Designing Growth

#58 - Accounting & Bookkeeping Mistakes Small Businesses Make and How to Avoid Them Ft. Katie Ferro

Motion.io — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Sam speaks with the owner & founder of Orderly Accounting, Katie Ferro. Katie explains how even though CPAs like herself are often adverse to entrepreneurship, the decision to launch her business was one of the best she's ever made. Later in the episode, Katie walks through accounting and bookkeeping mistakes small businesses frequently make and explains simple steps owners can take to avoid them.

#57 - Client Experience Tips for Wedding & Event Planners ft. Krista Olynyk

Motion.io — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 22:07:37 +0000

Sam speaks with Krista Olynyk. Krista's business, KJ & Co., helps wedding and event planners build better systems, streamline processes, and ultimately make more money without sacrificing their time with family and friends. Krista explains why client experience is such a crucial aspect of a successful wedding & event planning business and shares her tips for ways business owners can improve.

#56 - Building Your Business for Longevity ft. Auntee Rik

Motion.io — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 21:51:28 +0000

Sam Chlebowski speaks with systems strategist and entrepreneur Auntee Rik. Auntee Rik explains why entrepreneurs who seemingly stumble into overnight success often need the most help unlocking sustainable growth. Auntee also shares her tips for developing standard operating procedures and tech-based processes that will allow owners to build their businesses for longevity.

#55 - Building a Business That Solves a Hair on Fire Problem, Designing Your Tech Stack for Scale ft. Adriana Fierastrau

Motion.io — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 19:50:00 +0000

Sam speaks with business owner & consultant Adriana Fierastrau. Adriana shares how her path to entrepreneurship emerged from a desire to solve a problem she experienced firsthand and why following a similar solution-focused approach provides the perfect foundation for others interested in entrepreneurship. Later in the episode, Adriana provides tips for how small businesses can proactively design their tech stack and operational processes to empower their long-term growth and success.

#54 - Design Process Changes to Uplevel Your Business and Delight Your Clients ft. Samantha Mabe

Motion.io — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 21:24:50 +0000

Sam speaks with web designer and business owner Samantha Mabe. In the episode, Samantha shares how she transitioned her website design process with clients from taking three months to just one week. Samantha details the customer insights that led her to make this decision and how she's improved her onboarding process in ways that allow her to stick to a tighter timeframe without working 80 hours a week.

#53 - Generating More Referrals, Improving Your Onboarding, Setting Client Expectations

Motion.io — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 16:25:14 +0000

Client referrals can be a goldmine for service businesses. They're typically faster to close vs. clients who hear about you through other marketing channels and often easier to work with because they fit your ideal customer profile perfectly.

In this episode, Sam Chlebowski discusses what you can do to generate more referrals. Sam explains that because happier clients are twice as likely to refer others to you, it's essential to pay attention to your process of working with clients, and he shares tips for how you can do this by setting client expectations and improving your onboarding experience.

#52 - A Whole New Motion.io: Company & Product Update

Motion.io — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 02:03:59 +0000

Co-founder Sam Chlebowski provides an insider look at what's happened at Motion.io over the last two months. Sam explains what the team has learned since publicly launching Motion.io at the beginning of September, the powerful new features they've added to the product since then, and details some exciting internal company updates.

#51 - Create What You're Craving ft. Cait Potter

Motion.io — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 05:11:40 +0000

Sam speaks with Business Owner and Systems Strategist Cait Potter. Cait explains how her passion for implementing systems to eliminate busy work and automate repetitive tasks -- coupled with her drive to connect with other systems strategists -- provided the perfect launchpad for her business. Later in the episode, Cait shares the tools she has recently started using that have proved to be game-changing additions to her tech stack.

#50 - Measuring What Matters ft. Hayden Cashion & Essam Aboukoube

Motion.io — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 15:04:00 +0000

Sam speaks with Modern Marketing Co-founders Hayden Cashion and Essam Aboukoube. Together, they discuss how social media marketing has evolved over the past few years, how to get the most out of your social media & newsletter initiatives, and how to ensure you're tracking the correct metrics while using those metrics to implement the right changes to your marketing funnel.

#49 - Unlocking Business Growth Opportunities ft. Keegan LaMar

Motion.io — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 17:07:27 +0000

Sam speaks with the Co-founder of KAD Consulting and Owner of LaMar Coaching, Keegan LaMar. Sam and Keegan share their thoughts on what makes Colorado a hub for entrepreneurs, discuss the differences in how each generation approaches the intersection of work and life, and go into detail about why an abundance mindset can sometimes be the key to unlocking business growth opportunities and long-term success.

#48 - Beyond the Hype: Practical Ways Agencies Can Use Generative AI

Motion.io — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 14:57:56 +0000

With all hype around generative AI over the past year, sometimes it can feel like you're falling behind if you're not using it in every aspect of your business's day-to-day operations. In this episode, Motion.io Co-Founder Sam Chlebowski explains the ways he's using AI in his work at Motion.io, going into detail about where he thinks tools like ChatGPT really shine (and where they fall flat) to provide practical suggestions for ways agencies can use generative AI.

#47 - Answering the Internet's Most Common Agency Owner Questions

Motion.io — Thu, 10 Aug 2023 15:00:47 +0000

In episode 47 of Designing Growth, host Sam Chlebowski answers a few of the most common he's seen agency owners ask over the last six months in the various online communities and discussion boards he's a part of.

#46 - A Week in My Life as Co-founder, What I’ve Learned This Past Year

Motion.io — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 13:34:57 +0000

In a rare solo episode, podcast host Sam Chlebowski shares the behind-the-scenes details about what a week in his life as Co-Founder of Motion.io looks like. Sam explains why Motion.io's full product release last week was so exciting, the things he did to support the release, and the top lessons he's learned after one full year of working full-time on Motion.io.

#45 - Three Lessons Creative Agencies & Freelancers Can Learn From Tech Startups ft. Jake Hurwitz

Motion.io — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 15:37:35 +0000

Sam speaks with Creative Agency Founder and former classmate at the University of Colorado, Jake Hurwitz. Jake shares the story of how he came to start Thursday Labs, a Creative Agency specializing in the startup space, and together, Sam & Jake dig into 3 lessons that freelancers and creative agencies can learn from startups when it comes to growth.

Go Build It! s1e1: Meet the Business Owner, Tips for Consistently Generating New Clients

Motion.io — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 11:00:00 +0000

In episode 1 of Designing Growth's "Go Build It!" miniseries, Sam speaks to photographer, business owner, and friend Sean Greene. Sean explains his recent decision to jump into running his business full-time and Sam shares his tips for systems & processes Sean can implement to avoid cycles of boom & bust and consistently bring in new clients.

#43 - From Employee at Amazon to Scaling Multi-Million Dollar Businesses ft. Jordan Ross

Motion.io — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 15:09:15 +0000

Sam speaks with the Founder & CEO of 8-Figure Agency, Jordan Ross. Jordan shares the story of how he intentionally took a role at Amazon to gain the experience necessary for achieving his ultimate goal: running a multi-million dollar business of his own. In addition to Jordan telling the story of how went on to start 8 Figure Agency, Jordan and Sam discuss common roadblocks that prevent agencies from scaling, tips for improving your agency's onboarding process, and how to lead high-performing teams even when it's no longer possible for every new hire you to be an "A" player.

#42 - Why You Don’t Need a Huge Audience to Build a Successful Business ft. XayLi Barclay

Motion.io — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 14:53:00 +0000

Sam talks with the Founder & CEO of TDG Visual Solutions, XayLi Barclay. In the episode, XayLi explains why you don't need a huge audience to build a successful business by sharing the story of how her small but dedicated community on YouTube enabled her to pivot her fashion business to a visual content creation consulting agency that she has since scaled to five full-time employees.

Later in the episode, XayLi shares her experience immigrating from Trinidad to the United States at 18 and explains why she thinks all entrepreneurs need therapy.

#41 - If You're Not Having Fun, You're Not Taking It Seriously Enough ft. Chris Beall

Motion.io — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 17:16:08 +0000

Sam chats with Silicon Valley veteran and CEO of ConnectAndSell, Chris Beall. During the episode, Chris shares his stories of bumping elbows with some of tech's most famous entrepreneurs and explains why it's so important for founders to surround themselves with people who not only have their backs in tough times; but who also make the day-to-day work of building a business fun.

#40 - Building a 6-Figure Web Design Agency ft. Tristan Parker

Motion.io — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Sam talks with Entrepreneur & Web Designer Tristan Parker. Tristan tells the story of how after being let go from 2 different roles as an in-house designer, he decided to launch a web design agency that he has since grown to well over 6-figures in annual revenue. Tristan shares advice for anyone considering taking the leap from Freelancer to Web Design Agency Owner and explains why growing a Web Design Agency to 7- or 8-figures might not be all it's cracked up to be.

#39 - How to Grow Your Agency Without Burning Out ft. Marquis Murray

Motion.io — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Sam talks with Business Process Consultant, Entrepreneur, and Agency Founder Marquis Murray. Marquis shares the story of his business getting acquired in 2020 and provides tips for how Agency owners can go about developing the systems and processes necessary for a sustainable and scalable business.

#38 - Why Relationship Building is the Ultimate Sales Strategy ft. Christian Banach

Motion.io — Thu, 25 May 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Sam Chlebowski speaks with Customer Acquisition Expert Christian Banach. Christian explains why overlooking the importance of relationship building is the number one sales mistake businesses make and walks through a sales strategy that will enable you to build deeper connections with potential customers and predictably close bigger deals.

#37 - Why Your Business Should Double Down on Video Content ft. Latasha James

Motion.io — Thu, 18 May 2023 11:00:00 +0000

While most businesses in 2023 maintain an active presence on social media, and some are even producing short-form videos for platforms like TikTok and Instagram, there's one platform many brands are strangely absent on: YouTube.

In episode 37, podcast guest and founder of the video content marketing agency James & Park Latasha James explains why producing long-form videos for YouTube is one the best ways to supercharge your business's growth and provides tips for creating a winning video content marketing strategy.

#36 - AI-Powered Business Opportunities ft. Brett Malinowski

Motion.io — Thu, 11 May 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Futurist and Artificial Intelligence Expert Brett Malinowski talks with host Sam Chlebowski about AI, entrepreneurship, ChatGPT and more. Brett explains the biggest opportunities that exist for business owners to use AI right now and tells the story of how we went from a disillusioned college student to the owner of a successful media company and future technology implementation agency.

#35 - How to Build a Next-Level Client Onboarding Experience ft. Samantha Whisnant

Motion.io — Thu, 04 May 2023 14:00:03 +0000

Business Systems & Automation expert Samantha Whisnant shares her advice for building a next-level client onboarding experience and provides tips for creating a referral program that consistently generates new clients using automation.

#34 - Bootstrapping the Path to Four Successful Businesses ft. Payton Clark Smith

Motion.io — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Agency Owner, Entrepreneur, and SaaS Founder Payton Clark Smith joins Sam on the podcast. Payton shares his journey to owning four successful businesses, walks through the process of building his SaaS app, Semflow, and explains the invaluable life lessons that surviving cancer taught him.