Business Advice from 5 of my Favorite Women

I recently recorded my 100th podcast episode! Can you believe it? That’s a pretty big milestone and I’m so excited to have finally reached it. To celebrate, I decided to ask a few of my favorite businesswomen for their help. I’m sharing the highlights of their responses here, but if you want the full experience, be sure to listen to the podcast! Here is business advice from 5 of my favorite women in business. Whether you are just starting out, or trying to level up, you can learn from these amazing women. 

I asked 5 of my favorite women business owners a few questions recently and I love their responses! There’s nothing better than sharing this business world with like minded women. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it. We need more women using their voices and sharing their light in the business world. To that end, I asked each woman to share her thoughts on the following questions:  

Where do you spend the most time creating content and what is your best tip for making that content effective?

What’s your best advice to someone growing their business?

Here are their responses.

Business advice from 5 of my favorite women

Chynna, Little Mama Shirt Shop

The first woman I want to share is Chynna, from Little Mama Shirt Shop. A year ago Chynna was nervous about growing her business and taking the next big step of moving into a warehouse. I told her she needed to take the leap! Now, she has outgrown that initial warehouse and is moving into a bigger warehouse. She is the owner/operator of Little Mama shirt shop and she’s been in business for 4 years. You can find her on Instagram @littlemamashirtshop

Chynna’s story and advice:

My husband and I run the company together. He recently joined the team full time. We also have 10 other employees and a lot of contractors who help us out with different things in our business. We love creating and shipping a product that we are excited about. 

My best business advice involves 2 points.

1-Do the thing that scares you. It is definitely easier said than done. What is one thing in your business that really scares you? You need to do that now. I promise you that if you do this, you’ll look back on it and it won’t be as scary anymore. Why? Because you’ll have moved on to other things that are bigger and scarier. You build your courage along the way. 

2- there is no such thing as an overnight success. You have to show up every day and do the work. There are so many days and nights and hours behind the scenes where business owners are working that nobody gives credit to. You have to show up and chip away at the things that make your business profitable. You may not see the results right away, but you will see the difference in time. 

These two things make for a significant impact on your business over time. 

As far as where I engage with my customers the most, I engage the most on my Instagram page. We get a lot of good pictures from our customers and we really enjoy chatting with our customers through DM’s. The other area we really engage with our customers is through our facebook group. I spend a lot of time in there talking about mom topics along with sharing our Little Mama Shirt Shop products. 

Chynna’s best advice:

Lastly, I’d say to remember that you can’t put a message out into the world and not accept any feedback from it. Good or bad, you need to accept the feedback from your audience and learn from it. Remember you are working in the service of your customers.

 

Krystina, The Leather Drop

Krystina makes and designs earrings. She does some really amazing things with her business. She’s grown a lot and has a really interesting business model. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to hear everything that she’s doing, but just trust me. She is doing amazing things in her business. You can find her on Instagram @theleatherdrop

Krystina’s story and advice:

We are a leather earring business. We have been in business for 4 years. I am so excited that Michelle asked me to talk about my business. I don’t get to do it nearly enough!

Where do you spend the most time creating your content?

I spend 99% of my time on Instagram. Instagram has been amazing for me. I get to work with influencers who market my product for me, I can talk to my customers in messages and comments, I get to showcase my products, and answer questions. It has been amazing for me. Without Instagram, my company would not be where it is today. 

What is the best tip for making that content effective?

I spend a lot of time creating quality products. I know if I showcase my earrings on Instagram and they’re beautiful, and then the customer receives beautiful and perfect earrings from em, then I will gain their trust. And once I have their trust, they will continue to buy from me. This is what makes Instagram effective for me. 

I like to make sure that I’m real on Instagram. It can be fake out there on social media. I like to make sure that if I met my customer in real life they would recognize me because I’m the same person in real life that I am online. 

Krystina’s best business advice:

Your customer comes first. I treat my customers like queens. They trust me with their money. If your customers don’t come first, it will affect your business. There are times when it is hard, but I always do my best to make things right.

 

Brenna, Crafting with Brenna

Brenna is in my Money Makers group. She works so hard and is so fun. She’s learned a lot in Money Makers and I love seeing her put her new knowledge to work in her business! Find Brenna on Instagram @craftingwithbrenna

Brenna’s story and business advice:

Hi, I’m Brenna. I write the blog Crafting Overload, and you can also find me on TikTok @craftingwithbrenna. 

I mostly make content for TikTok. Now, TikTok is different than other platforms. To make your content most effective there, you really have to let your personality shine through. There are a few people doing what I do on TikTok but what makes me unique is that it’s me doing the projects. I have my own teaching style and my own projects. You can let your personality shine through in the way that you talk, how you do your captions, and in how you do your voiceovers. “Lean into who you are, because you’re pretty great.”

Brenna’s best tip:

Don’t quit. Be consistent and don’t quit. It is so hard. It’s not going to happen overnight. Just start and be consistent. Put the work in and before you know it you’ll get where you want to be. 

 

Mackenna, PIEP:

Mackenna is a good friend of mine and she and her husband own PIEP. PIEP stands for Plant In Every Place. She is a brilliant business owner and it’s been really fun to watch her pivot her business during the shutdowns of 2020. She has exploded and expanded over the past few months despite the lockdown. Find Mackenna on Instagram @piep.co

Mackenna’s story and advice:

Hi, I’m Makenna. I own an online plant business with a small storefront in Riverside, Ca. I own it with my husband, and we’ve been working on our business for about 4 ½ years. 

My core content is an Instagram post usually which I then repurpose for my other platforms. Instagram is where I’ve spent the most time interacting with my customers so I feel like it’s the easiest place for me to share my true voice. 

I plan my content about one month at a time. Since COVID hit, I find it’s easier to plan monthly rather than in longer periods since I need to be flexible.

My best tip for effective content is to really know the problem you are helping your customer to solve. Know it inside and out. And understand really clearly how your content is helping you achieve your business’s goals. Whatever the metrics are that you are shooting for, you need to really understand how the content you create is helping you hit those marks. In the end if you aren’t hitting your goals, you can’t stay in business. And you can’t serve your customers if you aren’t in business. 

Mackenna’s best business tip:

Find a tribe of people who are in it with you. This is a massive undertaking, especially as a mom with kids. If you can build a business with a group of women who are in it and understand what you’re working on and going through, your life will be better. It is an amazing gift to have people like that in your life.

Tori, Ixchel Triangle

Tori designs beautiful bags and then artisans in Guatemala make the bags and receive fair wages. Isn’t that an amazing business model? Find Tori on Instagram @ixcheltriangle

Tori’s story and advice:

When I’m out in the real world and traveling with my children, that’s when I get the most inspiration to know what I want to create. Be open to those little inspirations in your daily life. The key is having the execution and the follow through to take our ideas and turn them into real content that everyone can see and learn from.

Tori’s best business advice:

My advice to those starting out- keep going. You can’t quit. If you have a plan B or an escape plan, it will be a lot less likely for you to succeed at anything. 

 

Business Advice from 5 of My Favorite Women

It’s been a long road for me to get to 100 podcast episodes and I’m so excited to be celebrating this milestone. I want to share my answers to the questions I asked of my guests. Are you ready?

Where I show up:

Where I show up as far as content- I love podcasting and teaching my audience as they go throughout their days. I also love Instagram because it’s where I get to engage and interact with my audience. I also really love having a blog and Pinterest to get new people that are interested in my content. 

Choose one place that you want to be on and stretch your content from there. Start with a social media channel and add a long term place where you can grow your audience as well. Don’t try to do everything at once, though. 

My best business advice: 

If I’ve learned anything this year, you don’t have to show up perfectly to be effective in your business. You just need to be consistent. Keep showing up. This isn’t a race. There’s nobody in the lane next to you that will win while you lose. You are in business to help your customers and learn and grow. 

As I look back on my business journey and the things I’ve learned along the way it has been a beautiful tapestry that has led me to where I am now. 

You can do this. It’s hard sometimes because we are trying to figure out this balance of motherhood and business. When I talk to my kids about my business, they’re proud of me and I can see that. They know that I have dreams and goals and they know that I am choosing to stay with them. I’m choosing to be here with them and also make space for this business I feel so called to do. God will make up the difference. Stay close to Him. Put your trust in Him. Hug those babies, they are very forgiving. 

Find your group of women. I just returned from a conference that was amazing. I learned so much. There’s so much power when we realize that we aren’t in competition with each other. When we figure out we are all on the same team and serving in different ways, that is when we can serve and grow in beautiful ways. I am so grateful I get to help women answer the call from God to build a business. 

To get more business tips and advice, follow me on Instagram @iammichellegifford