The Tech Of Business Podcast

Today we are breaking down what it means to pre-launch or pre-sell your online program. We’re going to break down what needs to be in place for the pre-launch to be successful and the factors to consider when using this launch method. Pre-launching or pre-selling an online program essentially means that you create your sales page and start receiving payments before the program content is complete. There are two primary reasons why businesses choose the pre-sell method which are: To validate the idea To raise funds to produce the product And because there is an investment on the customer side of things, more often than not, pre-selling an online product requires one or more of these customer sets: An established customer base asking for the product Loyal followers on social media Direct outreach to potential customers And there are other customer bases too -- but for now, these are the most likely who will be up for buying your online product before it’s complete. For the rest of this episode, I assume tha

If you haven't yet downloaded the brand new freebie that I announced on the podcast last week, be sure to do that by clicking here. Today's episode is with Break The Ceiling host Susan Boles. She owns Scale Spark, where she works as an outsourced CFO and Growth Advisor for agencies, consultants, and other service businesses. Susan crosses her CFO role with a tech expertise (and you can see how we just clicked!) to help her clients have hit or are nearing a growth ceiling. Susan's clients are a lot like many of the listeners of this podcast... They have leads coming in and know what they're doing, but they have hit a capacity ceiling. It's either either impending burn out and kill themselves with work, or that they want to grow their business in a different way. She likes to say that she doesn’t fix the problems of growth.  And she doesn’t solve for growth.  She solves the problems of growth. So when you're growing, there are all of these operational problems that come up. As business o

Last week on Instagram, I started using #expandonline as a hashtag in my posts... This episode goes along with the start of that hashtag and who this podcast is truly for... Let's start with expand online.  That's what I help my clients do. I help you expand your business online. Note that I didn't say "start their business the right way with the right tech and the right processes and systems" and all of that.... nope it's EXPAND Online. This means I work with men and women who already have a business that is thriving and that they love.  And it's time to expand and do something new... We all started our businesses for a reason and no part of the plan is to stagnate. Expanding an active, real in person business online is a great way to keep from stagnation. The episode title indicated this, and I'm calling it out -- the niche and the #expandonline initiative is for artists because this is an audience that I feel truly has gifts for the world that need to expand beyond their loc

Today on the podcast I'm sharing with you a conversation I had recently with none other than Amber De La Garza, the productivity specialist. Amber is the host of Productivity Straight Talk and she lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. I love going to Las Vegas! Yet every single time I go to Las Vegas, Amber is busy. So let's put our good magic together and hope that next time I go to Las Vegas, I will have the opportunity to see Amber in person again. It's been a year since I last saw her and I cannot wait to catch up. Before I go off on talking about my friendship with Amber, I want to make sure that you know that we have a full transcript of this episode at techofbusiness.com/095/ so that you don't have to sit there and take notes. I was starting to pull out some of the highlights of this episode. And my notes themselves got longer than I wanted. I decided to scrap that and just point you towards the show notes because that's where you're going to get all the juicy nuggets and make sure that y

This is Episode 94. Today, again, it's just you, me, and the microphones. So please, please please let me know if you like this format. I’d love to know if you prefer these or prefer interviews or coaching type strategy sessions. Without your feedback, I'm going to go off of the latest feedback from whoever came before you right now. People tell me to just educate, educate, educate and that's what I'm trying to do. So today's episode is really inspired by my own business. I've shifted using my tech tools to be able to be more mobile available. And when I say mobile available, I mean that I still primarily do my work at my desk with my laptop, which is connected to a nice big huge screen with a separate mouse and separate keyboard. So I have two screens, and that's where I do most of my work. Then, there's also the times where I take my laptop with me and I go sit at a coffee shop or the library, or I go and sit somewhere that I don't necessarily even need WiFi. And in those

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Tech of Business Podcast. This is Episode 93. Today, it's just me, you, and the mic.  I would love, love, love to get your feedback on this episode. So if there's anything that I say that sparks any interest, please hit me up on Instagram.  I'm @techofbusiness or join our Facebook group Expand Online: Strategy, Support, and Tech. So with that, let's just get right into what I was hoping to bring up today. We are in November. November is a time for both chaos and planning. There are a lot of people right now who are doing big things for Black Friday and the Thanksgiving weekend.  They may be launching something big. Or they may be just putting feelers out there and launching something new even if it isn't big. There are other people who are simply letting this be a season of growth, exploration, and development.  And they are planning on launching their next big initiative in the new year. So whether you are in the first camp or the second camp, I want

On today’s episode, I am speaking with Jenn Robbins.  I am so excited to have her on the show to share, from her perspective, how tech plays into copywriting and funnels. Jenn Robbins is a conversion copywriter. She supports mostly establishment business owners with high converting websites and sales funnels because she found that funnels can be a super important part of any business. We’re talking primarily about a sales funnel.  A sales funnel is the journey you take your customers through to have them learn your business.  They learn what it’s about, why they should care, and how you can benefit them as a business owner. Jenn is an expert in all things copy and funnels.  The reason why I really wanted to bring a copywriter onto the podcast at this point in the year is because so many of you are getting ready to launch in 2020.  It’s just around the corner! And I know that there are launches and new opportunities coming. I thought that it was a great time to talk about the relationship between the tech you

On today’s episode I’m talking with Theresa Baretta.  Theresa is the CEO of Loop Link. Loop Link is an operations management coachsulting firm. Loop Link provides integration and implementation services to creative agencies. Theresa and I met through a, now, mutual client where I was hired to do a tech implementation. Theresa had come up with the strategy of what we were going to do and needed to find someone who could actually implement it.  And my name percolated to the top of the list. The next thing she knew, I had implemented it. And I had a new “systems friend” in the process. So let's talk a little bit about what Theresa does for her clients, how that integrates technology in their businesses, and just makes their businesses run the way it needs to. Theresa was excited about this subject.  Because oftentimes, it's not something where it's like, “Oh, you're this and people connect with that.”   As we are growing in this online space, new things, new services, and new capabilities are bei

This is Episode 90. I cannot believe we're going to hit 100 episodes by the end of this year.  I want to say “Thank you” for your continued support, your messages, and your enthusiasm, especially on the series that we just wrapped up last week all about Thinkific. If you haven't gone and listened to that series, I encourage you to do so. Not because I think that everybody needs to be using Thinkific or needs to have an online membership or online courses. But because the feedback that I have received on that series has just warmed my heart.  What I have been hearing is that the passion that each of my guests brought to their interview has helped the listeners and you, my audience, the Tech of Business audience, understand the potential that this online community and online business truly can have and is having in your business. So today's episode is one of those that I'm just talking straight to the mic. I actually have no notes. And I'm going to name this episode afterwards. So you actual

This is Episode 89. It is our wrap up episode of the Thinkific series. Today I am joined by Miranda Lievers. She is the COO and co-founder of Thinkific. What better way to wrap up this series, then for us to have a conversation with someone who's been there since the beginning.  Miranda has seen this platform grow from not even being a platform to being one of the leaders in course delivery online for entrepreneurs and small businesses. This is a very, very practical episode. We don't talk about jargon. We don't talk about tech all that much. Miranda is all about the operations, usability, and the metrics. And really, she just wants to see people being successful with their online course endeavors. So with that, let's get into this episode with Miranda. I want to take a second to thank Miranda for doing this interview as she is on maternity leave.  I really truly appreciate it. And I love the fact that she can have flexible maternity leave working. So the reason why I wanted to have her on in

Today’s episode, number 88, is with none other than Dana Malstaff of Boss Moms. I knew about Dana years ago.  And I followed her along her journey as she really built an empire which I think has transcended even her greatest expectations. Dana is no longer using Thinkific, but she's still advocates for Thinkific for her members and her community. I think that this conversation showcases the power of Thinkific to help your business do more online.  That's why I really wanted to include Dana in this Thinkific series because she brings so much value to the airwaves.  She brings so much value to her community. In this episode, she brings so much value to the conversation about thinking about online courses and using tools to get the job done. Let's get into this conversation with Dana. This is going to be such an insightful conversation for our listeners, because Dana has a wealth of experience on Thinkific and with course platforms.  I'm just excited to bring Dana’s expertise in today. So if you

Today is episode 4 of our 6 part Thinkific series.  And I am so excited to be having this conversation with Brady Dahmer as part of the Thinkific mini series. I am excited to dig into how and why he’s using Thinkific.  And also what his personal insights are and how those can translate into someone who is thinking about launching a course, online workshops, or online membership. But before we jump right in to all these questions, let’s learn a little bit about Brady Dahmer. Brady is a branding expert.  And right now, he’s using the Thinkific platform with the course he created called”The Brand Primer”.  This course is a bunch of workshops and tools designed to help companies brand themselves better. So it's downloadable, very digestible content that somebody could do with a company over the course of a lunch hour. It's comprised of fun and easy execute type of exercises with some actual results at the end of it. This all comes from his background experience working with companies on their branding. Br

This is episode #3 of our 6 part Thinkific series. So far we have talked with Rob Balasbas who works for Thinkific. And Ariane Cap who had an established course that she brought over to Thinkific utilizing the platform for what she needed. If you haven’t listened to those episodes you can find them here. Today we are talking with Mr. Mo. Mr. Mo uses Thinkific to share his storyboard class online. To him, it's a great platform, because it really takes away all the coding and technology. Why is this important? Mr. Mo says it’s important because it allows you to focus 100% on creating content and adding value to your students. Let’s back up a little bit. Mr. Mo was born in Korea, grew up in Argentina, and now he’s living in Los Angeles. He’s been working as a storyboard artist in the entertainment business for 14 years. So then when you are in this field for that long, you meet aspiring artists. Often they come to you and they have questions. They want some guidance. And of course, Mr. Mo is more than happy

This is our second episode in the 6 part series all about Thinkific. Thinkific is a hosted learning management system. And if you haven't already listened to the first episode in this series, it was with Rob Balasabas who is one of the employees at Thinkific. He gives a fantastic overview of the platform. Today's episode is with bassist Ariane cap. Ariane teaches how to play the bass. It is absolutely imperative how she's using the platform and how we've extended the platform. Why do I say this? Because I have actually worked with her on her Thinkific course and other pieces of her business. And what's most important in this episode, if I do say so myself, is how Ari took the platform and made her own decisions. Her story is fabulous. It is inspiring! I am so so excited to kind of share Ari’s Thinkific journey with the audience as part of this series. As I said before, I have worked with Ari on her Thinkific course and other aspects of her business. She shared this, “It's fun to be on

This episode has been a long time coming! I am super excited for us to be kicking off the Thinkific mini series here on the podcast. Today we’re speaking with Rob Balasabas who is a Social Media and Community Strategist with Thinkific. He is the first episode in a six part mini series where I’m going to be speaking with more people in the Thinkific network including employees and super users! I really felt that it would be beneficial to start this series off with a member of the Thinkific team up there in Vancouver. And Rob and I are always in contact because I am so connected with the Thinkific community. I just felt that he was a perfect person to bring on to just kind of talk a lot about what the platform is. And also what the platform can do and how it can help entrepreneurs and business owners deliver their courses. At its core, Thinkific is an online course platform. Rob says that Thinkific tries to make it as easy as possible for people of all types of business deliver their online content to their

I want to start by saying “Thank you” to everyone who sent me public and private feedback on last week's episode, all about Thrivecart. If you haven't listened to that episode yet, I encourage you to do so. There are so many little nuggets in there that can be relevant to just about every single business based on the feedback I received. Today, I have for you another episode where I am going completely off the cuff, completely unscripted, and this time we're talking about Zoom. Zoom is a cloud recording, video conferencing webinar platform.Today I’m going to give you 5 ways to make Zoom work well for your business. The first way to make Zoom work really well for your business is to integrate it. I have Zoom integrated with both Acuity scheduling and with my G suite calendar. What that allows me to do is create a one-to-one relationship between the Zoom meetings that I have on my calendar and Zoom activity that is sitting inside the Zoom application. This will do the same thing for you and/or an

Today we're talking about a certain software tool. It’s a tool that I have brought up on the podcast numerous times before. And it’s also one that I use consistently, regularly, and enthusiastically with my clients. We are talking about ThriveCart. ThriveCart is more than just a mechanism to get paid. It is a vehicle that you can use to make it easier for your prospective clients, your students, and/or your members. How? It allows them to take the leap and trust you and buy your product or service, course, membership site, group program, whatever it is that you are selling. I am so passionate about ThriveCart that I have set up a Day Rate and a Half Day Rate to get ThriveCart working for you in your business.  What we do in this Day Rate or Half Day Rate, depending on your business, I will take your ThriveCart from initially purchased all the way to being completely set up with all of your systems. Full details on this will be at the end of this episode. I want you to think right now, "Does ThriveCart

As I announced here on the podcast a few episodes back, I’m currently putting together a Virtual Summit specifically focused on the aspects of online business that you’ve been craving… Stay tuned to the Podcast and the Facebook Page for all the details --- we’ll be live in March 2020. There is a lot that goes into virtual summits and online business as a whole. There are systems that need to be examined in order to make sure we are doing what’s right for our business. We also need to make sure we have the best, right tools in place to make everything go smoothly. This episode with Marissa Stone covers The Business Systems and a Virtual Summit, her favorite non-tech business system, and all the fun, behind-the-scenes stuff that makes online business possible and less stressed. I conveniently am releasing today’s episode now so that you can easily head over and sign up… click here to register! As you’ll see, this summit consists of episodes with amazing speakers, including myself, and it is also giving back in

Have you ever heard of crowd-sourcing? I’m willing to bet you have at least seen it. You are in a group on social media and you see people asking questions about different things. It might be tech related, business related, or sometimes even something like time management related. Well today I’m going to do something a little bit different. I am going COMPLETELY unscripted. I’m going to be answering some of the questions that I have seen pop up on social media and in my inbox. So if you have a question for me DEFINITELY send an email over to me at jaime@techofbusiness.com. You can also hit me up on Instagram and Facebook. If you would like to share your podcast episode ideas or topics you’d like to hear me cover, you go to https://callwithjaime.com to book a short call. What is the difference between a WordPress based solution and a hosted solution? I get this question all the time. Basically in the form of “what platform/plugin should I use?”. We all know how many options there are out there for us to choose

Did you know that there is a relationship between your tech, data, and content? They all work together. We’re going to jump into the relationship between your tech, data and content. To start, let’s define our terms today… Tech: the tools we use to display, transact, and store. Data: the content we create, use, and store about leads and clients and partners. Content: text, images, graphics, and videos for lead, client and partner consumption. Did you know that during initial tech setup, a lot of how your content is going to look and data is going to be stored is defined? This is why it’s so important when you are implementing tech to make sure you implement it to its fullest capacity. Whereas, the content aesthetics are usually straightforward to add to any given tool because they are stored in a brand guide. The brand guide highlights font families, font weights, colors, and the visual style. Data meanwhile is not usually quite as structured – some of this will be dictated by the software tool we’re usin