For years, Hailey Dale had a guilty secret. She was telling her clients one thing about content (you can do less!), but not entirely practicing what she was preaching. She felt like a fraud, but also felt trapped by the endless content creation grind. 

Nearing burnout, she accepted a challenge to take an intentional month-long content creation hiatus, and used that time to promote older posts. That experience showed her a more effective approach to content—building an evergreen library of content.

It took guts, but this change has helped Hailey’s monthly revenue more than double. The “doing less to do more” approach has freed her up to focus on the highest-impact, revenue-generating activities. Even more than that, it’s given her more space to create higher-quality content when inspired and to put effort into collaborations and real-time marketing techniques. 

Now Hailey gets more done in less time, working 6 hours or less a day. Best of all, breaking up with the guilt over her content calendar had a profound effect on her mental health.

More nuggets in this episode:

• The fears around not sharing nonstop content feel real, but those worst fears usually don’t come true (4:08)
• An intentional month-long content hiatus sounds scary, but can be a game changer (5:19)
• Taking a break from content can help you get re-energized about creating content from a more meaningful space (7:45)
• The “forever funnel” method allows people to do more while doing less, meaning shift focus from constantly creating content to spending time on revenue-generating activities or just having better work-life balance (10:45)
• New mindset issues that crop up when you build a business that allows you to work less without making less (12:25)
• Stuck on the content hamster wheel? There are a few practical things you can do to relieve the stress right awy (17:08)

Hailey Dale, MA is a certified content strategist and founder of Your Content Empire, where she partners with small business owners who are over the shoulds and ready to build their content empires – their way. Through her programs, DIY content kits and award-winning, tell-all weekly blog, she’s helped thousands of entrepreneurs create smarter content on a consistent basis that delights them and their customers while growing their bottom lines.

Website | Instagram | Pinterest 

Resources:

• “Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run Itself” by Michael Michalowicz

• Amber McCue’s How to Clone Yourself course

• Lucky Bitch with Denise Duffield-Thomas

By age 10, Brittany Berger had been diagnosed with anxiety—and other diagnoses followed. For many years, she felt mental illness was a “flaw” that would keep her from ever pursuing the things she really wanted in life, including building her own business.

When she finally accepted her mental and chronic illnesses as part of her personality and body—instead of a fault—she was able to focus on ways to manage them instead of constantly suppressing them. 

She embraced new business models instead of trying to follow the frameworks built by people with different brain compositions than her, focused on marketing and productivity tactics that took her personal strengths and weaknesses into account, and pivoted her brand to embrace mental illness and incorporate mental health advocacy.

Once Brittany realized her mental illness was a superpower that could be leveraged instead of something to be ashamed of, everything got better.

More nuggets in this episode:

• Mental illness is the same as physical illness, and people with mental illness are the “normal ones” (2:23)
• Seeing a therapist who understood chronic and mental illness—and no longer feeling alone—changed everything (5:55)
• Committing to regular journaling led to incredible realizations that forever changed and improved her business (7:46)
• Energy management shifts how you organize your days to account for (instead of push through) limitations (9:13)
• “Tricking the brain” can help when comparisonitis kicks in…and so can a great quote from comedian Amy Poehler (13:17)
• Surrounding yourself with people with shared experiences can help you feel less alone (14:58)
• Talking openly about mental illness isn’t just complaining; it can make a real difference (17:15)

Brittany Berger is the founder of WorkBrighter.co, a digital media company that helps productive unicorns go beyond working smarter to a version of productivity that makes room for “unproductive” things like rest, self-care, and fun. She started Work Brighter after 5 years of working in high stress startups that prioritized hustle, growth, and scaling over self-care and mental health. Now that she’s changed her own mindset, she spends her time helping other high achievers define balance for themselves, advocating for mental health awareness, and dancing…always dancing.
Website | YouTube | Twitter | Instagram | Recommended Books

Resources:

“Quiet” by Susan Cain

“Rest” by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

“The Body is Not an Apology” by Sonya Renee Taylor

“Unfuck Your Brain” by Faith Harper

What is the Spoon Theory? from WebMD

In this short episode, Becky shares how to identify a bad client and 3 tips for how to fire them without burning a bridge.