Consider The Wildflowers Podcast Season Two Kickoff

APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER 

Welcome to Season Two of Consider the Wildflowers!

If you remember way back in Episode One, we kicked things off with my business journey. I sat in the hot seat and let my friend Jana take the wheel as host, and we thought it would be fun to continue that same tradition.

For those of you who have asked if I’ll ever do solo episodes of the show or want to hear more about my business experience – this episode is for you!

I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the past year of life, business, and podcasting. We talk about what I wish I’d known before starting a podcast and what I’ve learned from being a mom and business owner. 

Make sure you stick around until the end because I’ve got a super exciting announcement to share with y’all!

Reflections on One Year of Podcasting

Over a year ago, Jana and I were walking around the Birmingham Botanical Gardens when I first brought up the idea for Consider The Wildflowers. 

After leaving social media in 2017, I never had a consistent marketing strategy. I blogged here and there, I wrote newsletters occasionally, but the only thing I was truly consistent in was serving my clients. 

That is until I started podcasting.

For the first time ever, I found a marketing platform that aligned with my personality. I love hearing people’s stories and I could sit and chat with other business owners all day long! 

If you’re struggling with consistency in your business, my advice would be to find a platform you truly love. I always felt like “I should be blogging” or “I should be doing my newsletter”, but podcasting is life-giving for me. That’s what keeps me showing up.

Starting a Podcast in 2023: What I Wish I’d Known 

After taking a year off in 2020, the podcast has been a great way to reach new audiences and reintroduce myself to the online world. Publishing new episodes every week has helped me rebuild the know, like, and trust factor. 

I’ve had so many incredible guests on the show and I’ve learned from every one of them. On top of that, the feedback from our listeners has been so sweet. If you love the show, please leave a review – it means the world to us! 

Be Prepared to Invest

To be honest, I had no idea how much work went into podcasting! Getting guests on the show takes work, editing takes work, and then we produce the show notes. The total time commitment is around 7-10 hours per episode.

You can outsource parts of your podcast production, but either way, it will be an investment of time or money. For most of the first season, I did the majority of the work. My husband edited every episode but the rest was on me. 

That doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it – it was! Just be aware of what you’re getting into and make sure it’s something you really enjoy. 

Define Your Goal

If you’re going to commit to the time and expense of starting a podcast, it’s important to define your goal. Are you trying to grow your audience or newsletter? How will you continue the conversation with listeners?

For me, I want to grow our audience and sales, but I also want to make an impact on our listeners. When I hear how much an episode meant to one of you, that’s what motivates me.

Lean Into Slow Growth

It’s been harder to grow our audience than expected, but I believe that slow growth is good growth. If you’re going through a similar season right now, I would say to embrace the process instead of the final product. 

Creating a Scalable Business Model

After taking 2020 off, 2022 felt like a rebuilding year. It was a slow build and that was frustrating. Our mission of helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses hasn’t changed, but everything else has.

For years, I resisted the transition from a service-based to a product-based business. I loved coaching students inside The Blueprint Model and I didn’t want to give that up.

But with hundreds of students joining the course (and a two-year-old at home with us), it just wasn’t possible to offer 1:1 support to everyone. So we’ve shifted from live launches to a membership-based model. 

If someone wants additional support, they can get that through our new Money Club membership. The courses are still available, but now I think of them more like textbooks – and the membership is office hours where you can ask me anything and get live feedback!

We’re still in the rebuilding process, but this new structure is much more sustainable and scalable. Best of all, it’s allowed me to work two days a week.

On Being a Mom and Business Owner

One thing I’ve learned as a new mom is that I need to compartmentalize. I have friends who are great at integrating the different parts of their lives, flowing from one thing to the next, but that’s not me. I need strict working time and non-working time.

I work from 9-4 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and during those hours I don’t task switch. Having clear boundaries has helped me find a lot more harmony and I’ve found that dedicated work time helps me be a better mom.

Maybe you prefer being a mom and business owner at the same time, and that’s okay too. Find what works for you! 

Our Marketing Strategy in 2023

These past few years have been hard on small businesses. After massive growth in the digital marketing world in 2020, now it feels like everything has come to a standstill. 

With so many voices, it’s hard to stand out and I’ve heard from many entrepreneurs who are struggling to book clients. They feel like they can’t be heard over all the noise.

This is something we’ve struggled with as well: How do we market authentically and make sales without changing our values?

The answer may surprise you, but I don’t think you need to be the loudest person in your industry. If you just stay quiet and do the work, your clients will become your biggest advocates. 

I owe so much of my business to word-of-mouth marketing, and I really believe if you do good work, if you create valuable content, and continue to be a resource for people, that will pay off.

As Cal Newport says, “Be so good they can’t ignore you.”

What I Wish I’d Done Differently

In the beginning, I wasn’t intentional about selling our products on the podcast. But I understand now that people want to hear more. I know that our courses can change lives, and I want to reach as many people as possible.

Looking back, I would have transitioned from a service-based to a product-based business much sooner. I had no idea how much pressure I was putting on myself to sell during those live launch periods.

Now that I’m a mom, I’m especially grateful that we can make consistent sales through the shop without trading time for money. 

What’s Coming Next…

When this episode goes live, we’ll be launching our new Money Club Membership! It’s such an incredible moment because after 10 years in business, I finally feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. 

I know this offer is going to have an amazing impact on our community and I hope you’ll consider being a part of it. You can check out all the details here!

More from this Episode

To hear the full story and what Shanna has coming up next, press play on the player above for the full interview or click here to download the transcript.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Season One Episode One! Shanna’s Story on the Podcast.

Meet The Money Club! Shanna’s New Membership Community

Creative Money Shop 

Household P&L Tracker (yall so good!)

Cal Newport’s book So Good they Can’t Ignore you.

I cannot say thank you enough to my good friend Jana for coming on the show as today’s host! Jana is one of my students and also a former member of Team Skidmore. Find her gorgeous photography work at janamusselwhite.com or connect with her on Instagram!

Shanna Skidmore 

Shanna Skidmore is a business strategist, financial coach, and international speaker with clients and students in more than 26 countries. Nicknamed the “dream–releaser” by her clients, she’s helped business owners around the world build lives and businesses they love! Her greatest joy in life (besides being a wife and mama), is helping others chase after their dreams.

After working alongside thousands of creative entrepreneurs, Shanna took the most confusing, frustrating, frequently asked (and frequently wine-and-tears accompanied) business concepts—financial planning, strategy, scale, mindset—and simplified them. With a background in finance, psychology, and art she has successfully married the world of business and creativity, and now uses her 15+ years of experience to teach and consult with business owners around the world using her proven strategic growth models.

SHARE THIS: