Have you ever had the stressful experience of breaking your Wordpress website? Or needing to call someone to make small changes? Or worst yet, your small business doesn’t really have a site because it’s just too complicated? If you’ve experienced any of this, you’ll want to listen to this episode with Connie Holen and get the scoop on Squarespace as an option for getting your business online. Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode114.

Items Discussed in this Episode:

• Connie explains why Squarespace is a good idea for a lot of businesses versus wordpress
• Connie started in Wordpress and she shares why it fell apart for her and made her want to find something different
• When you get into Wordpress, you’re not just dealing with Wordpress itself: it can be overwhelming and nerve-wracking when you add in the plugins, security, hosting, etc.
• If you own a small business and you just don’t have the time to learn the tech side of things, Connie shares why Squarespace will be much easier for you to get started with
• To not have to wait to contact a developer to make changes and make them in ‘real time’ instead is so beneficial for your business
• Squarespace has it’s limitations, but for your average small business it does what you need it to do
• Connie shares the benefits and results you may end up with in the long run by deciding to use Squarespace
• Most small business owners wish they had more time, and you’ll save lots of of it with Squarespace
• Your website should be ever evolving and changing, and Squarespace will help you do this as you go versus waiting for perfection
• It’s surprising how many big, well-known brands are now running on Squarespace and how much you can do with it

Top 3 Takeaways for this Episode:

1. Wordpress isn’t the only game in town. If you’re struggling with your website, Squarespace may be a viable option. Check out how it maybe able to help you get going online.
2. If you’re stuck on having a Wordpress site, carefully look at why you want one. List out the pros/cons and you may find that Squarespace is a good options for you - with way less stress.
3. Are you a small biz with no time to spare? Especially for a local small business or the non-tech savvy, Squarespace makes the tech part simple.

Links for this Episode:

Connie’s site

Connie’s flow chart to help you decide if Squarespace is right for you

Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group

Does social media make you want to tear your hair out? Or do you feel like it’s cold and pointless? You’re going to love what Lara Eastburn shares with us today as part of the what’s working now series as Lara puts the heart back in social and puts how we market in perspective. Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode113.

Items Discussed in this Episode:

• Lara explains how she’s not ‘just another social media person’  and how she tries to work with people like her
• For those of us with small businesses, social media is scary because we forget to ‘speak human’ and not worry about all the statistics
• Marketing happens everywhere! We’ve moved it to the online world for our businesses, but it should feel the same as marketing ‘live’
• When it comes to social media, we tend to put on our ‘virtual business suits’ and take our personality out of it
• If we can recognize that everything we do is already ‘social’, you don’t have to think of social media as something extra, it’s just woven into what we already do
• Lara gives us advice on where to start with your social media
• If you can put yourself mentally in a ‘cocktail party’, it takes the pressure off of how to create your social media content
• It’s hard to really hear ‘it’s okay to just be who you are’; Lara explains why it’s so important
• Lara shares her results from practicing what she preaches
• Lara explains how to start building a kind of ‘yellow brick road’ for our clients through our social media

Top 3 Takeaways for this Episode:

1. Are you speaking “human” on social media or does it feel a bit robotic? Loosen up. Be yourself and stop trying so hard.
2. Everything we do is social, so when we show up on social media it’s just an extension of that. Lose the virtual business suit and let your freak flag fly.
3. Do you have a yellow brick road to move people from getting to know you on social to wanting to learn more? Get intentional about how you’re using social to help that happen.

Links for this Episode:

Lara’s site

Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group

Do you want to incorporate giving back into your business plan, but aren’t sure where to start? Or how to do it without seeming like you’re over the top or only doing it as a marketing ploy?  Meg Clarke from Clapping Dog Media shares exactly how she does it in her business and how it’s been instrumental in her success. Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode112.

Items Discussed in this Episode:

• Meg shares how she’s baked giving back right into her business model
• Before Meg actually started her business, she used the sites she built for free for organizations she’s really passionate about to build her portfolio
• Meg shares what she did this summer to give back and how amazing the experience was
• Meg explains how she uses micro lending to help the women of Uganda who make beautiful jewelry
• Meg shares her number one tip for making giving back part of her model
• We talk about how to present your charity work without feeling awkward or ‘braggy’ about it
• Meg didn’t set out to give to get something in return, but there has been a measurable impact on her business over the last year
• We want to do business with people we like, so when you see someone doing something you admire and appreciate, it makes you want to work with them
• Giving back can humanize us to our audience, and Meg shares how what you get back is so much bigger than what you give

Top 3 Takeaways for this Episode:

1. If you want to give back it doesn’t have to be in money, it can be in time or in kind services. Get creative.
2. Pick something you feel connected with and strongly about - not just what everyone else out there is picking.
3. You get to choose how and when you give back, so create a plan and make it part of how you operate.

Links for this Episode:

Meg’s site

Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group

Today we’re talking about the thing that likely strikes fear into your work-from-home heart - networking. You know, the kind that involves putting on pants and leaving your house. Mallie from the Systems Scientist breaks it all down for us and shares her results in today’s episode. Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode111.

Items Discussed in this Episode:

• Mallie shares what she’s been doing using in person networking and how she worked herself up to doing it
• Mallie is all about systems, so she shares what system she uses for managing her in person networking
• Scheduling time after an event for follow up is really important
• Finding your niche for in person events is as important as finding your niche online; if you just go to any entrepreneur event, it might not be the type of people you would work with. Mallie explains how she did her research
• Mallie shares the results she’s seen since she started in person networking
• Connecting the dots between your online clients and your in person clients is a benefit you might not think will happen, but it can
• Don’t be afraid of your local people, running an online business doesn’t mean you just have to work online
• Mallie explains how meeting someone in person speeds up that ‘know, like, trust’ factor
• If there’s not any local events near you, maybe think about creating one! Mallie used this to create a group that never even met in person and still got her a new client

[clickToTweet tweet=" Networking in person to score more clients with @mallierydzik and @magspatterson. #podcast" quote=" Networking in person to score more clients with @mallierydzik and @magspatterson. #podcast"]

Top 3 Takeaways for this Episode:

1. Running an online business doesn’t mean you need to hide out online. You can find local clients. What’s one thing you can do now to connect locally?
2. Research some local events and pick one to attend in the next month. I promise it won’t kill you.
   If you’re struggling to get your business off the ground nothing works faster than building 1:1 relationships. How would in-person networking help you grow faster?

Links for this Episode:

Mallie’s Site - Systems Scientist

Meetup.com

Fizzle.co Community

Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group