What Works

‌

Episodes

‌

What Works

"Work" is broken. We're overcommitted, underutilized, and out of whack. But it doesn't have to be this way. What Works is a podcast about rethinking work, business, and leadership as we navigate the 21st-century economy. When you're an entrepreneur, independent worker, or employee who doesn't want to lose yourself to the whims of late-stage capitalism, this show is for you. Host Tara McMullin covers money, management, culture, media, philosophy, and more to figure out what's working (and what's not) today. Tara offers a distinctly interdisciplinary approach to deep-dive analysis of how we work and how work shapes us.

Episodes

EP 233: Creating Scale With A Single Offer With Membership Guys Co-Founder Callie Willows

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why Callie Willows and her partner decided to go “all in” on a membership site as their only offer* How she stays on up to date with the content and conversation inside the community* Why member experience is their top priority and retention is their top metric* What makes a membership site perfect for her own unique kind of introversion Okay, who wouldn’t want to be paid month after month for the same product? That’s the promise of a membership site. You set it up, convince ...

Sep 05, 2019•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast

EP 232: Scaling From The Start With Yellow House Media Co-Founders Sean & Tara McMullin

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why Sean & Tara McMullin are starting a second company, Yellow House Media , and keeping scale in mind from the get-go* How they’ve prioritized doing every task like they’ll have to do it again tomorrow* Why they’re keeping future hires in mind while they document processes* The importance of considering an exit strategy earlier than you’d ever expect Big businesses start small, too. Today, we’re kicking off a month focused on scaling up. We’re examining the misconception...

Sep 03, 2019•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast

EP 231: Taking Risks And Experimenting With Confidence With Author & Online Business Manager Victoria Klein

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Victoria Klein questioned her choices and assumptions to try some decidedly unexpected things in her business and life* Why she decided to go back to school to study Japanese and how the decision gave her a fresh perspective on her business* What’s happened to her level of confidence as she’s experimented and questioned her assumptions* Why her business is better off today than before she took these unconventional risks Assumptions, defaults, stories—I’ve had a number of ...

Aug 29, 2019•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast

EP 230: Finding The Confidence To Come Back After Major Loss With Book Coach Jodi Brandon

The Nitty-Gritty: * Jodi Brandon took nearly 2 years away from full-time work on her small business to care for her dying mother* When and how she made the decision to step back from her business and step up for her mom* How she kept things going behind-the-scenes while she wasn’t working normal hours* Why her confidence took a hit when she returned to full-time work* What she learned about running her business through the process of returning & rebuilding her confidence Small business owner...

Aug 27, 2019•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast

EP 229: Leveling Up Your Confidence With Lawyer Victoria R. Clark

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why attorney Victoria R. Clark decided to leap into her own solo law practice just 5 years out from law school* How she’s focused on working through her weaknesses and supporting her business with each new challenge* What happened when she realized that her prices were keeping her stuck and overworking* Why she believes increased confidence is the key to overcoming every obstacle she’s faced with her business Starting a business takes a real leap of faith. I don’t think anyon...

Aug 22, 2019•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast

EP 228: Trusting Yourself & Your Decisions With Coach Katie Linder

The Nitty-Gritty: * How podcaster & coach Katie Linder uses her Radical Self-Trust framework to ensure her life and goals support her confidence* Why she finds confidence in sharing the work she’s most passionate about as she’s creating it* The 6 foundational pieces of the Radical Self-Trust framework* How she uses “cross walking” to match her to-do list with her values Showing up and being seen can be a real mind-bender. Every post we make on Instagram, every video we record for YouTube, ev...

Aug 20, 2019•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast

EP 227: Raising Your Prices With Confidence With Content Marketing Strategist Abby Herman

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why Abby Herman, founder of Write Solutions , set her prices so low to begin with* How she realized she needed to raise her prices and how long it took to make it happen* What happened when she realized that her prices were only part of the problem and how her services have evolved since* Why Abby feels more motivated than ever to find a new level of satisfaction in all areas of her life and work Nothing can spook an entrepreneur’s confidence like setting a price. As soon as ...

Aug 15, 2019•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast

EP 226: Showing Up With Confidence With Tell Me A Story Founder Hillary Rea

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Hillary Rea, founder of Tell Me A Story , discovered her love of rich and nuanced storytelling* What she does to help new storytellers find more confidence in themselves and their ability to perform* What triggered a recent crisis of confidence and how its helping her move forward with growing her company* Why she’s channeling the confidence she feels in other aspects of life to provide the support she needs I shared my own crisis of confidence a few months back on Instag...

Aug 13, 2019•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast

EP 225: Finding The Confidence To Close Big Deals With Edios Media Co-Founder Michael Karsh

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Edios Media ‘s target clients have evolved over their 3 years in business* What happened with co-founder Michael Karsh and Elizabeth Madariaga got the chance to pitch a project for Google* Where Michael sources his confidence while working with giant corporations* What Michael and Elizabeth have focused on operationally to continue leveling up their service and their confidence Even in today’s digital world, when we think small business, we often think the mom & pop s...

Aug 08, 2019•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast

EP 224: Building Confidence Through Consistent Action With Shatterboxx Design Founder Jamie Varon

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Jamie Varon decided to embrace an “effortful” attitude and put more intention into her work* Why living and working from France reset her satisfaction meter and helped her find a new level of confidence* Her weekly writing practice and how that habit has impacted her ability to show up and do the work* The results she’s experiencing—personal and professional—from embracing a new working style I used to find confidence in the fact that lots of things come easily to me. I t...

Aug 06, 2019•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast

EP 223: Confusing Confidence and Status With What Works Founder Tara McMullin

I opened my email and saw the message that brightens the spirit of any cross-country traveler: my upgrade was confirmed. Even better, this upgrade included my daughter. Lola has always loved flying but this was her first First Class flight. Of course, she had no idea what to expect when we boarded the plane. She was 6 at the time and small enough to sit quite comfortably in economy so she was dwarfed by the faux leather lounger she buckled into. She was thrilled. An hour later, the captain annou...

Aug 01, 2019•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast

ANNOUNCING: The Candid Confidence Project

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in business… Any entrepreneur can suffer a crisis of confidence. Late last year, I felt woefully unprepared and underskilled for the task I had in front of me. I felt like I had been faced with setback after setback, with defeat after defeat. I’d spent 2 years trying to build what I saw as the answer to a huge, painful problem for small business owners. And I just couldn’t seem to get traction. I believed in the idea, the people, the systems, and the plan m...

Jul 30, 2019•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast

EP 222: Planning & Hosting Events All Over The World With Brazenist Founder Brooke Roberts

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Brazenist founder Brooke Roberts left rural Kansas for a life and business in global travel* What Brooke learned about planning and hosting events from her career and businesses* The exact process she uses to plan events for her business—whether they’re simple meet-ups or retreats in exotic locations* What mistakes she’s learned along the way and how they’ve changed her planning process The What Works team has a standing item on our weekly meeting agenda to discuss… event...

Jul 23, 2019•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast

EP 221: Fitting Business Into A Full-Time Travel Lifestyle With Amy Scott

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why Amy Scott, founder of Nomad Editorial and Nomadtopia , quit her office job and started traveling full-time back in 2004* How she ramped up from freelancing to running her own businesses* How the technology she uses has changed over the years—and made her location independent businesses easier to run* What an average week looks like for Amy (hint: there’s really no such thing as average…) This week, we’re indulging a personal fantasy of mine. Maybe it’s one of yours, too. ...

Jul 16, 2019•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast

EP 220: Managing A Team From The Road With Kinetics Consulting Co-Founder Kate Leese

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why Kate Leese and her husband decided to travel full-time in an Airstream while building Kinetics Consulting * How the logistics of running a business from the road have impacted their approach and operations* The tools and method she uses for managing their team—all full-time travelers themselves!* How Kate’s leadership style has evolved since starting the business and adapting to a new way of working A few months ago, I got a little idea. It seemed a bit absurd at first. B...

Jul 09, 2019•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast

Ep 219: Prioritizing Time Off With Calibrate Your Year Creator Kelly Higdon

The Nitty-Gritty: * The day Kelly Higdon realized she couldn’t keep working at the pace she was working at* How she plans her year to prioritize her life—and then fits her business in the space left over* What she’s changed to allow for taking 3 months off from her business per year* How her business is different today thanks to her new working style We recently asked What Works Network members how many vacations they take per year. One vacation was a pretty common answer—always quickly followed...

Jul 02, 2019•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast

Ep 218: How I Build Flexibility Into My Business With Tara McMullin

As you’re listening to this, I’m somewhere between the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Acadia National Park in Maine. Sean and I are celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary in the only way we how: in a National Park! That’s right, I’m on vacation—but that doesn’t mean the business comes to a standstill. We’ve worked hard to improve the operational efficiency and predictability of our business over the last few years and that means that I get to enjoy both my time off and the flexibility of ...

Jun 27, 2019•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast

Ep 217: Finding A Niche Audience With Bawdy Bookworms Founder Thien-Kim Lam

The Nitty-Gritty: * What inspired Thien-Kim Lam to develop a subscription box and virtual book club for a niche audience* How she channeled her love of romance books and her experience selling adult toys into the subscription she would have loved to buy herself * How she’s connecting with the right people using a Facebook group, author partnerships, and savvy content marketing* Where she’s run into trouble with her niche The first business idea I ran with was a blog for makers and artists in Pen...

Jun 25, 2019•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast

Ep 216: There’s No “Right” Way To Grow Your Audience

All this month, we’ve been talking about building an audience here on the podcast—and we’ve been asking members of The What Works Network, well, what’s working for them when it comes to audience-building and marketing their businesses. Some people have told us that keeping it simple and focusing on just one technique has paid a lot more dividends than trying to be everywhere and do everything. Others have told us that video, like showing up on Instagram Stories, Facebook Live, or YouTube, has he...

Jun 20, 2019•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast

EP 215: Growing An Audience Together With Community Builder Eli Trier

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why Eli Trier embarked on her first community project —and the results she experienced from that first project* How facilitating community projects help her reach important business goals and build her audience* The exact process Eli uses to put together each project* How community projects differ from less effective marketing tactics like telesummits When I first heard about this idea of a “community project,” I was dubious. It sounded an awful lot like an telesummit —which ...

Jun 18, 2019•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast