EP #37: Building a Business That Runs Without You With Gwendolyn Young

EP #37: Building a Business That Runs Without You With Gwendolyn Young

Gwendolyn Young built Your Virtual Admin Expert after a lupus diagnosis forced her to rethink what a sustainable business could look like. She talks with Svenja about starting from a makeshift website with zero virtual assistant experience, landing her first client six months in, and the systems that kept her operations running even through unplanned hospital stays. They get into the moment she finally hired help, what she got wrong the first time, and how her brand had to catch up to the level of work she was already delivering. It's a conversation about building a business around your life instead of the other way around. In this episode: * Why a lupus diagnosis became the foundation for how Gwendolyn structures her business * The systems and scheduling automations that keep client work moving when she can't show up * What finally pushed her to hire her first team member, and what she got wrong at first * How her brand evolved once her marketing finally matched the caliber of her work Connect with Gwendolyn: Website: yourvirtualadminexpert.com [http://yourvirtualadminexpert.com] Social: @yourvirtualadminexpert (all platforms) SUPPORT THE CHANNEL A few tools I use and recommend. Some links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. * Flodesk (email marketing): flodesk.com/c/LYONCREATIVES [http://flodesk.com/c/LYONCREATIVES] * HoneyBook (client management): share.honeybook.com/svenja7629354 [http://share.honeybook.com/svenja7629354] Audio editing by Mike at Nielsen Audio Solutions [https://www.nielsenaudiosolutions.com/]. Think your brand could use some work? Take the free Brand Audit Scorecard at lyoncreatives.com/brand-audit-scorecard [http://lyoncreatives.com/brand-audit-scorecard] and find out where you stand. Listen: https://thismightgetcreative.riverside.com/ [https://thismightgetcreative.riverside.com/]

EP #36: The Neuroscience of Burnout and Building a Brand with Stephanie Ohannesian

Stephanie Ohannesian spent four years producing events for NBC Universal without a single day off, until her body shut down and she landed in the ER. That crisis became Triage Coaching and Consulting, a burnout and stress mitigation company built on a bold idea: most of the stress patterns running your life were never yours to begin with. With a master's degree in decision-making sciences and social cognition, Stephanie breaks down the science of burnout, the warning signs we all ignore, and why building a brand is the most personal thing you will ever do. In this episode we talk about: * The red flags Stephanie ignored for four years, and why your body signals stress long before your brain admits it * Inherited stress patterns: how survival responses get passed down through generations and quietly run your business decisions * The 2:1 breathing technique that tells your nervous system you're safe before a high-stakes meeting * How one clear sentence ("we rewire your stress circuitry") did what ten minutes of explaining never could * Why 95 percent of buying decisions happen subconsciously, and what that means for your website and your brand * Stephanie's two-column exercise for calling out imposter syndrome on paper Listener offer: Stephanie is giving away her Low Road Audit, a free 90-minute session on where you stand emotionally with your brand and identity, to the first five to seven listeners who email Triage and mention This Might Get Creative. Connect with Stephanie: * Website: triagebalancedlife.com [http://triagebalancedlife.com] * Podcast: The Raw Onion * Instagram: triage_global [https://www.instagram.com/triage_global/] * LinkedIn: Stephanie Ohannesian * SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: * This episode is sponsored by Flodesk. Get 25% off your first year: flodesk.com/c/LYONCREATIVES [http://flodesk.com/c/LYONCREATIVES] * Run your client pipeline with HoneyBook: https://share.honeybook.com/svenja7629354 [https://share.honeybook.com/svenja7629354] Think your brand could use some work? Take the free Brand Audit Scorecard at lyoncreatives.com/brand-audit-scorecard [http://lyoncreatives.com/brand-audit-scorecard] and find out where you stand.

EP #35: When the Thing You're Good At Isn't the Thing You Want with Caroline Benefield

Caroline Benefield wrote a cozy fantasy series, won best manuscript at a writing conference, and had agents asking for more. Then she realized writing was healing her, not building her career. She founded Southern Grit Digital, a marketing consultancy for women-led businesses, and leaned into the part of her brain she'd ignored for years: data and testing. In this episode she talks about knowing when to walk away from something you're good at, and the testing strategies that pulled a $4,000 return out of a $300 ad spend. In this episode we get into: •       Why being good at something is not the same as wanting to build a career on it •       How creative work can heal you without needing to be monetized •       Turbo A/B testing: changing one element every five to seven days for the most data on the smallest budget •       How to segment an email list for real A/B test results instead of a straight split down the middle •       Why your identity is allowed to shift, and why grieving the old version of you helps you move forward Connect with Caroline: •       Website: southerngritdigital.com [http://southerngritdigital.com] •       Instagram: @southerngritdigital •       LinkedIn: Caroline Weeks SUPPORT THE CHANNEL A few tools I use and recommend. Some links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. •       Flodesk (email marketing): flodesk.com/c/LYONCREATIVES [http://flodesk.com/c/LYONCREATIVES] •       HoneyBook (client management): share.honeybook.com/svenja7629354 [http://share.honeybook.com/svenja7629354] Audio editing by Mike at Nielsen Audio Solutions [https://www.nielsenaudiosolutions.com]. Think your brand could use some work? Take the free Brand Audit Scorecard at lyoncreatives.com/brand-audit-scorecard [http://lyoncreatives.com/brand-audit-scorecard] and find out where you stand. Listen: https://thismightgetcreative.riverside.com/ [https://thismightgetcreative.riverside.com/]

EP #34: Stop Being the Face. Start Building the Empire with Sarah Mariano

Sarah Mariano built The Stretch Therapists into a global certification company while traveling the world as a digital nomad. Then she made a decision that most founders dread: she stepped back from being the face of the brand she had built from scratch. Not because things were falling apart. Because she had a bigger goal in mind.   In this episode: •       Why stepping back as the face of your brand can feel like grief — and why Sarah says that process was worth it •       Building a personal brand on Instagram at the right moment, and what happens when the platform shifts and your strategy has to shift with it •       The four-year journey to paid ads: wrong coach, right coach, six months running her own campaigns, then finally hiring an agency •       What it takes to build a team that reflects the representation you want to see in your industry •       Why transparency with your team during the hard moments changes the company culture more than any policy ever will •       The book that changed how Sarah thinks about scaling: 10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan [https://amzn.to/3SsCobb]   Find Sarah: •       Instagram: @thestretchtherapists •       LinkedIn: The Stretch Therapists •       Website: thestretchtherapists.com [http://thestretchtherapists.com]   Resources mentioned: •       10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan [https://amzn.to/3SsCobb] Tools I use and recommend. These are affiliate links, so I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Flodesk — email marketing: https://flodesk.com/c/LYONCREATIVES [https://flodesk.com/c/LYONCREATIVES] HoneyBook — client management: https://share.honeybook.com/svenja7629354 [https://share.honeybook.com/svenja7629354]   Ready to see what your brand is actually communicating? Take the Brand Audit Scorecard at lyoncreatives.com/brand-audit-scorecard [http://lyoncreatives.com/brand-audit-scorecard]. Audio Production Huge thanks to Mike at Nielsen Audio Solutions for editing this episode. If you have a podcast and you are doing your own editing because you cannot find someone you trust, Mike is the answer. He has been editing every episode of This Might Get Creative and the difference shows. Reach out to him at nielsenaudiosolutions.com [http://nielsenaudiosolutions.com] 00:00 Sponsor Flowdesk 01:17 Meet Sarah Founder 02:56 Letting Go Clients 06:08 Instagram Face Era 10:22 Certification Model 11:35 Inclusion Mission 14:59 Hiring Growing Pains 21:32 Vision Mission Shifts 28:46 Marketing Pivot Ads 33:28 CEO Mindset 10X 39:10 Leaps Vulnerability 41:16 Wrap Up Connect

EP #33: Family-Owned vs Private Equity with Dan Keller

Episode 33. Dan Keller runs George J. Keller and Sons, a third-generation family roofing, siding, and windows company in Flanders, NJ. For the past three years, private equity firms have been offering family-owned roofing companies 15 times EBITDA to sell out and roll into a national conglomerate. Dan said no. We talk about what changes the day after a family company gets bought, the marketing playbook he runs down to the lead source, and where AI fits in a business that still needs a person on the roof.   What You Will Hear •     How private equity moved from HVAC into roofing and what a 15x EBITDA buyout offer really looks like •     What changes for employees and customers the day after a family business sells •     The drone walks, hover reports, and project manager touch points Dan uses on every job •     The Facebook moms group referral program (paying past clients to recommend the company) •     Where AI is showing up in roofing offices, and where it cannot replace a human Time Stamps 00:00 Introduction 01:10 Meet Dan Keller 02:45 Private Equity Offers 07:05 How PE Takes Over 11:19 Client Experience Changes 16:01 Tech That Stands Out 20:17 Joining The Family Business 24:45 Corporate Vs Ownership 28:07 Switching to Entrepreneurship 28:42 Owning Mistakes and Lessons 30:03 Tracking Leads That Matter 32:31 Ditching Tracking Numbers 34:15 Facebook Referrals Strategy 36:47 TV Streaming Ad Challenges 38:40 AI Search and AEO Shift 41:58 AI for Office Efficiency 44:55 Design Creativity vs AI 45:52 Jingle and Human Touch 47:47 Wrap Up and Contact Info   Connect With Dan Website: gjkeller.com [http://gjkeller.com] Phone: 973-927-0963 Connect with Me Website: lyoncreatives.com [www.lyoncreatives.com] Email: svenja@lyoncreatives.com Instagram: lyon.creatives [https://www.instagram.com/lyon.creatives/] LinkedIn: svenja-lyon [www.linkedin.com/in/svenja-lyon] Audio Production Huge thanks to Mike at Nielsen Audio Solutions for editing this episode. If you have a podcast and you are doing your own editing because you cannot find someone you trust, Mike is the answer. He has been editing every episode of This Might Get Creative and the difference shows. Reach out to him at Nielsen Audio Solutions. [https://www.nielsenaudiosolutions.com/]