Latest / Plan Like A Boss | Planning, Productivity, and Strategy for Entrepreneurs / Human-First Marketing in the Age of AI with Jocelynn Flowers

Transcript

Human-First Marketing in the Age of AI with Jocelynn Flowers · Plan Like A Boss | Planning, Productivity, and Strategy for Entrepreneurs

• 0:25
  SPEAKER_02: This was one of my first introductions into the coaching industry.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I was brought in to support one of his big conferences where I think he had like 350 people coming to a small YMCA in Lake George.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: And just the experience he created in this room where though there were 350 plus people there, it felt like you were connecting one-on-one.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_02: And it was just absolute magic.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_02: And for me, I was like, I want to be able to support more people like this because if they are able to transform someone's lives through these experiences like this, and it's actually sustainable, lasting change, there's nowhere else I want to be.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_02: I want to be in those rooms.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_02: How can I get in more of those rooms?
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Plan Like a Boss.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Tanya Lawson, and I am so excited to be here today with Jocelyn Flowers.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Jocelyn is the founder and CEO of J Flowers Marketing, where she partners with coaches, authors, and service-based business owners who are ready to scale their businesses with intention, not just noise.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: She's known for creating a sense of calm within the chaos of growth and helps her clients simplify their marketing, strengthen their messaging, and build ecosystems that support both their lifestyle and their legacy.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Jocelyn, welcome to the show.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for having me.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to be here.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: I am super stoked to stop to chat all things marketing and productivity today.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: But first, I always like to ask my guest, can you tell us your story?
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: How did you get into marketing?
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: How did you get to where you are today?
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think we can learn so much from each other's stories.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, I started working very early on.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: I think I started around 12 years old.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: And so all of my positions leading up to entrepreneurship were really focused in kind of the customer service avenue.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and what I learned through all of those positions, because I was able to work my way up through different organizations as I got older, was that I always kept hitting that glass ceiling.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_02: There wasn't really any more room to grow within each organization.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: So then I would kind of move up onto another organization and such.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_02: But I just kept feeling like there's something I'm missing.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_02: I want to be able to reach more people.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_02: I want to be able to serve more people.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_02: And right now I'm not able to do that at the capacity that I would like to do that.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_02: And so finally in 2016, I was like, well, both my parents are entrepreneurs.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: I have a lot of mentors in my life that are entrepreneurs.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_02: What if I started something that was my own, but you know, made it creatively me?
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_02: Because I have a lot of things that I like to live in the creative side of things.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_02: My if I get on a creative journey, wheels are spinning all the time.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_02: And so I was like, well, I really like marketing.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_02: And so I started looking into it.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_02: I got certified in a few different things.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_02: I'd already been certified in productivity because I had done residential organizing.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_02: So learning how to help um individual spaces work better for them.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, well, I can apply that to online and in marketing.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: Those same practices can be used in business.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: And so I took the leap in 2016, and it's honestly been the best decision that I've ever made.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: And here I am now 10 years later in business with my company.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: And did I think we were going to get to 10 years starting then?
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: But I'm so excited that we have.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_02: And I've gotten to have so many amazing experiences and work with so many great people that are truly doing amazing things in the world, that it's not just the revenue for them.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: They're they're in it for a greater mission.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_02: And that's something that really draws me into that.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_02: That's a big part of kind of just who I am individually.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_02: Like I have always found that if I can help somebody, whether it's with the work that I do or outside of that, if I can just be of service to somebody, then I'm doing my part.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_02: I'm doing what I was meant to do on this earth.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that to me is a win in itself.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: I love how you relate it to service because that's that's what we do as coaches.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: We serve.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about us, it's about someone else and helping them.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that is so important.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Now, you're in digital marketing, and digital marketing has it's it's been evolving as well.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: So what is the current state of digital marketing right now?
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_02: So right now, there's kind of this discourse of okay, we have all these AI tools.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_02: How do we use them?
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_02: Do we go all in?
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_02: Is that the avenue we go, or do we blend it, or do we say, no, I'm not, I'm not moving into the AI.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: I'm staying with my normal traditional approach.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: And my viewpoint on this is there are so many systems and software and tools out there for us entrepreneurs that we haven't even seen the light of yet.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_02: And what's exciting about that for me is that there's always room for growth, and it's gonna come to us when we need it most, even if we may not think so.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think right now in marketing, from the approach that I take with my clients, is I use a human-first approach while leveraging these tools.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: And because ultimately I still feel true to this day that people are connecting with the individual.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_02: That's who they're relating to the stories that they're sharing, they're relating to the experiences, they're that's what's resonating, not necessarily all the credentials behind their name or their certification.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_02: It's how they make them feel that true connection that they're having one-on-one with that individual is what's going to lead them into those lifelong relationships as, you know, either just a supporter of them or even a client.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: And so I use tools like AI and various different software to be able to expand my reach where I physically can't get to.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I still have my face and my voice and my presence at the forefront.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_02: And I train my clients in being able to do that as well because they're all in very um detailed lines of coaching, to where it really is about the conversations that they're having with their clients and how they're truly connecting to be in full service of them and be able to give them the outcome that they're looking for when they come to them.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_02: And that's one of the greatest things for me is I love technology in the sense that I love learning.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_02: I am an avid learner.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_02: So I always love to learn what's new out there, but I want to make sure that I'm using them intentionally as well.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_02: That's a big part for me when it comes to okay, what am I implementing into my business or supporting my clients and implementing into theirs?
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_02: That how is this going to work in the lifestyle I want to create with the work that I do?
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you bring up a good point.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: With all the AI tools out there, it's almost like we have tool fatigue.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: It something new is coming out every day.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: The way one works is different than the other.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: I was on a call with one of the agencies I work with yesterday, and they're like, I don't know what's going on with Chat GPT's image creating software.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: It is really messed up.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Use Gemini today.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: But the the key was today.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's constantly changing.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Now, your approach to marketing is is a little unique compared to other digital markers.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Can you tell us about that?
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so again, I go with the her human-first approach because ultimately, even just as a consumer myself, I was seeing a lot of people leaning into things and not being the forefront of their business.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: They still wanted to be the ones that were having the benefits of the work that they were doing as far as being able to create a lifestyle for themselves, to be able to have experiences of being on stages or being able to travel abroad to help more people.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_02: But they weren't showing up individually within their business.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_02: And I, even as a consumer, was feeling that disconnect because I can see you have an amazing service.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: You have something that I know I need, I know will help me, but I don't feel connected to you in order that we're going to meet on that even playing field to be able to have the conversations that are going to have that transformation really come into life.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_02: And so, working in the coaching industry, again, I've worked with a lot of different coaches and a lot of different areas of coaching.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: And this was the common problem that I kept seeing was they want all of these things.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_02: They have these amazing offers and services and things for their audiences, but they're just not showing up with it in a human-first way.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_02: And so for me, I always want to, even if you're scaling your business to a level where you have a team underneath you, and maybe you have multiple levels of a team underneath you, you are still the essence of your brand.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_02: So no matter how large your company grows, it's important to stay true to that.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: Now, my clients always ask me, they're like, Well, what about my admission statement?
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_02: It doesn't feel you know in integrity with me now than when it was when I got started.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_02: And I said, Well, that's because that evolves with you.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_02: Because every time you have an experience supporting somebody, you're going to learn more, not only about your client, but about yourself.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_02: And how do I want to have conversations?
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_02: Who do I want to have conversations with?
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_02: How do I want to approach situations?
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_02: And so, yes, your mission statement's ever evolving.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_02: And it, my mission statement from 10 years ago, is nowhere near where I am now, other than it has a sole focus of helping as many people as I can in any way that I can.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_02: That is my main focus that will remain true till the end.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I want to make sure that a brand comes through authentically that you're having a genuine conversation with almost kind of like your best friend.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I I can share, okay, this is what's troubling me, this is what's exciting me.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_02: Now this is where I'm blocked.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_02: Where do I move from here to there?
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: Because I'm not seeing it right now.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_02: And and I think too, in the line of digital marketing, is because you have all these different avenues that are coming, and you're trying to stay on top of that so that you could support your clients and being able to kind of in a way detach, okay, this one would work for you, this one would work for you, because not every software or system or approach is going to work with every single client that I have.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_02: And that's one of the other things with my agency is we really tailor it specifically to the individual.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_02: Every single strategy is the way they would approach it, or just giving them a little bit more full support around how to do that and doing it effectively, um, and doing it in a way that continues to grow with them and never kind of hits that flat line where, okay, now I feel like I have to start over because this system's no longer working for me.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_02: It's something that's going to continue to evolve with them.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_02: And that's something that I wish I knew when I first started business because I've definitely started over quite a few times with my foundation and my systems.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_02: But again, they evolved with me as I continue to grow as an individual and as a business owner and as a leader.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I only could do that through amazing coaches and mentors that I've been able to have in front of me throughout my journey.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: I totally agree, especially with the part about how we evolve and grow.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I know I started out when I first got into the coaching space, I was helping private music teachers build private music lessons businesses because it's what I had done.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: I was really good at it.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: And that has definitely evolved over the years.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: I just started working with a licensed professional counselor, helping her build out her online business.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really evolved, and I think that's normal.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and like you said, putting your face out there, it goes back to that no like and trust factor.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: And they're gonna trust you, they're gonna trust your face, and it does need to be I mean, it is your brand.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_02: You are your brand.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_02: One of the great things that like with that is you really get to bring them into the fold of who you are.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_02: And this is something that I I stress a lot with my clients, and I always let my clients know that if I'm asking you or recommending something to you, it's because I've already tried it myself.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_02: I've done the uncomfortable thing in seeing, okay, how does this get perceived?
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_02: How are people, you know, resonating with this approach?
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_02: Because a lot of my clients do also serve similar avenues of audiences that I do as well.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_02: And so it's I always test something and I practice what I preach.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_02: And now I can see, okay, this is definitely not working for me, but I know that with your spin on it, you the way that you approach it, how you show up with it, it's going to be absolutely incredible.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_02: So I still will, you know, recommend certain things that may not work for me, but I know it'll work for a client.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: And generally, it works out really well for them.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_02: And it it's things that make those transformations and those amazing pivots forward where they never would have even thought to take their business in that direction or to take it to that level.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I have I have a great mentor, Rick Tamlin.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, he is an author and coach, and he has a book called Player Bigger Game.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: And this was kind of one of my first introductions into the coaching industry.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: And I was brought in to support one of his big conferences where I think he had like 350 people coming to a small YMCA in Lake George.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_02: And just the experience he created in this room, where though there were 350 plus people there, it felt like you were connecting one-on-one, like all of the energies have aligned together, and it was just absolute magic.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_02: And for me, I was like, I want to be able to support more people like this because if they are able to transform someone's lives through these experiences like this, and it's actually sustainable, lasting change, there's nowhere else I want to be.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_02: I want to be in those rooms.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_02: How can I get in more of those rooms?
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's one of the things where again, he brought his passions of musical theater and you know, acting and all of these things into his approach of how he coaches because he's very performative, he's very expressionist, but he can get down and very intimate and very connected.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_02: And so being able to see those different nuances, I knew there was a way to be able to do that through even your marketing.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_02: So again, I practice what I preach.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_02: I will go take do a video and sometimes I look disheveled, and but that's how I'm working that day.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, because one of the things that I also found early on was that I kept running into the oh, you have to always be polished, you always have to be looking like a 10 every single time you're showing up, and you have to feel like a 10.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that's just not real in entrepreneurship or life.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_02: And so I found that I had a greater transformation than those that were in my orbit when I was real with them.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, guys, today's a tough day, but I'm still showing up here for you.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: And I still want to be able to help you, and I want to be able to connect, and that has now led to clients that I've had and been so lucky that most of my clients have been with me seven plus years.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_02: So they've been with me almost this entire journey of my entrepreneurial life so far, and they continue to grow with me, and they are some of my biggest cheerleaders, just like I'm their biggest cheerleader.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_02: And that's something that's really important for my company is I don't want you to be just another name and number on a spreadsheet.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_02: I want you to be someone that is truly come into my family.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_02: And a lot of my clients laugh because I they laugh because I have very um in-depth intake forms, if you will.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_02: And I want to know your birthday.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_02: I want to know when your kids' birthdays are, I want to know when your anniversaries are because I want to celebrate that with you.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_02: We don't need to just celebrate the business celebrations.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_02: I want to celebrate your life as well.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_02: And so when they get that text of happy birthday and and things like that, it it just gives them a a lightness to okay, she's in this more than just building a business.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_02: She's really building relationships.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_02: And that's something I want to be able to kind of create the legacy of um and leave behind even after I'm gone, is that there is a legacy of being able to be in service of people on a genuine level and ultimately doing that, you're gonna have the life you've always dreamed of, um, whether that's in business or just in general.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: I agree.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think that showing up on a regular basis, whether you you have your makeup on and you're looking like a 10, or whether you're just, I don't know, a sad five, whatever you are on a regular basis.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: I call those my potato days when I'm just doing admin in the office, no makeup, I'm in sweats or whatever.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I I still show up on social media sometimes when my story is that way and I joke.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um I had cancer and I just finished treatment.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's been less than a year ago, and I'm growing my hair back.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: But my eyebrows didn't grow back.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I draw my eyebrows on every day.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: They always look a little different, they're not always even.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: And but I don't do it every day.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: So sometimes I show up without my eyebrows.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: But if you know my eyebrows are on, I mean business that day.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I love that.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you just have to roll with it because we are all human.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: We are all human.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I think showing your humanness really does make you so much more relatable to people.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: You also okay, so you said earlier you're a certified productivity specialist.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I didn't even know that existed, first of all, so super stoked about that.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm all about productivity over here.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: But as a certified productivity specialist, what actionable strategies do you recommend for solopreneurs who are out there wearing all of the hats and really struggling to manage their time and manage their marketing?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_02: So, one of the greatest things that I kind of learned, not even through just my certification process, but actually applying it and seeing how it worked for different individuals and different industries.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_02: And again, I've tested so many things on myself of, oh, how do I do this or how do I do that?
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_02: And uh, this is another thing that my clients always give me a hard time for, but I'm like, but don't knock it because it's working, is I color code my calendar and I do it from not just okay, this is this task, this task, this task.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_02: It's I do it from this is the mindset I'm approaching this time window with.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_02: And so I have certain colors based on what needs to kind of get accomplished in those.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's something for me that allowed me to kind of work through that overwhelm of, okay, I have to work on designs, I have to work on copy, okay, I have to put it now, I have to schedule everything.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I forgot all my sales calls, I gotta go, you know, do the lead generation.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_02: And because the first four years of my business, it was just me.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_02: And I had gotten to a point where I was up to 33 clients just by myself, managing minimum three social media accounts plus their email marketing, and it was a lot, and so I had to find ways that really kind of allowed me to focus in and not get lost in the noise of it.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so color coding is something that's one of the systems that I tried early on that has stuff through, and now my team does it, and they found that it it helps them approach.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_02: Their deliberals that they need to work on a lot easier without any stress.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_02: It was very clear for them.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_02: And so I have a color that represents all of my meetings.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_02: And generally, 90% of the meetings that are on my calendar, I'm leading.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_02: So I know, okay, I'm facilitating these.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_02: I have my agenda we're going through so that I can get the conversation started.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_02: So I know that's the mindset I kind of gotta go in.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, what's my plan?
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_02: What are my key points I gotta talk about with my clients and things like that?
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_02: And then I have my creative window, and it's a nice light sea blue.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_02: And I I get very calming and creative in that moment.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_02: So I know nothing else matters.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_02: I don't have to worry about the words on it.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_02: I get to play with all the fun colors in my brand.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_02: Thankfully, I have some nice fun colors of lime greens and blues and things in my brand because that's just kind of my personality.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_02: And um, and that's again where I go a little bit against the grain in the world of marketing, is I just chose colors because they were my favorite colors, not because they worked on some mood board or anything like that.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_02: I I was like, I love the color green, and when I show up in the color green, I can win anything.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_02: Same thing with the color red.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_02: If I show up, you better be ready.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_02: CEO is in the building, okay?
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, they I expressed that through my marketing, and and people can see that because I come alive in those colors, and so I that's kind of how I came about that.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_02: But so that's where that color coding in my calendar comes to play because I was always trying to juggle multiple things at once without really fully focusing in areas and being able to again be more productive and accomplish those tasks in a timely manner, and but switching to that allowed me to shut all of those other areas of my brain off, focusing, dial in, and it shifted my business tremendously.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: And another um thing I would recommend is and it's always a dicey topic, is have strict boundaries.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_02: And when I first started my business, I had no boundaries.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_02: I had clients calling me 24-7, and I was answering the call every time.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_02: And that started to add wear and tear, and to where I felt I couldn't fully show up for them the way that they needed me to, and I couldn't fully show up for myself because I had gotten that tunnel vision of I just gotta help, just gotta help, just gotta help.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I got burnt out very quickly.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_02: And it got to that point where, okay, I need time to have that reset.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_02: And so even though the landscape of digital marketing is really a 24-7 kind of business, I treat my company as a nine to five.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I have an open time of business and a closed time of business Monday through Friday.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_02: And my clients have now gotten trained in that because I know if I can set that time of when I need to be productive, I generally get everything done and still have buffer time on the end because I know how I'm dividing up my day.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_02: And then I don't work weekends.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_02: My phone goes on silent.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_02: And I do that so that I can fully, because otherwise, you know, these are at already.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_02: And I would still on the weekend be like, oh, oh, did that post go through?
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, and find myself checking.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, did I get an email?
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_02: No, I can't respond.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I have to respond.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_02: And and have that dialogue with myself.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_02: And so my phone goes on do not disturb and silent on the weekends, and so that I can be fully present in other areas of my life and continue evolving in those areas and not just in business.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_02: And um those that time is really spent with my lovely dogs who are my co-workers.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_02: If you ever see me online, if I'm on a meeting teaching a training, my dogs are generally in the background.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, unfortunately, not today, but uh I call them my coworkers, and I'm always like, they're always sleeping on the job because they're always napping behind me, and it just creates a lightness and be able to connect with individuals, and that's a big piece of who I am, is just being real.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I'm not put together all the time, and that's okay, and you're allowed to not be put together all the time, and that has no definition on whether you're going to be successful or not.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_02: It just shows that you're willing to be vulnerable, and that vulnerability could be the one thing that has someone say, I need to have that conversation with them and be able to connect further.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I totally agree with you on the boundaries.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: I have I have defined work hours.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: I also don't work on weekends, and my clients know they can message me outside of work hours, but I will not get back to them until the next business day.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because that is I think every single entrepreneur started out with the working all the time until they realized, oh, this is not sustainable.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: I can't do this.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: And your color-coded calendar, you are speaking my love language.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: I also have a color-coded calendar, and I love it.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: I love it, I love it.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now, you have so many different backgrounds.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's wonderful, and I'm sure that makes you a very well-rounded coach.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: So let's look at your social media background.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: Pulling from that, how can solo business owners effectively use social media to grow their brand when they have a limited time and budget?
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: Because let me tell you, I've heard nothing but complaints about Instagram and growing brands right now.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: And some people are like, oh, you've got to be on TikTok, or oh no, Facebook is the thing.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: What are your thoughts?
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_02: So the thing I always recommend, especially if you're even the thought of social media media feels overwhelming, is pick one platform.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_02: And now, again, that goes against a lot of the industry of marketing.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_02: It's get to everywhere because that's how you're going to get to the masses.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_02: But until you have trained yourself in that approach and that routine of how to do that effectively, it's going to feel like you're drowning.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so start with one platform.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_02: Be consistent on that platform.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_02: And again, it's going to differ depending on the industry that you're in, who your audience is.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_02: So the amount of posts per week and how what kind of content it is, whether it's video or static images or carousels, it's that's going to differ really depending on your industry.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_02: But overall, video is always the most engaged and impactful type of media on social media.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_02: But if you don't have mixtures of other types of content in there, it's just gonna again create that noise where everything starts to kind of blend together, even though they could be completely different topics, they get lost in in the minutia of it.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_02: So it's it's taking a look at, okay, if I can focus on this one platform and I can show up and I can engage and I can, you know, find ways to maximize this platform, then I not only get some success there, but I'm building a structure that I can then go, okay, here's my formula.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_02: Now I'm gonna try to apply this to a secondary platform as well.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_02: Because the biggest things that I find entrepreneurs kind of create a gap in is that consistency.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_02: They they get first of exciting moments, or I like I like to call it the shiny object.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, okay, I gotta go talk about this.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_02: This is a new trend, I gotta talk about that.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_02: And then crickets for a couple weeks and oh, there's a new thing that came up.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_02: And without building that consistency, you're not building your brand authority in showing that I mean, not every piece of your content is gonna be viewed.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_02: And that's something you have to kind of come to an agreement with of okay, that one didn't work as well.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_02: That's fine.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, move on and and not dwell too much on why it didn't work.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_02: Now, I always do look at the numbers.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_02: That's another important thing when you're looking at your marketing, is what is creating the the most engagement and movement.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_02: It may not have led to sales yet, and that's okay.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_02: But am I getting a few more comments on this one?
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_02: Am I getting a couple more shares on this one?
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_02: And shares are really important because that means that it's a piece of content that someone valued enough to be able to share with somebody else.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_02: And so those are metrics that I look at that that has a little bit heavier weight than, oh, I got some likes on this one, oh, I got a new follower.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_02: It yes, those are important as a grand scheme of things, but when you're really looking at are you creating a movement and creating a shift with the work that you're sharing, look at the shares, look at the comments, and and really see how people are interacting.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_02: Are they just viewing it and not interacting any further than that?
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_02: If they're watching a video, how long are they watching for?
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_02: Because the attention span nowadays is three seconds.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_02: You can't capture them in three seconds, done deal.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_02: You're they're gone.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_02: And it's really hard to do that in three seconds.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_02: And even as an expert myself, I have videos that flop because I didn't get them in the first three seconds.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_02: And generally the ones that do really well, I make some kind of joke or a fool of myself in the first three seconds and get people laughing.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_02: And so then they stay for the next 10 seconds.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, it's kind of keeping that in.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_02: Excuse me.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but they're getting again my personality, they're getting my essence through that, and and seeing that, well, okay, I'm trying things out, and I don't have everything worked out because I'm also learning along with you of what works, what doesn't work.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_02: But be mindful of staying consistent and showing up and committing to that, then slowly add in the other platforms.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_02: Now, one of the biggest things with social media specifically, that I think is difficult because the algorithms are always changing.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think they're kind of on a bi-weekly rotation right now of where they shift, and it can be as drastic as no video content gets viewed to only video content gets viewed in that kind of scene.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_02: And so be mindful of that, but stay consistent.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_02: Don't worry about trying to tailor your content to what the algorithm is at that moment.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_02: Stay consistent because eventually your content's gonna pop back into the next algorithm that's gonna come in, and you're and it could be something from two months ago, and all of a sudden it's getting all of these engagements on it.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_02: So just stay consistent because that's gonna build your brand authority.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_02: The most important thing to remember is we don't own social media, and that's the hardest part because it's where a lot of us show up first because it's easy, it's often most cost effective, and it could be gone in a day.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we saw that with TikTok in general, where it shut down.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_02: And for some businesses, that was their main stream of their business lead generation and revenue, and it was gone overnight, and now it came back, but it came back in a different showing than it was previous.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_02: So then having to relearn that platform and how it works for them, and so just stay consistent, but be aware that it's it's a ticking time, it that platform could go away, or it can completely change how it wants to present your content.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_02: But if you're showing up, that practice and routine and habit can be carried on to whatever platform you move to next.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: That makes total sense.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: And like you said, you know, you have to get out there and test what works.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: Social media is doing the same thing with those algorithm changes.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: They have to make their investors happy, which means they need to keep people on the platform.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: So they're experimenting with what works and what doesn't.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore, if you create a variety of content in those different types, carousels, static posts, videos, you're gonna be, like you said, consistently, you're gonna be showing up as they do those different tests.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_02: Well, and you'll see a lot of the social media platforms really offer the same ways that you can share your content.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_02: Because even now, where TikTok or vision was strictly a video platform, they had kind of their requirements of the duration of the video, but now they have their own carousels.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_02: Now you can post a static post, but you can add music to it.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_02: And so, really, all of these platforms are competing to see who can draw the audience in more and keep them there longer.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_02: But they're really all offering the same kind of methodology of how you can share your content.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_02: But if again, you're not consistent, the platform's also going to recognize okay, this one's showing up here, there.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_02: It's not really a brand.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_02: This one's showing up every single day.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_02: All right, we're gonna start pushing some of that and see what kind of attraction we can get.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_02: And and that's something too, again, when you're tailoring how often and the frequency you want to share your content, be realistic with it.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, I'm sitting down.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_02: Can I commit to two posts a week?
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_02: Great.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_02: You're out there, you're staying consistent with that.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_02: Now, how can I automate that so that I'm not spending two days or 15 minutes plugging in the content manually posting?
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_02: How can I have a system that automates that?
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, great.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_02: Can I add in an additional post now that I have the system that can automate it?
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_02: Cool, stay committed in that.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_02: And and that's something where all of the teaching, so if you go to different um events and things like that that are focused around marketing, they're gonna give you a lot of different opinions and approaches to it because there's so many different ways that you can approach it, and it's really going to be tailored to how do you want it to work out?
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_02: What can you commit to?
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_02: And that's going to build up that consistency.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I love that you mentioned that it does not have to be posting every single day.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're just starting out, I would probably advise you not to start every single day because that's probably not going to be sustainable for you.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_00: Start with that once or twice a week.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_02: And and a note to the audience, I don't even post every day.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_02: So it's okay.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_02: I know.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_02: But I have somebody else do it for me.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_02: There we go.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_02: And that's where delegation comes in, folks.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_02: Is that when you realize that this is the the frequency you want, there does come a time in your business where you do have to start that scaling process and delegation.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_02: But what does that do for you?
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_02: Then that opens you up for other avenues that really do light you up that you get to spend more time into.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_00: So for those solopreneurs out there who are listening to this and they're thinking, oh, this is all great, but it it also seems a little overwhelming.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_00: I like to have them be able to walk away with one tangible thing that they can implement today.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: So you can think to your clients, you can think back to you when you were first starting out.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's always a good way to do it.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: What is one thing that they can do today to move the needle forward?
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_01: So I would say show up, whether you feel ready or not.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_02: And again, whether you're looking polished or not, show up.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_02: Because one of the things that I find, and and a great mentor brought this perspective to me is a lot of the time we don't have a creation problem, we have a capture problem, because we all have ideas that are always popping up.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_02: They're always coming to us, whether throughout different experiences that we have in each day.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_02: And there are times where we capture it and times we don't.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_02: And so if you can focus on if something comes to you and you again, you may be in the middle of something and you can't go, okay, I'm gonna go live now, or I'm gonna create a post now, write it down, capture it in some way that feels right for you, and then come back to that, dwell on creating from it.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_02: What can and and a lot of things too is when I create content, I'm being intentional of how many different ways can I share this content?
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_02: Can I share it in a static post?
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_02: Can I share it in a carousel and build on it?
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_02: Can I share it in a video where I'm talking for anywhere from 60 seconds to 90 seconds about this topic?
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_02: Can I write a blog post about it?
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_02: Can I share it in my email newsletter?
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_02: Can I create a training from it?
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_02: Can I create a free resource from it?
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_02: So I start to look at how can this one thing evolve into something more that gives me up to anywhere eight to ten different avenues that people can connect on one single topic.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_02: So when you're first starting out, capture it.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_02: That's the biggest thing.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_02: Because a lot of the times, again, you're wearing every hat, time's very limited, you're you're being pulled in a lot of different directions.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_02: If something comes to you, capture it.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_02: Whether that's pulling out your phone really quick and doing a voice note to yourself or jotting down a little note, getting a post-it note, but capture that content and then come back and create from that.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_02: Because a lot of the times I'll capture things and I'll look at my notes.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, what did I mean by that?
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, okay.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, this just gave me I'm gonna create this stuff around this.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_02: So new approaches to it will still come to you even when you go back to it.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_02: And so try to capture it and then again, consistency, consistency in yourself, consistency in showing up, that'll get you everywhere.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I always get my best ideas when I'm driving, when I'm in my car driving, and you can't write down.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I've gotten to where I have my phone take a note.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_00: And once a week on my content days, my content creation and planning days, I scroll through my notes and pull those ideas.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_00: But when I have it taken a note, I don't have to stress anymore.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_00: It is documented somewhere.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that is such a great idea.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_02: And and a lot of that, like I will get these creative hits in some of the most random places.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um I have a special thing coming up this fall um that's gonna be announced very soon.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_02: And it came to me sitting at a hockey game, cheering them on, and I was like, And then I actually had one of my clients with me.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, What do you think about this?
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_02: She goes, Oh, and you could do this, and you could do that.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_02: And we had a full creative brainstorming session sitting there watching a hockey game, and I was like, this is fabulous.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, jotted it down, we'll go back to that later.
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_02: Focusing on the game, work is done, you know.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_02: But it it's be find a way to capture that for yourself and come back to it and create from it because there's gonna be so many different ways that you can create from something.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_02: There's things that I shared five years ago that I've come back to recently because I now have a different look and perspective on that topic or how to approach that.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_02: And now it's brand new.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_02: Nobody's ever seen it before because this is the first time I've shared it this way.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_02: And so be mindful of that.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_02: You don't have to be profound in every single post, you don't have to have all of the answers, but being able to show up and commit it to it, that's what your audience is going to see and and connect to.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_00: So, so true.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if listeners want to reach out to you or find you, where can they find you?
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so we're on all major social media platforms at j.flowersmarketing.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_02: But you can also visit our website.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_02: One of our big passions is we provide a lot of resources there for all levels of entrepreneurship, um, whether it's in marketing, systems, productivity.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_02: We have pretty much everything there.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_02: So definitely check it out if you're looking for something.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_02: And again, my DMs are always open.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_02: So if you have a question, don't hesitate to reach out.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, it's been so much fun talking with you today.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: And you dropped so many gems that that can be actionable steps.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_00: So as you listen to this, I want you to take note.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to get out there and show up, even if you're not looking your best.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_00: Just show up anyway, even if you don't have your eyebrows on.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_00: And until next time, keep planning like a boss.