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On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess was thrilled to speak with Interview Connections client Alexandra Stockwell about uncompromising intimacy. Alexandra Stockwell, MD is a Luxury Love and Intimacy Mentor, known as “The Intimacy Doctor.” She specializes in showing couples how to build beautiful, long-lasting, passionate relationships. She is the bestselling author of Uncompromising Intimacy and host of the highly acclaimed The Marriage Podcast.  A wife of 25 years and mother of 4, Alexandra believes the key to passion and fulfillment, intimacy, and success, isn’t compromise--it’s being unwilling to compromise--because when both people feel free to be themselves, and know-how to love and be loved for exactly who they are, the relationship is juicy, nourishing, and deeply satisfying. Jess first asks, “How did you go from being a medical doctor to a relationship coach?” Alexandra explains that whenever we make important transitions or evolutions, we can tell different stories about it and they’re all true. Alexandra has a few different perspectives on her own story. When she was in her mid-30s she owned a small holistic medical practice. Alexandra worked really hard to get where she was in life. All her ambitions that had propelled her forward had all come true. She was married, she had three kids, she had paid off medical school loans, and yet she didn’t have the feeling of having arrived. Alexandra wasn’t satisfied; she didn’t feel enthusiastic to live that same way for another three or four decades. People ask her, “Were you burnt out?” Alexandra feels that she wasn't experiencing burnout, but she just knew that she would end up burnt out. She was able to take a sabbatical and gave herself room to do things for no good reason. Alexandra did things because they felt good, not to achieve a particular goal. This experience was radical for her.  Alexandra was still running her household with 3 children, so it wasn’t as if she was sitting around doing nothing. But she was still able to do things like taking a dance class and just sitting by the creek. She didn’t need a reason to do things! This made space for other aspects of her soul to emerge which eventually led her down the path of becoming a relationship and intimacy expert. That’s one story about Alexandra’s journey. Another story about her journey is that her daughter had just turned nine. She saw that her daughter was so vibrant, so full of joy, and so happy. On the one hand, Alexandra had felt so grateful to have mothered her in a way where she could just feel so wonderful. On the other hand, on the inside, Alexandra was freaking out. When she was that age, Alexandra’s parents were getting divorced. Looking at her nine-year-old, Alexandra saw that she had disconnected from her own joy.  She had disconnected from an aspect of herself that she really wanted to reconnect with. She also felt a motivation to change because if Alexandra didn't figure this out for herself, her daughter would also dial down her own vibrancy to match Alexandra’s. She had a personal wake-up call and a professional wake-up call that she needed more. This took her down a path to where she is now! Jess sees a lot of service providers and coaches come to their businesses after having a personal breakthrough. Jess asks Alexandra, “How did you start finding your clients?” Alexandra knows that in the entrepreneurial world and in the world of coaching, mindset is really important. She explains that her unconscious mindset really helped her get clients. Alexandra ended up in a training on sensuality and sexuality, and she enrolled because she wanted to have more gratifying sex and intimacy in her marriage. She was motivated by her own growth. However, this training also doubled as a coach training.  Alexandra didn’t know what the coaching aspect was all about but she had a student’s mindset. She thought, “Well let me just go to the teaching lab and see what they’re covering. And what is a coach anyway?”  She went to this lab and absolutely loved it. Alexandra felt like she had come home. So much of what she loved about medicine would be possible for her as a sex, intimacy, and relationship coach. She started to meet classmates and people just organically started asking her to coach them. These people didn’t know any of the details of her life; they didn’t know her expertise. People responded to who she was without having tangible information about her. There wasn’t any push or any effort at all. People asked her, and she coached them. There was so much ease in the whole process. When Alexandra started coaching, it felt fun and engaging. She didn’t have any specific financial goals at the time. Her joy was in expanding her skills, finding out what people needed, and doing her best to be able to give it to them. Alexandra built her coaching to low multiple 6 figures before she even had a website! By illustrating her care and skill, she built her business solely on word-of-mouth referrals. If her expertise were in website design and you met her at a party, and you connected, you wouldn't have any idea what her website design skills are. But in Alexandra’s niche and area of expertise, it’s about connecting and building trust. Her expertise is relevant in that initial conversation she has with people. If people like that initial conversation they have a lot more information about what Alexandra does. She has a skill that is so apparent during conversation, which makes Alexandra an amazing person to utilize the podcast guesting strategy! Jess asks, “How does your medical training come up when you’re doing intimacy coaching?” Alexandra answers that her medical experience is both a benefit and a hindrance. The benefit is that she is used to having intimate conversations with people. No client of Alexandra’s will ever say something that shocks her to a level of discomfort where she can’t be there with them. As a doctor, she has such a wide spectrum of experience and an authority that comes from years of clinical practice. On the other hand, as a physician, when she listens to someone speaking, Alexandra is, in a way, discarding everything that doesn’t feel relevant. She is focusing on what she needs to, in order to make a diagnosis and have a plan for treatment. When she started relationship coaching and focusing on intimacy she felt a real limitation and restriction at first. Her sessions with clients were focused on an incredibly emotional area. Initially, Alexandra would be too directive and too mentally engaged. She really needed to learn to be present and a lot less controlling in the conversation. For Alexandra, this was both very challenging and also very healing. You can connect with Alexandra at her website, alexandrastockwell.com, and download a free chapter from Uncompromising Intimacy!

On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess sat down with Interview Connections client Jean Atman to talk about clearing limiting beliefs! Jean is a Soul Evolution Coach and Energy Medicine Specialist and is a leading expert on how to break free of negative life experiences - for good. She is well known in her industry as the go-to girl for helping people heal from toxic relationships and past traumas so that they can live a life filled with potential and ease.  She has assisted over 20,000 people up-level their lives in her 21-year professional career and remains fiercely dedicated to that cause. Jean believes everyone can live a life of their dreams, and she thoroughly enjoys helping them tap into that potential!  Jess is often asked, what sets people apart? What makes certain people so successful? Jess and Jean know that it all comes down to their beliefs. Jess asks Jean if she could talk a little bit about clearing limiting beliefs! Limiting beliefs are a huge part of Jean’s work. Jean knows that we subscribe to these beliefs long before we know that we subscribe to them. A lot of our beliefs are tucked away and hidden in our subconscious mind. People that are having challenges and struggles in life can always find some limiting beliefs that are preventing them from living a life full of ease.  Jean explains that limiting beliefs create an obstacle that says “You don’t deserve this, this won’t work for you.” There’s some underlying cause of that. But what is so cool about it is that when we can see those things, we can choose something different for ourselves. Once we unearth those limiting beliefs we can easily unpack it and create an improved way of living! Jean recommends that we take control of our beliefs and thoughts. When you think about your beliefs or thoughts, it evokes an emotion. How you feel creates your energy body. Jean’s work is all about energy, and she has seen how limiting beliefs show up as energetic congestion. People have trouble moving through their old belief systems because it’s part of their energy.  Once people clear that energy body they don’t have as much struggle with changing. Thoughts create emotions, emotions create energy. Once you clear that, you have a path to choose more easily for yourself! Jess remarks that energy and beliefs can seem so abstract. Jess asks Jean, “Do you have any actionable tips that people can use?” First, Jean recommends that you recognize that you’re not in a place that you want to be. If you are in a state of suffering, worrying, etc you’re working through a limiting belief. Awareness that this is going on and the wisdom that it doesn’t have to be is extremely important. When you know it, you can see it, and you can start to unpack it. Awareness is key. Jean then explains that intention is a powerful assistant for us. We’re suffering and we don’t want to anymore, so we choose not to. You need to start to feel into what you would prefer to feel instead. As humans, we tend to find all the evidence of why things can’t work. We get caught up in the hows, the whys, and the what-ifs. That stops forward movement.  If we can stunt our over-excessive thinking, we can feel into what feels right and true to us. Jean asks that we tune into our authentic source. We have ease, and we have abundance. We have everything we need already within us.  The only thing that keeps us from those things is the belief that we don’t have them. Jean tells her clients to silence the lies and limitations and feel into what they want to be feeling. This will change your energy and change your vibration. If you’re vibrating at a place of fear and worry, then you’re cultivating and creating more of that in your life experience. So if you can stunt that, and think “I’m going to choose to not feel that way” you will see the results you want to see. Jean teaches that we can change our thoughts and our feelings instantaneously. The outcome of that might take a little time but if we have patience knowing that we changed our thoughts and emotions, the rest is coming. We just need to be patient and wait to see the results of that. Jess knows that changing thoughts is easier said than done. There’s always an old version of us that tries to pull us back into the fear and lack mentality. Jess asks Jean if she has tools that can help us quiet that fear side of the brain and focus more on the future? Jean responds that it’s tapping into what we want. Too many people focus on what we don’t want. It’s so important to take a step further and think about what we want. Until we know what we want, we have a harder time moving in that direction.  So Jean asks that we get clear on where we want to go. What happens with fear is, it ignites the nervous system and we stay in a contracted state. Jean reads emotional energy, so she can see exactly what is happening in someone’s energy field. Jean and her clients start to move through what’s going on in their energy field, and it gives the clients the experience to feel things differently.  Jean thinks that meditation is an effective tool. She teaches people how to get into their own inner worlds. If you can understand what’s happening inside yourself, you can make changes. People try to make changes externally but Jean emphasizes that change will not happen there. Change has to happen within. The more you understand yourself and what’s going on inside, the easier you can make change.  The other important part of this change is consistency. Jean recommends that we take one thing and work on that one thing. Dedication and consistency to moving in that direction will pay off very quickly. Jean was feeling overwhelmed when her daughters were very young, and she felt that she didn’t have enough time. She said to herself, “I am creating this. I have plenty of time.”  She felt into that and very soon after, she was getting everything done that she needed to get done with time leftover! If she had only sprinkled that in, it would have taken longer. She had to consistently give that one thought and feeling a lot of time and energy to make it happen quickly. Jean teaches to focus on one thing that is very important to you and dedicate some effort in that direction.  You will be surprised at how quickly things can shift for you.  Jess asks, “What changes can people expect when they are diving into this inner work?” Jean explains that the old ways of deep transformational work used to be a purge. We now don’t have to walk through the trauma to heal it. She is a huge advocate of energy clearing. When we clear our energy, all the emotions that were attached to our past trauma flow out as well. We don’t need to do talk therapy and get into all the trauma, the hurt, and the pain. We can remove the energy. The emotions around it become neutralized. What used to take months or years to heal, we can do much more efficiently.  The awareness of something can radically shift the energy around it. Jean notes that it’s so important to set intentions and recognize what you want. It starts offsetting all the old energy and trauma. Energy clearing accelerates the process. It doesn’t have to be all the old trauma purging, it can be much happier. Jean laughs with her clients all the time! Laughter can be just as powerful as a cathartic cry.  You can connect with Jean at jeanatman.com and check out her free training about how to stop sabotaging beliefs from sabotaging your future!

On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess got to speak with Interview Connections Client Hilary DeCesare about relaunching yourself! Hilary DeCesare is an award-winning entrepreneur, host of The Silver Lined ReLaunch, and is featured on many major networks including ABC's The Secret Millionaire. Hilary just launched the much-awaited 6-month business program The Fired Up Entrepreneur from The ReLaunch Co. This business program helps female entrepreneurs looking to launch or relaunch their business in 2021 take the right steps, in the right order, towards lasting business success. The program stands out because it not only takes away the confusion and overwhelm on where to start, and how to start but outlines what actually works or is not working for female entrepreneurs in the changing business landscape. It's ideal for those that have a well-formed business idea or are tired of the one-win here and there approach or handful of fast fails that's keeping their already existing business small.  Hilary specializes in launching or relaunching businesses by giving the proven foundational elements and steps needed when navigating the start to finish of building a business according to her Make, Grow, Keep Method. Hilary firmly believes "Now is your time", and partners with women that are ready to go all in and hit the reset button. This starts with covering the 6 main pillars in her program: Clarity, mindset, time management, marketing, sales, and leadership.  She saw a need to quiet the white noise in the business space that seemed to only cater to those that wanted to tell how, and created the program to show how to give any female entrepreneur the fast-pass to launching and relaunching a business saving them time, energy, and wasted money. The ReLaunch Co. takes away the overwhelm and gives the simple A-Z steps to women entrepreneurs bridging the heart to the head to one's higher self, so that not only can they have success in their business, but also have a lifestyle filled with possibilities inside the acclaimed new program The Fired Up Entrepreneur. Hilary is incredibly passionate about helping people in midlife. Jess asks, “Where does that passion come from? What was the moment where you said my purpose is to help people relaunch midlife?” Hilary explains that midlife has become a massive area. It can be anywhere from age 35 to 55. She hasn’t talked to anyone who isn’t going through some kind of relaunch right now. People ranging from college graduates to 60-70-year-olds are realizing they aren’t where they want to be. A lot of people feel as if they need to love their lives, love their jobs, and the reality is that they’re not even at the like stage. They keep it to themselves and they don’t share that with others because there are a lot of feelings of guilt and shame associated with not completely loving your life. This kind of midlife identity crisis can happen at any age. What Hilary realized is, we all are looking on the outside asking ourselves, “How can I get happier? What's wrong with me? What can I do?” We all are searching for the silver bullet. “If I find the right guy or, if I get the right job” etc, then we think that we will be happy. That feeling is only fleeting - that man or that job is not going to give you what you need for long-term happiness. Hilary’s ReLaunch program works because it takes you through a process. Her program is not a “take a pill and everything is better” type of program. It is built on transitions that lead to transformations. Hilary reminds us that we can’t look back on the things that have happened to us and ignore the silver linings that got us to where we are. After 100+ interviews on Hilary’s podcast, there hasn’t been one person who she’s interviewed that would change some of the most horrific relaunches and transitions they’ve been through because it was those transitions that got them to where they are now. They are where they are because of what they’ve been through, not in spite of it. If you’re going through a transition right now, it’s so important to hear Hilary’s messages. She is so passionate about helping people to understand how they can relaunch themselves and find the silver lining of their obstacles.  Hilary has seen incredible success, but it’s the hardships she’s endured that really help inspire people. Her failures have brought her to be a better coach, better business leader, and have helped her to share more and teach more. At one time, Hilary was working with an online security company focused on children's safety online, and this company’s mission was very close to her heart. Hilary was fundraising for this company and was pitching the product on a very large stage in front of a crowd. She had a 103 fever and felt like it was a total bust. After she got off stage, her phone rang and a man said he could help her raise two million dollars for that company. Hilary was amazed. The man wanted her to fly to New York to meet up with his business partner. Immediately upon meeting him, Hilary had the intuition that this man was not good. She ignored her intuition, sat, and listened. Hilary decided she couldn’t work with him.  Eventually, after going back and forth, she did end up having to work with that man. Her gut told her that it was not a good idea, but she continued to ignore it. Five years later, the entire company just combusted. The day it was all done, it was found out that the man was being investigated for a Ponzi scheme, and went to federal prison for 3 years.  Hilary asked herself, “How do I relaunch out of this? I’ve been coaching people running other businesses. How do I become the entrepreneur of me?” Hilary began to still do what she knew to be true about business but she allowed for that higher self to come in. She allowed for that emotional connection of the heart. Hilary uses a 3H model: the heart to the head to the higher self.  Hilary knows that if you’re not leaning into all three of those areas,  you’re never gonna scale the way you want because you are not where you should be. You’re not in that place that you know you’re supposed to be. Would Hilary go back and change anything? No, she would do it all over again.  Until you start knowing what you don’t know, that’s when things really start to happen. You reach a point like, “Why am I not happy? Why am I not able to create more wealth or freedom for myself?” For people going through a relaunch and they’re coming up against fear and breakdowns. Jess asks Hilary if she can speak to the importance of feeling those emotions? Our world is starting to value emotional intelligence in a way that it never has before. Emotions are no longer being viewed as weaknesses. Hilary used to work in corporate where it wasn't okay to be emotional. You had to show up very masculine every day. There’s so much going on in that resistance to feeling, feeling like you have to be happy, or you have to be fearless. You have to feel the fear to get on the other side of it. Hilary recommends that we ask ourselves, “Is it showing up in my body?” Our bodies give us every indication - and yet we often ignore it. When you realize that your body is really telling you something and you ignore it, that’s when things start to build up.  Hilary asks us to think about instead of pushing it off, ignoring it, and putting walls up, you instead think about why am I having that feeling in my chest? Why is it that I'm uncomfortable right now? Take a pause, because your higher-self intuition is literally trying to get to your head, and trying to give you some really important information. Try and listen to it.  She explains that so often we are being given a signal, and our bodies are telling us something. If we can acknowledge that something is going on, we’ll build this muscle. That’s when we become powerful and we really can move forward!  People tend to ignore these signals because they just don’t really want to deal with them. But Hilary explains that they’ll just keep showing up somehow. Hilary calls them BUGS: Beliefs Under Ground Surfacing. At night you see that one ant on your kitchen counter, and you kill it. Then when you wake up the next morning you see hundreds of ants because you didn’t really deal with it! We keep pushing down our BUGS and then all of a sudden these limiting beliefs end up just saying, “I’m tired of knocking, you’re not opening the door. I’m gonna blow your door off!” That’s when you’re in that state of crisis. But you don’t have to be there! You can instead be in a state of relaunch which is going to take you out of crisis mode and get you on that path to get you to your next chapter. You can connect with Hilary at www.therelaunchco.com!

On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess sat down with Gabrielle Dolan to talk about the importance of storytelling on podcasts. Gabrielle can tell you a story or two. In fact, it was while working in senior leadership roles in corporate Australia she realized the power of storytelling in effective business communication. She is now a highly sought-after international keynote speaker and educator.  Her impressive client list includes VISA, EY, Amazon, Vodafone, and the Obama Foundation, to name drop a few ...and she got to meet Barack Obama while undertaking that work. Gabrielle holds a master’s degree in Management and Leadership and has studied at Harvard. She is the best-selling author of several books including Real Communication: How To Be You and Lead True, a finalist in the Australian Business Leadership Book Awards for 2019.  Plus, Stories for Work: The Essential Guide to Business Storytelling (2017), which reached number one in Australia’s best-selling business books. Her latest book Magnetic Stories: Connect with Customers and Engage Employees with Brand Storytelling is due to be published in March 2021. She is the founder of Jargon Free Fridays. (Don’t ever say the word ‘pivot’ to her unless you are talking about basketball.) In 2020, her dedication to the industry was recognized when she was awarded Communicator of the Year by IABC Asia Pacific. She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, Steve, and two daughters, Alex and Jess. Jess and Gabrielle are big believers that storytelling is an incredibly important skill to have as a podcast guest. Jess asks Gabrielle, “What are the components of an effective story?” It may seem obvious, but Gabrielle emphasizes that stories really need a beginning, a middle, and an end. In business, it’s gotta be succinct. You really don’t want to be sharing a 5 or 10-minute story. Your story should be 1 or 2 minutes and be very specific. Being specific helps people visualize something, and helps the listeners feel something. And ultimately that’s what a story does, it taps into emotion.  Jess knows that facts tell but stories sell. Jess was recently coaching someone in the Interview Connections community and asked them to practice telling a story. Jess realized that their story wasn’t dropping people into the moment.  How do you start a story in a way that has people really engaged? Gabrielle teaches that the worst way to start a story is to tell people, “Let me tell you a story.” People are hardwired to listen to stories, but in a business setting when someone says “Let me tell you a story” the reaction is going to be something along the lines of, “Oh no, this is going to take forever.”  The most effective way to start a story is with time and place. There are an infinite amount of variations of time and place so you can really make it your own every time. If you start with the time and place, people are now set up to listen to you differently.  In a business setting, where things can often be all about data and facts and figures, and someone says “You know that reminds me of the time I went camping with my friends and...” There’s a pattern interruption that’s going to make people want to pay attention. Jess asks, “How do you end the story?” Gabrielle knows that the ending is the hardest part. You don’t want to be ending your story with “The moral of the story is.” In a business setting, you want to be linking it back to the business message without it being directive. You could say something like, “The reason I’m sharing this with you is that it reminds me of what we’re going through right now, and imagine what we could achieve if we all…” There you can link your story back to the business.  Gabrielle reminds us that you don’t want to be going on and on and on. That’s the biggest mistake people make! Gabrielle notices that people sometimes keep reiterating the point over and over.  Once you’ve finished a story, it’s so important to always pause. Remember to stop talking for one or two seconds because that’s the real power of the story. That’s the moment where the listeners are really taking it in. But as humans, we generally don't like pauses so we tend to just keep talking. Why do you think it’s hard for people to pause? Gabrielle thinks that we just get really uncomfortable with the pause. Sometimes at the end of the story when people pause, the speaker might think “Why is everyone quiet? Maybe they didn’t get it.” But Gabrielle reminds us that people are just processing, and that pause is incredibly important. Jess wants to know, how do you start building up this arsenal of stories that you share? Gabrielle recommends that you don’t start with the stories at all. Instead, start with the messaging that you want to communicate. Ask yourself, what is it that you want to communicate? What are you trying to communicate on the podcast or interview or speech? You need to be really, really clear on what messages you want to communicate.  Once you are clear on the messages, then you can ask yourself, “What are the stories that I can share?” Gabrielle recommends that you should think of two different types of stories. The first is your own personal stories. Ask yourself, why are you passionate about what you’re doing? In most cases, that’s starting from a personal value that you have.  The second kind of story you can tell would be work or business-related story. Either way, you need to be clear on the message you want to get across. When thinking of your messaging, constantly ask yourself what story could I share to illustrate this? People sometimes think that their stories aren't interesting and that people won’t care, but Gabrielle wants you to know that your stories are interesting! Telling stories creates a human connection.  Someone doing a podcast interview is clearly passionate about what they’re doing, and they know what they’re talking about. That passion started from somewhere, so ask yourself, where did that start? Then you can tap into that. Be prepared to share those stories because they show your passion and credibility! Gabrielle has worked with some huge names, like Amazon and VISA. Jess asks what she’s learned from her experiences working with such large companies? What Gabrielle has found is that the vast majority of corporate leaders really want to do a good job. Those leaders really want to lead well and they want to communicate well. They’re human just like everyone else and they need to learn those skills. What Gabrielle has been surprised about is that very senior leaders still experience impostor syndrome and have said things like, “I don’t have the courage to do this, I have self-doubt.”  Jess asks Gabrielle why she has decided to start podcast guesting? What drew her to be a speaker on podcasts? Gabrielle released a book right at the start of lockdown, and she had done a few podcast interviews before. Since she couldn’t travel to promote her book, she decided to start speaking on podcasts as a different way to build momentum around the book.  Gabrielle loves working in crowds! She runs a half-day virtual workshop, she works with major companies, she runs storytelling workshops and presenting with impact workshops. Gabrielle has also written six books! Ultimately, Gabrielle helps people hone their storytelling skills.  You can read Gabrielle’s newest book is Magnetic Stories: Connect with Customers and Engage Employees with Brand Storytelling! You can connect with Gabrielle at Gabrielledolan.com and get a free 7 Day Storytelling Starter Kit right here!

On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess gets the chance to talk with Interview Connections client Spencer Snakard about confronting visibility blocks! Spencer Snakard is an executive transformation coach, trainer, and speaker. She works with visionary entrepreneurs and transformational leaders who are on a mission to make a major impact, helping them to break through barriers to their next level of success while loving life every step of the way, and without giving up what matters most to them. She has trained and coached in personal and professional development for nearly 25 years. Her transformative programs cause profound and lasting shifts in participants' lives by getting to the heart of what drives us, what holds us back, and what it takes to be truly fulfilled as spiritual beings having a human experience.  Jess asks Spencer, “What are people confronted with when they get visible consistently?” “Sheer terror, my friend.” Spencer explains that a lot of fear is at play when you become visible. We’ve all witnessed people getting torn down when they put themselves out there. Spencer knows that it’s a practice. You have to start getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Every time we put ourselves out there we’re stepping into this bigger audience, a bigger platform, and a bigger way of being seen. You will be facing and confronting fear when you grow and that’s just part of the process. Jess wants to know, what is the fear that people are confronting? That fear is unique for everyone. Spencer talks about the fears of looking bad, saying something wrong, and the feeling of being out of control. When we become visible, we’re giving up a perceived sense of control. Once we put ourselves outside of our bubble, we’re exposing ourselves to a lack of control.  As you get visible you start to think, “What do people think of me?" A difficult block that people run into when they’re becoming visible is comparison. “Comparisonitis” is an extremely human thing that we all fall victim to from time to time. Asking ourselves, do we measure up? And having that feeling of not being enough.  Spencer recommends being vigilant about your mental state and what kind of energy is coming into your space. If someone is disempowering you, let it go. Stop filling your mind, heart, and soul with it. It’s so important to pull away from comparisonitis and feeling like a fraud. When you’re visible, you can feel someone’s energy if they’re standing in their power, or if they’re not. Jess asks Spencer for some tips on how to show up powerfully for your podcast interviews? Spencer recommends first having some clarity around how you want to be showing up. You don’t want to be showing up in a fake way, by putting on a show and wearing a mask. Ask yourself, “Do I want to be showing up real, vulnerable, and authentically? What is my message and how am I bringing it?” Spencer loves being able to interview on podcasts because they are long-form and she can really have that space to go deep. Interviewing on podcasts can help you find some clarity around the question: what is the gist of what I want to say here? Both Spencer and Jess remind listeners that you know so much more than the people you’re sharing with and you really should own that. Spencer argues that you are everything you need to be. You are perfect for all that you are and for all that you are not. You are everything you need to be right now. Stand in that and own that. All those fears and doubts wither away when you own that. It’s a very different way of looking at being visible. Everything you need you already have, so own that! Spencer helps her clients to get to the root and the heart of their identity and who they think they are. Then, Spencer, has her clients ask, “Is it true?” Your thoughts are not facts. People tend to fall into these doom spirals of everything that could go wrong. Spencer asks, “What if we start going up spirals and think about what could go right?” Start looking at all the great things that could happen, the potential and possibilities.  We are so quick to look at negatives, what if we start celebrating successes and wins and what we’ve done great? Jess then asks Spencer about some breakthroughs she’s had in her business since becoming visible. Spencer realized that she needed to start tapping into her strengths. She was able to recognize that the execution of tasks is not one of her strengths. Spencer is all about vision and potential and possibility and relationship building, not about the carry-through of the nitty-gritty.  That’s part of why Spencer hired the team at Interview Connections to book her on podcasts. She knew that she needed to get on podcasts but she also knew that her strength is not in the carry through of that task. Spencer wanted to let someone else who is masterful at that task do it for her and she’ll just show up powerfully on podcasts. If you want to learn more about Spencer and how she helps entrepreneurs and leaders overcome mental blocks, you can head to transformingmillions.com for a free one-hour Masterclass!

Jess and Margy are the co-owners of Interview Connections, the first and leading podcast booking agency. This is the podcast to teach you how to transform your business and life with the power of visibility and strategy! On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess sits down with Lee Caraher to discuss women’s visibility!   Lee Caraher is the CEO of Double Forte, a national independent PR/Communications agency. An acclaimed communication strategist, Lee is known for her practical solutions to big problems.    Lee has a reputation for building cohesive, high producing teams who have fun together at the same time and has authored two top-selling books about positive and profitable work culture. She is a straight talker who doesn't hold too many punches, although she does her best to be pleasant about it. Her big laugh and sense of humor have gotten her out of a lot of trouble.    Her company works with some of the top consumer lifestyle, digital life, technology and wine brands in the country. Double Forte’s “Get on The Map” service is a foundation-building program that helps small businesses and individuals build authority and visibility to drive business success. Working with Lee and her senior team, small businesses and entrepreneurs learn how to “Show Up” and “Level Up” their footprints and influence to compete and grow their businesses.    Jess wants to see more women investing in their visibility.    In Jess’s experience, she finds that a lot of women feel like they’re not ready to increase their visibility. However, a lot of men have confidence at the start. Jess is passionate about seeing more women invest in their visibility, become featured in the media, and really become leaders of their industry.    Jess asks, what is Lee’s perspective of women being featured in the media?   Lee explains that 70% of people quoted in the media as experts are men. 90% of people quoted in the first page or first 15 minutes of the media are men. Those statistics are even worse for BIPOC women. These numbers don’t reflect the number of actual business experts either. There are much more women running businesses than you’d think based on the number of women business experts quoted in the media.   Lee argues that you have to put yourself out there as an expert, and you have to be found. You have to make it so easy to find you, so that a reporter who has 2 seconds to find an expert can find you really fast. In Lee's experience, companies tend to invest more in men. Business owners who are men invest more time, money, and effort in putting themselves forward as experts. Because of this, the media can find men much easier than they can find women. Reporters need to find people fast, and so if you're not able to be found quickly online you will not be found. This tends to diminish women in general, women’s authority in their categories, and women’s ability to implement their agenda.    Lee introduces us to a concept called the Say Gap. The Say Gap is the difference between how many times men are quoted versus the amount of times women are quoted in the media. 70% of quotes are from men, and only 30% of quotes are from women. That is a gap of 40%!   There are things you can do to be known as an expert. There is time you can invest. But the most important thing is to change your mindset over who is an expert!   Lee was deciding whether she wanted to continue writing her second book. One night she was on the couch thinking about it, and watching the 2016 presidential debate. This debate was the one when the former president called the former secretary of state a “nasty woman.” After that moment, Lee immediately knew she was finishing this book.    Lee knows that one thing she can do is make sure there is another book written by a woman CEO on an important topic. At that moment in time, Lee thought “I have something I can do to change this, to at least be another option in the world.”    In Lee’s experience, she finds that women owned businesses typically underinvest in themselves. Her company helps put small businesses, with a particular focus on women owned businesses, on the map. She helps businesses achieve their goals through communication, messaging, and confidence.   Jess asks Lee, why is it so important that more women are leading and being visible?   Lee reminds us of the assumption that you can’t be a wife, mom, and run a successful business. That assumption is completely false. We should be declaring ourselves as women business owners!    By declaring you’re a woman owned business, you’re not making the assumption that people don’t know it, you’re declaring the value of it. That declaration helps you in terms of authority and quotability. The more normal we make it to be women experts, the more normal we make it to be heard, the more normal we make it to be featured and visible in the media. It is not the norm to take our authority and declare our expertise. And that is doing ourselves and our industries a disservice! As women, we need to make sure the value that we have created is attributed to us.   Lee also discusses how podcasting can help anyone increase their visibility. By being a guest on podcasts, you’ll start appearing all over the internet. This increased findability drives authority through the roof. Lee recommends that you guest on as many podcasts as possible with several but specific topics. If you search Lee’s name, you will find hundreds of podcasts that she’s been on! These podcasts are easy to find and easy to reference. By increasing your visibility online, you’ll start being known as an expert in your industry!   You can find Lee at double-forte.com!

On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess and Margy discuss the power of masterminds. As a listener of Monetize the Mic, you probably know that Interview Connections helps their clients increase their visibility as a guest on podcasts. Every time a business experiences growth, there are new challenges to overcome. Clients of Interview Connections grow their business rapidly with their new visibility and find that they need more support in other aspects of business, like sales, marketing, pricing, etc.   That’s where Monetize the Mic Mastermind comes in!  This program is a group coaching and mastermind exclusively for Interview Connections clients. Jess and Margy have grown a successful, multi 7 figure business and they have a lot of experience with overcoming challenges in growing your business. They also have a great arsenal of coaches and mentors in their network that they’ve been bringing in as guest speakers for this mastermind! Jess and Margy realized that they wanted to offer up-leveled support for their clients long-term on their journey of growing and scaling their business. They know from experience that a mentor and a mastermind can help you avoid so many mistakes that Jess and Margy themselves made.  Having those mastermind mentors saves you so much time in the long run. A mastermind can also offer you a sense of community with people who are going through exactly what you are going through. You can connect and network with people who have goals that are as big as your goals! The masterminds that Jess and Margy have been a part of completely transformed their businesses and their lives. An important thing that both Jess and Margy have realized is that you have to change yourself to reach goals. Business is a vehicle to transformation. They find that it’s so invigorating to help their entrepreneur clients whose businesses they really believe in. Interview Connections clients embody authenticity, integrity, leadership, and kindness. Jess and Margy put their voices and their stories on podcasts to give them a stage, a spotlight, and visibility. Now, Jess and Margy are offering their clients support with their infrastructure so their business can scale and grow from all that visibility! How does this mastermind work with the consistent visibility and networking that clients get from podcast guesting? People tend to not realize just how important visibility is. Jess was recently talking to an entrepreneur who said that she had spent thousands of dollars on coaches and systems but she wasn’t getting any sales calls. Jess knew immediately it was because she wasn’t visible. Without actually getting on the court and putting the spotlight on you, you’re just not going to grow. If you don’t have the visibility, all of the marketing strategies and the coaching are pointless. Jess and Margy realized that when growing from 6 to 7 figures, the name of the game was lead generation. Where does lead gen come from? Visibility.  Visibility is the first and most important thing, but joining a mastermind can help amplify your visibility as well. After Jess joined a mastermind, she had a network. The people in that mastermind would offer support, they would share Jess’s podcast episodes, increasing Jess’s visibility.  The biggest gap that Jess has seen with entrepreneurs is between their true gift and vision for what they’re doing and why they’ve started this business, and then what they’re talking about on podcasts. When entrepreneurs have space on mastermind calls to go deep, they tend to find that the tactical topics that they talk about on podcasts are a lot different than what their vision is. Their vision is more about why they’re running this business and what their gift really is. Masterminds allow people space to infuse this vision into their podcast interviews. Once that vision becomes part of your podcast interview, that’s when there’s magic created. Listeners are so attracted to you and that energy. Why is it so hard for people to go deep and tap into their inner vision?  When you go deep, that’s where you see the good, the bad, and the ugly. The surface level is all about looking good: “I’m an expert and I have a successful business.” When you go deep, that’s when you see the insecurities come out. Often there will be some doubts about worthiness, and that’s uncomfortable to face. We don’t want to admit that. You have to go through that muck and clean it up for you to be authentic. When there is inauthenticity, that will come through in your energy and people will not be attracted to that. It will come through in your messaging, in your body language, and even in your pricing. What is the structure of the mastermind? Every Wednesday, there is a group coaching call. Jess and Margy alternate between trainings and implementation. They strongly believe in focusing on both vision and implementation. Some masterminds are all about the vision but there’s no space for implementation.  Every other Wednesday, you’re held accountable to implementing what you’ve learned the week before. Every other Thursday, they host a mastermind call where you can have a hot seat coaching session and share what’s going on in your business. Plus, there’s a private Facebook community for you to connect and network with other amazing entrepreneurs who are reaching for big goals. If you’re interested in joining the Monetize the Mic Mastermind, send Jessica an email at jessica@interviewconnections.com and she’ll hop on a call and talk to you about the mastermind! This Mastermind is for Interview Connections clients only. If you’re not a client, apply for a consult call at interviewconnections.com/apply so you can get in!

On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess and Margy talk about the why behind setting high goals. At Interview Connections, Jess and Margy love to set crazy high goals and go for them. Something they like to acknowledge is that their goals a few years ago seemed incredibly high, and now those same goals seem so small! Compare your goals now to your goals two years ago and you’ll see how much your business has grown. When talking about setting high goals, Jess remembers a specific moment after attending a Landmark course. She was walking back from the hotel to the seminar and had an amazing lightbulb moment. Jess started opening herself up to new possibilities and increased her goal of what was possible.  Margy has always been the one to set the really, really high goals. Jess tends to set lower goals, and they usually end in the middle of those two goalposts. Sometimes when business owners and entrepreneurs set high goals for their team, they’ll see that their team feels triggered by these expectations. It’s important to remember that your team is a mirror of you. Look at what exactly gets triggered with your team when you set high goals. Triggers are necessary. They are what you come up against with high goals. The day after Interview Connections launched, Jess was working on closing spillover sales. Margy asked Jess “How many sales are you closing?” Jess responded that she was going to close three sales. Margy said, “How about six?” That moment was so triggering for Jess. Margy was telling Jess that she can do more than that. But, what Jess heard was, “You didn't do enough.” Jess sees this trigger in her team as well as in herself.  Jess and Margy have experienced a drive to hold people accountable but also a fear of triggering them. What it takes to get your business to 2.5 million, versus what it takes to get to 10 million is huge. Margy’s unwillingness to be direct with people and holding them accountable was holding her back. Jess and Margy couldn’t get to 10 million if either of them were holding back on their gifts and who they really are. Margy felt like she was holding back on her aggressive vision casting for high goals. Those high goals seemed like they were a lot to ask, but they would never happen if they didn’t set those goals. Jess feels like she wants someone to be accountable to as she reaches for these big goals. Margy helps Jess stay accountable to those goals!  For Jess and Margy, it’s been interesting to see when they’re being their most powerful selves, and being their possibility versus reverting back to their small selves with triggers. The reason Margy loves giant goals is that they require so much transformation. As their goals got bigger, they required new teams and new systems. Every new level you hit, you have these new opportunities.  When someone holds us accountable to the person they know we can be, it can feel like they’re being mean, or like they’re withholding love and connection. That’s when triggers happen - tantrums, shutting down - you feel that child start to kick up. Whatever those sirens are that your inner child sets off when you feel like you need that love and connection, that’s what comes up when you go for these high goals. It’s not all being badass when you level up in business. There’s triggers, there’s crying. You’re going to confront things that are dormant that you haven’t dealt with before that could go really far back. If you are going for a high goal and it’s a shitshow, that’s good news! That means you’re on track. Going super deep is where the breakthroughs are. When you work through your own triggers, you can help others work through them as well!

On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess had the chance to talk with Interview Connections client Jennifer Chapman about work-life balance as a leader! Jennifer used to be a workaholic, known as the go-to person for getting things done and managing the most difficult customers or clients at a Fortune 500 consulting firm. She thrived on challenging situations and proving to others that she was invincible. But when her mental and physical health began to take a hit, she began a journey to create a work and personal life that aligned with what she most valued and wanted most.  Now she has created and has the job she wants, an independent confidence from within, and the ability to bring her authentic self into everything she does at work. She’s more successful—in terms of happiness, financial security, and her ability to help others—than she’s ever been.  Jennifer is an expert leadership coach who works with clients who want to be more confident, more authentic, and more successful. She especially enjoys helping leaders who have been promoted through functional expertise embrace their roles as people managers. Jess asks, with everything Jennifer has going on, how does she find time to relax? What’s her secret?  Jennifer admits that it’s a struggle - it’s a practice. Sometimes she starts to feel like she is invincible and she can do it all and then her body reminds her that she’s not. Mother’s Day is a great example. Despite the well wishes of Mother’s Day, that day can often be more stressful than relaxing for mothers. This year, Jennifer wanted to make it the day she wanted it to be.  So she planned a Mother’s Day party. She invited 6 friends, they all had a great dinner, and Jennifer hired two massage therapists and everyone got massages. Afterward, they had a gift exchange and topped off the night with Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Jennifer and her friends had such a great time, they’re already planning one for the weekend after school starts, which is another crazy time for parents.  Jennifer has to plan things in order to achieve work-life balance. She has a super supportive husband but Jennifer realized that she just needs to ask sometimes even though it can be hard to ask. Jennifer realized that you can really take ownership by knowing that you can have what you want by making the time and planning for it. Jessica agrees that as mothers, it’s not that our spouses aren’t okay with us taking time for ourselves - it’s that we ourselves have a hard time. Jennifer recommends to flip it around and ask yourself, “What advice would I give to my friend?” People ask Jennifer all the time, “Do you coach yourself since you’re a coach?” Yes, all the time, Jennifer says! She asks herself, “If I were my client, what would I be saying to myself right now? How would I be comforting my friend?” Like many women, Jennifer is a lot kinder to her friends than she is to herself.  Jessica wants to know, why is STEM in the industry that Jennifer specializes in? Why does she feel called to support them in their leadership? Jennifer always felt like she got along with people in the STEM field. Those people tend to be very task-focused and very logical. She feels different from a lot of coaches, who are more interested in the people-side and gravitate toward people in those industries. Jennifer discovered she has a gift working with task-oriented and focused people. She thought, why not specialize in it.  Jennifer has found it incredibly rewarding. She works with type A personalities who want to get stuff done, and the people-side of things is an afterthought. Her clients typically reach a point where they realize that they are getting stagnant, and they won’t move up unless they figure out how to do the people-side of their business. A recent study showed that 78% of HR leaders said that they had become focused on finding technology employees with soft skills. The thing that is gonna differentiate you is “Can you work with people? Can you have difficult conversations? Do you know what to do when there’s conflict? Can you mentor effectively?” People Jennifer works with say, “I want to get better with this but I don't even know where to start.” Jess asks for some examples of soft skills that Jennifer helps her clients improve. One of the biggest skills Jennifer helps her clients with is how to get influence or how to get buy-in. She shares a story about how her husband noticed at his new job that a software that they were using was archaic. They had used it for a long time and loved it. Her husband noticed that it was inefficient, and they were doing double the work. At a meeting, her husband raised a hand and said “We need to do something about this system because it’s completely inefficient.” He met with stunned silence.  The people in the room were the ones who advocated for that software program in the first place. He said to Jennifer, “I don't know why they didn’t see that my way was better.” Jennifer helped him see that he just stood up in a room and basically called everyone there an idiot. He responded, “I am who I am, and I am direct.” Jennifer asks, “And how is that working out for you?” People say feelings shouldn’t matter but Jennifer insists that they do. The key is figuring out what issues are getting in the way of you getting what you want. Then you need to figure out how you can authentically develop those relationships with people, and build that trust so they will get on board and get excited about what you have in mind.  Jess asks, “What’s your process when you coach? How do you help them see the difference between their intent and their impact?” Jennifer has observed that a lot of task-focused people don’t have a lot of empathy. She explains that empathy isn’t letting someone cry on your shoulder. Empathy is the ability to step out of your own shoes and try on someone else’s shoes and see it from a different perspective. When you think about the best leaders, they’re the ones who can step into so many different shoes. They ask, “How is this going to impact everyone?” Empathy is a key attribute to success in any industry. Stop and think, “What is my objective? What am I trying to accomplish?” And then flip to being in their perspective. What are they trying to accomplish?  Sometimes when you think about it that way, you find out you’re aligned on the same thing. That’s when you can have a real conversation about how you can collaborate and work together so you both achieve what you both want.  Another piece of advice Jennifer has for our listeners is that your example speaks volumes. She would tell her team members that she wanted them to have work-life balance. Yet she was sending emails at 11:00pm, or working on a Saturday.  Actions speak louder than words. After Jennifer started modeling a better work-life balance and being more clear in her expectations, she noticed that her team did a much better job of maintaining their work schedules. When she made the well-being of her team a top priority, she saw that when she needed them, her team was there and came through for her.  You can connect with Jennifer at ambitionleadership.com! 

On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess sits down with Interview Connections client Shawna Schuh to discuss leadership blindspots! Shawna Schuh is an eccentric thought leader, a skilled executive leadership coach, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a lifetime adventurer. In addition to her hard-earned Master’s Certificate in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Shawna has three decades’ experience working closely with top organizations such as Nike, Columbia Sportswear, Fashion Group International, and the National Speakers Association.  She knows leaders thrive with an advocate who questions their thought process, and her unconventional perspective gives her some unexpected questions to ask. Shawna shares a unique perspective so that the information and ideas she promotes stick and work.  Jess asks, what are some of the blindspots that exist in leadership? Shawna begins by discussing one of the biggest blindspots that challenge leaders, which is relying on your team to tell you what’s wrong. Your team isn’t going to tell you what your leadership blindspots are because their job is on the line! A big mistake a leader can make is assuming that their team is 100% on board with every initiative in the company.  Another blindspot that she’s uncovered is that most leaders are just telling. Leaders will say to her, “Well, I told them this. I told them why.” But it’s not actually communication. Some leaders also sell ideas and initiatives, instead of really having a two-way conversation about it. Shawna also discusses that some leaders have a blindspot in allowing certain things. If a leader allows frequent bad behavior from an individual, it affects the entire team. She is thrilled to see that many leaders are educating themselves, talking to other leaders, and strategizing. Shawna emphasizes that leaders need to ask questions to become better leaders. She also notes that sometimes leaders know their values, but they don’t actually feel them. They’re not committed to them. Leaders need to absolutely commit to and feel their core values. Most leaders do not know what’s wrong with their business. They don’t have any idea of what’s being said or being done under them, even though they think they know. Jess asks Shawna, “When should leaders ask questions, what kind of questions, and with what context?” First, Shawna recommends that leaders figure out their intent. Shawna believes that a check-in is just an interruption. Leaders should ask themselves, “What am I trying to accomplish here?” She has had leaders come to her and say, “I do check-ins with all my people.” Shawna asks, “What if you stopped and said - ‘I’m calling you to find out what one good thing happened today already?’” You’re going to be asking them something they’re not used to giving. Another example might be, “Rate the meeting you just had with that client on a scale of 1 to 10. What could you have done to make it a 10?” Most leaders are checking in to make themselves feel better, but they might be triggering the team, or just interrupting them.  Jess asks Shawna to dig deeper about check-ins.  For Shawna, check-ins are about leaders feeling anxious that work isn't being done, or not being done well enough. Instead, she recommends having a pre-scheduled time to meet with a purpose. Instead of a check-in, maybe do a progress report: “What’s your progress? What’s preventing that progress? Tell me the process and share with me the steps you are taking.” The best leaders are the best questioners. Don’t ask, “What were you thinking? Why would you do it that way?”  “Why” questions are usually the poorest questions. That question doesn’t give you the answer that you want. Shawna asks, “What if you just shifted it to, how could I do that differently in the future?” You can connect with Shawna at Shawnaschuh.com and take a free quiz to uncover your leadership blindspots! 

On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess speaks with Interview Connections client Dr. L. Carol Scott about the bridge between personal and professional success! Women on the rise seek out Dr. L. Carol Scott and her “Seven Self-Aware Success Strategies” to help them remove invisible barriers, ignite self-confidence, and implement immediate action for their personal and professional evolution.  As a trauma-informed developmental psychologist, she shares how the first 2,500 days of our lives determine our skills for relationships—ALL our relationships…for the rest of our lives. She achieves her life's mission to improve the way we treat each  other, by teaching us what we have always wanted to know about  “what makes people tick.”  A TEDx speaker and author, Dr. Scott is also a nationally respected thought leader in early care and education. As a  keynoter, trainer, and coach, she supports teams and individuals,  anywhere that relationships are at the heart of success.  Her first book, Just Be Your S.E.L.F.--Your Guide to Improving  Any Relationship, provides the framework and the tools for  Development Do-Overs on your earliest years of life, for better relationships now, at home, and at work. She holds an MA degree in Early Childhood Education and a Ph.D. in Developmental and  Child Psychology, both from the University of Kansas. Jess wants to know, why are the first seven years so crucial to relationships? What is happening in those first seven years that is impacting us today? Dr. Scott explains that in those first seven years, we are being wired for life. We are born with a whole lot of loose neurons. There are billions of neurons floating around that are not connected. Our job over the first three years is to wire those together. The way those neurons get connected is how we process the world.  We are wiring our brains by experiencing the world at the rate of one million neurons per second, and 85% of the brain gets connected in the first three years of life! Jess then asks, what does self-awareness have to do with success?  Dr. Scott knows that success is all about relationships. If you’re going to do well with those important relationships, you have to be able to trust people. We, as humans, learned how to trust when we were 6 months old, and that affects us forever. When Dr. Scott works with adults, she has them look around at the trust in their lives. How is trust working for them or not working for them in the relationships that they have? She then uses that as her backward assessment to guess how things probably went for them. Dr. Scott helps them rewire that part of their brains.  Naturally, Jess wants to know - how do we rewire our brains? Dr. Scott explains that as infants, we know that trusting is about needing things. Infants learn to trust because they need fundamental caretaking. At that very basic level, if the infant learns that if they need something and nothing happens, that’s going to affect them. She wants people to unpack trust relative to needing things. They can work on looking at their needs. Generally speaking, we are often told that we have too many needs. Pretty early in life, we learn that needing something from someone else is to malfunction.  Dr. Scott knows that we need to rethink that. Adults can learn that needing things is a normal thing. After facing that, people can really look around and be honest about what needs are being met, and what needs aren’t.  We can identify our needs and we can identify people who can meet those needs who are in our lives. We can also identify people that we know who won’t meet that need. If someone doesn’t have the skill set to meet those needs, that doesn’t mean they cannot be in your life. You can teach them! People in your life want to help you but they might not know how - but they can learn. Something that Dr. Scott does not want you to forget is: we need to put more time and energy into fostering and building relationships. They’re living things and that need to be fed! Some people might be wondering, what does any of this have to do with success as an entrepreneur or business owner? Dr. Scott believes that it’s not possible to separate the personal from the professional. We cannot hope for professional success without personal success, they are completely intertwined.  Jess completely agrees. Vulnerability is the greatest gift you can give someone. Podcasting is an especially great medium because it’s a long-form platform where you can be vulnerable, share your story, and create those deep connections.  Jess also asks Dr. Scott, who typically works with you? Often Dr. Scott works with women around the age of 35. She works with people who thought they were ready to launch into the world, and manifest all their possibilities. She works with people who had recently made a big change that feels like freedom, and yet freedom isn't there. Something isn’t right. They want to rise to the mountaintop but it feels like they have chains on their ankles. Dr. Scott is the person who says, “I know where those chains come from, they come from the first seven years. Let me show you how to unlock them so you can rise.” Although Dr. Scott’s work resonates with a lot of women, she works with all gender identities. She helps you find success in the way you define your success. You can get to know Dr. L Carol Scott and start a relationship with her on Facebook!

On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess sits down with Interview Connections client and certified relationship coach, Roy Biancalana! Roy Biancalana is a nationally recognized expert in the field of attraction and conscious relationships. He is the author of three #1 best-selling books, the latest of which is Relationship Bootcamp: Hard-Core Training for Life, Love & the Pursuit of Intimacy. For the past 15 years, Roy has been supporting single people in the art of attracting healthy, sustainable, intimate relationships. His experience has taught him that getting in “relationship shape” is the key to attracting lasting love.  Jess first asks Roy, “What goes into being fit in a relationship?” Roy is the first to admit that he has made every mistake you can make. One of the biggest mistakes is to focus on strategy. People always ask Roy about the strategy of dating. Questions include, “Where do I go to meet someone? How do I find someone online? How do I approach someone? How do I flirt?” If you were going to run a marathon, you could ask questions about how to be successful in a marathon. You could focus on questions like “What should I eat that morning? When should I drink during the race?” You could ask all kinds of questions about what to do on the day of the race, the strategy. But no matter how great your strategy is, if you’re not in shape you’re never going to go the distance.  The biggest mistake people make is focusing on the dating strategy. What Roy has found is if you are not in great relationship shape, even if you have a great strategy, it’s not going to go the distance. The success of the relationship is more about your internal relationship health. You can never be in a relationship that’s healthier than you are. Roy likes to turn questions about “them” into questions about you. Instead of “Where can I find someone?” ask, “Am I ready to create something real? Do I have something blocking me? Do I have limiting beliefs? What might be going on inside of me that is either going to inhibit the evolution of this relationship?” Roy wants to reorient people toward looking at themselves, rather than looking for a person. Jess remarks that trust is one of the things that can hinder someone in a relationship. What does Roy tell people who have been hurt and betrayed and are having a difficult time trusting? Roy reminds us of the fitness metaphor he uses for relationships. He has identified seven important relationship “muscles.” These muscles need to be strong so we can have healthy relationships. Something that Roy recommends we ask ourselves, is “What muscles do I need to get stronger with?” One of the muscles that Roy talks about is your relationship to the past. Trust is really your relationship to the past. It’s important to ask, are you holding on to it or are you letting go of your past? Everyone to one degree or another has some baggage. What that does is, if it remains alive in us, makes it difficult to trust. It makes it difficult to meet the next person with an open and available heart. It makes it difficult to meet someone to get to know them.  Roy coaches his clients to understand the past, and then let go of it. It’s not about forgetting it, it’s about framing it, and making peace with it. It’s something that happened, not something that is happening! Walls will keep you safe, but they will keep you single.  Roy has identified three levels of trust. The first level is: I trust you. Your ability to trust is based on the other’s person’s character and behavior. You never can really feel secure if your trust is based on their behavior and character. Roy recommends reframing this trust to be, “My heart may get broken, but it will never break me. People are unpredictable. I don’t know what they’re going to do. I don't know what they are going to do, but no matter what, I’m okay. I’m going to learn from the experience.”  Now, your trust is based on something that you know that you can control. Then you can be normal, you don’t have to protect yourself. You can be free, relaxed, and authentic. That’s when you’re the most attractive! Roy wants listeners to make sure they do not get discouraged if they find out your muscles need some work! It is not only possible, but life-changing, when you start to train and strengthen your relationship muscles! You can connect with Roy and take his free relationship fitness quiz at Coachingwithroy.com!

On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess and Margy talk about the importance of content marketing. Jess and Margy agree that content marketing should be resources, information, and other content that provides value. Margy finds that she doesn’t identify with marketing. For her, it feels cold and it feels out of alignment. Margy comes from a place of always wanting to give valuable information and having important conversations.  If you feel like Margy does, her number one tip is to find what makes you different. Don’t just parrot what other people are saying in a crowded online space. It’s so powerful to hear someone saying something different in a sea of online noise.  When Jess and Margy coach their client, they really dig in on their client’s messaging. They focus on the client’s company vision, and how they can infuse that in their interviews. When that happens, their marketing and their content messaging is something that makes people listen.  People always ask Jess if content marketing should be paid or free. Jess feels that if it’s paid, it’s no longer content marketing. It becomes a product. The reason content marketing works so well is because it’s free and anyone can access it.  A lot of people will respond with something like, “I put a lot of work into my content, I want people to pay for it.” Jess reminds us of the power of reciprocity. If you put a lot of work into your content, your podcast, your launch, your videos, etc, people feel that gift that you’re giving to them. This will make people feel more likely to want to work with you! Nobody will want to pay for you until they’ve seen what you can do. And the best way for them to see what you can do is content marketing! You should also keep in mind that it’s strategic to create content marketing in multiple different ways because people learn in different ways. The number one content marketing strategy Jess and Margy recommend is, of course, podcasting. Podcasting is a great way to reuse content, increase visibility, and get in front of a trusting audience. Podcast guesting is easier to start with, rather than creating your own podcast and hosting. Guesting will get you out there. It gets you familiar with the space. It’s a really easy way to create a content machine with podcasting as the center of the wheel. From one podcast interview, you can create written blog posts, videos, audiograms, emails, etc. You can also accomplish this by hosting your own podcast, which is an amazing thing to do, but it can be overwhelming especially at first. Jess and Margy definitely recommend starting with guesting so you can get your feet wet in the podcasting community! The next content marketing tactic Jess and Margy discuss is videos! People love consuming content visually. There are so many ways you can utilize videos, whether it’s pre-recorded videos, Instagram reels, or Facebook lives. There is definitely a different energy with live videos when you have people interacting with you in real-time. In any video content marketing, hearing someone’s voice is a great way to connect with someone! Videos allow you to do that. A viewer will really get to see you, your body language, your voice inflections, and everything that makes you, you. Video can leave a lead feeling much more connected with you than other content marketing strategies. The final content marketing piece is written content. Jess could devote a whole episode about writing a book, and if that is something you’re interested in doing, a book can be a fantastic way to get your content out into the hands of your leads. Some people will gravitate toward books, especially if they feel like they need to take a break from screens. Other great written content includes LinkedIn articles, episode descriptions, and blog posts! Margy’s recommendation is don’t do nothing if you can’t do all of it. The most important thing is consistency. If you’re overwhelmed by all of these different strategies, just start with one! Entrepreneurs who are really good at content marketing know they are playing a long game. They do not expect to do one video and reap all the rewards of content marketing. When you really want to give value and when you understand that this is a long game, that is when you will see success.  Another recommendation from Jess and Margy is to block out time for content. Jess and Margy pick one day and plan their entire month’s content. Just start showing up and keep going. You’ll get better with consistency. You may feel like you’re screaming into the void but people are watching. A lot of people are lurkers. They just look, they don’t interact. Once they’re ready to buy, they’ll reach out. Margy herself is a lurker, so she can attest to that! Immature entrepreneurs give up if they don’t see success right away. Mature entrepreneurs are consistent. This is a long game, you have to keep going and be consistent. Jess reminds us that you can’t stop just because you don’t have “fans” yet!

Jess and Margy are the co-owners of Interview Connections, the first and leading podcast booking agency. This is the podcast to teach you how to transform your business and life with the power of visibility and strategy! On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess puts Margy in the guest spotlight to talk about Margy’s new podcast We Get It, Your Dad Died. Jess first asks Margy, why did you decide to start this podcast?In 2015, while Margy was living in Taiwan, she learned that her dad had died by suicide. As an only child, Margy was incredibly close with her parents and this was a life-shattering moment. Now, six years later, it still remains a horrible loss. However, Margy realizes that a lot of the things she has in her life she would not have if she hadn't been through such a challenging struggle. Margy started doing some research into high-achieving grievers and the relationship between loss and success. She wanted to start a show where she interviews high-achieving entrepreneurs who have suffered a serious loss. Margy wants to talk to them about what that experience was like, how it shaped them, and also what became possible in their life because of that loss. Margy wants to prove that there are ways to turn the setbacks into positives in our lives. A seed of her idea for this podcast came from Iconic, an Ali Brown event, in Miami on the beach, just days before lockdown in 2020. Margy started talking to a friend and fellow entrepreneur, Brandi Bernoskie, about the death of Brandi’s mom. She was really moved by Brandi’s story and felt like these conversations could be incredibly powerful on a podcast. Margy decided that her podcast would focus on interviewing 7-figure + entrepreneurs who have a story of loss that they are willing to share. Jess also wants to know, what was the process like of producing this podcast? Margy came up with the concept and she started posting in mastermind groups and the Interview Connections client network group to find people who would be interested in sharing their stories. She knew that she had entrepreneurial friends who were at this level who had incredible stories to share. The interviews gave the show the momentum that it needed. Margy just started recording the conversations and took it from there.  The next question Jess has for Margy is, who is your audience? Margy didn’t make this trying to please anyone in particular. Her goal was to share important and powerful conversations and to make a show that she herself loves. She feels like this podcast has a wide demographic. Margy’s hope is that this podcast will resonate with anyone who has experienced grief or loss. Secondly, Margy is interested in reaching entrepreneurs who are interested in how high-achievers approach setbacks. After giving interview after interview, Margy realized that her podcast gave a kind of blueprint for how to thrive through the most negative events. Finally, Jess asks, how do you monetize a show that is seemingly not related to your business? Margy explains that when you're a guest on podcasts, you're sharing your story and that is what is going to resonate with people. It’s not really an infomercial for your service or your product, you’re trying to get the listeners to resonate with you personally. All of the content that we create, when we genuinely want to be of service and do great work magnetizes clients to us no matter what industry we’re in! Search "We Get It Your Dad Died" wherever you listen to podcasts on April 29th to listen to the first season!

On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess sat down with Interview Connections client Heather Steinker to talk about leveraging Instagram! Following the crumbs in the chaos is a full-time job. As a busy mom of three, a wife to a traveling hubby, and keeping it weird in Austin, Texas, it’s safe to say that Heather’s life is far from boring. Running a household with three young kids takes strategy and a system to keep things moving, like a well-oiled machine.  After many moms came to her asking “How do you do it? I swear you have more time in the day than anyone else,” Heather wanted to show them the way! She created Chaos n’ Cookies to help busy mompreneurs stress less and save time through helpful tools and systems to increase productivity in their lives. Heather teaches her clients to be more efficient in their homes or running their businesses, working smarter and not harder. In addition to running her coaching business as CNC’s CEO, Heather is a certified coach for a premier virtual fitness and nutrition program helping others feel better while sustaining a healthy lifestyle. Heather gained 10+ years of experience as a Director of Marketing, building multiple court reporting companies.   Oh, and if she wasn’t busy enough, she maintains her own column called “How-to with Heather'' for a local neighborhood magazine, where she teaches her community fun hacks to be more self-sufficient with common household tasks. You can catch her weekly on her Chaos n’ Cookies Podcast, which ranked #80 in Parenting on the USA charts. Heather is helping mompreneurs chip away, one problem at a time. Social media and Instagram became a tool that Heather started to use when she became a wellness coach. Heather had a sales and marketing background, but when she went into the online space, she knew she had to start using Instagram. At first, Heather didn’t know anything about it! She sat down and decided to learn all the ins and outs of Instagram so she could use it well. Eventually, people started asking Heather for help with their own social media, so now Heather teaches mompreneurs and entrepreneurs how to best leverage social media, especially Instagram! Jess first asks Heather about Instagram reels. Reels are funny, entertaining, and can be of such great value to a business. How can entrepreneurs be using them? Instagram reels are king right now. When these platforms roll out something new, it’s like their new baby, and the algorithm really favors it. Heather explains that if you’re not using reels, you need to be. Heather knows that a lot of entrepreneurs feel intimidated by reels. She sees a lot of pushback because it can look goofy. Entrepreneurs will say, “That’s not me, I’m not going to do that.” But Heather explains that Instagram reels are getting pigeonholed. You don’t have to do goofy dances to leverage Instagram reels. As an entrepreneur, you could use reels to show a demo or tutorial that demonstrates your value! Heather goes on to explain the differences between stories, reels, and IGTV. Stories are 15-second clips that stay on Instagram for 24 hours. Stories are for your nurture sequences. They help nurture people who are already following you. Reels are between 15 and 30 seconds. Reels are more of a viral strategy to get new followers. Reels tend to convert people to become your followers. If your video is between 30 seconds - 1 minute, it goes on your grid. If it’s over 1 min, it will become an IGTV video. Reels are a strategy for video content between your stories and your grid. Jess then asks Heather what she can tell us about the algorithm. How do you get more of your followers to see your story? Heather emphasizes the importance of hashtags! You can use hashtags on both your grid posts as well as your stories. Hashtags will extend reach with your stories because hashtags are basically neon signs saying, “Look at me, check me out over here!” Hashtags don’t create engagement, but it gets people to your content. Content is what will get your followers to engage. Jess asks Heather, how do you choose what hashtags to use? Heather recommends searching a hashtag to see who is using it and get inspiration that way. Use ones that are specific to your brand. Then you’ll want to use ones that are specific to your niche. In addition, you’ll want to do a series of relevant hashtags just to the post itself.  You can add hashtags in the comments or in the post. If you have a really long post, you’ll need all that character space. If you don’t have space, add the hashtags to the comments. Other people put it in the comments to make it look cleaner. The other strategy of putting hashtags in the comments is that FB or IG doesn’t know it’s you, but it knows that you’re getting a comment. They see it as engagement. It gives it a little bit of a one-up! Heather reminds us that we have between 10 to 30 minutes to get some kind of impression or the algorithm is going to see it as boring and not continue to push it. It’s really important to get on and engage right away. Get the algorithm to notice! Finally, Jess wants to know the dos and don’ts for your Instagram profile! Heather’s first tip is, if your Instagram handle is your name, don’t put your name as the bolded type underneath the photo. We know it’s you by your handle! Put something else, like what you do, or what you’re known for.  You should answer some important questions in your bio, such as What’s your business? Who are you? What do you do? Who do you help? How do you help them? Heather’s last tip is to make sure that your bio has a great CTA! If you use a linktree or a website in your bio, make sure people know what they’ll get when they click that link! You can connect with Heather at her website chaosncookies.com or follow her on Instagram @chaosncookies! You can click the link in Heather’s bio for a free Lead & Social Tracker Sheet, among other amazing resources!

On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess has the opportunity to speak with Interview Connections client Tracy Litt about believing your worth. If Brene Brown and Tony Robbins had a baby, it would be Tracy Litt. Tracy Litt is a proven powerhouse of transformation. As a leadership expert, mindset coach, and spiritual advisor, she helps people across the globe to break the patterns that bind them so they can become the highest versions of themselves to create the businesses, relationships, and lives of their dreams. She does this through her powerful and practical process, The Choice Method, which elevates prosperity, fulfillment, and happiness to new and incredible heights.  Tracy is the celebrated author of Worthy Human, a book featured as a best-seller on Amazon and in major media outlets such as Thrive Global, Entrepreneur, Inc., and Fast Company. She has been praised for her outstanding TEDx talk and was recently awarded the Social Good Entrepreneur Women in Business Award in 2020. Her impact is undeniable, and her power is highly sought after for keynote presentations to leaders and entrepreneurs.  Tracy is leading a major movement in self-worth, empowerment, and wild success for visionary leaders. One by one, they are stepping into the reality of their highest selves. They are becoming extraordinary leaders in their vision. Jess asks Tracy about her concept of being a worthy human, and how we are our own problems and our own solutions. Ultimately, Tracy explains, you are the only block you will ever have. The reason that we struggle taking ownership and responsibility is that we aren’t willing to say “I am the problem and I am also the solution.” We are suffering from the lie of unworthiness. That lie is that you are only worth what you do. The fundamental truth is, your birthright is your enoughness! If you woke up today, you’re worthy. Tracy believes that when you decide that you’re worthy, what you desire is available to you because you can take the responsibility necessary to get out of your own way. Jess agrees and says that you have to believe in your heart and your gut that you are enough. Jess asks, what are some tips for people to really embrace the power of themselves? Tracy explains that it is your responsibility to know your worth. You are not broken, you don’t need to be fixed -- but you have wounds. it is your responsibility to heal those wounds so you can grow into your greatest potential. For Tracy’s clients, that is the first step in their worth work. To illustrate this in another way, Tracy says, “If I only love myself an inch worth, but my partner loves me four feet worth, it doesn’t matter how much love they give me, I can actually only absorb, believe, and let in that inch’s worth.” The next step on your worth work journey is to go back in time. Ask yourself, “When was the first time in your left that you felt worthless, unsafe, unseen, unheard?” Identify that, and go back into those moments. Tell yourself that truth. Then, construct a new belief system that begins with: I am enough. I am worthy. I always have been, I always will be. My worth is my birthright. It is not negotiable, it can never be influenced. For you to have a different result, you must change. For you to actualize every ounce of a vision that you desire, it lies in your ability to heal and transform and to become the version of yourself who lives in that vision! Tracy reminds us, you are not your mind, you are the director of your mind. Tracy and Jess then talk about forgiveness. Tracy explains that there is no forgiveness without rage. There is no forgiveness without letting out the suppressed emotion. But ultimately, forgiveness is a gift to yourself. When you don’t heal, your power is still with that other person at that age where you were wounded. It depletes you! You’re still giving your power away to that person. Finally, Tracy talks about the joy of knowing nothing. Let yourself absorb that, and then you can start doing the work. She recommends the shift to “I love not knowing what is going to happen next!” Then you’re open to seeing everything. That will clear away biases and assumptions that you’re constantly functioning in. If you want to connect with Tracy, head to whatwouldshedo.net for her free audio training!

Jess and Margy are the co-owners of Interview Connections, the first and leading podcast booking agency. This is the podcast to teach you how to transform your business and life with the power of visibility and strategy! On this episode of Monetize the Mic, Jess talks with Interview Connections Client Aimee LaLiberte about being future-focused! As the owner of My Virtual CFO, Aimee is a trusted profitability advisor to six and seven‐figure business owners who are tired of being behind in their books and are ready to uncover blind spots, course correct, and ultimately get more profitable. Aimee also is a certified life and money coach and works with business owners who seek greater confidence and unwavering drive to attract and build wealth in their businesses and lives. After working in non-profit and finance for over 16 years and helping more than 75 business owners since starting her own business, Aimee knows how important it is to have steadfast trust in the person looking after your books. Jess was immediately interested in Aimee’s ideas about the importance of separating your self-worth from your bottom line. In your business, when you create really incredible results, it’s easy to attach that to your self-worth. “I’m worthy because I’ve made such mind-blowing results in my business!” But Aimee warns that the opposite can happen too. When those amazing results aren’t achieved, it can turn into “I’m not worthy.” Aimee reminds us that we are inherently worthy! Regardless of our money or our results, we’re all worthy.  Aimee asks, “Why would you put your worth, that is just foundational as a human being anywhere other than at the foundation?” This completely resonates with Jess.  Jess recently had to do a lot of work disconnecting financial results in a launch from her own self-worth. Aimee explains that we want those good results to mean that we’re enough, but in fact, we’re always enough. Jess then asks, how does Aimee’s business as a virtual CFO work? Aimee realized she really enjoyed the organizing and bookkeeping aspects of running a business. While speaking on a panel, Aimee began to understand that because she is so future-focused, she is much more like a CFO than a bookkeeper. Once Aimee made that shift, things really started to change. The clients that Aimee was attracting really started to change as well. Her advice for business owners is, they should be spending money on outsourcing or hiring someone who is future-focused!  The money should be spent on someone who can show you how to get to that place you need to get to. That’s the skill that’s not as readily available in terms of what you can buy on the market. Jess wants to know, what are some of the biggest money mindset pitfalls that Aimee has seen? Aimee has seen a lot of mindset issues about debt and shame around spending money. The biggest mistake she has seen is that people think there’s a one size fits all approach to money. Aimee believes that this is not true at all! However, Aimee insists that you need a relationship with money. People tend to avoid their money and their relationship with money because they think it’s about their self-worth. Aimee wants us to ask ourselves, “How is my psychology around money affecting these decisions?” Jess asks Aimee about her experience working with Profit First. Aimee explains that Profit First is a cash flow management tool that sits on top of your bookkeeping system. It’s essentially the creation of bank accounts that are intended for certain places so you can allocate money to specific purposes. These include income, operating expenses, owner’s pay, tax, and profit.  Those accounts create smaller plates of money, it allows and embraces the notion of restraint, which is what business owners need. If business owners see all this money, they think they have all this money available to them. But then they are confronted with a tax bill that they didn’t save for, or they want to hire someone but they don’t have the funds available to them. Profit First drives scalability as well as profitability in businesses. This method is ideal for being future-focused in your business when it comes to your finances! You can connect with Aimee in her Facebook Community, Confident Money Matters, where you’ll be supported in achieving your money goals! 

We wanted to let all of our amazing listeners and subscribers know that we are going to be changing the name of this podcast. Starting in April, we will be called Monetize the Mic! Our focus truly is on the strategies behind monetizing your visibility on podcasts. We’ve had this show since 2014. We have been called Rhodes to Success, Interview Connections, and Rock the Podcast. We make those shifts because our business has evolved. Right now, we are focusing so much on monetizing your visibility, not just getting booked and being a great guest. We can’t wait for all the episodes ahead under our brand new name Monetize the Mic and we are so thankful for all of our loyal listeners and supporters!

Jess and Margy are the co-owners of Interview Connections, the first and leading podcast booking agency. This is the podcast where you will learn all about podcast guesting and how to leverage podcast interviews to grow your brand awareness. On today’s episode of Rock the Podcast, Margy talked with Interview Connections client, Stacy Bahrenfuss! Stacy is the owner of a 7-figure real estate company, Founder of The Truth Teachers™ and Ultimate Break-through Accelerator™. Her customized results-oriented approach to personal development is reflective in her unmatched intuitive 1:1 consulting, intimate group coaching, and exclusive certification program.  She began her entrepreneurial journey in the real estate industry at the early age of 19, sustained through the housing crisis of 2007-2010, and continued to build the business to be a 7-figure operation and one of the top real estate teams in the state of Idaho. In 2018 she personally funded and sold a development project consisting of 11 upper-tier luxury homes while still operating her real estate team. Her husband runs the operations of the real estate team today, while Stacy resides in an Advisory role.  Now, along with her certified consultants known as The Truth Teachers™ Stacy is on a mission to smash the shackles of suffering by shining a light on the truth so that her clients can achieve everything they want. Her programs serve as a catalyst for deep inner transformation to create lasting whole life success, and how to do it all from a limitless, beautiful inner state. One day while Margy and Stacy were chatting, Margy helped Stacy realize that she went from helping people find their homes, to helping women find their internal homes. Stacy is also kind of a  utility company, helping them turn on all their powers! She is driven to help people on her team connect to their power. Stacy likens this to identifying leaks in the boat and then sealing those leaks. All of the power that is being drained in the boat can be redirected to build 8+ figure businesses! Since June, that is where Stacy has really been refocusing her work. While Margy was looking to buy a house, Stacy was able to offer Margy an incredible mindset shift that changed everything. In her house-shopping experience, Margy found it to be incredibly emotionally draining. Margy had made an offer on a house that she felt very confident about, and the offer was rejected. It was really a crushing blow for Margy, who had already been imagining the house as her own. Soon after, Margy found another house and put in another offer. She was talking to Stacy about it and said, “I hope this offer is good enough to win.” Stacy then said to Margy, “What about focusing on the highest and best good for everyone?” Stacy’s piece of wisdom was, what if you shifted that perspective of winning to “My offer is good enough.” What if you consider that it be for the best for everyone involved. Focus on that win for you, win for the seller, and win for the collective. Margy was having these constrictive and isolating feelings associated with a winning and losing mentality. Her mindset went from “I don’t want to make my offer too high” to “I want the sellers to be psyched about this offer too. I want the realtors to be psyched about this commission. I want to be so happy.” That shift to considering everyone involved not only made Margy feel a lot better, but her offer was also accepted. Once you operate in the space of the highest and best good of everyone involved, you start to play on a different level completely. A ripple effect is created. That constricting piece, that separation can hold us back subconsciously. Once you move away from constriction and fear, you’ll move to possibility, abundance, and expansion. Margy also brings up that mindset plays a huge role in the success that a guest has on a podcast in terms of their ROI. Stacy agrees: you’re either in contribution, or you’re in fear and in lack. She explains that you have a choice and you can make it in the moment. The choice is tied into two internal states that we all have access to, fear and love. A beautiful state or a suffering state. For podcast guests, Stacy recommends making that shift and setting that intention for who you want to be. Set the intention for how you want to show up and the internal energy that you want to bring to the table. That mindset shift can be transforming for both the host and the audience! You can connect with Stacy at thetruthteachers.com!

On today’s episode of Rock the Podcast, Jess and Margy talk about top-line revenue and profit! When Margy came on as co-owner in 2018, her number one goal was to grow the top line revenue of Interview Connections to 7 figures. Even though Margy didn’t quite understand profit margins yet, she knew that she wanted the revenue to reach that 7 figure goal. And it worked! In 2019, Interview Connections hit 7 figures, and the company is currently scaling to 8 figures.  It wasn’t until recently that Jess and Margy shifted their focus to healthy profit, as well as top-line revenue growth. The first step that they took was to address their pricing structure. When Jess started Interview Connections in 2013, there was no other podcast booking agency on the planet! This meant that Jess had nowhere to look when she created the pricing structure. Way back then, Jess had implemented a month-to-month pricing package for clients and raised prices every few years. In 2017, Jess and Margy had a coaching day with Ali Brown, and Ali helped them completely restructure their pricing packages. Not only did Jess and Margy restructure so that the team and the business were being compensated fairly, but they also ensured that the clients were getting everything they needed from the package! Interview Connections prices their services based on the value they are providing. The entire package, which includes so much more than guaranteed podcast bookings, offers clients an opportunity for a massive ROI. When we price our services, we do not compare to what other podcast bookers are charging, because we are offering so much more than just podcast bookings! As an entrepreneur, it’s so important to ask yourself, “What is the value I’m providing?” It’s crucial to make sure that you are charging what you’re worth. As buyers, we often assume the more expensive service is the better one! When you charge what you’re worth, and when you have a high ticket offer, you are perceived to be of higher value. But of course, you need to back that up with your value and your service delivery! Don’t inflate your price to where it would not be a good investment for a business owner. But we find that most people price their services too low. First, you need to look at your service and look at how you can increase your client’s ROI. Once you can improve their experience with your service, you can justify higher prices! The next part of growing your top-line revenue is growing your sales infrastructure. If there is only one person in your organization who can close sales, especially if you’re selling high ticket services, you’re hitting a huge ceiling to your top-line revenue growth. Growing a sales team is critical because allows you to multiply your sales results. At Interview Connections, we have a strong sales team engine that is propelling us forward. As an entrepreneur, you should be out there on podcasts working on your visibility to obtain leads, and then having a team come in and work on actually closing those leads! Margy goes on 4-6 interviews a month, creating content, developing her thought leadership, and building up brand and company! From this, qualified leads come in and meet with our sales team. You need to build your visibility for the leads to find you. We needed more salespeople to handle the leads we were getting from podcast guesting!  The next important step in growing top-line revenue is tracking your progress.  It’s imperative to set goals and to look at what you’ve accomplished so far! Margy has a spreadsheet that is incredibly near and dear to her heart. That spreadsheet tracks revenue, expenses, and profit for each month. Jess and Margy find this tracking to be so helpful for planning, setting goals, and celebrating successes. When Jess and Margy have felt disappointed that they didn’t hit a goal, they can look back to their May 2017 sales of 30k and compare that to May 2020 with 300k sales! It really hits you in the face with everything that you’ve already accomplished. The work you did 6 months ago is why you are here today! What you’re doing right now is going to determine where you are 6 months from now.  If you are not getting interviewed on podcasts right now, you cannot expect growth in your visibility 6 months from now! Start now because this long-term strategy really does take time to grow.  What you do right now is going to determine what your spreadsheets look like a few months down the road. Jess and Margy find that they themselves, along with many entrepreneurs, are generally impatient. This can be a difficult concept to master, when you allow yourself to be patient and track your results, you’ll be able to see the fruits of your labor. Turning the focus to profit, Jess and Margy started tracking profit in 2017. In Margy’s spreadsheet, they could see every year lined up with income expenses and profit. You should be focusing on profit from Day 1, but it becomes even more important as you grow. Jess and Margy didn’t really focus on profit for a while but then their expenses started to catch up with them. As they started tracking expenses and revenue, they found they could drive growth and profit in a way that is strategic and sustainable! Another one of Margy’s obsessions is org charts. Org charts are incredibly important for your revenue and profit growth because they help you plan as you grow for the team that you will need! You can look at what that structure needs to be and what the different teams and departments will look like.  Jess and Margy created an org chart so they could look at what payroll expenses would be at 10 million top-line revenue. This helped them create the growth trajectory of various roles, teams, and departments in the company.  The clarity that org charts bring can help you lead your team and be intentional with your profitability.  The bottom line is to be mindful of what you’re investing in for your business. You should separate the “nice to haves” and the critical drivers. Things that really drive profitability like visibility, coaching are smart investments. Avoid things that aren’t actually going to move you forward and they’re going to cost you more!