143. Conquer Your To-Do List + Be More Productive with Louise Henry

Sam Vander Wielen: Hey friends and welcome back to On Your Terms. I’m so excited to bring you today’s episode because not only am I talking with my friend Louise Henry, who I love, and I know that you’re going to love her too, and probably many of you already know her as well. But also, because I’m pretty sure this is the last in my series of my little summer school series where I’m re-airing, re-giving some love to some episodes that I posted really, really early on when I started On Your Terms. Maybe you weren’t a listener yet. Maybe you’re hearing it again for the second time and hopefully learning something new, but I’m back to full time new episodes after this.

But there’s a very special reason, not only because Louise’s episode was so helpful to so many of you the first time around, and Louise is such an expert in business, organization and productivity and getting your stuff together. And I’ve talked many, many times about how I’ve taken one of my favorite, I think probably the best course I’ve ever taken was Uplevel with Asana, with Louise and I just got such, like, incredible use out of it because it really was the thing for me that put all the little pieces together and made my business sing. Like it made me get all of my stuff organized. I went from not knowing what I was going to do every day to knowing exactly what I was going to do every day. And being so organized and productive made my business grow.

So I feel really passionately about people like Louise getting her message and her skills out to you, because I think it can be so, so helpful. So I wanted to bring this episode back, and I also wanted to bring it back today because I wanted to share with you that Louise has a free challenge going on. It’s a three-day business makeover, and it’s running from August 7th to 9th, so you can sign up now for it. I’ll drop the link to sign up for her free challenge in the show notes.

I am an affiliate for Louise’s Products because I like I said, I took it myself and I only ever suggest things that I took myself and I love, and I highly suggest it. So I take that all very seriously. That’s why you don’t see me share very much about anything else. So I wanted to to be upfront with you about that, but I was really excited when she told me that she was hosting this live virtual event from August 7th to 9th, because I think it’s going to give you the exact tools that you need to get things in line and not feel overwhelmed and scattered. But instead, like learning how to craft a daily schedule, a weekly schedule, monthly action goals, Like all the stuff that I know Louise taught me and how it really, really helped me to move my business forward. So click the link in the show notes to sign up for Louise’s free challenge. And I hope you enjoy the last of the re-airs of this little summer marketing school series. See you on the other side.

Hey, Louise. Welcome to On Your Terms.

Louise Henry: I’m so happy to be here.

Sam Vander Wielen: I’m so happy you’re here. As I told you before we started recording, if it wasn’t you, I probably wouldn’t have done this today. But because we’re friends, I’m like, let’s do this. This is so fun. So I’m so glad you’re here.

Louise Henry: Yeah, I’m honored. I love this podcast. I tell everyone that they should listen. And yeah, I’m just really happy to be a guest and be able to hang out with you. I cannot believe that you’re just showing up already. Like you’re amazing and just you’re crushing it.

Sam Vander Wielen: Oh, thank you. Well, so are you. But I’m just trying. That’s all I keep saying is, like, I’m trying. I think it would be really helpful for you to tell everybody, first off, what you do and how you serve people online.

Louise Henry: Absolutely. So I help people with their tech and systems, so really how their business is running so that they can get to the next level in the most, like, simple and efficient way possible. So if you would like to nerd out on the back end of your systems and definitely come and hang out with me, I have tons of videos on my YouTube channel. I have like over 250 now where you can get help with all the different tech aspects of running your business.

But yeah, I have online courses. I have three topics that I love particularly. So one is productivity and I teach the project management system Asana, but I teach it with an angle for online business owners of like, how can you use this to totally systematize your business and hit your big revenue goals? So I do that. Then I teach newer entrepreneurs how to DIY their entire website using the tool Squarespace in my course website. And then I teach all the moving pieces of online marketing, so launches and sales funnels and email marketing all through this one platform, which is called Kartra, and it does all of those things. And so I help people like set up all their backend marketing systems with that platform.

Sam Vander Wielen: That’s amazing. Yes. And you have them bundled too, right? Because I know that you love people to buy them all because so many people need everything. I’m just obsessed with all of your stuff. And if, like Louise, like casually mentioned that she has all these YouTube videos, you have to go watch these because they are so helpful. And I remember, it’s like those YouTube videos we watch over and over to make sure you’re getting exactly right because you can actually walk away with tangible tips from Louise’s videos. So definitely check them out.

I’m also on Uplevel with Asana and I absolutely love it. And I tell everybody about it and I know my customers who are all listening are like, yeah, we’ve heard you talk about this like nine million times, and I talk about it on the podcast all the time. But I’m always like, Ryan makes fun of me all the time because I’m somebody who like when I get something that I really love, I want everybody to buy it. From like a genuine place, I just get very excited.

But that’s how I feel about Uplevel with Asana because I’m like, no, you guys, it is more than just like teaching you how to use Asana. Like literally, Louise and Uplevel Asana was the thing that kicked me off into running a much bigger business because she really taught me how to create a system on the back end because, like, it just wasn’t working. I was like killing myself to keep up with everything. And then that allowed me to start hiring. And then once I started hiring, things really took off. And when I hired, people were coming in and implementing the system that you taught me in Uplevel Asana. So it is awesome. I love it.

Louise Henry: It’s so amazing. Yeah, it really has like a snowball effect, you know? It’s like, okay, because you’ve set things up this way, because you now have this central place where every moving piece of your business lives, then it’s what is that going to allow you to do. When you told me, like all the effects that you saw from it, like, oh my gosh.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, I loved it. And I’m going to make you talk to them in a little bit about one of your most controversial statements in Uplevel with Asana, which is throw out all your notebooks, throw out all these journals, get rid of all these pieces of paper. And I was like, no, not my notebooks, don’t take the notebooks.

Louise Henry: They’re so cute.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, they’re so cute. And there’s so many random ones with so many random notes all over it. But yeah, you really whipped me into shape, so we’ll talk about it. But before we do, one of the things I love about you the most is your why and like the why behind your business. So I’d love for you to share with everybody a little bit about your bigger why and what you’re doing this all for and maybe what you’re not doing it for, because I think it’s very refreshing.

Louise Henry: Yeah, for sure. So I have had this vision for a long time and honestly, like, I don’t talk about it too much and I want to. Honestly, I’m going to start talking about it more publicly.

Sam Vander Wielen: You’ve made the public statement now.

Louise Henry: Yeah. No, I definitely want to because I love seeing projects like this come to life. But I do talk about it in Uplevel with Asana, because Uplevel with Asana, it’s like, okay, we start, we’re setting our big goals. And I’m like, where? Like, why? Why does that matter to you? Where is this next revenue target? Like, what is that getting you to? So for me, I’ve known that I wanted to do this for a long time, but basically, I have a brother with autism who is wonderful. He’s just the funniest guy and he’s so fun to be around.

But basically, as you get older with autism, your options of how to spend your day and, yeah, how to feel like meaning and purpose each day, your options become really limited and it’s very difficult for families. So yeah, basically what I’ve decided to do well, first of all, I moved from Canada to Panama. Me and my brother, we just, we love tropical environments, and we love the ocean and we’re very much like beach bums. And so my first step was to move down here. And then I am moving my brother down here with me. So Sam, I don’t even know if I told you, like the update of the plan where I’m building a tiny house on this property.

Sam Vander Wielen: On your property, right? Yeah. That’s amazing. Yeah. So Louise just bought a house in Panama, by the way, and it’s beautiful. You have to go watch her Instagram to see it.

Louise Henry: Yes, definitely my dream house, which was so cool, and all from building this online business. So I’m going to build a tiny house on the property, move him down with me. And then I’m building a nonprofit for people with disabilities down here. So we’re going to build a big day center pitcher, like a big farm, but with lots of cool buildings, with all sorts of different activities and things that they can do each day. So that’s the intention. And yeah, I actually am going to document the process of bringing it to life.

Sam Vander Wielen: That’s amazing. Yeah, I love that. And I just love that about you. And I was sharing with Louise before too that like, this is what I find so interesting about business is what I want you guys to take away from it, was that like when I found — I consumed a lot of Louise’s content. I watched so many of her YouTube videos. And then it was like, then I knew I wanted Uplevel with Asana because I wanted to pick a tool, like a productivity tool, and I really wanted to implement it and like go all in and kind of run my business. Like literally, my whole business now is housed in Asana. And yes, we back it up daily, by the way. We pay for that.

But that was — because that was my next question was like, wait, if my whole business lives here, what’s happening? So we do. We have daily backups. But once we, you know, I implemented this program, that like, that was great. I needed that. I needed the program. But then what really made me like a ravenous fan of Louise’s was finding this stuff out, right? And being like, oh, she’s actually a really cool person with really cool goals who I can relate to, even if I don’t have the same exact life experience.

And so this is why I’m always telling you guys that you have to share these other parts of yourself. And you might not think it’s related, by the way, but it’s so funny, Louise, to think about, as you were saying that I’m thinking like how similar this is to being an entrepreneur. You saw a problem and then you are creating a solution to that problem that’s unique. You’re filling a hole, right? And you’re doing it with a lot of passion. And that’s the same in your business as it is with your nonprofit.

Louise Henry: Yeah, exactly. So that’s why I do want to document it because I’m like, okay, it’s a similar process. It’s a similar of like, okay, the vision is there. How am I going to work backwards and bring this to life? And one of the best things you can do is tell people about it. You don’t have to tell everyone, but definitely telling people about it. Because even since I’ve done that, like, you will laugh when I tell you just the people, I’ve met by being open about it here, I’ve like, I already have the people who I want to run it. I already have an incredible woman who has all these animals and we’re going to have all these horses and stuff. And I’ve already got all these hookups simply because I will talk about it to anyone.

Sam Vander Wielen: That’s so cool. That’s so cool. I can’t wait to hold like a fundraiser for it one day. I’m going to do like a webinar and like donate everything. That’s what I like to do a couple times a year. So I’m excited for it to kick off and we’ll do that. And I will come visit if you’ll let me and hang out.

Louise Henry: Thank you so much. Yeah, no thank you. That’s huge. And that’s exactly how I plan on funding this. Yeah, that’s how it’s connected specifically to the online business. It’s like, okay, so now I have this platform and I have digital products that I can sell, and I can choose exactly where the proceeds go. And so I’m just directing it there.

Sam Vander Wielen: Which is another really cool part about running our own businesses this way is like, you really can do whatever you want. And like I remember telling you this last year, but like the business is doing really well in 2021. And it was mid-year, I’d already like quadrupled past what I’d expected. And so in June I was like, I want to take the whole month and just raise money for the Leukemia Society. Like everything I do is just going to go towards that. And we just did like the whole month. I didn’t talk about my product, I didn’t do anything else. And yeah, just to have that kind of freedom, we focus a lot on time, freedom and everything, which is super important too. But I also felt like that, yeah, that relief of just being able to focus on that and I can already picture you having that moment, that many moments with your brother there too.

Louise Henry: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s huge. And honestly, whenever I talk about this, I know so many people listening are the same. So many people are like, well, I want to do this so that I can have my dad quit his job that he hates. I’m doing this so I can support my child with disabilities. Or yeah, just the more that I talk to people, the stories that are out there just incredible. And that’s what’s motivating so many people. It is not always a nice person, you know? Those sort of goals.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, exactly. And that’s such a big part of why I wanted you to be here today because I want all of you guys to hear other stories. Like there are other options out there other than, as Louise and I say, like the handbag and Lambo people is like, there are a lot of other people that are doing really good stuff. So I would love for you to share something that’s been like one of the most unexpected but best parts of building your own online business with us.

Louise Henry: Yeah. That’s a really good question with the unexpected. Like I don’t know because I built it because I was like, time freedom sounds amazing, location freedom, and it has given me those things. I have been able to travel the world and just work from my laptop, for example. But that was really a big part of what was inspiring me at the beginning. I would say unexpected is the fact that I’ve been able to connect with people from all over the world. The network is just so wild, and I’ve just met incredible people and then I get to have friends like you who legitimately, we have so much in common and like we’re, I don’t know, it just opens up your world in so many ways.

So I think that, yeah, I wasn’t expecting that. It’s like, oh. Like not only do you have customers, like hundreds of customers all over the world, but then it’s like, yeah, you get to know some of them really well. You get to build friendships with other entrepreneurs. And admittedly, we are a unique kind for sure.

Sam Vander Wielen: We’re a rare breed. Yeah.

Louise Henry: Exactly. So you’re going to get to meet them and create so many things beyond just running a standard business.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, the community element is huge. And I feel like oftentimes people will share that they meet people. Like maybe they felt like people never really fully understood them or they couldn’t connect with people. Like I couldn’t connect with people in my old job. Like I couldn’t relate to other lawyers. So then I felt like this was the first little workplace I’ve ever been and that I’ve been like, oh, I love my co-workers. Everybody’s so cool and creative. Like, I love that.

Louise Henry: Yeah, it’s been really, really unexpected.

Sam Vander Wielen: And at the same time, what do you feel like have been some of the biggest challenges you faced as an entrepreneur?

Louise Henry: I think some of, okay. Well, first of all, there’s been so many. We’ll need so much time. Do we have — first of all, yeah, it’s been very difficult. It’s equally difficult as it is fulfilling. I love the fact that we set our own rules and we’re able to do what we want. But there’s a lot of pressure that comes with doing this sort of thing. I think for me, having to be the face of the brand and being the constant content creator has actually been really hard for me and energetically to show up like that and feel like I always have ideas and things to share and show up week after week, especially after a few years, yeah, that started to become difficult. And even just with that, plus how the business runs, getting quite close to burnout a few times, I would say that’s been pretty, pretty difficult. So yeah, the outward energy that is required in this sort of job.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, for sure. Have you felt any, like, have you found any thing, any systems or any habits that help you in managing that energy and continuing to be the face of your business?

Louise Henry: Yeah, absolutely. I would say it’s still a work in progress. I’ll tend to do the parts of my business that is more comfortable for me, like the behind-the-scenes stuff. And then I’m like, oh, no, I have to refocus over here. So I would say it’s a work in progress. But yes, there are definitely months where I’m so on top of it and I’m batching all of my content and I’m like, you know, and I’m really outsourcing absolutely everything I can and getting help from my team, for sure. So but just admittedly, it’s not perfect. Even though I know what I should be doing, I know all the systems, you know.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah. I think it’s just helpful for people to hear that somebody who is as successful as you and has such a great business is still navigating this. Because one of the things I’m always trying to drive home is that pretty much everything that I teach and that you teach is fluid. The stuff is changing. It’s evolving. None of it is meant to like — even our Asana system that we set up, we didn’t just set it up and then forget about it for the rest of time. We’ve adapted over time to say we need this extra section, we need to make this better. I’m always talking about that with contracts and stuff like this stuff is supposed to evolve. So I think it’s helpful for them to hear that there’s never this mountain top that you’re reaching and then you’re like, ah, I can sit back now and it’s over, right?

Louise Henry: Yeah. Like, oh, it’s all easy now. It’s like no, if you’re doing content, that’s a neverending task that you’re going to have to do in your business for sure.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah. And I bet a lot of people think it’s easy for you to put out there. I mean you put out beautiful content. Your content all like looks great. It’s so produced well, right. And your YouTube videos are incredible, very professional. So I think there is sometimes that assumption of, oh, Louise must love doing that or oh, it must be really easy for her. So I think to know that you also show up on those times when maybe you’re just not feeling it and you’re kind of just pushing through too is helpful for people to know.

Louise Henry: Yeah, I consider myself super introverted and that I’m way better at the figuring of the things out and the behind the scenes on my computer. I’m way better at that.

Sam Vander Wielen: And that’s I think, yeah, I think you’re pretty good at it. But I hear you. I understand. So. Okay. I was hoping you could share three tips or lessons with people who might be in the earlier stages of building their businesses and they love how you’re doing, what you’re doing. What three tips would you give to someone who’s just starting out and feels like this is so overwhelming, it’s a lot. Like they don’t know where to start.

Louise Henry: Yeah. Okay. So three things. I would say, first, creating some form of Evergreen content. I know you are a fan of this.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, speaking to my heart.

Louise Henry: Yeah, it really does start with the content piece. And so that in itself is difficult to like just start. Okay, so put yourself out there with content. And when we say Evergreen content, we mean like content that is going to live on, content that can be picked up by search engines to bring traffic to you for years to come. So I would say choose a platform and do that, whether it’s a blog or YouTube, I would say I would lean to YouTube. I think it’s fantastic. I think it’s going to build your business and build your brand in so many ways. And then also, once you grow it a little, you’re going to get paid for those efforts as well. So it’s passive income having a YouTube channel as well. So I think that’s awesome. So that’s the first thing like choose a platform that you’re going to commit to.

The second, so like specifically, this is how I’ve done it is pick a really specific thing to become an expert at and document that. So that’s pretty much what I’ve done with all of these courses, it’s teaching a very specific transformation, and I’ve had a lot of luck doing that. But it’s not like I knew exactly what those things were going to be. So I think you can, honestly, you can choose something like, oh, I’m pretty interested in this. Let’s say you’ve just discovered a platform, then go all in on it, become an expert in that area, and then you can turn around and you can absolutely teach that.

So the next part would be create digital products for sure. I’ve always wanted to do things that were more scalable, that could have hundreds or thousands of people inside of them versus containers that require more of your energy, like one-on-one coaching or group coaching. So the next thing would be to create digital products around that thing. And I would say launch it. Do the launch sort of method. I wouldn’t even be worrying so much about things like sales funnels and things you can totally set up later. But at the beginning, I would just be like, okay, I have my content, I have my expertise and a program around that and then I’m going to launch it. That’s what I would do.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, those are all really good tips. Somebody wrote to me the other day and they said like, Sam, how much longer am I just supposed to post content before I start talking about my offer? And I was like, oh my God, wait, who told you not to talk about your offer? No, start talking about it now. Like yesterday. Right? And they were like, but don’t I have to set up a funnel first? I was like, oh my goodness. For like the first year or two I had the Ultimate Bundle, my offer was the Ultimate Bundle. That was it. It would be like, here are five things. You should have a contract, now buy the Ultimate Bundle. And that’s how I got the first few hundred people in it. And it was a slow burn for sure in the beginning. But I do think sometimes people think that you have to have this fancy system set up. And sure, the fancy system helped once I got it, but it was pretty straightforward, right? And it gives you that opportunity to work out the kinks, I think, too.

Louise Henry: Exactly. Like it can be simple. Like that was honestly, three pretty simple steps. But if you do that and you can follow through, you’re going to be so far ahead. That’s the core. Yes. Now that we’re further along, once you have other systems and as you develop, then you can for sure focus on automating things and setting up more passive stuff. But at the beginning, when you’re just trying to bring in revenue, that’s the fastest way to do it, I would say.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, for sure. Okay. And I’m glad you brought up YouTube as well because I know I know that you’ve built so much of your platform on YouTube. And I’ve done a bit of the same and even a bit of a mixture of what you talked about where I’ve done YouTube videos, but then written SEO blog posts for those videos and then embedded the videos in my site with the post. And both are driving traffic both through YouTube and through the blog. So I’ve worked really hard on that as well. And I agree that that is just so helpful. But I also know that people will feel very overwhelmed when they hear, oh, you should start a YouTube channel. So I know you know a lot about that. And what would you say are some of the starting points for somebody who wants to get started with a YouTube channel for their business?

Louise Henry: Yeah. I mean, it’s one of those things like it is so worth it. But yeah, it’s definitely intimidating. And you think that you have to have all the most perfect equipment. You’re spending so much time on the equipment, like you need good equipment. But I guess back to your point on how things are going to evolve, as are you as a content creator, as a business owner, like it is going to change.

So I would say not being worried about it being perfect at the beginning and just getting in the habit of posting videos like so many people really do. They talk about it for years of wanting to start something and it’s like, just do it and then you’ll work out the kinks and eventually you’ll probably look back at those first videos and not think they’re great, but that’s just part of it and it’s fine. You have to get comfortable speaking on video and doing that. But yeah, I think that’s what I would say, simplicity. And it’s just going past that, going out of your comfort zone, I guess to actually post them, that is a huge accomplishment.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, seriously, I know. And I always say if nobody’s watching them, then that’s good for you because then you can mess up. So do that now while no one’s watching because trust me, later, I’m — now, I’m like, sometimes, like, should I say that? Should I do it this way? So I wish sometimes nobody was watching and could test it out.

Louise Henry: That’s a great point. Great point.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah. Like just mess up now. Yeah.

Louise Henry: Yeah, yeah. Well, and honestly, a lot of my videos weren’t perfect, but they still brought in results, so it doesn’t matter. That’s how I was building my platform. That’s the benefit of doing search-based content is like, you are getting discovered even if you’re just getting started. So it helps so much. And yeah, like they weren’t perfect. And sometimes it was just me talking over screen and I didn’t put my face on camera, but it doesn’t matter. And it still, it really did give me a leg up at the beginning.

Sam Vander Wielen: But that’s because your videos were helpful, right? That’s the other thing is just focusing on that being a helpful tip. It might not be the most beautifully produced at that time, but it probably got somebody that quick win, which then was like, oh, I want to watch more of her videos, right?

Louise Henry: Yeah, absolutely. Like have that ideal client in mind, like who that person is, what phase of business or what phase of the journey that you help them with they’re at and just, yeah, create genuinely helpful content for them.

Sam Vander Wielen: How long did you feel like you were posting on YouTube before you felt like you got some traction?

Louise Henry: Definitely like early on. I wasn’t getting a lot of subscribers or anything, but it still helped me grow my business. It still helped me get clients, for example, and it still helped me on that side of things, you know? So yeah, it definitely and it took me a long time. I have a YouTube video where I share like the journey to 100,000 subscribers. And I’m like, here’s a way that you can do it a lot faster and easier than I did. It definitely took a long time, but that’s the thing. It’s just been driving leads to my business, and it’s really helped me on that.

So I think that’s important too. When you’re looking at channels, you’re not necessarily going to operate the same way as a lifestyle YouTuber would be, and that actually caused a lot of confusion for me because I was like, oh, all my views for that video are low or something. That must mean this content isn’t great, this isn’t valuable. It’s not the case. So I would say like, look at other YouTubers who are more so using it for lead generation than they’re just building a brand and they’re getting paid via sponsorships.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, that’s a really good tip because I do think same with social media sometimes that people approach it where they’re seeing a different group of people using it in a different way, and then they’re applying those things to themselves and it’s just not the same. Speaking of social media, I thought it would be helpful if you shared with everybody like, how are you feeling about social media these days? How is it playing into your business, especially being somebody who does so well on YouTube?

Louise Henry: Yeah, yeah. So YouTube for me is definitely more important. I’m more so I’m seeing the results in my business from YouTube videos and from building my email list. And I know you’re also a huge email list fan. So social definitely helps. So the only place I really spend time on is Instagram. And it definitely helps. It helps you get closer to your audience. It helps you nurture those people and definitely get sales from it. But I would just say the primary source would more so be the YouTube and email side.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah. Which is so much healthier from a business perspective because that way you don’t have to worry yourself with so many algorithm changes and people get really nervous about this stuff. And I’m like, it wouldn’t be that stressful if you were just focusing on that email list instead.

Louise Henry: Yeah, yeah. Like think of it as an add on. And I do think it’s stressful because a lot of people are teaching only Instagram. And so, yeah, I think you have to decide how that feels for you. That might feel like really light and easy. Oh, I only need to post on one platform, and I can like do fun Reels and stories that might feel good for you or that might feel super stressful to just have the one. So yeah, if you can pad it out with some more Evergreen and regardless, I would build an email list.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, that’s true. Yeah. I was at a super fancy restaurant in New York not that long ago and they brought over tableside this dish that they were going to prepare for you right in front of us. And they had the main dish. And then they had all the accoutrements. Right. And as these like putting all these accoutrements on the top of the dish, I’m like, none of these things are necessary. It makes it look really pretty. At the end, you’re like, wow. And it looks so cool. But I was like, that’s kind of like social media too. The thing in the middle is what I call like the big three of like YouTube blog and podcast or email list. And so it’s just funny to me that I was like, we spent all this time worrying about all the dang accoutrements. And really, it’s just that stuff that’s in the middle. Yeah.

Louise Henry: Well, and it’s so true because it’s so distracting. I don’t know. I think because it’s so visual and it feels like so trendy as well. Often I find myself focusing on Instagram when I shouldn’t be. I’m just like, oh, I have to be on there. There’s definitely a pressure around being on Instagram and being visible all the time.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, I know. I was thinking the other day that I wanted to tell my customers that if I was like their parent of online business, I would be like, focus on the Evergreen stuff. That’s your homework. And it’s like you can’t go out to play until you’re doing your homework. So if you’re not building your email list or you don’t have a blog or a YouTube channel or a podcast, and then you’re not combining those in some way where you’re emailing your list about your YouTube videos or whatever, then you have no business being out on the playground, which to me is Instagram, right? So if you’re out there playing all the time, you’re not taking care of your homework, you got to do it. That’s how I feel.

Louise Henry: I love that. That’s so funny. I feel a similar way as to scrolling versus producing.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, that’s a good one too. Yeah.

Louise Henry: Yeah, yeah. So like, challenge yourself if you are going to scroll. And obviously, it’s super fun and mindless activity, but if you are going to do that, challenge yourself like have I created content for this platform first?

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah. Produce more than you consume, that’s for sure. All right. Well, I know that you are such a productivity expert, so I feel like they’re going to get a kick out of this. If you would tell them a little bit of the why behind why having organized systems or some sort of productivity system in place is so important as an online business owner.

Louise Henry: It is going to help you in so many ways. It’s going to help you manage your time in the best way possible. It’s going to help you actually work less and be able to spend more of your time on revenue generating activities. So therefore you make so much more money. And then there’s the other side too of your business is operating in the most efficient way possible, which just automatically makes it more profitable if you focus there. So many reasons, but I think it really turns it into like a proper business and it allows you to be really focused and intentional with where you’re putting your time.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, for sure. Especially like I remember you saying this one time, but when you would get to the end of a day and you felt like you worked so hard, but you weren’t really sure. If someone had asked you, what exactly did you do, you’d be like, I’m not sure, but I’m exhausted. If you ever feel like that, I feel like that’s how you know, it’s such a good sign. And often I know for me, every day was a little bit chaotic before taking your course because I wasn’t sure what I was necessarily doing that day. I was kind of like putting out fires, but I was jumping all around and I didn’t really know what was on my plate. I had lots of my little list in my papers everywhere, and that made me feel nice and everything. But I really would feel so overwhelmed at the end of days and not really be certain what I had to show for it.

So I thought like the one of the coolest things you taught us inside of Uplevel with Asana was really living off of the My Task tab. And I’m sure ClickUp has something similar. I don’t know. I’ve never used it. But I kind of live and die by my My Task tab, which is where it pulls all the tasks from all your different Asana boards, and it tells me what the tasks are. And so that is the first thing I check every day now. And that is what sets my day, right? It’s like what’s in there.

And it’s also the way that the people who work for me can help manage me as well, because sometimes they go in and they’re like, oh, you have way too much stuff, or this stuff has to be moved around or it can be assigned to other people. So it’s super, super helpful. And then the people on my team can manage the other people on our team the same way, right? They can look at their tasks. So it really does give you that like, this is what I’m actually trying to do today thing. So anyone who’s experienced that, I feel like you would get a lot out of it.

Louise Henry: Yeah, yeah, exactly. It gives you this whole bird’s eye view of your business. It allows you to actually plan in advance and store all of this information and all of your processes in one place. So you’re no longer feeling like a frazzled mess. And you’re not just, yeah, like waking up each day and being like, okay, what should I do? You’ve actually already thought of it ahead of time. And then, yeah, as you start to grow, all of your processes, it’s already in there and so it’s so much easier to bring on a team and get help and start to get those tasks off of your plate.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, for sure. I think that’s what you said about actually working less because you’re not going to be spinning your wheels so much. And for all of you who are like, I know I want to hire, but I’m not sure exactly what I like, who I want to hire or exactly what tasks I would give them. That was the first thing that I did was I went through Louise’s course, created all the Asana stuff, and then when I started looking at the tasks, I was much more clearly able to see, oh, there’s this whole set of these tasks that I don’t need to do. I’m not the person that has to do this. If it’s legal, if I have to work in a product, obviously I have to film a video, it has to be me, but all this other stuff.And then literally I was able to reassign it, right? And so like, I already had it all in there, so it was awesome. Yeah, I really liked it. Yeah.

And so I know that people get really overwhelmed about picking a productivity system, right? There’s people spend so much time debating Asana and ClickUp or now well, some people use Trello. I know some people use Notion. It’s like there are all these different tools and a lot of my people especially can spend time really trying to comparison shop. So what would you tell them that they should be looking for in a productivity system that’s best for them?

Louise Henry: Yeah. I think it’s so difficult too, because you’re not even really going to know until you’re using them, if you’ll like it, and it fits for you. So I think Sam’s totally right. Don’t just spend all your time trying to pick one. They all ultimately are trying to serve a similar purpose, which is having you not rely on those cute notebooks that we talked about. How can you not rely on something like that? And instead having a digital system that you can literally search through, and you can store everything and nothing, no important idea or to do is ever lost again.

But I would say choose one that you actually like the feel of, one that you could imagine yourself using each day. It’s not necessarily like the most complicated one is going to be the best for your efficiency, for your productivity. So for me, Trello was too limited in features, ClickUp and Notion requires so much setup and customization and honestly can feel really cluttered and complicated. It’s not that they’re not great tools, but that’s just like how they feel. And then Asana is in the middle, and it is really powerful. It has a lot of features, but it’s also simple enough. It’s simple and I enjoy being in there. It’s nice and clean. So that’s how ultimately, I made the decision.

But I think just go with one, like if you have a gut feeling like, yep, for whatever reason, that one really speaks to me, go with it. They’re all, yeah, serving a similar purpose. And the fact that it’s digital, then I’m happy. I think that is going to be a game changer. But I know a lot of business owners, yeah, they do love like the My Tasks that Sam was talking about. They do love Asana for being able to easily manage a team. The way Asana is set up is very much like catered to businesses, I would say, and that sort of productivity. So it’s done in mind with outsourcing to team members and having multiple projects and needing to see that in a few different ways. So yeah, I would say a lot of business owners love that. So just don’t spend too much time trying to make the decision. Just pick one.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, pick it. And you recommend the free version of Asana, right? You don’t think most people need to pay for it?

Louise Henry: No, absolutely, to get started. I think once you’re comfortable with it and you’re more advanced, then you’ll be like, okay, great. This premium feature looks awesome, I want that. But the free plan is so good. It’s one of the best free plans of any software like I’ve ever seen. So it is really strong. Just get started there. Build the habit of checking into it and just know actually, okay, maybe you’re on the other side and you’ve gone, and you’ve tried all four of those that we mentioned, and you don’t like any of them, just know that it actually takes a bit of time to become mega-fans like we are. At the beginning I was like, I don’t get this. Like, it’s so much easier for me to just grab my notebook and write something down. So there is a bit of a transition period, but once it’s all in and set up properly and you have your beautiful color coded to do list and calendar, you’ll be like, okay, I get it.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah. Which Louise teaches you, by the way. But yeah, I really like adopted your strategy of I like trusted you and I was like, she’s brilliant and she knows what she’s talking about, I’m going to go for it. And you really suggested that we are all in. And so I wasn’t joking about the daily backups because I literally have a project in Asana called Ideas. And then I have one like General, it’s like the thoughts of a crazy person and just like rambling. And then there’s like they’re broken down to like Reels and podcast ideas, email ideas, product ideas, future collaboration ideas, I have all these different ones as well.

But I literally, when I’m out and about, I will see something and I’ll say to Ryan, hold on, I got to open up Asana really quick because I have to write this down and I take notes about it in there. I outline my podcast episode. I mean, we plan out the entire podcast in there. So every episode is its own task, and then I plan them all, I outline them there, and then our team actually communicates about all those tasks as well. It’s cut down on a lot of communication, like email, that kind of stuff. Because I also like that I can see my team members talking to each other about something so I can be that like nosy CEO and can be like, okay, I see where things are at with this and so I don’t have to check in. So that’s been really helpful.

But you don’t — I mean, as I did not like, I had to sign up by myself before I had anybody working for me. And then I used the free plan, by the way, until I probably scaled the business up to like seven figures. Once I got past that, I was like, okay, I’ll like add on this speech or whatever. But you wouldn’t tell someone like that, there might be some people right now who are being like, oh, I don’t need this until — it sounds like it’s helpful only if you have a team. But can you talk to the people who are just still working as a solo entrepreneur?

Louise Henry: Oh my gosh. The earlier you can set it up, the better. It is going to be a game changer because it’s going to help you grow faster. When you can see your business in this way and when you can tie things to what’s really important, what’s actually bringing me results, what am I getting done, like even that awareness of how your business is running is going to be massive. But no, I was using it earlier on as well and it was so helpful because as a solopreneur, you have to balance all of the things. So there’s all these different categories.

And I just think relying on our notebooks or just storing these things in our mind, I think that’s adding so much unnecessary stress to what it means to be a solo business owner. So get in there. Yeah, use the free plan, but still divide your business into all the different sections that there are. Like, okay, so here’s what I’m doing for marketing and sales. Here’s what I’m doing with my products and programs. Here’s my client management. If you’re working with clients, it’s so helpful to have a board specific for each individual client. So yeah, it’s just going to help you level up in so many ways. And I do think it will help you grow faster because of all the awareness and systems you’ll develop as well.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, I think so too. And by the way, Louise gives you templates for all of the boards in Asana. And I actually thought, as somebody who had already set up a funnel, by the time I purchased your course, I thought it was so funny because when I saw your template for launching a product or creating a new product or marketing something, I was like, she’s literally giving everybody a playbook of how to launch a product. You didn’t even realize in this like template or maybe you did, but it was like you’re literally giving them the to do list of how to launch a new product or how to run a challenge if you have one in there about like a challenge and stuff. And so I’m like, I don’t think people understand just how much value is in here because you were literally giving. I was like, I just so happen to already have all those. They just weren’t organized in a place. That’s what you helped me do. But I think that’s so valuable for people.

Louise Henry: I do think that that sort of thing is fun. And I feel like I’m really good at just seeing everything that needs to get done for something to be accomplished, I will often say like, okay, I think my, you know, all these different like weak spots in my business, but I’m really good at being like, okay, here’s where I am, here’s where I want to be, what do I have to do to get there. So yeah, it was like really a no brainer for me to be like, oh, I’ll just take any system that I’ve developed for myself and just put it in the program. And I think this will be really helpful.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, it’s brilliant. Yeah. And I want to talk to you a little bit about goal setting, because one of the things I was surprised about in the program was that you had us set goals because like you said, they’re related to what are you doing all this stuff for? What is this to do list getting you to do. And so how do you recommend that we go about setting our goals as online business owners? I know that’s a broad question.

Louise Henry: Yeah. Okay. Well, I recommend that you do start. Actually, you start broad, and you start with that big picture vision of what is this all for. And just really tapping into, yeah, what will keep you motivated each day as you are tackling that to do list. So yeah, thinking about the lifestyle that you want to create and how you want to give back and all those things, where you want to be working from. All of those things. So start there and then I get really strategic about it and break it down into, okay, what do we think we can tackle this year? So then break it down where it’s like, okay, the vision is clear, amazing.

And of course, all of this can adjust and can adapt as you go. But yeah, starting with the big vision and then okay, what are we going to focus? What are we going to make happen for this year? So your annual goals. And then I do like to have people break it down even further and take that annual goal, break it down, what does that mean for you quarterly? What does that mean for you every single month? What does that mean even every single week?

So you can start to look at your business in a really structured way and break down the math of achieving your goals honestly, which is something that really helped me actually, and say, I’m curious if this helped you like understanding that business was just a numbers game and that like, okay, you’re going to learn what your conversion rate is and then, okay, do more of that. Do more what is already gotten you results, and here’s how you can predict what your numbers will be. I don’t know. It was very reassuring.

Louise Henry: Yes. It’s not like a manifestation thing. I mean, there is like something to this where like what Louise is saying is like, in Asana for example, when I was starting out with setting these goals, it would be like, okay, I want to make $20,000 on this product in this month or this quarter or whatever. And it’s like, so to make $20,000 on this product, how many sales is that? And so let’s say it was ten, okay. To make ten sales, if I have a conversion rate of 5 percent, so 5 percent of the people who watch my webinar end up purchasing it, how many people — it’s like a word problem. How many people do I need to get in to watch my webinar? How many people do I need to sign up for it in order to convert 5 percent to hit my $20,000?

That’s what she’s saying. It’s like we kind of make this more complicated than it is to back it out. And then your main focus then becomes like, I mean, I think so many roads in business lead to lead generation. And so it’s like how many leads do we get in if you have the rest of what I’m talking about working. So it was really helpful for me to start seeing clearly. I think I was shooting for much bigger than what I actually needed. And so it did feel like a little bit of a relief in that sense.

Louise Henry: Cool. Yeah. And I think as well, like breaking it down like that, it will make my massive annual goal feel so much more doable. I’m like, okay, great. I’m just going to focus on my next quarter. I’m just going to focus monthly. And because it’s a smaller piece, it feels a lot more, yeah, like I can accomplish it.

Sam Vander Wielen: And so what interval do you recommend to them? Do you recommend them doing kind of working backwards like the year, quarterly, monthly?

Louise Henry: Yeah, yeah. I would start it that way. And then I think it’s something that you’re going to check in regularly. So like at the start of each quarter, I kind of do a reset. Like, okay, how did I do this past quarter? Do I need to adjust these numbers? Am I on track? What’s going well? What’s not going so well? Let’s figure this out. So I would say, yeah, I’m very clear on the vision, the annual goal, and then I break out the numbers so I can see what that will mean for me in smaller increments. But yeah, definitely check back in and set goals again on a quarterly basis. And then at the start of every month as well, I’m like, okay, what are we going to make happen this month?

Sam Vander Wielen: And how do you reflect on the previous month or quarter as well? Like what do you do with that information?

Louise Henry: Yeah. Well, luckily, it’s all in Asana. So that’s another reason to love Asana is you can track these things. So I actually have a tracking board in Asana and I’m documenting throughout the entire quarter on a weekly basis what has gone well and what hasn’t. So it’s really easy to go in there and see what are things that we need to fix, where we could put more of our energy, or where we might be falling short towards that goal. So just that awareness, because when I was earlier on in my business, I would set a big goal at the beginning of the year and then not check in with it at all and then get to the end of the year and cross my fingers.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, I hope it worked out. Yeah.

Louise Henry: Yeah, yeah.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah. I can understand that. Do you have like a KPI system set up in Asana as well? Do you track all metrics throughout your business?

Louise Henry: Not all metrics, but I have one. And yeah, this is all in the recent update that I did. So I updated Asana for 2022. And yeah, so now I have a tracking board and I track like what are the important numbers for me in my business, which is revenue email list, YouTube subscribers. And I’m tracking Instagram as well because it’s interesting and it does help, but I would say the topmost important ones for me are YouTube and my email list. So I’m tracking that all in on a weekly basis. And then I also have a little tracker and I document if I’ve done the content pieces that I’m supposed to that week.

Sam Vander Wielen: That’s a good idea. Yeah, I like that. Because then, it’s not like, is this thing just growing without me doing? It’s like expecting there to be more money in your bank account without putting anything in it. Has someone else deposited money in here for me? Yeah, that would be nice. Yeah. Okay.

Louise Henry: Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Sam Vander Wielen: So it’s all in there. Cool. Yeah. That can be really helpful. I know people, it’s — yeah, it’s funny. I don’t think people understand how like — that’s why I love how much you’re into the techie and numbers side of things, because I do feel like it’s poo pooed upon in our industry sometimes of people just being like, you don’t have to worry about all these numbers. I’m like, actually, it’s really important.

Louise Henry: Yeah, there’s a lot of different approaches and I think what most people should do is end up listening to a few different voices and kind of form like their own, which is a combination. I definitely don’t think it’s one. I love the mindset side of what we’re doing. So it’s what we’re bringing to the table here with the more structured strategic approach, add the mindset piece to it as well. But yeah, I definitely don’t think it’s, you know, you can just kind of put stuff out there and it does require a certain amount of things, as in a certain amount of leads if you’re going to reach that number of sales. And it’s not talked about often where it’s just kind of show up and you’ll achieve your sales targets. And I don’t think that’s the case.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, definitely not, or at least it hasn’t been for me. So yeah. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. I think this was so helpful. The last thing I wanted to ask you about before we get into some fun questions was that I know that in the past several years, but recently I’ve seen you share, like you’ve hosted online challenges as part of generating leads or promoting something in your business. And I was just wondering if you had any, I know you did one recently, if you had any takeaways. And I feel like challenges were really popular when I first started and then now, I see them again. So I was just wondering if you would have any tips for people who think maybe a challenge would be a good lead generation or list builder for them?

Louise Henry: Yeah, I love them and I think they’re super effective for a few reasons. I think it’s really fun for people to have something that’s actionable where they’re really going to get something out of that week and take action towards something. And they also work. If it’s someone that’s brand new to you, they have like, well, it depends how long your challenge is, but they have like three to five days with you versus like a one-off workshop where maybe they just have an hour.

And so I don’t know. A lot of my customers, for example, need a bit longer with me. So if you find that you’re struggling, like you’re trying to do a one-hour workshop or something and you’re not seeing the results that you want, I don’t know, maybe try and elongate that process and give people more time with you. I’ve always had more luck with challenges. So yeah, I’ve done so, so, so many. And I will keep doing them just because I do know that. And even if someone is a brand-new cold lead to me, at least by the end I feel like they really know me and what I’m about and they’ve gotten some value. I don’t even really care if they buy. Of course, I’d like them to buy, but I don’t really care because either way, it’s a really great brand builder.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah, okay. That makes a lot of sense. I like too, that you shared that it’s really focusing on making sure they actually take something away from it. So designing a challenge that somebody feels like they get something out of. But I could just see that being so helpful for people who are listening who whether you’re in the health and wellness space, you like career coaching to dating, there’s so many different little projects you could walk people through essentially. So I love the idea of that. I just love the idea of trying something different. You don’t have to do it the way everybody else does it.

Louise Henry: Exactly. And they’re really fun. And I think you can also really get to know the people there. So what we’ll do is after — I’ll do a live training each day and then after I hop off, we’ll do a post inside the Facebook group with a particular action step for that day and get people to start conversations and share how they’re going with that particular action step or how that applies to their business. So yeah, I think you can also really get to know your customers as well.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah. And then there’s that accountability aspect of getting people to actually implement. I think implementation is not talked enough about and I think a lot about customer nurturing and engagement. Like, yes, even once you’ve gotten the sale, you’ve made money, it’s like how do you get them to actually implement what they’ve now purchased? And because then people who implement what they purchase like and people who like what they purchase tell other people about it. So there’s this great snowball effect as well.

Louise Henry: Exactly.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah. That’s awesome. Well, thank you for sharing that. Okay. I have a couple of fun, well, I will designate as fun questions for you. And then I want you to tell everybody how they can find you. So first, have you read anything interesting lately that you want to share with people?

Louise Henry: Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah. Recently, I read Amanda Francis’s book. Have you read that?

Sam Vander Wielen: Oh, no, I haven’t. Was it good?

Louise Henry: Yeah, I loved it. Yeah. Speaking of mindset, so can I swear on this podcast?

Sam Vander Wielen: Yes, you can.

Louise Henry: Okay. It’s called Rich as Fuck: More Money Than You Know What To Do With. So yeah, I do think the mindset piece is so important as well. And I think so many especially like if you are, I don’t know what we would call it, but let’s say more heart centered of an entrepreneur, it can be really difficult to go up against your money mindset box and get paid well for what you do. I think there is a lot and I definitely struggled earlier on in my business with that. So I think it’s super valuable to be looking into money mindset if you haven’t. So yeah, that was a really good read.

Sam Vander Wielen: That’s good to know. Have you watched anything that you’ve really liked lately on TV?

Louise Henry: Yes. Yes, I have. But now, I’m just like drawing a blank. What did I watch lately and I was obsessed with? Okay. I can’t think of, but, okay, one that I think is phenomenal and everyone should watch is Ted Lasso. Have you watched that?

Sam Vander Wielen: Oh, I love Ted Lasso. I love Ted Lasso. And my recent watch and love, if you haven’t seen it yet, is I Love That For You. It is really funny. It’s on Showtime. I think it’s hilarious. But yeah, it’s a girl who always dreamed of being a QVC host. She just wanted to sell things on TV, which I can really relate to because I was obsessed with infomercials as a kid. And I think it’s where I learned everything about marketing. But that’s her dream in life and she finally gets her dream job. It is very, very funny.

Louise Henry: That’s amazing.

Sam Vander Wielen: So highly recommend. Yeah.

Louise Henry: Okay.

Sam Vander Wielen: Yeah. Where’s your favorite place you’ve ever been in the world?

Louise Henry: My favorite place I’ve ever been is probably Bali.

Sam Vander Wielen: I haven’t been, but it looks amazing.

Louise Henry: Yeah. So I lived there for three and a half years.

Sam Vander Wielen: Oh, my gosh.

Louise Henry: And it’s just so such a beautiful place. Yeah. So Bali was incredible. I lived there for three and a half years and we just really would explore the island all the time. And so it’s just so beautiful. It has rice paddies everywhere and we would drive our scooter through. That’s beautiful.

Sam Vander Wielen: That’s awesome. That’s so cool. Okay. So I just have a couple of quick would you rather questions. Would you rather read fiction or nonfiction?

Louise Henry: Non-fiction.

Sam Vander Wielen: Would you rather, I think I know the answer, but would you rather live at the beach, mountains or desert?

Louise Henry: Beach.

Sam Vander Wielen: Would you rather order coffee or tea?

Louise Henry: Coffee, always, every day.

Sam Vander Wielen: And what’s your go to coffee order?

Louise Henry: It is an oat milk latte.

Sam Vander Wielen: Oh, nice. And while you’re cooking, do you clean up as you go or clean up at the end?

Louise Henry: Oh, I rarely cook and clean up at the end if I do.

Sam Vander Wielen: It’s a very controversial question here on the podcast. Okay, Last one. Would you rather hit up a fancy restaurant or the best food trucks?

Louise Henry: Ooh, best food trucks.

Sam Vander Wielen: Same. Yeah. Okay. Thank you, Louise. This was so much fun. Will you tell everybody where it’s best to find you, and if you have anything that they can go and now binge from you?

Louise Henry: Absolutely. Yeah. Just go to Louisehenry.com. Find me there. You will find all the links that you need or you can go to youtube.com/LouiseHenry to find all of those YouTube videos. And then I know Sam has a special link where you can get a discount on Uplevel with Asana. So come and join me there if you want to get organized and hit those big goals.

Sam Vander Wielen: I will drop all the links to all of Louise’s things below so you can join Uplevel with Asana. Go watch her on YouTube and Instagram and all of the things. Thank you so much, Louise, for doing this. This was so fun.

Louise Henry: Thank you so much for having me.

Sam Vander Wielen: Thanks so much for listening to the On Your Terms podcast. Make sure to follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. You can also check out all of our podcast episodes, show notes, links and more at Samvanderwielen.com/podcast. You can learn more about legally protecting your business and take my free legal workshop, Five Steps to Legally Protect and Grow Your Online Business at Samvanderwielen.com. And to stay connected and follow along, follow me on Instagram at @SamVanderWielen and send me a DM to say hi.

Just remember that although I am a attorney, I am not your attorney, and I am not offering you legal advice in today’s episode. This episode and all of my episodes are informational and educational only. It is not a substitute for seeking out your own advice from your own lawyer. And please keep in mind that I can’t offer you legal advice. I don’t ever offer any legal services, but I think I offer some pretty good information.