Starting an online store is exciting and fun…and a little bit scary. Starting an online store in Canada to sell to customers in the United States…is tricky. But Khalpana Vel has taken every single step in stride. She started slow, had a few bumps, but went back to her roots to create a successful seasonal business. Then she jumped into selling year-round…and learned she could do it from halfway around the globe. Today this wife, mom of two, and former art teacher joins me on the podcast to share...
Feb 08, 2022•38 min•Ep. 123
I absolutely love launching and running successful online stores. It’s kind of my comfort zone. Ditto with helping people create their own online stores. What I absolutely do NOT love, however, is public speaking. I know I’m not alone in this fear. The idea of standing up there in front of people who are looking at you and waiting for you to share a message they need to hear. It makes me get lightheaded just thinking about it. But I’ve been asked to speak at events and conferences about what I d...
Feb 01, 2022•49 min•Ep. 122
Returns are part of running a product-based online business. It’s just a fact. And if you’re just starting your store, the thought can be pretty scary. But product returns don’t have to be. Not if you’re prepared for them. In this episode of the Because I Can Life podcast, I share 5 things to include in a return policy for your online store (plus an extra one that I’ve found is awesome.) Each item is very practical—and every single one is designed to protect your business while making sure your ...
Jan 25, 2022•18 min•Ep. 121
I love, love, LOVE getting to hear other entrepreneurs’ stories. Seriously, it’s so gratifying to get to learn about and share their journeys here on my podcast. This one is no different. I had the chance to talk with Kacey Beal, owner of Holly & Liz, about how she started her online store, how she decided what to sell, and how far she’s come since day one. You’re going to get so dang much out of this one if you’re thinking about… …creating or growing an online store selling handmade items. ...
Jan 18, 2022•33 min•Ep. 120
So….one of the things that I preach from the rooftops is that you don’t have to have a big “Shark Tank” idea to have a successful business. No prototypes, no proof of concept, none of that. But today on my podcast, I’m totally talking about someone who DID go on Shark Tank and who absolutely blew my mind. His name is Trey Brown, and he is the founder of the very cool fashion brand SPERGO. And his story had me absolutely jumping up and down for joy. Why? Because he started with what he had—a whop...
Jan 11, 2022•14 min•Ep. 119
Imagine for a moment that you’re in your mid-20s. You’re doing great in your career, you’re getting promotion after promotion—things are looking pretty dang bright. Then comes a fall that results in you sustaining a TBI, or traumatic brain injury. You are told that you only have a 30% chance of surviving the injury. Your brain won’t function properly and your face is paralyzed. You suffer a stroke LITERALLY from laughing. (No joke.) How on earth do you come back from that… …much less find POSITI...
Jan 04, 2022•37 min•Ep. 118
Okay, back in the day (which basically means pre-smart phone) pretty much everybody had a planner. People like Stephen J. Covey made daily planners pretty much a necessity for anyone who wanted to stay organized and be successful. Until…keeping calendars and notes on your phone became “the thing.” But you wanna know a secret? There are still a lot of us who prefer paper daily and monthly planners…and a bunch more who are starting to. I think part of it is just the process of writing things down....
Dec 28, 2021•39 min•Ep. 117
Join me as I take a look in the rearview mirror at 2021 and all that it brought in this segment of my Podcast I’m calling “Be Kind, Rewind.” Now I’m going to be COMPLETELY honest when I tell you that I can’t even believe it’s time for one of these. I kinda keep thinking that Easter was last week. (Spoiler alert! It wasn’t!) So #nosuprise, I really can’t believe that Blockbuster has pretty much been gone for about a decade. Because what the heck? (Not talking to you, Bend, Oregon! Stay strong, my...
Dec 21, 2021•29 min•Ep. 116
Every now and again I can’t help but humming the “Why You Gotta Be So Mean” song from T Swift…especially when I scroll through the negative reviews I’ve received. But negative online reviews are kind of part of the whole ecommerce gig. Sometimes the reviews are honestly written and have the best intent behind them. Others…? Yeah, not so much. In today’s Because I Can Life episode, I’m digging into all sorts of things about online reviews, like: 3 steps you can take to deal with negative reviews;...
Dec 07, 2021•22 min•Ep. 114
When we were kids, it usually didn’t phase us to try new things—I mean, childhood is a time when we’re always learning, right? And for the most part, if we don’t get it right, we just dust ourselves off and try again. As adults, however, we don’t tend to give ourselves the same kind of grace. We want to get things right the first time. That’s why I loved my conversation with Darlene Turner, who was one of the first people who joined my 0-$100K Program. In this episode of the podcast, Darlene sha...
Nov 30, 2021•43 min•Ep. 113
Let’s put it bluntly: there are problems with the global supply chain right now. And those problems are impacting eCommerce sellers and entrepreneurs across the globe. I discuss the reasons for this supply chain failure in this episode of my podcast—but more importantly, I share 4 things you can be doing right now to keep your business going. Now, you may wonder, given the fact that this supply chain issue is something that hasn’t really happened in our lifetimes, how I can give advice about it....
Nov 23, 2021•21 min•Ep. 112
Okay, imagine for one minute that you had a hundred thousand influencers helping you promote your product. Seriously—one hundred thousand influencers. You’re probably thinking to yourself how on earth that’s even possible, right? I mean, I sure as heck would. But I just learned the secret from Megan Neugebauer, whose business “Shop Resin Molds” is proof that there are, as they say, “riches in the niches.” Get ready to learn how she did it, her product inventory strategy—and why she’s really look...
Nov 16, 2021•43 min•Ep. 111
Helloooo everyone and welcome back to a brand new episode of Because I Can Life! This one is gonna be sooo exciting! And I promise you, I'm not just saying that. Let me ask you a question: Have you ever looked around your house and thought to yourself: "I could probably make money out of that...”? If the answer is yes, then friend, you're not alone! In fact, if you know me, then you know I looove encouraging people to go through their homes and see if there's anything they can sell. Sure, it mig...
Nov 09, 2021•38 min•Ep. 110
Hi everyone! Welcome to a brand new episode of Because I Can Life! Get ready for this, mommies! Lacie Halford is this week's guest and she will be covering a topic that will hit every mom hard. It's going to be incredibly relevant to you and me. Our guest, Lacie, is a mother of two and a supportive wife to her husband. She was not born with an entrepreneurial spirit… But she quickly developed it to help sustain her family! Aside from that, she wanted to prove others wrong about the so-called "li...
Nov 02, 2021•34 min•Ep. 109
Hi everyone, welcome to a brand new episode of Because I Can Life! This week's guest is going to be covering an incredibly powerful topic that I'm sure resonates with most of us. Tanya Dalton is all about feeling more accomplished by actually doing less. She’s so passionate about the topic, she wrote two amazing books to share her wisdom ("The Joy of Missing Out" and "On Purpose")! One thing Tanya realized early on is that while we all have different stories and backgrounds… We all share one thi...
Oct 26, 2021•37 min•Ep. 108
Hello everyone, and welcome back to another brand new episode of Because I Can Life! After a week-long break, I am back, and more pumped than ever. And it's not just because I'm suuuper excited about today's subject! Speaking of which, today, I'll be discussing one of my all-time favorite things: Influencer marketing! If you've ever listened to me talk, then you know how much I love influencer marketing. That's because it really works! But, what should you do if influencers aren’t responding to ...
Oct 19, 2021•42 min•Ep. 107
Hello hello everyone, Alison here! I'm back again with another episode, and oh boy, this interview is just brilliant (mostly because of my amazing guest!!). Before we start though, let me ask you a question: Do you ever find yourself overwhelmed with everything in your life? Do you feel like you're being stretched so thin you might as well just give up? (Okay, that was two questions, my bad!) If the answer is “yes”, and “OH GOD YES!”, don't give up hope yet! Because friend, you can and will get ...
Oct 12, 2021•36 min•Ep. 106
Heyy everyone, Alison here! And today, I'm back with another great episode of Because I Can Life! This week, I'm going back to basics, and interviewing the brilliant Bev Schweigert. This is actually an update, because I've interviewed Bev before (in episode 38, so go listen to it!) and she had told us all about how she crossed the six-figure mark. If you don't know her, Bev is an amazing entrepreneur and business owner, and today, we discuss the behind the scenes of reaching success, crossing th...
Oct 05, 2021•43 min•Ep. 105
Hello everyone, and welcome back to another amazing (if I may say so myself) episode of Because I Can Life! Today, Cathy and I pick up where we left off last week! If you remember (and if you haven't listened to the last episode, then what are you waiting for?), last week's episode was another interview, although with the roles reversed! And this week, I continue my discussion with the great Cathy Heller, and we touch up on even more fun subjects, like how to price your products, if you should b...
Sep 28, 2021•40 min•Ep. 104
Heyy everyone, Alison here! And today, I'm back with a brand new episode of Because I Can Life, which means, a brand new interview. Yayyy!! Let me ask you a question: Do you ever feel like you have to learn EVERYTHING about something (whether it's a hobby or a new business) before you start working on it? If you're struggling with this, then you might want to listen to this episode, because, in it, PLOT TWIST, I get interviewed by the amazing Cathy Heller, and that's exactly what we talk about. ...
Sep 21, 2021•43 min•Ep. 103
Hello everyone, and welcome back to a brand new episode of Because I Can Life. I'm back in Puerto Rico, and I thought, why not talk about something I'm passionate about this week? What will I be discussing today? *DRUMROLL*: E-commerce out of the United States. Today's guest is the amazing Ellie Moore, who is manning her own business all the way from the UK, and boy is she crushing it! She's totally rocking it at the online business game, and today, she tells us how she's doing it! Join us as we...
Sep 14, 2021•37 min•Ep. 102
Hello everyone, Alison here! Welcome back to a brand-new episode of Because I Can Life! A new season is upon us (yay, fall!!), which means holidays, which means holiday sales are coming. And this means hard work and no excuses, because excuses are how good results die. Many of my students made excuses about why they weren't getting the results they wanted. But, as soon as they stopped doing that, big things started happening! So, if you're finding yourself making up reasons why you can't do one ...
Sep 07, 2021•31 min•Ep. 101
Hello everyone, Alison here! Welcome back to another great episode of Because I Can Life! You know that all episodes in the podcast are special. But this one is SUPER SPECIAL! Why?! Do you really ask why?! We broke the three digits in podcast land! YAYY!!! We are on episode 100 and counting! (Actually, we’ve just begun!) This is something you already know: The super special episode deserves a super special interview. And this is something I already know: You're going to absolutely LOVE this one!...
Aug 31, 2021•51 min•Ep. 100
Hello everyone, and welcome back to a brand-new episode of Because I Can Life. Today's episode is a bit different because, well... it's not an interview! Yep folks, it's just me and you this week! So, what will I be discussing, you ask? Well, only one of my all-time faaaaavorite subjects: How YOU can increase your online sales. And really, who doesn't want to? And because you guys are my favorite people ever (and I want you to make money), today, I'll be sharing with you THREE strategies you can...
Aug 24, 2021•16 min•Ep. 99
Hello everyone, and welcome back to another amaaazing episode of Because I Can Life! And believe me, this one is 100% going to BLOW. YOUR. MIND. I know, I know, I say that all the time, but really, when have I under delivered? In today's episode, I'll be sharing tips on how YOU can increase the amount of people signing up for your freebies, WITHOUT having to do social media all day long! And who's better to discuss this with than the brilliant Rachel Pedersen? I've known Rachel for the last four...
Aug 17, 2021•35 min•Ep. 98
Hello everyone, Alison here! And yes, you know it already: Today, I'm back again with an amazing interview I'm certain you're going to absolutely LOVE. But first, let me ask you a question: What if you could take your business from $2000 to $3000 a month in sales to $18,000 a month? Wouldn't that be great? Yes, yes, Alison, you say, we'd all love that. But how can we actually do it? Well, no need to go looking for an answer, because I brought it to you! Today, I'll be interviewing the brilliant ...
Aug 10, 2021•39 min•Ep. 97
Hi everyone, Alison here!!! Welcome back to another super-exciting episode of Because I Can Life. Yes, I always say the episode is going to be exciting, but guys, I can't help it if all the guests I bring in are such brilliant, lovely people! And speaking of brilliant and lovely people, let me introduce you to today's guest, Vanessa Graffe! Vanessa has launched her store in June 2020, and she toooootally WON at the pre-sale game. Today, she's here to tell us exactly how she did it (yes girl, dis...
Aug 03, 2021•47 min•Ep. 96
Hello everyone, and welcome back to a brand-new episode of Because I Can Life! You know what day it is, right?? Yep, you've guessed it, it's the day for another great interview. YAYY!! And today, my guest is none other than the brilliant Megan Whitesides. Now, if you don't know Megan, let me give you a brief summary on who she is. Megan is an amazing momentum coach (AND a preschool teacher, talk about multitasking) who works with entrepreneurs to break through the mental blocks that lead to over...
Jul 27, 2021•42 min•Ep. 95
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Because I Can Life. Guys, I can't describe how excited I am about this episode!! And yes, you've guessed it, it's toooootally because of the guest I'm interviewing today: The incredible Shera Rowley. If you've been following me on YouTube, then you know I actually interviewed Shera a year and a half ago, before I started this podcast. But, if you don't know her, then get ready, because she's going to blooow your mind! Her story starts like so many others: She ...
Jul 20, 2021•42 min•Ep. 94
Hello everyone, and welcome back to a brand-new episode of the Because I Can Life podcast!! Yayyy, are you excited? Because I am! I can't wait for you guys to meet this week's guest! But first, let me ask you a question: Do you ever find yourself skipping sleep just so you can ship products to your customers? Do you feel like you never have enough time to ship everything and enjoy your life the way you want to at the same time? If your answer is yes, then this episode is for you!! In this week's...
Jul 13, 2021•42 min•Ep. 93
