Finding the Hidden Money in Your Business with Michelle DeNio | S9E145

Hello, everyone, and welcome to this week's episode of Marketing, Media and Money. I'm so excited today because we're going to talk about one of my favorite topics money. All right, I think we all love to talk about money. Probably not as much as we love to make it. But we do love to talk about it. But today, we're specifically going to talk about how to find hidden money in your business, kind of like when you're doing laundry or something and you find a $20 bill in your jacket, like, Oh, how exciting is that. But today, we're going to talk about how you find hidden money in your business, which is even better. And we have someone today that is an expert at this because we know it's not just behaviors, it's also back data. And we're going to talk about both today. So let me tell you a little bit about our guests. So Michelle DeNio is a seasoned business growth strategist specializing in customized growth and scaling solutions. She has a track record of helping online service providers realize their unique vision, and Michelle crass, tailor made strategies that drive success. Rejecting one size fits all approach as she delves deep into each client's business, empowering them to make informed decisions and confidently navigate the growth journey. She's also the host of the real truth about business podcast, and the creator of the Sunday morning brew. So Michelle, thanks so much for being here with me today.

Good morning. It's so great to be here, Patty. I'm so excited. So great.

You know, it was so fun that you know, we've known each other for like eight years. But we hadn't seen each other a while. So we went to pod fest it was really great to be able to, to reconnect there. And it's so funny that when you have a connection with someone, and you have so many things in common, I think it is really great how you cannot have a conversation with them for however long and you can just pick right up where you were. So that was kind of really great. All right. With that said, let's talk about money. Yeah, so that's kind of really talked about that. Because one of the things that you said that I really liked, and I had so much fun, not just talking to you, but actually going to your website, are going to tell everybody what that is. So they can go look at it too. But I really loved it. I really loved it. That's what I want to say I really, really liked it. And I really think that I love how you are always saying that the answers that we seek aren't in plain sight. Everybody thinks that they really are you just have to see him, but that they're in the data you're neglecting and that your business is a goldmine of information for super charging growth. But where is your data hiding? So I think that is good. So let's just kind of jump right in right there. So where are some places that our data is hiding that we don't even know.

I'm on a mission to help business owners understand that like data does not have to be scary, right? Like when people hear that word. And so think of it as trends or simply just information and whatnot. But I think a lot of times people overlook it, because it's so easy to look at what's not working right or filled with noise about like, Are you struggling with this? Are you struggling with this? Do you feel stuck here, right? There's all this noise and all this marketing, which I love it and I agree with it, but always pointing out what's not working? There's very little that actually says if this is going well, let's try this, you know. So for me, it's really looking at what's working, what is going really well in your business. And so a lot of the key data points that I look at are really not numbers related. And that's what I mean by hidden money is like looking at where are a good percentage of your sales coming from? That's my favorite one to look at is like, where did they come from? So anytime somebody comes to me and says, Michelle, I got a new client, great. Where'd they come from? Right, like understanding? How are people finding you? What, where are they? Where are they truly coming from? And then looking at that and understand that you can double down on it. Why say hidden money, too is? You know, I had a client that I asked her that question. She said, well, most of my sales come from my affiliates. Okay, well, then why are you trying to put a whole new plan in place for all these new efforts that are going to cost you money and time and resources and energy, when you have an extremely profitable stream of people sending business your way? Like let's double down on that? How do we get more affiliates? How do we get your affiliate selling more? And I think she ended up like increasing her sales by almost 90% That year just looking at that. So like those are the the little key points that I say are like, let's look at exactly what's working. What offers are selling the best. What's your pipeline? Like? Where are they? Where do they upsell themselves to like if they come in from this then they always upgrade to this if I do this small thing with them, they upgrade here instead of always just trying to sell the next thing like looking at like what is the journey that the client is taking and how can you put everybody through that journey instead of trying to create new?

I think that is so through because I think a lot of times what also happens is when people decide to hire someone or buy a product, whatever the case may be, right? As soon as they spend that money, it's like now they're thinking about where's my next money supposed to be spent, instead of actually digging into the thing that they just bought, or the service that they just bought, or whatever? And looking at the information that like you're saying, because it isn't always about new money, right? It isn't always about new money. And I see it all the time. I see it all the time in my magazine, sometimes, too. When people write for my magazine, sometimes you're like, oh, yeah, that's great. They did it. And now you know, six months later, they're like, yeah, yeah, no, I write for the magazine. I'm like, wait a second. This is like you're writing for a magazine for a year, not just an issue. So what's the strategy, which is kind of why I give them all strategy just for that reason. But I see it in other things, too. And I feel like when we're talking about money, let's really quick talk about ROI, right? Roi is not always cash. I know, for me 100 times, the ROI in money is ROI and opportunities, right, you know, opportunities really where it is. But like you're saying, if you're not looking at the data, of where you are getting those clients or having that money come in? How do you know where to double down? Like you said, and do it more? And where are the opportunities in that? Like, what are the opportunities of the thing you're already doing? So if you just spend more time, more energy and more the resources doing that, instead of always going, I'm going yeah, I'm doing that. Now. Let me go see what new thing I should do and what new thing, right?

Yeah, and it's time consuming, too. So for me, the ROI is time, but also like your audience, the return, when you are doing more of what's already working, your audience is not getting confused, either. Because every time you turn around, every time you switch something, every time you're trying something new, your audience has to catch up. And we all know we've seen this, you know, this stat before it like takes 15 to 12 to 15 exposures, well, if by exposure, eight, you've moved on to something else, again, right there, you've lost money, you are losing opportunity, because now your audience has moved on, like, oh, shoot, she must not be doing that anymore, even though you may still be offering that service or doing that thing. But you've completely switched gears, and now your audience just is going to assume that's just their natural is just to assume like, Oh, she must not be doing that anymore. When most of the time, that's not the case. And so looking at where also are you spending time if you have a process that is like a well oiled machine, and it works. And you know, if you bring people in through this process, and they're gonna go work, bang, bang, bang, 123 through all the steps, and it's pretty well automated to a point where you don't have to spend a lot of time on the client acquisition side, that's money to that's money back in your business. If you're not spending money on client acquisition, and your time included, any marketing effort, any sales effort, anything that you're doing, if you're having to spend time to do it that's costing, right, that's great, that's costing your company money, versus just bringing people through a process that already works. That already works that you've got figured out. Like, if you can make that so much easier for the client to just know, like, Okay, here's step one, step two, step three, that's gonna save you a massive amount of time, create a bigger ROI, and bring more income into your business.

Absolutely. I think a lot of times we forget that automation is good, it's our friend. But the reason that it's our friend, so that we can spend more time building relationships and spending time with people, people hire people work with people, people buy from people, not from the automation, the automation is your friend just like AI is right now. It is just an assistant is just something that's supposed to help you not be you. Right, you know, so I think that is kind of really important. And I have to say, early on in my business. I think I even made that mistake myself for a little while. I got to where Oh, I automated everything. And I was doing a lot of things. And I had to look at my numbers I looked at remember, like, what's not working for me right now what I'm not doing anything different. And I realized I was what I was doing differently was I was stopped having coffee. I was stopping having coffee with people. I was still doing it, but not like I was doing it. And I had to say, wait a second party. That's how you built your business. I built my business that way. And then I started automating things and so that they could get that information another way. And I realized that no, there are things that work. And if you find your tribe, and your people love you, it's you not your automation. I mean, I'm in the marketing business, right? Look at the business urine, there's a million people who do what we do. But what makes us different is because they want to be with us, which means we need to spend our time with them and automate the things that we don't have to do which saves us money and time so we can do the things we love with them. And the things we love when we're not working. What you have

Oh, yeah, absolutely, I made the similar mistake in my business to have like feeling like, oh, let me try this, or I think I should do this and automating all of these processes and looking at, again, the data that said, Michelle, all of your best clients, and everything that you've done has come from having conversations, right? Like having those conversations doing the coffee chats, but yet now you've completely cut those out. And you're trying to do all these other things and look at where that's getting you Right? Like, it's just not and also to, for me, it's been in offers. And I think that's the other thing is like when you have an offer that works, and then changing it up, because it's like, oh, we get a new inspiration. And you know, why this offer worked. I mean, it worked, and it was selling and people loved it, people knew what they were getting, and then switching it up and changing everything. And it just really understanding that it doesn't necessarily need change all the time. It's evolution, right? Like as you grow, and as you evolve, you can evolve with it, but looking at and understanding, okay, here's what the facts are telling me. And I think to removing the emotion from it, this is just, there's always emotion inside of our business. But at the end of the day, the facts are the facts. And sometimes we have to just look at things to say, even though I really really love this, if it's not working. That's just the fact of the matter. And so that's okay, or to say, I absolutely hate this, but it's working, and then trying to figure out what you can do different and understanding it just kind of removing the emotion a little bit from some of that and looking at it from a more just straight information place. You know,

I think that's so true. I think that's kind of why really, everybody has coaches, right? That's why we have a coach, because sometimes they need to hold that space for us, because we don't see it, right? Because we might see it. You know, I always like to say math doesn't lie. Right? You know, math doesn't lie. However, it isn't always just about the numbers, right? You know, I remember thinking back, and realizing how many people have said to me, like, literally, if I had $1, for every time somebody said to me, you know, oh, Patti, I just want to do it cuz you're doing it like, you know, or oh, I don't really care what it cost Patty, like I'm in, right, you know, but then on the flip side of that you can spend a lot of time having coffee, and just hearing how brilliant you are. Nobody hires you. Right, you know, so there is a balance there. Oh, yeah, those things. And it's really like, What are you talking about in those conversations? And you're right, it is also about the offers. And I would say 100%? That what really made me realize that, and probably was one of the things that changed the trajectory of my business, for sure, is that the people that are in your tribe, your clients, they will tell you what the next thing is to do my event that I do in New York, I mean, literally, if not every year, every other year, like you know, it'd be great, Patti, it would be really great if you get this Oh, really tell me why. And like they tell you what the next thing is, you don't even have to be thinking about yourself, have conversations and ask them, they will tell you, Oh, if you love this, oh, I would love it if you would do this. Right. So I think that sometimes your offers can evolve. Like what you're saying, right? You need to look at them and say, okay, so they're working, but are you offering them the next step? Right, you know, because sales is service. And so I think that it is just so important to audit them. Like every year I audit everything I do, I audit my social media, I Audit My offers I all it, where I'm spending my time what communities I'm in, you know, every single thing that I'm doing and really looking at it, and that's not a negative. I think that is really a positive. Because if you're in places where you don't need to be anymore, then you're not serving the people who really are looking for you. Right, you know, so I think that is really important. So sometimes people put a negative on that. And I don't think it is a negative at all. I think it is really just looking at that. I know you and I have had some conversations about what that looks like. But I think it's all about the impact of a negative focus on someone's perception of business success. So, you know, let's kind of talk about that. What do you think about that?

In regards to being in less places?

Yes, I just think that doing less things being in less releases. You know, a couple years ago, I made a commitment to myself that I was going to be in less things but more involved in the things that I was in, but I think it's also when you're doing through programs or masterminds or you know, any of those type of things. I have found that sometimes I audit and I think oh my goodness, I spent this money on this and I really didn't have the time I did it at a time I didn't really have the time. It was kind of like to say that's like the gym phenomenon where you think that if you buy a gym membership, why am I not losing weight and getting you know, yeah, getting like more muscle because just buying this chimp membership doesn't really do you actually have to go to the gym you have to go so I think that some of those things, so when you're looking for those things when you're working with somebody, because I know you're really a strategist, I love the way you think, too. I love our conversations, how are you looking at that and discovering to how can they right? Discover the trends in the data that's in their business, so they know what to look at.

So I always try to start with what lights them up number one, which is because when something lights you up, or you something you feel really good at, or you really love to do it, there's always that side of it. Because when you love to do something, you're far more committed to it. And when you can commit to it, you create better consistency, and then you can get results, because almost every strategy will work with the right amount of commitment and consistency. So I always try to look at what exactly it is that lights them up. But then also looking back, and it's that reflection piece of looking at it and saying, okay, where have I spent my time? In the past week in the past two weeks in the past four weeks? Where have I spent all of my time? Okay, and then looking at where did where did all my revenue come in from? Like, looking at the revenue? Where's it coming in from? Is it repeat business? Is it coming in? From a networking group? I like I've won clients like, oh, this networking group, I got another referral, I got this networking, like her answer is always this networking group. I'm like, okay, then we need to be spending more time with this networking group. What other opportunities? Are there speaking opportunities? Can you do a guest presentation? Can you go visit some of the other chapters? Right? Like, if this group already loves you? Why are you not spending more time there? And so really looking at where your time is going, where are you spending it? And then where's the revenue coming in is number and then also to like, Where? Where are you meeting the right people? It's not necessarily about all the people, right? Where are you meeting? The right people? Are you? Do you have the right people in your, your pipeline? Do you have the right people in your network? Are you being surrounded by the right people? Like, are you showing up, I was in a community, I would say a good i, probably six months last year, and every week, I'd show up. And I'd be like, these are not my people. These are not my people like and I kept going and I'm like, maybe it'll change, maybe it'll change. If every single week you look at it. And it's still like, these are not your people, like they don't think the same, they don't view business the same. They don't then get out, right? Like, it doesn't matter that everybody else is doing wonderful in that community. If they're not your people, or if this strategy is not working for you, it does not matter if it's working for somebody else, because you cannot force a square peg into a round hole. If you don't like it, you're not enjoying it, and it's not getting you anywhere, and it's not moving your business forward. You got to get out, you got to leave it. This is like my year I said, I think we both we were talking about this after pod fest is like, this is the year I say yes to less. And I think we need to really adapt that. Like before you say yes, look at it, do I have the time? Is this the right? fit for me? And can I go all in. And if you can't, and you can't put the effort in to actually get the information out of it to figure out whether or not it's worthwhile, but you cannot join something, or go, you know, be on all the platforms, and then say, well, social media doesn't work? Well, if you're showing up and posting and ghosting on every single platform. No, you're right, it's never gonna work. So that's not accurate information to I also think looking at the effort put in to any strategy is a huge factor in whether or not it's working or not working.

input equals output always right. Yeah. Also when you're thinking about time, so I agree with you 100%. But what I've also found for myself and you with time are two things. One, when am I putting in the time, like I have found for me, I get up early in the morning. Not everybody does. I know. But I do. I'm part of the 5am Club. But I also found that once on that there, the morning is when I am the most creative, right. And it's when I can generate the most revenue to. So I always do revenue generating things in that time. Nothing else. I don't book, you know, coffee calls at that time, even though I'm having coffee that time. And that was fun for me. But it wasn't revenue generating for me. I found that a little bit in the afternoon for me as I'm winding down. I get excited about having relationship building calls. I don't have to do it first thing in the morning. I like to do it in the afternoon when I'm sitting on the couch puppies are in my lap are also on Zoom, but whatever. But like I just get excited about that because I love it. So I have found that when I do things matters to me. And it's also reflected in the joy and feeding my soul as well as my bottom line. And then the other thing I've noticed too, is sometimes you're in something and you may think so this was the biggest thing about three years ago I realized it Then I was in like certain masterminds or group programs, whatever the case may be. And I just wasn't really happy in them. But it was being effective. Like it was effective. It just didn't make me happy. And when I looked at them, one of the things I realized is, while I was getting a lot of referrals from it, I was from the same two people. So the group itself wasn't really working for me, it didn't make me happy. And I could still have relationships with those same two people. And I didn't need to stay in the group. So I think sometimes we also need to look at the holistic whole part. And if you are getting revenue from it, or opportunities from it, look at where they're coming from to That's something I think that we need to track as well. Because it could just be from a handful of people, the same people, that is where you should be focusing on how can you build that relationship with those people, and you don't have to be in that same community? That was a huge eye opener for me. So do you see that with some of your clients? Do Who are you looking at that? Because I think that is something really

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. is looking, there's always, I think it's a small percentage. I mean, it's the 8020 rule, right? And with everything is like 20%. And so looking at who are the people, and that was the same thing I did with my one client with the affiliate is like she had probably 50 affiliates. But a good percentage of her sales were coming from two really strong affiliates that and so we really spent a lot more time nurturing them, giving them more information, we increase their affiliate percentage, why not? Because they were bringing in more and it was literally costing her nothing to do it. There was nothing on the back end that she was spending to acquire these clients. And so really looking at, how can you nurture the people that are truly the one supporting your business and doing a little bit more why maybe that's a better referral fee, maybe that's a higher affiliate percentage, maybe it's just creating a joint offer or something collaborative or doing even just joint lives going on each other's podcasts, doing swaps, there's so many things that are so low, low poll or low, you know, that you can really do that have such a massive impact. But we're always looking for big things, right? Like, Oh, I gotta host this big masterclass, or I've got to do this big thing, or I've got to create a whole new offer. And I got to create this whole new funnel, why there's so many little things in your business that you can do. And even like you say, like finding those two people like who are your two people? Who are your core clients that refer everybody to you? What can you do for them? Is there something more you can do for them? How can you even just reach out and nurture the people that are that have sent you somebody in the past, but maybe it's been six months? Well, maybe they're just busy, when's the last time you checked in with them, right, like continue to build all of those relationships? I personally, and I know you agree, like you can never building relationships will never be a waste of time, energy or resources in any way. Like no matter what it is, to me, the one strategy that works for everybody, there is nobody that can tell me that if you don't build the right relationships in your business, that your business is not going to benefit from it, your business, your life, everything is going to benefit from building those relationships. And I don't think a lot of people really put enough effort or time or onus into that is like, where are the relationships? Who are the people that are helping me to grow?

I think that relationships are the currency. Really, that is the currency in today's business environment, for sure. And so I always like to say if you think of your business, as an ATM, as it is, right, and you think of your business as an ATM, and you're building relationships, the question is, are you making more deposits or more withdrawals? Because you have to deposit first, just like with anything else, right? You totally got to put money in the bank before you can take it out of the bank. Right? So are you making more deposits? I think a lot of times people are thinking about, Oh, I'm going to do this. And then what's my return going to be like? What am I going to get out of it? And the fact of the matter really is what are you giving first, so I truly believe it always starts with contribution. And I know that whenever I'm thinking about doing anything, like anything, I want to know, first, where can I contribute? For a couple reasons. One, because it's kind of who I am at my core. And not only that, but if you can go into a group or a mastermind or Facebook group or whatever, and you contribute. Literally, you're going to stand out more than you're going in telling them that you have the latest, greatest new offer thing that they don't really know anything about you because you haven't built any relationships. So it's really always about serving first. But I think you learn a lot about people that way. So you really do build those relationships. And the fact of the matter is, it's not like you can have 150 Coffee dates a month, right? So no really need to have some criteria and you need to get really clear about who are the people but I think sometimes when you say it's like, even if you realize that, you know, here's 10 P But you seem to really, or maybe there's two people that you're like, wow, I really get a lot of business from them what really works really? Well. I think the question then is also like, what are the characteristics about that relationship that you have? That is working and find more of them? Right. And yeah, I find more of them. Right, you know, because it is working. And a lot of that is what you're what are you bringing to the table? And one of the things that you said that I really love is talking about assets and how easy it really is, like you said, podcast swabs, you know, Facebook groups, you know, what can you do, but you're contributing, because you're offering value before you're asking for anything in return. And I think one of the things that I really noticed this a lot isn't Facebook groups, right, you know, people in Facebook groups, and, you know, somebody asked that question, and then you know, 500, people are all like, pick me, pick me, I can help you, I can help you, I can help you, right. And it's like, you're there. And you don't see him any other time except for that. And I'm always thinking, When I join a group, and I'm looking at a group, one of the things I want to know is the person who's actually the host of the group, like, the host of the group is and wanting to build a relationship with that person, if it's appropriate, right? If it's appropriate in that group, as your people, because she's going to steer you or he is going to steer you to people that you need to know. So start thinking about showing up and saying, you know, how can I serve you and your group? And what can I contribute? is a lot better strategy than trolling through posts saying, Pick Me Pick Me, I can help you, when you agree. Oh,

yeah, yeah, it's such I mean, I, I can't believe that. People still do that. I do think I mean, there's a side of it that works when you have other people that refer you. But again, where it works is when you if you go through those posts, what I see is like when somebody's dropped somebody's name, and six other people go I second that I third that, like she's the best, right? Like, because you've gained and given value in that. And so, I personally, like Don't think that just dropping your name. I mean, we all know this, like dropping your name really does nothing like I have not seen where that converts, or again, like looking at the data for very, a lot. A lot of people, most people, I can't think of anybody that can say like, oh, well, I go into all these Facebook groups, and I dropped my name here and there or whatever. It's like that, that doesn't really work. And that's just such a time spent. And I think that, to me, is that when I talk about hidden money, for me, a lot of it is time, and I always look at like, where's your time spent? And how much time are you putting into it? I don't care if you know, you're making $10,000 If you're having to put in 100 hours to get that, then you're at the end of the day, you're not really making as much money, I would much rather make $1,000 and spend a one hour to do it or you know, looking at to your profitability, like where what offers and what efforts are you putting in, that don't require so much of your time, which actually increases your revenue. So, again, there's a lot of hidden money in there. When you look at where's your time best bet and and what's and then the client acquisition on the other end? No, I

think that client acquisition is a really big piece. So for those that are out there listening to us, and they're like, Wow, I've never really looked at that. So they obviously I'm going to say person choose to have coffee with me, yes, please and looked at what are some of the first things that they should look at. So let's kind of like say right here. So if they were thinking, wow, I hadn't really thought of that. And they were going to kind of do an audit, what would you say are the first three things that they should look at?

First three things is look at your past 5-10 clients and ask yourself, Where did they come from? Number one, like go back? How did they find you? Where did they come from? Look for the trends and see if they all came from the same place. They all came from different places. So number one, that'll tell you where to spend your time. Number two is I would look at your offers and look at which ones you can execute, like a well oiled machine, where you're not having in how much time you're putting into each one. So if you have a high ticket offer, but it also requires a high amount of time, right? Like do a time audit. Many people don't have like, Oh, well I answered this question or I answered this question or I just talked to my clients whenever, right but go through and actually do a little bit of a time audit and see, I did this with a client and like by the time we did the math, she was like making $16 an hour on paper, it looked like she was making a lot of money. But at the end of the day, like this offer was literally bringing her in like $16 an hour. So do a time audit on your offers and figure out if your pricing is even in alignment for profitability. And then also I would look at your referrals your people like where one of your marketing efforts is working in the best I mean, obviously Patti, you're the expert marketing but I look at it more from a what's lighting me up and what is actually working right like I'm doing this like for me, Instagram does not light me up. And because it doesn't light me up. I give up on it within minutes, you know, I go really strong on it for five days and then I give up on it. Why? Why am I so hell bent that I have to be on Instagram when I know LinkedIn converts, right? Like, I know I like to enjoy, I can spend time on LinkedIn, I love to be in there. I love to engage. I love the community of people. But I feel like I need to be on Instagram like really looking at what are you doing in your business because you feel like you should be doing but you absolutely hate it and or you're not enjoying it, and it's literally getting you nothing.

Now, I so agree with that I am not a Instagram person, myself. Like I'm there. I'm there. But to be honest, it is one of the things that I automate. Right, you know, I automate that that's actually something really easy, mostly because when people come to me, they will say something about Instagram right now. They'll say stuff on Instagram, but I am a diehard LinkedIn to it is really where my people are, it is where they come from. It is a conversation is richer, but I think it is important because you're right, when you're thinking about that time, definitely social media is that I people say to me all the time. So Patti, what social media platforms should you be on? Now? Like? Well, I don't know, let's look at your business. Because you should be on the social media platforms that your ideal client is. That's where usually me, right, you know, not where it's fun for you like, I mean, how many people you think really do social media at this point? Because Oh, it's just so much fun. I love spending my day on social media. Right, you know, right, exactly. I think that is kind of not where it is. And we don't really need to see your dinner pictures and stuff like that. But I think that it is important to look at those things. And then again, like for me, everything is about what brings me joy and feeds my soul. Because if it brings me joy and feeds my soul, I'll do it.

Exactly, exactly. Instantly. i You stay committed to it. That's exactly it. Like if you don't want to if you can't stay consistent with it. It's not gonna work.

Absolutely. So I think we've talked about a lot of things here. And I hope we really open people's eyes to realize that, wow, I'm not looking at the right things when I'm making my decision, right, which could really help you. And sometimes you can do it yourself. And most of the time, it really helps to have somebody else look at it for you. Because, you know, sometimes we just love our own stuff. And we just, you know, we're so committed, are so committed. Right? You know, and I think there's like some people say about, you know, you don't need to stay with something just because you took so long making that decision, right? You know, so I think that it is important. And I know for me, I really love looking at data and behaviors to write both of those things kind of go together. But I think it is really important. But what I would love to say is let's talk a little bit about your gift. I love your gift. I love that a lot as a matter of fact. And I think that your gift that your goal that you brought for everybody to share, literally is a way that you're practicing what you're preaching, because the way that you're doing your gift also takes less time and energy and snuff to write you know, so I feel like this is like the perfect example of what we've been talking about. So let's kind of share a little bit about that.

About the Sunday morning brew, right? Yeah, yeah. I was like, Wait a second. Yeah. Let me just double check. No, yeah. So this Sunday morning, brew one of is my weekly newsletter, and I call it the brew crew. And it's my community of people where I really just go all in. And one of the things that I did this year is added a actionable resource every single week. So it's 52 weeks of actionable resources. I don't know how long I'll keep going. I mean, hopefully I can keep going years and years and years, just keep adding resources is my goal. But in all honesty, one of the things that I realized, like Penny was saying is that I do not enjoy creating lead magnets, I do not enjoy having to launch lead magnets and create all of the things around a lead magnet that makes them so popular and I love and I, they work and I get that. But my thought was I love connecting. I love connecting with my people and giving value. And so how can I combine the two of them. And so I combined the two of them inside the Sunday morning brew. And so I email everybody on Sundays at 6am. It goes out it's got multiple sections in it with just random, always just something personal as well as a business and there's a resource in every single issue. So anytime you sign up, you get access to all of the entire resource library. They're dated by week or an order by week and so yeah, I just decided that that was what I was going to do this year for a lead magnet is just create one and combine the two and I loved it.

I love it because I love all the things that you put in it like private podcast episodes, and then the ebooks and the power pack PDFs, but you're right there Because I get excited about the lead magnet as they're called, which really I just call them like value books, right? Really, like we're doing something giving something of value. But the fact of the matter is that parks the fun part, the funnel, part of all the things you have to do, and stuff is the part that is also time consuming. Right? You know, I love the idea, I actually have evolved that I do something similar to that, but I really love this. But you know why I love it for you. Because this kind of goes to who you are as a person. And the things that work for us, I believe really are the things that have to do with who we are as a person to write. But in all the time that I've known you, I think I even sent you ever had one said said it was Sunday Funday. Right, you know, isn't a fun day for you. And you know, I always enjoy when you're always sharing usually has to do with water, right? You know, when you're there floating on your raft, or you're on the beach or whatever. But these are the things that you enjoy that make Sunday Funday. So I have to tell you having this Sunday brew, morning brew is kind of cool, right? Because it kind of goes with the with who you are. So yeah, we get up we have coffee, just like the Sunday newspaper came back in the day for those that remember that. Yeah, it was right, you know, but getting nasty. Now it's Sunday Funday. So I feel like it is totally aligned with who you are, as a person. And those are the things that really work people want to know you as a person to while you're doing value. So yes, you drop it on him and six in the morning, and they're reading and by the time they're starting to worry about implementing it, there you are having Sunday Funday. And I'm glad they can book that coffee with you for the during the week. So we totally aligns with how you show up and serve. So I really, really love that. So thank you so much. I'm excited to be a part of that and to have. So one of the ways we love to wrap our marketing media money is, you know, you shared so much value, and I appreciate that. So thank you so much. But if you are gonna go narrow it down to what would you say, with all of that you share? What is the number one marketing medium and strategy?

To invest into communities paid, they don't have to be paid, they could be free. But if you're going to go into a community, have any sort of group, a networking group, a mastermind, whatever it is a circle, but go all in, be active, you do not need to be in all the communities, pick a few communities and go all in and connect with as many members as possible. Don't just wait for the events like go be active, reach out to them, Hey, we're in the same group, I love to get to know you. There's so few people that take the time to go through the member directory and actually reach out to the members personally, that is really going to make you stand out you're going to build and have some of the best calls and relationships. And it's just going to make that community that much more special for you and also allow you to really benefit from it both you to benefit and the members to benefit from it.

Oh, thank you. I agree with you. 100%. One of the things that I did this year in the communities is I realized that one of the communities that I get the most out of that I love the people. I live in Dallas, and it's in California, right? So all of the events, they kind of have tended to be in that time zone. And I realized, huh, so what I did is I just told myself, I'm going to actively look for a community that is on the east coast. Right. So this way, I have a community on both coasts. So that way it kind of works in my timeframe. And I have to tell you, that was kind of the biggest thing that I did this year that has really worked for me is really having one on both sides of the coast since I'm in the middle. And I have really enjoyed being able to do that. I think that's one of the places we reconnected. We reconnected. Yeah. Yeah. And I heard too, so thank you so much for being here with me today. Michelle, I know it's kind of morning.

I know it's a it's a pleasure. I appreciate you having me on here.

Okay, so thank you so much. And to my audience, thank you so much for being here. I love that you show up week after week after week. It's so important to me that we can provide value for you. And if you enjoy today's episode, and I am sure that you did please like subscribe and review the podcast on your favorite listening platform. And make sure to check out the marketing media and Money Magazine as well. You can get your free subscription there by going to M three magazine.com. We will see you again next week. But before we go, we want to make sure that you connect with Michelle. So Michelle, what is the best way for everyone to connect with you?

They can connect with me on LinkedIn or they can connect with me through the Sunday morning group Sunday morning Boudicca

there we go and your website's on what your website is case they want to check it out because it is awesome.

Michelledenioconsulting.com

Perfect. So thank you so much Michelle for being here thank you to my audience we'll see you again next week