Read This Next: Books That Actually Changed How We Run Our Business and Our Lives

Stop Pricing on Vibes: Know Your Numbers & Charge Your Worth

Are you running your business on vibes and hoping the math works out?  In this episode, we're getting real about the financial side of running a small business, aka the part that makes most solopreneurs want to hide under their desks. Whether you've been avoiding your books or you're just not sure what you're even looking at when you open them, we're breaking down what you actually need to know to price profitably and grow sustainably. In this episode, we cover: * Why "hoping everything is fine" is not a financial strategy * The real numbers you need to track (and which ones you can ignore) * How to set prices that actually cover your costs and pay you * What to do if you've been pricing based on vibes instead of data * The difference between revenue and profit (and why it matters more than you think) * Where most small business owners leak money without realizing it * Simple systems to stay on top of your books without a finance degree Links + resources mentioned in this episode: * Sign up for the Big Bad Marketing newsletter: https://www.bigbadmarketing.com/newsletter * Business Math Blog & Podcast: https://www.bigbadmarketing.com/blog/business-math-revenue-profit-margins * Take our free Growth Bottleneck Quiz: https://sales.bigbadmarketing.com/bottleneck-quiz * Book a free 15-minute intro call: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/15-minute-call-bbm

How to Find Your Brand Voice (And Actually Use It When Writing!)

You know what you do works. But the content you're putting out? It feels off. Corporate. Stiff. Like a LinkedIn press release you'd skip right past. In this episode, we walk you through how to build a brand voice that sounds authentically like you, so the right people stop scrolling, start trusting you, and actually buy from you. Whether you're a personal brand or a faceless business sitting behind a logo, this one's packed with practical steps to get your messaging right and make writing way less painful. In this episode, we cover: * Why content monoculture is drowning your message (and how to stand out) * The 4 questions to ask yourself before building your brand voice * How to create a brand guide that actually works for you, your team, or your AI tools * Personal branding dos and don'ts (including why being funny only works if you're actually funny) * 5 rapid-fire writing tips: lead with the itch, agitate the problem, sell the vacation, and more * 3 ways to make writing easier, including how to train AI on your voice without losing yourself in the process * Why writing to "everyone" means you're talking to no one * How to use voice memos and transcription to write like you talk (because you literally just talked) Links + resources mentioned in this episode: * Sign up for the Big Bad Marketing newsletter: https://www.bigbadmarketing.com/newsletter * Take our free Growth Bottleneck Quiz: https://sales.bigbadmarketing.com/bottleneck-quiz * Book a free 15-minute intro call: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/15-minute-call-bbm

Read This Next: Books That Actually Changed How We Run Our Business and Our Lives

Some books are great for passing the time, some help you slip into an entirely different world, but some of the greatest books for us are those that shifted our perspective, that taught us to look at the world in a new way. From ancient yoga philosophy to modern time management, in this episode we cover the reads that landed for us and could conservatively be called "books that changed our lives". We're not giving you the same tired business book list everyone recommends (sorry, but no 7 Habits of Highly Effective People or How to Win Friends and Influence People up in here). These are the books we go back to, recommend constantly, and credit with shifting something fundamental in how we run our business and our lives. Some are tactical. Some are deeply personal. All of them are worth sharing with you. Things we mentioned in this episode: Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman How to Do the Work by Dr. Nicole LaPera Excuses Begone by Wayne Dyer The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter The Yoga Sutras translated by Reverend Jaganath Carrera The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga Be Here Now by Ram Dass Deep Work by Cal Newport Slow Productivity by Cal Newport Smart Brevity (authors not specified in transcript) A Year with Rumi: Daily Readings translated by Coleman Barks The Anxious Generation (mentioned by Brooke) $100 Million Offers by Alex Hormozi $100 Million Leads by Alex Hormozi $100 Million Money Models by Alex Hormozi Sign up for the Big Bad Marketing newsletter: https://www.bigbadmarketing.com/newsletter Take our free Growth Bottleneck Quiz: https://sales.bigbadmarketing.com/bottleneck-quiz Book a free 15-minute intro call: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/15-minute-call-bbm

The Eisenhower Matrix: Sort Your Chaotic To-Do List in 30 Minutes or Less

Your to-do list is out of control. Papers falling out of your notebook, sticky notes everywhere, tasks you've been carrying over for weeks that you'll never actually do. We get it. We're right there with you. In this episode, we're breaking down the Eisenhower Matrix. It's a simple four-quadrant system that helps you sort through the chaos and figure out what to work on right now, what to schedule, what to delegate, and (here's the best part) what to just delete from your list entirely. In this episode, we cover: * What the Eisenhower Matrix is and why it works when you're overwhelmed * How to set up the four quadrants (urgent vs. not urgent, important vs. not important) * Why you need to get clear on your goals before you even start sorting your list * Real examples of what belongs in each quadrant, from client work to matching dog outfits * The "important but not urgent" quadrant: where most business owners get stuck (and how to fix it) * How to know when something should be delegated vs. deleted * The 15 to 30-minute process for getting everything out of your head and into the right box * Why overthinking this exercise means you're doing it wrong Links + resources mentioned in this episode: Sign up for the Big Bad Marketing newsletter: https://www.bigbadmarketing.com/newsletter Take our free Growth Bottleneck Quiz: https://sales.bigbadmarketing.com/bottleneck-quiz

Underpromise. Overdeliver. Outgrow Everyone.

Businesses that consistently exceed customer expectations are genuinely rare. And rare means memorable. And memorable means referrals, repeat customers, and growth without spending a dollar on ads. In this episode, Brooke and Jenné break down the strategy of underpromising and overdelivering, why most businesses overpromise (and it's not because they're dishonest), what setting realistic expectations actually looks like in practice, and the small things that create outsized loyalty. They also get into where NOT to overdeliver, because there's a version of this strategy that burns you out, and that's not what they're going for. In this episode, we cover: * The three places every customer interaction lands (hint: only one of them grows your business!) * Why businesses overpromise (it's fear, not greed) * What underpromising actually looks like * The small things that create outsized loyalty (and cost almost nothing) * Why this strategy compounds over time and does your marketing for you * Where NOT to overdeliver (no free labor disguised as generosity) Links + resources mentioned in this episode: * Sign up for the Big Bad Marketing newsletter: www.bigbadmarketing.com/newsletter [http://www.bigbadmarketing.com/newsletter] * Take our free Growth Bottleneck Quiz: https://sales.bigbadmarketing.com/bottleneck-quiz [https://sales.bigbadmarketing.com/bottleneck-quiz] * Book a free 15-minute intro call: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/15-minute-call-bbm [https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/15-minute-call-bbm]