Entrepreneurial enlightment with Amy Traugh | Ep. 5 Content Magic with Lindsay Smith

In this episode I welcome my first guest, Amy Traugh! Amy is a business bestie, business strategist, podcast host and soon-to-be author.  

We dive into the magic of building a community, redefining sales, branding and her personal journey from healthcare to entrepreneurship.

So, grab your coffee and get ready for a dose of tangible content and inspiring conversations in this episode of Content Magic!


00:00 Creating standout content for online businesses podcast.

04:41 Unexpected change led to personal and career reevaluation.

07:19 Starting a business during pandemic, facing challenges.

10:38 Collaboration and authenticity lead to abundance mindset.

15:30 Embracing clarity and aligning with personal goals.

19:58 Helping to overcome barriers to achieve success.

22:58 Authenticity is key in creating content.

24:43 Closing remarks and call to action for audience.

CONNECT WITH AMY

Instagram: @amytraugh
Podcast: The Motivated CEO
Freebie: CEO Quarterly Review Guide

Speaker A [00:00:00]:
I always say you're presenting an invitation. You know, don't go in and cold pitch in the dms. Like, yeah, that's gross.

Speaker B [00:00:07]:
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 Lindsay, and I'm the host of the content Magic podcast, all about being an entrepreneur mirror 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.

Speaker B [00:00:59]:
Probably mine. Ready to dive in? Let's go. Hi, everyone. Welcome back to episode five. And this is my first ever guest episode, so I'm super excited to welcome. Well, I feel like you're a business bestie, honestly. My friend Amy traw. Welcome, Amy.

Speaker A [00:01:20]:
Hello. I'm so excited. Like, what an honor to be the first guest. I'm like, this is happening. I'm so excited to be here. And, yes, we are definitely, like, business besties.

Speaker B [00:01:32]:
Okay, good. Yes. Obviously, you were the obvious choice for first guest because Amy was sort of like, when I mentioned the podcast thing, she kept me accountable and was like, put it on the calendar. When are you launching it? Get it done. So I appreciate that. So it's happening. So thank you for that.

Speaker A [00:01:51]:
Yes, it's here. It's live. And you did it on schedule, too. You didn't make excuses. You put your head down, you did the work, and here you are.

Speaker B [00:02:03]:
Look at me.

Speaker A [00:02:04]:
Look at me.

Speaker B [00:02:05]:
Okay, so why don't you introduce yourself? Tell us where you are and who you are and who you help and what you do.

Speaker A [00:02:13]:
Yeah. So, I mean, in a nutshell, I am Amy. I am a mom from Northeast Ohio. But my formal introduction, I am a business strategist. I host a podcast, and I'm writing a book, which is still kind of crazy to me. But what I do is I help service providers generate the consistent sales that they want so that they can create the impact they desire without sacrificing their two most valuable assets, their time and their energy. And I have a signature CEO framework that I guide clients through in order to do that. But my biggest philosophy is, this is your business.

Speaker A [00:02:50]:
You get to choose. You get to choose what you want this business to look like. Time and time again, I see so many people out there saying, you need to have ten k months. You need to be doing this. You need to be doing this. And it drives me crazy, because your goals are your goals. They are unique to you. I have worked with clients that just want a little bit of extra income on the side to take their families on vacation.

Speaker A [00:03:15]:
I've worked with business owners that are like, you know what I am scaling? I am growing. I want this multi six figure business. Good for you. But I think it really comes down to knowing, what do you want as a business owner? So that's what I do. Help people get clear, get some systems in place, and really get those sales on autopilot so that you can live your life.

Speaker B [00:03:38]:
I love that. And I think that's something that you and I have in common. When people tell you that the way you should do it, and we don't like that word should. And sometimes it's tough when you're starting out, right? And you think like, oh, well, this is the way these people are doing it, I guess that's the way I'm supposed to do it, too, right? And sometimes it takes a minute to figure out what's actually your goal and what's a goal that you think you're supposed to have. And the other thing I love about you is because I'm such a creative all over the place, and you're so good at systems and organization. So I think that's why I love hanging out with you so much, because you're like, the opposite of me.

Speaker A [00:04:25]:
It's that balance, right? We balance each other out.

Speaker B [00:04:28]:
I know, it's so good. So tell me. I'm putting on my journalism hat. So tell me how you became a business strategist. What made you decide, like, yeah, this is what I want to do. Right.

Speaker A [00:04:41]:
I mean, it was kind of a weird, bizarre journey because I come from a career in healthcare. I worked in outpatient orthopedic physical therapy for 16 years of my life, and I always thought I knew what I wanted to do growing up. I'm going through life checking boxes like we all do. We go to school because that's what we're supposed to do. You graduate, you work, you have a family, all of these things. Like, I'm checking society's boxes, and then you hit the point where you're just kind of, like, on autopilot, like, all right, I mean, I guess this is what we do. We work 40 hours a week until maybe one day we can retire, maybe if we're lucky, and then be healthy enough to do the things that we say we're going to do one day. Those bucket list items, well, the year 2020 happened, and there was this little pandemic thing that kind of shut life down, right? And when that happened, my kids were in kindergarten and preschool.

Speaker A [00:05:34]:
And because my husband also worked in healthcare, there was no daycare, there were no schools. It was like, what do we do? These two little humans can't watch themselves, right? That would kind of be frowned upon. So it was at that point, I was offered a furlough from my position, and I was like, I mean, okay, I guess we'll figure it out. Which for me, being the super type a, over planner, left brain person, I'm like, oh, shit, what are we going to do? I'm freaking out on the inside, but my family is always going to come first. We'll figure it out. Like, whatever. So we are going through the pandemic. I survived the homeschooling piece.

Speaker A [00:06:14]:
Shout out to all you homeschooling moms out there, because I failed miserably at that. I am not the Pinterest mom. I hate. Like, I like glitter for me, but with kids and glitter, it's just bad. It's just bad. So I still remember it was gorgeous that spring. I don't know why I remember that. Ohio is always so gray, but it was so flipping gorgeous outside, and I'm sitting there, and it just hit me like a ton of bricks.

Speaker A [00:06:43]:
I'm watching my kids play, and I'm like, oh, my gosh. I'm literally, like, missing life. I'm working 40 hours a week in a career that I really don't like. It really no longer serves me. Healthcare has changed a lot over recent years, and it hit me at that point, I'm like, what am I doing? What the heck am I doing? So at that point, I didn't know if I'd have a job to go back to. So I was like, you know what? I've always thought about starting my own business, a home organizing business. I'm like, let's just do it. Oh, what do I have to lose at this point, right? So I did, and it grew.

Speaker A [00:07:19]:
And it grew. And, I mean, apparently, if you're going to start a business during the pandemic, and organizing business is a perfect thing, because Marie Kondo was, like, really big at the time. Home edit was huge, and everybody was stuck at home and realizing, oh, my gosh, I've got all this crap around me, like, what's happening? Right, exactly. So this business took off, and as I'm growing it, I'm networking, I'm building connections, and I have friends asking me, they're like, well, how are you doing this? I'm like, well, I mean, you can google anything, literally, like, any information you need to know, you can find online, but you have to implement. You actually have to take action. So I'm doing this. The business is growing, but I just never found groups in my area where I really fit in. I would go to these events and they're like, oh, how's your little mommy business doing? How's your little thing? And it's, oh, yeah, it was just so annoying over and over and over to constantly have to be justifying myself.

Speaker A [00:08:21]:
So I'm like, well, I mean, maybe I'll just start a Facebook group and see if there's some people, like other moms in my area that are interested in getting together and talking business and just navigating all.

Speaker B [00:08:33]:
So.

Speaker A [00:08:34]:
So I started that, and that started to grow, and I was like, oh, crap, now what am I doing now? Now I have this business that's growing. I've got this community that's growing. We're doing events, we're doing coffee tests, we're doing all the things. So I made the decision at that point to step away from my organizing business and lean fully into this community I was building and really in building that community and building that second business. I'm like, my gosh, I'm really good at the back end of business, really building it out, scaling it, getting it to the point where other people are having wins. I'm helping them now achieve the success that they desire. And it was at that moment that it hit me, oh, my gosh, I'm doing what I've done my entire career in therapy. I'm empowering and educating.

Speaker A [00:09:21]:
We are establishing a goal, and then we're reverse engineering it to get you the results that you want. So, yeah, I don't know. I still look back at the last almost four years and go, what the heck just happened? But it's really kind of cool. It's kind of cool. And I'm like, here to show you that you don't need all the fancy degrees and certifications. Yes, there are certain things you need to be credentialed, and you can't go and do surgery if you haven't been trained as a surgeon and passed your boards. But a lot of the times we're holding ourselves back by these self imposed limitations when if you just implement what you know, you learn the information, you implement. I can't talk.

Speaker A [00:10:08]:
The information that you get, you'll get the results.

Speaker B [00:10:13]:
I love that. And I love what you said about community. Right? Obviously, this is a podcast about content. I mean, mostly, that's mostly what we talk about. And I feel like you're really good at that community piece. So when it comes to building community, what do you think the difference is between building community and building an audience?

Speaker A [00:10:38]:
I really feel like it's that connection. It's really that connection and linking arms with others going, okay, how can we work together? How can we collaborate with each other? Because when we collaborate, we multiply the resources available for success, and it really comes back to shifting out of a scarcity mindset and more into an abundance mindset. And when you realize there's no shortage of clients out there, there's no shortage of money out there, there is room for you, because your unique experiences, your views, just who you are as a person, your authenticity, that's what draws people in. We all have our unique way of doing it. If we all did things the same way, it would be such a boring world out there. So I think really, community comes down to collaboration, really seeking to support one another. Because it's the rising tide analogy. As overstated as it is, a rising tide raises all shifts.

Speaker A [00:11:42]:
And I like to take it a step further, like, okay, we all have this beautiful light within us, right? And we're shining bright out in the world, but what happens if, okay, you bring your light over next to mine, and then someone else, and then someone else, we all shine brighter together. Just because my light is shining doesn't mean that your light has to be any dimmer. We can all shine bright together.

Speaker B [00:12:08]:
Yes, I totally agree. And I think you and I have definitely seen sort of the examples of this in the various communities that we were a part of. And you and I have never met in person, but we talk almost all the time, sending ridiculous voice notes to each other. Right? And you and I met in a different community. So I totally agree. And I think sometimes the community versus audience thing is sometimes it's a strategic thing, sometimes it's just like a mindset thing. And I find that, I don't know, maybe in the content space, it's shifting between audience and more towards community. I always felt like when you think of it as an audience, like, you're always talking, you're talking at somebody and community.

Speaker B [00:12:58]:
You're talking with people, and I think that's one of your many skills, is building community, and you're really good at it. And I agree. And I think so many of us have these transferable skills, even if we've been doing something for 20 years. Right. I went and got a massage the other day because this arm is super sore since I broke my hand. And I asked a ton of questions. And I was asking her, I was like, oh, what made you wanted to become an RMT? And she was like, well, I worked in corrections for 20 years in a jail. She's like, and I realized that was horrible.

Speaker B [00:13:40]:
And I watched my mom, her health decline and aches and pains and whatever, and she was like, I was super active as a kid involved in sports, and she just realized. She was like, yeah, I really want to treat other people and make sure that they don't end up like my mom. Right. So we have all these transferable skills, even if you don't have all of the whatever degrees and credentials and certificates and all that nonsense. I want to shift gears a little bit. And you have changed your branding. So tell us about that shift and what made you decide, and tell us about what it looked like before and what it looks like now.

Speaker A [00:14:22]:
Yeah. So recently I was talking with my business coach, and I'm like, let's look ahead. Let's look towards 2024. Because I'm like, the over planner. I get in my head and it's just a hot mess. So it's always good to have that outside perspective. And she's like, well, you do this signature framework that you have with your clients. You're writing this book on this topic.

Speaker A [00:14:49]:
You have a podcast. She's like, how can we just align everything to make it feel easier for you? And I'm like, I can do it. Yeah, it's so silly to have somebody just call you out on those silly little things. And I'm like, okay, I love it. Let's do it. And so literally four days later, the rebrand launched out into the world. I am not advising anyone that that is a good way to do it, but because I am one of those people that's, like, a perfectionist, I just had to go when the iron was hot and just not think about it, not overanalyze it and go for it. Trust my gut.

Speaker A [00:15:30]:
And that's really hard for me to do because I do like to have every single detail planned out, but I did it, and it just felt good. It felt good because it was more true. To me, it was aligned with where I'm going. And I think really taking time as a business owner to get really clear on what is that mission? What are those values? What is our overall vision. I think it's really important that we take the time to step back and get quiet because when we're always consuming content, we're getting everyone else's noise in our head. And then we begin to adopt their goals as our goals, and we don't even know what we want anymore. So that's what I did. I just really took the time to go, okay, what feels good to me? Where am I going? Where do I see myself? And I did it and I love it, and it feels so freaking good.

Speaker A [00:16:31]:
And everybody I talked to, they're like, yeah, it was time. And so it's just that little extra, like, okay, this was definitely the right move, but really having someone to call you out on that is just so needed. And that's why, as a business owner, get those people in your world. I know I even sent you over something. I'm like, hey, what do you think of this? What do you think of that? Get someone's opinion. At the end of the day, you get to make that choice. But it's okay to ask other people, okay, you're on the outside looking in. What do you see? Can you please point out those blind spots for me? And that's key as a business owner, to be open to that constructive criticism, to be open to that feedback, and then to make it your own.

Speaker B [00:17:17]:
Yeah, absolutely. Right? And I think it's like we're so close to it, right? And I see this all the time with my clients. They're so close to all of the information, so they're just like, okay, I'm going to give you everything I know. When really, as a copywriter and as a content coach, you kind of have to be like, okay, use the least amount of information possible to get your point across. And what I love about your new branding, it was previously kind of like pink and a bit more feminine, and now it's like black and hot pink. And I feel like it's so badass. And I feel like you stepped into a new badass role and it's in your energy. Like, it comes out.

Speaker B [00:18:05]:
You're writing this book about your CEO method. Tell us about your book.

Speaker A [00:18:12]:
Okay, so again, one of those flash, weird situations that happened a few months ago, I was given a book, big idea, to bestseller. And I was like, okay, that's cool. Maybe one day I put it on my bookshelf and never looked at it again. And then about a month ago, somebody else sent this book, same book, like, okay, that's cool, but I have that one. I'm just going to put it on the bookshelf. I got a third copy. I got a third copy of this book. And I'm like, okay, well, maybe there's a sign from the universe.

Speaker A [00:18:51]:
Like, I just need to write this damn book. So, like, okay, well, what am I going to write a book on? Guess what? I'm going to write a book that aligns with my brand, that talks about what I do. Because the thing is, we talked about, the information is out there. So I'm literally guiding readers through my framework. What I work with clients on, getting really crystal clear on, number one, what do you want your business to look like? What do you want your life to look like? And then unpacking, okay, who are we actually trying to sell to? And then we get into establishing systems and automations and boundaries and really gaining that control. And then we dive into the nitty gritty how to get someone from a follower into a buyer just in a way that feels really good to you. Because I think the word sales has a really gross connotation for a lot of people. But what's really helped me is really reframing my relationship with sales to solution.

Speaker A [00:19:58]:
I'm helping someone because I have the solution to the problem that they have. So if we can really hone in and just clean some things up, you can generate the income that you want. And then we get into, okay, this is all fine and dandy, but there's going to be some things that pop up. We talk a lot about fear, a lot about those barriers to success that we put in our own way. A lot of times we're the ones blocking ourselves from the success with self sabotage and perfectionism and lack of confidence. We think that confidence is something we have to be born with. Well, no, confidence is really having the courage to do the damn thing, even when you don't feel qualified to do it. So we really unpack it all and just take readers on this whole journey from very unsure, unclear sales that are all over the place to, okay, now we have a tangible plan in place so that you can create whatever your version of success is.

Speaker B [00:21:09]:
I love that. I love that. And I agree. Why is there a weird connotation about sales? Right? And I think it's. I don't know, it's like we don't deserve to, or we don't have enough knowledge or we don't deserve to earn an income of whatever it is that we're offering. Right. And it's, like, a weird thing. And it's not like every business makes sales from the toy store down the street to the.

Speaker B [00:21:39]:
You think the Walmart CEO is worried, like, thinks sales is a gross. You know, I kind of feel like it's not. You. You have to believe in what you're offering, right? You have to believe that you know what you're talking about. And it starts with belief. A lot of it starts with belief. If, you know, you have the knowledge to solve someone else's problem, then you're just offering it to them. It's up to that other person whether or not they want to spend the money on it.

Speaker B [00:22:06]:
You know what I mean? So I don't know. I don't believe that sales is gross. That's just how you do business. And I always said, if you're not a gross person, you can't be a gross salesperson. So don't worry about it.

Speaker A [00:22:21]:
Exactly. I mean, you're literally presenting the solution to the problem that they have. You're presenting that invitation. I always say you're presenting an invitation. Don't go in and cold pitch in the dms. Like, yeah, that's gross, but just be yourself. By being yourself, you're naturally going to attract your people in, and that's your zone of genius with the content and helping people really step into that authority, because you are the secret sauce. You are the secret spice that really draws people in.

Speaker B [00:22:58]:
Yes, I absolutely agree. And I kind of feel like this is your brand, right? Like, this face here is my brand. So what choice do I have other than to just be me, right? I think some women have trouble with, like, well, who am I? That's a whole other conversation. But showing up in your content, you have to just be your own damn self, because otherwise, what's the other choice? Like, trying to be something you're not and showing. We talked about this. I know. Showing pictures of fancy cars and fancy trips and fancy hats. Amy and I have a problem with women who wear those felt hats indoors, and they're not, like, on safari.

Speaker B [00:23:48]:
Anyways, we'll talk about that another time. Amy, where can the people find you the best place?

Speaker A [00:23:57]:
My favorite place to hang out is my podcast, the motivated CEO podcast. Take a listen if you're looking for all things business strategy and then drop into my dms over on instagram. I absolutely love when people say, I listen to your podcast, and this was a big takeaway. That fills me with joy because it shows me I am making an impact on you. So drop into my dms, drop some topic ideas. I would love to connect with you and say hello over there. I'm at Amy trawl on Instagram.

Speaker B [00:24:34]:
Awesome. And we'll share all your links in the show notes. Thank you, Amy, for coming.

Speaker A [00:24:39]:
Thank you so much, Lindsay. I loved this.

Speaker B [00:24:43]:
Yay. That's it for today, folks, and we'll see you on the next episode. Toodleoo. 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 at Smith Creative. 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.