Blaze
The go-to podcast for trailblazing entrepreneurs who believe in doing business (and life) DIFFERENTLY. Tired of hearing the same fluffy advice over and over again? We’re pulling back the curtain to give you an honest take on entrepreneurship. No BS, just real, practical strategies to fuel your growth — and remind you that wherever you are on your journey, you’re not in this alone. Join host Megan Smyth for weekly interviews, roundtable discussions, and solo soapbox episodes to help YOU blaze your own path and build a business that lights you up. Welcome to the new era of entrepreneurship. Welcome to the Blaze podcast!
Episodes
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
21. How Better Relationships Make You a Better Business Owner with Karina Daves
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Whether you’re single or in a relationship, whether you work with your loved ones or you just want to feel more supported and understood…we’ve got you covered in this episode.
Karina Daves is a relationship coach who teaches women how to enjoy more satisfying partnerships. Leveraging her experience as a former social worker and adjunct professor of women’s studies, she teaches women how to strategically evaluate their personal identity, values, and standards so that they can elevate their relationships and themselves.
Karina’s work has amassed more than 240,000 followers across her social media platforms, and her videos have reached close to 25 million people this month alone. And now she’s sharing her wisdom with you!
Don’t miss this episode!
Click play to learn:
How relationship tension could be holding you back from making more money
Real talk on what it’s like to be the breadwinner
What you need to know before hiring your husband (or friend or sister)
How to deal with family members who don’t understand what you do
Advice for combatting loneliness as an entrepreneur
How to be proactive about making time for the people that matter most
→ FULL SHOW NOTES
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→ FREE Conversion Crash Course
For online business owners who want more consistent, reliable sales, this free 2-week email series will help you land more clients and better serve your current ones!
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Enjoyed this episode? Leaving a 5-star review will only take a moment, but it means the world and helps us bring you more free content!
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Connect with Meg:
Visit the website
Say hi on Instagram
Join the Savour & Celebrate Newsletter
Copywriting and Consulting Services
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
“Know, like, trust is dead.”
Do I have your attention? Good, because today we’re tackling a much-neglected topic in the online business world: cold leads.
A lot of marketing advice (especially for women, let’s be real) is very warm lead-centric—it’s all about nurturing, providing value, and building relationships. And all of that is great! But it’s also time-consuming.
Wouldn’t it be easier if someone just stumbled onto your website and immediately signed up to work with you? Our guest today is going to show you how to make that possible.
Jasmine Haitalani is the founder of Highflier Powerhouse, an agency that specializes in creative direction, web design, and brand design to help her clients become industry leaders and make an additional $100k.
Click play to learn:
How to attract and convert leads through visual selling
Why Pinterest should NOT be your first brand-building step
Surprising places to find inspiration for your brand
Why you should prioritize cold leads > warm leads
The most important factor for building a powerhouse brand
Why transparency is so crucial in your sales process
How to ethically counter common time + price objections
→ FULL SHOW NOTES
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FREE Conversion Crash Course
For online business owners who want more consistent, reliable sales, this free 2-week email series will help you land more clients and better serve your current ones!
––––––––
Enjoyed this episode? Leaving a 5-star review will only take a moment, but it means the world and helps us bring you more free content!
––––––––
Connect with Meg:
Visit the website
Say hi on Instagram
Join the Savour & Celebrate Newsletter
Copywriting and Consulting Services
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
19. How to Create a Stand-Out Client Experience with Martine Cousineau Pouliot
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Want to book more premium clients this year? The easiest way to raise your rates and attract high-caliber clients is to focus on the EXPERIENCE you provide—not just the deliverables.
A streamlined client experience will help you land more repeat clients and referrals, but it will ALSO make your life x1000 easier because you’ll no longer need to spend 3+ hours creating each proposal from scratch (ask me how I know).
This week I’m joined by Martine Cousineau Pouliot, Owner of Streamlined By Martine. Martine is a Certified Dubsado Specialist & Client Experience Expert who helps designers, copywriters, and photographers gain more time and financial freedom with personalized systems coaching and Dubsado setups.
If you’re still running most of your business manually, this episode will help you save your precious time and energy—while also making a lasting impression on your clients.
Martine walks us through how to set up workflows tailored to the way YOU want to run your business, how to differentiate yourself through your client experience, and tips for getting started with systems when just the word “workflow” is enough to make you break out in a cold sweat.
→ FULL SHOW NOTES
Click play to learn:
The first step to automating your client experience
How to identify the bottlenecks that are costing you time and money
4 client workflows every business should have
How an elevated client experience can help you stand out in a crowded market
The biggest missed opportunity in client experience (implement this one thing for more repeat business and referrals!)
An easy, 2-minute tip to increase conversions on your proposal
Kick your gift giving up a notch: ideas for small touches that make a lasting impression
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Enjoyed this episode? Leaving a 5-star review will only take a moment, but it means the world and helps us bring you more free content!
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Connect with Meg:
Visit the website
Say hi on Instagram
Join the Savour & Celebrate Newsletter
Copywriting and Consulting Services
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Harriet Hadfield is the CEO and Founder of Freelance with Freedom. After 15+ years of working as a makeup artist for celebrities like Olivia Rodrigo, Naomi Watts, and Chelsea Handler, along with global brands like Burberry and Glossier, she was tired of the starving artist narrative and the common misconception that freelancing = sacrifice.
Harry has made it her mission to empower creative freelancers with the tools and strategies they need to step into the CEO role. She’s co-creator of the award-winning Full Coverage podcast which has over a million downloads and her YouTube channel, Harry Makes it Up, has over 4.5 million views.
And if that wasn’t enough…she also created a separate 6-figure online business during the pandemic in less than 7 months helping creative freelancers all over the world double their bookings and create life-changing opportunities. Collaboration over competition is at the forefront of Harry’s business and she believes wholeheartedly that there’s room for everyone to succeed.
In this episode, Harry shares her story of being diagnosed with OCD and Tourette’s at 23 years old, and how she went from being diagnosed medically unfit to work to major career success. Along the way, she broke plenty of rules, found her own way of doing things, and learned to work WITH her neurodivergent brain instead of against it.
Harry is living proof that your disability doesn’t define you…and that success comes when you stop listening to everyone else and embrace what feels good to you.
→ FULL SHOW NOTES
Click play to learn:
How to get out of the starving artist mentality
Making a name for yourself in your industry
How to balance your Inner Artist with your Inner CEO
Why you don’t need to be worried about competition (there are more clients now than ever)
How to find fulfillment by following your energy
The power of creating a Joy List
How to work WITH your neurodivergent brain to be a more successful CEO
Why we need to let go of the idea of the perfect routine
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Enjoyed this episode? Leaving a 5-star review will only take a moment, but it means the world and helps us bring you more free content!
––––––––
Connect with Meg:
Visit the website
Say hi on Instagram
Join the Savour & Celebrate Newsletter
Copywriting and Consulting Services
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Drop what you’re doing and listen to this episode!!
If I could make every business owner I know listen to one episode of the podcast, it would be this one. I don’t want to be dramatic but…it may literally change the course of your life.
BUT FIRST: If you haven’t listened to last week’s episode (How to Save $100k), go back and listen before you dive into today’s episode!
Last week we covered Business Finance 101 and this week we’re kicking things up a notch: we’re talking about how to build long-term wealth and generate passive income OUTSIDE of your business (no evergreen funnel required)!
Financial Coach Gina Knox breaks down how she made over $37,000 last year in passive income and you can too (and no, it doesn't involve buying real estate). We’re talking about building a wealth portfolio – aka diversifying your income through the stock market.
Tune in to learn:
The straight-up lies you’ve been told about the stock market
How to set up your investment account in <15 minutes step-by-step
The magic savings number you should hit before investing (hint: it’s less than you think)
Why investing = “buying a revenue stream”
How to turn $30,000 into $1 million without lifting a finger 💁🏻♀️
There is A LOT of information out there about investing and unfortunately, a lot of it is either inaccurate or inaccessible for the average entrepreneur (and don’t even get me started on how this info has been gatekept from marginalized communities).
That’s why today’s conversation about wealth-building is so important.
Gina walks you through what you ACTUALLY need to start investing, the biggest mistakes to avoid, and how to reframe your wealth-killing thoughts into wealth-building ones. And she does it all without the financial jargon, so it’s easy to understand even if you’re not entirely what a stock IS, let alone how to buy one.
This episode is for YOU no matter where you’re at on your wealth journey!
You’ll walk away knowing how to…
Confidently build your wealth portfolio from scratch
Conquer the hidden fear that’s holding you back from making more money
Create an exit strategy from your business to live a work-optional lifestyle
Reframe your wealth-killing thoughts into wealth-building ones
My guest Gina is the founder of Gina Knox Coaching, where she provides entrepreneurs with the skills they need to manage cash flow, save $100k, and build 7-figure wealth. As a Mexican woman who grew up hearing her dad talk about money, she quickly racked up debt as an adult and wanted to learn how to manage her money better.
Gina saved her first $100k by age 25 and in just 3 years, she’s helped her clients save over $6 million. She’s helped multiple entrepreneurs buy the home of their dreams, set up trust funds for their children, and build multi-million dollar portfolios that will create generational wealth for their themselves and their families.
→ FULL SHOW NOTES
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Enjoyed this episode? Leaving a 5-star review will only take a moment, but it means the world and helps us bring you more free content!
––––––––
Connect with Meg:
Visit the website
Say hi on Instagram
Join the Savour & Celebrate Newsletter
Copywriting and Consulting Services
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
16. How to Save $100k This Year (Even on Inconsistent Income) with Gina Knox
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
Welcome to the Business Finance 101 class you never got! Today we’re talking about everyone’s favourite subject: money! This conversion is jam-freaking-packed with everything you need to know about managing cash flow.
Financial Coach Gina Knox answers everyone’s burning money questions (How much do I pay myself? How do I manage low-revenue months? What about taxes?!!!) + a bunch more questions you didn’t even know you needed answers to.
The theme of today’s conversation: “OMG why doesn’t anyone tell you this stuff?”
Gina’s business cash flow system is so smart and super simple…and yet it runs contrary to EVERY piece of financial advice you’ve ever heard. If you could see my face when we were recording this, I was like the human version of the mind-blown emoji. 🤯
Everything she was saying, I wanted to immediately go back and write it down so I could implement it in my own business – that’s how good it was. Plus she has the best take on positive affirmations that I’ve ever heard.
Gina is the founder of Gina Knox Coaching, where she provides entrepreneurs with the skills they need to manage cash flow, save $100k, and build 7-figure wealth. As a Mexican woman who grew up hearing her dad talk about money, she quickly racked up debt as an adult and wanted to learn how to manage her money better.
Gina saved her first $100k by age 25 – and in just 3 years, she’s helped her clients save over $6 million. She’s helped multiple entrepreneurs buy the home of their dreams, set up trust funds for their children, and build multi-million dollar portfolios that will create generational wealth for their themselves and their families.
This episode is seriously going to blow your mind!!!
Click play to learn:
Why Gina left her cushy job at Quickbooks to become a coach
Why you should pay yourself the same salary every month, ESPECIALLY if your revenue fluctuates
How to figure out what to pay yourself (and give yourself a raise 💅🏻)
Why you’re probably OVERsaving for taxes
The simple, 30-minute/month waterfall cash system Gina uses to manage money in her $500k/year business (and that’s helped her clients save over $6 million)
How to calculate your “buffer number” for peace of mind
The sneaky ways our brains try to sabotage our financial decisions
How your money identity impacts your business spending
Why most affirmations don’t work and a better way to rewire your money mindset
→ FULL SHOW NOTES
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Enjoyed this episode? Leaving a 5-star review will only take a moment, but it means the world and helps us bring you more free content!
––––––––
Connect with Meg:
Visit the website
Say hi on Instagram
Join the Savour & Celebrate Newsletter
Copywriting and Consulting Services