The Side Hustle Gal

Episode 320 | Season Outtro!

[https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1585503297181-8OOVYJKHSORHPJP6YWOW/320+IG+Square.png?format=1000w]   Today Dannie and Caitlyn are wrapping up Season 4 of the Side Hustle Gal podcast. We believe in accessible content and that anyone who wants to learn from this content should be able to. In order to support this, we’ve had every episode of Season 4 transcribed. The transcriptions are available at the bottom of every episode blog post. ---------------------------------------- SHOW HIGHLIGHTS: * Recap the season. *  Predictions on the future. ---------------------------------------- FOLLOW YOUR HOSTS: D Website [http://www.danniefountain.com/] | D Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/dannielynnfountain/] // C Website [http://caitlynallen.com/] | C Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/caitmallen/] Get the Side Hustle Starter Kit Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Spotify (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850598217-Z1C7L1HJVC06J4GS2KHR/download.png?format=1000w] https://open.spotify.com/show/604gEO0zi4wDa3Wliz3gtG Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Apple Podcasts (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850608229-N7H3W9YYYZJKGBZOHIJZ/noun_podcast_34806.png?format=1000w] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-side-hustle-gal/id1201940803 Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Google Podcasts (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850598267-W8ESOIWJ0P8J4DE1JEEB/Google+Podcasts.png?format=1000w] https://playmusic.app.goo.gl/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&apn=com.google.android.music&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/Iqzy2wk5pwlfsvsts5hdmcj4zum?t%3DThe_Side_Hustle_Gal%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16 ---------------------------------------- Episode Transcript - Season Outtro    Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:00:21] Hello and welcome back to the side hustle gal podcast. This is it. The final episode of the season. Wow. Uh, we had some, we had some incredible guests this season, and Caitlyn and I were talking before we jumped on the recording, and. It's been a good one. I think back to the interview with Amanda Gulino from A Better Monday and all of the advice that she had for us, uh, that conversation we had with Jackie at pineapple development girl is killing it. Uh, the conversation we'd have with Carrie and with Bauma, Carrie works for core marketing group, um, uh, runs work bigger. Um, and even Rosalia is conversation on her company about consent. It's really run the gamut that season, all kinds of topics for your head and your heart, and I'm just so proud of it. I think the best part to you, we talked about this in our season intro, is that at least one of us only knew what three guests. Four guests.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:01:26] Yep.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:01:27] And everyone else was strangers to both of us.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:01:30] Yeah. I think that was really cool because it showed a different type of, or a different side to having conversations with other business owners. I feel like a lot of podcasts, um, they bring on guests that are their friends or guests that other people have already interviewed. So you already know kind of how the interview is going to go. But. Having conversations with new people can a be awkward. Um, and that just shows you kind of how well entrepreneurs can talk on their feet, um, and answer questions on their feet. But then. To have like real relationships with people just by being able to relate to them and how they run their business or what business life is like. I think that is something to be said for some of these interviews as well.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:02:21] Yeah. I think last season we were probably 50, 50 people we know and people we didn't know, and it was our best season to date at the time. And this season is what, like 70, 30, 80, 20, and I would say this season's even better than last season. Um, so for the podcast hosts out here, like the lesson from this interview, people you don't know because the more. Strangers we have in our seasons, the better we feel about the seasons went. Um, so Caitlin and I were also talking to, and we want to do a little bit of crystal ball forecasting. This is totally and completely just for fun, but we're recording this episode in March. You're not going to hear it until the middle of July. And right now we're in the midst of Coronavirus. Oh  Caitlyn Allen: [00:03:14] Covid19 2020. Oh my goodness.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:03:18] California is shelter in place. New York, I think is thinking about it, but they haven't done it yet. Everywhere else, gyms are closed. Fitness places are closed.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:03:29] Yeah. We just got the call yesterday that aho fitness. Uh, the gym that I'm, I'm the business manager for has to, had to shut down by 8:00 PM yesterday.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:03:40] Yeah. And the, I mean, that's where we're at right now. And we haven't even reached the crest of the curve that everyone keeps talking about.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:03:48] We haven't been testing people. So there's really, there's so many more people that are infected that we just don't know about because of the testing has been so limited. Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:03:58] And I just read yesterday too, that 20 to 30 have the highest, uh, in asymptomatic infection rate. A 20 to 30-year-olds have it more than we think they do, and they're the most likely group to be asymptomatic too, which is crazy. So, Caitlyn, I want to ask you, uh, April, may, June, July, four months from now, when folks are actually listening to this, where do you think will be,  Caitlyn Allen: [00:04:24] uh, this is so scary to think about. Um. I think as I'm over here coughing, like, Oh my God, do I have the virus? I am coughing and very sick. This is really funny. I think, uh, okay. Funny is not the right word. Just let me rephrase, not the right word there. I think in July. Um, it's going to get worse before it gets better, in my opinion. Um, I think there are still a lot of people, especially where I live, who I'm, Hmm. Don't think that this is a big deal. Um, they don't comprehend, uh, I don't think they want to comprehend. Um, the. The effect that this is going to have on everything from getting groceries, um, to our economy too. Work. How different the workplace is going to be moving forward from this childcare. Um, I think that this virus is going to change a lot of. Things that we probably wouldn't even think about. Um, moving forward. So in July, I feel like  Mmm. Like I said, it's going to get worse before it gets better. I think it's gonna probably peak in the end of April, beginning of May. Um, but I think July is when we're gonna really start to see a lot of changes. I think there's going to be a lot of, a lot more work from home jobs. Um, I think employers are going to switch a lot of employees to the more we more remote work, you're going to see a lot of policies enacted for what worked from home actually looks like for employers. Um, because like Dannie said yesterday on her Instagram stories, people don't know how to show up for work when they're working from home. And I think a lot of policies are going to be enacted around that. I think, uh. A lot of businesses are going to shift their focus from brick and mortar to more online businesses, online business, so that if anything like this ever happens again, they have a that second source of income. Um, Oh, what else do I think? I think that it's just going to be a big shift in our culture and I think. Uh, millennials in particular, and I don't even think they're millennials anymore. Do any, what are the kids that are like a little bit younger than us right now, but not millennials?  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:07:02] Gen Z.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:07:03] I think everybody's blaming the millennials right now. Look here. We're not the ones on spring break in Florida right now. Okay. It's not the millennials. We are out of college. That is gen Z get it right. Those kids, um, I think they're going to see a change in what school looks like and what college looks like. And, um, I think there's going to be a lot more protocol and a push for the CDC to have the pandemic office. Again, I think that, um, uh, we're going to see a shift in policy around. What going to the hospital potentially looks like, or, um, and political, unrest. I think we're going to see that. So I'm excited to see kind of what happens from this virus right now. It's a little bit scary. Um. As somebody who lives down by the border, it's going to be super interesting to see kind of what happens over the next few weeks as we continue to shut down borders. Um, change what flying looks like, and, um, what protocols are federal entities around here put into place because there's really nothing right now. Dannie, I feel like I've been talking forever and I've just been, um, what are you, what are you thinking?  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:08:29] I agree with a lot of what you said. I think I would add three things. Um, so to the flying piece, I think back to post 911 flying and how we went from kind of secure to like, everybody has to be screened. Um, I, I think that's might actually be like. Wellness screening now as a part of boarding planes, just because people will be afraid that another silent virus could escape from its originating site. Um, so I wouldn't be surprised if in the next few years we see that enacted,  Caitlyn Allen: [00:09:03] no flying if you have a temperature.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:09:07] Um, another thing that I see impacting is, Mmm. Just this. Like more empathy. Um, so I've been following the immunocompromised friends of mine for years on Instagram, but just watching the conversations around. like everyone's panicking. But immunocompromised people have been begging for the ability to self-quarantine for years. Uh, the ability to work from home for years, the ability to get some of these accommodations that we're now giving all knowledge workers for a year. And also I've been following my friends who work at places like Costco. And for lack of a better word, um, like my friend Nikki who works at Costco is now a like, vital service provider, right? Because like, groceries are flying off the shelves faster than they can get them restocked. She's mitigating fights. She's like checking out double the amount of people at an hour that she used to. And I think that grocery workers, postal workers, um. Like internet and telephone infrastructure workers are finally going to get a little bit more recognition because they're the people that can't self quarantine right now. Um, and finally, like to your point on work from home, I've been watching as people who I have worked from home on the occasional Friday. Struggle with this permanent work from home, and I think that freelancers, remote workers, et cetera, have an incredible opportunity to like be thought leaders here. Kind of like I was talking about an Instagram last night. I didn't realize how much of a divide there was between me and my coworkers because I've been managing and working with teams remotely for 12 years and. Nothing has changed in my personal life, except for I don't have to commute over the past couple of weeks. Um, and it's completely turned. My coworkers lives upside down.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:11:16] Well. And to that point, I think that there's going to be more empathy for the people who run businesses from home. Like before, all of my friends are like, Oh, it must be so nice to be able to work from home and do whatever you want, and now they're really getting to see, wow, work from home is not as easy as we thought. And I think that's going to give an empathy piece too. Small business owners or I don't even know, online business or business. It's necessary businesses, um, that hasn't been there before.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:11:53] Yeah, I completely agree. I think this has been a fun little time capsule. I'll be curious to see when this episode goes live in four months, what the world looks like. How many of our little predictions were accurate and we'll just have to see what happens.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:12:14] Yes. And to all my other immunocompromised folks out there, stay safe. I hope you guys stay safe through this whole thing and um, we will see you guys in July.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:12:26] Alright, bye. And we'll see you sometime soon. For sure. Whatever season the next season number is.

Episode 319 | Rianna Hill of Pancake Digital Solutions.

[https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1590466628703-KMXXMXS3EQI3LM6ZG5QH/319+IG+Square.png?format=1000w]   Today Dannie and Caitlyn are talking with Rianna Hill of Pancake Digital Solutions.. We believe in accessible content and that anyone who wants to learn from this content should be able to. In order to support this, we’ve had every episode of Season 4 transcribed. The transcriptions are available at the bottom of every episode blog post. ---------------------------------------- SHOW HIGHLIGHTS: * The start of the side hustle to the development of a digital marketing agency. * Trusting yourself and the experience you have. * The importance of schedules as well as you’re alone time. GET MORE: Website [https://pancakedigitalsolutions.com/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/pancakedigitalsolutions/] | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/PancakeDigitalSolutions] | ---------------------------------------- FOLLOW YOUR HOSTS: D Website [http://www.danniefountain.com/] | D Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/dannielynnfountain/] // C Website [http://caitlynallen.com/] | C Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/caitmallen/] Get the Side Hustle Starter Kit Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Spotify (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850598217-Z1C7L1HJVC06J4GS2KHR/download.png?format=1000w] https://open.spotify.com/show/604gEO0zi4wDa3Wliz3gtG Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Apple Podcasts (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850608229-N7H3W9YYYZJKGBZOHIJZ/noun_podcast_34806.png?format=1000w] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-side-hustle-gal/id1201940803 Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Google Podcasts (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850598267-W8ESOIWJ0P8J4DE1JEEB/Google+Podcasts.png?format=1000w] https://playmusic.app.goo.gl/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&apn=com.google.android.music&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/Iqzy2wk5pwlfsvsts5hdmcj4zum?t%3DThe_Side_Hustle_Gal%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16 ---------------------------------------- Episode Transcript Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:00:21] Hello and welcome back to the side hustle gal podcast. Caitlyn Allen: [00:00:26] Oh, I'm supposed to go. Oh my goodness. Hi guys. Welcome. I am so excited to be introducing who is joining us today. Rianna of pancake. Digital solutions. Why did I just blank on what your business name is? I'm so excited. Rianna is. Awesome. Like, I just don't even know how to explain her. Um, I met Rianna with, uh, one of my clients, Joey. Um, she worked with us, uh, with a trademark, and then she actually coached me how to work on Facebook ads, um, through indie law. So that was a lot of fun. Mmm. And with that, I created a great relationship with her and she is just the best person to talk to about a lot of digital marketing. Um, I feel like her and Dannie could be like besties because they do a lot of similar things. Um, so yeah, I'm super excited to introduce Rianna Rianna. Can you tell us a little bit about you and about why you identify with being a side hustler?  Rianna Hill: [00:01:39] Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much, Caitlyn. That's a very sweet intro. I'm definitely enjoyed being working with you off and on over the past few years. That's been been wonderful. Um, so yeah, my name is Rianna . Um, yes, like the singer, but without the H, uh, having her coming around was kind of the best thing ever because now everyone can say my name, so that's pretty cool. And I'm currently living on the Washington state peninsula, which is kind of that broken off piece in the top left corner. Um, lived in seven different States as I am currently a Navy wife and expectant mother to be. So that's kind of the exciting things about me. And why do identify as a side hustler? I mean, honestly, that could really be my whole life is being a side hustler. I remember some of my earliest memories are like walking around and picking up change and finding stuff in the. A couch cushion seats too, as like my first job. So my parents started giving me various jobs and once I learned like, Oh, I could mow my own lawn, then all of a sudden it was like, Oh, let me mow the neighbor's lawn. Oh, let me pull their weeds and you know, have little invoices and spreadsheets. Um. So when I started my career in 2009 and I was trying to apply to different restaurants, you know, no one's going to hire a teenager with no experience in 2009 it's just not happening. So, um, I started doing that freelancer stuff online, you know, making logos, learning how to make websites. And now that I'm a Navy wife and we move all the time, it's really become my reality. So that's a. That's definitely my identity in a nutshell.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:03:24] So you currently run, um, uh,  digital marketing agency, right? So how did you, do you currently identify as a side hustler or have you taken that kind of full time.  Rianna Hill: [00:03:41] Yeah. You know, that's a great question. So a lot of the work that I started doing originally, um, was very much kind of side hustle work while I was still in school and I did get out and get a a few part time jobs. Um. For my first couple of years out of my undergraduate school. Uh, but even then, even after I went full time, I still kept doing that freelancing stuff on the side, very much a side gig thing. Um. I also bought my first house when I was 19, and I manage that on the side. So that's kind of, I've always got a little projects like that going on. And so, uh, when we started moving around and I wasn't able to, we weren't living in one place long enough to have kind of that full time job. That's when I turned my agent, like my freelancing into an agency. But I also work for another company that I've been working for, uh, for, gosh, almost. Almost three years now, uh, with a little bit of a break last summer. and so I do have my agency full time, but I still have side hustles as well. Now I write for a couple online magazines and, um, Oh, manage, still manage our properties, pick up random jobs here and there. I did a seasonal job at a liquor store here for fun. Um. You know, to get out and meet people in a new place. So it's just, it's kind of, it's kind of a lifestyle, really. The whole like, and thought of having just one full time job seems so well, what do I do with the rest of my time? So that's definitely a big part of what I still do. Okay.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:05:20] Oh my gosh. I feel like Dannie can relate 50 million different levels. Like if she doesn't have 20 projects going on, I'm like Dannie, who are, you no, I am super curious though, because when I hear that, my first, my like initial gut reaction is, Oh, um, G how do you plan your day? Or like, how do you plan for. All of the things. So can you run us through what kind of your goal setting or planning looks like? Um, especially as you transition into different seasons. If you decide to take on some seasonal work or you know, you're launching something in your business, but you also have a big project with the side hustle that you're working on. Um, what does kind of your, so goal setting, and then what does your week look like?  Rianna Hill: [00:06:14] Sure. So that's definitely something that has changed a lot. Um, a lot of, especially once I left the office space and didn't have, you know, set hours within an office. It was a lot more difficult to set my own schedule because all of a sudden you have all this time freedom, which is amazing, and you think, Oh, now I'm going to be able to do all these things that I needed to. Yet setting that schedule is so difficult. Um, even as we crave it as creatures of habit. , especially when you're not experienced, you'll be going through and looking at, Oh, you know, I'm going to spend a couple of hours on this project. It's a couple of hours on this project. But then one of those projects all of a sudden takes twice as long as you thought it would, and then all of a sudden you get this new project that comes through and it's the end of the day and you haven't even started on the to do list that you started for yourself. So that was a huge learning curve for me. Um. When, especially when I was living in New York after having moved to South Carolina, not knowing where we were moving. Then we moved to Hawaii, but anyway, and it just was like, how do I plan my day? I don't even know how long I'm going to be here. There's all these uncertainties, which. Honestly, it was a huge benefit, uh, because I had to work through that and figure out, you know, Oh, I can't just take a lunch break and then sit and watch Netflix for three hours, and then my whole afternoon is gone. So as much as I tried to push myself into the schedule, what I realized with this, having all these projects and these different seasons and things changing, I mean, we'll live some more for three months and you know, then have to move again. And so that can really change. Constant, that constant change. I mean, you can't really have that structured rigid. set schedule. So what I've done is been able to switch on being very goal focused and say, okay, you know. This, this client project is needs to be done at this time. I can focus on doing that project at once. So every morning I set three specific goals and work on those as three specific tasks as opposed to trying to time block. And that has tremendously increased my productivity as well as that feeling at the end of the day. Like, Oh yeah, I did these three tasks, even if I wasn't able to get to anything else. You feel accomplished, which is really the battle of self-employment. Now, I'm also currently, I'm about to finish up my doctorate. I'm one class away from doing my dissertation, so that has been another interesting a Into my weekly schedule to shift to that next question. And what I have found is I can lump these things together. So my doctorate is in business administration, and so some of that, like last fall, my class was process. And so while I'm learning about all these process, I'm also writing processes for my business. And so being able to kind of. Yes, it's multiple different projects, but I'm all learning the same thing. Keeps it from, it's not really multitasking. It keeps it a lot more focused and in line with my overall career goals, um, and allows you to kind of lump those things together. So I read about these processes for homework, do it for my business, and then I'm able to complete my homework, talking about what I just did for my business. So that's kinda how my week looks. I try to honor weekends, but with homework, that's not always easy. Um, I do have the benefit of being married to somebody who has a very rigid structured, he has to be at work at a specific time and his home, you know, at varying times it has specific calls and meetings. So I've mirrored a lot of my schedule off of his to kind of emulate that structure for myself at home.  Okay. So gotta ask. Cause I'mDannie Lynn Fountain: [00:10:08] also getting a doctorate in business administration. Um, where are you going? What's your specialty?  Rianna Hill: [00:10:18] Very cool. Um, that's awesome. That parallel there. So the school is called Tri-Net university international. Um, I started there about two years ago and not living in Hawaii. They recently just got purchased by American Intercontinental university, both online schools out of California, and actually, I think Americans out of Arizona. so it's kind of an online school that's very military friendly, which with the DBA can be hard to find first of all, online. Um, and second of all, something that's not outrageously expensive. So this fit the schedule really, really well, and the accreditation has bumped up by being bought by this new university. So that's really cool. Um, to kind of have that added bonus. But it is, it's general, so there's not a specific concentration. Um, it's just kind of general business administration. Although I could say it's probably fair to say, especially with my thesis research, it's a lot more marketing focused.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:11:22] Love it. I'm getting mine through Capella. And, um, my specialty is in HR. And so my thesis is going to, my hypothesis for my thesis is that, um, professional side hustlers make better corporate employees. So  love that. That's awesome.  Love the parallel. Um, so back to broader productivity. You talked about mirroring your schedule off of your partners, and I think that, um, there's a lot of natural. a ability to do that. So like I think about my partner who works a second shift schedule, which means that when I'm done with work at five, until he gets home at 10 during non Corona times, um, I really have from like five to 10:00 PM to do whatever I want, which is usually like business, school work, et cetera. What tips and advice would you give for someone who. Basically has the same schedule as their partner. So your free times are at the same time, but you still need that alone time. It's like what happens on your schedule's mirror too well?  Rianna Hill: [00:12:37] Sure. Okay. That's a great question. Um, so when we first started living together in South Carolina, that was very true. Um, I still had a, I had a full time job. Um, and he was working, he was doing a training that was a little more than full time, um, day to day.  and then of course, weekends off and evenings off. And so very, very similar. We, the one difference was, is he would usually get up early and go in early and I would stay up late to do my work late. And so, and, uh, we were, we had bought our house out there and rented out the other rooms. So we basically just had like a one our one bedroom that had our desks and had everything there. And then everything else was shared space. So, you know, he would get up at like four o'clock in the morning and get dressed and, you know, be fumbling around and kind of wake me up and I'd be all irritated. And then at night he'd go to bed earlier and I would be up a little bit later. I'm trying to be really quiet and not bother him while I was getting my master's degree. And then in the interim periods, like around dinner time and whatnot. Yeah, we both had this free time, but we both had these other things we needed to be working on. And so it was very paralleled and yet a little bit of a struggle. So what I started doing is getting up at the same time he did at 4:00 AM, which we still usually do. Um. It's, it's good. Uh, it's like crying on the inside, but it is good. Um, and then when he goes to work that early, I have that free time in the morning, you know, two, three hours or so where I can work on homework or just have that alone time that I need. Especially being an only child. I'm used to my alone time with two working parents. I definitely need that alone time. Uh. And so it gave me that morning to myself to be able to have sort of that freedom and whatnot. And then in the afternoons we would come home or evenings, I guess, you know, and have dinner together and that's your free time and you turn your phones off and you have those conversations. How was your day? You have that hour to where you can really just focus on each other. And then the rest of the time you don't have to feel guilty about working. So we would both then study or work on our other projects after dinner, um, at the same time, you know, with our desks together. And it just made such a huge difference. And so we've emulated that from place to place. Now. In fact, our living room here is, uh, desks instead of the TV. So, um. Just finding kind of those compromises in those balances is probably the tip that I would find a would recommend, as well as having those specific times where it's just the two of you so that when you're working, you don't feel guilty about not spending time with them and you're spending time with them. You don't feel guilty about not doing work because you know, we have this set time together and I have this set time for work and so it, it helps a lot.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:15:49] I can definitely relate to that type of structure because I actually get up at 4:00 AM every morning currently. Um, uh, the person that I live with, he, um, gets up at 4:00 AM and goes to work at 6:00 AM, and it's just easiest to wake up that early work and have like that quiet time. Plus, even when I was living in the city that. Like that 4:00 to 6:00 AM Mark is so nice because it's so quiet out like nobody else is out and about. So, um, Oh, that's such a good recommendation. I mean, I think it's a good recommendation to try to work in the morning if you can, or at least take that, that personal time there. Um. What would you say has been one of your biggest business challenges or challenges as a, somebody running a business and also side hustling on the, on the side.  Rianna Hill: [00:16:47] Okay. Yeah, absolutely. That's a fantastic question. Um. And as somebody who started doing these kinds of things that, you know, 14, 15,16 years old and going to these chamber of commerce meetings and meeting these big business owners as a teenager, I think a huge issue has been not trusting myself because a lot of the, a lot of the stuff I learned. Just asking people questions and listening and getting this advice and learning as much as possible and saying, you know, I don't know these things. Tell me how to do this. Um, but at this stage, I do know how to do these things. Yet I'm still, you know, in my twenties I'm getting approaching late twenties. So it's a little bit more, a little bit more defined now, but still, just knowing like, Hey, yeah, I'm only. When I started the officially started the business like I was only 23 years old. Uh, when I incorporated it and going and saying, yeah, I'm 23 year old business owner and have these team members that helped me with this work and yeah, I do know my stuff. It's really hard to, as much as you're like, yeah, I know my stuff is really hard to sit there and look at that and say, well, yeah, actually I'm a trustworthy person. This is a trustworthy business. This is a real thing. And a lot of the mistakes I've made is because I didn't trust myself. And what I've learned from doing this over the last several years, decades almost, um, Yeah. You know, this might not be the normal thing that people advise. I might not be charging the correct prices or doing the right servicing, or someone might see this, but you know, there's all this contradictory advice and the most important thing is doing what works for your business. And you know, I almost went bankrupt last year because I kept trying to do. The structure that I thought I was supposed to do. I kept trying to do the things that everyone was telling you to do, including quitting that, that part time job that I have with the other agency because I thought, you know everyone at focus on the one thing only do your one thing. But that's, that's just not me. That's not how I function and it didn't work. And. It showed, you know, I burnt out, I was done. I was toasted and hated what I was doing. And so circling back to, you know, why did I start all this stuff in the first place? And trusting myself and going with my gut, and now my last four months have been profitable. My most profitable in three years. And more than that actually. And so that's. That's so important as any entrepreneur. Mmm. Especially as as a young entrepreneur to trust yourself and know what you're doing with also still having humility that you have a lot of things to learn. And also as an older entrepreneur, maybe you know a lot of things, but there's also still a lot you can learn kind of where ever you are in that boat. Always more to learn. There's always something to be humble about, but at the end of the day, trust yourself. I fricking love this.Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:19:50] Gosh, this has been such a good conversation. Um, to the point of learning. I would love to know where people could come hang out with you online and learn from your experience. You have a ton to offer from managing that ever. Moving life, balancing education, all of those things. So where can we hang out with you. Rianna Hill: [00:20:11] Awesome. Yeah. The best place for me specifically would be the Facebook page, pancake digital solutions, just facebook.com/pancake digital solutions. I go live there quite a bit, share a lot of content, post my blogs there. Uh, that's, that's kinda the fun place to hang out with me online.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:20:32] Amazing. This has been so great. Thank you for spending time with us today.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:20:37] Yes. Thank you.  Rianna Hill: [00:20:38] Thank you so much. I love this.

Episode 318 | Jam Session on Mid-Year Goal Setting / Check-ins

[https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1585502801164-Y0CG9FNXKR3W8P7JHGJN/318+IG+Square.png?format=1000w]   Today Dannie and Caitlyn are having a Jam Session on Mid-Year Goal Setting / Check-ins. We believe in accessible content and that anyone who wants to learn from this content should be able to. In order to support this, we’ve had every episode of Season 4 transcribed. The transcriptions are available at the bottom of every episode blog post. ---------------------------------------- SHOW HIGHLIGHTS: * Knowing when its time to cut loose a goal. *  The importance of pivoting. * How to measure your goals. ---------------------------------------- FOLLOW YOUR HOSTS: D Website [http://www.danniefountain.com/] | D Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/dannielynnfountain/] // C Website [http://caitlynallen.com/] | C Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/caitmallen/] Get the Side Hustle Starter Kit Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Spotify (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850598217-Z1C7L1HJVC06J4GS2KHR/download.png?format=1000w] https://open.spotify.com/show/604gEO0zi4wDa3Wliz3gtG Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Apple Podcasts (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850608229-N7H3W9YYYZJKGBZOHIJZ/noun_podcast_34806.png?format=1000w] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-side-hustle-gal/id1201940803 Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Google Podcasts (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850598267-W8ESOIWJ0P8J4DE1JEEB/Google+Podcasts.png?format=1000w] https://playmusic.app.goo.gl/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&apn=com.google.android.music&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/Iqzy2wk5pwlfsvsts5hdmcj4zum?t%3DThe_Side_Hustle_Gal%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16 ---------------------------------------- Episode Transcript - Goal setting Jam Session   Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:00:21] Hello and welcome back to the side hustle gal podcast. You've got just me and Caitlyn today for our last jam session of the season. Holy shit.  Uh, so today we are going to be talking to you about maybe your goal checking and setting new goals at the midyear if you need to plus maybe telling you something about the goals that we set this year. Yeah. Uh, so let's dig right in. First thing that we want to talk about is how to check in on your goals. And we should probably preface this by saying that there are literally dozens of different ways to set goals. A couple of years ago, right in a Pomeroy, and I wrote a book interviewing a bunch of different goal-setting experts, and there were so many different things that we discovered. Um, so first there's no right way to goal set. Um, but checking in on your goals is interesting, right? Cause I feel like we set goals and then I used to be the person that would like set goals in my power sheets and then never use the tending list throughout the year.  um, so checking in on your goals is really about A, is this thing still important to me? B, have I achieved it? C. If I haven't achieved it, is it because of A or because of needing to put processes in place to get shit done? What do you think, caitlyn?  Caitlyn Allen: [00:01:50] Yeah. Um, I think this is a very interesting thing because with my clients, I actually do quarterly goal setting. Um, so mid year is usually not really. Okay. Kind of review outside of financial goals. Um, but I do know that if you set big goals for the year, you should be, in my opinion, checking in on them at least quarterly to make sure that they're staying up to date. Um, and I know this podcast episode is going live in July, I think. So it's perfect time to be talking about that midyear check-in and yeah, I think that it's. the check-in is more about is this working or am I just not working on this thing? Is it. Providing what I'm expecting it to provide, or did I write this down because everybody else was doing it? So taking a look at what your goals were and what Headspace you were in when you wrote them, and then really reevaluating the year. I think especially true with this year, the Coronavirus has thrown a damper on a lot of different things, or. Um, is making a lot of us pivot our businesses. And so this is kind of the perfect time to think about, okay, what were my goals then? What are my goals now? And how do I get there for the next six months or next three months? And I think that kind of brings us into how to pivot and create new goals unless, Dan, do you have anything else to say about checking in.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:03:31] No, I think it had a pivot. Basically, this year is more important than ever. Right? Like you and I were talking before we started recording this episode. What if like what if they just don't matter anymore? Oh, and I think with Corona, that can be especially true. I think about those folks who had in-person events planned for Q2. That I ended up getting canceled or in person events for Q3 that have had rough ticket sales because no one wants to commit to an in person event right now. Um, so how do you pivot? How do you adjust? I'm a good example of, this is even my own in person event. I have an in person event in September of this year, and I literally launched ticket sales the first week of March, and at the end of that week, it was declared a pandemic. And so we, we immediately stopped promoting ticket sales. Early bird was supposed to end March 31st but like we extended it through the end of may that, um, because you have to, you have to shift and adapt. A lot of event planners have put into place ways to still hold their event digitally. Ah, like if coronavirus is still a thing in September, we're just gonna mail everyone swag and snacks and hold it virtually. Mmm. So while the event industry is a more concrete example, there's other ways that this can be impacted because businesses are putting. Not essential projects on hold to focus on shifting. I'm even seeing that at work at Google, like all of the non-essential tests and planning that we have for Q2 gone out the window. Caitlyn Allen: [00:05:16] Um, a lot of our sales goals have had to shift as well for a lot of business owners I work for.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:05:22] Yeah, exactly. Um, so it's, it's an interesting, right? It's a, a reminder of those dream to do list. That we have and that we've never gotten done. We've seen a lot of personal ability to do that. I mean, my Instagram has been flooded with people organizing their homes and doing all those projects that we'd ever got to. A friend of mine is live documenting her home renovation that they just decided to do since her and her husband are both at home right now. Um. So there is a lot of that going on and it makes you think about, you know, what's important because a lot of times we just carry things over on our to do, to do list from one day to the next to the next  to the next. And next thing you know, for six months you've been carrying this item over. Maybe it's time to scratch it off and let it go.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:06:15] Or really do the damn thing now because we have time. So like for me, I was super excited. I bought a course at the beginning or the end of last year, and I was like, hell yeah, this is the time I'm going to do this thing. And then. As you guys know, or as Dannie knows, my mom got really sick and I had to go back to Michigan and just a lot of things kept getting in the way and it kept getting pushed on the back burner. But now we have time, like take some time to  finish those courses. Take that time to read that workbook that you purchased. Take this time to really focus on your business too, and come back stronger than ever because.  this isn't going to last forever. It's just a season, just like anything else. Um, and it's the perfect time to make those pivots, if that's what you want to do.   Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:07:08] yeah, that's spot on. So if you're going to pivot and if you're going to set new goals, let's talk about measuring those goals, right? Um, so you've all heard of smart goals, right? Simple, measurable, actionable. Repeatable, right? Something like that. Anyway, look into smart goals. It's a good way to measure it. And before we started recording, Caitlyn and I were talking about the difference between measuring quantitative goals and qualitative goals, right? Quantitative goals, easy to measure. Did you hit your numbers? Did you produce the X number of things that you plan to produce? So for us, did we complete all 20 episodes of season four. Like, that's really easy. You either publish 20 episodes or you didn't.  Um, but those qualitative goals, write those in a little bit harder to measuring, to understand and to think about. So when you're setting, qualitative goals, think about breaking the master qualitative goal into quantitative chunks. So if you're writing a book. Maybe set a goal of recording writing 2000 words a week, or if you want to build a coaching program, set a goal of developing one chunk of it a week for the next seven weeks and really break it down so that way you have ways to check the box in in an actually measurable way, and you don't find yourself at the day of the deadline with. No book written or no program developed  Caitlyn Allen: [00:08:45] and schedule time on your calendar to do the damn thing. Like that's what I see missing all of the time is, Oh yeah, I'm going to do, I'm going to write a chapter of my book this week because that's my goal is to write a chapter a week for the next three months. It's not on their calendar, like they're not actually doing the thing. So when you're writing and you're making these smart goals or these quantitative goals, um, I always recommend having a chunk of time in your week and always putting it at the beginning of the week cause we know that we're going to switch it. Let's be honest, we all do it. We all push it to the end of the week, but that you do it. And. Find an accountability buddy for it. We all, all of us out there, especially in the creative industry, have goals and things that we want to achieve. Talk to your friends, see if they can hold you accountable, and maybe they have something that they want be held accountable for too. I think that is my number one recommendation is just having somebody to check in with, Hey, have you done this thing this week? I haven't. I have,  um. Or I'm working on it tomorrow instead of today, like I planned, whatever. Um, but 100% what Dannie said, I always, always, always recommend quantitative goals or the over qualitative goals because qualitative can be emotionally charged and you can never actually get the thing done because there's no measurement to it. So always set a quantitative goal or. Mmm. Make sure that there is quantitative pieces to that goal at the end of the day. Um,  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:10:35] let's talk about our goals.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:10:37] Yeah, that's what I was just about to say.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:10:41] Um, so if you want to see my 2020 goals, you can head to  danniefountaint.com/blog/goals/update and you can see the recap of what I did in 2019 and what I'm doing this year. And I have, looking at this list, I have seven goals. Uh, two of them.  Are quantitative numbers based and the rest are qualitative. So of those quantitative goals, right. I have finished paying off my debt, which as of January 1st I had $48,000 as of recording this episode at the end of March, I have 18,000 left. It's like we're chugging along.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:11:23] wait a second. Like, let's celebrate that, right quick? Hell yeah. That's amazing. Dannie.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:11:31] And then my other quantitative goal is to read books following the read harder challenge. Um, and it's the end of march. I've read 31 books so far this year. Uh, coronavirus definitely helped with that one. Hey, maybe you're hurting some people's goals, but it's definitely helping my reading goal. So especially with all of these companies like, um, Apple books and scribed, giving free access to libraries of books certainly helps. Um, and then qualitatively, I have be more minimalist, get healthy, be a better caretaker, uh, transition my business. Um, so the transition of business one is done. Like I rebranded that launched sometime in January. Life is good. Uh, and the others I'm just working on, right? Like,  Caitlyn Allen: [00:12:25] can we talk about how you, how do you check that off of your to do list? How do you know when it's completed? Do you have, like after you've written that qualitative goal, how do you know when it's done. Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:12:37] It's a good question, right? Um, you kind of have to write down the measurement. So going back to when we were talking about measuring, when you write, when you read a quantitative goal, it's easy. There is $48,000 of debt when that number is zero, that goal is complete. Cross it off. Okay. When you sat that qualitative goal, transition my business fully from its current iteration to its future state, that's vague as fuck. But, uh, I had already committed to a rebrand when I wrote that goal. And so the, the way that I decided to measure it is. Launch the rebrand and book one new client under the rebranded like entity. Right. Um, so check, check. And for me, that's complete. So when you're setting those qualitative goals, define how you'll measure it, and if you publish your goals publicly, like I do, you don't need to publish the measurement metric, but have it written down somewhere. Caitlyn Allen: [00:13:40] Yeah, that's what I wanted to get at, was making sure that you're writing down kind of what it means to finish it, because I've worked on lots of teams where we've set goals, and then at the end we're like, okay. So I think I hit this goal, but like we never really figured out what it meant to finish it. Um, so I think that's something that, uh, is definitely something that's lacking in goal setting that a lot of people don't talk about. Um, for me this year I didn't really set many goals. Uh, to be honest, I think this year my. A mindset walking into 2020 was, I want this to be a year of, um, just like openness for me. So allowing myself to breathe and allowing myself to have kind of. A vagueness to it. Um, but one thing that I did say I wanted to do was to be more consistent on social media. And, um, I'm definitely doing that. You'll see, uh, Instagram stories for me, Instagram feed posts from me, something that was very much lacking before and more talking about business oriented things and not just personal. Um. Uh, another thing that I. I told myself I wanted to do at the beginning of the year was to work on my health and wellness. So I've really been focused on like meditating at nighttime. Um, and. Going to the gym. though` the Coronavirus thing is definitely impacted that. Right. So, um, but figuring out how to transition it to your home, like that's, it's just something that makes, makes me feel better. Um, so I do it, and I think the last thing that I really wanted to do in my business was pivot. And so I'm working on finishing that pivot and I hope to have it done by the end of this. Uh. Second quarter, uh, I've really pivoting into the integrator, the COO role. Um, I have been taking a course by Kristin Kaplan. Um, that has been awesome and amazing and super helpful in making that transition. And I'm just. Super excited to continue working towards that. But yeah, I think for me, I have a hard time. I have an easy time helping other people goal set a boat when it comes to me, I'm just kind of like, yeah, I'll get there when I get there. So, uh, for me it's been really good to have that accountability partner or that accountability buddy that's like, Hey, yo, checking in. How you doing? Um, that's super helpful.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:16:35] Love, it, so I wanna know. Let us know as we wrap up this episode, come find us on Instagram and let us know what your goals are. Are you pivoting at this half year Mark? Are you re-evaluating the way that you are measuring success? come strike up conversation. We'll have some resources in the show notes for you to make this a little bit easier. And in the meantime, we'll see you next week.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:17:01] See you later.

Episode 317 | Rosalia Rivera of About Consent Podcast.

[https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1582703821410-NJSGHZJP54KTGOOMKJRM/317.png?format=1000w]   Today Dannie and Caitlyn are talking with Rosalia Rivera of About Consent Podcast. We believe in accessible content and that anyone who wants to learn from this content should be able to. In order to support this, we’ve had every episode of Season 4 transcribed. The transcriptions are available at the bottom of every episode blog post. ---------------------------------------- SHOW HIGHLIGHTS: * Knowing when it is time to turn away from something because the passion is gone. * The impact that the cultural landscape can have on your side hustle. * being able to take a step back and separate family life from your side hustle. GET MORE: Rainn [https://rainn.org/] Pod: Website [https://aboutconsent.com/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/aboutconsentpodcast/] | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/aboutconsent/] | Parenting: Website [https://www.consentparenting.com/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/consentparenting/] | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/groups/consentparenting/] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO3YldGtyyNzFieKzog90oQ/featured] ---------------------------------------- FOLLOW YOUR HOSTS: D Website [http://www.danniefountain.com/] | D Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/dannielynnfountain/] // C Website [http://caitlynallen.com/] | C Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/caitmallen/] Get the Side Hustle Starter Kit Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Spotify (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850598217-Z1C7L1HJVC06J4GS2KHR/download.png?format=1000w] https://open.spotify.com/show/604gEO0zi4wDa3Wliz3gtG Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Apple Podcasts (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850608229-N7H3W9YYYZJKGBZOHIJZ/noun_podcast_34806.png?format=1000w] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-side-hustle-gal/id1201940803 Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Google Podcasts (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850598267-W8ESOIWJ0P8J4DE1JEEB/Google+Podcasts.png?format=1000w] https://playmusic.app.goo.gl/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&apn=com.google.android.music&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/Iqzy2wk5pwlfsvsts5hdmcj4zum?t%3DThe_Side_Hustle_Gal%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16 ---------------------------------------- Episode Transcript   Caitlyn Allen: [00:00:21] Hey guys, welcome back to the side hustle gal podcast. I am so excited today because we have Carey of cor marketing. Um, Carey and I met a couple of years ago, um, when Rosemary Watson, um, connected us. We went to a like retreat together type thing. Um, and it was just, it was so much fun to connect with entrepreneurs and that's something that a lot of us probably don't do, especially for side hustling. There is a lot of work that's going into it. So I'm taking the time to go out and meet people, uh, can bring you business because now Carey and I work together. So Carey, tell us a little bit about, you.  Carey Osenbau: [00:01:06] Um, my name is Carey Osenbau I have kind of been in this, um, what you would call like web and marketing space, probably almost 15 years now. I started back in early two thousands before this whole. Online VA space really was a big thing. It was just starting to pick up steam. I worked in the legal field and realized very quickly with two small children that that wasn't going to be an option for me anymore unless I wanted to pay massive amounts of money to. For daycare costs and what's the point of working at that point? So, um, I quickly, I had to find another solution and I stumbled upon this world of, um, designing websites, designing e-commerce. So I quickly dove in, made some connections, and. Started, um, providing those services, um, learning all that I could about design and development. I'm pretty much self, self taught myself from the very beginning. Um, since then I worked for multiple companies, um, worked for startups, Mmm. Wellness practitioners. And so learning the ins and outs of all their different types of businesses, but all while still continuing to provide, Mmm. You know, services to other clients on the side. So I was still, while I had like full time jobs throughout my, um, for the last 15 years, I always continue to work on the side building websites, um, making connections, um, and essentially continuing to run that type of business. Ref mainly off of just referrals. So, you know, I would do something for somebody and then they're like, Hey, you know, Carrie's really good at what she does. If you need a website, go give her a call. So. For the longest time, I've essentially grown my side business based purely off of referrals. Um, I did go back to school and get my biz finished up, my business degree. So I was able to kind of connect all the pieces as far as being able to help small businesses and medium sized businesses, tie everything together through marketing, through business structure, and then also design and development and marketing their businesses online. Mmm. So I think seven years ago, after working full time for a wellness practitioner, I, um, was pregnant with my now seven year old and I decided to jump back into taking my side hustle full time. And so, um, continued to grow. Over the last two years, I've gotten so busy that I decided, um, that it was time to build a team. And so, I mean, last year we did our first, um, six figure year, and it's been a, an amazing kind of journey and all the, uh, the Austin businesses that we get to work with.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:04:08] So it really sounds like a lot of connections have brought you the business that you've had. How do you. Like, how do you build those connections, um, outside of like, of course somebody is a, a client and then they're referring, but how have you really built those connections? And then the followup question to that is, are the. Times that you connect with people who are referrals. Is that ever awkward? Um like, Oh, well this person knew you, so you must be good type of thing, versus they're finding you organically and they think that you're good, if that makes sense? Carey Osenbau: [00:04:49] Okay. Um, so as far as being able to connect with people, that's always been a big struggle for me. Um. I don't know. I don't consider myself an introvert. Once I get to know somebody, I kind of like open up and like blossom. And then, you know, I'm a chatterbox, but it's, I've always been kind of shy in nature. So that's always been one area that I've struggled in. So I've been, I kind of look for opportunities and honestly, um, with the online Instagram community has really, um, made it easier to connect with people. That are doing the same types of work that you're doing and being a, you know, a work from home entrepreneur, it's really hard to get out unless there's somebody that's put something together. I'm some kind of community to where that you can get out and meet other type of like minded business owners. So having the Instagram community has been amazing. Um, and the opportunities that have actually come from that. And being able to promote other people because you're meeting all different types of people that do different things. So if you're niched and specialized in one specific thing, you may have, um. Somebody that you've connected with that maybe does similar type of work, but if they say, specialize in Squarespace and they come across a client that needs Shopify help, then they're, because you've made that connection and you've built that trust factor with them, they're more willing to give you that referral because you have built that. Um. That relationship with them. Um, and then one thing that has really helped too with the referral base business is is essentially how you treat your customers. And, you know, I tried to always provide the best experience, um, go above and beyond. Um. What my offering is, and really tried to educate and, and give the best product that I can. And that has really helped too. Um, it's, the service that you provide is also self-promotion because if, if your client has a great experience, obviously they're going to refer you to other people because once you build that trust with a client, there. More willing to give you, like they're trusted people that they have relationships with. So, um, and then the second part of your question was, can you, um,  Caitlyn Allen: [00:07:21] yeah. So do you ever find it awkward when you have a. Referral come through, um, where they just, instead of knowing your work and knowing what you offer, they just kind of come in and are like, well, you've worked with this person, so I'm sure that you can do this. Like, is it ever awkward trying to explain your products to somebody who already thinks that you can give them what they need?  Carey Osenbau: [00:07:48] Um, I think I've been in this business so long that maybe in the beginning it was, I mean, I've had some, um. Maybe drawbacks to that. But as I've continued to grow and I'm actually like one of the things that has helped with that as, as far as like niching, but I do understand what you're saying. Cause sometimes if you niche so far down, people are like, well, do you do this? And being like. With my company, we are kind of like a one stop shop. We do a lot of different things. So, um, it is surprising to clients sometimes all of the different types of services that we offer because we don't always communicate that in our marketing and advertising. Um, and then also, um, as far as people that maybe just organically have found me, um, it's usually based. Same. It's based on what we have advertised our services to be, but then once you get to know the the customer, then it's easier to kind of just tell them like all the additional stuff Caitlyn Allen: [00:08:50] So some things that he liked to go above and beyond for a client. But let's talk about going above and beyond for a client because there can be going above and beyond and shooting yourself in the foot. So how have you dealt with that? Um, are you dealing with that? Has that been a struggle?  Carey Osenbau: [00:09:08] Well over, probably I say the last, um, this last phase of my business going, working for myself full time. I have dealt with lots of issues as far as, you know, undercharging, undervaluing my work. Um. And, and as a freelancer in the beginning, trying to do and serve and do more, like going above and beyond essentially is led myself to burn out multiple times and having, you know, adrenal fatigue and then finding out I have thyroid issues. So through that whole process, I've had a lot of growth as far as, and I've worked with some like one-on-one coaches as far as. Um, learning to, you know, value my time and my energy. And so part of that growth has led to building a team. So then we can still go above and beyond, provide value for the client at a rate that is. You know, we're able to charge our customer a rate that values our time and abilities, but still to the point where I'm not taking everything on myself. It's distributed. And, Through throughout my team. So then I can focus on my strong points. And then the other people within my team focus on their strong points. So it's, it's, uh, it's a group effort as far as that, because now with some of the health issues that I have, stress plays a big factor in it. So I have to. Be very specific about how much I can take on, um, to continue to keep up with, um, some of my health struggles that I have. Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:10:53] So there's a lot that has to be balanced here, and there's a lot that you're juggling and there's a lot that requires open transparency with your clients. I think I can relate to this in terms of like being really transparent about when Google completely sucks over my business schedule, right? Caitlyn can relate especially with what's been going on recently in her life. how do you. Cause I struggle with this too. How do you let go of the pride and the fear around sharing what's going on so that your clients like understand what's going on in it doesn't just come across that you're screwing around. Cause that's always my fear.  Carey Osenbau: [00:11:35] Right. Um, that's a hard one because there is that whole thing. Do you share your struggles online in fear of then people aren't going to book you because. They have issues and they probably can't give my  Mmm. My project, their full attention. So it's been interesting because one of the groups that I have found through the rising tide society, there is a small group called the, um, for people with chronic illnesses. So that's been interesting to be able to connect with people who are struggling with some of the same issues that you have. But, um, I am not, I haven't been 100% that's one thing I still do struggle with. Like for instance, and I haven't shared this with a lot of people. Last summer I had a miscarriage and I was down for probably a month and I didn't, I didn't share it with many people, but I think one of the things that really helped was. Building. And I think with, with having a team in place, um, that is really important as you continue to like grow a business is you can have people that you depend on that can be there to pick up those pieces when you can't. And that has been a huge game changer. Like having people on my team, like Caitlyn, like I know. Without a doubt that I can rely on her. If I have to step up, step back, that she can, she can do everything in my business. And that's a little scary sometimes, but I have that full trust in her and it's also like, yes, having somebody that works for you, but building those relationships with those people that you can build that trust in them and they can take over for you if you are not being able or if you're not, to be able to. Be there 100% and take a step back. Caitlyn Allen: [00:13:26] I agree. I mean, outside of the fact that I love working with you, Carey, I think that when you have health issues, knowing that. Somebody can be there to pick up the Slack if, if you need, like that is a game changer for business owners. Um, and I think that so many people are afraid to grow their team, but at the end of the day, if, especially if there are things like that, it's super important to make sure that you're sharing your knowledge with your team in case anything happens. Because. I actually had a client two years ago who went to the hospital for two weeks, like was in the hospital, couldn't communicate with anybody and. The team had to keep working. We couldn't just stop our work. Um, so making sure that you're communicating with your team in case you ever do, find yourself outside of, outside of your position or in a place where you know, you, you have a miscarriage or you're having a baby. Um, making it self-reliant a little bit.  Carey Osenbau: [00:14:33] Yeah. And I think that goes both ways. Like just in the last few weeks, like even with your situation, not being able to be like 100% I recognize that. And so like we just shift focus to other things at the time until you're able to come back and be like 100% so I think that that goes, I think when you have a really. Good, cohesive team. Um, there can be a lot of sliding back and forth and focusing on what needs to at the time. So if anybody's going through, because I mean, business is business and we're not big giant corporate businesses where, okay. Jim's gone for the week. Like Bob, you take over. Right? So, I mean, these are small businesses. We work closely with clients, and so you have to be able to be flexible and there's always seasons. So just having that strong, team environment and communication is really important when you're running a small business. Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:15:33] So I want to shift gears a little because I think that this also delves into just overall project management and the way that you're thinking about things and legacy planning. We hear all the time about business owners who haven't planned for what happens for their business, and then it ends up in probate and it's a whole thing. Um, what. Project management tools are you using? How do you use them? What are the processes that you really get excited about that make all of this shifting and adjusting more logical?  Carey Osenbau: [00:16:06] So doing this for a long time for, I was in the camp of let's fly by the seat of your pants, right? So when you go through things like. You know, health issues, you realize, well, this isn't really working for me anymore and I should probably be a little bit more organized. So even before I brought a project manager on, I started using tools. So one of the things that I love using, I can't remember it, he's a couple of years back because to me it doesn't matter anymore. But we love asana I love I love Google Google calendar If I didn't have Google calendar my whole life would fall apart Mmm And I use a CRM that kind of manages all of our clients and everything So I use 17 hats I've gone through and used them all and that seemed to be the one that worked the best for my business So we've set up automations for um lead generation Um And I think onboarding and those types of things But one of the really cool things by bringing somebody in like caitlyn is she um with her help we've been able to develop processes for the different types of services that we offer So and what's so we have taken like a whole project So say you're building a site from scratch We have everything from Collecting information from the client to onboarding them to the design phase the development phase review launch and then offboarding So we have gone through multiple projects We're able to look at look at each one after we finish and say okay so when we have our quarterly business meetings we say okay let's go over each one of our projects and say what was great about this one and what could we have done differently So then we're able to find tune our processes and then and so with each different type of project now it's kind of like second nature So it was interesting I think even the last um this last year We had issues where we had all these clients booked and then some of these clients were getting held up and one of the processes and then it created this like you know uh everything ended up getting backed up So then we had like three or four projects all at once So then our small team is not able to give the level of focus to the each of the clients So then we realized okay then we need to go back and Essentially even we decided even to put in a week zero for our process So are we zero is everything that the client actually has to get to us before we will even start or touch anything Cause we realized With clients not providing us content or things that we needed that that's started to bunch up our systems So being able to recognize that put new things in place for processes So now we've almost have it to where our process essentially if anybody else had to come in they could see that the way that we have it all laid out and take over if needed  Caitlyn Allen: [00:19:26] Yeah Having a full process outlined It also helps with that legacy right Because if for whatever reason carey or I was out for a week we could have one of our other people on the team come in and see where we are in the process and be able to walk through those steps pretty pretty smoothly Um so I think Making sure that you have those in place especially as you're hiring or hiring somebody to help you make those is a really good business move. Carey what what is something that you've seen so you've been doing this for a while What is something that you've seen change in the business or entrepreneur online entrepreneur world? From the beginning to now? What is something like a big shift that you've seen? Carey Osenbau: [00:20:14] Um the way that it's really the way that marketing is done Um even in the beginning working for companies we didn't have the whole social media space We didn't have I mean there were still Google search. There was like if you really want to get any advertisement we I worked for an ergonomic company and the like you know Mid two thousands and you'd have to send in a whole request to get your product reviewed So they would stick it in the you know Mack magazine at the time and then that could take like months and you know or even advertising in print There's a lot of advertising in print So that's before The online space really completely like ramped up You'd have websites for information and then we started getting into being able to purchase online Um but that has been the biggest shift is is The ability to be able to market yourself online essentially for little to no cost and connect with people and build a community with with the inter with the internet and the social media channels like that has been a huge thing And and also the shift in And I talked to my husband about this all the time because he works in corporate America The way that the advertising of old and the way that we connect and advertise and build relationships now online is a lot different especially for I think females in this space to be able to like you know I know a gal in California and she does this and I have friends up in Michigan  So uh one of the biggest changes that ha I have seen in over the last years is how female entrepreneurs have kind of changed the space to be able to connect and market products I'm using social channels Mmm Even a few years back The options for women We're to essentially be secretaries or go through um different you know if they went for further in college work for advertising agencies you can work in some kind of like corporate So to be able to be a female entrepreneur to raise families you really had limited options um for like stay at home moms Like you could get a couple more kids and like start you know babysit kids and make some extra money or different things Or maybe start A little side crafting or um but just the ability to for women to be able to shift and use the online space to be able to develop a product develop idea and market and make just as much money as they could working You know a nine to five job has has been a huge shift and the community aspect of it the way that women are supporting each other It's not this you know Mmm dog eat dog You know You know I'm not going to support you because I'm out there trying to get the same type of business that you are You can have Connections with people that do the same type of thing because like they say there is enough you know there is is enough work There is enough opportunities out there because you can reach so many more people Now  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:23:37] I think that that's so spot on We have such an opportunity to be stronger here and in a lot of ways that needs to be done So this has been a truly awesome episode Thank you so much for uh giving us your time I would love for the audience to be able to connect with you. Where can they come hang out with you online?  Carey Osenbau: [00:23:58] Um I'm mainly on Instagram just at Cor marketing And um that's my main thing I also website cormarketinggroup.com he can connect with me there Also believe we're on Pinterest and LinkedIn Um so yeah.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:24:17] Well thank you so much for hanging out today and we'll have all of that length in the show notes

Episode 316 | Carey Osenbau of Cor Marketing Group.

[https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1582573742372-7L53QF0HDH8J9NWMZIN3/316.png?format=1000w]   Today Dannie and Caitlyn are talking with Carey Osenbau of Cor Marketing Group. We believe in accessible content and that anyone who wants to learn from this content should be able to. In order to support this, we’ve had every episode of Season 4 transcribed. The transcriptions are available at the bottom of every episode blog post. ---------------------------------------- SHOW HIGHLIGHTS: * How you can build your side hustle solely from referrals. * How to. build connections for your businesses outside of just your client referrals. * The difference between finding a client organically vs a referral and how to approach each. *  Finding the difference between going above and beyond for a client and going too far. GET MORE: Website [https://cormarketinggroup.com/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/cormarketing/] | Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/company/cor-marketing-group/] | Pinterest [https://www.pinterest.com/cormarketinggroup/] ---------------------------------------- FOLLOW YOUR HOSTS: D Website [http://www.danniefountain.com/] | D Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/dannielynnfountain/] // C Website [http://caitlynallen.com/] | C Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/caitmallen/] Get the Side Hustle Starter Kit Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Spotify (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850598217-Z1C7L1HJVC06J4GS2KHR/download.png?format=1000w] https://open.spotify.com/show/604gEO0zi4wDa3Wliz3gtG Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Apple Podcasts (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850608229-N7H3W9YYYZJKGBZOHIJZ/noun_podcast_34806.png?format=1000w] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-side-hustle-gal/id1201940803 Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Listen on Google Podcasts (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy) [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5658d712e4b05079e4ac41ed/1556850598267-W8ESOIWJ0P8J4DE1JEEB/Google+Podcasts.png?format=1000w] https://playmusic.app.goo.gl/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&apn=com.google.android.music&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/Iqzy2wk5pwlfsvsts5hdmcj4zum?t%3DThe_Side_Hustle_Gal%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16 ---------------------------------------- Episode Transcript   Caitlyn Allen: [00:00:21] Hey guys, welcome back to the side hustle gal podcast. I am so excited today because we have Carey of cor marketing. Um, Carey and I met a couple of years ago, um, when Rosemary Watson, um, connected us. We went to a like retreat together type thing. Um, and it was just, it was so much fun to connect with entrepreneurs and that's something that a lot of us probably don't do, especially for side hustling. There is a lot of work that's going into it. So I'm taking the time to go out and meet people, uh, can bring you business because now Carey and I work together. So Carey, tell us a little bit about, you.  Carey Osenbau: [00:01:06] Um, my name is Carey Osenbau I have kind of been in this, um, what you would call like web and marketing space, probably almost 15 years now. I started back in early two thousands before this whole. Online VA space really was a big thing. It was just starting to pick up steam. I worked in the legal field and realized very quickly with two small children that that wasn't going to be an option for me anymore unless I wanted to pay massive amounts of money to. For daycare costs and what's the point of working at that point? So, um, I quickly, I had to find another solution and I stumbled upon this world of, um, designing websites, designing e-commerce. So I quickly dove in, made some connections, and. Started, um, providing those services, um, learning all that I could about design and development. I'm pretty much self, self taught myself from the very beginning. Um, since then I worked for multiple companies, um, worked for startups, Mmm. Wellness practitioners. And so learning the ins and outs of all their different types of businesses, but all while still continuing to provide, Mmm. You know, services to other clients on the side. So I was still, while I had like full time jobs throughout my, um, for the last 15 years, I always continue to work on the side building websites, um, making connections, um, and essentially continuing to run that type of business. Ref mainly off of just referrals. So, you know, I would do something for somebody and then they're like, Hey, you know, Carrie's really good at what she does. If you need a website, go give her a call. So. For the longest time, I've essentially grown my side business based purely off of referrals. Um, I did go back to school and get my biz finished up, my business degree. So I was able to kind of connect all the pieces as far as being able to help small businesses and medium sized businesses, tie everything together through marketing, through business structure, and then also design and development and marketing their businesses online. Mmm. So I think seven years ago, after working full time for a wellness practitioner, I, um, was pregnant with my now seven year old and I decided to jump back into taking my side hustle full time. And so, um, continued to grow. Over the last two years, I've gotten so busy that I decided, um, that it was time to build a team. And so, I mean, last year we did our first, um, six figure year, and it's been a, an amazing kind of journey and all the, uh, the Austin businesses that we get to work with.  Caitlyn Allen: [00:04:08] So it really sounds like a lot of connections have brought you the business that you've had. How do you. Like, how do you build those connections, um, outside of like, of course somebody is a, a client and then they're referring, but how have you really built those connections? And then the followup question to that is, are the. Times that you connect with people who are referrals. Is that ever awkward? Um like, Oh, well this person knew you, so you must be good type of thing, versus they're finding you organically and they think that you're good, if that makes sense? Carey Osenbau: [00:04:49] Okay. Um, so as far as being able to connect with people, that's always been a big struggle for me. Um. I don't know. I don't consider myself an introvert. Once I get to know somebody, I kind of like open up and like blossom. And then, you know, I'm a chatterbox, but it's, I've always been kind of shy in nature. So that's always been one area that I've struggled in. So I've been, I kind of look for opportunities and honestly, um, with the online Instagram community has really, um, made it easier to connect with people. That are doing the same types of work that you're doing and being a, you know, a work from home entrepreneur, it's really hard to get out unless there's somebody that's put something together. I'm some kind of community to where that you can get out and meet other type of like minded business owners. So having the Instagram community has been amazing. Um, and the opportunities that have actually come from that. And being able to promote other people because you're meeting all different types of people that do different things. So if you're niched and specialized in one specific thing, you may have, um. Somebody that you've connected with that maybe does similar type of work, but if they say, specialize in Squarespace and they come across a client that needs Shopify help, then they're, because you've made that connection and you've built that trust factor with them, they're more willing to give you that referral because you have built that. Um. That relationship with them. Um, and then one thing that has really helped too with the referral base business is is essentially how you treat your customers. And, you know, I tried to always provide the best experience, um, go above and beyond. Um. What my offering is, and really tried to educate and, and give the best product that I can. And that has really helped too. Um, it's, the service that you provide is also self-promotion because if, if your client has a great experience, obviously they're going to refer you to other people because once you build that trust with a client, there. More willing to give you, like they're trusted people that they have relationships with. So, um, and then the second part of your question was, can you, um,  Caitlyn Allen: [00:07:21] yeah. So do you ever find it awkward when you have a. Referral come through, um, where they just, instead of knowing your work and knowing what you offer, they just kind of come in and are like, well, you've worked with this person, so I'm sure that you can do this. Like, is it ever awkward trying to explain your products to somebody who already thinks that you can give them what they need?  Carey Osenbau: [00:07:48] Um, I think I've been in this business so long that maybe in the beginning it was, I mean, I've had some, um. Maybe drawbacks to that. But as I've continued to grow and I'm actually like one of the things that has helped with that as, as far as like niching, but I do understand what you're saying. Cause sometimes if you niche so far down, people are like, well, do you do this? And being like. With my company, we are kind of like a one stop shop. We do a lot of different things. So, um, it is surprising to clients sometimes all of the different types of services that we offer because we don't always communicate that in our marketing and advertising. Um, and then also, um, as far as people that maybe just organically have found me, um, it's usually based. Same. It's based on what we have advertised our services to be, but then once you get to know the the customer, then it's easier to kind of just tell them like all the additional stuff Caitlyn Allen: [00:08:50] So some things that he liked to go above and beyond for a client. But let's talk about going above and beyond for a client because there can be going above and beyond and shooting yourself in the foot. So how have you dealt with that? Um, are you dealing with that? Has that been a struggle?  Carey Osenbau: [00:09:08] Well over, probably I say the last, um, this last phase of my business going, working for myself full time. I have dealt with lots of issues as far as, you know, undercharging, undervaluing my work. Um. And, and as a freelancer in the beginning, trying to do and serve and do more, like going above and beyond essentially is led myself to burn out multiple times and having, you know, adrenal fatigue and then finding out I have thyroid issues. So through that whole process, I've had a lot of growth as far as, and I've worked with some like one-on-one coaches as far as. Um, learning to, you know, value my time and my energy. And so part of that growth has led to building a team. So then we can still go above and beyond, provide value for the client at a rate that is. You know, we're able to charge our customer a rate that values our time and abilities, but still to the point where I'm not taking everything on myself. It's distributed. And, Through throughout my team. So then I can focus on my strong points. And then the other people within my team focus on their strong points. So it's, it's, uh, it's a group effort as far as that, because now with some of the health issues that I have, stress plays a big factor in it. So I have to. Be very specific about how much I can take on, um, to continue to keep up with, um, some of my health struggles that I have. Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:10:53] So there's a lot that has to be balanced here, and there's a lot that you're juggling and there's a lot that requires open transparency with your clients. I think I can relate to this in terms of like being really transparent about when Google completely sucks over my business schedule, right? Caitlyn can relate especially with what's been going on recently in her life. how do you. Cause I struggle with this too. How do you let go of the pride and the fear around sharing what's going on so that your clients like understand what's going on in it doesn't just come across that you're screwing around. Cause that's always my fear.  Carey Osenbau: [00:11:35] Right. Um, that's a hard one because there is that whole thing. Do you share your struggles online in fear of then people aren't going to book you because. They have issues and they probably can't give my  Mmm. My project, their full attention. So it's been interesting because one of the groups that I have found through the rising tide society, there is a small group called the, um, for people with chronic illnesses. So that's been interesting to be able to connect with people who are struggling with some of the same issues that you have. But, um, I am not, I haven't been 100% that's one thing I still do struggle with. Like for instance, and I haven't shared this with a lot of people. Last summer I had a miscarriage and I was down for probably a month and I didn't, I didn't share it with many people, but I think one of the things that really helped was. Building. And I think with, with having a team in place, um, that is really important as you continue to like grow a business is you can have people that you depend on that can be there to pick up those pieces when you can't. And that has been a huge game changer. Like having people on my team, like Caitlyn, like I know. Without a doubt that I can rely on her. If I have to step up, step back, that she can, she can do everything in my business. And that's a little scary sometimes, but I have that full trust in her and it's also like, yes, having somebody that works for you, but building those relationships with those people that you can build that trust in them and they can take over for you if you are not being able or if you're not, to be able to. Be there 100% and take a step back. Caitlyn Allen: [00:13:26] I agree. I mean, outside of the fact that I love working with you, Carey, I think that when you have health issues, knowing that. Somebody can be there to pick up the Slack if, if you need, like that is a game changer for business owners. Um, and I think that so many people are afraid to grow their team, but at the end of the day, if, especially if there are things like that, it's super important to make sure that you're sharing your knowledge with your team in case anything happens. Because. I actually had a client two years ago who went to the hospital for two weeks, like was in the hospital, couldn't communicate with anybody and. The team had to keep working. We couldn't just stop our work. Um, so making sure that you're communicating with your team in case you ever do, find yourself outside of, outside of your position or in a place where you know, you, you have a miscarriage or you're having a baby. Um, making it self-reliant a little bit.  Carey Osenbau: [00:14:33] Yeah. And I think that goes both ways. Like just in the last few weeks, like even with your situation, not being able to be like 100% I recognize that. And so like we just shift focus to other things at the time until you're able to come back and be like 100% so I think that that goes, I think when you have a really. Good, cohesive team. Um, there can be a lot of sliding back and forth and focusing on what needs to at the time. So if anybody's going through, because I mean, business is business and we're not big giant corporate businesses where, okay. Jim's gone for the week. Like Bob, you take over. Right? So, I mean, these are small businesses. We work closely with clients, and so you have to be able to be flexible and there's always seasons. So just having that strong, team environment and communication is really important when you're running a small business. Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:15:33] So I want to shift gears a little because I think that this also delves into just overall project management and the way that you're thinking about things and legacy planning. We hear all the time about business owners who haven't planned for what happens for their business, and then it ends up in probate and it's a whole thing. Um, what. Project management tools are you using? How do you use them? What are the processes that you really get excited about that make all of this shifting and adjusting more logical?  Carey Osenbau: [00:16:06] So doing this for a long time for, I was in the camp of let's fly by the seat of your pants, right? So when you go through things like. You know, health issues, you realize, well, this isn't really working for me anymore and I should probably be a little bit more organized. So even before I brought a project manager on, I started using tools. So one of the things that I love using, I can't remember it, he's a couple of years back because to me it doesn't matter anymore. But we love asana I love I love Google Google calendar If I didn't have Google calendar my whole life would fall apart Mmm And I use a CRM that kind of manages all of our clients and everything So I use 17 hats I've gone through and used them all and that seemed to be the one that worked the best for my business So we've set up automations for um lead generation Um And I think onboarding and those types of things But one of the really cool things by bringing somebody in like caitlyn is she um with her help we've been able to develop processes for the different types of services that we offer So and what's so we have taken like a whole project So say you're building a site from scratch We have everything from Collecting information from the client to onboarding them to the design phase the development phase review launch and then offboarding So we have gone through multiple projects We're able to look at look at each one after we finish and say okay so when we have our quarterly business meetings we say okay let's go over each one of our projects and say what was great about this one and what could we have done differently So then we're able to find tune our processes and then and so with each different type of project now it's kind of like second nature So it was interesting I think even the last um this last year We had issues where we had all these clients booked and then some of these clients were getting held up and one of the processes and then it created this like you know uh everything ended up getting backed up So then we had like three or four projects all at once So then our small team is not able to give the level of focus to the each of the clients So then we realized okay then we need to go back and Essentially even we decided even to put in a week zero for our process So are we zero is everything that the client actually has to get to us before we will even start or touch anything Cause we realized With clients not providing us content or things that we needed that that's started to bunch up our systems So being able to recognize that put new things in place for processes So now we've almost have it to where our process essentially if anybody else had to come in they could see that the way that we have it all laid out and take over if needed  Caitlyn Allen: [00:19:26] Yeah Having a full process outlined It also helps with that legacy right Because if for whatever reason carey or I was out for a week we could have one of our other people on the team come in and see where we are in the process and be able to walk through those steps pretty pretty smoothly Um so I think Making sure that you have those in place especially as you're hiring or hiring somebody to help you make those is a really good business move. Carey what what is something that you've seen so you've been doing this for a while What is something that you've seen change in the business or entrepreneur online entrepreneur world? From the beginning to now? What is something like a big shift that you've seen? Carey Osenbau: [00:20:14] Um the way that it's really the way that marketing is done Um even in the beginning working for companies we didn't have the whole social media space We didn't have I mean there were still Google search. There was like if you really want to get any advertisement we I worked for an ergonomic company and the like you know Mid two thousands and you'd have to send in a whole request to get your product reviewed So they would stick it in the you know Mack magazine at the time and then that could take like months and you know or even advertising in print There's a lot of advertising in print So that's before The online space really completely like ramped up You'd have websites for information and then we started getting into being able to purchase online Um but that has been the biggest shift is is The ability to be able to market yourself online essentially for little to no cost and connect with people and build a community with with the inter with the internet and the social media channels like that has been a huge thing And and also the shift in And I talked to my husband about this all the time because he works in corporate America The way that the advertising of old and the way that we connect and advertise and build relationships now online is a lot different especially for I think females in this space to be able to like you know I know a gal in California and she does this and I have friends up in Michigan  So uh one of the biggest changes that ha I have seen in over the last years is how female entrepreneurs have kind of changed the space to be able to connect and market products I'm using social channels Mmm Even a few years back The options for women We're to essentially be secretaries or go through um different you know if they went for further in college work for advertising agencies you can work in some kind of like corporate So to be able to be a female entrepreneur to raise families you really had limited options um for like stay at home moms Like you could get a couple more kids and like start you know babysit kids and make some extra money or different things Or maybe start A little side crafting or um but just the ability to for women to be able to shift and use the online space to be able to develop a product develop idea and market and make just as much money as they could working You know a nine to five job has has been a huge shift and the community aspect of it the way that women are supporting each other It's not this you know Mmm dog eat dog You know You know I'm not going to support you because I'm out there trying to get the same type of business that you are You can have Connections with people that do the same type of thing because like they say there is enough you know there is is enough work There is enough opportunities out there because you can reach so many more people Now  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:23:37] I think that that's so spot on We have such an opportunity to be stronger here and in a lot of ways that needs to be done So this has been a truly awesome episode Thank you so much for uh giving us your time I would love for the audience to be able to connect with you. Where can they come hang out with you online?  Carey Osenbau: [00:23:58] Um I'm mainly on Instagram just at Cor marketing And um that's my main thing I also website cormarketinggroup.com he can connect with me there Also believe we're on Pinterest and LinkedIn Um so yeah.  Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:24:17] Well thank you so much for hanging out today and we'll have all of that length in the show notes