "you" that you can be without any shame, the more power we have as people, as women, and as a community. -Jennifer Rozenbaum 3 Things We Learned From This Episode We don't have to sacrifice femininity for empowerment (11:23 - 12:16) A lot of women feel like empowerment should come at the expense of femininity, but it doesn't have to be that way. Authenticity makes the whole world better (13:05 - 13:13) It's critical that people live authentically and "step into their own". Not only does this benefit the individual, it also benefits partners, children, families and the community as a whole. Run into the pain. It's worth it (14:15 - 15:06) Stepping outside of your comfort zone is always going to be scary and a little painful, but we don't have to shy away from it. Overcoming that pain is what makes us grow. Whether the challenge is small or large, if you don't face it you'll never see the beauty on the other side of the pain. There's no better time to be a woman than right now. There's a lot of change happening and a lot more awareness, but all progress starts with women stepping into their own and being authentic without shame. We have something unique that men don't, and we shouldn't be stifling ourselves to live in a man's world. There is nothing wrong with owning our femininity and choosing to run towards the pain, even when we'd rather not. Remember: skydiving might be scary, but jumping out of the plane changes everything. Guest Bio Jen Rozenbaum is a photographer and speaker putting "feminine" back in "feminist". Jen specializes in luxury boudoir photography. She believes every woman must celebrate her unique femininity, shamelessly. Go to http://www.jenerations.com/ to learn more about her work.

Our use of content shouldn't be about publishing for the sake of publishing-- it should always be strategic. Why is it so important to leverage your content to increase your authority? What are the aspects of authority that you have to earn with your audience? How does it benefit your business as a whole? On this episode, I talk about the power of making your content work for you. If you want to build authority through your content then you have to be strategic about the content you create. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned Have your content lead to your core paid programs. It's about guiding people to your content and your expertise. Words can work for us, against us or they can do nothing. We want them to work for us. Authority is building trust, connection, and a sense that they want to know more from you. If you want to build authority, content should be leveraged. You want to create and publish the kind of content that makes you the go-to source for solving the relevant problems of your audience. The mission is to make your online assets a sacred place for them that they can trust, know and connect with at a deeper level. You want them to feel led by you, such that they want to be with you. This should be the underlying goal of everything you put out.

Relationships are the lifeblood of people and business. How can you go about building more strategic partnerships that can be mutually beneficial? How do we decide where to put our energy when we're developing relationships? What are some of the mistakes we make? On this episode, NJ Rongner shares on the importance of building and maintaining solid relationships for our businesses. It's important to have relationships that feed your soul and your life, but also help feed your business. -NJ Rongner 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Build relationships with people who are ahead of you in business (6:10 - 6:27) While it's important to have relationships with people who are at a similar point in their journey, you should also look for relationships with people who are ahead of you so you can learn from them. You can do it through collaboration, an introduction, a podcast guest spot, or other ways. Work outward from your inner circle (15:05 - 16:29) If you want a place to start looking to build new relationships, draw a circular diagram with a bull's eye in the center. This center represents the people you are closest to. These are people you go to for advice, people you would trust to pick up your children in your absence or people you would give your passwords to. Work your way outward with a few rings, and start thinking of the people in the outer layers. These are people you could build stronger relationships with. Be strategic about all your relationships (18:53 - 19:50) Whether it's romantic, friendship or business, you should always think about why you're in a certain relationship and what you're getting from it. You should also be thinking about what you give to the relationship. At the end of the day, business is people-- and people are relationships. You can know and be known by many people, but you can't have relationships with everyone. Determining which relationships are good for you comes down to the value each person brings to your life. Whether they give advice, offer support, collaborate or partner with you, our relationships can be a powerful way to grow our business and increase our spheres of influence. Guest Bio NJ is a Western MA Mom Blogger and the founder of A Cookie Before Dinner. Go to http://www.acookiebeforedinner.com/ to check out her work.

A lot of entrepreneurs feel lost in the forest of the online world of opt-ins, freebies, and content upgrades. Why is it so important to put your opt-in in the context of your larger business strategy? How do you make sure the opt-in actually converts? On this episode, I talk in-depth about 5 tactics that will help you create opt-ins that bring people through your sales funnel. It's not just about the knowledge you have. It's about someone wanting to be in your space. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned Don't think of an opt-in as an end result, think of it as the beginning. Sales pages: stop telling people what the features are, and start telling them what the benefits are. Your personality matters just as much as your content, so make sure it shines through. Your opt-ins can't just be opt-ins. They have to be part of your overall business strategy, and you have to see them as the beginning of a relationship and not the end goal. Remember: the purpose is to give a good first impression so people want to learn about and engage with you even more. It's all about giving them a reason to want to get into your space.