Episode 131: The Recap: September 2018

It’s recap time, and we’re going to take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of September 2018 here at Small Business Boss. I’ve got lots to say, so let’s do this!

Overall, September was a great month, and we made some major progress on our quarterly goals, going into Fall strong. The August “lull” was actually what I needed to kick things into high gear for September, so everything happens for a reason!

And remember how I got fired from a whole pile of things? It’s been AMAZING. It’s freed up a lot of time, and as a result, I’ve been more creative and energized about internal projects. Which is good, because there’s a lot of new things brewing!

Scoop Studios

Back in June, I shared that our goal for the agency was to add $10k in monthly recurring revenue. The good news is we came close with some bigger engagements closed in July and September. The bad news is we had some client churn, so the new clients ended up as more of “replacement” than net new business.

It goes to show it doesn’t always work out as you’d like, but those new clients were a good thing to keep revenue steady. Now we’re set for some growth in Q4, and I can already see how that’s going to happen. So instead of a money revenue goal for the quarter, we’re focusing on adding two new retainer or project clients per month, each month. Based on average size of engagement, that should result in growth.

I’m thrilled with how the team is stepping into things, and how my time is really focused in the right places. One of the things I’ve been struggling with is client projects that end up being my primary responsibility as it’s a huge draw on my energy.

That realization has forced me to come to grips (yet again) about the types of clients we should be working with. September got us one step closer as we ended the month wrapping up with one client that was a lot of “Maggie time” and another one that’s been lingering for months and months will definitely wrap in October. That had me going into the quarter feeling that much lighter.

And remember my funk at the end of August? It’s gone. We signed three new clients in early September and have a few other things brewing. As usual, I needed to get uncomfortable to make things happen.

Last but not least, we’ve rolled out three new services designed for Small Business Bosses which are productized services our team can deliver at a reasonable price point for the average boss or small team. You can check them out at https://bsfreebusiness.com/services/.

So what are these services?

If you need help with being a guest on podcasts, you’ll want to check out Pitch It where we kickstart your podcast pitching efforts. (And believe me, I get a lot of really really crappy pitches so this service is really needed.)

Or maybe you’ve been dragging your feet on testimonials. The Prove It service gets your testimonials handled by our team — and so far we’ve had rave reviews from those who’s had us take care of this for them.

And finally, if you need help with your content, your podcast, video, or blog, we can help with the Content Sidekick. This service is something we’ve been testing out over the summer where you create the content, and we take care of the rest. It’s you but better — and it’s priced in a way that works with your small business boss budget.

Small Business Boss

Now let’s talk Small Business Boss!

Whoa. This month was amazing. We opened up enrollment for the Small Business Boss Society, our membership community, and this launch was super solid. I learned a lot and those lessons will be used next time we open up enrollment. I really knew this launch was about a new direction for the Society and getting insight into what the SBB community wants.

Post-launch, I’m100% confident that the changes I made to the Society were the right ones. I had the first Quarterly Success Map session, and I can see the impact this will have on the Society members.

Bosses, I’m SO stinking excited about all of it. We hit our “good” goal for the launch, and what I’m most excited about is seeing so many new faces joining us.

Again, it’s a sign that things like this podcast and our email marketing are working. Speaking of email marketing, over the last three months, we’ve seen a lot of organic list growth — thanks to a number of new opt-ins. And that’s being reflected in our overall numbers. It’s slow and steady, but the numbers are going the way I want to see!

One thing that resulted in a big bump of subscribers was a number of interviews with me as a guest on other podcasts being published. This pitching was definitely time well-spent and it added to my overall goal of visibility.

I was out of the office for nearly a week for the Fall Double It retreat which was in Denver, and I have to say nothing beats being in person with a group of smart bosses. While we were there to work on their businesses (and let me tell you, these are bosses to watch!), I always get so much out of it too. Seeing the growth and impact everyone in the mastermind is having it really why I do what I do.

Double It will continue to be the flagship offering of Small Business Boss in 2019, and I’ll be opening it up for enrollment again in November. This quarter is all about getting the mastermind all set — and having an outstanding group of service business owners in this experience for the coming year.

If you want details on the mastermind when it opens up, you can get on the waitlist at smallbusinessboss.co/double.

I came home from Denver so excited. I planned and picked the three Mastermind retreats for 2019 and booked flights for one of them. Plus, I’m working on finding a venue for a new event in 2019, the Small Business Boss Summit in June 2019 — so know you’ll be hearing more about that!