Jenny Pace

Introducing The Better Business Podcast

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Welcome to the Better Business Podcast

Like many of us, 2020 turned my life and my business around – some of it was good, some of it… less so. One thing that DID happen: I became obsessed with podcasts.

With a baby (and then a toddler) at home full time, podcasts gave me a way to stay connected to my purpose, my business, and the creative business community. They were a lifeline.

Knowing my clients faced similar issues – wanting to feel empowered, to strengthen their business, and yet feeling like time is scarce – I knew I wanted to create a platform we could use to connect with each other AND the ideas that will strengthen our businesses, whilst juggling busy lives as humans in business.

A place for you

The Better Business Podcast is a place for makers, creatives, solopreneurs, and female founders to discover different ways to forge your own definition of meaningful success, by balancing head and heart. I’ll be sharing ways you can get to know yourself better – so that you can be a better business owner and leader – and savvy business strategy to empower you to create a future you’re proud of.

My background is in product-based businesses, so if you’re selling your physical creations, you’re going to find plenty of tips, ideas, and strategies to strengthen and grow your business. And a lot of my strategies can be applied to all kinds of creative businesses, too. So if you’re a photographer, artist, coach, VA, or designer, you can make yourself at home here.

The Better Business Book Club

I’m also a little bit book obsessed! So I’ll be sharing the books I recommend to my clients and community members over and over again, in episodes for The Better Business Book Club. Once a month, I’ll review a book I love, and I’ll invite you to read along and share your thoughts and feedback.

You can expect weekly episodes on finding your focus, effective marketing, and how to be courageous as you forge the success you REALLY want. There will be interviews with brilliant business women, and there’ll be times I share encouragement and inspiration talking directly with you.

If you find yourself a little lost in business, perhaps stuck in procrastination and overwhelm, the Better Business Podcast is the perfect place to find some clarity, discover what’s true for you, and feel empowered to take action in the right direction.

You can find out more about me right here, and you can subscribe to this podcast now, invite your friends, and get ready to take courageous steps into the future.

How to focus: part 1

If you’re a small business owner, and especially if you’re a one-woman-band / solopreneur, finding focus (and sticking to it) can feel impossible.

A single day can include fulfilling orders, answering emails, scheduling social media posts, ordering stock, trying to fix that thing on your website, wondering whether you should invest in advertising, uploading products, taking photos, and on and on and on.

Whew! Can you see why you feel exhausted?

A big part of my work with clients has been to cut through the noise and find the things they really need to focus on – and then prioritise them.

This week and next, I’m sharing focus tips, reminders, and to dos that will help you to focus and find more ease in your business.

Today: It’s part one, and we’re starting out with WHY a lot of small business owners don’t stay focused. (You may recognise yourself in this list)…

5 Top Reasons Creative Business Owners Don’t Stay Focused:

  • We overestimate what we can do in the short term. We think things will take 10 minutes when they really take half an hour. We think we can get a wide variety of things done in a single day, task-switching merrily. We are wrong.
  • We underestimate what we can do in the long term. We dream small because we’re really tired from all our overestimating in the short term. This is the twin sister of the point above, and they’re both brilliant observations by Gretchen Rubin.
  • We underestimate the effectiveness of focus. The biggest secret of business is that focus actually works. Going all in on one thing feels vulnerable because we think we have to do everything. But time and again, it pays off. Big time.
  • We don’t trust we’ll get to it later. We carry all the to dos over to our daily lists because we think we’ll forget. So we’re just thinking about a million things, all the time.
  • We don’t trust we’ll choose the RIGHT focus. OOOOOOOH, this is a big one. The vulnerability of committing to a thing. Let me tell you: you know what you really want to focus on. You know how to get resources and support if you’re not sure of specific steps.

Sound familiar? All the more reason to start seeing focus as the key that unlocks your potential…

And I’ve been there too! I like shiny things. I like ideas. I like creating. It is HARD to commit to one thing (more on that in a minute). But the last couple of years, and especially the last 12 months, have been more and more focused for my business – and it has massively paid off.

Plus I see this all the time with my clients. The focus of creating a new collection and working towards the launch. Focusing on a clear customer desire and meeting it. The clarity of working on a new website to completion before adding in any other projects.

It works.

Focus actually makes us MORE productive, profitable, and effective. Which leads to more success, happiness, and satisfaction.

By focusing, you get a sense of completion, you start trusting yourself more, and your confidence grows. You work on the things that uniquely right for you – and seriously, that’s just the best.

So here’s what you, dear one-woman-band, need to let go of…

You have to let go of comparison, distractions, and what other people are doing.

Choose two or three projects to focus on at a time and commit to them.

If (when) something else comes up, put it one a “to consider” list for when you have space to take on your next project.

Join me next week, when I’ll be sharing real-life examples of client projects and how to focus them. (And I have some exciting news!)

A writer’s secret to good marketing content

Not everyone’s a writer. When you’re running your own business, you kind of have to do everything yourself, so writing emails, blogs, social posts, customer emails, product descriptions, etc is likely on your daily to do list.

If you feel like you spend hours working on words, trying to craft something that’s going to engage your audience, convert viewers to buyers, and improve your business, I have a little tip and some suggestions for you today…

Did you know that, back in 2008, I graduated with a degree in Creative Writing?

It’s true. My passion for books and words and finding ways to express thoughts and feelings took me back to my place of birth (Leeds) for a university degree in writing. Since then I’ve been writing as part of my job for about 13 years.

And while part of me still holds a glimmer of hope that one day a novel or a screenplay will emerge, I am beyond happy that writing is something I have done professionally, and use daily in my work (and life).

A writer’s tip: Write the way you speak

We spend our early educational years learning about spellings, words, grammar, and the approved structures of the English language. It’s important. I love a bit of grammar. And don’t even get me started on punctuation.

But when it comes to words that have an impact, you need to write the way you speak.

We don’t need full sentences, perfectly punctuated, with adverbs and formal syntax.

We need you to say it in a way that makes sense to us as we’re scrolling and going about our business.

The way we talk has flow and friendliness, and that can add so much sparkle to your copy.

Here are some things to try:

  • Record yourself talking about something (a product, an experience, your brand) and transcribe what you hear
  • Have a conversation with a friend or fellow business owner, asking each other about what you do – again, record it or take notes on the words and phrases you use
  • Ask a friend (or even a lovely customer) to talk about you, your work, and your business – they could send you a quick voice note that you can use as inspiration for words and phrases you like
  • When you’re checking pieces of writing, like a social post or product description, literally read it out loud to make sure it flows (in your head gets you one star, reading it aloud gets you five!)
  • Listen to good podcasts, audiobooks, and TED talks – you’ll learn about the rhythm of storytelling, and you might even find some words and phrases you like!

Honestly, saying things out loud as you write and create will make your words so much more powerful to your audience! And you’ll start to feel more confident in them, too…

Can’t wait to hear how this goes for you – keep me posted!

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Notes of Encouragement

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