Business foundations you need to be successful | Ep.40 Content Magic with Lindsay Smith

In today's episode of Content Magic I'm joined by Emily McDonald, a founder coach and mentor who helps female entrepreneurs build sustainable, successful businesses. 

In our chat, Emily digs into why so many new female founders struggle to make money, and how focusing on fads instead of foundations holds them back. She shares her own entrepreneurial journey, from launching a dress rental company out of her living room to now running multiple ventures. We also discuss the hot topic of scaling - what it really means, when to do it, and why it's not the right path for everyone.

Emily drops so many insights about truly understanding your ideal customer, creating offers that resonate, and doing the deep work needed to sell successfully, even without a huge audience.

Emily has tons of valuable insight to share so don't miss this one!

06:19 Shifting focus to scalable programs, reaching more.
09:31 Scaling means creating scalable offers to help.
11:14 Email lab helps write quick, engaging emails.
16:38 Homework asks tough questions, essential for understanding.
17:52 Struggling with client connection and elevator pitch.
21:30 DM for signature or higher-level programs.

FREE: The Sales Page Blueprint

CONNECT WITH EMILY

Instagram: @founderemily
Website: myfoundercircle.com
Program: The Mastermind
FREE: How to Make Money Without a Huge Following

Emily [00:00:00]:
So it's always going back to the who, but people don't want to do the who work because it's hard.

Lindsay [00:00:05]:
If you have an online business, you're creating content. And the way you create content is more important than ever. It's really noisy out there and learning to stand out is the only way. Hey, I'm Lindsey and I'm the host of the content Magic podcast, all about being an entrepreneur and creating kick ass content to market yourself and your business. I have a not so secret superpower for copywriting, marketing and content, and I've helped hundreds of folks just like you show up with a ton of confidence in the online space. I've been doing this content thing for 20 years, and I believe the real magic is a combo of intuition, creativity and strategy. You can create content for your business without losing your mind, I promise. So tune in every week for tangible content tips, inspiring guests, and some real spicy opinions.

Lindsay [00:00:57]:
Probably mine. Ready to dive in? Let's go. Hi, friends. Welcome back to the podcast. And I have another special guest. Hi, Emily.

Emily [00:01:08]:
Hi, how are you?

Lindsay [00:01:09]:
I'm well. How are you?

Emily [00:01:11]:
I'm great. Thank you for having me.

Lindsay [00:01:12]:
Oh, it's a pleasure. So, full disclosure, I've worked with Emily. I did one of her programs and I loved it. It was very good.

Emily [00:01:22]:
Thank you.

Lindsay [00:01:22]:
I learned a lot. So we're going to get into that in a minute. But for now, can you tell us? Well, we know who you are, where you are, and what you do and who you help.

Emily [00:01:32]:
Yes. So I'm based in the San Francisco Bay Area, like 45 minutes south of SF, and I am a founder, coach and mentor. And I help female founders make more money in their businesses. I focus on foundations over fads so that they can make more money for the long term in their business in a sustainable way.

Lindsay [00:01:52]:
And this is what I think about the whole found out. This is what I think about the whole foundations thing. And I think especially women, we're sold this like, and I feel like especially on the heels of the pandemic, right, we're sold this like, oh, just create an online business, no problem. Just put a masterclass out there and make some sort, of course, and the people will come. And I feel like so many people skip over those foundations.

Emily [00:02:26]:
Well, here's the deal. There are more female founders than ever before now. There are more female founders than ever before not making money. And the issue is, like, I didn't say this in my intro yet, but like, I started three companies. My first company I started 15 years ago, scaled it to seven figures. Like, I have massive, I coached over 200 female founders. I have massive experience in this space. And the reason I'm so passionate about this is because we're all focused on the wrong things, right? Like, everyone's like, go viral or do your reels this way.

Emily [00:02:57]:
Like, I can't tell you how many founders have come to me with digital products. And they took courses from digital products people, and they're like, I haven't sold one. And it's because no one has the foundations figured out. No one's teaching them that well, that's why I am. But no one before me, he was like, teaching them the foundation, the things that they have to master to have a successful business.

Lindsay [00:03:18]:
I agree. And on that note, can you tell us how, tell us your story. I mean, I know you've been an entrepreneur for a long time. Tell us about that first business and how it led to where you are now.

Emily [00:03:29]:
Okay, so for starters, I was like seven years old, reading entrepreneur magazines, books on how to start a clothing store. So, like, I was born an entrepreneur. Like, always wanted to have my own company. I went to USC in LA, Southern California, and I specifically went there to study entrepreneurship. And I wrote a business plan there on an idea I came up with while I was there, which was dress rentals. And I ended up then I did a graduate degree at the fashion institute in LA. And I actually started the company out of my living room with a rolling rack of sample dresses and dollar 500 in 2009. So the first company is the stylist LA.

Emily [00:04:08]:
It's women's clothing rental and pre pandemic. We had two stores. We had a store in LA, a store in San Francisco. I raised over a million dollars in venture capital. I scaled it to seven figures. I did team of up to 15 people. And it was pretty incredible. I mean, we dressed over tens of thousands of women.

Emily [00:04:24]:
We dressed celebrities. We did all kinds of cool stuff. And then the pandemic kind of stopped it in its tracks, which ended up being a blessing for me because I hit massive burnout, which also inspired me then to go into coaching.

Lindsay [00:04:38]:
Okay, so that company still exists? Yes.

Emily [00:04:41]:
Yes, still exists today. It's a very different company. It's smaller scale, it is completely online only rental subscription focused on our private label brands. Whereas before the pandemic, we did that and we did high end occasion based rentals. So it's just a different, a different type of company. And I also have an incredible logistics partner that handles like a lot of the, they do all the shipping warehousing dry cleaning, customer service, which gives me time to focus on my second and third businesses.

Lindsay [00:05:11]:
Okay, so what are the second and third ones?

Emily [00:05:14]:
So my second business is my own Emily McDonald's consulting. It is my coaching and mentoring company. And then the third is my founder circle, which I run with a partner on Keda. And that is where we host group programs, community membership, all around, helping female founders launch and scale their businesses.

Lindsay [00:05:32]:
So recently you, because I creep you, so recently you switched from like, I know you've been, a lot of your business was one on one and helping other women, as you say, make more money. And recently you sort of switched that up. So can you tell me a bit more about that and why you chose to do that?

Emily [00:05:54]:
So let me start with saying one on one is incredible. I think, and this is a little bit on tangent, but I think that we're way too focused when founders are starting out on scaling. And truly one on one is incredible because it teaches you so much about your potential customer and you sharpen your skills, you get better at doing what you're doing. I think it is wonderful. At my core, I am a scaling person. It's what I want to do. I love growing things. I love growing things.

Emily [00:06:19]:
I love being in front of a bigger audience. And so I always knew I would shift from one on one to things that were more scalable. So what I've done is now I've offloaded most of my one on one clients and I'm focusing on scalable things. So I have my signature program which is co founders Lab, which is a scalable group program. Instead of doing one on one, I'm launching a higher ticket mastermind. I'm going to be coming out with some lower ticket offers in the next few weeks. And so I'm just really focused on how can I reach and serve and help more female founders rather than in that one on one container? Not to say I'll never do one on one again, I'm sure I will if it's the right fit, but that's not going to be the focus of the majority of my business.

Lindsay [00:07:03]:
Okay, so yes, the scaling thing, let's talk about that for a minute because I feel like, again, it's this word that sort of gets thrown around. And you know, I know when I first started, you know, I've been freelancing for like ten years, but when I sort of switched from like I still do done for you stuff, but when I switched to done with you stuff, there was this huge sort of not pressure, but sort of like, I don't know, like, awareness of, like, oh, you have to do group stuff because you have to scale. So I feel like we're often sort of told this scaling thing before we're even ready. So how does a person know when they're ready to scale?

Emily [00:07:52]:
Oh, my gosh.

Lindsay [00:07:52]:
What does that mean?

Emily [00:07:53]:
Great. Sorry. I'm so passionate about this. People don't need to focus on scaling. Like, one, don't focus on scaling until you've hit 100k in yearly revenue. Like, not even kind of. Like, most people don't even want to scale. That's the other thing.

Emily [00:08:09]:
Like, we're told on Instagram that, like, you should want to scale. I'm telling you, I was like, I raised venture capital. Like, I'm born to scale. I'm a crazy person. Like, don't do exactly what I'm doing. Like, I love risk taking. Like, I love scale. Like, it is in my blood.

Emily [00:08:26]:
This is how I was born. And most female founders want to hit 100 to support their family and have freedom. Of course, there's a subset that wants to grow and scale their companies, but, like, you don't need to think about scaling when you're doing $2,500 a month and trying to grow to 5000. And that's, like, where that sweet spot of co founders Lab is. Like, that's for founders that are trying to hit five k months. That's my signature program. And that's because, like, you do not need to focus on scaling there. That's where you really need to solidify the foundations, get super clear on, like, who you target, who you help, how you help them.

Emily [00:09:07]:
So scaling, so buzzy. And so I kind of hate that I brought it up. Although, like, like I said, it's in my blood. Like, that's, that's just who I am, right? Like, what is it? Like, under 1% of female founders raise venture capital. Venture capital. And, like, I did that. So again, I feel like I'm like an anomaly. I wouldn't even think about scaling until.

Lindsay [00:09:26]:
You'Ve hit one hundred k. And what does it even mean? Like, what does it even mean? Like, you're hiring people.

Emily [00:09:31]:
I'll tell you what scaling means for me, because I think scaling is different for everyone, right? And, like, the biggest thing I teach is, what do you want to create for your life, and how does your business support that? Right? So, like, if you have your kids at home, you're a stay at home mom, and you only have 5 hours a week to work. Like, what is your, what are your revenue goals and do they support that? And what do you charge? And like, does that make sense? So scaling for everyone is so different and what works for your lifestyle? What I mean by scaling now, and let me tell you, I did, I think it was like 156k in revenue last year. Okay, so it's not, I mean, it's a great number, it's not huge, but I'm like, look, I was kind of, I was trading time for money and I was like, I'm kind of capped at like how many people I can take. And I now I'm ready to kind of like burn this down and build something that's scalable. So what I mean is building offers that I can put more people in, that more people can be helped and served through my content rather than that one to one. And that's what it means for me. And for me, it comes from a desire to be in front of and help more people.

Lindsay [00:10:38]:
Yeah.

Emily [00:10:39]:
So it's not necessarily about scaling the revenue. I mean, it is. Of course it is, because at the end of the day it almost always is. But like, for me it's like more helping more female founders make more money in their business. And one on one I'm helping. I'm in front of one person. So that's what I mean by scaling. Scaling means like, I think scaling just really is growing your business.

Emily [00:10:59]:
Right. Or focusing on something that's easier to grow.

Lindsay [00:11:01]:
Yeah.

Emily [00:11:02]:
And one on one isn't scalable, but I think everyone should. Every service provider should start with one on one.

Lindsay [00:11:07]:
Yeah.

Emily [00:11:07]:
Every coach should start with one on one.

Lindsay [00:11:09]:
Agreed.

Emily [00:11:09]:
Because you learn so much by doing it.

Lindsay [00:11:11]:
Yeah, agreed.

Emily [00:11:14]:
Okay.

Lindsay [00:11:14]:
It's me, Lindsey. When you start an online business, everyone tells you you need an email list, but nobody really tells you what to put in those emails. We know we need a free thing, a couple of nurture sequences, and some creative emails to keep your list engaged. Still, how do you write those? This is why I created the email lab. It's a hybrid membership program that'll teach you how to write email quickly. I'm talking like less than 20 minutes, how to know exactly what to write. So no more staring at that blank screen with anxiety and how to make money with your list. Even with a small audience, you can expect some expert training and super digestible takeaways and some madlib style prompts to take all the guesswork out of email marketing.

Lindsay [00:12:01]:
So go check it out at lindsaysmithcreative, CA email and I'll see you in there. And it's a different, like, and it's a different, like, I have a few one on one clients, and just this morning had a call with one of them, and it's, you know, we're, we've been working together for six months, and we're gonna work together for another six months. We have like a monthly check in kind of like marketing content sort of stuff. And I feel like it's a different relationship. Like, it's, you know, I get so much more out of it. I think she gets so much more out of it. But again, like, my group stuff, I love my group stuff. Like, I love.

Lindsay [00:12:43]:
So I kind of, I mean, I love them both.

Emily [00:12:45]:
Well, you can and you totally can, right? Like, that's actually a great setup, is to have a couple one on one clients, some group stuff, and maybe some, and I'm going to call them passive offers, but they're not actually passive. What I mean by passive offers is, like, someone buys it, it gets sent to them. Like, you're not, like, hand delivering it, right? I don't believe in passive because I don't think it's actually ever passive.

Lindsay [00:13:06]:
No, you still have to promote it.

Emily [00:13:07]:
You have to promote it. You have to, like, set it up. You have to do the work. Like, this is why everyone comes to me and they're like, I don't set and sell any of my digital products. And I'm like, yeah, because you started.

Lindsay [00:13:15]:
With a digital product like the MMR. The MMR people.

Emily [00:13:20]:
Those. No, no, no, no, not MRR. I don't even touch that.

Lindsay [00:13:24]:
Okay, good.

Emily [00:13:25]:
I more mean, people who are like, I created a guide on how to do X, Y and Z, and it's not selling. But I'm like, that's because you started with a guide. No one knows. I'm sorry. No one knows who you are. No one knows why they should trust you. You have no trust built up. I mean, unless it's like someone who is an influencer first.

Emily [00:13:43]:
But back to this structure. I think it's great to have one on one and group agreed to one thing. I was talking about someone the other day is like, there's so much advice online. Everyone has an appeal. Everyone's like, only do your signature offer only sell that? That's the only way you're gonna make money. No, you need, like, a variety of offers and, like, a laddered up system. Only focus on group, only focus on one. On one.

Emily [00:14:09]:
Only focus on high ticket. Only focus on low ticket. It's like you can find someone to support whatever you want. Like, you have to create what works for you.

Lindsay [00:14:17]:
Group programs are dead. One on one is dead. Never voice note, anyone. Always voice note, everybody.

Emily [00:14:24]:
Courses are over. But it's like, if someone creates a course that's super valuable, people are gonna buy your course.

Lindsay [00:14:28]:
Yes, yes, agreed. Okay, so on that note, so the noisiness. So your content. I always feel like you're talking to me.

Emily [00:14:44]:
Oh, my gosh, that's the nicest thing ever. Cause that's what I try and do.

Lindsay [00:14:48]:
So my question is, is that intentional?

Emily [00:14:51]:
I mean, of course it is. I think. I think if you're. The goal of your content is to feel, like. Feel like you're talking to your audience. I think one thing that's hard for me, and I'll be totally honest, like, copy is not my strong suit. I struggle with it a lot, so I work really hard on my content because I love Instagram. It's funny, I don't know why I love it so much.

Emily [00:15:16]:
I built my first business on Instagram, so let me say that, too. And we built, like, a pretty big following with that account. Yeah, of course it's intentional. The other thing is, like, I believe in connection. I believe. And I'm actually about to launch a low ticket thing on making money on Instagram with under five K followers. Because I think people believe that Instagram, like, you can only make money if you have a huge following. What I focus on, and this is who I am to my core, is connecting with people on Instagram is truly connecting.

Emily [00:15:44]:
Like, you're not a follower to me. Like, you are human. And so I think when I create my content through that lens, and I spend so much time and energy getting to know my client, my ideal client, like, that's, like, the best compliment you can give me, that it feels like I'm talking to you.

Lindsay [00:16:00]:
Oh, good. Well, there it is. Okay, so let's circle back to this again, this idea of the foundations, because you said something about ideal client. So, again, it's this thing that gets thrown around. Who's the ideal client? Create an avatar. And I think what I loved about doing the program with you was that you really did well, both of you. You and Ankita. Like, you really walked us through sort of the process, like, one step at a time, and you made us real, actually.

Lindsay [00:16:38]:
They were hard questions, and the homework was hard, which is kind of the point, because if you don't do that hard work, like, nothing else is going to make sense. So, you know, like, when we talk about ideal client, you're just kind of like, of course I know who it is. You're like, well, have you actually written it down? And, like, answered all these questions? And one of the one that stuck with me was, if all your clients were at, like, a dinner party, what would they say about you? And I. And I always repeat that one because I'm like, oh, my God, so good. What would they say about me? Yeah, so. And I think, right, like, and that's just one example, but. And also the revenue roadmap. I still use it.

Lindsay [00:17:19]:
I'm, like, obsessed with it. And I feel like, so, like, such a boss. I'm like, look at me.

Emily [00:17:26]:
I love that. Well, these are the things I'm saying. These are the things no one's teaching. Like, everyone says, have a customer avatar, but what we teach is actually not an avatar. It's like, get to know your customer on a deeper level. So, like, what's keeping them up at night? Like, why are they not buying from you? What's holding them back? What are their fears? Like, what are their hopes and dreams? Like, really getting to know them, rather than, like, my client. This is Susie. She shops at Lululemon.

Emily [00:17:52]:
She's 35 years old. Like, that doesn't tell me what I need to know, which is, like, how to connect with my ideal client on a deeper level. But, yeah, there's a reason, like, in that program, there's a reason we walk through it the way we do, and there's a reason we spend two weeks on the who because that's the part that's easy to skip. Like, even I had a call with my coach before this, and I'm working on, like, a. Kind of, like an elevator pitch, because as I'm broadening who I help, like, it's hard to do. And she was saying to me, she's like, yeah, like, you don't even want to do it. And I was like, yeah, I know. Like, this is part.

Emily [00:18:20]:
Like, it's frustrating. Like, it makes me frustrated. That's the work that we're skipping, which is why we're not selling, right? Like, people who aren't selling their product or service, like, they're skipping this work. That's why it's not selling. But they really think it's like, they're like, oh, it's my price. It's like, no, it's not your price. It's like you're not speaking directly to your client.

Lindsay [00:18:38]:
So, again, the foundations. And I feel like it's. If you don't. And whatever. I talk about clarity in your messaging all the time. Right? Cause I'm a copywriter. And I do a bunch of content stuff. So.

Lindsay [00:18:49]:
And I feel like it trickles down into everything else. Like, if you don't have that, then how. Like, it trickles into everything. So you have to start with like the first beginning lesson. Otherwise you're gonna get mucked up all, like, for the rest of the path, journey, whatever.

Emily [00:19:07]:
And I kind of already, I actually already said this, but I want to say it again because I think it's so important. You're not focused enough on the market research and on understanding your customer and figuring out what makes them tick. So you skip that. Then you create an offer, and then you go to sell it and it doesn't sell. And then you're like, this is what always happens. People are like, I don't have a big enough audience or my price is the issue. And it's neither one of those things. Like, you could sell with a teeny tiny audience if you get it right.

Emily [00:19:33]:
So it's always going back to the who. But people don't want to do the who work. Cause it's hard. It's easier to create your offer and sell it and, like, try and put it out in the world.

Lindsay [00:19:41]:
So sometimes I think again, we're kind of like, oh, I wanna create this thing. And you come up with it in your own head. You're like, I'm gonna put it out into the world and everybody's gonna love it. So I feel like there's a difference between something that you want to create what the people actually need. And so I just did an episode on sales pages. And so there's been, you know, I feel like, again, the noise out there, people are like, oh, you don't need a sales page. Just create a checkout page. No, just create a Google Doc.

Lindsay [00:20:12]:
No problem. And my point was, like, even the process of writing the sales page, like, it's going to force you to answer some of those hard questions.

Emily [00:20:23]:
And this is that. I've been actually saying this a lot lately. I'm like, sometimes I'm like, create the sales page before you even create the product.

Lindsay [00:20:30]:
Yeah. Because you get into those uncomfortable questions where you get frustrated and you're like, right. And I think it's often with those frustrating things that you're like, I don't have the answers to that you have to walk through to make the money.

Emily [00:20:49]:
Yeah. And the sales page forces you to think through, like, who is this for? Do they want it? Why do. What is it giving them? What is it really giving them that they want? Right. It forces you to answer some of those questions we talked about, which is the who and so fine being a good. I think it's fine. If it's in a Google Doc, that's fine, because if you're answering the questions.

Lindsay [00:21:10]:
So, Emily, how can people find you and how can they work with you?

Emily [00:21:15]:
The best place to find me is on Instagram. Like I said, I love Instagram. I spend a lot of time there. My handle is founder. Emily. There are a lot of different ways to work with me. I also have a lot of cool, free resources that I'm putting out into the world. So you can find those on my Instagram.

Emily [00:21:30]:
You can send me a DM. I have my signature program, which is co founders Lab. Our next one kicks off in September, and that's for founders making less than five k months and wanting to hit five k consistent months. And then I have a new mastermind that is higher level. It's a twelve week program that kicks off in August, which is for founders who are doing between five and 15k, who are ready to set a huge goal for twelve weeks. And I will build them a personalized roadmap to get there, and then we work together to do it. So those are my two offers right now. There's some lower ticket stuff coming and tons of free resources on my Instagram.

Lindsay [00:22:02]:
Awesome. And you know what's so, I mean, I'm going to talk about how awesome you are, but I feel like in the online space, there's so many, like, armchair experts who were just like, listen to a podcast and like, okay, well, now I'm an expert. And what I love about you is that you've actually done the thing because, right. And there's so few people who've actually done the thing. I feel like there's a lot of people who are just pretending that they. Right, like, they're like, oh, I'm a coach now. I'm coaching people who make seven figures. And you're like, but you've never sold anything in your life.

Lindsay [00:22:40]:
How do you know?

Emily [00:22:42]:
Or they built a coaching business, which is good, but I'm telling you, building a coaching business is ten times easier than building, like, my first product business. Like, at least it's like you don't really have employees. Like, maybe you have contractors. Like, you're sitting at your desk all day. It's like with the stylist la. Like, that was. I was in the trenches. Yeah, it was a hustle.

Lindsay [00:23:01]:
Yeah. Thank you for coming. It's always lovely to chat with you.

Emily [00:23:06]:
Yeah. And anyone, feel free to send me a DM on Instagram. I love hearing about your business. I love to answer questions and help you with anything you're working on.

Lindsay [00:23:15]:
Yay. Thank you.

Emily [00:23:17]:
Of course.

Lindsay [00:23:18]:
Toodaloo, everybody. Thank you so much for listening. If you loved what you heard, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, or share this episode on social media. And don't forget to tag me on Instagram. Lindsaysmithcreative and if you do all three, I'll be your best friend forever and invite you to all my birthday parties. That's it for today, and I'll see you next time.

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