[SAM CARVALHO] Welcome to the Marketing a Practice podcast with me, Sam Carvalho, where you’ll discover everything you need to know about marketing and branding your business. To find out more about how I can help you brand new business visit www.practiceofthepractice.com/branding. If you’d like to see some examples of my design work, be sure to follow me on Instagram at Samantha Carvalho Design. As a profit coach and money making business strategist, Sam Varner specializes in supporting six-figures, service-based business owners to make profit a priority by implementing her proprietary CRUSH formula. Sam is here to share about profit, business success and the drive women have inside that is ready to explode. Sam has 14 plus years in PR and marketing, finance strategy, as well as business development and credits much of a business passion to watching her father in his construction business growing up. Hi Sam, thanks so much for being here. [SAMANTHA VARNER] Hey, how are you doing? I’m happy to be here. [SAM] Doing well, thanks, and you? [SAMANTHA] So far so good, so far so good. [SAM] Awesome. So Sam, can you share with us a bit about your story and how you got to where you are now? [SAMANTHA] Absolutely. I always, it’s always like where do I start? I am Canadian and I was working in a corporate job back in the day and my husband got a job opportunity to move to Australia. At that point in Calgary, I was working in finance, I was helping business owners grow their business, doing estate planning and that sort of thing and we ended up heading to Australia. He’s an oil and gas, so that was where we were headed, I got to Australia and at that point I had two really little kids and I was going to be having our third son at that point. We found out as we got on the plane to go to Australia so you can imagine the chaos of moving to a new country with no family support and another baby on the way. But got to Australia and thought, okay, I plan on going back to work so I’ll requalify and do all the things. Did all of that and then found out we were moving to Houston, Texas and thought, okay — [SAM] Oh my goodness [SAMANTHA] So my Canadian and Australian qualifications are not relevant here in the States and so I thought, okay, well I’ve got to do something different. So I started money coaching. I started just talking with individual people about their budgets and their finances and that sort of thing, helping them work through that and what ended up happening is everybody that came to me had a business and so I thought, okay, it’s a lot more fun to just make more money in your business than it is to skimp and save and like manage what’s happening on the personal side if possible. From there, that’s where the profit coaching was born, was a little bit out of my client’s needs and also a little bit out of necessity for me, knowing I did not want to go back to the point of requalifying and then ending up in some other country where I couldn’t use said qualifications. That’s how I got into this. [SAM] Crazy. Have you moved since then, again? [SAMANTHA] No, amusingly enough. We are coming up on, my youngest is about to be nine, so that means we’re almost nine years here in Texas now. [SAM] Okay, goodness. That gives like a new meaning to the word adaptable. [SAMANTHA] Yes, yes it does. [SAM] Sam, we mentioned in the bio that you have a proprietary CRUSH formula that you’ve developed over the years. Can you share with us what that entails? [SAMANTHA] Absolutely. What it entails is what I feel are the five critical pieces to a business being successful and being profitable. The reason I had come up with it was that I wanted a framework for my clients to understand how they can build their business more successfully but I also wanted something that it didn’t matter at what stage of business you’re at. Coming back and reassessing this formula is really critical and helps no matter whether you’re at the very beginning, whether you’re midway or whether you’re at the point of like big scaling, it’s all relevant in order for you to be successful. So that was its original creation. Since then I have loved it. I feel like it is fun to see where clients come into the CRUSH formula because everybody’s a little bit different with what they already know and what they need to know. So it’s been a lot of fun but we can go through the five sections if you’d like. [SAM] I would like that [SAMANTHA] Okay, so we’ll start with the C. The C for me is obviously, the core. It is your mission, your vision, your values, your why. Because what I’ve noticed is a lot of business owners will start out skimming over that part, skimming over the why am I doing this? Well because I have this education and because I need a job and because I’m creating a business out of it. What happens is that’s hard to leave as like a pillar when things are getting hard, when it’s getting challenging, when clients aren’t coming as quickly as you want, when you’re just not knowing how to build the next step. You really need to have a very strong, what am I doing this for beyond just, I need a job and I made myself a job, which is exceptional in and of itself, but making sure that you understand what’s the core of my business? Then the value piece comes from what are my personal values that I want to exist within the confines of my company? Your company right now might just be you. It might be you doing all of the things, but eventually there’s a potential for more team members and knowing what your values are and how we treat our clients, how we make sure our programs work to support our clients, how we decide the ways that we interact with people. All of that is super valuable to have ironed out at the beginning. [SAM] I think exactly like you say, I think it’s so important to do that in the beginning and I agree, get into the habit of living that out when it, even when it’s just you, like you said, because then, you’re already in it and anybody you bring on board automatically falls into that pattern of doing things. Then it’s not necessarily something that you’ll have to revisit down the line. It’s just you can build on that. [SAMANTHA] Yes, you can just remind yourself of it, reassess it when you’re setting out standards of operation for your business. It just becomes part and parcel with how you create that internal utility type piece in your business. So, yes, it’s a lot of fun. It’s very interesting to see because people’s motivations for their business is always far beyond just because I need a job. It’s important to tap into that for all of us. The second piece of the CRUSH formula is the R, so then we’re moving into the revenue and this is the part where it can get a little dicey. There’s a lot of business owners out there in the world that just are nervous around the numbers, are uncomfortable with managing the numbers, just aren’t even familiar with how to assess the numbers and then decide what decisions can be made from there. That is a huge part of what I do with my clientele is help them understand the numbers, get really comfortable, and then be able to use them from a place of data that they can use to, am I big enough to grow? Am I ready to outsource? Do I need a bigger space? Have I outgrown my actual location? How do I make decisions around equipment or things like that? All of that is really critical and feeling comfortable there goes a long way. [SAM] So is that something, because it means straight away, I’m not a numbers person at all and so that would definitely be something that I’d want to like outsource. Obviously, even if people are outsourcing it and they’re not necessarily managing it themselves, then I’m assuming you just, just are helping them to figure out what to look at and what to be aware of and things like that. [SAMANTHA] Absolutely, yes. And I think there’s a place always for having, if you are not a numbers person or honestly when you get to a certain point of busyness, if that’s not your skillset, then you probably shouldn’t be the bookkeeping and that sort of thing or the taxes in particular. But I do think there is a real responsibility to understanding and knowing your numbers and always keeping your hands in that pie from a knowledge standpoint. Because I remember, I don’t even know how long ago, this was a long, long time ago, it was some conversation I heard that Oprah was saying, she always still writes the checks in her business that she’s never getting to the point where she’s completely relinquishing that financial awareness in her business no matter how big it gets. Because it just leads to problems where you don’t know what’s happening or things can be happening that you’re not aware of or just not happy with what the decisions are. I do think having that comfort level makes it easier to keep your eyeballs on it because you know what you’re looking at and you can feel confident in that way. [SAM] That’s some good advice. [BRIGHTER VISION] How would you like to fall into cash this month? Every year my friends over at Brighter Vision kick off the fall season with a month long digital conference event they call Fall Into Cash. For the entire month of September, they’ll be teaming up with the top brands, consultants and coaches in the mental health industry to provide you with the best advice, tools, content, podcasts and giveaways, all centered around one main theme, helping you grow your practice and make more money. Plus, in celebration of the fifth anniversary of Fall into Cash, they’re also offering a very special discount exclusively for Practice of the Practice listeners. From now until the end of the month, they’re offering new websites for only $49 per month for your whole first year, plus no setup fees. That’s a savings of over $200. For more information and to take advantage of this great offer, head on over to brightervision.com/joe. That’s brightervision.com/joe [SAM CARVALHO] What does the U stand for? [SAMANTHA] Oh, U is utility. I always think that it’s either automation or delegation. So it’s the part of your business where you, in order to scale bigger than a one person band, you need to create some delegation to people or automation. It can be a combination of both. Often at the very beginning, you don’t necessarily need a team of people. You might have external contractors that are doing pieces for you, but a lot of time it’s just understanding how do you want to create your business? How do you want to automate for things like marketing for things like social media, even getting around to doing batch creation of stuff rather than every day coming up with a post if that’s what you’re doing or all of those pieces where you can just put them in a cycle where it makes it easy, makes it streamlined, and then eventually makes it easy to hand off to somebody who is that expertise in your group. [SAM] I feel like nowadays, I mean more and more there’s so many apps coming out and it’s just so easy to be able to do this so it’s almost like why wouldn’t you be doing it? [SAMANTHA] Absolutely. And I think what happens is business owners, because there are so many apps and so many choices, it’s trying to determine, okay, I need to make a decision. A lot of the times I’m never saying to a client, this is the solution for you. What I am saying is, hey, we’re going to make a decision and then we’re going to stop looking because there’s always 50,000 other choices out there and we get distracted and think, oh, maybe I should have chosen that one or this one and we don’t ever get very proficient with the tools that we have. So there’s also sometimes a simplification in that area of making your life easier is the name of the game really. [SAM] That’s very true. Okay, so we’ve got core, revenue, utility, what is the S? [SAMANTHA] Ooh, the next part, this is my favorite. This is the sales piece. This is the part where it’s the rubber hits the road. You’re either making sales in your business and having a business or you have an expensive hobby. So it is really learning both how to promote yourself and get visible to your audience, being very clear in your messaging, very, very confident in your ability to talk about what you sell, explain what the success is from what you’re doing, create for people, comfort and understanding of what they’re getting when they work with you and then of course closing the deal. So getting it to beyond a conversation, to actually closing a sale and creating revenue for your business. So it’s all of that piece. [SAM] I think the audience could definitely gain, I mean that’s something that I think a lot of the audience struggles with because especially when it comes down to counseling, it’s obviously a very personal thing and a lot of the Soto practitioners are essentially selling themselves, so can be quite vulnerable. So I think that’s great that you help with that because I do think that that’s something that, like you said, now gaining confidence in that is definitely an area where the audience might need some tips. [SAMANTHA] One of the biggest tips I can think of for anybody who’s feeling some hesitation around the sales piece or just insecurity around how to do it best, the first thing I always suggest is go back and reflect on all the things that you have done that have worked. Go back and go, when I talk to this person, what made that a smooth conversation? What made them sign on with me? How did they, how did I talk to them in a way that connected with them immediately? All of those things, that evaluation of all of those conversations, be it good or bad, gives you some insight as to where is that sticky place where I get uncomfortable and they feel it, especially when we’re talking about therapists, they’re going to feel it probably more than even the average population. They’re going to notice that change in dynamic for the person that they’re talking to, so really going back and evaluating how and where they’re getting tripped up and then getting help in that area. There is nothing I can encourage more strongly is if sales is hard, it doesn’t have to be. It also doesn’t have to feel slimy or pushy or any of those aggressive words we key with sales. I look at it and think it is providing a service that your clientele desperately needs and you know that and you’re going to help them feel better, be better, perform better, exist better and standing from that place in those conversations doesn’t feel like it’s a sleazy sales conversation. It feels like really a provision of service and so that helps sometimes. [SAM] That’s great. What is the last one, the H? [SAMANTHA] Okay, so the last one is Headspace, so making sure that your brain is supporting each piece of your business. As we all have started to learn or have deeply learned, that mindset is critical to basically everything that we’re doing, it is important to have that be almost the umbrella with the CRUSH formula. So it’s over top of each one of those pieces. There are 10,000 strategies and tactics you can do to build a business and honestly, most of them work. If you do them well and you do them for long enough and give them an opportunity to actually get some traction, they’ll work. But it’s so often more you are tripping yourself up as a business owner if you are feeling unsure or you’re feeling not confident or you’re feeling like you don’t understand how to do this part of your business. That’s what’s causing the bigger problem, rather than an inability to understand social media or marketing or any of the other pieces that are required. [SAM] So thank you so much for breaking down CRUSH for us and for anyone who’s on the move we will have all of that included in the show notes. But to continue with what you were speaking about now, why would you say that numbers and shame go hand in hand for women entrepreneurs? [SAMANTHA] Yes, I think there is, I think there’s a whole lot of society stuff that comes into that, but I think there’s just that, at least I know it was for me. So growing up math was not my strong suit by any stretch. I was at the kitchen table doing homework for a really long time, trying to figure out multiplication tables and things. That I think your clients are going to be able to like, analyze all of this deep seated trauma for math but it was deep right, that belief that I wasn’t good at it, belief that I couldn’t understand it. And I see that time and time again with my clients where either they have always been told that, or have always felt that they’re not good at math and therefore they can’t be good at the financial management side of things or the example that they had or still live with is that they’re not personally managing their finances. So either they have opted out and defaulted to a partner that is doing it or they’ve just literally opted out and nobody’s really doing it. I’m seeing that more and more where it’s not necessarily a gender split, but instead it’s just nobody’s really comfortable so it just isn’t getting dealt with at all. It’s scary. It’s scary because knowing your finances makes you super strong. It makes you capable of making decisions and being very grounded in those decisions whereas if you don’t know where the money’s coming from or what amount of work it’s going to require to hit a certain goal, you’re very much flying blind. That can be very, very intimidating. So I think all of that wrapped up causes a lot of shame because then people are looking at, comes time to do taxes and there is a lot of frustration and a lot of shame around the fact that why can’t I do this? Why don’t I know how to do this? This can’t be that hard yet I’m struggling a lot. It’s a huge area, especially for women, less so for men, but my male clients aren’t doing much better in this department, to be honest, when they come to me. [SAM] Well, I think for people in the audience maybe feeling that that’s really great to hear that it’s a common thing and it’s not necessarily, you’re not alone in feeling that. [SAMANTHA] Not at all. [SAM] I mean, literally just 10 minutes ago I was like, I’m not a numbers person. I wouldn’t be able to match the finances. So I feel like I just proved that point. Last thing I wanted to touch on just before we wrap up is can you speak a bit into how profit coaching is different from business coaching? [SAMANTHA] I think when I first started calling myself a profit coach, a lot of it was just because I was coming from that financial side first. That was the location I was stemming from but I do think there’s a lot of business coaching out there that focuses on different parts of the business and I think if you’re looking for somebody who is really focused on the money, and that’s the area of gap you currently have in your business, a profit coach is going to be focused there more then somebody who is a business coach but might focus more on the marketing or on the social media or on the client acquisition side from like growing funnels, all those sorts of things. So I think when people are in the market and they’re thinking, I need a coach, I need help to grow my business from where it is currently, really assessing what coaching you need is the first step. And I think sometimes we just trip on whoever is first and foremost in our eyeballs essentially. But I want everybody to just say, what are the top two or the top three things I know I need in my business and seek out the coach that specializes in that, focuses in that. So if it’s finances, going with somebody that has a higher finance or a profit vision will help your business. That’s where I want to stand apart from that and just make sure people know that’s a specialty I have. That was why I wanted to differentiate between the two. [SAM] That’s awesome. Sam, if people wanted to get in touch with you, to talk about working with you, what is the best way for them to do that? [SAMANTHA] The best way for sure is to come and hang out on Instagram with me. It is @shecollective.biz. That’s the best place. Drop into my DMs, jJust send me a message and let’s have a conversation about whatever’s plaguing you. [SAM] Perfect. We’ll definitely have a link to your Instagram profile in the show notes as well. If every private practice owner in the world were listening right now, what would you want them to know? [SAMANTHA] Okay, I think I would want you to know that profitability is possible even when it feels like you have high overhead and a lot of stuff going on and you’re struggling with getting clients. If that’s where you are, it is possible to be profitable and have a simple business strategy and also be building a life where you’re thriving. All of those things can coexist and that should be really what you’re aiming for but know that it doesn’t have to be work more to make more. That’s not necessarily the way you need to do it. Most of the time that’s absolutely not what you need to do. So I just want them to know that making profit and increasing their personal wealth is possible with private practice. Keep going if you’re there and get help in the areas that you just feel like are the gap that you have. [SAM] Awesome. Well, thank you so much for all the value that you’ve provided and for being on the Marketing a Practice podcast. [SAMANTHA] You are so welcome. This was wonderful. [SAM] Thank you to Brighter Vision for sponsoring this episode. Remember that for the entire month of September, they’re offering new websites for only $49 per month for your whole first year plus no setup fees. That’s a savings of over $200. Be sure to head over to brightervision.com/joe to make use of this very special discount. Thanks for listening to the Marketing a Practice podcast. If you need help with branding your business, whether it be a new logo, rebrand, or you simply want some print flyer designed head on over to www.practiceofthepractice.com/branding. If you’d like to see some examples of my design work, be sure to follow me on Instagram at Samantha Carvalho Design. Finally, please subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on iTunes if you like what you’ve heard. Talk to you soon. Marketing a Practice podcast is part of the Practice of the Practice podcast network, a network of podcasts seeking to help you market and grow your business and yourself. To hear other podcasts like Beta Male Revolution, Empowered and Unapologetic, Imperfect Thriving, or Faith in Practice, go to practiceofthepractice.com/network. This podcast is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regards to the subject matter covered. It is given with the understanding that neither the host, the publisher, or the guests are rendering legal, accounting, clinical, or any other professional information. If you want a professional, you should find one.