Allowing your products to evolve with your energetic capacity and circumstances with Maggie Gentry

[00:00:00] Rene: Hey everyone. Welcome to Your First Digital Product, a show that helps maxed-out service providers create their first digital product so they can gain an additional income stream, grow their impact without increasing one-on-one work and experience more time freedom. On the show, I talk to business owners who have launched digital products and dig deep into how you can create, launch, and market your first digital product. I’m your host, Rene Morozowich. Let’s go.

[00:00:28] Hey everybody. Today I’m here with Maggie Gentry, and Maggie is a thought partner for high conscious entrepreneurs acting as a confidant and co-conspirator, gently guiding them towards their growth edges, pointing them back to their truth and redefining how they do business on their own terms. Hey Maggie, how are you?

[00:00:44] Maggie: Hey, I’m well. I’m grateful to be here.

[00:00:47] Rene: Yay, thank you so much for being here. I’m really excited. I know we have talked some times in the past, and why don’t you tell me just a little bit more about you.

[00:00:55] Maggie: Yeah. On the work front, my background is in marketing. So I started my business almost eight years ago.

[00:01:04] And it has seen, you know, a few different iterations since then. Mm-hmm. But largely what I focus on now is really supporting folks who are in the wellness space. A lot who are service-based entrepreneurs who have been in that one-on-one model. Coaches or consultants or therapists even.

[00:01:26] Mm-hmm. So we’re doing that kind of trading time for money type of business model and then exploring how to allow themselves to, I’m, I’m hesitating because it’s like scale is like the word mm-hmm that we wanna use, but it’s not quite it. It’s really working with them to decide how can we repurpose their expertise in a way where they don’t necessarily have to do that time for money exchange.

[00:01:53] And so mm-hmm. Coming up with, some sort of digital product or offering mm-hmm that allows them to share their [00:02:00] expertise in a new, fresh way. So a course or a group offering or something like that. So that’s a lot of what I do in my work world.

[00:02:08] Rene: Nice. When you find that people are, are they coming to you saying like, Hey, I want to stop trading time for money?

[00:02:16] Or are they coming to you just with kind of like a, a general dissatisfaction? Or, or is everything fine and they’re just looking to optimize? Like what kind of problems are they having, I guess, when mm-hmm. You see them initially?

[00:02:30] Maggie: Yeah. I mean, honestly it runs the gamut. I don’t know that anyone, I mean, I would say that that’s like my words as far as mm-hmm.

[00:02:36] Like how clients are finding me, but I think that that’s what I’ve been able to perceive as like the through line. Mm-hmm. Is that I do think that folks are coming and they’re burnt out and tired. Mm-hmm. But they might not be able to expressly articulate why. Mm-hmm. And so they are coming to me often with questions of like, something’s not quite right.

[00:02:58] Mm-hmm. I don’t really know what that might be. Sometimes they’ll have an inkling of what they feel like it might look like. So it really depends. It runs that gamut, but I feel like. And I still do work with some folks who are just starting out too. And so then it’s really supporting them and conceptualizing from the ground up, like what can this business look like?

[00:03:25] Right. Which is super fun.

[00:03:27] Rene: Yeah, I can imagine like that is very exciting. Like, ooh, let’s build systems and processes and you know, boundaries and Oh yeah. All that kind of good stuff from the beginning instead of like, I’m sure you know, as a lot of people work where you put that in your contract only after you’ve had that problem and so on.

[00:03:45] Like, oh, I need that in my contract. Yeah.

[00:03:48] Maggie: Yeah. It’s like learning or like setting the boundaries from hindsight.

[00:03:51] Rene: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Awesome. Okay, well I know that was a little bit of a, a sidebar there. I was just curious. So you have a digital product up now, but it’s not your [00:04:00] first product.

[00:04:00] So do you wanna tell us about the first product that you created and what it was and who it served? And it’s, it’s lifespan, I guess.

[00:04:08] Maggie: For sure. Yeah. So the very first digital product I created was, uh, a course actually, and it was called Own Your Why.

[00:04:18] And so the idea behind it was to serve the same, you know, high conscious entrepreneurs, the folks that I continue to serve now, but folks that were really wanting to delve into clarifying their brand messaging and really their purpose, and then building a marketing strategy around that. So it was a hybrid course, meaning there were live components, but there were also some modules and worksheets and things for them to do on their own. And there was a community component.

[00:04:52] We had a, a Slack channel for folks to connect and collaborate with one another. And I ran it once and you know, and it was fine. But I think what’s been interesting is I realized I have a hard time showing up for like this same thing all the time. I have a hard time working within a rigid schedule.

[00:05:20] And so for me showing up for like eight weeks at noon on Tuesdays or whatever the date and time was, I found that really challenging because there were some weeks it was just like, I don’t wanna show up. Right. And it, it almost felt a little disingenuous where it was like, I don’t feel like I have the capacity to hold space and be here for these folks, and yet there’s this obligation for me to do so.

[00:05:44] So I had a real reckoning with that. I mean, this was back in 2017, 2018. Okay. I, I felt a, a lot of feelings of failure and a lot of self-doubt and a lot of inner critic [00:06:00] things were coming up like, well, everyone else can hack it. Why can’t I? Or like, this is the thing that everyone’s saying that this is the way we should be doing it.

[00:06:08] Yes. Why can’t I? I did it once and I learned a lot from it, but also it was just like it wasn’t for me. Mm-hmm. And so actually the, the, Solo Business Retreat Planning Guide that I have up now is a fairly new offering that I just created earlier this year. And I think what I have discovered over the years is, you know, another value of mine is really wanting to create resources that can help as many people as possible. So accessibility and having some, you know, affordable offerings is really important. I think that that’s a conundrum that I feel a lot of peers, myself and even clients face of, okay, well we kind of have to charge a certain amount in order to support ourselves.

[00:07:00] Mm-hmm. And also knowing that even sometimes that price point can be really prohibitive. Mm-hmm. For others to be able to partake. So anyway, I was trying to really sit with how can I create something that meets that need or meets that value of mine of being at least affordable and accessible from a financial standpoint.

[00:07:24] And so that’s when I had this idea of, well, what if I could write a blog post or create a piece for me, it’s a blog post. So how can I create this piece of content and then create a small email sequence that leads into this paid offering that could be a low cost offering, and see if just putting that out into the world can kind of trickle a few sales in, and it’s not even really for me about getting a massive quantity of sales.

[00:07:50] It’s more just, oh, I’ve put some energy into this and I would love to have a little bit of an energetic exchange. Mm-hmm. So that was really the impetus behind [00:08:00] that guide that’s currently there. I know I just shared a lot, so I’ll pause.

[00:08:03] Rene: Yeah, no, it’s good. Yeah. I have questions.

[00:08:06] I wanna go back to the first product, but I do wanna come back ’cause I have questions about the current one too. So for the first product, like did you, did it have to be a hybrid? Like, did you consider just taking yourself out of the mix but still offering the things that you had already recorded?

[00:08:22] Or was it just not enough? Like why did you kind of stop it completely instead of morphing it, I guess, into something that worked a little bit better for you?

[00:08:31] Maggie: Mm-hmm. Yeah, great question. So I, I do know that for me, I also show up better live than doing, like I have a serious block around anything that’s video recorded.

[00:08:46] Mm-hmm. I’m okay doing audio recording, which also is funny, where it’s like, oh, I could record these modules as like audio instead of video. But I think I was getting caught up, and especially in that time I was running a really lean business ’cause I had just started out, so there wasn’t a whole lot of extra funding.

[00:09:04] Mm-hmm. And, you know, I didn’t feel like putting on the audio video like editor hat, I didn’t feel like learning that skillset and I didn’t have the funds to pay someone to do that for me. So that felt like a big constraint that for whatever reason, I just didn’t have. And it felt like it was ready to be released.

[00:09:27] It didn’t feel like I wanted to, double down on that. Mm-hmm. And so what I did instead is I transitioned it to being a day long intensive. So I had people that would come in and we would go through that entire curriculum in a day. And so I, yeah. And so I hosted it at my house. Wow. Wow. And I would, yeah, and I would cook, you know, so it was like this whole kind of beautiful experience that I attempted to curate.

[00:09:54] And I ran quite a few of those and it was really fun for a while it lasted. But. Yeah. [00:10:00] Anyway, so.

[00:10:01] Rene: That’s nice. I like that. So, that sounds like a nightmare to me, like having people come over to my house for the entire day. Yeah. And, that, uh, but I love that that works for you and I love that you tried a couple things to see.

[00:10:14] And also realize that about yourself. I think a lot of times we do that where, yeah, we should be doing X. Mm-hmm. And so we try to do X and either we can’t do it because we can’t quite get there, you know, so the whole like launch a course, you know, so many people out there have courses unfinished, they’re started but they just can’t quite get there.

[00:10:32] Or they do it and they’re like, you know what, I didn’t actually wanna do this. I don’t actually like this, I don’t like video, I don’t like, you know, whatever it is specifically. And you don’t have to do it that way. Like that’s kind of, yeah, I feel like I should change the name of this podcast to something like, you don’t have to do it that way.

[00:10:49] You can do it a different way. And finding that way that works for you, I think is so much more satisfying for you. And then for the people who are consuming your content and following you, because then it really resonates because you show up in a different way and they can get even more of, you mentioned energy exchange, like they get even more of that energy from you.

[00:11:10] So yeah, whatever that medium is, whatever that looks like, I think can be, you know, much, much better.

[00:11:16] Maggie: Yes, yes. 10000%. Yeah, that’s something that I think about a lot is, you know, how we’re working or the channel. Mm-hmm. Or, you know, the medium that we, that we choose. Mm-hmm. You know, just because people say like, whoever the, that person is.

[00:11:33] Yeah. Like they, if it’s like, okay, yeah, they.

[00:11:35] Rene: Who are they?

[00:11:36] Maggie: Right. So if it’s like, if blogging is a thing that they’re all about, but writing is really hard for you, then perhaps it’s like, well, what about podcasting? Mm-hmm. Like there. Mm-hmm. It seems like there’s always, you know, another workaround.

[00:11:49] So I am mm-hmm totally on board that train of like, What is the way that works best for you? Mm-hmm. Yes. Follow that.

[00:11:55] Rene: Yes. Yes. It’ll be easier for you to create. It’ll be easier for you to [00:12:00] Yes. Sell. I mean, and not that really, like we’re all about sales, like you mentioned, you know, wanting to just share more of yourself and more of the things that make you tick with other people.

[00:12:08] Mm-hmm. I think, you know, is really important. So, yeah. I don’t know if they, you know, I’m just kind of trying to think of who they are or the people who have sold, you know, 8 billion copies of whatever, at $10,000 a piece. You know, and we’re, we’re trying to, you know, make up a ton of money. I, I just, I don’t wanna make a ton of money.

[00:12:25] I’d like to make some money, you know, to keep the lights on and do some things, travel, not have to work all the time. But yeah, I don’t need to make a billion dollars.

[00:12:32] Maggie: Yeah. Well, and I think, I mean, maybe we’re getting off on a tangent here, so we can always come back, but, having supported clients in building their own programs and courses.

[00:12:41] Mm-hmm. It’s like a lot of times when they’re trying to retrofit what worked for them, so maybe they had this gangbuster, sales period or launch period, and they’re like, oh, I can teach this to whomever. And it’s like, well, but we have to also consider that there were a number of factors, a few, if not many of which were outside of their control.

[00:13:03] Like sometimes mm-hmm. There is. Mm-hmm. Luck or privilege. Mm-hmm. Just like, let’s name that.

[00:13:09] Rene: Timing things that are, you know, the algorithms, the sort of like, uh, Facebook, you know, was really popular, you know, whatever it is. Yes. The timing, they were just like, mm-hmm. Yes. The timing. Absolutely.

[00:13:20] Maggie: Yeah. And so I think it’s like, you know, then folks, I think that’s where a lot of this advice is coming from. It’s like, oh, you have to do this because that worked for them. Mm-hmm. But we’re forgetting all of the different factors, right, that contribute to making that thing the thing that worked for them.

[00:13:36] Mm-hmm. Exactly. So I think that’s what’s always the curious part about this is like, how can we find, what’s our thing, like we’re talking about right. Where’s your energy naturally being called?

[00:13:47] Rene: Yeah, and I think even with like specific life circumstances. If you’re caring for aging parents or you have three young kids at home under five, like obviously your strategy is going to be different from [00:14:00] someone you know, like myself say, who you know, does not have those things at this time.

[00:14:05] You have to kind of look at where you are also. It’s not always the right time to do certain things and, you know, what season of life are you in? Yes. There’s a lot of variables I think that, you know, we think like, oh, we should do X. Mm-hmm. Well, you know, there’s a little bit more to it.

[00:14:18] So, yeah, let’s dig in a little bit there and make sure that that’s really what you want to do and you know, really the way to go forward right now.

[00:14:25] Maggie: Yeah, a hundred percent.

[00:14:27] Rene: Yeah. I do wanna ask about the, the, the one that you have up now. Have you done any kind of like parity pricing?

[00:14:33] So kind of like pay what you can afford sort of thing, like any messaging around that where kind of acknowledging that, you know, if you maybe live in a certain place or you are able to pay more. You know, the suggested might be this versus something else. I’ve, I’ve run into some business owners who have done that and I always find it very interesting.

[00:14:55] And especially what people choose. So have you done anything like that or you just kind of wanna keep it low, just kind of across the board?

[00:15:01] Maggie: Yeah. How my business operates, like, I’ll, I’ll just put it all out there. And very transparently is, I mean, I work with a handful of clients at a time, and largely I’m doing done-for-you work.

[00:15:13] Mm-hmm. I have some coaching clients, but typically like how I’m paying the bills is through fewer higher cost mm-hmm engagements. Mm-hmm. Right. So, I just wanna be very clear about that. Like selling these planning guides, that’s not how, Yes. I make mm-hmm a majority of my income. So, but yes, like I do, I hadn’t heard the term parity pricing yet, so thanks for that new term.

[00:15:39] But yes, I mean, I, I love that. And so I’ve seen clients and supported them in finding new ways to do so. For me, it felt important just to have a singular price point for this. But I do have an offering that’s called, a shift session. And it’s a 60 minute session with [00:16:00] me. And it is pay what you’re able and Yeah.

[00:16:03] And so that way. Again, that kind of barrier to entry. I don’t want, you know, a, a high like price point to be the barrier for somebody who’s just starting out to be able to get some support. And I know how valuable that’s been for me, just to have someone mirror and reflect and ask questions to help me get to that point of clarity.

[00:16:27] Yes. So yeah, I intentionally chose not to do any sort of sliding scale for this particular offering, but that’s also because I have the shift sessions. Mm-hmm. Which are pay where you’re able. And then I also have virtual office hours, which are 30 minute chats totally free. Oh, nice. So I’ve had virtual office hours for years and it’s been awesome.

[00:16:50] So both of those kind of feel like my. They’re, they’re not going anywhere. They’re always gonna be there. Yeah. And it’s another way I hope to live into that value of wanting to be available and accessible, to folks that, that need that financial mm-hmm flexibility.

[00:17:08] Rene: Right. Yeah, that makes sense. And it just made me think of something where I think like, you know, as a service provider, you’ve been doing this for a long time and you like it. My, my kind of like intended audience is, or are people who are kind of at that point where they’re ready to take another step.

[00:17:25] Mm-hmm. It’s not hire a big team. Right. You, you know, having a virtual assistant or, or having a, a small number of, uh, subcontractors or freelancers who work with you or even real team members W-2 employees or whatever, you know, I think is fine, but my intended audience is not like people who have 20 or more, you know, team members.

[00:17:44] Yeah. So that being said, that next step or a step in creating these digital products isn’t necessarily to replace this service income, it’s not necessarily to stop providing the service. I feel like I [00:18:00] should probably do a, a solo episode about this specifically. Like you can have other offerings for many reasons.

[00:18:07] Just adding a product allows you to reach more people. And can kind of give you that pride of, of creating something of your own to share. We’re so busy kind of working on other people’s businesses, sometimes as a service provider that, you know, we don’t actually create something of our own to share with others.

[00:18:23] So I just think that those things, money aside can provide a lot of room for growth and experimentation and kind of like, you know, some life back into another leg of your journey. And yeah, maybe it leads to more products and maybe it leads to full-time products but really I’m thinking not like, I think, you know, as a service provider, you probably love it and maybe you just wanna stick with it, but just have some other things, you know, like your eggs are in different baskets, I guess.

[00:18:49] Maggie: Yeah, and I mean, honestly how I like to look at it is, you know, so my customer journey mm-hmm. Could be many years. Mm-hmm. And so I, I mean this was probably three or so years ago, but I had a client reach out and it’s because they had attended a free workshop that I gave like two or three years prior.

[00:19:15] Nice. So, you know, that’s kind of my intention in thinking about what I’m, the content that I’m creating, and then also with this Solo Business Retreat Planning Guide is, okay if someone can benefit from this now where they are in their business at whatever point that might be. My intention is that it is valuable enough to them that perhaps when they are in a space, a year from now, two years from now, yes.

[00:19:45] Whenever it might be that, I just am someone that they might flash on as a potential mm-hmm to reach out to, to answer that question that they might have. Just being considered. Right. Yes. [00:20:00] And, and coincidentally, you know, even today, which it’s, it’s wild, but there’s somebody that I have had several of these shift sessions with over the past two years.

[00:20:13] And we finally signed a proposal and we’re gonna work together on a longer project. But again, that’s like, it’s a really long timeframe. So I think that perhaps even for your audience being, you know, in that service based industry, just thinking too about how could digital products support your customers on their journey to becoming full package clients.

[00:20:39] Rene: Yes. Yeah. I love that you say that too. I was kind of thinking that in the back of my mind and I thought like, no, I’m not gonna mention that, but I think. So I have an episode about like the three types of audiences that you can sell to. Probably like the three easiest types, you know, initially to sell to. Your peers because you’ve been doing this a long time, you probably have some knowledge, uh, people who can’t yet afford you.

[00:21:00] So maybe the DIY crowd, which I’ll come back to. And then people who are just about ready to work with you. They can afford you. They just need a, a little bit more to prepare, right? Mm-hmm. So you give them something to do, some kind of product where, you know, for example, like a website, uh, a package that helps them create their content.

[00:21:18] They purchase. Yeah. They go, they come back to you, they’re ready and you know, they’re ready to work with you on your, your one-on-one service.

[00:21:24] But that DIY crowd, I think gets a bad rap because I think some service providers think that they are more difficult clients, and I’ve kind of always been of the thought that they could also just be people who are just starting, who are just not quite ready yet.

[00:21:43] And yes, not every single person is going to turn into a client later for you. Mm-hmm. But yeah, they could. They’re early on in their journey. They purchase your guide or, you know, whatever it is you have, you stay in touch with them. Maybe they’re on your email list and you email them once a month or once a quarter or however often, you [00:22:00] know, and as they grow, they’re consuming your content and then, yeah, they’re ready to work with you at some point.

[00:22:05] So I think that’s a really, viable crowd and, and a great crowd to work with. It’s not for everybody, and that’s totally fine. I’m not saying like you, you should or shouldn’t, but I, I think there’s value in that, that group.

[00:22:18] Maggie: Yeah, I agree. And, you know, I think that there’s, there’s something to be said about, also, for me at least, it, it was super helpful to allow this product, this, this current, planning guide.

[00:22:32] To release the pressure around it being this cash cow. Yes. You know? Yes. So it’s something that I really felt called, like doing these quarterly business retreats is something that I personally do. It’s something that I’ve talked a lot about that people have asked me about, and so it just, it felt like there was a lot of.

[00:22:55] You know, I keep talking about energy, but it’s what I try to tap into a lot to help point me in the direction. And so it just felt like there was a lot of energy around this idea. And so it was like I followed that mm-hmm. Inspiration. Mm-hmm. And so, you know, yeah, like, and sales kind of trickle in, but also I’m not doing this like, really concerted, like mm-hmm.

[00:23:18] Marketing effort around it. I just kind of mention it here, share it there. Mm-hmm. And it’s organically. Mm-hmm. Like people are, are organically finding it. And for me that’s perfect. But, mm-hmm that was also the intention that I set for. It was like, I really wanna create this and I’m just gonna put it out there.

[00:23:34] Rene: Right. And I’m sure sales are fun, you know, even at a low price point. I’m sure that when you get an email that there was a sale that you like feel like, good, that this could really help someone. And I. You know, now they’re kind of in your orbit and maybe consuming your emails or, or other content and you can help them further.

[00:23:51] Like, I dig it. I think it’s good. Do, so why don’t you tell us a little bit about it specifically. So it’s a solo business retreat planning guide. So yeah, tell us what [00:24:00] is a solo business retreat? Like I, I need one of these.

[00:24:03] Maggie: Yeah. Like, goodness, it’s a mouthful too, right? Saying that out loud.

[00:24:06] Rene: I had to read it from the thing.

[00:24:09] Maggie: Probably shoulda thought of that. Yeah. So, what I was realizing, and this has been a few years now, is that, you know, I think that we’re, so, we get so busy working on client work and kind of in the business that we don’t often take time to work on our own businesses. And so, I, for me, it felt like doing something monthly felt like it was too, like not enough really happens in a month.

[00:24:38] And I felt like I was, not really dedicating time to it, because I was like, oh, I’ll just do it next month, and then it would be like six months and I hadn’t done anything. Mm-hmm. So for me, it’s like the quarterly time period feels really good. And so what I do is I like to think about what are the things that.

[00:24:59] In any given day, maybe I have that like genius shower thought and I kind of like put it somewhere and then I don’t do anything with it. The quarterly retreats are when I go back through like all of my shower thoughts. Oh, nice. Mm-hmm. And then so, and I think of them as like back burner projects. Mm-hmm.

[00:25:16] And it’s a way for me to dedicate time to say like, okay, here are all the things that came up over the past three months. Which of these still feel relevant? Mm-hmm. Which one am I feeling drawn to? You know, whatever it might be. Which one is feeling like it might bring more ease to the way I’m working.

[00:25:34] Mm-hmm. Or which one might feel like it is headed in the direction that I wanna take my business. So, And then I dedicate time to, to work on that thing. I have a whole blog post that like goes with this offering. So we can share that too in the show notes. Yeah. Great. But I also talk about the the Eisenhower Matrix. Yeah. Are you familiar with this? Okay. Yeah.

[00:25:56] Rene: But tell the audience ’cause I like it.

[00:25:58] Maggie: Yeah. So, it’s a, [00:26:00] a two by two quadrant. And so, uh, the idea is that you look at things on one axis, it’s urgency, and on one a the other axis it’s importance. And so then I use that as like a starting point.

[00:26:15] For all of my retreats just to map out, kind of like brain dump everything that is on my brain and going on in my business. And so, you know, you look at the things that are not important, not urgent, and those are the ones that either I can release or delegate somehow.

[00:26:32] Mm-hmm. But for the, the focus of the retreat. I really wanna look at the ones that are important but not urgent. Mm-hmm. Because the important and urgent things are typically the ones that are drawing your attention. That’s client work. Mm-hmm. That’s deadline focused work. That’s kinda where we tend to spend a lot of our time. And then also they’re the things like the not important but urgent that also draw mm-hmm.

[00:26:54] Our attention. Mm-hmm. So that’s kind of the things that, oh, I spent three hours doing this thing that, you know, my makes no difference down or whatever. So anyway, I find that like those back burner projects are the ones that are important but not urgent. Mm-hmm. So it’s the things that we know can move the needle in some real regard for our business, but we want, at least for me, I wanna have kind of uninterrupted blank space so that I can get in that flow state to really find time to work on that thing.

[00:27:28] Mm-hmm. And that’s what my retreats are for. Very practically, it’s like I do my bookkeeping once a quarter on my retreats. So that’s the way, I just get them done during that time too. So there’s like a practical element to it as well. Mm-hmm. Not, I mean, working on the business is practical, but sometimes it feels a little dreamy.

[00:27:44] Sometimes it’s more like, you know, vision boarding or brainstorming or whatever.

[00:27:49] Rene: For sure. Yeah. I love how you say letting go of some of those things too, because I take a lot of notes, you know, every week I see this or see that. Yeah. And being able to go back through those and just look at them again and, and say like, [00:28:00] okay, this is not, I, I’m just not going to do this.

[00:28:02] Yeah. I don’t have to think about it anymore. Yeah. I’m just going to say no, cross it off. Move it to the do not do list. Like, I like that because I think it feels good. ’cause I think we have a lot of things that kind of weigh on us over time. We should do this, we should do this, we should do this. Just saying like, no, I’m not gonna focus on that.

[00:28:18] And I think looking quarterly is good too because then you know things that maybe were important in the first quarter or in the first month of that quarter, and you come back at, you know, month three and you’re like, hmm. You know, thinking about it now or thinking about it longer. It’s no longer it necessary.

[00:28:32] I, I don’t need to do that. Mm-hmm. I don’t want to do that anymore. So instead of just jumping on every project, every time you think of something new, you know, being a little bit more strategic about it.

[00:28:43] Maggie: Well, and I mean, so case in point where, so this year my goal was to write a piece of content quarterly that would have some sort of low cost offering attached.

[00:28:54] Mm-hmm. And so this, this solo business like planning guide, this retreat guide was the first one. And so I was planning to do another one for Q2, and I wanted it to be around how to translate business systems into rituals. And kind of a lot of what we’re talking about here too, of how can we change our shoulds into, you know, just like really question what we, what we feel are these obligations in our business.

[00:29:23] Mm-hmm. And so coincidentally that post came out today, the blog post came out today. Oh, sweet. But as, as I was trying to sit with it, it’s like. There, there’s, I was able to put another little companion thing together for it, but it didn’t feel robust enough for me to charge for it. Mm-hmm. And then I was like, well, what else can I create that felt worthy to put a price tag on it?

[00:29:48] Mm-hmm. And I couldn’t get there. And then it’s like, well, I didn’t wanna hold up this piece of content for me to create this other thing. And so eventually I was like, [00:30:00] well, my intention was to, you know, have one offer, like one offering a quarter with all of anyway, and I, I finally let that go and it’s like, okay, this is ready.

[00:30:10] Like, I think this is complete as is, and just because this one doesn’t have this low cost offering to go with it doesn’t mean that it’s any less valuable. So that’s how things have changed for me too. Like I’m not counting that as a failure because I didn’t mm-hmm. Complete that. Mm-hmm. My timeline has shifted too.

[00:30:29] Just because of life, so, right. Exactly. Honor that as well. Yeah.

[00:30:33] Rene: They’re still wins, right? And if we, I think if we’re so strict in exactly what we intend to do, if we don’t do it exactly right, like I think we feel like failures, but if you kind of open up the definition a little bit more, you can see that you, like you still created something, it’s still valuable.

[00:30:50] You still did it. Mm-hmm. Maybe it was a little bit later, maybe it didn’t look like what you thought it was going to. That’s okay. Like those, those things are. Those don’t matter. It’s okay.

[00:30:58] Maggie: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:30:59] Rene: One other question about the, the solo business retreat. The word retreat sounds very sexy.

[00:31:05] Like, are you just doing this at home? Are you going somewhere? Does it matter?

[00:31:08] Maggie: I’ve done all of the above. Mm-hmm. So, I mean, I think it depends again, this is like where you are in life, where you are in business, what you feel like you have the space for. So, you know, I have done them where it’s like a little mini staycation.

[00:31:26] Mm-hmm. So I’ll, for some reason, I don’t know why, but I feel really inspired when I am in tiny homes. So I try to find like just a, a tiny home. Mm-hmm. In my city or somewhere, you know, nearby, quick drive. And so I’ve done that a few times and I’ll stay a couple nights and that feels super luxurious.

[00:31:49] Mm-hmm. But then also lately I don’t really have the time. Mm-hmm. To do that. My personal life circumstances have shifted and [00:32:00] so I don’t quite have that time anymore. Mm-hmm. And so what retreats look like for me, the one that I did for Q2, it was I blocked two mornings and on consecutive days, and so I just made sure that I had.

[00:32:14] The soundtrack that I wanted and mm-hmm. I had my essential oil diffuser going. Mm-hmm. And, you know, I had my favorite clothes on. Mm-hmm. I had my notebook and I just, so I was able to create the environment of this is different from my normal mm-hmm. Workday and, and likely I’ve got my next one in a couple weeks and it’s probably gonna look pretty similar.

[00:32:40] Mm-hmm. I also have this one timed where I’ll have a session with one of the healers that I work with and really love. And so that’s gonna be my, like, first thing that I do. I’ll, you know, I love going to yoga. It’s still really hot here in Texas. Mm-hmm. So I don’t, normally I try to get outside and do a walk or something.

[00:32:59] Mm-hmm. But that just doesn’t feel enjoyable right now. But I might go swimming instead. So it’s like, how can I create these or find the components that make it feel special? Yeah. Even if it is just three hours, four hours. Mm-hmm.

[00:33:13] Rene: Yeah. That makes sense. I love that. Have you ever heard of the getaway house?

[00:33:16] Maggie: No.

[00:33:17] Rene: They’re tiny cabins and they’re throughout the US and we’ve stayed in them a couple times and I love them because it’s camping, but it’s like, you don’t have to take anything. There’s like a warm bed and a warm shower and they have like all of the, the things that you’d wanna do over the fire, like right outside.

[00:33:34] And there’s a picnic table already there. And I don’t know, I like them very much. They’re very nice getaway.

[00:33:38] Maggie: Okay. I’m making this note. For me, it’s getaway.house. Perfect.

[00:33:43] Rene: They’re kind of all over the US. I’m not sure you know how close to you, but yeah, I’ve found that it’s really just nice to be able to kind of get out into nature without Yes, all of the.

[00:33:55] Packing and schlepping and stuff, you know, you can kind of just take a couple things. They even [00:34:00] have packages inside the house that you can buy. They all have like olive oil and all the utensils that you would need to kind of make something if you, uh, did take some food with you.

[00:34:09] But yeah, a little refrigerator.

[00:34:11] Maggie: Oh, I love that. That’s nice. Yeah. Super true. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and I think it’s interesting, but when I was in, a previous relationship and in a previous home space that didn’t feel super supportive, it was like, it felt imperative for me to be in a brand new mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

[00:34:27] Space. Like I needed to physically get out of where I was. So now I feel like I can still tap into inspiration and I feel a lot safer in my physical space. Mm-hmm. My nervous system feels more, still feels very calm here. So I think it’s possible for me to tap into that, head and heart space while still being physically in the same space that I am day to day.

[00:34:50] But yeah, for sure. There were times when that was not possible and so getting away felt more imperative. Mm-hmm. I’m gonna check out this getaway.

[00:34:57] Rene: Yeah. Sometimes too, just to mix it up. Because every quarter something different is happening.

[00:35:02] So Yeah. You know, where it feels like I’d really like to getaway or I’m fine staying in or I’m not able to go out now, or whatever it is. Taking into mm-hmm. Consideration your circumstances, I suppose. So.

[00:35:13] Maggie: Yeah, for sure.

[00:35:15] Rene: Cool. So anything else you wanna say about the product?

[00:35:18] So I assume that product didn’t take you a ton of time to put together, it was something you already were doing that you thought would be helpful. Any kind of like mental blocks or any support you needed, or you were like, I’m gonna do this and I did it and I kept the scope small so that I could do it and I just put it out there.

[00:35:34] Any thoughts I guess about the, the creation and launch?

[00:35:37] Maggie: For the retreat guide, it definitely felt a little easier. I mean, I work with, an online business manager who helps me a ton, and so, you know, I had all the ideas and wrote it in a Google doc and then she was able to get started.

[00:35:53] So the, the actual guide is a Notion dashboard. Okay. So it’s, a template that you duplicate in Notion and then you [00:36:00] can make it your own. And so then she was able to work her magic to design it within Notion in a way that felt really good and we tweaked things and collaborated on that. So, yeah, I mean, it didn’t take that long.

[00:36:16] And the launch of it, really was just announcing to my newsletter list. And then what I, what I always tend to do, and this is an idea from the Being Boss podcast from way back in the day, is sending to your Wolf Pack. Okay, have you heard this? Mm-hmm. So, it’s the idea of like when you are launching anything that sometimes we think so broad that it’s like, oh, we’ve got a.

[00:36:43] Shout it from the mountaintops and make sure we get all net new people and and new eyeballs on it and what they recommended, which I really. Has proven true for me is, but we neglect to tell the people who are closest to us, who are our fiercest allies mm-hmm. Who wanna do everything that they can to support us.

[00:37:02] Rene: Our super fans.

[00:37:03] Maggie: Yes, yes, yes. And so, but really ev it’s those super fans that are friends and family or collaborators, partners. Mm-hmm. So really when I launch anything, I always make sure that, and I did it with the retreat guide that I’m sending it to my Wolf Pack. Mm-hmm. So it’s these people who might also have the capacity to share with their audiences in some capacity.

[00:37:25] So, I will typically put together some swipe copy and some shareable graphics or, and then that way if they feel so called, then they can share in their newsletter or on social or wherever feels good for them. And then I always have that, or when I share my own ask to my Wolf Pack, it’s like I always make sure that I, share that I’m here and would love to reciprocate.

[00:37:49] Oh, nice. Mm-hmm. And so then when they have something mm-hmm. Then I make sure that I share it. So, yeah. that, that was really all I did.

[00:37:59] Rene: Yeah, that sounds great. [00:38:00] Yeah, that’s, that’s excellent. And I think that those people too, yeah, like you mentioned, they’re eager to help you. They want to consume everything that you have.

[00:38:08] You know, it’s like the people that sign up for all your newsletters and read all your blog posts and listen to all your podcast episodes. So, those are great people to have in our corner.

[00:38:16] Maggie: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think it would even be more like collaborators though, like even friends or like fellow business owners.

[00:38:21] So yes, it could be the super fans, but I think for me it’s even like the friends, you know?

[00:38:26] Rene: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. Very cool. Uh, so do you have some advice for us? So for people who have not created anything, so no courses, no templates, no guides, nothing. But they are thinking that this is something that they may want to do.

[00:38:40] Do you have some advice on what maybe you’re glad that you did or what you wish you would’ve done differently or, You know, anything really.

[00:38:48] Maggie: I do think you touched on it with the different audiences, but I think that, it can be really helpful to when you’re considering creating something as you’re going about your work, to come to it with a.

[00:39:05] Curiosity of where might there be aspects of what I’m doing or how I’m working and how could I help support my clients in this process. So it’s that, I think of ’em as like the half step. Things. So if I were to offer this to my clients, how could they be one like a little bit closer to being prepared to actually work with me?

[00:39:29] Okay. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So you can think about like what are those points in your process? So that can be something. I mean, I would also say give yourself more time than you think you need.

[00:39:41] Rene: Yes. Right. Things come up, things that you don’t know. Things come up related to it. And, you know, outside of.

[00:39:51] Maggie: Yeah, because I think that the actual creation part can sometimes go fairly smoothly, but [00:40:00] what I’ve seen over and over is that.

[00:40:03] There is often a challenge when it comes time to actually sharing it. Mm-hmm. So it seems like a lot of folks will have it already. Mm-hmm. And then there are a lot of mental blocks around the visibility of being seen Yes. And actually putting it out there.

[00:40:17] Rene: Yes, yes. Whispering from the rooftops, like, Hey, I have a product.

[00:40:22] And you’re like, what? And like the one time. It’s a different sort of marketing than with your services. Like, it’s a different way of sharing. So yes, I’ve seen that too.

[00:40:32] Maggie: Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, I think it’s time. I think it’s also giving yourself time for that and also extending yourself a lot of grace, because if you haven’t done this in quite this way before, it’s.

[00:40:46] Yeah, it is new and fresh and you know, I think like even case in point with me where, I was trying so hard to really like force this other thing mm-hmm. With this blog post that just recently went out. And then finally it’s like I had to allow that. To, to go away. Mm-hmm. Right. So I think that also a piece of advice is just allowing yourself to have regular points of checking in with yourself mm-hmm.

[00:41:13] In the process. Just to touch back with, does this feel aligned. Is this becoming some sort of should or obligation? Where can I invite in more ease into the process? And allow yourself to morph the original idea. Mm-hmm. Like allow it to evolve. Yes. With you and your current energetic capacity and your current life circumstances.

[00:41:42] I think that that’s really important to not be beholden to mm-hmm. A rigid structure or timeline just because it’s what you created at the onset.

[00:41:52] Rene: If you get feedback along the way from anybody that you may have reached out to like, yeah.

[00:41:57] Making a change. Just because like you think the [00:42:00] product should be a certain way, doesn’t necessarily mean that that’s like what the audience needs. So if you do seek that feedback out, being willing to change course or change direction slightly to accommodate, because really like mm-hmm.

[00:42:11] If, if the goal is to help people, sometimes getting that feedback is good. Mm-hmm. And I, I’m a fan of a, a timeline. Just because I think that a lot of times we just keep pushing this off. You know, it’s, it is important but not urgent. So I’m a fan of a timeline, but yeah, not to the detriment of like your sanity or you know, your, your life.

[00:42:30] So kind of like a, a guideline of I would like to have it done by x date. But you know, allowing yourself some wiggle room in there too. Like just, I guess maybe the, the point being like, don’t just keep putting it off forever. It will feel good to get it done. Like you’ll feel good afterwards, so.

[00:42:47] Maggie: Sure. Yeah.

[00:42:48] And I think to whatever extent it allows, You know, having accountability can be really mm-hmm. Helpful too. So whether that is just having a peer that’s supporting you on the journey, checking in, or if it’s having someone that’s actually supporting you and creating a component of mm-hmm. The content or getting it out there can be super helpful too.

[00:43:10] Rene: Yeah. I agree. Yeah. Totally agree. Awesome. Well thank you so much. Can you tell us where we can find you online?

[00:43:17] Maggie: Yes. You can find me on my website, which is just my name, maggiegentry.com. I am, I’m not on social media anymore, so that’s the best place to find me. And I do send quarterly newsletters if you’re getting a theme.

[00:43:32] I love, I love to do thing by, yeah, do things by the quarter. So yeah. That’s all there. But, I can also share links to the virtual office hours too for the show notes. If anybody wants to book in a chat, that’s always available.

[00:43:45] Rene: Yeah. Awesome. Perfect. I will add all of those links in there, and a link to your new blog post as well.

[00:43:50] Oh yeah. Mm-hmm. Yay. Thank you. Well, thank you so much for being here today.

[00:43:54] Maggie: Thank you so much. It was, really a delight.

[00:43:56] Rene: Hey, thanks for listening. I’d love to continue the [00:44:00] conversation in your inbox. Email SUBSCRIBE to hey at yfdp.show or sign up in the show notes to get bimonthly emails about how you can create, launch, and market your first digital product. Can’t wait to see you there.