Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional

54. The Wax and Wane: Following the Cycles of Expansion and Contraction

Vegan Mainstream — Sat, 19 Mar 2022 21:01:38 +0000

Let’s cycle through some methods that will allow you to:

- Sense when a period of expansion has reached its pinnacle and a recharge is needed
- Reap the most rewards from planning stages
- Find a rhythm that lets you and your team flow with the needs of each season and stage of development

When we think about expansion versus contraction, most of us are like, “Of course we want to expand. I want to grow, I want to help more people, I want to reach more people. I want to expand my business!” Or maybe you're in a place where you want to have additional locations, or maybe you want to build a team. But the reality is - most expansion will require a level of contraction first.

🌞 Time for refection: be aware of what cycles mean in your business. 00:52

🤔 Is it time to recharge and reassess: Stephanie's challenge this year. 03:00

🤯 Too many projects and overpromising to your clients. 04:54

🌊 The Flex Plan: Set your business plan for the slowdowns too. 06:19

🔋 Creating recharge moments before you get exhausted. 07:34

🙃 Priority lists done differently. 08:39

🤓 Getting comfortable with the cycles your business goes through. 09:48

🆚 Expansion vs contraction: Don’t be afraid of the contraction in your business. 11:42

🏆 Success is in the streamline. 13:10

💪🏾 Contraction while spreading out or distributing your work: It helps you, your business and team, even if you’re in the contraction cycle. 14:39

Thanks for listening to Spark, a podcast that aims to provide a roadmap for the vegan professional. If you are feeling inspired, but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo or Fix It.

53. Creating Recurring Tasks to Make Business Life Easier

Vegan Mainstream — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 20:58:56 +0000

It’s not uncommon for business owners to feel like we're in a race against time—we're trying to get the maximum amount of things done in a day until the clock runs out. But I want you to start thinking of your business differently. Don’t always approach your day like you’re racing against time; instead use time as an asset in your business. What that means is sitting down and figuring out what the most important things you do in your business are.

Separate out the things that are critical, crucial, and important to your business. You want to identify the things that really help keep your business afloat! Turn those into recurring tasks. Doing this will help you complete them faster and experience their benefits sooner. This is a critical shift toward success that can happen in your business.

💥 The power of creating recurring tasks for running your business more smoothly. 00:39

👌 How do recurring tasks provide us with freedom? 01:47

⏰ Stop racing against time. 03:38

👉 Identifying important things in your business and making them into recurring tasks. 05:07

😇 Stephanie’s big tasks and tools list. 07:23

😎 Setting up recurring meetings with clients.08:40

🤩 A tip from Stephanie: set time aside for a content-creation meeting. 11:11

🤝 Taking a look at recurring events that can help you focus on customer experience. 12:28

👔 Prospecting and sales management: prioritizing your tasks. 14:19

❓ Benefits of recurring: Are the things you've been working on actually creating returns? 16:40

🤓 Ensure that your time is secured around projects or collaboration opportunities. 19:50

🙋🏾‍♀️ Getting to the point where a feeling of accomplishment starts to motivate you to do more, and change your mindset. 21:04

52. A Great Day Starts With An Intentional Morning

Vegan Mainstream — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 16:24:35 +0000

⚡Finding your rhythm during the day to feel more energized. 00:38
🤔 Reflect on what you've done in the past but don’t criticize yourself. 03:55
💫 Why re-adjusting your schedule and morning routine is important. 04:35
🌞 Creating an intentional morning routine around accomplishments. 07:11
✨ Stephanie's magical morning. 08:35
🌻Finding more natural flow and using "me time" for personal nourishment. 11:22
🏊🏾‍♀️ How Stephanie found something more delightful to start her days with. 13:48
🛌🏾 How to test your wake-up time without taking away from your sleep.15:56
⏰ Adjusting your work schedule to gain more flexibility. 18:28
😇 Distractions may pull you away; how to find a mechanism to get proactive again. 21:41
💡 Having a plan sized just for you is essential. 24:26

51. Pushing Past Fear—How to Find Your Million Dollar Mindset

Vegan Mainstream — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 19:31:47 +0000

How do you push back the fear, the discomfort, and the challenges you may be facing in your business when it's time for you to make bigger decisions? And how can you prepare your mindset—what I like to call your “million-dollar mindset”? The reason behind a million-dollar mindset is that when you think about your business, it stops you from thinking small, or about what you have already accomplished in your business. Instead, you start thinking with a mindset that has you reaching towards the stars, towards something big, something that might be scary—maybe something that you don't initially see is within your reach. When you start to build that mindset your perspective grows, and your ability to make more difficult decisions becomes a little bit easier.

🛣️ Pushing past fears and harnessing a million dollar mindset. 00:42

❎ Don’t get stuck in the crossroads: stop looking for the perfect environment for your business. 03:07

👀 Widen your perspective to see not only the challenges ahead but the opportunities as well. 05:02

📋 Making a list of your challenges and identifying the biggest one of all. 07:58

🧅 Peeling back layers and making decisions about what to do next. 11:13

✨ What is the biggest move you can make in your business? 15:55

🙌 Developing an offering that really works. 18:19

🤔 Taking a look at different levels of the offerings you have: why it is important to have high-end offerings. 20:38

😇 Creating a community offer. 24:37

💲 A million-dollar revenue may look huge, but in reality, it’s not that huge. 27:51

🤩 The proper mindset is key in preparing you to make important decisions about steps forward and building a small, mighty business. 30:11

👓 Open up your purview and start to look at your business through different lenses. 31:57
__

50. Are You Getting Paid? Recognizing the Importance of Paying Yourself

Vegan Mainstream — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 11:36:18 +0000

It’s important to strike a balance and make sure that you are not only investing in your business, but that you're also investing in yourself. That means making sure that you're paying yourself, even if it's something teeny, tiny, even if it's just a little bit in the beginning. Make sure that you have some level of compensation in your business for yourself as the owner, as the founder, as the leader in the organization.

⚖️ Why finding a balance between investing in your business and paying yourself is crucial.00:39

🤔 Savings versus compensation. 02:36

💸 Decision time: Should you have a business bank account or a separate bank account for business? 04:12

😇 The deeper meaning behind compensating yourself. 07:08

🙌 Pick a date! 11:39

📈 Doing an annual review of your salary. 13:02

🎯 Why it’s important to think of yourself as a person who should be compensated too. 15:04

49. A Business Transformation: Leveling Up

Vegan Mainstream — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 18:54:14 +0000

✅ How to get the most out of what you’re spending your time on: tactical skills and critical mindset shifts. 0:39

↗️ Why you should start thinking about leveling up your business. 02:05

🛣️ When you start leveling up, why delegating tasks and building ‘fast lanes’ for your team are crucial moves. 05:00

🤔 How to create ‘fast lanes’ in your business and tips for batching your work. 07:46

🤓 Leveling up in small ways: doing things different and better. 10:26

⚠️ Don’t be a critic of your work! 13:13

📈 Leveling up in big ways. 14:53

💫 A different approach: hiring someone to make good things better. 17:51

🙌 Investing in software, tools and 3rd party services, and moving away from the bootstrapping mindset of “doing it all”. 20:37

🙃 Changing your role in your business is sometimes needed to achieve the level of service you want to provide your clients/customers.. 23:22)

🤩 Leveling up is not just about spending money on looking big; remember, it always comes down to your customers and community. 27:45

Ep. 48: Break the cycle! Avoiding the rework loop

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 18:49:43 +0000

We all love to “get things done.” Who doesn’t love to check things off a to-do list? But even if you’re good at task execution it’s still easy to get caught sometimes in the loop of tweaking, editing, and perfecting. The problem with this is it can cause you to lose sight of when to move on from work that should have been marked as completed. In this live session of Spark! Stephanie talks about how to set those important boundaries so you can move forward and make more efficient use of your time. You’ll learn:

Tips for catching yourself when you are falling into the rework trap
How to know when you really need to tweak something, and when it’s time to move on
Why efficient task execution is such an important part of good time management

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 47: Building Your On-Camera Confidence

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 22:36:10 +0000

When you’re on video - whether in a meeting, or doing a live session of some kind - do you ever find yourself fidgeting or staring at yourself, evaluating your every move? If so, you might need to build your on-camera confidence. In our online world of video meetings it can be hard to get used to seeing yourself, and especially resisting the urge to critique. In this live session of Spark! let’s talk about ways to build your confidence behind the camera, including how to set up your virtual space so it feels like a safe haven.

We’ll discuss:

The benefits of creating a standard intro for live videos or meeting ice-breakers (and how to do it)
Why you should choose a look/style for your videos, and stick to it
Tips for a more professional on-camera appearance, like standing for meetings if you can

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 46: Making Mondays Magical

Vegan Mainstream — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 15:39:40 +0000

Do you get the Monday blues? If you do, you need to listen to this episode of Spark! Inside, Stephanie talks about how she transitioned her Monday blues into Monday magic! Make Mondays one of your favorite days of the week by designing them to be productive, inspirational and motivational. You’ll learn how to use this first day as the springboard for a fantastic week.

Listen to find out:

Why you should be saving Mondays to ONLY work on things that can be utilized or leveraged in a given week.
Key tasks to help you set your week up right (e.g. a critical calendar review, task prioritization, organizing expectations, etc).
The difference between a tactical Monday and a long-term planning or strategy day (this is an important difference!

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 45: Creativity & Structure: How to foster both for your biz

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 19:52:30 +0000

I love the creativity that comes with running a business. And I love being able to harness that creativity within a structure that really helps me take advantage of my creative process. In today’s live session of Spark! I want to share a powerful lesson with you: how to translate a creative idea into a document that can be used for strategic planning in your business, and a key tool I use for avoiding rework, and enhancing my creative process even more.

You’ll learn:

- How you can avoid starting from scratch every time you want to enter your creative zone

- How to use templates as building blocks so you can really focus on the creative process

- The practicalities of creating templates that really work

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 44: Being “Camera Ready” All The Time

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 22:31:50 +0000

Pre-pandemic being “camera ready” was never a daily requirement for me. I could jump out of bed, throw on some comfy clothes, grab some breakfast and dive into work without worrying about hair, makeup and all that jazz. However, these days I am often called to be on camera with just a moment's notice! So I have had to make some changes to accommodate these altered expectations - and comfort level for me! I know I’m not the only one facing this new reality, so today I want to talk about some things you can easily change in your office and the way you prepare for your day so you are always prepared to turn on your camera.

We’ll cover:

- Easy office set-up tips for an always-professional appearance

- Why you must move past pandemic excuses...we’re in a different phase of “working from home” now

- New expectations for personal “at home appearance” - what is acceptable (and what’s not)

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 43: The Best Leaders Ask For Help (recognizing when and how to do it)

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 21:32:36 +0000

Titles like “founder”, “manager” or “leader” can carry a heavy weight. When you take these roles on, you may be seen as the person who should have all the answers. This false precedent can make you feel inadequate if you don't have all the answers. Today, I want to challenge that myth, and talk about the fact that true strength comes from understanding where and when you need help, and how to ask for it! In this live session of Spark!

We will talk about:

How to be an independent thinker who can wisely gather and use feedback and ideas from others
Finding the magic: how to use help from others intelligently, and realizing that you don’t have to do everything on your own
Why the best leaders are those who know when to accept help from others to make their businesses better

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 42: Re-imagining Success: Do you need to change your business perspective?

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 18:26:12 +0000

Do you feel successful in your vegan business? If your immediate response to this question is “no”, join me for today’s live session of Spark! We’re going to talk about perspective, and whether that feeling is attributable to a real problem with your business, or misplaced expectations. Understanding whether it’s your business or your perspective that needs to change is key in moving forward and truly embracing success!

Today you’ll hear about:

How to realize if you are measuring success through the lens of your setbacks
How to spot the micro-wins in your business
Why it’s important to celebrate, even when things don’t turn out perfectly

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 41: Pain Vs. Discomfort

Vegan Mainstream — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 03:57:58 +0000

When pressure and stress pile up in our daily business lives, it’s easy to become hyper-sensitive, at which point every request can feel like a weight on your chest. But sometimes, when you’ve pushed yourself too far, everything can feel like pain/pressure and your sense of what’s doable can disappear. I found myself in this spiraling state last year, and in this live session of Spark! I will share how I recalibrated myself to regain my sense of pain (unhealthy and unhelpful) versus discomfort (often essential to growth). By really identifying the difference, I knew when to take a deep breath and forge forward, and when to stop. This was an “A-ha!” moment in my business, and I’m excited to share it with you!

Tune in to learn:

Why discomfort is sometimes healthy and necessary to growth
How to recognize the difference between pain and discomfort, and stop doing things that cause pain
How to reset when you are in a downward spiral

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 40: Building Your Business With A Signature Offer

Vegan Mainstream — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 22:37:21 +0000

One great strategy for building your business is to design and create an amazing signature offer. In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, a signature offer is THE product or service that you ultimately want to be known for in your business. This is something that can define the culture and style of your business, as well as act as a linchpin that your other products and services are grounded in. In today’s live session of Spark! join Stephanie to talk about strategies for developing your unique signature offer, and why most businesses should have one.

You’ll learn:

What makes a service or product a signature offer
How a signature offer can distinguish your business or organization
Why you should consider developing one now!

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 39: Stumbling Your Way To Success

Vegan Mainstream — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 22:30:48 +0000

tumbling and falling down are a natural part of being in business, but it’s the ability to get back up that determines your journey to success! As business owners we don't often talk about the resilience and mental strength it takes to stumble around in the dark - and consistently get back up - as you're trying to figure things out. And as a VEGAN business owner, there’s a lot to figure out! In our live session today, I will talk about the courage and bravery it takes to leave the doubt behind. Join me to take a moment to recognize and celebrate that with me!

We’ll:

- Celebrate as a community today

- Talk about why it’s important to recognize our resilient qualities

- Discuss how YOU can get featured in Vegan Mainstream’s “Celebrating Vegan Business” social media series!

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 38: A Fresh Start: 3 key principles to guide you through the web design process

Vegan Mainstream — Fri, 14 May 2021 23:36:05 +0000

Launching a new website is a major undertaking that can make business owners want to run in the other direction, but sometimes you just have to face the inevitable. At Vegan Mainstream we continue to refine our approach to service the vegan business community. Several months back we started to notice that our website was no longer handling what we needed from it. It was time for a new website. It was a lot of work, but we launched our new site in March and I couldn’t be happier with the results! If you are building your first website, or contemplating a website relaunch, you won’t want to miss this live session of Spark!, where I will share 3 principles that helped guide us through the process.

You’ll hear about:

How to define your website’s purpose (and why that’s so important)
How to ensure you fix chronic website issues with a relaunch
Why investing in a good website pays off (and what that looks like)

-------------

Get training or support for your business or organization - EXPLORE OUR COURSES

https://master.veganmainstream.com/

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 34: Saying "No" More For Greater Impact

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 19:47:19 +0000

There is a lot of added pressure when you run a passion-based business. When it feels like change isn’t happening fast enough you may react by trying to do it all -- working late, weekend meetings and spending less time with family and friends. But what if you said “NO” more? Would it make you more effective? When you have time to think, take breaks, reflect, and consider your options, you just might have the space and creativity to make a greater impact. We will explore this idea in In today's Spark! Session.

Let’s discuss:

- How committing to less can lead to greater impact

- How to determine what to say “no” to

----------------

Get training or support for your business or organization - EXPLORE OUR COURSES

https://master.veganmainstream.com/

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 37: Finding Your Beat: How To Learn From Others While Protecting Your Unique Self

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 18:33:18 +0000

The world may influence you but it should not define you. Too often business owners feel like they have to copy another’s style, approach or business model to be successful. But all this does is create an industry of services and businesses that are indistinguishable from one another. And that makes it hard for customers to find their perfect product, service or solution. There’s no doubt that it’s important to benchmark and understand what others in your industry or field are doing and how they impact the world. But you should ALWAYS let your unique self shine. In today’s Spark! session we will talk about how to use benchmarking without watering down your brand’s impact.

You’ll hear more about:

- Why you should be focused on learning, while guarding against copying

- How to articulate what’s unique about your business or brand, and use it to your advantage

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 36: Responding To Doubts: How To Find Courage When You Need It Most

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 22:14:11 +0000

As you move through the ups and downs of your business, I want to remind you to never lose faith in yourself. The reality of being in business is that there will be times when you don’t have the answers, but you have to make a decision anyway. This can be scary and stressful, but it may be easier if you can remember that you are on a path to learning and growth. As the manager, CEO or founder of your business maybe it seems like you should know it all, but that’s a myth. We all have to take a leap of faith at times. In order for you to land firmly and safely on the ground you have to start with encouraging and believing in yourself. Doubts aren’t the enemy -- it’s your response to those doubts that can derail or send you into turmoil. Today, I want to talk about three things I do every week, to help keep me on an encouraging track.

Join me to learn:

- Best practices for encouraging yourself on a consistent basis

- How doubt and courage can coexist, and the benefits of embracing that truth

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 35: Stop Patching Your Problems: Fix Them!

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 21:20:39 +0000

I’m truly motivated to find actual solutions for business problems, and to encourage others to do the same. There’s a zen moment when you realize that the work you completed in a given week or month has created a breakthrough solution for your business. On the other hand, when you feel overwhelmed, it’s hard to truly fix problems, so instead you might look for bandaids. While I love using quick fixes to stop a project from becoming derailed, it’s important to put a process in place to make sure the action doesn’t end there. For example, I keep a log of issues in my business so I can track them and eventually develop plans to solve them. It’s how I move from temporary fix to permanent solution. In this live session today, I will invite you to think about a fix that is needed in your business, and how finally solving it can help your business. Plus, I’ll show you how I do it.

Join me to learn:

- How to identify problems effectively

- The benefits of an “issues” log

- How to implement a process that creates long-term solutions

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 33: The Patience Marketing Requires: Persistence & Percolating

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 23:38:00 +0000

When you come up with a good idea or new project, do you find it hard to give it the time it needs to marinate? In this episode of Spark! join Stephanie as she talks about the very real struggles -- and the very real advantages -- of having the patience to allow a good idea to percolate. You’ll hear about a recent real-life example involving one of Vegan Mainstream’s marketings campaigns, and the lessons that Stephanie learned and hopes to pass on so others don’t make the same mistakes.

Find out:

What happens when you give new ideas the space they need to flourish
Some of the pitfalls of taking a great idea too big too fast
How to build something scalable, rather than pushing through for quick sales

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.32: Digging yourself out of a business rut

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 22:13:59 +0000

As a small business owner many pitfalls await you. There are countless ruts along the road to success that can threaten to drag you down and impede your progress.

But if you’re aware and have some strategies in place to deal with them BEFORE they happen, it’s more likely that you will stumble, rather than do a complete wipe out that takes weeks to recover from.

In today’s live Spark! session, join Stephanie as she talks about some common pitfalls she has seen her clients getting into. She’ll provide suggestions for recognizing them, and tips for getting out of them quickly when they happen (because they will!)

In this session you’ll learn:

- How to assess WHY you’re getting stuck in a rut

- Ideas for combating some common pitfall scenarios

- How to create the awareness you will need to protect yourself from business pitfalls over time

------------

Never Miss An Episode - WATCH NOW: Spark! A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional https://veganmainstream.com/category/podcast-spark/

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 31: Setting boundaries to stop you sliding down the slippery slope

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 23:20:09 +0000

Have you ever felt the pressure that success can bring? I’ve been extremely fortunate in experiencing a significant growth-spurt in my business over the past month. But it’s funny how a little bit (or a lot!) of pressure can encourage the reappearance of bad habits and decisions. I’ve been noticing with interest lately how good things can cause bad things to happen. But only if you let them, right? Well, I confess, I let them. In today’s live session of Spark! come hear about this journey, and the “a-ha” moments it has led to.

I’ll discuss:

- When working in your pajamas goes from being a luxurious novelty to a warning sign

- How my spiral started and evolved -- and things I’ve learned that will help me avoid that pattern in the future

- Where I started to slip, and safeguards I am putting in place to stop that from happening again

- Key things I have learned -- some are reminders, others are new takeaways

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 30: Building a team to last

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 23:59:10 +0000

For any business leader, the team should be the wind that buoys you up. Your team can help you soar, inspire and challenge you to dream bigger dreams, or they can provide the space and time for you to rest when you need to. A great team can help fill the gaps, bringing expertise and accelerating growth. However, as a small business it can be hard to know when to invest in a team. In this live session of Spark! Stephanie will talk about how to know when you’re ready, and all the ins and outs, like:

How to avoid expanding too fast?
How to find great talent, and use it to your full advantage
How to understand your new role as a manager once you start to outsource
The importance of the simple concept of allowing your team to grow as you grow

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 29: Setting The Tone: Is your office space working for you?

Vegan Mainstream — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 21:59:38 +0000

More people than ever are working from home offices these days, but those of us who run our own businesses are accustomed to managing things from a home office. Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean that your space is serving you. If you find yourself struggling to get things done join Stephanie for this live session of Spark! and learn:

How to evaluate whether your office space is really serving you
The reasons why having a workspace with a productive atmosphere is so important
How to get started making some easy, inexpensive changes that will increase your productivity
Specific examples from Stephanie’s own experience that can get you excited about sitting down to work each day!

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 28: Cutting through the noise

Vegan Mainstream — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 18:24:02 +0000

We live in a noisy world. Being distracted seems to be a way of life these days -- there are so many things that want our attention! It’s easy to place blame for this constant state of distraction on the mini-computers that live in our pockets, the addictive nature of social media, or even coworkers. And it’s true that there are plenty of forces trying to sway us every moment of the day. But it’s important to remember that YOU have the power to choose how you spend your time. If you feel like distractions are taking over your life join Stephanie in today’s live Spark! session.

We’ll discuss:

How to lean into your own power to gain control of your time again
Strategies for cutting through the noise
Tips for staying focused

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 27: Leverage Your Best!

Vegan Mainstream — Mon, 11 Jan 2021 19:19:17 +0000

In our content-hungry world it is imperative for small business owners and managers to have a content marketing strategy that takes full advantage of leverage. Too often small businesses struggle to keep up with marketing demands because they aren’t in a position to develop new content from scratch weekly. In this live Spark! session, join Stephanie as she dives into the benefits of leverage, and shares tips about how to make leverage a strategy that truly helps your marketing efforts.

This session will cover:

Ideas for reusing your best marketing campaigns and content, and why this is something all smart business owners (of any size) should be doing
The benefits of setting out your own standards for marketing efforts like social media posting, blogging, live sessions and more (and how to go about doing it)
How taking these steps can help lead you to your next exceptional marketing campaign

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 26: The Magic Trigger: Turning Visitors Into Clients & Customers

Vegan Mainstream — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 20:53:44 +0000

Are you using your website dynamically to engage with your customers and clients in a targeted way? Have you set up triggers and touch points based on your customers’/clients’ interactions with your site, helping them to get the answers and information they need -- aka more business for you? When was the last time you took a good look at how your website functions for your business? If these questions seem way past where you’re at with your site, or your website has been stagnant - or worse, a thorn in your side - for longer than you care to remember, be SURE to join this live Spark! session with Stephanie. You will:

Learn how you can use visits to your website to personalize your marketing efforts so that you can serve your customers/clients better - and get more of them
Get inspired to make some changes so your website can help, not hinder, your business
Understand how to develop a purpose for various components of your site so it becomes a dynamic marketing tool, rather than a stagnant one
Hear about real-life examples of how this works and can be implemented from Vegan Mainstream’s own website

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 25: Keeping That Spark Alive (Networking Knowhow)

Vegan Mainstream — Sun, 15 Nov 2020 18:28:33 +0000

When you think about networking, what comes to mind? Perhaps, “Who do I need to meet?” and “How can this person benefit me?” are questions that arise, and of course those are important questions. But in this episode of Spark! Stephanie talks about a different approach -- one that involves taking time to lay the groundwork for something bigger, a scenario of mutual benefit that also has the potential to help grow the vegan business community.

Listen up to learn:

- Why you should consider a shift in your networking approach if it is currently very one-sided

- Ideas for overcoming the challenge of finding and connecting with other vegan leaders who share your professional passion

- Stephanie’s 5-step process for networking you can use to inspire a successful networking strategy of your own

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 24: Getting Personal: How Technology Helps A Business Grow

Vegan Mainstream — Sat, 14 Nov 2020 17:51:26 +0000

One of my favorite things is spending time with my customers. However, I don't always have enough time for individual conversations and meetings. One of my tricks for getting around this dilemma is using tech to help me provide personalized support and advice. For example, I create personal videos that I send to prospects, clients and colleagues. The key to making this work is having a system in place that alerts you when someone in your “important” list takes action. The second step is having a tool in place to send personalized videos quickly. In today’s live session I want to show you how I do this, and why you might want to consider making it part of your marketing strategy too.

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 23: Claim Your Time Back: Eliminate Manual Re-Work With Tech

Vegan Mainstream — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 14:42:42 +0000

Time is such an incredibly precious commodity for any entrepreneur. Do you ever feel like you're an aspiring inventor trying to discover the formula to unlock additional hours in the day? I know I’ve been there! But we all know that’s a lost cause, so instead of constantly trying to find time, think about how you can use the time you have more wisely. One of my secrets to time management is using tech to reduce the amount of manual work I do daily. Today I want to show you how to automate the top 5 tasks you do every week so you can stop working so hard, and instead work smarter.

What to know how I do it? Join me in our new course, Tech Vibes. It’s time to get more comfortable with using tech tools in your businesses to help drive growth and personalization. Sign up by Nov 17th to save 30%!! https://learn.veganmainstream.com/p/tech-vibes/?coupon_code=TECH

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 22: Participating in a Virtual World When Tech is a Challenge

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 20:14:25 +0000

The impact technology can make on a business’s growth trajectory is impressive. And yet many people feel intimidated at the idea of adding a new tool or process in their business. Novel technology can feel overwhelming -- like “one more thing” to learn in your business. But as we continue to move toward an increasingly digital world it is important to find some level of comfort. During this live session join Stephanie to discuss some cornerstone tech that every business should be using and how to get a handle on it, even if technology is a challenge for you.

You’ll learn:

Tips for overcoming technology overwhelm
Some easy steps to help you get started
Key tools that can improve your business now

-------------

Never Miss An Episode - WATCH NOW: Spark! A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional https://veganmainstream.com/category/podcast-spark/

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 21: Giving Back To Your Business

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 19:34:27 +0000

As business owners many of us make the mistake of pulling everything we can out of our businesses, especially when the business is our sole source of income. But in order for a business to thrive over the long term we must resist that urge! Join Stephanie in today’s live session to talk about why it may be time to give your business some love, the benefits of doing so, and ideas for doing it without breaking the bank!

Tune in for:

Ideas for giving your business a boost this month -- and that doesn’t necessarily mean $
Inspiration for giving your business a little love
Tips for identifying something you can do that will be really impactful in terms of how your business runs

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 20: Buy Vegan--Why Your Buying Habits Matter

Vegan Mainstream — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 18:08:56 +0000

If you’ve been part of the vegan movement for any length of time, you will have noticed the incredible growth in interest in vegan products and services -- and as a result, the number of vegan businesses that have popped up in and around the mainstream. Still, it’s not always easy to stick to buying vegan 100% of the time. Stephanie Redcross West has been intimately involved with the vegan marketplace for more than a decade, and in this Spark! podcast she explores why it’s more important than ever for vegans to go out of their way to support vegan businesses. Join Stephanie to learn how powerful your dollars can be, and how to best use your buying power to help the vegan movement gain momentum. You’ll learn:

The difference your steady (vs sporadic) support can make to the vegan movement

How to get the most ethical bang for your buck

Tips for “outside the box” ways to support vegan businesses

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 19: Squeezing Every Bit Of Juice Out Of Your Marketing

Vegan Mainstream — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 17:46:06 +0000

Shiny new marketing tools and ideas are always alluring, but what results are you getting from the efforts you are already making? In this episode of Spark! Stephanie will discuss some quick, easy actions you can take to improve your results, without revamping your whole marketing strategy. This isn’t a theoretical discussion! Today Stephanie is sharing 5 things she and the Vegan Mainstream team have done this year that generated surprising (and exciting!) results. Be prepared to be inspired to examine how you can tweak what you are doing to help you improve your results by 5%, 10%, 15% or more!

Tune in to learn:

- The value of tweaks and nuances

- Tips for repurposing content - from video to audio

- How to improve your sales pages, and more!

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep. 18: Celebrating Personal Wins

Vegan Mainstream — Sat, 10 Oct 2020 17:59:44 +0000

The current business landscape is requiring a level of resilience that is pushing many of us out of our comfort zones. To combat that, many business owners have been focused on training and self-improvement. I’ve been blown away by the growth I’ve seen in my students and the individuals I coach. However, I have been noticing that most don’t share their personal improvement stories with their own communities or their customers. In this week’s session let’s talk about the value of sharing your experience, learnings and successes with others, especially during this time of social distancing.

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.17: A Win In Social Media Might Mean You Must Change

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 19:29:42 +0000

I absolutely love the ability to talk directly with people via messages in social media. It has been one of the best channels for growth and collaboration for my business, and it has helped me ground myself during these challenging times. However, I have to admit that when the pandemic started I was struggling to keep up. Each week I was simply running out of time and a few people would not get a timely response. I know that sounds crazy, right? How could I not have enough time to talk to customers or potential customers, or even people in my community? It was really based on the way I was managing my week. What I want to share with you today is how I changed the way I was working to ensure I can get the most out of what is working for me and social media -- and how you can do the same for your business!

Did You Know That We Offer Online Training?

Social Media Mastery is a course that will help you figure out where to put your focus, and how to spend your efforts in order to maximize the impact on your business. Designed by marketing expert Stephanie Redcross West this course will teach you strategy and best practices so you can make your social media efforts count. AND it includes a 30-minute personalized session with Stephanie!

https://learn.veganmainstream.com/p/social-media-mastery

#linkedinlive #youtubelive #facebooklive #marketing #veganbusiness #veganmainstream #periscopelive #entrepreneurship #vegan #business

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.11: Memorize Less, Document More

Vegan Mainstream — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 19:37:59 +0000

Is trying to remember giving you brain fatigue? When you’re running a business it can feel like there is a lot to memorize and remember -- which buttons to push on that Zoom call, your meetings for the week, or notes from a recent call with a client or customer. But unless you’re strategic about the things you commit to memory, and what you actually need to remember, non-essential tasks can burn through the creative energy you could use in your day to do something great. In today's live session join me to talk about some tactics and techniques you can use to reduce the number of things you need to commit to memory. It’s time to set your brain free!

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.16: Wow, I Wasn’t Creating Enough Content

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 18:08:34 +0000

If you're struggling with your social mediaI want to challenge you today to think about what could be the missing ingredient. Social media requires content for growth. Yes, it’s great to share content from your community. However, if you're not sharing your own original content and information your audience won’t get the opportunity to know you, or connect with your brand. This isn't about making everything all about you. Instead, it's about your followers connecting with you on a deeper level. And while I'm not necessarily advocating for an immediate ramping up of blogging or podcasting, I am encouraging you to create new content of some kind to share weekly or twice a month. This way your audience can get to know YOU a little better, learn about the successes you’ve had with clients, how you plan to change the world, and ultimately why your brand is worth following.

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.15: Going Live! Building your skills in the open

Vegan Mainstream — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 06:57:37 +0000

Going live on social media is one of the best marketing strategies for vegan business owners today. While many of you would probably agree with that statement, if I asked you to go live tomorrow you might experience a sudden headache!

I know it's a lot of pressure to go live, and sometimes the tech - or the “public speaking” - can feel a little intimidating. But I worry that so many people with important things to say are missing out on an amazing tool because of fear.

In today's session let’s talk about the idea of building skills out in the open. This is all about finding your courage, pushing yourself to grow and learn, even when it's hard.

Come join me to get inspired!

Did You Know That We Offer Online Training?

Social Media Mastery is a course that will help you figure out where to put your focus, and how to spend your efforts in order to maximize the impact on your business. Designed by marketing expert Stephanie Redcross West this course will teach you strategy and best practices so you can make your social media efforts count. https://learn.veganmainstream.com/p/social-media-mastery

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.14: Coming Out Of My Shell On Social Media

Vegan Mainstream — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 03:55:00 +0000

I find that some of the most successful people on social media are those who truly open themselves up to the world and let people know who they are and what they stand for.

I don't mean people who grandstand and make controversial statements for the sake of garnering attention. I'm talking about people who have the courage to share honest opinions, ideas and perspectives knowing that they won’t be accepted or liked by everyone.

But they do it because it’s important to them to stand up for what they believe in. It takes conviction to find your voice and push through obstacles that can keep you from getting an important message out to the world.

Today, I want to share my story with you, and hopefully inspire you to take the leap too.

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.13: Building A Road Back To Profit

Vegan Mainstream — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 20:01:12 +0000

The shockwaves of 2020 are still being freshly experienced as we all continue to heal and adjust to our new work-life reality. For most of this year we’ve been in reactionary mode, navigating the transition to digital services, dealing with restrictions on retail and figuring out general limitations that have been placed on the way we once did business. Today’s session is a reminder that as business owners we need not only to respond to the times, but also start to build a road back to profit in our businesses. This is a reminder not to get stuck in fight-or-flight mode! Of course it may take some time to reach the goals you had once set for your business -- or maybe those goals have changed -- but the important thing is that you don’t lose sight of those goals and the need to build sustainable business practices, even in the worst of times.

Identify A "Big Win" For 2020
Look Towards Collaborations
Budgets, Metrics & Goals
Focus On A Signature Offer

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.12: Renovating Your Vegan Business

Vegan Mainstream — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 03:55:00 +0000

While I’m a big fan of finding that “next amazing offer or product”, and sweeping changes are sometimes a good way to do that, I want to send a cautionary note your way. In circumstances like these it can be easy to gravitate toward an all-in strategy that requires everything from you, and I’d like to encourage you first to make sure you aren’t overlooking a smaller renovation that could just as effectively increase the value of your business. This would be the equivalent to the home DIY project where you look at the small changes that could make a big difference to your bathroom or kitchen -- before you start the complete makeover! It’s a nudge to consider the current services or products you have in your business and whether you can “renovate” them effectively for the current business climate and needs of your business. In this week’s session we will uncover mini DIY projects you should be considering in your business. Join me!

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.10: Is It Time To Look At Your Numbers?

Vegan Mainstream — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 17:49:38 +0000

Be honest. How long has it been since you looked at your business numbers? By this I mean things like validating your budget, reviewing your email marketing reports, monitoring your social media stats or looking at your website traffic data.

If you can’t remember, or if you had to spend a few minutes thinking about it, it’s time to dig those numbers out and take a look! This may not be the most glamorous task you do for you business, but today I want to talk to you about why it’s so important! Regularly analyzing your numbers can make a difference when it comes to success.

Let me explain why...

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.9: Are Your Messy Habits Hurting Your Business?

Vegan Mainstream — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 18:29:04 +0000

Chronic disorganization can be detrimental to long-term business success, and often when people GET organized they are shocked at just how much time and space their former messy habits were taking up.

Can’t find that password? Don’t know where you saved that file? Find yourself doing unnecessary rework because you just can’t remember where you put…?

If you have no idea what you’ve been spending your time on this week it might be time to tidy up your business.

Our world is moving faster than ever so I understand the temptation to ignore the destruction you’ve been leaving in your wake. But if you want your business to grow and improve you need systems, processes and order.

So, let’s get the broom out and talk about how you can start cleaning things up.

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.8: Can I Market My Business While The World Is In Pain?

Vegan Mainstream — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 18:10:20 +0000

We are living through challenging times. I find myself managing an undercurrent of sadness most days.

Between the pandemic, the injustice and the political fighting it’s easy to become consumed by it all. You might be feeling it too. Are you less energized and excited about your business? Or are you feeling worried about promoting your business or services in the midst of the suffering?

It may be a delicate balance, but the reality is you should still be able to support your community, stand against injustice and run your business successfully too.

Today, I’ll walk you through a few recommendations on how to get the balance right.

---------

Never miss an inspirational session or broadcast, subscribe to our podcast:

SPARK! A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional: https://veganmainstream.com/spark-a-roadmap-for-the-vegan-professional/

Join us live every Wednesday at 1pm ET via:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/veganmainstream

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veganmainstream

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/571259

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.7: What To Do When No One Is Listening

Vegan Mainstream — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 21:16:54 +0000

The online world can feel like a crowded space. As you look back at all the work -- blogs, emails, social media posts -- you have put “out there,” you might be wondering if anyone is listening. When you are building a community around your business, it takes time, a level of expertise and good planning to get everything to gel together.

In today’s session, I will be talking about how you can earn the support you desire. Join me!

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.5: The Benefits Of Journaling Your Vegan Business Experiences

Vegan Mainstream — Wed, 27 May 2020 17:24:46 +0000

This month I’ve been journaling my vegan business experiences. With everything that’s been happening I have been finding myself triggered more than usual by roller-coaster emotions, stress and worry. Video journaling has become a way for me to reflect, release and review my mental state as I navigate the way forward for my business.

The videos that I create in this process will only be for me, but because I prefer making videos to writing it’s a way for me to express how I’m feeling, and to think through what I want to do with my day. It’s a way of giving myself a pass if I need to take a breath or if I need some extra motivation to do something big. My plan is to watch the videos at the end of each week to reflect on how I’m feeling and if I’m doing enough to love and support myself during the week.

Are you journaling (video or otherwise) your vegan business experiences right now?

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.4: Standing Out In The Crowded Online World

Vegan Mainstream — Thu, 21 May 2020 14:34:18 +0000

With everyone flocking to Zoom and live streaming and rushing to create online versions of their products or services, it can feel like the online marketing and digital business world is getting crowded quickly. Yes, there are more people using the internet to build their brand and business, however, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for you too!

In this week’s podcast, we are talking about how to develop your signature approach, even while using the same tools everyone else is using. The key is understanding that just because the tool you are using is the same doesn’t mean the experience for your community or customers has to be the same. I’m going to challenge you this week to think about your own secret sauce and how you want to impact the world so you can translate that into your digital impact. Join the conversation!

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.3: My New Normal Week - Staying Sane and Productive

Vegan Mainstream — Tue, 05 May 2020 20:01:12 +0000

In this Live session I thought I would pull back the curtain and share the changes I have made to my weekly schedule as a result of this new environment we are all working in. While it's important to me to be productive in my work I’ve also been feeling the need to diversify my activities each day so the days and weeks don’t blur together.

This has meant making sure that each day has a purpose in my business. I am avoiding simply working on a project on any given day. Instead I am choosing to work on specific items on specific days, which allows me time to focus on planning and strategy. Then I can allocate other days to meetings or project tasks. It took a bit of rethinking and reorganizing, but this new approach to scheduling is working for me!

While some states and countries are relaxing stay-at-home orders, I continue to ensure that I have some virtual personal connection activities planned each week. This ensures that I don’t get lost in my work or feel too isolated. It's so easy to become consumed by all the change and stress, so I am making an effort to plan a little fun into every week! Join me to talk about the changes I'm making and see if some of them don't resonate with you!

#linkedinlive #newnormal #veganbusiness #veganmainstream #vegansolopreneur #lovinglife #stayathome

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.2: Staying Motivated When Times Are Tough

Vegan Mainstream — Mon, 04 May 2020 16:24:00 +0000

I often talk about ways to increase productivity and efficiency, how to improve your business or find the silver lining. And while those are all important things, I want to acknowledge that these are difficult times, and I don't want to give you the impression that I'm productive every single day, or that it’s “business as usual” right now. Just like everyone, I have bad days. Like many of you, I am striving to do my best, but some days I fall short.

In today’s session let’s discuss how to make, and embrace, the adjustments you will necessarily make to your personal expectations as you are adapting to this new way of life. It’s not always easy to stay motivated when things don’t go as planned -- but that alone is a good thing to plan for. Join me for some tips on recovering from difficult days and to understand how going a little easier on yourself can make you even more efficient.

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise

Ep.1: Testing, Trying and Building Resilience

Vegan Mainstream — Mon, 04 May 2020 14:56:41 +0000

Join me to talk about strategies for pivoting your vegan business to offer dynamic services and products as we are all navigating this unfamiliar business scene. Maybe you are thinking about offering new products or services but you’re not sure which ones will work in this new environment.

So let’s spend some time today talking about how to test new services, products and ideas for your business. In addition I’ll discuss managing the demand for free services when your business still needs to offer paid solutions. And we’ll also talk about the fact that this is a time of trial.

Some things will work and others won’t so it’s a time to find the courage, stamina and inspiration you will need to try new things, despite some risk. And remember, what you learn along the way might be exactly what you needed to position your business for success during these uncertain times.

Subscribe to Spark - A Roadmap For The Vegan Professional on Soundwise