Ep 9: Sales funnels, the messy middle and finding your people

Ep 9: Sales funnels, the messy middle and finding your people

Welcome to Collabsolutely, the podcast for entrepreneurs, founders, and small business owners who know business is better together. Your business besties Jacquie Hannan and Sarah Duncan are back with another dose of money, marketing, and mindset for anyone on the entrepreneurship journey. In this episode: Love It or Leave It: Sales funnelsAre sales funnels a non-negotiable for modern business, or an over-complicated headache that's better left to the marketing gurus? We unpack why most people who visit your website aren't ready to buy, the ROI of email marketing, and why turning off your sales funnel is the fastest way to make your new client pipeline unpredictable. Plus, the three-step plan that proves this doesn't have to be as technical as you think. Hot Biz Take: The overnight success myth is doing psychological damage to founders in the messy middleBrace yourself for a stat that might just save your sanity: the average time to "overnight success" is 7.5 years. We dig into why comparing your behind-the-scenes to someone else's highlight reel is wreaking havoc on founders, the real stories behind names like Melanie Perkins (100+ investor rejections over three years), and why tenacity beats talent every single time. If you've ever cried at night wondering how you'll make payroll or felt like you should have figured it all out by now, this one's a must-listen. Send Heeeeeeelp: How do I get in front of the right audience?The shiny new platform or paid ad campaign feels like the obvious answer, but it might not be the right move...yet. We explain why fishing in the wrong pond is the silent killer of small business marketing, the questions you need to ask about your ideal client avatar before posting another thing, and how to tell the difference between content that connects and content that's just shouting into the void. Plus, why 7 to 12 touch points and consistent messaging are the secret sauce to actually being seen. Whether you're a new entrepreneur just starting out, a founder deep in the build, or a small business owner looking for practical marketing advice, business mindset tips, and real talk about the entrepreneurship journey, this episode is for you. Subscribe, leave a review, and follow along for more. Got a question for Send Heeeeeeelp? Email us or slide into our DMs at hello@collabsolutely.com. Thanks for your question this week Lucy from Porada Advisory: https://www.instagram.com/porada_advisory/ And don't forget to sign up to the Business Growth Network with the coupon code 'COLLABSOLUTELY' for 10% off at checkout.

Ep 8: Five Year Plans, Tall Poppies & Scaling Bad Habits

Welcome back to Collabsolutely, the podcast for entrepreneurs, founders, and small business owners who know business is better together. Your business besties Jacquie Hannan and Sarah Duncan are back with another dose of money, marketing, and mindset for anyone on the entrepreneurship journey. In this episode: Love It or Leave It: The perfectly mapped out five year planIs a detailed five year plan a non-negotiable foundation for business success, or a recipe for losing momentum while the world changes around you? Hot Biz Take: Australia's obsession with tall poppy syndromeBrace yourself for a stat that hurts: tall poppy syndrome is costing Australian innovation an estimated $6.2 billion. We dig into why 67% of entrepreneurs admit to downplaying their success and why women founders are disproportionately impacted (41% vs 28% of men). If you've ever apologised for being good at what you do or shrunk yourself to make others comfortable this one's a must-listen. Send Heeeeeeelp: I'm not hitting my revenue targets, should I add new income streams to boost it?The shiny new product or service feels like the obvious answer, but it might not be the right move. We explain why scaling bad habits is the silent killer of small business growth, the questions you need to ask about your existing offering before adding anything new, and how to tell the difference between a genuine opportunity to diversify and a distraction dressed up as ambition. Whether you're a new entrepreneur just starting out, a founder deep in the build, or a small business owner looking for practical marketing advice, business mindset tips, and real talk about the entrepreneurship journey, this episode is for you. Subscribe, leave a review, and follow along for more. Got a question for Send Heeeeeeelp? Email us or slide into our DMs at www.instagram.com/collabsolutely_ [https://www.instagram.com/collabsolutely_] And don't forget to sign up to the Business Growth Network with the coupon code 'COLLABSOLUTELY' for 10% off at checkout. https://www.collabsolutely.com/offers/bEgjVcNf/checkout [https://www.collabsolutely.com/offers/bEgjVcNf/checkout]

Ep 7: Social LOLs, Unfair Advantage & unsupportive friends

Welcome back to Collabsolutely, the podcast for entrepreneurs, founders, and small business owners who know business is better together. Your business besties Jacquie Hannan and Sarah Duncan are back with another dose of money, marketing, and mindset for anyone on the entrepreneurship journey. In this episode: Love It or Leave It: Serious businesses posting unserious contentFrom government departments to major airlines, brands are handing the keys to "the intern" and going viral for it. But is injecting humour into serious topics a stroke of marketing genius, or a professional misstep? We weigh in on whether your content strategy might be putting your brand at risk of becoming completely forgettable. Hot Biz Take: Understanding your unfair advantageHere's an insight that might sting: most businesses have no idea what actually sets them apart, and it's quietly costing them customers. Why is the classic USP no longer enough in 2026? What's the one thing no competitor can ever copy? And how does "skill stacking" factor into building a brand positioning that's genuinely yours? We share the framework we use with our members, plus a surprising reveal about how our own unfair advantage has been hiding in plain sight for 30 years. Send Heeeeeeelp: Why are complete strangers engaging with my business more than my friends and family?If you've ever poured your heart into a post only to be met with deafening silence from your nearest and dearest, this one's for you. We unpack the shift in social media engagement, why public likes have become surprisingly loaded, and whether the people in your phone contacts are even the audience you should be worrying about. An honest conversation every content creator, personal brand, and small business owner needs to hear. Whether you're a new entrepreneur just starting out, a founder deep in the build, or a small business owner looking for practical marketing advice, business mindset tips, and real talk about the entrepreneurship journey, this episode is for you. Subscribe, leave a review, and follow along for more. Got a question for Send Heeeeeeelp? Email us or slide into our DMs at www.instagram.com/collabsolutely_ [http://www.instagram.com/collabsolutely_] And don't forget to sign up to the Business Growth Network with the coupon code 'COLLABSOLUTELY' for 10% off at checkout. https://www.collabsolutely.com/offers/bEgjVcNf/checkout

Ep 6: WFH, Feminine Energy & Scroll Envy

Welcome back to Collabsolutely, the podcast for entrepreneurs who know business is better together! Your business besties Jacquie Hannan and Sarah Duncan are back, bringing you another dose of money, marketing, and mindset. In this episode: Love It or Leave It: Working from homeJacquie's put a deposit down on a new office. Sarah hasn't left her house voluntarily in years and is absolutely thriving. We dig into the real pros and cons of remote work, the productivity wins, the mental health pitfalls, and whether the water cooler chat is actually worth the commute. Spoiler: this one ends with both of us firmly on the fence. Hot Biz Take: Feminine energy in businessFeminine energy has been squeezed out of business culture for too long. Jacquie and Sarah get personal about their own journeys from hustle-at-all-costs to finding balance, and why making room for both feminine and masculine energy might just be your secret weapon. Send Heeeeeeelp: How do I stop comparing myself to other entrepreneurs?Ah yes, the scroll spiral. We've all been there. We break down why comparison steals your joy, your time, and your energy, and how to work out whether you're genuinely inspired or just quietly convinced you're failing. Curate your feed, celebrate your wins, and if business isn't where you want it to be, get support instead of spiraling. If you're a founder on the entrepreneurship journey, whether just getting started or deep in the build, this podcast is for you.Don't forget to subscribe, leave us a review, and follow along for more! Got a question for Send Heeeeeeelp? Email us at hello@collabsolutely.com [hello@collabsolutely.com] or slide into our DMs at www.instagram.com/collabsolutely [http://www.instagram.com/collabsolutely]_

Ep 5: Rugs-a-million ruined urgency messaging

Welcome back to Collabsolutely, the podcast for entrepreneurs who know business is better together! Your business besties Jacquie Hannan and Sarah Duncan are back, two women in business with 40+ combined years in finance and marketing, bringing you another dose of money, marketing, and mindset magic. In this episode: Love It or Leave It: Urgency Messaging Urgency in marketing, powerful tool or cheap trick? We're digging into why urgency messaging can be an absolute game-changer when it's real, and a total trust-buster when it's not. Countdown timers, limited spots, closing cart, these tactics work beautifully when there's genuine reason behind them. But manufactured urgency? Your audience can smell it a mile away, and once you've lost their trust, it's hard to get it back. Hot Biz Take: Stop being so polished, show the journey There's a trap a lot of entrepreneurs fall into: wanting to show up as the fully-formed expert, with all the answers, all the time. But over-polished content can actually push people away. Your audience doesn't just want to see where you've landed, they want to see how you got there. The messy middle, the pivots, the lessons learned the hard way, that's the content that builds real connection and real credibility. Send Heeeeeeelp: How do I trust my gut when making big business decisions? Every entrepreneur hits a moment where the data is unclear, the advice is conflicting, and the only thing left to consult is that quiet voice inside. But how do you know when to listen to your gut versus when your gut is just fear in disguise? Do what we do, and analyse the gut in action of the contestants on The Traitors reality TV show. If you're a founder on the entrepreneurship journey, whether you're just getting started or deep in the build, this business entrepreneurship podcast is for you. Don't forget to subscribe, leave us a review, and follow along for more business tips and insights. Got a question for our Send Heeeeeeelp segment? Email us at ⁠hello@collabsolutely.com⁠ or slide into our DMs on Instagram at ⁠www.instagram.com/collabsolutely⁠_