So...first new episode in 10 months.
Hi 😳
Seriously, WTF have I been doing that I haven't managed to record a new podcast episode for TEN MONTHS?!
I explain my falling off the face of the earth right here - and what I'm doing now I've got my time (and mojo) back. Check out the blog post here for all the links and full transcript.https://businessinyourbackpack.com/plot-twist-online-business-break/
You’re nosey?
ME TOO!
I love reading other people’s business reviews, especially when they get right into the nitty-gritty number-crunching stuff.
So I thought hey, why not do one myself?
Turns out it’s a bit scary, putting it all out there 😳
But *deep breath* here’s my 2024 business review - all the numbers PLUS what I'd do differently if I could do it all again.
Listen in to this episode, and check out the blog post for photos, screenshots, and extra good stuff.
https://businessinyourbackpack.com/2024-business-review/
It’s my first year of this business (after earning online since 2007, and solely from digital income streams since 2015).
It was also a very busy year in many other ways – travel, part-time work, premmie goats, and all sorts of other stuff has kept me very much occupied.
But I think I still managed to make pretty good progress, and I tell you all about it here.
Now, this episode is a little different to normal - instead of giving an you overview of what I've been doing in my business over a couple of weeks, I'm digging RIGHT into one very big thing I did over a couple of months.
Beta testing my new online course - get all the details here
When most people create an online course or digital product, they create the entire course and then try to sell it.
In many cases, the course isn't very successful. It might be a good course, but that doesn't mean that people will buy it.
And it's because it's been created without feedback or input.
A beta test is a way of ensuring that you create a course that people actually WANT.
It has three overall steps
Beta testing also provides accountability, because you've committed to create the course, to a timeline, for paying customers!
If your beta test goes well, you can be fairly confident that you have a product that will sell well - people have already bought it, and their feedback and input along the way will ensure it's tailored for your customers.
Plus, you get paid to create, and your testers can provide testimonials and case studies for your brand-new product.
Sound great? It IS great! That's why I've been doing it since 2017.
I said I was taking a 4 week break...4 months ago 😳 And while I seem to have disappeared, I've been doing a LOT behind the scenes - bundles, summits, AND beta-testing a new online course. Listen in for all the details! Plus, check out the blog post here for all the links and full transcript.
It was a big few weeks for me - I had a lot to do to catch up with this podcast and finish off a few other things before I start my job.
So of course, I got sick 🤒
But I still managed to get the essentials done, including finishing the Beyond Productivity launch, doing a couple more Business Idea Reviews and producing two summit workshops.
While catching up this podcast, which was a little behind reality!
But I'm all ready to focus on my new job now for a few weeks. I'll see you once I have that under control.
Check out the blog post for links, transcript, and all the details.
https://businessinyourbackpack.com/launch-results-month-off-podcast/
This update is a little bit different to normal, because it's not really about online business at all. It's about me taking a real, in-person, paid-by-the-hour nursing job. WHY? Why would I do such a thing when I love online business so much?! I talk about my history with nursing, my new nursing job, and how it fell into my lap at exactly the right time. Get all the details and transcript here. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/real-job-why-podcast/
I had a course-production binge over the last few weeks and actually finished, tested, and low-key launched my productivity course, Master Your Minutes.
Check it out here. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/master-your-minutes/ It feels so good to have a paid evergreen product available! And considering my promotion has been VERY minimal, I'm very happy with the results so far. I talk about my un-scary approach to launching evergreen products, how it works really well for me with my time constraints, and why a stepped approach to launching might be good for you. I also missed something RATHER OBVIOUS that a subscriber was kind enough to point out to me so I could fix it. It happens! 😳😆 Check out the blog post for all the links, transcript, and extra good stuff. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/launching-my-first-paid-course-podcast/
Note: Master Your Minutes was originally called Beyond Productivity.
Check out the finished Beyond Productivity course here - https://businessinyourbackpack.com/beyond-productivity-homeschool-parents/ Along with finishing the work of moving back into a house after two years of travel, I've been working hard on my productivity course...because I have a deadline. I have to get it finished, reviewed, and set up ready for its contribution to a bundle, AND I also want to have it ready to offer as a tripwire for ANOTHER bundle that the Business Idea Blitz is in. So I've spent more hours than I want to working on the course, but I'm really glad I have. Parkinson's Law can be leveraged to help us! and I talk about that in the course. Want to see some of those animals we collected rather quickly? Check out the blog post for cute pics, along with all the links and transcript. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/online-course-creation-mode-podcast/
Let's just say that moving into a house (and then needing to furnish that house after travelling for 2 years) can replace a LOT of work time! But in good news, our sight unseen house turned out to be pretty good, so our gamble in renting it before we even saw it worked out well. In between our settling-in activity, I've decided that it's time to get serious with my business and throw myself into making paid products (because it's not a business unless I actually make money, right?) So I've committed to taking part in a couple of events that give me a VERY short time frame to get a lot done. Challenge accepted! Get all the details and links in the blog post. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/challenge-accepted-podcast/ Want to start your own online business? Your first step is a great idea - take my Business Idea Blitz to find yours. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/your-successful-online-business-idea/
Jetlag is a HUGE productivity killer! So there's not a great deal to report in my current business update.
However, I did manage to make some progress with my random small chunks of time, and my evergreen background processes kept ticking over while I alternated between rage and despair over my total inability to sleep properly for over a week.
Except on the tattoo table. I did manage to nap there. My body is weird.
Check out the blog post for all the links and the full transcript (and pics of my new tattoos 🦋).
I just did my monthly stats and...not much has changed 😭 So how do I deal with progress that's not as fast as I'd like? If you've ever had a meltdown because you're not achieving as much as you'd like in your online business, you need to listen to this. I get real about self-doubt, downward spirals, and being tempted to go off on completely random tangents to 'fix' the problem - but I also talk about how I've learned to deal with my business freak-outs in a productive and positive way. After listening to this, you won't feel alone, AND you'll have strategies to deal with your inevitable business stress. Because we all get a little irrational sometimes, right?! But it's how we deal with it that makes the difference between someone who quits, and someone who keeps going and creates a successful business. Check out the blog post for full transcript, links, and great free business resources. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/business-isnt-growing-fast-enough-podcast/
The good news for this week?
I'm all up to date, and actually a little ahead, on my podcast episodes and evergreen emails.
Which means I can get stuck into finishing my first paid online course! But the bad news? I had a LOT of trouble wrestling my course content into a format that works for it. In fact, I didn't even fix the problem this week. I put it aside so my brain can sort it out in the background, and I went and ate gelato instead. Any excuse, really. So if you feel like you're slower than everyone else, and we've all got it together all the time, churning products out effortlessly, listen to this - it's a great dose of practical reality. I also applied for some more summits and FINALLY, with the magic of Brandishing You, finalised my brand colours.
And, spoiler alert - I finished my productivity course eventually! Check it out here.
https://businessinyourbackpack.com/beyond-productivity-homeschool-parents/ Check out the blog post for full transcript and all the links, extra images, and good stuff here. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/my-online-course-is-not-working-podcast/
Sign up for the free Business Idea Blitz to get access to the popular Business Idea Review services mentioned in this episode.
https://businessinyourbackpack.com/your-successful-online-business-idea/
New post! The Quickest Way to Start an Online Business.
https://businessinyourbackpack.com/quickest-way-to-start-an-online-business/
After my very productive last episode, I've spent a few weeks polishing what I started - getting into a podcast production and publishing routine by batching episodes, and adding evergreen emails.
Plus my Business Idea Reviews are ticking along nicely - yay for getting paid!
I also did some promo, by being a guest on another podcast, I published another new post, and I added an email signature.
Check out all the links and full transcript here. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/strengthening-my-business-foundations-podcast/
After finishing and making the most of my Business Idea Blitz I could choose what to do next - and I decided to start BOTH the ideas First, I started this podcast. As you can see, I've stuck at it 🥳 Want to start your own podcast? Check out my DIY, no-fluff guide to starting your podcast WITHOUT getting bogged down by all the decisions and not-necessary features. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/how-to-start-a-podcast-diy-nearly-free/ Second, I also started an evergreen email sequence so that every new subscriber gets a really looong series of useful emails once per week. I talk about what I did for each of these ideas, and how long it took. I also talk about WHY I'm starting a podcast and my evergreen email sequence - what's the point of them? Why aren't I doing the 'normal' thing of social media, instead? Which leads into a bit of a rant about social media as a marketing method, but I'm sure you're getting used to that by now 😉😂 Check out the blog post here for all the links, screenshots, transcript, and background info. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/starting-a-podcast-and-evergreen-emails/
As I mention at the start of the podcast, I've launched my first course! 🥳
Check out the 50% off launch sale here.
https://businessinyourbackpack.com/beyond-productivity-homeschool-parents/?coupon=LAUNCHTIME
It's called Beyond Productivity, and if you're a homeschooling parent it will help you find the time you need to reach your big goals - without waiting a decade or two.
Back to the podcast, and I sensibly took the time to finish off the Business Idea Blitz PROPERLY.
Check out the blog post with all the links, details, and screenshots here.
https://businessinyourbackpack.com/polishing-promoting-finishing-podcast/
It's so tempting to jump ahead to the next new thing, but it's much better business strategy to make the most of what you've got first.
So I recorded and added videos to the course, and set up some ongoing promotion - and I'm really happy I did.It's very satisfying to look at it now and see that it's all been done properly.
I also explain the strategy behind putting the course videos up publicly on YouTube - it's an odd approach, but here's why it works for me.
So if you've technically finished your online course, and you want to jump straight onto the next thing, listen to this first - I bet you find a few more ideas for getting the most out of it.
First up - sign up for the FREEBIE FEST here! https://kkota--introvertmedia.thrivecart.com/freebie-fest-2024/ (afflink) Now, onto the episode. I thought I had all my course platform woes sorted - well, no. I ended up switching platforms AGAIN! But the good news is the Business Idea Blitz was officially released, and lots of people have already signed up I also added the review option, so let's see how that goes. Get all the links and a full transcript on the blog. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/new-course-new-product-podcast/ And sign up for the Business Idea Blitz here to find your perfect business idea without all the second-guessing. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/your-successful-online-business-idea/
Argh! Don't you hate it when your fantastic plans DON'T work the way you intended? I had that problem this week, when the sign-up process for my free course ended up being way more complicated than I thought. So I swapped platforms. Frustrating, but hey - you need to kiss a few frogs to find your prince, right? And speaking of finding your prince, we also saw a marriage proposal at the Trevi Foundation. So gorgeous! Finally, this is a short episode, for a very odd reason - listen to the end to find out why 🤬🤣 Check out the blog post for transcript, all the links, AND a post-proposal photo! https://businessinyourbackpack.com/course-platform-didnt-work-podcast/ And you can sign up for the completed (and rather excellent) free Business Idea Blitz right here. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/your-successful-online-business-idea/
I'm launching my freebie, the Business Idea Blitz - woohoo!
I talk about how I tested it, and why I'm releasing it to my email list even though it's not *quite* finished.
And I've also come up with a great (I hope) idea to add on a paid business idea review, so I talk about how I can use my experience to take the ideas of people new to online business and help make them memorable, interesting, and fun to actually do.
If you've ever thought about starting a standard recipe blog, you'll probably like my example ideas - let me know!
Sign up for the FREE Business Idea Blitz here, and add on your Business Idea Review when you're finished. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/your-successful-online-business-idea/
Check out the post for all the links and a full transcript. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/launching-my-freebie-podcast/
I admit it - I've been avoiding building my home page. This week I finally tackle and solve the reason for my avoidance.
Here's why I shifted my business's entire audience, what I think about positioning myself as a travel influencer, and why you need to feel very, VERY, comfortable with your business messaging.
I also ticked off a big list of boring-but-necessary business setup tasks. After transferring them week after week I'm relieved to finally have them all done!
This is my update for day 41 of my new business. Check out the blog post for all the relevant links, extra content, and the full transcript. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/shifting-my-audience-why-podcast/
It's day 33 of my new online business!
And the 13 days since my last update have been a whirlwind of activity. We travelled from Melbourne to Athens via Singapore, and I spent my surprisingly minimal jetlag time eating all the Greek food with my boys...while my husband spent FIVE DAYS getting tattooed.
I did the live workshop I talked about in episode 8, and it was great! It went really well, and I learned a lot.
Plus I made a signup page for my not-ready-yet free resource, and had a surprising but positive result.
See the blog post for transcript and all the links. https://businessinyourbackpack.com/launching-before-im-ready/
Sign up for the FREE Business Idea Blitz mini-course and nail your successful business idea in a day.
https://businessinyourbackpack.com/your-successful-online-business-idea/
