She Talks Business

Simple, Actionable Mindset Shifts to Up-Level Your Life and Business   This episode is short, packed with value, and filled with nine simple yet powerful lessons that have fueled my (and can fuel your) personal and professional success. These are the habits, mindset shifts, and investments that keep me moving forward, even when motivation runs low. And they can do the same for you. If you’ve ever struggled with losing momentum, letting fear hold you back, or measuring success by the wrong metrics, you’re not alone. This episode is about how to push past those roadblocks, the three investments that always pay off, and why small, intentional actions can create massive impact, especially when it comes to building strong relationships. Don’t underestimate the power of simplicity as you listen in because I can attribute each of these lessons to success in my life. You might be surprised at how quickly things start to shift once you put them into practice! What’s In This Episode Build momentum by just starting  Necessity of pushing through fearImportance of resuming after a pauseFocus on impacting individuals rather than seeking attentionAvoid social media vanity metrics   What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e179 for all resources from this episode.

What It Takes To Achieve Your Vision  Tune in to this episode of She Talks Business to learn my proven formula for achieving exponential growth, including the game-changing fourth element I’ve recently discovered. Drawing from my experiences over the past year, I am breaking down how these four fundamental pillars work together to create unstoppable momentum in your business. You'll discover: Why your vision needs to be audaciously big—so big that it becomes a lifelong pursuit—while still maintaining the sweet spot between impossible and inspiring How to realistically assess your capabilities, strategically build a dream team to fill your gaps, and embrace continuous learning as you scale The secret to expanding your reach through authentic connections that generate more impact than simple social media metrics My newest success factor: the critical role of daily, intentional effort in achieving exceptional results In this episode, I’m revealing real-world examples from my own journey, including how I’ve implemented these principles to elevate my own work to new heights. I’m sharing actionable insights on balancing these four elements to stay focused on both the big picture and high-impact daily actions. Whether you're just starting out or looking to take your business to the next level, this episode offers practical strategies for assessing and leveraging these four pillars of growth. Learn how to craft your compelling vision, maximize your capabilities, expand your meaningful reach, and apply the right effort in the right places. Don't miss my powerful questions that will help you evaluate and strengthen each pillar in your own business. Start implementing these principles today to unlock the exponential growth you've always dreamed of achieving. Listen now to transform your approach to business growth and turn your boldest aspirations into reality. What’s In This Episode Importance of acknowledging sources of inspirationAligning vision with purpose and valuesImportance of skills, knowledge, and resourcesBuilding networks and authentic relationships to grow your reachAligning effort with your expected outcome What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e178 for all resources from this episode.

List-Building Tactics For Email Growth So how do Tim Ferriss and James Clear do it? How do they get millions of people on their email lists and, most importantly, how do they keep people subscribed? I believe a small email list of engaged subscribers and active buyers outweighs a large email list any day, but we have a lot to learn from these two men’s strategies. Listen to this episode to hear which of their tactics I'm going to be using to grow my own email list this year. A $40M Business Owner Reverts to a $5/hour Strategy for His Success   The truth is, you don't need large numbers of subscribers like Ferriss and Clear to succeed. The lists cultivated with high-touch strategies may be "small" in comparison to millions, but the engagement of the subscribers produces incomparable results. Learn the exact direct sales flywheel strategy of Nathan Barry and how his manual efforts produced undeniable success even in this automated AI world. Let's Talk Tactics Building your email list will not happen overnight, and it certainly does not end with putting a subscribe button on your website. In this episode, I share my plan for growing my email list this year and how I plan to keep my subscribers engaged. You'd be surprised to learn the value you need in order to grow could be something you've already created. Stay to the end for some great ideas for freebies to offer, as well as my favorite way to impact engagement with my top readers. Don't let your email list stay stagnant for another year! Create your lead magnet and make your content so valuable for your subscribers that they never want to leave your list.  What’s In This Episode Mailing list maintenance and engagementThe $5 an hour strategy inspired by Nathan BarryPersonal touch in content creation for stronger relationshipsEnsuring consistency and reliability in communicationList-building strategies    What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e177 for all resources from this episode.

Make this year the one you market yourself more than you ever have before with the help of AI  Class is in session - are you ready for your marketing efforts to be graded? This episode is all about creating a thorough marketing strategy with the 2025 landscape in mind. Tune in as I walk you through my 10-question assessment to help you determine where your marketing efforts currently fall and provide clear steps on how to improve them throughout the year.  It's Not Getting Any Easier in 2025. . . But Here's How To Keep Up & Excel The more opportunities we have to market our business (posting daily on social platforms, regular newsletters, automated systems for lead generation, quizzes to collect zero-party data, etc.), the more marketing becomes a complex ecosystem of efforts working together to generate sales. Marketing continues to get more complicated as time goes on, but creating a plan now will allow you to not only keep up, but excel in this ever-evolving marketing world.  AI Is Both The Problem And The Solution  We've reached a point in marketing where people are craving authenticity while consuming content more than ever. How do you remain authentic while keeping up with the volume of content necessary to stand out? AI is a great tool to add to your marketing efforts and multiply your efforts, but it is not the answer to creating content for you. Join me as I discuss real-life examples of how I use AI to create content faster while still maintaining my thought leadership and authenticity. Listen all the way to the end of this episode for an assessment you can actually use to make a plan with the right steps for your business to really grow this year.  If you'd like some guidance on creating your marketing plan, I mention two resources for you to take advantage of: The Ultimate Guide To Planning Your Future, a free download, and the Action Accelerator, where we can sit down one-on-one to make a plan together.  Let's make 2025 the year your business skyrockets with leads, sales, and unstoppable growth!   What’s In This Episode Marketing Changes and Required Skills in 2025 Self-Assessment for Marketing Strategies Cohesive marketing ecosystem Content Engagement vs. Business Success Leveraging AI in Marketing Importance of Zero Party Data   What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e176 for all resources from this episode.

Our best video cheat codes to capture attention and answer the questions your audience is already asking.    In the final episode of our Strategic Marketing For Your Business series, we’re sharing our best advice on creating one of the most powerful types of content today—video.  First things first: You need a content plan  If you want to get the reps in and strengthen your video-making muscle, start by creating a content plan. The only way creating video content is going to get easier is if you continue to do the work of showing up, hitting record, and pushing past the discomfort, so make it easier for yourself to do that by creating a clear direction. This week, Cass and I are walking you through how we recommend creating a list of video content ideas so you never feel lost about what to record. From how to hold the camera to how long your videos should be  So many people get caught up in the technical aspects of video creation. Should they be long-form or short-form? Should you hold the camera portrait or landscape?  We answer these questions and more by starting with the purpose of your video (is it meant to entertain or educate?) and identifying which social platform your audience will respond to best.  Creating video content can be an intimidating process, but don’t let that stop you. With the guidance in this episode and our helpful cheat codes at the end, you’ll be comfortable and confident in your ability to create great video content in no time! Plan Your 2025 With Me  On December 6th, join me for a full-day virtual workshop where we will dive into money, time, marketing, and mindset with tactical advice, strategies, and resources. Learn more at lisalarter.com/plan-or-perish.  What’s In This Episode Emphasis on authenticity over perfection in video creationInformal content with basic quality standards Matching content type and video orientation to platform use for engagement How to repurpose video contentDetermining when professional vs. informal filming is needed Building camera confidence with smartphone videos What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e175 for all resources from this episode.

Learn how to plan, commit to, and produce a podcast to promote your thought leadership and expertise.    One of the telling signs someone is an expert in their field is if they are able to confidently chat about their topic of genius with little to no preparation. That's why I love to help my clients create podcast strategies to distribute their expertise through this powerful type of media.  This week, Cass and I are back with the fourth episode of our Strategic Marketing For Your Business series. We identify the five reasons podcasts fail and how to overcome them. You're going to hear some great tactical tips for how to start and sustain your own podcast for the long-term goal of establishing credibility and growing your business.  5 Key Factors Contributing to Pod Fade  We identify the five reasons podcasts rarely extend beyond 5 episodes and how to avoid them. The most common misstep is not having a content strategy. Listen in for guiding questions on how to create a content roadmap for planning your episodes. For a real look behind the scenes at what it’s like to have a podcast, listen in to hear our own process for producing She Talks Business and the many hands and skills it takes to create a quality episode.  Harness The Power Of Audio & Video  In this episode, we also give our best advice and tips for creating a podcast meant to be consumed via video or audio, how to capitalize on each distribution type, and which one your audience will enjoy and consume the most.  Are you interested in starting a podcast, or have you tried podcasting in the past? This is a must-listen episode to help you consider the commitment and strategy for a successful podcast. Be part of the 5 percent who make it to episode 100 with our podcasting tips! What’s In This Episode Starting and sustaining a podcast 5 reasons podcasts fail and how to overcome themContent roadmap strategy for podcast longevityImportance of unscripted dialogue to appear as an expertPodcast production process  What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e174 for all resources from this episode.

Thought Leadership vs. Content Marketing: Fueling an audience who knows, likes, & trusts you    Let’s answer all of your questions about thought leadership! This week, we are diving into what it is, where it should go for your audience to find it, how to keep it safe, and how to repurpose it for your preferred social media channels. We even address a common misconception: the difference between thought leadership and content marketing. Importance of Thought Leadership  Establishing, growing, and maintaining your business requires a content marketing strategy, but the true strength of your credibility lies in your thought leadership. From picking your topics to establishing a sustainable cadence, this episode will give you the information you need to be confident in establishing your expertise with your audience. Staying Inspired  This week, we also share our favorite thought leader role models who inspire with fresh, impactful content. You’ll hear how they keep ideas flowing and manage to incorporate lessons from real-life experiences, which they then use for content on socials or in books. Plus, we’ll cover a variety of content formats to bring your ideas to life, from visuals and writing to audio and video. This episode really is jam-packed with useful tips and insights on how to create content and thought leadership. Your business and authority will never be stronger than when you continue to create.    What’s In This Episode Definition and importance of thought leadership Need for consistency and focus Various formats for thought leadership and content Building recognition and trust through frequent content publication Strategies to overcome these challenges with time management and content prompts What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e173 for all resources from this episode.

Take your website from good to Google-worthy.   Welcome back to the second episode of our “Strategic Marketing For Your Business” series where this week, Cass Bald, my Senior Team Manager, and I are talking you through our top 10 recommendations to start having your website work for you. Our discussion ranges from simple, quick fixes to more complex website maintenance, and we even dive into SEO tactics to help your business rank on Google.  Create A 5-Star User Experience  When building a website, your customer should always be the lens through which you view your site. Is it easy to navigate? Can I browse my site for 60 seconds and come away answering the questions, what do I do, and what do I offer? We address how to create a site that guides and informs the user in a way that converts them to customers. In fact, we reveal one simple misstep many businesses make, and you’d be shocked by how obvious it is! Technical Tricks & Savvy SEO Tips  Whether you manage your site yourself or have a team to do it for you, you don’t want to miss hearing the horror story of a website disappearing and how to avoid it from ever happening to you. Plus, while you may know SEO is important and links to your Google ranking, we go over how to create an SEO strategy to keep yourself relevant in Google’s eyes with regular recurring content.  I hope you enjoy this episode and that it gives you some smart ideas for improving your website. If this was valuable to you, be sure to tune into next week’s episode, where we’ll talk about thought leadership and content marketing!   What’s In This Episode 10 strategies to audit the efficacy of your website Clear communication of business offerings Calls to action should be in clear places on relevant pages Benefits of regular recurring content Clear and minimal navigation tactics Create a contact page utopia for inbound leads SEO guidance for keywords and keyword phrases for the pages and posts of your website What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e172 for all resources from this episode.

Your customer experience starts with your positioning and messaging   Take a peek behind the curtain of what it's like to work with us as your marketing team! I'm here with my Senior Team Manager, Cass Bald. We're starting a new series where we walk you through five of the key elements of creating a marketing strategy for your business using the same strategy we would use. It’s called the Strategic Marketing Roadmap, or SMR for short.  In our first episode of this series, we focus on branding, positioning, and messaging. We address misconceptions about brands and dive into what a brand truly is. We discuss how what your brand makes people feel is the real impact you're looking for and the importance of tapping into what people remember most about you and your business.  One key point we make, and you don't want to miss hearing what we have to say, is about alignment. Aligning your brand with your personality builds more trust with clients than any impressive marketing strategy. We even share our own stories of misalignment between brand and business owner to explain why. Lastly, we differentiate between messaging and positioning. Differentiate and leverage these two elements to appeal to your ideal customer. The words you use on your website, in your content, and the way you position yourself within the market set the tone for their expectations.  After listening to this episode, you'll be equipped with tips to assess and adjust your brand to make the best impression. We hope you use these episodes to assess how strong your marketing strategy is as we make our way to the end of the year and prepare for new goals in 2025.    What’s In This Episode  Common misconceptions about brandingImportance of brand alignment and consistencyDistinguishing positioning and messagingAligning messaging with customer expectations   What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e171 for all resources from this episode.

Navigating Transitions, Pivots, & Retirement of the Modern Entrepreneur     We are back with one of my favorite types of episodes - an Ask Me Anything! This week, Kathleen Mundy is taking over the microphone to guest-host and ask me all the questions she can about how I've approached the many pivots in my business, selling a business, and how to do it all with confidence.  Kathleen, a longtime friend and fellow dachshund mom, transitioned from a successful career as a multi-million dollar entrepreneur to looking for her new passion in life after retiring in 2022 and moving to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Realizing her retirement wasn't as fulfilling as expected, she founded the Retirement Innovation Lab to help others navigate retirement with joy and purpose. Partnering with Yasmin Nguyen, 22 years her junior, they created a platform offering innovative solutions for retirees.  Kathleen's journey from business success to finding her new passion serves as an inspiring example of resilience and optimism. To Pivot Or Not To Pivot? How I decide.  Listen in to hear my thought process about how I decide if a pivot makes sense for my business and my brand and if it aligns with my values. I also touch on how I manage to feel confident when making some pretty big shifts and how I prepare for them.  Check Before You Invest  As an entrepreneur and a quick-start, I'm constantly thinking of new ideas, but I realize not all of them will be viable. Kathleen and I discuss my method of testing ideas before I invest extensive time and money into creating or marketing a project or opportunity. You won't want to miss hearing about my invitation marketing technique, which I've used for years to determine if my new ideas have the potential to be a success. The best part? I'm not risking a large investment or missing out on ideas my clients love.  It's always a pleasure to have my friends on my podcast, and Kathleen came prepared. This episode is beneficial for anyone of any age, so I hope you listen in and get some great advice on how to apply your unique gifts as an entrepreneur.    What’s In This Episode   The challenges of entrepreneurship, including addressing self-doubt, resilience, and difficult decision-making The importance of personality, service delivery, and thought leadership Transitioning to Entrepreneurship in Retirement The importance of hiring mentors and investing in your business when transitioning to entrepreneurship Minimizing risk with financial preparedness, risk assessment, and trusting your own capabilities   What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e170 for all resources from this episode.

Capture Inspired Moments and Finally Finish Your Book    Welcome back Michelle Weger with our second podcast in a row with her! In the previous episode, we celebrated the release of her new book, Don't Snooze Your Dreams: Lessons from Life with Narcolepsy. Now, we're going to talk about how Michelle was able to write her book so quickly and even managed to get it published ahead of schedule.  Michelle is an accomplished entrepreneur, speaker, and now #1 International Best Selling author of Don't Snooze Your Dreams. As the founder of Venture Creative Collective, home of the innovative 'Website in a Day' service, Michelle helps small businesses thrive with innovative automation and web development solutions. Living with narcolepsy, Michelle has transformed personal challenges into powerful lessons, inspiring countless individuals to pursue their dreams despite obstacles. Her engaging keynotes draw from real-life experiences, offering practical strategies and inspiring stories. Michelle is accompanied by her medical alert service dog, Quinn.  Keep Moving Forward  Michelle managed to finish her book in record time of under a year of writing, and it was published five days ahead of schedule. She achieved this feat by disregarding habits we've grown to expect from authors. Instead of continuously sitting at a desk day after day, hoping she'd be inspired until the last word was written, she took a completely different approach. Listen in for the various ways she turned traditional writing on its head and created a book that is so conversational and comfortable that one reader described it as talking with a friend over a latte.  One Book Written With A Much Bigger Picture In Mind Michelle's reasons for writing this book are incredible and inspiring. She wants to help others achieve their dreams with her DREAM method, but she also wants to help others like her be diagnosed as quickly as possible by spreading awareness of her journey from not knowing what was wrong to her diagnosis. You won't believe how big she is thinking when it comes to how she'd like her book distributed and who she would love to help her realize her dream.  I've loved having Michelle on the show for these two episodes! If you're currently stuck writing your book or have always wanted to write a book, then this episode is your inspiration. Maybe something we say will be the tactic that works best for you to finally move forward and finish your book!    What’s In This Episode Unconventional methods for writing a book Natural ways to start collecting stories and advice without spending hours writing at a desk Set word count goals Focus on quality over a self-imposed deadline How to test if your content resonates with your audience   What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e169 for all resources from this episode.

Deconstruct the Fears Holding You Back    Welcome back for a very special episode! We're celebrating the release of Michelle Weger's book, Don't Snooze Your Dreams. Michelle and I have been working together for 7 years now, and I've seen her do some really hard things. I'm so proud of her for writing this book and sharing how she reframes fear to accomplish her dreams and helping you all do the same.   Michelle Weger is an accomplished entrepreneur, speaker, and now #1 International Best Selling author. As the founder of Venture Creative Collective, Michelle helps small businesses thrive with innovative automation and web development solutions. Living with narcolepsy, Michelle has transformed personal challenges into powerful lessons, inspiring countless individuals to pursue their dreams despite obstacles.  Consequences of Advocacy  As someone with an invisible disability, Michelle discusses how she's grown in her advocacy. She's faced a lot of tough pushback and consequences because her service dog is "too big," or people don’t believe she’s a service dog and don’t believe Michelle even has a disability. After seeing how her mother, friends, and colleagues stood up for her, Michelle realized if she stood up for herself now, she would also be helping others.  Only Two Types of Fear  In her book, Michelle identifies only two types of fear we all suffer from. We have a social fear, which, boiled down, is the fear of embarrassment, and physical fear, which is fear of something that could actually kill or harm us. The metaphors she uses in the book are brilliant in reframing how you feel about fear. Keep your ears open for when we talk about the paper dinosaur and the terrorist in our heads.  Fear and adversity are ever present throughout our lives and our careers. Whether we're facing a promotion at work or an autoimmune disease diagnosis, we will always be battling our paper dinosaurs and terrorists in our heads. Listen in to hear about Michelle's DREAM method, which anyone can use to overcome whatever obstacles they're facing in life and achieve their dreams.    What’s In This Episode Facing adversity for a non-apparent disability like narcolepsy Role models help bolster advocacy for yourself and, eventually others Metaphors for fears holding us back from our dreams Tactics for doing hard things DREAM method for overcoming fears and achieving dreams   What To Do Next   Visit lisalarter.com/e168 for all resources from this episode.

Add value to your user experience without alienating clients and prospects    It’s time for the finale of the Leveraging AI series with Mary Fearon! We're wrapping up with a final discussion on improving customer service with AI. When to Start & Stop with AI Automation Chatbots and automated messaging systems are the most common AI solutions for customer service and prospecting. These solutions certainly have their place, but at what point do they become harmful to your brand?  In this episode, we discuss the harm of over-relying on AI to be the solution to your (or your customer’s) problem and how to avoid this mistake in your business. Behind-the-Scene Uses of AI to Benefit Your Customers & Clients   When you think about customer service, the goal is to provide a valuable experience. Tune in as Mary and I discuss how AI can enhance this by acting as a personal assistant, quickly handling labor-intensive tasks like writing customer-facing documents and accelerating research to understand new clients. Want all of our suggestions on how to save yourself time while building a deeper connection with your clients? This is the episode for you. Interested in attending our AI workshop? Sign up for our waitlist at lisalarter.com/ai to be the first to know about the investment, format, and details. Mary and I can't wait to help you start experimenting with AI in your business. We had a lot of fun recording this series together, and we hope you're inspired to jump into this next phase of business operation with the help of your AI personal assistant!   What’s In This Episode Experimenting with AI for business improvement Personal and business relationships AI cannot replaceAI-generated user guides, onboarding documents, etc.Importance of inspection to ensure AI tools maintain brand integrity   What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e167 for all resources from this episode.

The Perks & Risks of AI for Content Creation      Welcome to the fourth episode of our Leveraging AI series! Mary Fearon and I are back to share our perspectives and experiences using AI in our businesses. Missed the introduction to this series? Go back and listen to episodes 163, 164, and 165! In today's episode, we talk about one of AI’s most common uses—content creation.    Valuable Content is Never 100% AI   Anyone using AI will usually input the same prompt and receive the same generic response. To turn that response into something that is actually valuable, you must inject your opinion, perspective, and wisdom. Stand out from the massive amount of AI-generated content that is currently saturating digital spaces by using it as a tool to brainstorm and develop strong content faster instead of letting it do all your thinking for you. Using AI should speed up the process but never replace your voice.    AI Is Not An Easy Button—Here Are Smart Ways To Use It     Mary and I discuss how we use AI as a springboard to come up with ideas to write about. We ask AI to condense writing into social media posts, bios, or website copy with a set character limit. Sometimes, we ask it to provide different versions of already-written copy using more persuasive or pithy language. Listen in to hear how we even use AI for more effective SEO when writing blogs or web pages!   We'd love for you to join us for the AI in Business workshop Mary and I plan to host. For more information, sign up for our waitlist here: lisalarter.com/ai.   What’s In This Episode Strategies for optimizing content length using AIAI for creating website starter copy and headlinesFinding the balance between AI and personal voiceWarning against overreliance on AIAdding personal value and perspective to AI-generated content    What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e166 for all resources from this episode.

Cut Out the Heavy Lifting—Use AI To Gain Momentum For Your Ideas       Welcome back to week 3 of our 5-week series, Leveraging AI: Proven, Practical, & Tactical Approaches to Using AI in Your Business. Today, we're diving into how we use AI for idea generation and our top tips for writing powerful, time-saving prompts. This series is in collaboration with my friend and colleague, Mary Fearon.  Mary, if you have yet to hear in the previous two episodes, is a fellow marketing agency owner. She is the Founder and CEO of OnPrPose, a company that helps entrepreneurs and businesses tell their stories effectively, both internally and externally. If you just found this series, go back to our introduction episode, AI: Introducing Your New Unpaid Team Member.  Today, we are focusing on how to be the best “creative director” so that whatever AI tool you are using can give you usable, valuable ideas as a brainstorming partner. The magic all lies in your prompts. How to Talk to AI  When using AI, you have to shift your mindset around how you request information. With a search engine, you would input strings of keywords and find pretty relevant search results. When using AI, you have to expand your prompt to give context and background for the work you're producing, just like you would to a member of your team. By taking the time to craft thorough prompts, you're limiting the amount of back-and-forth and getting hyper-relevant copy or ideas in response. Listen in for our top tips on how to frame a thorough prompt for AI! What Do We Use AI For? As marketing agency owners, Mary and I use AI to do a lot of the heavy lifting that once took hours for our team to do. For example, Mary uses AI for competitive analysis. Instead of having to comb through several websites and social media pages, AI can give you an overview.  In this episode, we go over many more ways we use AI in marketing, including creating and writing in our clients' voices, creating client avatars, and even ideas for increasing engagement on social media. AI allows you to take an idea, cuts down the drafting time, and gets you to a place where you can apply your expertise, style, and perspective in just a few minutes. Mary and I have had so much fun finding different ways to use AI in our businesses, and we hope you're getting inspired on how to start using it in yours! If you'd like more information about the AI in Business workshop Mary and I plan to host, sign up for our waitlist here: lisalarter.com/ai.   What’s In This Episode Shift from traditional search queries to conversational prompts for AI usage Mary and Lisa's experiences using AI to generate fresh ideas for podcasts, newsletters, and workshopsViewing AI as a tool to deliver more value without replacing individual perspective and expertiseUsing AI for competitive analysis, establishing a client’s voice, and creating avatars or personas for targeting content to appropriate audiences   What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e165 for all resources from this episode.

Our favorite AI tools, user tips, and privacy considerations    Mary Fearon and I are back with the second episode of our AI series! In this series of conversations, we deep-dive into how we use AI in our businesses, and today's episode is all about how we use AI in meetings.  If you missed it from last week, Mary is the founder and CEO of On Prpose, a company helping entrepreneurs and businesses tell their stories effectively. With a keen eye for uncovering hidden narratives, Mary and her team excel at distilling complex information into compelling, relatable content.  Mary and I both run marketing agencies, and it goes without saying we attend a lot of meetings every single week. There are lots of meeting notes to keep up with and action items to implement, so it is imperative we have reliable meeting notes. Having AI take those notes and summarize our action items has been a huge time saver, but there has been a learning curve as we get used to using this tool and find our favorite AI notetakers for our needs.  Let's Compare & Contrast  Mary and I go over the AI tools we started with, got rid of, and our overall favorites for making our meetings more productive and our implementation even faster. We hope our experience and advice help you decide which one to try for yourself in your next meeting.  We Cover Privacy & Productivity  Mary and I also go over our thoughts on privacy within our businesses and with our clients when using AI for meeting notes, before we end the episode with a great time-management AI tool suggestion that has helped alleviate stress in Mary's company. We hope this was useful for you to begin seeing the value of using AI in your business!  Next week, we will discuss how AI helps us with idea generation and even how to craft effective prompts. Stay tuned for the rest of the series, which will cover using AI for content creation, customer service, and more!  If you'd like more information about the AI in Business workshop Mary and I plan to host, sign up for our waitlist here: lisalarter.com/ai.  What’s In This Episode Overview of AI tools for recording, transcribing, and summarizing meetingsTranslating meeting information into implementation effectivelyEstablishing protocols for using AI in meetings and respecting privacy and confidentiality agreements What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e164 for all resources from this episode.

Turns Hours of Work Into Minutes with AI    Welcome to the first episode of a new season in collaboration with Mary Fearon!  For this series of conversations, Mary Fearon and I will be talking all about AI. Mary and I both run marketing agencies, and we've started introducing AI into our team workflows and personal lives. If you're a small business looking to learn how AI can help you save time and effort, this is a great introduction. With AI, we've been able to streamline our processes, freeing up more time for what we do best!  Mary is the founder and CEO of On Prpose, a company helping entrepreneurs and businesses tell their stories effectively. With a keen eye for uncovering hidden narratives, Mary and her team excel at distilling complex information into compelling, relatable content.  Mary has helped hundreds of companies in complex industrial and technical businesses, including agriculture, manufacturing, mining, construction, engineering, and more. Varied experience has honed her ability to find and communicate the essence of a business or industry, no matter how technical or nuanced. She believes in the power of storytelling to capture complexity while making it interesting and relevant to the audience.  The Number 1 Way We Use AI   AI has saved us from blank-page syndrome—it’s an amazing brainstorming partner. When starting a new project or wanting to create something from scratch, we both have noticed how quickly AI can take us from an abstract idea to something to work with. It eliminates five hours of coming up with a rough draft and instead gives us that time to focus on refining the copy, adding a brand voice, and focusing on the end result.  Where to start with AI?  There are many AI options to choose from and each one has its own benefits and drawbacks. Pick one, get to know it really well, and then you're more able to make a judgement on how you like using AI in your business and what features you may be looking for in other AI options.  In this episode, we also discuss increasing the quality of your prompts. The better your prompts, the better and more effective your results will be. Instead of thinking about how to search for a result, picture how you would give context and instructions to a coworker.  Tune in to hear all about some fun ways we've used AI outside of work! It has helped us come up with dinner ideas, gift ideas, or even how to track macros. There are so many ways to use AI and save valuable time.  The biggest takeaway for business owners who are hesitant to begin working with AI is that it is a tool. While AI helps us do our work faster and more efficiently, it will never be able to replace the wisdom, culture, and perspective humans bring to our work. The relationships, inspiration, and ideas fueling our business will never start with AI but can be developed and come to fruition much faster with its help.  If you'd like more information about the AI in Business workshop Mary and I plan to host, sign up for our waitlist here: lisalarter.com/ai.    What’s In This Episode  How marketing agencies use AI Enabling speed and reducing refining timeResistance to AI and “AI snobbery”Fun ways to use AI in your personal life  What To Do Next  Visit lisalarter.com/e163 for all resources from this episode.

Dial into your employees’ superpowers to help them on their journey   Adan was formerly the Marketing Team Manager and Marketing Strategist for the Lisa Larter Group and once served as a special guest host for six episodes of "She Talks Business" with our current Team Manager, Cass Bald. In this episode, Adan puts me in the hot seat for one of my favorite types of episodes where she gets to ask me anything!  Adan co-owns The Small Business Marketers and serves a few businesses as a Fractional Sales Manager. Her mission is to bring corporate-style marketing and sales teams to small businesses. In 2020, Adan began her marketing career by helping brick-and-mortar stores go digital during the pandemic. Over the past four years, she has helped over 75 small businesses implement effective marketing and sales strategies. Outside of her professional life, Adan is dedicated to raising awareness about mental health and ADHD in the workplace. Navigating Mental Health Conditions in the Workplace  In this episode, Adan and I discuss how an employer should approach working with an employee with ADHD, anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions.  Adan thinks of her ADHD as her superpower—she loves talking to clients, and that's what she does best. We agree that open communication is a must for deciding where an employee can excel based on their individual superpowers. What do you think? Cultivate a Winning Environment for Your Employees  Do you view your role as an employer as being part of your employees’ journeys? When you give your people an environment where they can be honest about their goals to move on to entrepreneurship, or whatever the next step is in their journey, you will foster a relationship of trust and empowerment.   In this episode, we also cover the importance of marketing, whether it's for lead generation or credibility, and focus on sales skills. We end off with a fun discussion on which designer bag means you’ve “made it.” Thanks for listening in!      What’s In This Episode  How to accommodate employees with ADHD or other mental health conditions Sale skills for small businesses Best way to view employer/employee relationship The role of marketing in your business Which designer bag means you’ve "made it?"    What To Do Next Visit lisalarter.com/e162 for all resources from this episode.

Gut Instincts and Common Sense Over an MBA Any Day   We are so lucky to have an amazing woman who also happens to be an incredible businesswoman join us on the show this week! Amber Vilhauer and I started our businesses only one year apart in 2007 and 2008, so I wanted to ask her some questions focused on longevity and what she believes are the reasons she's stayed in business for 17 years and counting.  Amber is a Books & Business strategist, multi-bestselling author, speaker, and Founder of NGNG Enterprises (No Guts No Glory), an Inc. 5000 top marketing agency. She is the author of Infinite Impact and co-author of The Long Forest Trail with her son, Clay. Since starting NGNG in 2007, Amber has helped thousands of entrepreneurs align their businesses with their core talents and desires, empowering them to build the business and life of their dreams while naturally scaling revenue and impact.  Among her clients, Amber has a reputation for getting quality work done quickly. She and her team routinely get in the trenches, implementing custom marketing strategies that attract qualified leads, launching bestselling books, and growing engaged followings that convert. Her strategies are comprehensive, deep, and built to align every aspect of her clients' businesses with their ultimate visions. No MBA? No Problem.  Amber and I do not have MBAs and we didn't plan to have our own businesses when we first entered the workforce. We learned the skills necessary to keep our business growing and profitable, but it's not finance, marketing, or other technical skills keeping us in business. Amber believes consistency and her non-negotiables around how she treats clients and the quality of her work truly make a difference.  Get Over Perfectionism & Get Scrappy  Amber has great advice on how to shift your perspective on getting work done. By letting go of perfectionism, we can better help people in need of our services.  Don't underestimate the value of being scrappy as an entrepreneur. When we live in an age where we can learn about anything with just a few searches and countless resources, there is no excuse to let, "I haven't done that before" or "I don't know how to do that," stand in your way.   Find A Balance and the Right Fit  As a single mom, Amber lets us in on how she's able to be a present mom AND a successful businesswoman. Her priorities are always top of mind. She even lets us in on her process of deciding if a client is still in alignment with her values and if they still light her up when working with them. If they don't, she lets them go in a gentle but straightforward way.  As you'll hear in our discussion, Amber and I agree that treating your clients well, prioritizing your energy as a business owner, and confronting your perfectionism will help you go the distance. Happy Listening!  What’s In This Episode  Non-negotiables and consistency lead to longevity in business Prioritize effort, energy, and intention over perfectionism How to let a client go Running a business as a single mother Word of mouth is the most powerful piece of marketing  What To Do Next  Visit lisalarter.com/e161 for all resources from this episode.

Business, Legacy, & Bucket Lists—We Cover It All    I am beyond thrilled to have my long-time friend, colleague, client, and co-conspirator, Samantha Moonsammy, acting as our guest host in this edition of Ask Me Anything!  If you remember the Oprah in Ottawa event I referenced a few episodes back, Samantha is the woman who I worked with to bring that event about. She is a great person with an amazing heart, and since we’ve worked together on many events and used to live only 20 minutes from each other, she came up with some great personal and professional questions. She even asked me a really big question about why I left Canada. That’s something I’ve never talked about before, so I’m glad she asked!  Samantha works with authors through Lucky Book Publishing’s signature VIP programs that include writing, publishing, and marketing. She provides strategic coaching to authors and helps them craft the best-selling title, subtitle, book outlines, story-telling, and wow-factor branding that makes you stand out from the crowd. Before running Lucky Book Publishing, Samantha was an award-winning celebrity event planner, television host, media personality, and public servant. She has been on book marketing event teams for many award-winning thought leaders including Elizabeth Gilbert, Deepak Chopra, the late Wayne Dyer, Caroline Myss, Marianne Williamson, and Eckhart Tolle. In this episode, we go from morning routines, habits, professional tools, and favorite books to bucket-list items. We even discuss some memorable Lisa Larter quotes, including, “Free is too expensive,” and “You can’t ride two horses with one ass.” This was so much fun to record with Samantha, and I’m so glad she was able to take the mic and guest host for us this week!    What’s In This Episode  Lisa’s professional and personal habitsWhy Lisa left Canada and moved to the United StatesProfessional tools for productivity with a remote teamLegacy and impact    What To Do Next  Visit lisalarter.com/e160 for all resources from this episode.