How have things in the digital workspace shifted over the last year or two? And how does that impact service providers like you?
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As promised, we are going to jump back in today to the second part of the State of the Union for service providing professionals with this incredible panel!
State of the Union, Part 2
We are back with part 2 of our interview panel with Lauren Golden, Jordan Gill, Sara Wiles, Micala Quinn, Tasha Booth, and Sarah Noked.
Going forward, the market is demanding ____ from service professionals.
- [Lauren] Results. One of the shifts is that it’s starting to turn into a mutual selection process
- Employers no longer have all of the power, and it is a less transactional relationship
- Service providers have more power, and want to be in alignment with employer values
- People who are hiring are demanding results
- You need to ask what success looks like
“This is not transactional anymore, it’s transformational.” – Lauren Golden
- [Sarah N.] Leadership. Ask the difficult questions, and have the difficult conversations
“We need to stop telling our girls that they are bossy, and we need to start calling them leaders, and emphasize leadership” – Sarah Noked
- Relationships. The industry is going to start demanding more authentic relationships because now, the online space is a much more crowded place
- [Tasha] Clarity. When you are hiring someone, if there is not clarity on their website about what they do well, they will be passed by.
“I don’t have time to try to figure out what you are great at–I need to know the minute I get to your website.” – Tasha Booth
What kinds of services are more needed now than a year or two ago?
- [Micala] Social Media. General social media management, but also much more specialized services, such as Reels
- More traditional businesses are hiring social media managers
“Social media is such a time-suck for people, so it’s a great service to be offering right now.” – Micala Quinn
- [Sara W.] People are always looking for the big 3: creative, tech, and admin
- Creative is social media, copy, graphic design and web design
- Tech is websites, courses, platforms/tools, CRMs, etc
- The need for strategy is also there, ex: launches
- [Sarah N.] Systems, including setup, documenting, and streamlining
“If we don’t have our systems buttoned up, we are going to crumble.” – Sarah Noked
The best way for service providers to get visible is _____ .
- [Micala] She works with new service providers, and when it comes to getting visibility, there is both marketing and prospecting
- Marketing is showing up and creating content for IG, etc.
- Prospecting is going to where your potential clients hang out and communicating with them, helping them out, sharing your values
- The best way to prospect is to know who you want to work with and where they are hanging out, then put yourself in a position to show up every day
- Tell people in your local community what you are up to, and plant the seed
- [Jordan] Getting referral partners for her mostly came from events
- A lot of the time she was the only ops person in the room
- Figures out who she wants to connect with, and how she wants to stand out to them
“If you don’t try some things that are a little strange, you will be like everybody else who is awkwardly swarming the room and not knowing what to do.” – Jordan Gill
- [Sara W] Pick the thing from a marketing standpoint that brings you joy, so that you will have less resistance to it
- Figure out where your people are hanging out
- Repurpose what you already have or what you are creating
- Think through ways you can repurpose content you already have for other platforms, and get help if you need it
“Figure out where the intersection of where you want to go and where they are.” – Sara Wiles
Share a tip that helps service providers to up level themselves in 2022.
- [Lauren] The best way to level up is to niche down, and find your niche within a niche
- This will help you to be clear: what software can you become known for?
- The businesses that scale up and are able to charge more are the ones that niche down again and again
- You will be able to know your focus on where you can fine tune your skills
“When we get started we are afraid of that level of specificity because we think we are closing ourselves off from opportunity.” – Natalie Gingrich
- [Tasha] Pick your lane and lead with what you love rather than what you think will make you the most money
- If you have clarity about your niche, it will be much easier to create SOPs if you decide you are going to build a team
“You will show up as your best self and your whole self when you love what you do instead of when you are trying to chase those dollar signs…” – Tasha Booth
- [Jordan] Connection is everything
- Being in connection does not mean having hundreds of people know who you are, but having intentional friendships, biz BFFs, peer masterminds, referral partners
- Business is isolating, so having connections to reach out to is critical
“It’s really crucial to have the people in your life who can be real, be in connection with and refer.” – Jordan Gill
Weekly Ops Activity
Create a vision statement for 2022. What does success look like for you this year?
Connect with our Panel:
Micala Quinn is a Kansas City mom, wife, former teacher, and current CEO solving the modern working mom dilemma. A FORBES and Fox4 KCTV featured contributor, Micala coaches women looking to lead and launch successful, sustainable freelance businesses. To date, more than 1,800 women across the country & world have enrolled in Overwhelmed to Overbooked. In late 2018, Micala launched the Live Free podcast to spread her freelancing method and mission throughout the world. A fixture in iTunes’ Top 20 for Entrepreneur podcasts, it has surpassed 160,000 downloads. When Micala is not leading the charge to provide women with the freedom to work and mother, you can catch her walking to the park with her kiddos, making cookies, or watching a rerun of Friends for the millionth time with her cute husband.
Jordan Gill, operations consultant and founder of Systems Saved Me, helps burned-out service providers replace their monthly retainers with virtual VIP Days. Her program Done In a Day™ has supported over 270 students create and sell their first VIP Days. She also has a podcast called Systems Saved Me with over 300 episodes all about how business owners navigate success with systems – of course! She currently lives in Dallas TX with her cavapoo Vivienne and collection of 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzles.
Sara Wiles is a Virtual Assistant Trainer and Online Business Mentor. She teaches women how to start and scale online businesses that provide work-life balance AND income from home. She’s also a wife, mama, dog mama, exercise enthusiast, champagne connoisseur, four-letter word addict.
Sarah Noked is the founder of Sarah Noked OBM and OBM School. Her mission is simple: to empower online Entrepreneurs and Online Service Providers to build thriving, profitable businesses with the help of streamlined systems, marketing automation, and a winning team. She is a leading authority and educator, sharing valuable resources and programs that support and train online service professionals with actionable tools to leverage their skills and translate their talents into profitable and meaningful businesses. To date, Sarah has trained thousands of aspiring Online Business Managers, and provided them with a proven framework to transition into the online service industry confidently, effectively, and successfully.
Lauren Golden is the fearless leader of The Free Mama Movement and a thriving community of tens of thousands of women who don’t want to choose between family and financial stability. Her mission is simple: Lauren wants to ensure that no mother ever has to sacrifice time with her babies in order to provide for them. Lauren is also a 2 Comma Club Award winner and a #1 International Bestselling Author. In her book, The Free Mama: How to Work from Home, Control your Schedule and Make More Money, she shares her own story — along with plenty of practical advice for anyone looking to leave the 9-5 behind and live a totally awesome, guilt-free life.
Tasha Booth is an agency owner, coach, and podcaster. She is the Founder & CEO of The Launch Guild – a full service launch support agency working with established coaches and course creators with Course & Podcast Launches. Her team is over 20 members strong and works together to support their clients in being able to focus back onto their zones of genius. Additionally, she mentors Virtual Support Pros, Launch Managers, & Agency Owners who are passionate and ready to grow their businesses while living life on their own terms, and she is the host of the How She Did That Podcast — a podcast for Virtual Support Pros to learn business and tech tips. Tasha has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, and Entrepreneur, and she has appeared as a guest speaker for various summits and podcasts including Amy Porterfield’s “Online Marketing Made Easy,” and Julie Solomon’s “The Influencer Podcast.” Tasha is an Air Force wife to her husband Scott, stepmom to Grace & Meredith, and work from home dog mom to Stanly and Boomer. In her spare time, she watches true crime tv, sings karaoke, and tends to her organic vegetable garden.
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