Slow and steady growth is how strong businesses are built. This is something that I strongly believe and is exactly what today’s guest, Stephanie Harvey has done as she has grown her business.

Stephanie Harvey is the artist and entrepreneur behind exit343design. She’s a Paper Camp alumni who's been in the business since falling in love with screen printing during college in 2007. What first started as a passion project and side hustle evolved into her full-time gig after a 10 year slow and organic growth.

She and I dive deep into the marketing strategies she uses to nurture the retail and wholesale sides of her business including how she leverages email and why she’s gotten into blogging.

We also explore why she’s building an operations manual to document the systems and processes within her business. You’ll get to hear what tools she recommends for building these systems and how she uses them to set up her processes. Stephanie also shares what she wishes she knew before starting her business and why it’s important to be frugal, but not cheap when making investments into your business.

Hey friends! Are you making sure to pay yourself for your work? There’s often a big misconception that only new business owners struggle with how to pay themselves for their time, effort and expertise. However, it’s no secret that both new and experienced entrepreneurs run into this problem from time to time.

I wanted to make things a little easier for you so in this episode I shared two simple strategies for how to pay yourself based on where you’re at in your business. You’ll hear why you need to pay yourself, how to choose a format of payment that works for you and why you should get on a payment schedule. I also explored why you should keep it simple (and automate where possible), the importance of revisiting your numbers as things change and of course, why you should seek advice from a CPA or financial planner.

Hey friends! Are you ready to get back time in your business to work on the projects and tasks that you really love? The ones that will help you to move the needle further toward your goal?

If you’ve been busy doing all of the things then you might be wondering if now is the right time to hire in your business. That’s why I brought on Natalie Gingrich from The Ops Authority. Natalie has been in operations for two decades and now she helps online business owners with support and strategy for the operational side of their business.

We get into everything you could possibly want to know about the best hiring practices. She shares how you’ll know when is the right time to hire and how you can get crystal clear on the job you’re looking to hire for. Natalie explains why this is critical and how an application is a key component in finding the right team member for the role.

She and I discuss how to measure the value that team members are adding to your business. She also discusses why you’ll want to invest a good amount of time in hiring to avoid mishaps like turnover or unrealistic expectations on either side of the hiring process.

This episode is packed with so much hiring wisdom so grab a notebook, listen closely and be sure to download Natalie’s free hiring guide for the next time you’re looking to outsource in your business.

Earlier this week, my friend Kristen Ley of Thimblepress and KristenLey.com and I hosted a free webinar where we talked about taking our business temperature. As small business owners so much of our time is spent working with our head down working on the most urgent and pressing things that need our attention. Taking your business temperature means that you’re intentionally making time to stop and look at the bigger picture vision, strategy and execution of your business plans.

Today’s episode is a replay from the live webinar we hosted. We talked about how often you should be taking your business temperature, where to start if you’ve never taken your business temperature, and Kristen and I share examples of things we’ve learned about ourselves and our business by doing these check-ins. I also share the four key factors I consider when making decisions in my business and explain how you can leverage them, too.

Before we jump in, I wanted to remind you that May 8th is the last day to join Proof to Product Labs as a Founding Member. Founding members get 5 incredible bonuses including my profitability calculator and production schedule planner AND they lock in our discounted rate of $49/month for as long as they are a member. The bonuses will go away and the price will jump to $79/mo starting May 9th. So head to prooftoproduct.com/labs to secure your founding member spot!

I sat down with my financial planner, Mary Beth Storjohann today to talk about financial relief and resources for small businesses available through the CARES Act.

Today we’re talking about the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (also called EIDL), the Paycheck Protection Program (also called PPP) and the Deferral of Payment of Payroll Taxes.

This is an ever evolving situation right now, so Mary Beth is sharing the current details with us today, April 3rd.

Remember to stay calm, I know things feel stressful right now but there a a variety of options and forms of aid available to all of us. I encourage you to reach out to your CPAs & financial planners to figure out which plans are best for you. And, if you decide to apply for PPP, apply with the bank that you’re currently doing your business banking with.

Hey friends, have you ever considered how you could leverage point of sale systems for trend tracking and buying decisions? Biff Ulm, founder of MN Nice Enough came on the podcast today to share how he uses technology to help grow his business and how he relies on the help of sales reps to ensure his store is stocked with products that are a fit for his customers.

Biff has a rich background in the product based business industry and has seen all sides of it including owning his own brick and mortar business, selling eCommerce, doing wholesale, as well as creating his own products. He’s done it all and has a vast wealth of knowledge in this line of business.

In this episode, we talk about everything from the challenges he’s faced from having multiple streams of revenue, what numbers he tracks, how he cultivates wholesale relationships and the importance of studying what bigger brands are doing in their businesses.

Does the thought of bookkeeping make you feel uneasy? I know that for so many creatives, knowing your numbers and doing your bookkeeping can feel a bit overwhelming. That’s why I brought on today’s guest because let’s face it... The reality is that even though numbers aren’t always our favorite, they are essential for knowing your business’ financial health and profitability.

Today you’ll hear from Greg Higdon, founder of Grow the Books, a bookkeeping company for small businesses. Greg helps entrepreneurs with a done for you service but he also helps those who want to DIY to understand what they need to know about reconciling their numbers.

We explore the topic of bookkeeping and how you’ll know when it’s time to outsource this task to someone else. We also talk about what questions you should ask before hiring a bookkeeper, the importance of setting aside time to do your bookkeeping and why sometimes you need to have someone outside of your business looking at the numbers.