046. One Year of Consider the Wildflowers: Season Two Kickoff!

It’s been one year of Consider the Wildflowers and what an incredible journey it has been so far! As we kick off season two of the podcast, I am joined by my friend Jana and scooting back to the hot seat. Go behind the scenes of my own business this past year. We are talking life, business and podcast updates since the show launched one year ago! Welcome to season two: it’s good to be back! 

WILDFLOWER SHOWNOTES : shannaskidmore.com/season-two-kickoff

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Shanna Skidmore (00:00):

You are listening to Consider the Wildflowers the podcast episode 46. Welcome to season two. After 45 weeks of consistently producing the podcast, season one ended and for the past two months, we've been soaking up the summer Sunshine, Popsicle breaks and toddler giggles. If you've been with us since season one, episode one, you'll remember we launched the podcast with my own business journey and my friend Jana came on to host. We thought it would be a fun tradition to continue. So Jana is back today as the host to kick off season two. I'm scooting over to the hot seat again to do a one year of life business and podcasting update, go behind the scenes of this past year, my own business updates, the highs and lows of the podcast, lessons learned, and of course all the numbers in between. It's good to be back. Let's dive in.
(00:46)
Hey, it's Shanna and this is Consider the Wildflowers, the podcast. For the past 15 plus years, I've had the honor to hear thousands of stories from entrepreneurs around the world. As a former Fortune 100 financial advisor, turn business consultant, I have a unique opportunity to see the reel. Behind the highlight reel. I'm talking profit and loss statements, unpaid taxes, moments of burnout, and those of utter victory. Or as my husband says, the content everyone is wondering but not many are talking about. And now I'm bringing these private conversations to you. Hear the untold stories of how industry leaders, founders, and up and coming entrepreneurs got their start, the experiences that shaped them and the journey to building the brands they have today. Stories that will inspire and reignite encourage to redefine success and build a life in business on your own terms. Welcome Wildflower. I'm so glad you're here.
(01:34)
Hey everybody. We're kicking off season two of the podcast, which is so incredible. I feel like it flew by and I'm really pumped to invite my friend Janna back on the show, Shanna and Janna Show. And if you guys remember, Jan Janna is actually who hosted our very first episode of Consider the Wildflowers when she interview me about my business story. So I invited Jana back and we are going to do a fun episode to kick off season two, just about updates in my business in life and podcasting. Jana is a student of mine for a long time and actually worked with my team for over two years. So we just have a lot of history together and I'm excited for today. So Janna, welcome back to the show and I'm going to pass off the host hat to you.

Jana (02:25):

Thank you, Shanna. I'm so excited to be here and so excited that we're doing round two together and just get to catch up on the past year and your life and your business.

Shanna Skidmore (02:35):
I know this is fun. I interview so many business owners and hear their story. It's always funny. I I've heard from people like Shanna, will you ever do solo shows and talk more about business advice or, I feel like this is a fun episode because it's still interviewing an entrepreneur. Yes. But it's like a follow up interview, right? Right. So let's see how it goes.

Jana (02:57):
Yeah, and I know we're going to talk a lot about the podcast and a lot about what's changed in your business this year and just a lot of reflective and reflection is one of my favorite personal practices ever. Every year. Every year on my business anniversary, I will sit down with a journal and I will reflect and I will write down highs and lows. And so this feels perfect and I'm really excited to dive into all of it with you.

Shanna Skidmore (03:22):
Me too. I love a good reflection session, journaling, all the things. So this is fun. Thanks for being the host. I know, of course. It's not easy. So welcome.

Jana (03:31):
Thank you. Let's start with talking about the podcast. We're kicking off season two. You've been at it for a year nearly, which is so fun. I still remember when you told me about the podcast idea. Do you remember?

Shanna Skidmore (03:49):
I don't remember. Tell

Jana (03:50):
Me. Okay. Kyle and Madeline were, you took a quick trip to Birmingham. Yes, and we met up and I didn't remember and went to the botanical gardens and we were walking around and we were looking at flowers and you were pointing out different flowers to me and telling me their names. And we were just talking about things that you wanted to do with the rest of the year. And you were talking about the podcast and you told me the name was going to be considered the wildflowers thought. It was so fitting that we were walking around looking at flowers and talking about Consider the Wildflowers. Then I think within about a month, first interviews were recorded. They were live, you were doing it. And I remember shocking being. So I remember being so impressed with how motivated you were to get it out of the idea stage and into the real world and actually take action on it. Because I know for myself as a business owner, I have so many things that linger in the idea stage and don't always get it out into action and into practice. And so it's been really neat to see the success of the podcast and to see you really be disciplined and diligent with it. And I'm excited to start with talking about it.

Shanna Skidmore (05:04):
I love it. Discipline is not my strong suit for anybody who knows me. I think that's shocking for them to hear, but it is not, discipline is not easy for me. It

Jana (05:14):
Seems like you've set up some really good workflows and rhythms with the podcast though. So

Shanna Skidmore (05:19):
Yes, this is such a good, okay. I do remember walking around. Thank you for the reminder. I do remember that. I think for, so let's talk about motivation for the podcast. For so long, I left social media Instagram in 2017, and I never really had exactly my marketing strategy. I would've said long form marketing. So I wrote blogs here and there. I started a newsletter. I wrote newsletters here and there. And the only thing that was consistent for me, of course was loving and serving my students. I will show up every day. Coaching is who I am at my core. I mean, I'm about to start a running club for my neighborhood because I'm like, I need, let's go run. I need somebody else to the accountability. The accountability. I know that about myself. So with the idea of a podcast, it was like for the first time ever, Jana, I think I found a marketing platform that's so aligned naturally with who I am.
(06:25)
So for anyone listening who starts projects doesn't follow through very well or feels like you know, should do something, but for me, I should be blogging, I should be doing my newsletter, but I just never was consistent with it. I found the one place where I could show up and it feels so much like me. I hear stories of entrepreneurs every single day and that's what I could do all day long. Let's go to coffee, let's talk about your business dreams, your hopes. That's me. And so Jana, that's the only thing honestly, I can contribute to why this is still going season two. I mean, I have never shown up weekly for anything other than my actual paying students and clients. And I'm really proud of that.

Jana (07:10):
I'm proud of you.

Shanna Skidmore (07:12):
Thanks Jan. 

Jana (07:13):
I have listened to every episode and I think one of the things that I love about it so much is the conversation does flow so naturally and I can tell that you are in your element just diving into stories with your guests and getting into the nitty gritty of their businesses. And it does seem like such a beautiful fit

Shanna Skidmore (07:30):
For

Jana (07:31):
Your personality and your strengths and the mission of your business as a whole. So it's been wonderful to listen to. S

hanna Skidmore (07:38):
Thank you.

Jana (07:39):
What are some of the things that you have learned over the past year from podcasting?

Shanna Skidmore (07:45):
Yeah, good question. So many things. I'll start with a unexpected byproduct maybe, but the best byproduct of the podcast, well, first of all, I love just getting to talk with entrepreneurs. It is. And getting to catch up with, I just was emailing a friend this morning who I haven't talked to. She did brand photography for me, I for the blueprint model originally. So that was forever ago. And we have not really caught up since then. So that's been really fun. But a byproduct, because I am off of Instagram, my business, when we came back from a year off, I've seen that I lack maybe the know and trust factor. I'm in a popularity contest. People are like, who Shannon? I mean, people will remember because I've been around the block for a minute. But what's been really fun about podcasting is it allows people, it's not about me by any means, but it's been fun for people to get to know me again and my personality and she can be funny.
(08:46)
And that's been really sweet, I think for the know and trust factor that we don't have as a brand because I have chosen not to be on Instagram. That's been a really fun gift of the podcast because I just didn't really expect it. I didn't really, to be honest, I went into the podcast with a lot of things undefined and I knew I wanted to create content consistently, but I had no idea how this was going to go. I never took a podcasting course. I did not know how much work it was going to be in so many ways. One, getting guests on the show is a lot of contacting,

Jana (09:30):
A lot of emails, a

Shanna Skidmore (09:32):
Lot of emails. Luckily we have a good workflow, which Jana set up, thank goodness on the backend where it was scheduling and getting the content we need. We've also paid for a copywriter to write show notes. So it's a huge expense on our company. Not only in time we each episode takes, I would say I could pull up my toggle and tell you, but I would say seven to 10 hours from start to finish. 

Jana (09:59):
That's a lot longer than I would have thought

Shanna Skidmore (10:02):
For every single episode. I mean, it takes Kyle a couple hours to edit some of them. Some of them take longer, some of them are shorter of course, but a few hours he would probably say four or five. So I don't know. That's maybe a bad estimate. We'll ask Kyle. But even on my end, contacting guests, getting everything, which now will be passed off to our virtual assistant. But before it was all me and Jana did some of the work too. And then our copywriter writes it. So yeah, like seven to 10 hours per episode for something we at this point receive $0 for is a big commitment of time. So if you're going to commit to a podcast or any kind of marketing platform, understanding what is the objective and the goal. That's been something we've had to define almost on the backend to keep investing in it. 

Jana (10:49):
What have you, as it's taken shape over the past year, what have you found to be the goal of it or how have you seen it fitting into your overall business and marketing plan?

Shanna Skidmore (11:00):
It's such a good question because when you are taking that much time and expense going into something you're producing, you have to sit back. Kyle asks me often, we need to make sure this is worth it. What is it worth? And I would say first and foremost, it is truly life giving to me. And that is why I believe none of the other things have stuck. Blogging, writing is very slow and hard for me. YouTubing was a lot of, I mean, I don't wear makeup a lot of days, so I got to get ready for that. I can't just podcast on, I can podcast on the fly kind of. So I love these conversations and it truly is life giving for me. So that's important. Find a platform that is life given. But I think too, again, that unexpected but really beautiful byproduct of people have gotten to know Sha again, the know and trust factor that's not there because I've chosen to be off.
(11:55)
Instagram is needed. People need to see me somehow. And I'm over here in my private world of, I'm not on Instagram. I don't blog too often. I don't do YouTube. My newsletter also, Jana, you'll be proud. I have shown up almost every single week You have? Yes. With the podcast. And so that's been two things. We've really, I just was like, I just want to prove to myself that I can do something consistently. Cause that's not my strong suit. So yeah, that's what I would say continues to keep me showing up is I want to keep showing up and I need to have our brand have a voice and be public. And this does that. Right now, we're not making money from it necessarily, but I know we're making sales from it, if that makes sense. Yes, yes. And I also believe with 10 years, this being my 10th year in business, I believe that slow growth is good growth.
(12:51)
And even though it's been harder to get reviews than I expected, it's been harder to gain audience downloads. Like gr, we've considerably grown our downloads, but it's not like we have a million downloads in our first season. Some of those metrics maybe other people talk about, I've had to learn how to podcast, I don't know. I don't know. Do we need to ask for reviews or I don't know anything about it. Is that how people find you? So I've just had a lot to learn and I'm grateful that I've given myself the grace to embrace the process instead of a final product.

Jana (13:24):
And what an encouragement that things like blogging and social media and YouTube and any other kind of marketing efforts can often feel like a never ending cycle. You're always having to produce and always having to generate ideas and design content, put things together and it can feel draining if it's just not a good fit for your personality. And I love that you really stuck with it and tried new things and you might be 10 years into business, but you found the thing that is a good fit for you and for the business. And that's an encouragement to me. And I'm sure to others listening just to keep trying things and we'll find the thing that works and that fits

Shanna Skidmore (14:08):
I think if what is the goal? So we need some type of marketing strategy. We need some kind of content. I'm a big believer in content marketing. What social media is just a form of content, but long form content, marketing, seo, all of that thing is very important. But like you said, I never found all the other platforms felt like I had to force myself to do them. And that is not going to, willpower is a depleting resource and just at some point it's not going to last. So find one way that you can show up consistently in a way that truly, I keep doing this even though I'm not paid to do it. And that's been really, really good.

Jana (14:52):
Yeah. So good. Would you share some highs and lows of the podcasting experience over the past year?

Shanna Skidmore (15:00):
Okay. Yes. The highs for sure are the guests. I mean,

Jana (15:07):
You have had some incredible guests.

Shanna Skidmore (15:09):
So many I have learned so much from some of the conversations, so many of the conversations, they're all so good. But this podcast isn't like a teaching podcast. It's not okay.

Jana (15:22):
I think that's why I love listening to it so much. So glad.

Shanna Skidmore (15:25):
I'll listen to it on my walks

Jana (15:26):
Sometimes teaching podcasts, just feel a little information overload. And this feels like a coffee with coffee, all business owners. Coffee. Yes, coffee with a friend. Yes. Yes.

Shanna Skidmore (15:37):
There have been some nuggets of wisdom that stick with me that literally changed, have changed my thoughts about things, my thoughts about business money. And so isn't that incredible? It's was not meant to be informational or I have learned some of the biggest, most the best advice, the biggest tips through this platform. So the guests for sure. And also the feedback. I'm just so grateful for all the reviews. Leave a review if you want to tell us how you feel. But I receive emails, text messages, phone calls, daily. I mean that's at least weekly. That's not an exaggeration of people. Jana like you so sweet. Who've said, I listen to every single episode. It's so encouraging. It's so uplifting, it's so inspiring, it's so helpful. It's all these things. Sometimes I'll reach out to a guest, I did this the other day with a guest that her episodes at the time of this recording is about to come out and she's like, I've listened to every single episode.
(16:36)
Your podcast is one of my favorites. It's just so kind. So the feedback has been so sweet. And just to know that these conversations are getting out to the world I'm grateful for because I have gotten to have them for 15 years and I hope it is encouraging and inspiring. Stories matter. So that would be kind of the highs of the podcast. The lows, like I mentioned, it is a lot of time and effort. And in this season of life, when I work about 20 hours a week and Sweet Jana, love you, miss you. Jana worked with our team for a few years and then went full-time in her own business, which we cheerlead. But we have been growing our team while also doing the podcast. So I have been doing a lot for most of the first season. I did most of the work.
(17:27)
I mean other than Kyle edited, I did none of that. Everybody knows Kyle edited every single podcast and my husband Kyle. And then we had a copywriter who wrote show notes. But all of the production, the details, the posting, all of that was on me for most of that time. We now have a pretty full team, which is getting so exciting to help that. But that it was hard to continue to say, okay, is this worth the time you're putting into it? And always considering in business, there's this interesting line of doing what you love, producing stuff that you love, but also optimizing your time. And so it's, and it's worth it. A hundred percent yes is the answer. It's so worth it. But I had to keep asking that. It was sometimes hard to get guests. It was hard to, there were a couple weeks where we did not have somebody scheduled and I was texting my friends, y'all got to get off the podcast this week cause I need somebody so fill in the slots.
(18:27)
But now it's so funny because we're booked three months out, which is really fun. That's so great. I finally, I figured out a way to ask for audience. And then I think too, I think because it's out more and the hardest thing, Jana and all of that probably is shockingly I don't have Instagram. And so it's been really sad in some ways to not be able to promote our guests and tell them thank you, to say in that public way. We had Aaron McVay on this show. He used so wonderful. And he was talking about how he uses Instagram to shout out the other vendors at a wedding. And I was like, am asking a big ask for somebody to come on this platform. And I'm not even on Instagram. I can't promote them. I mean, yes, I have tens of thousands of people on a newsletter and we get thousands and thousands of downloads now every single week. But it's a big ask. So just learning how we can love and say thank you to our guests as well. So yeah, those are some lessons I had to learn.

Jana (19:29):
Yeah, that's good. I know the podcast has been a really large part of your business in the past year, but what else has changed and what else have you been up to since this time last year?

Shanna Skidmore (19:41):
Oh, so many things, Jana. Okay, this is fun. So when we talked last year, let me roll myself back. When I took 2020 off, I had my daughter. So I worked pretty part-time and 21. So 2022 felt like I rebuilding year for us. And we came back,

Jana (20:02):
I was having a memory of just, there was a a time last spring when we all got together and we were mapping out projects for the rest of the year. And there were so many things and so many fun ideas and it did feel like, okay, we're

Shanna Skidmore (20:16):
Back. Yeah, yeah, I know. Yeah, I know. And I think 2022 was an interesting year because we thought we'd come back faster. And so it was a slow build and that was frustrating. We were frustrated and we honestly, Kyle put it so well the other day, he's like, Shanna, it's almost in some ways we did a U-turn in the business and when you do a U-turn, it's like you're starting back from zero. And I was like, that is so true. Our mission hasn't changed, our work hasn't changed. We still want to help more and more people run and grow a business and manage their money well. So our work hasn't changed, but everything else has. So I'll give you a great example. We launched our membership in 2022, which at the time of this recording will be public, but we ran it for an entire year with that, with just our students.
(21:13)
We never opened it to the public. And that has changed our business model before, we did a lot of live like open enrollment, close en enrollment for our courses. So we didn't have consistent income coming in all the time other than one-on-one work. And when I was, now that I'm 20 hours a week, I take on very little one-on-one work. So that was a lot of stress on us. We had a team, this is a family business, we don't have any other revenue. So that was stressful. Our launches had to do so well or we were just under a lot of pressure. And so launching the membership and then now we've transitioned most of our business offers so that they can be available more readily. Before I coached through the blueprint model all the time, so it was open and closed because I coached through it, where now we completely shifted so that when people join the blueprint model, they get access to the money club, which is our membership. 

Jana (22:14):
So how did it feel letting go of, you've been doing the blueprint model for so long and it's such a proven process and now you've shifted to doing it a completely different way and I I'm sure that that must have been difficult to let go of your baby pretty much of the way that you had always done it and the way that worked.

Shanna Skidmore (22:32):
I Janet. Yes. And so in two ways I'm going to talk about marketing, how I had to let go of my marketing philosophy, total shift in mar how we market the business was one and then two total shift in how we sell our products. So we'll talk about the products first. I started as a service-based, like I'm a consultant. That is who I'm a financial advisor. That is who I am at my core. I will coach you all day long. We'll make a money plan. I am a service-based person. I am not a digital marketer. Digital core sales, I don't understand anything. I didn't know anything about it. I didn't know. I never took a course on webinars and I never did that. I didn't understand. So when I wrote the blueprint model in 2016, I kind of ran it like a service-based model, just honestly group coaching. That's how I ran it. When Kyle came on board, he is now our C M O, that's his titles, chief marketing Officer. That's how he came on board. He has a marketing degree for years. Kyle, I love you. When he's listening to this, he'll be so proud for years. He is like, we need to change how we're doing this. We need to change how we're doing this. This isn't like, why do you have to coach through it the whole time?

Jana (23:41):
What was it that he would always say? The course,

Shanna Skidmore (23:44):
The product, the course is the product, Shannon, the course is the product. And I'm like, but I need to make sure all 100 or 200 or 300 or 400 of these students get one-on-one coaching from me and that they know everything at the end of it. I mean, I held tight to the belief that the course wasn't enough and it was just a limiting belief myself. But it's so funny, Jana, because now I've taken two courses. I took one called Create Awesome Online courses. It's not available anymore. But that's what taught me just about Kajabi, how to set up our course. I had no idea. So I took that one and then I've taken another one. Now I have never emailed them. I've never spoken to the instructor, I never participated in the Facebook group. I want to gather the information myself and learn it.
(24:27)
And I'm probably their worst student. They've never heard from me. But their course, both of those courses have been life changing for me. And so I just had to embrace. So that was the biggest. So when we say a U-turn, it's literally, I embraced the fact that I sell a product and people can buy our courses and they can learn from them and implement them, and I may never know their name. And that was so hard for me. It was so hard. But exactly what was needed. I'm so grateful that now we have a place that we can open these more readily. So if somebody needs to create a personal budget, they can buy a blueprint at home and take it and learn it and they can implement it. And I hope it changes their life. And I'll never know, I may never know, or the blueprint model again, more readily available because I don't coach through it now, but they still have access to coaching through the money club.
(25:21)
So opening the money club and doing, that's our membership. Giving people access when they purchase a course so they can get that feedback from me or from the community, but they don't have to. So that was a big U-turn shift. Now we actually just sell products and that's was great. So then therefore I had to let go of marketing. That was our second. So for years, the kind of open enrollment, close enrollment, take a webinar, buy a course, the webinars only on this day, so you better show up. That worked. That worked for years. Then 2020 happened. I was out of the game, come back after having my daughter and realize, oh wow, everybody's in this game now and the pace is so much faster. People want things and I'm not a quick, this is not a quick solution. You have to put in time and energy and effort to change your money and to change your business.
(26:18)
So I pushed back, just, sorry, Kyle. Our business would be so much further along if we just listen to Kyle. Sorry Kyle. I pushed back about the product, the courses, the product. I pushed back about changing our marketing from just open enrollment, close enrollment, take this webinar to we need to have a sales funnel. We need to have a workflow where somebody can buy something at any time. We just launched the creative Money shop and never had a shop before. I was afraid if people could buy my spreadsheets without buying the course again, they wouldn't get enough out of it or they wouldn't buy the course. I'm over here trying to tell people what they need instead of just offering a solution at a different price point. So good. Yeah. So we've completely shifted. Now we have where people can literally, we can make sales while we sleep.
(27:04)
What a gift. Thank you Lord for Kyle. My husband love him. So he's such an asset to the team and his mind works. It's like we're on the same and this is how it is in our marriage too. We're on the same path and we're on the same mission, but we're looking at it the opposite of ways. And that's why we're such great business partners. Life every kind of partner, because we're saying the same thing, but we're saying it completely differently. Does that make sense at all? Yes. And so yes, I finally listened to Kyle and was embracing marketing in 2023. People need instant access to things when they want it, how they want it. And I pushed back from that for a long time. But it's been a beautiful, so we're still rebuilding, definitely, but we're rebuilding in a way that's so sustainable and scalable long term, and provides great solutions for our audience and also continues to allow me to just work two days a week.

Jana (27:58):
Yeah. Speaking of just working two days a week, I know that we would also love to hear updates on life as a working mom. And I know that you're big on harmony between work life and home life. So tell a little bit about what's going on in that part of your life,

Shanna Skidmore (28:17):
Janna, you're so good at this job. You going to be,

Jana (28:20):
Cause I used to be a counselor, so I like Oh,

Shanna Skidmore (28:23):
So true.

Jana (28:23):
I'm used to guiding conversations and so I should be a podcast. Should I start a Podcast? 

Shanna Skidmore (28:28):
You should start a podcast. Listen. And your voice, people used to tell me this all the time there, your voice I told you about the lady at Kroger and the balloon, she works in the balloon section, which I visit a lot because Madeline loves balloons. And she has told me I need to be a Disney character. Yes. Voice, a voice actor. She's like, have you ever done voice work? And I'm like, no. But Janice, seriously, your voice is a podcast voice. 100%. Okay. You have a podcast voice. It has been the most beautiful year because I finally embraced the fact that I need compartments. I need a work compartment, and I need non-working time compartment. I don't want to think about, I do think about work when I'm not working, but I don't want to have to think about work when I'm not working.
(29:16)
I don't integrate well. And so many of my friends integrate at all really well. They flow through work and live very flowly. I finally realize I don't like I need to know from nine to four on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I am working. I'm not interrupted. I'm not needing to run up and make lunch. That gets stressful for me and for a year and a half, I tried to do that. I tried to kind of work and somebody said this, so well, even when I'm not with Madeline, I'm still Madeline's mom, I'm still momming. But we weren't able to find childcare for most of her. Well, for the first two years of her life, at the time that this is coming out, she will be starting in preschool. Yay. I know. We just came

Jana (30:09):
Soon.

Shanna Skidmore (30:10):
Oh, she's going to love it. She is going to love it. We took her on the tour preschool tour and she's just, she's on two days a week from I think eight 30 to two Thursday. And so Colin and I are like, oh my goodness, this is going to be a different life. But what we've done, what we did in the meantime, if anybody's listening, when I realized I need days, I need my workday and my non workday, I need it. We decided that he and I could be our only. That's who we can rely on. And so I worked on Tuesdays, he worked on Wednesdays, I worked on Thursdays, he worked on Mondays. We just had to be each other's childcare. We're blessed and privileged that we have each other to do that, but I needed to compartmentalize. So that's allowed me to find a lot more peace and harmony and when I'm working and when I'm not because I'm not like, oh, I need to go think about lunch. I need to run upstairs and do that. No, I'm literally just focused on business. I don't switch tasks, which I don't think any of us do very easily. So that's provided the best. And then, yeah, miss Madeline will soon, if not already start preschool. So anyway, we took her to the tour. That's what I was going to tell you. And I'm over here sobbing, so I'm like,

Jana (31:15):
I love Babies.

Shanna Skidmore (31:15):
Just and just to see how good that's going to be for her.
(31:23)
She was walking around saying, penguin and dolphin. I'm like, how does she even know what a dolphin is? And she's just so excited. She loves being with other little kids. I'm sure there'll be hard days. She has attachment stuff like any kid. But that helped me be like, this is good for her and good for us as a family. So just allowing myself to know working is makes me a better mom and having time to work makes me a better mom. Yes. And that's okay for me to say. So yes, that's the update there. Yes. Oh, I

Jana (31:54):
Love that. Thank you for sharing all of that. You have a lot of students who are in just a bunch of different fields and industries and you see a lot of the behind the scenes of people's businesses. How are you seeing things change over the past year? Because I know I work in the wedding industry and I know that we have seen a lot of change in the past year. Other industries have seen it as well. From where you sit and working with business owners, what are some patterns you're seeing? What are some things that you're picking up on?

Shanna Skidmore (32:28):
I think that I took 2020 off and 2020 was hard on all small business owners, but it almost felt like 2020 for some business owners was their best year in business. For anybody who worked in online space, for anybody who didn't have a scalable component or online component, they pivoted. So they're learning now in brand new business model. So I think in 21 and 22, we just saw massive shift that I've never seen in how people are marketing the amount of noise, the volume. It's like it got turned up. I live in Knoxville. So when you go to a Vols game, like it gets very loud, almost like you can't hear your own thoughts loud how 2023 has felt in the marketing world. I have, I told Kyle, used two people, had the capacity to listen. But now everyone is so busy trying to talk that I don't even know how to, everybody's so busy trying to get other people's attention. How do we get their attention? What I'm saying, it

Jana (33:34):
Feels like so much pressure. There's so many voices and there are so many people sharing things online. And it's like, what? What's going to make me stand out above the rest? And how am I going to connect with people in a way that they remember me? And yeah, I

Shanna Skidmore (33:51):
Get it. So the noise has gotten very loud. I have so much more I could say on that. But Jan, I think recently, and we've talked about this a little bit, the biggest thing that I've been seeing is people came off of almost couple of years of really high highs, a lot of big sales, a lot of catching up. From 2020, they pivoted into the online space and made money. They didn't ever think they can make a lot of money came in and then all of a sudden I was breaks on. Yeah, the world is the economy, the wedding industry is, I kind of going back to, it was going back to normal, right? And so the amounts people are spending on weddings are changing. When we were seeing floral budgets and when I was working with Amy Saba and 20 11, 20 12, $5,000, you're like, wow, that's a huge budget.
(34:50)
Now I talk to, I talked to brand new floral designers and they're doing 5, 6, 7, $8,000 floral budget. I'm like, I just want to tell you, that's rare. I know that feels normal for you, but that's rare. And so I think especially people have gotten a business in the last five years. I think this has been an interesting wake up call because it's like you've been used to the highest of the highs. So I've been hearing a lot more from people who aren't booking and from people struggling to book and a lot more noise in the marketing world of how to get louder. And so it's just this kind of perfect storm moment I'm seeing. And so what we are doing internally, I was very convicted by actually a podcast guest who said to me, I don't want to be so busy campaigning for new business that I'm not working for my clients.
(35:40)
And I thought, thank you. Because when I worked in finance as a financial advisor, I remember one of the things I disliked the most about it is that every person could be a client. And when every person can be a client, you can never turn off. It's like you're thinking about working and you're seeing them as a sale. And I hated that. I hated that feeling. And there was something about 2022, 2023, not 23 because I recognized it, but definitely 2022 coming back off, taking time off that I got to that mindset again, I'm putting all my efforts into getting new business. What I should maybe be focusing on is being the best financial advisor and best consultant I can be. Because that's what's always worked. That was what has always worked. If you stand above the crowd and do the best work and your client's like, I love this.
(36:30)
I love it. Everything about the process, I love get great at your craft. They will be your advocates. And that's where if we're like, Hey, how can we stand above the noise? I'm almost like, I don't know, just get quiet and do good work. So I think we're still in the messy middle of this. Jan. I wish I had an answer, but that's what I'm seeing, this perfect storm moment of a really loud environment and people fight needing to be heard because they're booking less. So how do we get back to like, okay, how can we be heard by the people that need to hear us word of mouth, again, getting great at your craft. I don't want to be so busy campaigning for new business, but I'm not. I'm showing up subpar for the people who are already paying me.

Jana (37:15):
There's a phrase that came to mind as you were sharing all of that that Cal Newport says, and it's be so good they can't ignore you. Yeah. It's about focusing on being the best that you can be at whatever you do, and really focusing on your craft, building up your skillset, focusing on your strengths and letting that overflow into your work with clients and customers and go from there.

Shanna Skidmore (37:38):
Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to tell you a story about that. Okay. Yeah. I don't even think you know this story. Okay. I don't know if I've ever shared this. I'm excited this story publicly. Okay. Okay. So years ago. Years ago, I have a client, her name is Erin Zakin. She owns Floret Flower Farm now. Yes, a TV personality on Magnolia Network. She was one of my clients, and people don't know this, but I cold emailed her. I was a huge fan of Erin, of Erin's work, a floret. I love flowers. Clearly Kyle and I were going to be in the area, and I was like, Erin, I would just love to meet you. See the farm. And if anybody knows Erin or has heard her story, she is an extreme introvert, extreme. And she or someone from her team wrote me back a very kind email, but it was like, no, but thank you. And then Erin wrote me back and she was like, actually, yes.

Jana (38:30):
Ah,

Shanna Skidmore (38:31):
Okay. I know who you are. I know of your name. Was hosting a workshop where multiple of my clients were there or vendors for her. And so B, so good. They can't ignore you. Like Erin now is one of, I mean, I have a lot of clients that are very well known. She is one of them, but I can't tell you how much that cold email, but why did she say yes after they had already said some her or someone on her team said, no. Yes. And then she emailed back and said, actually, absolutely, yes, I'll make time for that. And then she became one of my clients after meeting her. And it's because why? Because so many of my clients had either told her about me or were like, you have to meet her if she's here. And that's what we want to do.
(39:15)
If you put your head down and do I do mark that Jan, I've said this so much. I do marketing so bad I have for so long. But the one thing I've done, I hope is really good work. And I'm so grateful that my clients and my students have become my word of mouth and my marketing and my fans. And in a market where sometimes I feel invisible not being on Instagram, I can feel invisible. And there's this quote Seth Godin wrote in a Crowded Marketplace, fitting in is a failure in a busy marketplace. Not standing out is the same as being invisible.
(39:52)
And I was like, do you ever feel like, I don't like to shout? It is almost kind of a core value to not add to the noise, and if that is my conviction, but I still have to make money, I still have to sell stuff. It has been a true moment of how do we market authentically and book what we need to book without changing our values? And I again, just go back to be so good they can't ignore you. And don't forget the power in knocking on doors, sending out cold emails, finding great new vendors, starting a podcast, whatever it is. But

Jana (40:34):
This is great. Amidst all of these things that you've been learning over the past year and things that you've seen change, what have you been learning about money in this particular season of business and motherhood?

Shanna Skidmore (40:48):
That's so good. Great question. Let me think about that for a second. I think I will say, and go back to what I wish maybe I had done differently is accept and embrace. Honestly, I had some limiting beliefs about my own work and people, I think I've shared this pretty publicly before. I have a sunshine folder because I need to repeat to myself truth that I help people. You're doing good work. You truly are helping people. Because I'm a natural perfectionist and I see all the ways that things could be better. And it's really truly a limiting belief. I've come to recognize in my own self that if I believed I was changing lives, people tell me I, I would be shouting this from their rooftop. I wish I had embraced Kyle's words, honestly, probably earlier, and sold our products, like products. There was no way to buy. I was on, I've been on so many podcast episodes. I'm like, Shannon, where can we send people? I'm like, I don't know my website. Or

Jana (41:47):
In a few months, well open enrollment in a few,

Shanna Skidmore (41:50):
Get on the wait list in a year. You can buy this. Yeah. What that just is, now that I look back, I'm like, huh,

Jana (41:59):
Well, but that's how so many people did it for so long. And some people stu still do that with their signature courses.

Shanna Skidmore (42:06):
Yeah. But it's like, yeah, you know what? I get it. I mean, there's sales psychology that's involved. I get that. There's a process and stuff, but even just opening the shop, I am obsessed with our shop products, the household profit and loss tracker. I'm telling you, we geeked out over these spreadsheets and these graphs, which for people who have blueprint at home, that they get that. But that's our personal finance course. But I'm like, this can help someone. This can help someone today right now who maybe doesn't need the whole course. They just need a way of tracking. They don't like minted. I didn't like Min Minted, I think is the name of it. Or you need a budget.

Jana (42:42):
Oh,

Shanna Skidmore (42:43):
Mint.
(42:43)
Mint. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, mint. Or you need a budget. These tracking tools, I tried them. I didn't love them in the, I'm sure they're great products, but just project management softwares Asana, click up. You have to find the one that works for your brain. They're all good products, but they don't all click for your brain. So anyways, it's just been really neat to embrace, and that's what I've learned about money and I wish I had done sooner, is to have something available for sale all the time. Consistent sales. I had no idea how much financial pressure I was putting on myself doing open and closed enrollment and live launches. Because again, like you said, for years it worked. It was that sunk cost fallacy where it worked. It worked, it worked. It worked. It worked. And then it didn't. And we had to massively pivot our sales model and create products that could sail and stand alone by themselves.
(43:34)
No coaching had to be a part of it because we never had anything for sale. And that puts so much pressure on me and now to see consistent sales coming in. So I, I've never thought that I would teach about creating scalable products. I never thought I would do that. Who knows if I will stay tuned, everybody. Shannon skimmer.com. I'm just kidding. But I think at some point, every business should have scalable product or scalable service through an agency, because needing to spend time on every single dollar is hard, and especially in mom life right now, I have to pay her bills, but I know the season is short with her. I'm grateful we have something that can sell while I sleep and hang with Madeline.

Jana (44:17):
What a blessing.

Shanna Skidmore (44:18):
Definitely.

Jana (44:18):
Shanna, this has been so wonderful. You're full of wisdom. And even just sharing your experiences from the past year has been so encouraging to hear. Are you ready for some rapid fire

Shanna Skidmore (44:30):
Questions? What is funny though, Jana? Well, first thank you for hosting because you're the best. I did not prepare for these rapid fires.

Jana (44:38):
Oh, so they will be true.

Shanna Skidmore (44:41):
They're going to be, let's see how it goes.

Jana (44:43):
Spur the moment.

Shanna Skidmore (44:44):
It's like I ask them every single week. Yes. But I've

Jana (44:46):
Forgotten the same rapid fire questions that you ask your guests. But since we are kicking off season two of the podcast, they will be podcast themes. Oh, okay.

Shanna Skidmore (44:54):
Let's do it. Let's just do it. Okay.

Jana (44:56):
Okay. So what is the best thing that you have learned about podcasting this past year?

Shanna Skidmore (45:02):
I'll say the best thing I've learned about podcasting and or content creation is do something you truly enjoy. If you do not enjoy it, you will quit. Yeah. Because it's expensive. It takes a lot of time. Yes. It's a slow build. And I feel like I got lucky that I chose a podcast that I love, and that's why I'm still here. And also, thank you ever. I cannot say thank you enough. It is, I tear up over here to know people. Listen to this every single week is such an honor. And if I could show up, what better work could I do so to something you love?

Jana (45:41):
Yeah. I used to think that my problem with content marketing was that I didn't have a plan. And I'm here to say that even after having made a plan and literally a calendar for what will get posted when if you don't love it, it's still not going to happen. Even if you know what is happening on what day. So I think once you release yourself of that pressure, it gives you a lot of freedom. Yeah. It's like a big exhale.

Shanna Skidmore (46:04):
Yeah. That's so good, Jana, because I've made all the plans, you know, and I are planners. We got all the Asana tasks, but the only reason this podcast keeps coming out is A, I am externally motivated and I said it was going to, but B, I truly do enjoy it. And so I hope people hear me say, find a marketing platform you love, because otherwise it's just going to become a burden. Yeah.

Jana (46:32):
What's something about the podcast that you would be embarrassed if people knew?

Shanna Skidmore (46:40):
I would be embarrassed if people knew how many times in the first season we were getting the podcast out at midnight on a Thursday. How close we cut it to the deadline sometimes,

Jana (46:57):
But it always happened. It

Shanna Skidmore (46:59):
Always happened. Yeah.

Jana (47:01):
What's a regret from your past year of podcasting?

Shanna Skidmore (47:05):
I do wish I knew a little bit more about podcasting because in the sense that I do believe it is an incredible show, and I don't want to be the limiting factor. I don't know how to grow a podcast. Does that make sense? I don't know anything about an algorithm for a podcast. I don't know about getting reviews for podcasts. I don't know how it works. And so therefore, in some ways, maybe I've limited its growth. And so I do want to challenge myself in season two. I believe my first and foremost, the most important thing I can do, we've been talking about this whole show, is showing up with great content. And once you show up that with great content, I do want to learn how to optimize how we're showing up. We have been learning a lot about seo. We've been learning a lot about being more strategic with things. And for me, I really, I push back a lot about sales and sales feeling salesy and doing something just for sales. But when I think about how many more people this could help and impact, that's what motivates me to figure that out. So is it a regret? No, because I think going in without any expectations was good, but now looking forward, I would regret not learning more.

Jana (48:21):
There seems to be a lot of strategy behind podcasting that I don't know much about.

Shanna Skidmore (48:26):
Same. But

Jana (48:28):
Yeah. Yeah,

Shanna Skidmore (48:30):
Same.

Jana (48:31):
Yeah. Yeah. That's

Shanna Skidmore (48:32):
A good goal. But we, we've already had 20, 30,000 downloads, which I think is great, which is great. And I also am proud that I did not compare, because I did hear from some other podcasters who shared, I had a million downloads in the first year or something. I'm like, what? I don't even know how I would do that. And that was the heyday of podcasting when there wasn't a bazillion podcasts. But I'm grateful that I didn't have those expectations. I didn't set a goal for myself. Shocking of downloads. That's crazy. For the first season, I never set out to say, we want to hit 50,000 downloads.

Jana (49:05):
That's probably a good thing. Yeah. Because

Shanna Skidmore (49:07):
Yeah, I didn't get discouraged. I just kept showing up, I kept learning, I kept having fun, and now I always set like it. Same with business. Longevity is the goal learning along the way, and so is the goal. Staying in business is the goal. And so with the podcast, I think not having any of those goals in place, no expectation is why we're still here and now we can optimize a little bit more in season two.

Jana (49:33):
Yeah, I love that. What is a big win or a pinch me moment from the podcast?

Shanna Skidmore (49:39):
I think what I've already said, sorry, I'm repeating, but I have to say our guests, I cannot say thank you enough for people who trusted me. When we have a very small podcast and I'm not on Instagram to promote them, for them to spend an hour of their time sharing their life and business with me, I cannot thank them enough. And then second, all of our listeners, I cannot, when people say I listen to every single episode or how inspiring it is or helpful, we have the most amazing audience. And you can't manufacture that. You can't pay your ads for that. That is authentic and real, and I just thank you every person for listening. It is an honor in the attention economy. To not have to shout for your attention has been the biggest blessing in the world to me, and I hope this continues to bless you all in season two,

Jana (50:33):
Season two. What's the best advice that you've received as you've ventured into the podcasting world?

Shanna Skidmore (50:40):
This is from my friend Nancy Ray. She's so great, and I'll say I have not done a good job implementing this advice, but she did tell me early on to have a goal with the podcast in the sense of grow your audience or get on a newsletter or have something like a next step for the podcast. And I think that's a really good, something hopefully will implement more in season two is yes, providing this as step one for an audience, but using it then to take it a next step further, continue the conversation. Like I was saying, podcasting I think has been really helpful to grow that and trust factor. But I haven't done a good of saying, Hey, if you want to learn about personal finance, we have blueprint at home. If you want to learn about business finance, we have the blueprint model. Realizing that sharing our products isn't salesy.
(51:31)
It's just some people really, truly might not know I had somebody that you launched a shop. Yeah, create a money shop. You can do it. You have a membership. People truly don't know. And so for me to be too timid to share, Hey, this could be a next step for you when genuinely people probably want to know where to go next. That was good advice for my friend Nancy, to tell them where to go next. That would be good. Tell them, and I don't do that. Well, I've been, and then anybody who's ever struggled with sales right there with you, sales is something we have to practice. And so for me being like, Hey, if you want to take this a step further, go here. That was good advice from Nancy,

Jana (52:09):
And I think it's helpful to remember that people want to hear those things. Also, when I'm listening to a podcast and either the guest is someone that I really resonate with or the hosts or people that I really love hearing from, I will naturally want to know, how can I get more of this? Yeah. Or do they have a newsletter or a course or a class? Are they speaking anywhere? I want to hear more from them. Yeah. So that is kind of a natural next step that people, people want to hear about.

Shanna Skidmore (52:40):
Don't leave them hanging. How can they get

Jana (52:41):

More, Shanna? Yeah,

Shanna Skidmore (52:42):
Right, right. Nancy gave me that advice. I mean, maybe episode five, and I did not do a great job of that and hopefully do better, but that's so good for me to hear. Again, that's a limiting belief on my end to just say, people want to hear more from you. Here's how to do that and help them find that.

Jana (52:57):
Yeah. Last question, what are you currently working on and what will we see from you the rest of the year? And this can be podcast or other things.

Shanna Skidmore (53:07):
What we are currently working on as we are recording this is launching the Money Club, which is our membership community. When this comes out in August, that will be live. And I'm just really, I think 10 years in, this is our 10th year in business. I have finally feel like I am exactly where I'm supposed to be. So I don't see any new products. I don't see anything new. All I see is doing what we're doing right now, really well, continuing to do the podcast. And I feel really like our programs, our shop, and now the membership, it feels almost like our offer is, we have all the offers that I'm really passionate about and proud of. And so what I foresee in this season of life in business is optimizing all of those things. And what I love about the Money Club is it allows me to show up.
(54:07)
A friend of mine said it really well. It's like the courses or the textbooks. The membership is the live class. It's like the office hours, it's going to the professor and asking questions. And so I feel like we have finally built an incredible way so I can coach all day long. Somebody's like, Hey, will you look at this spreadsheet? Absolutely. Give it to me. I'm struggling with this, my business. Let's talk through it. So I finally feel like we have figured out our offers and how to provide great value with our courses, and then have this membership to Coach. So that'll be live when this comes out. The Money Club.

Jana (54:42):
And as a Money Club member, I will say it is truly the best group of people to be a part of. And I do the monthly money dates and we have one coming up on Thursday and I always look forward to them, which keeping up with my bookkeeping and paying bills is not something that most people look forward to, but I look forward to it because I get to do it on a Zoom call with everyone. And the sense of community is just wonderful. I

Shanna Skidmore (55:10):
Love our money dates. It's great. I love getting to see you. It feels like a money date, like friendship, money, dates. It does. And I do geek out over spreadsheets. But it is funny because Monday dates are so calming to me because it's like the one time in the month that I get permission to just like, okay, how's it going? How am I doing? Let's look at the numbers. It's not forward facing and getting something done. It's like backwards, right? And or it's organizing your closet. There's a moment that just feels so good to reset, and we do that every single month. So yeah, we love the Money Club. It's

Jana (55:47):
Great. I love it,

Shanna Skidmore (55:48):
Jana. 

Jana (55:49):
All right, Shanna. We did it. We did it! 

Shanna Skidmore (55:51):
That was fun. Thank you so much for your time. You're welcome. And support. You're welcome of the podcast and your friendship. And thanks everybody for listening. Hey, wildflower, you just finished another episode of Consider Wildflowers the podcast. Head over to consider the wildflowers podcast.com for show notes, resource links, and to learn how you can connect with me. It's one of my greatest joys to help entrepreneurs day in and day out, do what they love. And while I cannot have you all on the show, though, I wish I could, I want to take time each episode to celebrate wildflowers around the world, tuning into the podcast. Our wildflower of the week is gala. She wrote relatable, insightful, welcoming conversation. I absolutely love following the warm conversations Shanna has with business owners. As a listener, I can listen to the challenges, successes, and lessons learned along the way as if conversing with a friend who gets it. I recommend consider the wildflowers to anyone navigating life as a small business owner. Gala, thank you so much for your sweet words. It is an absolute honor to bring this podcast to you each and every week. Thank you for listening. And thank you for taking the time to send us Ray of Sunshine with your reviews. Your feedback means the world. One final thought for today from Cal Newport. Be so good. They cannot ignore you. As always, thank you for listening. I'll see you next time.