Repurposing to Increase Visibility with Lindsay Dollinger

In this episode of the Mom Owned and Operated podcast, Rita Suzanne and Lindsay Dollinger discuss raising a family, running a business and remembering yourself.

Lindsay Dollinger is a women’s business coach, podcast host of the Purpose and Pixie Dust podcast, creator of the Confident and Ambitious Mastermind, rescue dog mama, and Disney lover! She has been a Spanish teacher for 15 years and started growing her online businesses in 2016. She helps women with productivity and strategy to grow their businesses with a little pixie dust thrown in.

You can connect with Lindsay on her website, on Instagram and Facebook.

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Transcript

Rita Suzanne: 0:28

Hi, this is Mom Owned and Operated. I am Rita, Suzanne, and today I have my guest, Lindsay, with me. Lindsay, I'm so excited to chat with you. Please tell everyone all about you, your business and your family.

Lindsay Dollinger: 0:41

Yes, hello, I am so excited to be here today. My name is Lindsay Dollinger and I am the podcast host of the Purpose Profits and Succeeds podcast podcast and a business coach for women, specializing in productivity and systems without burning out in your business. So that's where the magic and the Tixie Dust fun comes in. I live in Ohio, so middle of nowhere Ohio, but I am in Orlando, florida, as much as I possibly can be because I am a Disney girl at heart. Florida as much as I possibly can be because I am a Disney girl at heart. And I live with my sister and our street dog, bella. She was a rescue dog from Puerto Rico, so she's our baby, she's our. I think she's probably more Navy than a child, to be completely honest, but we love her and yeah, that's a little bit about me.

Rita Suzanne: 1:28

First of all, I did not know that you're in Ohio. I'm in Ohio, I'm in Columbus. Where are you oh?

Lindsay Dollinger: 1:34

my gosh, I'm like 45 minutes from Columbus. I'm in Mechanicsburg. Have you heard of?

Rita Suzanne: 1:38

it before. I've heard of it, but I haven't been there. So yeah, we'll have to talk more about that. I didn't know you were in Ohio either. Yeah, okay. So what's one service or product that you offer that has been a game changer for you?

Lindsay Dollinger: 1:54

Yeah, so that would be my mastermind that I started a year ago and it's been a game changer on both financial levels and impact levels. I like to have a financial goal and an impact goal every year and that has been able to really take my business to the next level in both accounts and it's something that it took me a long time to finally get out there. I've been in the mastermind myself since late 2018, early 2019. And I had it all set up to launch in 2020, pre-pandemic, so I had no excuse. I can't blame it on the pandemic or anything like that. I just got in my own mind about it. Same thing again a couple of years later.

Lindsay Dollinger: 2:35

I did a membership in the meantime and courses and those sorts of things, but it was a huge mindset shift. To be able to charge a higher ticket and also commit myself to those weekly calls was another thing, and it's so funny because, as a podcast host, you show up every week for your podcast. So I'm like, okay, if I can do that for my podcast, why can't I do that for, you know, a program that I'm doing? But there was some mental block there. So, yeah, mine has been my mastermind.

Rita Suzanne: 3:01

So is that your biggest source of revenue?

Lindsay Dollinger: 3:04

Yes, biggest source of revenue is masterminds. Before that it was one-on-one calls, but I've transitioned my one-on-one clients into the mastermind because it's a better deal for them financially and also support-wise all around. So I did start with one-on-ones as my highest revenue builder, but now it is the mastermind.

Rita Suzanne: 3:23

So is it a year-long mastermind, or what is the structure? How does it work?

Lindsay Dollinger: 3:27

Yeah, so we run school year because I have found that a lot of my clients are mamas with school age children, you know, and they like the summer's off, not necessarily summer's completely off from their business, but summer's off from the calls. Now I still check in with my clients, especially my clients who have renewed for the next year. So we're getting ready to start, um, you know, mid August for the next round. But yeah, the summers and just for me as well, summer is my favorite, my favorite season, so I like to have a little bit more flexibility for travel and stuff like that too.

Rita Suzanne: 4:01

Yeah, I think I feel like, as a mom business owner, it's the hardest time for any mom business owner to generate income, because, especially if your clients are other mom business owners right, because they're off. We're off running around chasing kids, regardless of how old they are, okay. So what is a the most valuable financial lesson that you've learned since you started your business? I didn't even ask you how long you've been in business learned since you started your business.

Lindsay Dollinger: 4:33

I didn't even ask you how long you've been in business, yeah, so I started in business online in 2016 and then my coaching business I started late 2019. So this current business is almost five years old. So, as far as financial, I think one of the best financial decisions that I made was investing, and I'm not sure what you use if you maybe use it too is Kajabi, and it can have a pretty heavy price tag on it. I started with the lowest level. I think I'm at the medium tier now and I'm almost maxed out of that one too, so I'll be going to the next. But even now, when that receipt comes through every month of my monthly payment, I'm like, ooh, that's kind of high. However, you know everything that I use is on there, so I have my email platform on their website, my products and courses. You can't host a podcast now and there I don't Um, and you can also host a membership on there now, and I don't host my membership currently in the membership um platform because my people use Facebook, but I love that. It is an option for if something happens to Facebook, you know, if something in that realm changes or if I start getting a lot of clients who don't have Facebook, I might transition um into Kajabi.

Lindsay Dollinger: 5:41

But I think, looking back, I'm so glad I started that when I did, because before I used Kajabi I used blue host and I was doing WordPress and coding and these things. That were one very difficult for me, so I was spending a lot of time learning how to do it. But two, when I did decide to transition over, it took me a lot of time to transition my content over, and so now, looking back on the last five years of all the content I've put on Kajabi, I'm like, oh my gosh, I can't leave now. It would take me so long you know what I mean To move all that stuff over. So I'm glad that I made the transition and started planning ahead for my business growing, or like as early as I did, because it would be a total hassle right now to do that.

Rita Suzanne: 6:21

To be completely honest, yeah, so I am a. I started out like a designing and developing and I do everything on WordPress Right, and so I'm a firm believer in utilizing WordPress only because you have complete, like, ownership of it. However, I do see the benefit of using something like Kajabi because, like you mentioned, it stops you from having those hurdles right. Those tech hurdles can really impair business owners, and I see a lot of coaches using Kajabi, and so my thought on it is really like use whatever is going to work for you. Yeah, absolutely, and if that is not WordPress, that's fine. Use whatever, especially if it's going to not stop you from doing what you have to do. So let's talk a little bit about marketing. So what is one marketing tactic or channel that you recommend that other mompreneurs jump into?

Lindsay Dollinger: 7:21

Yeah, so one of the biggest things for my business this past year is I've been really focusing on visibility, and not just visibility on my own social media platforms, but it's been creating a strategy where I can really utilize other people as much as possible. So the top thing for me this year has been being a speaker in summits or contributing an item of something that I have to a bundle, and I actually hosted my own summit in February and I'm wrapping up hosting my first bundle as well. It's been a really great learning experience for me on both accounts. You know, I learned a lot about honestly just dealing with other women entrepreneurs too, and knowing, like I kind of assumed that when I gave people a deadline, they would follow it.

Lindsay Dollinger: 8:08

It wouldn't be like, you know, teaching in the classroom, where you have to remind people all the time, and I'm like adults are just as bad as kids, right it? Just as bad as high school students. Um so it, that part has been a little bit of a challenge, but as far as me, getting in front of new audiences and growing my list like this month alone, I think I've had over a thousand new email subscribers and I'm like Holy cow, this is blowing my mind. Um, so you know, not being afraid to try some of those things that maybe seem out of reach or like you're not an expert enough yet to do it, my thing is, as long as you have had success, whatever that means like for you, and you feel comfortable in teaching a topic to someone else, like, do it, why not? Right? So getting strategic about that has been my number one best marketing strategy this year.

Rita Suzanne: 8:57

I think some people get apprehensive about figuring out how to create collaborations with other people, so do you have any advice on how they could do that?

Lindsay Dollinger: 9:09

Yeah. So, honestly, I started with getting in Facebook groups. I can't think of exact names of them off the top of my head, but if you just search collaboration, entrepreneurs or summits, bundles those kind of keywords you'll get into some of those Facebook groups. And so I jumped into some of these Facebook groups. I didn't immediately volunteer for anything or apply for anything. I kind of wanted to get the vibe and see how you know what my options were, what people were presenting those sorts of things. And then, once I decided to start applying for some of these, I knew that I wanted to keep an open mind, like, not everyone's going to say yes to you, right? So there are some things that you're not a good fit for at this time. It's fine. And so I just started applying and my biggest tip for when you apply is really look at what the requirements are, because some people will want you to email your list a certain amount of times, social posts a certain amount of times, things like that and making sure that you you can fulfill those and you feel comfortable fulfilling those.

Lindsay Dollinger: 10:07

But other than that, I started there and then I also started with my own networks. So I'm in a mastermind myself. You know I've met people at conferences and things like that over the years, so reaching out to them personally and saying, hey, I'd love to collab, give them some ideas. So would you be open to a Facebook live, would you be open to? I've done a freebie swap on emails before, which is kind of a fun strategy If you haven't tried that before. Um, you know, podcast guest swap, different things like that give them some ideas and and also they'll be open to like. Or if you have a different thing in mind, like, let's chat.

Lindsay Dollinger: 10:41

And I would say 90% of people say yes, every once in a while you'll get someone who says no, or you know they're in the middle of a launch. It doesn't make sense right now, which is totally fine, I get that. But usually I have found our community of women entrepreneurs, specifically, are very open to doing that, because you know I pat your back, you pat mine, right, that sort of thing. And we were talking about this before we hopped on here about you know my people, some of my people might be your people, some of your people might be my people. You know vice versa, you're going to, no matter what, attract the right people to you. So going over you know that mindset of collaboration over competition, I think is a huge reminder. You know no scarcity around here. We're both going to help each other out, so just make it important. See what happens.

Rita Suzanne: 11:28

Right. I think that people need to understand that there are enough clients for everyone. Right? We don't need to have a hunger games over client.

Lindsay Dollinger: 11:38

Yes, yes, that's such a good analogy.

Rita Suzanne: 11:41

Yeah, so let's talk a little bit about mistakes that maybe you've made in marketing over the years. Do you have any to share?

Lindsay Dollinger: 11:49

Yeah, so one I was actually just talking about with someone yesterday is launching a product and thinking everyone's going to buy it, but yet you haven't been either showing up online regularly or teasing your audience a little bit about. You know you're not warming them up to it. And then you have a quote unquote failed launch. You know you didn't sell as many, or maybe even at all, and then you have a quote unquote failed launch. You know you didn't fail as many, or maybe even at all, and then you're blaming the product. But so much of that is the marketing leading up to it.

Lindsay Dollinger: 12:15

And you know, depending on what you've got going on in life I also did a launch one time when I was on vacation I'm like horrible time to do a launch. I don't recommend, you know, I don't recommend doing that if you don't have to. And so, yeah, just using all of those quote unquote failed experiences to really look back and say, okay, why did this fail? Is it the product? Because sometimes maybe it could be, but a lot of the times I feel like it's again that lack of visibility or the lack of strategic marketing on your part where you could have given yourself, you know, a two month runway and instead you started talking about it the day you opened cart and people aren't ready to buy yet.

Rita Suzanne: 12:52

Yeah, and or oftentimes and this is like a huge buzzword right now like your messaging is off you know, like I think that that's in the times like you could be talking about it, but people are still like they don't understand what it is. You're even pumping up, so that's usually a thing. So how are you currently marketing your business?

Lindsay Dollinger: 13:15

Oh, good question. I have a lot of what's the word? Irons in the fire with marketing my business. I send out regular emails, so anywhere between three to five a week. So anywhere between three to five a week. I host my own free events. I try to do them monthly.

Lindsay Dollinger: 13:32

I had a bad accident in April and broke my leg and ankle and it was just all kinds of things. So April, may, even June, was very much me just like survival mode. But I'm back at it now in July. But yeah, I like to run a monthly free events and those monthly free events I have affiliates and good clients help me promote. So I have a strategy with that, with making sure that people share that and incentivize so that I'm able to keep growing my audience. But because I have the marketing strategy in the backend of, you know, podcast guesting, getting in summits, getting in bundles, my, my email list is always growing so I feel like there's always new people coming in to those free events. So then they get to know me really well, regular podcast hosting and guesting as well. So, like I said, my show drops every Monday. So my podcast listeners know that. You know they're getting that nurturing through there as well, I have a free telegram channel.

Lindsay Dollinger: 14:31

It's something I started this summer that one of my mentors uses and I really am loving that too, because I feel like I can be a little more intimate there versus you know, facebook group, facebook post although I do have a Facebook group and then just showing up on social as well. But really what ends up converting people for me and I was just talking to my coach about this is the in-person connections, having conversations with people. If I can get people on zoom calls to have you know, even if it's networking, I do a happily ever happy hour virtually in the summer. That's been a great way to get to really know people. That's been a great way to get to really know people.

Lindsay Dollinger: 15:12

And, um, I host a yearly retreat and most people who come to my retreat end up joining my mastermind. And, um, I need to strategically place that better next year, cause my yearly retreat this year is in October. I did that because of my fall, but last year my retreat was the first or second week in July and then I opened up doors to my mastermind and everyone who went to the retreat but one person joined my mastermind. So that's what I'm trying to figure out from the marketing strategy. I'm like okay, I know that if people get to really know me, they end up converting. So how can I create more opportunities, even if it's not in person, which I love in person, but sometimes you know that doesn't work? How can I mimic that online virtually to get people into my programs?

Rita Suzanne: 15:54

So all of that marketing strategy just sounds like a lot of stuff. How are you doing all of those things without becoming overwhelmed? Because I'm like if somebody is hearing that and they're, and you're listing off all of these things, they're probably like, oh shit.

Lindsay Dollinger: 16:11

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, okay, first of all, let me also point out that I've been in business for multiple years, you know. So, like, my marketing strategy did not start off like this. It definitely started out a social media post. I have been doing the in-person quote, unquote, but like the virtual events online pretty much since I started, but they weren't always once a month, it might've been once a quarter. And then the email list as well started out with a consistent Monday email and then it has added. You know, it has grown as time goes on.

Lindsay Dollinger: 16:42

But as far as keeping it all organized, I'm a huge fan of templates. So, like I have, I think, six or eight email templates saved in Kajabi that I'll just pull up. So my Monday email template, pull it up and it's easy, it's almost like plug and play. I also know in my Monday email I'm always going to talk about my podcast. So templates for things really help. I have a Trello board that is very extensive and if you look at it right now, you would be like, oh my gosh, I don't know how your brain works. You know, I'm glad that's for you, um, but I lift everything out on there. You know, to plan things, drag and drop to keep things organized, which I really, really love, um.

Lindsay Dollinger: 17:16

But then I also have a lot of different. I don't know if you call them software, but, like I used a script I don't know if you've ever heard of it or some AI for my podcast. So you know it helps me pull out and create a blog post outline so that I can, you know, easily do that. So I'm I'm always trying to use what I can, while also, like we were talking about before, we had time here saving money and trying to figure out what makes sense and what doesn't, for, you know, getting help in my business.

Lindsay Dollinger: 17:48

But I also did hire a social media manager and some website help recently. So that has helped as well, like you know, with the backend of taking some of those things off that I don't have to be doing, um, so I can show up, you know, on the in-person events, for example, like that was one of the things is the time and energy to prepare for those events, when I know that those are the way that I convert. So I'm like, okay, this is like my number one priority. So how can I take some of these things that I don't have to be the one doing and find someone to help me with that. So that's been a big game changer too recently.

Rita Suzanne: 18:24

Right, so delegation and are huge and just being organized and creating a content, calendar and of sorts and just kind of organizing everything. I think that's that's so crucial. I think that a lot of people are just super reactive when it comes to their social media and then they don't really know what to post, and so then they don't post Right, absolutely yeah. So how do you define success in your business? Is it purely financial, or are there other factors that are maybe more important to you?

Lindsay Dollinger: 19:00

Yeah. So mine's definitely twofold. Like I mentioned, with my goals I feel like I measure success in the same way. So I say my mission is to help over 100 women every year transform their business so they can transform their lives. So I have that impact goal, but then I also have the financial goal as well, and it's almost like trying to balance the two because at the end of the day and I'm sure you've experienced this as well like the money is great, but if I don't feel aligned with my programs or with the people that I'm helping, it doesn't really matter as much to me. You know you're you're not going to feel that, feel that fulfillment like you would when you're really seeing people transform their lives. So I think having the impact is something really important too.

Rita Suzanne: 19:46

Yeah, I think I feel like a lot of women have that focus. Like they, they really need to empower others in order to feel fulfilled in their life. I mean, financial is there, but that need to empower others is is kind of the underlying thing. So you already mentioned Descript and Trello and some other tools, but is there one tool or app that you use, that's kind of streamlining your life, that you can recommend to all of us?

Lindsay Dollinger: 20:20

Yeah, it's going to have to be Trello. I know I already mentioned it. I should have saved it in my backpack, but yeah, it's going to be Trello. I have um and the the best part is is I have used the free version of Trello until like two months ago and the only reason I upgraded was because I sell templates now for my business and they took away that from the free version. I'm like no um, but you can use the free version of Trello, uh, and get everything that you need for your business, and I have, I think, 30 boards on there now. You know, I make a board for every program and it just works for me because I love sticky notes too. So this is a you know, a place I can put my virtual sticky notes, but I know it's not for everyone. So if it's not for you, check out notion or click up Asana. You know all of those. I know different people who use all of them.

Rita Suzanne: 21:09

Yeah.

Lindsay Dollinger: 21:09

Yeah, all of them are great in their own ways.

Lindsay Dollinger: 21:11

So if you're listening to this and you try out Trello and it doesn't work for you, then try out another one, you know, but find something like that that works for you, cause, like you said, if you're not taking the time to plan, you're going to sit down to work that day, and that's what was happening to me and my business and I'm like, oh, I really should Gosh, I don't even know I really should make a new website page, but that wasn't actually the thing that was making me money. So this is allowing me to organize myself well, so that I do the important things first and then I have my you know, my parking lot I call it my parking lot of ideas, that when I have some free time, I can drag something off that and start working on it, and that's also really cleared up a lot of my headspace too. You know you're not worrying about constantly like I feel like I'm forgetting something. What should I be doing? If you take that time to organize, write everything down, you should be golden.

Rita Suzanne: 21:59

I love that I just last week or the week before I created a freebie and I was posting. Week or the week before I created a freebie and I was posting making reels talking about are you really marketing? Right, because I feel like a lot of times, mom business owners will say, oh my gosh, I'm so busy, right, I'm so busy, I'm doing these things, I'm doing this, I'm doing that, and they are. They're not really marketing or driving any leads into their business because they're too busy doing the busy work.

Rita Suzanne: 22:29

So you're busy but you're not being effective. And so you know, I was like I really honing in on that, because I feel like that's where a lot of mom business owners get really, really stuck in their business and especially with moving forward, so I love that you brought that up. So what are you reading or listening to right now? It can be business or professional, okay.

Lindsay Dollinger: 22:56

I am reading Mind Magic right now. I don't know if you've heard of it. I actually I should look at the author because it's sitting over there before I hopped on here. But I have been using a lot of different NLP tactics and visualizing and things in my business very hardcore for last year and it has helped me so much.

Lindsay Dollinger: 23:15

With you know, I just have realized that when I have my mind in the right place, when I actually do believe truly that everything that I'm going after is possible, you show up differently. You know it's not a quote unquote chore anymore for you to make your to-do list or to spend some time in a training or things like that. That before, when there's that little bit of doubt, like okay, you know, is my business actually going to make it? Is, you know, whatever? Then I found that you burn out quicker or you dread doing some of the stuff. But when you actually believe in yourself and in your mission and what you're going after and that it is possible for you, it transforms the way you show up. So I've been digging deep into that. I really am loving that book so far and I love that I'm able then to take what I'm learning and apply it to share that stuff with my clients, and then they're able to run with it too. So that's what I'm really loving.

Rita Suzanne: 24:10

I love it. Okay, so I love to talk about self-care as like my final, like wrap up question, because you know, as moms, as business owners, we often neglect ourselves. So what are you doing for you?

Lindsay Dollinger: 24:27

Ooh, I love this. So I just got cleared today to get back on my Peloton bike, which I am thrilled about. So the thing that I do for me and it also really helps me, I don't know like get the negative energy out, not worry about things for a half an hour is to hop on my bike, so I make that a routine. I figured out that you can actually schedule your classes in the app like the week before, so then it goes to your calendar and you know that you're actually like it's a scheduled appointment and I make sure to do that because I found out when I didn't, I was getting shorter with people. You know like my energy was shifting, and so I love to do that before I sit down to record a podcast or go live or anything, because it just pumps my energy up. So get some movement and that would be my, my suggestion.

Rita Suzanne: 25:20

I love that. I'm the same way. So I go to the gym five or six days a week, but if it wasn't for my best friend like pushing me to go, I probably would skip half of the time because I get so wrapped up in business and then I become the biggest grouch right Because I'm like I need to get out of here. There's so so much pressure and so much thing going on and just even leaving and going to the gym just helps me to just, you know, relax. I socialize, I'm not thinking about business most of the time. So it definitely helps clear my mind and my stress.

Rita Suzanne: 26:00

And I was telling somebody the other day and I want to just kind of reiterate and just like put this out there because it was one of the best things that I ever used to do my first coach, she used to tell me to do this thing called active meditation, and since you're kind of into these type of things, I'm going to recommend it because what it is is so, let's say, that you're working on a specific project or something that you're really focused on and you are just kind of stuck on it. So you are thinking about it, you get on your Peloton, you're just going for it and the whole time you're just really super focused on it while you're working out it, while you're working out, and then once you get off, you get your journal out or whatever piece of paper and you just start making notes on whatever is going on and you just kind of free flow it out and it just helps you to kind of release whatever you were working on and help you get past whatever was that sticking point for you. And it help me get past so many things because one, you're focused on it but you're also being active simultaneously, so your, your movement helps you get past it. And yeah, so that that's a great. I love that.

Lindsay Dollinger: 27:19

Yeah, I actually okay, so funny story really quickly. My ideal, my idea for my membership, so my, my membership that I have is like Disney themed. So I think I kind of did this that time because I was on the bike doing a Disney rides and then they do Disney rides and I was like, oh my gosh, I need to make it. So I I was voice recording while I was doing this workout of like all these ideas. I'm like we're going to have a monthly magical meetup and we're going to do this and this, and like I stopped off that bike and I wrote down all these ideas and it to this day has been like my best idea, like brainstorming session ever. So I need to do that more. For sure. I didn't know it was called active meditation, but I love that.

Rita Suzanne: 27:58

I think she coined it, but it was definitely like that was something that she did and I thought I don't even know what triggered it the other day, but I was like I need to start doing that again. Yeah, it just came back to me and I thought it would be something that you might enjoy, Okay. So where are you online, Are you like, what platforms are you at and where can everyone find you?

Lindsay Dollinger: 28:23

Yeah, I think I'm on almost all of the platforms. I'm not active on threads, though, but you can find me. I hang out a lot on Facebook. I actually do a lot of my business, everything on Facebook, and it's kind of my preferred platform, so you can find me over there as Lindsay Dollinger Instagram. It's a long story, but my Lindsay Dollinger Instagram is not up anymore, but I am active at the Purpose Profits and Pixie Dust on Instagram. That's the name of my podcast as well, so you can find me over there. You can find me on LinkedIn Lindsay Dollinger, tiktok, youtube, all those places, pinterest all under Lindsay Dollinger, and I think I'm the only one. I don't think there's another one.

Rita Suzanne: 28:59

So hopefully, hopefully there's no one impersonating me, but it should be the only one and I'll put the links and everything will be in the description. And thank you so much. It's been such a pleasure chatting with you.

Lindsay Dollinger: 29:12

Yeah, I love this and we're going to have to connect with, since we're local. I can't believe this. This is so great. Yeah, Thank you again.