Personal and Professional Growth & Challenges: A Co-Interview with Megan Smyth
About the episode:
Get ready for a mix up because this week’s episode of Rebrand with RuthAnn is an unscripted co-interview with me, RuthAnn, and one of my first podcast guests, Megan Smyth who is ALSO the copywriter on my team at R Artspace! We’re getting together to discuss our personal and professional growth over the past year as we have both experienced major changes. We’re getting a bit vulnerable and uncovering the challenges we’ve faced, such as losing clients, feeling stuck, and learning to become comfortable with hiring (and firing)! You’ll hear my own journey of transitioning from a solopreneur to building a team and adopting an agency model. Then, Megan shares about her experience with sales and marketing and how she developed a system that not only works but feels GOOD. In this episode, you’ll learn the importance of feel-good sales and marketing strategies, mindset and manifestation and how it contributes to business success, the power of intuition and so much more. Overall, this girlfriend-chat style conversation emphasizes the importance of trusting yourself, taking action, and finding joy in your business and life.
Highlights:
How Megan reevaluated and restructured her business after losing majority of her recurring income in the beginning of 2023
RuthAnn realizing she needed a copywriter on her team to remove bottlenecks for her clients, and how RuthAnn has warmed to the agency model
How Megan teaches her clients to become comfortable with selling and the idea that we never start as experts
Leaning into the energetics and mindset of being a business owner and being relaxed and confident rather than needy or clingy
The process that Megan and RuthAnn both followed when trying new (and sometimes scary) things in their business
Megan’s lifestyle as a traveling business nomad and what her life usually looks like year by year
What a day in the life currently looks like for RuthAnn as the mama to three kids under 5 years old and a thriving business owner
About Megan and Resources
Megan Smyth helps female founders find their voice, amplify their impact, and build a long lasting stand-out brand. She specializes in sales page copy, email funnels, and strategic consulting to disrupt your industry.
Connect with Megan:
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RuthAnn Rafiq
Hello and welcome back to Rebrand with Ruthann. I am so excited that you're here and I have an interesting episode here for you. Interesting in the sense that this is gonna be an unscripted girlfriend business owner chat that we are just hitting the record button on and we're just gonna be talking about work and life and I have Megan Smythe on the podcast. This is exciting because I had Megan, Meg, I had you on.
in the very beginning stages of my podcast last year when I launched this September, you were one of my very first guests. so having you on again is so like perfect because it's kind of, I think this will launch in September. So this is kind of like the one year into my podcast and the one year of us. We knew each other before September, but it's just cool to have you on now. It's like a full circle moment and we're gonna be talking about all the things, business growth and everything, but.
Megan
Mm -hmm.
RuthAnn Rafiq
I'm so excited you're here and if you just want to give everyone a little intro to yourself, that would be great in case they don't know you.
Megan
Yeah, well, thank you for having me back. It's so funny because you were also one of my first podcast guests and we're also just celebrating. We're like on the total timeline of one year podcasting anniversary. So very fun. Yeah, very excited to be here. My name is Megan or Meg as Ruthanne and my friends call me. I am a sales coach and copywriter. Ruthanne and I have worked together many times. So we work on brand messaging and strategy together. And yeah, I'm based in Niagara, Ontario. I am
RuthAnn Rafiq
We really are.
Megan
full -time digital nomad, but that's my home base. And I'm so excited to chat with you about all things like lifestyle and freedom and all the things today, Ruthanne, for everyone to take it. I am ready to go.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes, and I was mentioning to Meg before we hit record, this will be kind of like a co -hosting situation. We're gonna be asking each other questions and just letting the conversation flow. But Meg and I have experienced exceptional growth in this last year. And I just recently listened to your podcast, I listened to it today actually about, you were talking about how like you really experienced a lot of growth in your business and I have too this year. And I...
Megan
you
Megan
You
RuthAnn Rafiq
It's like just so cool to see that you are living a completely different lifestyle than I am, but we're experiencing similar amounts of growth. like you just now mentioned, you're a digital nomad, you travel lot. I'm in the thick of motherhood with three littles under five. And so it's just, we're having, yeah, like a similar experience, but in a very different way. And so I would love to talk with you a little bit about maybe where were you last year?
Megan
Mm -hmm.
RuthAnn Rafiq
And what was your mindset? And I can talk about mine too, like kind of where I was with things. And then we'll go from there.
Megan
Yeah. my gosh. Great question. A year ago, it seems like so much longer. 2023 was like the year that never ended for me. It kind of felt like another pandemic year where like it just went on and on. It was like a series of events. And honestly, my business was like, personal life, just not in like the best of places. I was kind of like going through it, like on all sides. The business had really slowed down. I had lost a lot of my retainer clients all in like a very short span of time. actually lost...
RuthAnn Rafiq
I know.
Megan
all four major retainer clients I had at the time within one single week. And at the same time, yes, yeah, literally one week, like a five day work week. It was like back to back to back. And it was like, nothing happened. It wasn't like there was like a major, you know, conflict or anything. I think it was just like kind of a series of things and various reasons. Some relationships just naturally came to an end and we like parted amicably. Some were just like not the right fit to begin with and had always been kind of.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Wait, one week?
Megan
temporary. had one client who was not a great fit that was like, actually, we don't believe in human marketing anymore. We're going to outsource our entire marketing department and replace them all with AI. was kind of like, good luck to you. That company actually went under shortly after. Spoiler alert. Yeah. So it was just a wild time.
RuthAnn Rafiq
What? No way. Okay, so that's just a warning to everyone. Do not rely on AI for everything, because I hear all the time, AI's gonna replace all of us. I mean, maybe in like 30, 50 years, but like right now, or maybe even sooner than that, but like right now, it's just such an early age stage in the game. Like it cannot replace what we're doing so far. Sorry, just had to interject.
Megan
you
Megan
Sure.
Megan
Yeah, no, I agree. I could go on and on about AI. I mean, I think like, you know, it's a useful tool for sure. I'm not saying like don't use it in your business or that companies shouldn't be using it. But I think like going like from a hard 180 of, know, they had like a 10 person marketing team at the time. That's a lot. Was it just me? You know, like it was everyone. I was like, that's going to be an interesting transition. You know, best of luck to you. But yeah, so it was, it was a bit of a wild time, like personally and professionally. I had all this stuff going on. It was sort of like a rock bottom moment.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Right.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Go my bird.
Megan
for me and that really forced me to reevaluate what I even wanted out of my business and what am I doing with my life? And I thought I'd figured it out because I'd already had that moment. I think I shared on the last podcast episode we did my sort of like origin story where like my original career plan was to be a doctor. And I'd already had one moment where I was studying pre -med and I was like, what am I doing with my life? Is this really what I want? And that turned into me creating an online business and going a totally different path. And then I was like, all right.
I've got it figured out. We're set. This is what I'm doing. This is the plan. And that was it for a couple of years. Things went well. And then 2023 came. All this kind of shit hit the fan. And I was like, time to rethink some things. I was not happy in my life or business. And I had to reevaluate. And so that led to some serious restructuring, which we can get into if you want. But yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes, and I love, thank you for sharing. honestly, and I think that's why I love this podcast because it's conversations about the visual rebranding side, website tips, all those things that I talk about in this podcast, rebranding your business and looking the part and that kind of thing. But it's also about like you as a person and how you change and evolve with your business over time. And it's just normal and natural that we go through these.
phases and changes and things in business happen and unexpected things happen. We lose clients. We maybe aren't in the best client relationships and we need to up level to different ideal clients. And so I think it's just an important thing to recognize is that we all go through these seasons of business where, okay, something, you know, we have our online business, everything's working, but then everything seems to go wrong. And then like, okay, it's like, okay, what can we fix here? What can we pivot?
And so for me, where I was, we're going to talk about the steps you made moving forward.
Megan
Yeah, no, I wanna hear, like, where were you this time last year? This is right when you were starting your podcast, right, around this time.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes, my goodness. This time last year, I just feel like I was in a totally different, I feel like it's been lifetime since last year in a way. I had my second baby last year and I had my third baby this year, but last year I was a second time mom again. I was figuring everything out. I was working during nap times. Not much has changed by the way on that front. I'm still there.
Megan
Let's just say we're still there, yep.
RuthAnn Rafiq
But I did not have a team really like I had my OBM Shelby shout out to Shelby and I had I think made mainly Shelby was the one and my I didn't really like have anyone beyond that like a big team and and so not that I have a big team now, but I was thinking about bringing people on to help me and To start moving in the direction of the agency model and I have to say
Megan
Mm -hmm.
RuthAnn Rafiq
This is something I've never wanted and I have like dug my heels in as long as I can, I feel like, until this point. But at this time last year, I was like, when I'm designing websites, something that always is a struggle for me is getting the copy from my clients. They have a hard time writing the copy. Normally they are not copywriters and they struggle with completing the copy on time. So I was having projects that were dragging on last year. I mean, I love them all, but it was just,
I couldn't get them to finish because they were having a hard time handing things in. I wasn't as good at my boundaries. There were a lot of different things that were kind of at play that was making my processes not work very smoothly. And I was like, okay, what can I do? Like, why is this such a problem? And it just kind of hit me. I was like, I need a copywriter. Like, I need a copywriter on my team who I can outsource this to.
who is an expert at what they do and who can lead my clients by the hand, help them with their copy, help them with brand messaging. And that's when you came into my life and it was like, it was truly a match made in heaven. It just was like perfect timing. You were actually offering your services to work like with my business. And I was like, no, but I want you to work with my clients. That would be awesome. So I brought you into my team.
Megan
I slid into your DMs like, hello.
Megan
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
And it's, you you do have your own copywriting business, but you are an extension of my brand and business as well, since I, you know, refer all of my clients to you when it's, you know, copywriting time. And it's such, it's been such a game changer. But I think at, I'm kind of getting ahead of myself, but where I was last year, I didn't have a team. wasn't doing the agency. I wasn't really thinking about it. Well, I guess I was thinking about it, but I was, I just.
Megan
Peace.
RuthAnn Rafiq
have had a lot of hesitancy, because I just don't feel like I'm a leader in a sense. I don't feel like I want to manage people. The whole reason I got into this work is because I love doing the design and the creative, and that is just where my heart is and where my passion is. I love bringing a business owner's vision to life. And so the idea of handing things off has always been a challenge. But last year at this time, I was like, I need to make a change. I need to bring people in.
Megan
Hmm
Megan
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
and I need help.
Megan
Yeah, yeah, I hear that all the time for so many people and like myself included that you don't want to advantage people, right? So when people are like resistant to hiring because they don't want that added responsibility of like even if they're just contractors, but like quote unquote, you know, employees or people working under you, like you said, like I'm an extension.
of your team now, you have another designer that you work with, you've got Shelby. So like, it's a lot of responsibility, you definitely, I mean, you do a fantastic job, I will say, in the leadership role. I love it, you're a natural at it. So I, you know, on that front, I think you're doing it fabulously. But I know it is, it's difficult for a lot of people. So I'm curious, like, you know, I've also done that in my own business and had to step into that leadership role. I now have a team, I did DAWN before. So we've both kind of gone through that in different ways. But I would love to know like how you decided on
RuthAnn Rafiq
Mm -hmm.
Megan
agency rooted, like overcame that resistance. Like did you actually have in your mind like I'm building an agency or were you just like I need someone to do the copywriting so that I stop ending up in this situation?
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes, the latter for sure. I was like, I need help with copywriting. What else do I need help with? Website design, I need help with that. Also, met like this WordPress team came in my life and I already knew Carrie who is a part of the WordPress team and I had known her for a long time but she and I like reconnected and she mentioned like, we have a client who needs design work. And I was like, this could be a great partnership. And now this has bloomed into an amazing partnership where they send clients to me who need branding work.
Megan
Mm -hmm.
RuthAnn Rafiq
I send clients to them who need WordPress design. So I've extended my services as well, having like a WordPress development extension of my business. But it definitely, I definitely did not start off with like, okay, agency model, here we come. It was kind of the opposite. I was like, how far can I do this on my own? And then I was like, well, can't do this very far. Let's like continue to bring people on to ask for help. So yeah, I have an amazing website designer who's on my team. And yeah, it's just, and I'm.
Megan
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
I am in the process of looking for a junior brand designer. So it's definitely not what I anticipated, but that's the thing. When you are growing your life as well on the side to our business, which is both of us, our life priority, know, life first business approach. And it's really important to me that I'm a present mom, that I'm here with my kids. And we are in the thick of it with, you know, just the young years of
Megan
Things are growing, yeah.
Megan
Mm -hmm.
RuthAnn Rafiq
parenthood and so it's just one of those things where I'm like I need to spend more time with the kids and so what can I do here? Outsource! That is what I can do is I can bring people in and help them grow their own skills and portfolio and all those things as well.
Megan
Yeah, exactly. It's something so like gratifying being able to give other business owners that opportunity to grow their own business, like you said. And like in my case, have hired family members. My entire team is family related. I know a lot of people do that. I know I'm not alone. I just have this distress of strangers, apparently. But I have hired my sister and my cousin and being able to give them that flexibility in independent income.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah.
Megan
My sister has a disability and cannot, unfortunately, work full time. She has an education degree, but she physically is unable to do that job. And her skill set was such a natural fit in my business. just compliments, like, all of my weaknesses are her strengths. It's like such a great teamwork scenario. And same thing with my younger cousin does our social media. She was like the...
Gen Z like TikTok generation and I'm so technologically challenged. So it's a great fit all around. But like, you know, just being able to give other people that same the freedom, like, yes, like the reliable income, but the freedom element and being able to work like I'm like, I don't care what hours you work or where you work as long as you get the work done sort of thing. Like I've been so lucky we've both been so well not lucky. I don't like when people use that word, but like we've created this, you know, it didn't just happen. It wasn't luck, but but we created it. And now we get to share that with others, which I think is so cool.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Ha
Yes.
Mm. Yes. Yes.
RuthAnn Rafiq
And I think that's a good point. This took a lot of intentional thought and action and it didn't come easy, like for me to get over a lot of like mental roadblocks. I like that you, yeah, it's true that this was very intentional and didn't just happen. So I would love to hear.
Megan
Mm
Megan
Yeah.
It's so funny. Yeah, no, am. I was just going to say, when I meet up with some of my friends now, like most of my friends I went to university with are just, are they're in med school or they're finishing up med school, like becoming doctors. And it's so funny how many of them say to like, you're so lucky to do what you do. Like, or like, that's so cool. But like, I could never do that sort of thing. And I'm like, well, you could. I mean, no one's stopping you. I mean, you've chosen another path, which is great if that, you know, is what you want to do and whatnot. But like, you could. It really just is like the decision to...
to make it happen, like when you decide like this is what we're doing, we're committed to it. It does not happen overnight, but yeah, I always like to point that out because whenever someone says like, you're so lucky, like, well, there was also lot of hard work in there.
RuthAnn Rafiq
And I was just talking to my younger sister this last week and she was like, well, I'm just not tech, because I was like, what if I brought you on my team? Because I would love to have you on my team. And she's like, you know, I just, I'm not really tech savvy. Like, I just don't know how to do like Instagram. And I was like, I, there was a point where I didn't know how to do anything either. Like it's, I don't think any of us did. No one knew how to do these things and you just learn them.
Megan
Mmm.
Megan
I didn't know how to do any of this either.
Megan
No one comes out of the womb knowing how to like post on Instagram and market a business. Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
It just takes, my word, don't even get me started on selling, how long it took me to get comfortable selling. But it's just one of those things where it's like, you know, it just takes intentional time. And I think what you said is key. It's a decision. It's like, I am choosing to do this. And you have to just go through the struggle bus of like not being good at something until you get to the other side of being good at it.
Megan
Yeah, exactly. think sales is a big one for a lot of people. That's why I am now a sales coach and teach on it because that is what comes up over and over again. And so many people tell me, I'm just not a natural salesperson. I'm just not a salesy person. It doesn't come easily to me. I'm too introverted. I'm not comfortable with it, whatever it is. And that is also a skill. So just don't put that out there. Anyone listening, that too is a skill you develop. And Ruthann, like...
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes.
Megan
You know, like you said, like when you started your business, you didn't feel comfortable selling, but it's something that comes with time. And same thing applies to any skill in your business.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes, any skill, yes, 100%. I'm so glad you brought this up. you, last year this time, you were not doing sales. And so tell me a little bit of the progression, like how you got to calling yourself a sales coach and you came out with a course. And so talk me through some of those decisions and how you, yeah, came to where you are now.
Megan
Mm -hmm.
Megan
Yeah, I think like you and your agency, was less of like a one moment of decision and kind of like a natural evolution. It started with me losing all my clients, like I said. I had literally no choice but to learn the skill of selling pretty immediately because I was like, this is it sort of thing, moment of truth. And up until that point in my business, I had been relying pretty much exclusively on referrals, on word of mouth, on people coming to me and just been sort of like very
reactivate my business. I would just wait for projects to fall in my lap. I had been very lucky up until that point that they had. It always just worked out. I had good retainer clients, people sent me referrals, and I didn't have to do a lot of marketing. I had a very small email list that I emailed occasionally. I had an Instagram profile that I posted on very inconsistently, and that was it. It was a bunch of things kind of like
podge podge together based on like what other people told me like I should be doing in my business. Like you got to have the email list, got to be on social media, got to do these things. I did them, but I didn't really like know why. And I found all of it like very like exhausting and ineffective, especially social media. And so when I lost my clients, I basically rebuilt my sales and marketing system just from the ground up. I was like, okay, what actually works?
RuthAnn Rafiq
Right, so true.
Megan
And I did not know at that point. had like no data, wasn't tracking things properly. So I was like, well, I'm going to find out. So I very strategically tested a bunch of different things. did cold outreach, I did email marketing. I got really systematic about referral partnerships and like partnering with adjacent businesses, like for example, designers or brand strategists like you, perfect compliment to copywriting. So systematizing that process.
my marketing, I launched the podcast and committed to being like consistent with that. I mean, this didn't all happen overnight, but it was, you know, from the ground up. Like the very first thing I did was cold outreach because I know people have feelings about cold outreach, okay? But you know what? It works. There is a way to do it that is like not slimy and gross and genuinely comes from a place of service, which, you know, we can talk about if you want, but I have a process.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Right.
Megan
for that that feels good to me and I think feels good to the people receiving them because it has a very high conversion of response rate. So I started with that because it is just the fastest way to get new clients and get on calls with people and start building connections. So I did that and I built my revenue in a couple, I would say like three to six months. So when I lost my clients that month, my revenue, I think I ended the month at like negative $200 in profit or something like that. It was in the negatives. was kind of like a...
We really took it on this. And I built that back up over the next couple of months, doing cold pitching, building my sales and marketing system strategically based on what worked for me. I got off social media because just for me personally, that was not, you know, it was, was draining my time and my energy and it didn't feel good to me. So I just stopped doing it. And I was like, well, it does feel good to me. What is actually working? Where am I getting results? And for me, that was the podcasting initially cold pitching, but
from there, sending out referral guides and partnership kits and things like that, building relationships. And once I had that backup, within three to six months, my revenue went from negative $200 to like 12K months and continued growing from there. And I realized that I had created the system that really worked for me. It was repeatable, it was sustainable, it did not rely on social media, which made me personally a lot happier and just was a huge stress relief. And suddenly I was working way fewer hours.
because I also, was traveling at this time. like, you 20 hours or less, sometimes 10 hours a week, but I was making more money and I was like, how did I do this? And so that's when I started to kind of reverse engineer, like the system that I created and how other people could create a similar system that worked for them. Not just my blueprint of like, here's exactly what I did. Although the course does include those things, like, you know, the templates and all that, but like, how can you build a sustainable system that works for your business? Like not what other people are telling you to do.
but your personality, your lifestyle goals, the type of business model you want to run, whether that's agency or coaching and how you want to grow, all these different things. All of that together became my course, which is now turned into a group coaching program, sales liberation. That's the long -winded answer to that question.
RuthAnn Rafiq
love that so much and you mentioned like doing sales that feels good to you. And I do think that so many people, if you're on Instagram for any length of time and you are a business owner, like you're getting inundated with so many people's opinions on what you should be doing and people throwing numbers around like crazy. Like, and it just seems so, it's just a little bit too.
Megan
Mm -hmm.
Megan
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
high in the sky it seems like if you're on Instagram it just seems like just do these three steps and you'll make a hundred K years like it's pretty much pretty
Megan
Yeah.
Megan
Yeah, it's like how I made six figures in six minutes, like follow this exact three step process. Like here's the real format for, and I'm like, that's not a sustainable business growth strategy. I'm sorry.
RuthAnn Rafiq
And I think it's like, it reels people in who are desperate for money. But I think it's just not, you just wanna be honest with like, I don't know. And that's why I don't really share my own numbers is cause I just, there's so much that goes into it and there's a lot of the, and no one knows what I do with the money that comes in anyway. And no one knows what the money.
Megan
Yeah.
Megan
For sure.
RuthAnn Rafiq
what people do with the money that comes in. it's like you could be spending like a lot on contractors and only bringing home like a thousand dollars. So it's really, I just feel like numbers can be extremely not reliable. But I think something that's so important is like adopting a way to do sales and marketing that feel good to you. If something is not feeling like aligning or if you just really hate it, you're never gonna do it sustainably. And it's just,
Megan
Mm -hmm.
Megan
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
I just don't think you're going to attract the right clients with that type of energy. So I think that's a big one is like, you know, doing sales in a way that really feels good and that you love doing and that you can't wait to do more of because I think that's that's what you where you want to be for sure.
Megan
Yeah.
Megan
Yeah, for sure. Everyone's always preaching at us about consistency, right? They're like, you have to do this consistently and post consistently and all these things. I'm like, let me tell you from experience, like if there's one thing I learned in that whole experimental period of like years of trying out all these different strategies, it's like, it's really hard to be consistent with a strategy that you don't like. And that was me for the first couple years of my business. I was inconsistent because I was trying to do all the things that other people told me I should be doing. And I didn't like posting on Instagram. I was like, this is...
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes!
Megan
way too time consuming. As I mentioned, I'm like just, that's not me. Like I want to live like my best hermit life, like a farm in the Scottish Highlands and like talk to people like one day a week. Like, and I don't want to be documenting my whole life on Instagram and you know, no shade if that's great for some people. I think that that's wonderful. And a lot of people build, you know, really successful businesses that way, but it was not for me. And that's why I wasn't consistent with it.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah. I also got off the Instagram train. Well, all social media for that matter. I have my OBM doing that for me on I'm mostly on LinkedIn and Pinterest. And those are what works for me. But yeah, I don't I'm not on Instagram anymore. And I mean, I'm there like you can find me and you can find me in the DMs. Like I check to see if people are reaching out and that kind of thing. But it's just one of those things where I'm like, I don't have time for this. I really don't have time for this, especially nowadays. And so it's like
Megan
Hmm.
Megan
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
you know, what can, where can I spend my time doing something I really enjoy? And for me, that's the podcast, that's my newsletter, whenever I can sit down and actually write my newsletter. It's doing, you know, different things to move the ball forward. And it's just, it's one of those things where it's like, if it's not resonating with you, it's not going to resonate with other people either, I don't think.
Megan
No.
Megan
Yeah, for sure. You whether you're into like the whole energetic side of business or not, I think we could all agree, like especially in sales and marketing, you can feel the energy someone has on the other side. Like whether it's, know, an Instagram story or on a sales call, like if that person doesn't believe 100 % in like what they're saying and what they're doing, like how are you expecting your audience to believe in you and trust you, right? If you don't show up fully as yourself, people can feel that for sure.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes, and I wasn't gonna go down this road, but I'm going to because I want to say it really plays a role and I like a big change I made this year to get me to where I am now where I just feel a lot more confident in everything is probably that energetic piece. It's like I did have, I remember being on a call with my coach. I think it was around this time last year.
And I was like, where is everyone? Where's all the clients? Why isn't this happening? Like I was so like, I feel like looking back, it's kind of comical, but I was just like frustrated, like mad, like where is, like why isn't this working? And that was my question. And it was kind of that weird, it was just, it was not like the best energy. And I'm not like one for all, like, you know, woo woo kind of thing. But I definitely believe that your energy plays a big role in how you show up in the world.
Megan
Yeah.
Megan
Why aren't people banging down my door? Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
And I started listening to a podcast called Money Manifestation and Business. And it's such a good podcast. You have to check it out. But she talks a lot about like how to manifest more money. And I changed like my thought process from where is everybody to like they're on their way. And I have to say, like that changed everything for me. It was a mindset shift. Like it was legit a little like a little mindset shift that changed everything.
Megan
Mm -hmm.
Megan
Ha
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
because instead of feeling like grabby, needy, clingy, I changed my energy to like relaxed, excited, confident. And it was just a totally different dynamic, I have to say. And my business has just grown like it never has before this year. And it's just, I think a lot of it has to do with that. But I think there's a lot of different factors at play when people are like, I...
Megan
Mm
RuthAnn Rafiq
double my income or whatever the case. There's so many things that stack up on top of each other, but I think that was really pivotal for me was changing my mindset to one of abundance. Like I said, I'm not an abundance mindset person, but maybe I am.
Megan
Mm -hmm.
Megan
Yeah, no -
Megan
Maybe you are, I think it sounds like you are. It's so funny and I'm glad that you said that. Like, thank you for sharing because ironically, this is something I haven't talked about a ton publicly either. But I made that same shift and I used to be someone who is very much, I don't want to say opposed to the mindset and energetic side. Like, I, you know, I like to think that I was always like open minded to it, but it was sort of in a way that like, well, that's nice, like for you, like for other people, you know, like I was like, nothing wrong with it. Good for you. Like you do you, but like that's not me.
I had a very science heavy background, very rooted in logic and strategy. It just did not click for me, the mindset side. was like, get it. when I also, I started with a podcast as well. I'll shout out my podcast. was James Wedmore on the Mind Your Business podcast. That was what got me hooked. I started listening to podcasts and doing more reading and whatnot and kind of
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah.
Megan
know, I think hitting that rock bottom really opened me up to like, well, you know, there's no harm in trying like I'll try anything, right. And it was what do have to lose? I might as well try manifest money from nothing, right. So I did incorporate that as well. And like you said, it's not just that it wasn't like I just sat around and, you know, visualize my revenue doubling and it happened overnight. Like there was definitely strategy involved, but the mindset definitely played.
RuthAnn Rafiq
What do I have to lose?
Megan
big role for me too. And that's like what I, the mindset I now try and teach, you know, with sales coaching, because so many of us have so many mindset hangups around selling, around asking for money, growing our business, like all of the things. And I don't think I would have been able to grow as much as I have without that piece as well. So the two go hand in hand for me. So I'm glad you said that. I'm curious, like what that, did you incorporate any like specific like practices or like changes in your business or was it just kind of like an internal shift for you?
RuthAnn Rafiq
I love that you shared that we have that in common because I think that just plays a role. Who knew? Who knew? For me, it was, you know, I really like affirmations. I feel like that has always been useful for me. And so like affirming to myself and repeating things over and over, like money supports me. Let's see, what's another one I say all the time to myself is like, money is flowing in all the time or, you know, stuff like that.
Megan
Who knew?
RuthAnn Rafiq
It kind of just helps me relax and to like loosen the grip. Like it's on its way. Like I can count on this. Like ideal clients are finding me every single day. Like things like that. It really helped me relax. Yeah, I think that's, and so saying affirmations, writing them down as well. have this daily, well, I don't do it daily anymore, but it's like a check -in basically where it's kind of like journaling.
Megan
Mm -hmm.
Megan
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
and I got it from my coach and it's been extremely helpful. so I use that whenever I can have a moment these days to write in it in the morning. That is what I was doing very consistently at the beginning of this year was like journaling very consistently doing the affirmations. And I think a big part of that is like taking action from that place. Cause when you take action from that place, you're taking more like
Megan
Mm
RuthAnn Rafiq
excited action and like confident action. And so when you reach exactly, yes. so, and like I would be doing my like little journaling in the morning and then someone would come to mind I'm like, I need to reach out to them to see how they're doing with their, you know, workshop or whatever it might be. And I reach out and then they're like, I need to hire you by the way. So it's just funny because like sometimes things just happen and like it was more, and I don't want to sound like
Megan
Mm -hmm. It's the energy behind the action, right? Like, that's what makes the difference, I think.
RuthAnn Rafiq
was just like intuitively, like I just knew to reach out to someone. Like I don't really want it to sound like that, but I think you just get more.
Megan
say go for it, RuthAnn. I have gone so far down the woo -woo rabbit hole these last couple of months. I have all about it. But I think that's so true. Okay, I'll tell you, as someone who came from that medical background, I took a lot of neuroscience courses. And one of things they actually taught in our pre -med program was how you
like the power of rewiring your own brain through things like meditation and whatnot. Like this is something we are teaching medical students like in schools now. And you know, 20 years ago, we had no idea that was even a thing, right? Like the way that our parents grew up, the word neuroplasticity was not even a thing yet, but it is like, it's scientifically proven and same thing goes for stuff like intuition, especially a woman's intuition, I'm just gonna say is through evolution, you know, it has to prove to be, it's very powerful.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes.
Megan
Like think about that gut feeling you get just like going through like life that tells you to trust some person or not trust someone or like this is the right path for me and like I just know I can't explain why. I think a lot of us have stories like that.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
100%, yes. And thank you for backing me up with science, I just feel, yes, I just feel like, you know, I wanna be, you know, clear to all of our listeners who maybe are feeling the same way, please reach out and let us know.
Megan
I'm here for it.
Megan
Some people have turned this off and some people are like really into it and they're like, keep going.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes, I feel like that happens when you fall in love. Like it's like you can't really like explain it but you just know that it's 100 % right and so I feel like that's like a similar you know thing but yeah it's
Megan
yeah.
Megan
That is such a good example. Yeah, it's one of the things you can't explain. Like you meet someone and you're like, yeah, no, this is it. yeah. And you're like, logically this makes no sense, right?
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah, it's just so right. Yeah, 100%. And you hear that, and you hear that from the guys also, you hear stories like, I saw her and I knew I was gonna marry her. Like you see, you hear that, at least I've heard that before. I think.
Megan
Yeah, I used to hear that and I was like, okay. But you know, until like it happens to you, like I do think like, you know, there's some skepticism there, but I can see that like in my own life and like in the business like journey I've been on to right, like I mentioned like when I decided like I wasn't going to med school and I wanted to do my own thing and travel and start this business. It was like on paper that looked crazy. Like that was not a good decision. I had done all the right things. I'd like check the boxes. I got into this like
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah.
Megan
prestigious undergrad program that was on the fast track to quote unquote success. And I was like, you know what? I actually think I'm going to do this. I'm going to start an online business. And you can imagine, my family was just like, what are you doing? But yeah, and I just do.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes, I feel like, yeah, when you make a big leap in your life, normally it is met with maybe criticism or are you sure about this or like people like voicing concern, but I think it's so important to know that you can trust yourself and that you can trust that instinct because I just feel like it's always right. I just feel like normally it is.
Megan
Yeah, no, it is. You know what, like what's the worst case scenario is that like, it's not, and then you tried and now you know, you don't have that like what if, right? So I mean, to bring this full circle, I think like you can apply that to your sales marketing, your business strategy. Like if you're thinking like, you know, is the agency route for me? Do I want to try this marketing strategy? Do I want to, you know, leave social media or start a podcast or whatever it is? Like maybe that's a good way to find out. Like do a little gut check. Like how do I actually feel about this?
RuthAnn Rafiq
Very true.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes, and I do feel like it will tell you like, wow, I'm so excited about this. Like, I think that was with how I felt about the podcast. I always knew I wanted to have a podcast for a long time. And it was just one of those things where it just never felt like the right time. But then when it like the opportunity presented itself, I was like, OK, I'm going to do this. I'm excited about it. I'm also a little terrified because what if no one wants to listen to me like to like, where am I going to get the money to like launch this? Because I did use a podcast agency to help launch.
Megan
Mm -hmm. Same.
RuthAnn Rafiq
podcast, shout out to Haley and her team, they're amazing. But it was just one of those things where I knew that's what I wanted to do. And so it just, it worked out like you take a leap and you stretch yourself and you know, it works out. So I think that's a great, a great thing to tie in, like, you know, just go for it and you can trust yourself and all the things. You too.
Megan
Yeah.
Megan
Yeah, and look at you now a year later, you know, you're still going strong. Yeah, I mean, well, thank you. But yeah, I think like, you don't have to jump right into it either. Like I am very impulsive person. I will be like, I'm starting a podcast. I won't do it like tomorrow. Like we'll just like, you know, commit and make it happen. But I think if you you know, if that scares you the idea of like just doing it and jumping in, like, you know, you don't have to do it right away. You can take some time kind of try the idea on for size. Like, how would that actually feel? So for me,
Like I mentioned, you know, the social media example, like when I really thought about like, what would it look like to not be on social media? And like you Ruthanne, I still have an account and I, you know, check my DMs and things, but like I am, I do not actively like promote my services or anything there. I'm very rarely, like I'll share like travel photos and like fun stuff occasionally, but that's pretty much it. And now when I show up, it's because like I genuinely want to and feel inspired to, but when I was sort of considering like, what would it look like to just stop like posting strategically and stop quote unquote.
marketing myself on Instagram, it felt like relief. And I'm like, that's probably a sign. And like, the opposite is true too, right? If you think about doing something in your business, and it fills you like with a sense of dread, that is probably not the right path for you.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yes.
RuthAnn Rafiq
That is so true. And I have to say with when it comes to starting something new or starting a new chapter or a new marketing stream in your business, a new revenue stream, like a lot of these things are kind of scary. And before I started my podcast, was doing Instagram lives with a lot of my peers and friends. we would talk, it would be very similar to this podcast. Like we would talk about business, we would talk about marketing stuff.
Megan
Mm -hmm. It's a trial run, yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
It was a trial run. Looking back, it was like over a year I did those and I was like, it just was like prepping me. Like who knew that that would turn into this. you know, doing things now like you're saying, like do baby steps, you know, start somewhere doing what you really love doing, whether that's like how you're showing up in your marketing or, you know, with your business, like pivoting direction or working with a different type of client. It just starts somewhere. So.
Megan
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
just take those initial steps and it just gets more and more familiar and then, you know, one day you're gonna be like, I'm a pro at this.
Megan
Yeah, nothing is like easy right off the bat, right? But like follow those little breadcrumbs of joy, if you will, because like I can share as well like what like that looked like for me with coaching was like I had such, I never wanted to be a coach that was not in the play, kind like you and your agency. I was like, absolutely not. And I think because I and you know, lot of my friends in space had had some negative experiences.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Yeah.
Yes.
Megan
with coaches. I was really, really tired of the all like the narratives, but like, just do this and have consistent 10K months and six figure years and all the things. And there are some amazing, wonderful coaches out there. Don't get me wrong. I've had those as well, but I had this kind of aversion to the coaching space where I was like, I want no part of that personally. But at the same time, had started, people had sort of naturally started inviting me to give guest master classes in their coaching programs and memberships, just like people in my network and friends and whatnot. And the more of those I did,
Every single time I taught a guest master class, we did these Q &A sessions after, I was like so on fire after. And like these women would message me and be like, this hour long workshop completely like changed my business. I've never felt this excited to like sell or to write copy. Like I never knew sales could feel this way. Like, you know, I feel so fired up and like that just lit me up. And I would leave these, you know, guest master classes being like, my God, I just want to do that. Like all day, every day. Like I loved, I just loved helping people in that way.
And I still love copywriting, don't get me wrong, but it was a different kind of joy that I was getting from it. And when I launched my course in coaching program, I literally, and I mean this 100 % sincerity, was like, if no one buys this, that's fine. If one person buys it for this low beta price, I will be so thrilled. All I wanted was to help people. Making money off this launch was the furthest thing from my mind. I was like, I just want to put this out there.
And hopefully it helps people. And the same thing with coaching clients, like I just love it so much. Like it lights me up so much. And I'm so excited to like help people in that way that it's almost like an afterthought that like, yes, this is a sales, you know, transaction and whatnot, but like it is genuinely so energizing to me. And I never would have like reached that place where I was comfortable calling myself a coach and launching a coaching program if I didn't take that small step with master classes and then start thinking, maybe there's something here, right? And like, maybe we should look deeper at that.
RuthAnn Rafiq
That is so good. I love that so much. And it just goes to show you that like those things that you're so excited about doing, that's where you're gonna have the payoff. And that's where you're gonna really love what you do so much. That's what makes your business so fun is that you love doing it and showing up for your clients in that way. So I think that's so good. Meg, I can talk to you literally forever. And so I would love to, as we wrap up, we're already at the 40 minute mark. I wanna...
Megan
Sam.
Megan
You
RuthAnn Rafiq
be conscious of everyone's time, but I would love to talk a little bit about lifestyle since you are a traveling digital nomad, which I think is like the coolest thing ever. And I'm living vicariously through you, but I would love for you to share instead of like a day in the life, can you say like a year in the life? Like give us a macro view of like, where have you traveled? What have you loved so much? And yeah, give everyone who loves travel like me, like a taste of your life right now.
Megan
Yeah.
Megan
oooo
Megan
my god, I love that. Well, I'll start by saying the one disclaimer I always give is like the whole digital thing. I'm like it sounds a book somewhere glamorous. It really is. I used to watch people doing that and I'm like, that's the dream. And it definitely is to a extent very, you know, happy and loving my lifestyle doing this, but it's not all glam all the time. It's not all working from the beach in Bali. So let me start with that. But yeah, so I started this year in February. I left for Greece and I spent
a month in Athens, Greece, and working there was amazing. I loved Greece so, so much. It was a total bucket list destination for me. I'm like the biggest history nerd. like I said, I worked part -time hours and I had plenty of time to explore. I loved being in the European time zones where I'm awake and working long before all my clients and everyone. So, I get all day to go out and explore. And then I'm naturally a night owl, so work in the evenings. Yeah. And then I spend about six weeks on the island of
treat, did some more exploring. I invited some family members to come out and visit me for the last weeks. We had a bit of like a girls trip with my mom and some family friends the last week, which was so much fun. Then I flew to the UK and I was... So I was in the UK for another two months. Yeah, so it was a bit of a whirlwind, the UK side of things. I have family there and I've been quite a few times so that...
RuthAnn Rafiq
I this so much.
Megan
is like kind of a second home to me. It always feels nice to go back there. So, you know, did London and the Cotswolds and the south of England. And then we spent a month in North Yorkshire. That's where my family, my grandma is originally from. So it's nice to kind of settle in there, explore some, you know, family heritage and whatnot. And then went north to Scotland for the last month, which I have to say is my favorite place in the whole world. So a month in Scotland, saw Taylor Swift in Edinburgh. That was a highlight. Still working.
RuthAnn Rafiq
was gonna ask you that, I remember you said that you were gonna see her, so I'm so glad that worked out and it was so good.
Megan
Yes.
my God. I don't want to say I only went to Scotland to see Taylor, but like we booked VIPs take us on tickets for my sister's 30th birthday as a surprise for her. So that was really, really fun to surprise her with that. yeah, so that kind of, yeah, close out our trip in Scotland. I am now back in Ontario for, I've been here for about a month. Next week I had to the West coast to BC and Alberta. And then later in the fall, I I mentioned to you Ruthanna, come home in October.
RuthAnn Rafiq
That's so sweet.
Megan
For some family events, my brother's getting married and then in November I'm headed to Mexico City and December I've got a conference in Arizona. So I think that rounds out the whole year and I'll be home for Christmas. That is the plan.
RuthAnn Rafiq
I just love it so much. That's so, my little travel heart is like, yes. I just love that.
Megan
It is, it's amazing. I will say it's exhausting, but so worth it and so fun. And what I love so much about the work that we do is that, you know, my dream was always to travel, but like I always, I just love like, you know, the freedom element of it, whatever that looks like for you, whether you want to travel or not. Like who cares if you ever, if you want to travel, go for it. But even if you just do like weekend trips or you get more time with family, it's like, what does your version of that?
look like, right? And Ruthanne, like I know for you, like it's given you all this flexibility, you've spent time with family. And I just like, I absolutely, I mean, and let's put it out there, working moms, mom entrepreneurs, I don't know how you guys do it. I have so much respect and admiration for you and for all the moms listening to this. And I just love being able to see so many different women, like the freedom and flexibility this online business lifestyle has given them.
So I mean, don't know if you want to share a year in the life or a day in the life and what that looks like for you, Dan, but I just wanted to say that as well.
RuthAnn Rafiq
Well, it's wild over here, guys. It's crazy. It's just, I just, it really is. I feel like I'm flying by the seat of my pants. And I was telling Meg before we started recording, I just feel like things are so up in the air with childcare, with my work situation. I'm just figuring it out, guys. I don't have anything like set in stone. But day in the life over here is me working furiously during nap times.
Megan
It's wild in such a different way. I love it.
RuthAnn Rafiq
And yeah, so my little baby is two and a half months old and his name is Samir. And then I have a 17 month old Sophia. so life is pretty exciting with her being that age and she's just into everything. And she just is the most curious little angel. She's like so fun. It's so fun to have a little girl, I have to say.
And then my four year old, Zia, he is in preschool three days a week. So three days a week, I have time with the little ones. And then, you know, on Tuesday, Thursday, it's all of us. And yeah, I'm home all the time. I am trying to figure out my work situation with like a sitter, because I was using a sitter to watch the other little kids. But Sophia's of the separation anxiety age. And so it's
It's just, it's rough guys, it's rough. And like Samir needs, I'm know, breastfeeding, so I'm like nursing all the time. And it's just figuring out when to work is tricky. But I think the beautiful thing is like, I love my work so much. I will figure it out. Like I will figure it out. And my clients are so incredible and amazing. They all understand like, they just have so much like empathy and just.
Megan
you
RuthAnn Rafiq
a lot of like care for me like, hey Ruthanne, it's okay. Like, you know, know you're, you you have a full plate, like, you know, whenever you get things back and I really do my best to keep things on schedule. Cause I think it's just better for everyone in the whole client dynamic just to like keep projects rolling. So I am doing my best to stay on schedule with everything, but it is, you know, it's just tricky right now. It's just things feel so.
Even though we are back in preschool mode, we're back in the school season, it just feels like it's a little crazy because of the kids. But what can I say? I just love my kids so much and I have to say I love the newborn stage so much. And the fact that it's so short. so like my baby right now, I'm like.
Megan
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
I think I can handle this. I can do this for another six months if I need to because I really want to be the one to hold him. It's just so short and I just am encouraging myself that this is not going to be forever. I will change things as I go. We can always have more support. Something I have decided to ask my mom about is if she could help me more consistently.
for now, just until I find someone else. My in -laws live very close. And so I have a support system, which is awesome. And it's just being more intentional. This is my time to work. I just feel like I'm really close with my mom. And so sometimes when she comes over to watch the kids, we end up talking the whole time. And I'm like, I really need to work.
Megan
Mm -hmm.
RuthAnn Rafiq
It's just, yeah, I'm just trying to figure everything out. And I do feel like this season right now is a little like just trying to keep my head above water in a lot of ways. But I will say like, I do have the types of clients and work that I've always wanted. And so I do feel like I can keep this up for a little while. And I am planning on taking a couple months off mid -November to mid -January. I'm...
Megan
Yeah.
RuthAnn Rafiq
I'm building in time to have family time and business time. So I'm doing my best to do everything, but I feel like, yeah, this answer's all over the place. But yeah, I'm trying to figure it out and it's...
Megan
You're doing all the things. That's the answer is you're doing all the things. And you know what? feel like.
RuthAnn Rafiq
And you can hear by my sporadic, like how I'm answering this question.
Megan
the honesty because I know like so many moms are gonna listen to this and be like, yep, like that's me. You know what I mean? Like it is not some like I said the same thing about the digital nomad life, right? It is not some like perfect, glamorous like every day I do this amount of work. Like things go wrong. Life happens all the time, whatever situation you're in. I'm obviously juggling three little ones more so than most. like I just yeah, like I said, so much respect for you and what you do and I'm like, but also look back at like
past you and be grateful because you set up those systems and the team to support you and now you do get to, you know, enjoy this time with Samira and like, I don't know, I think that's so beautiful and I know so many women listening are going to relate so much to everything you just said.
RuthAnn Rafiq
so and it's just funny because I was thinking to the last time we tried to record this I was like about to give birth and I think like we were supposed to meet up and then you were walking like home and you said like the walk took longer
Megan
Yes, I was supposed to, my God, I was supposed to be recording from a co -working space that told me they had like quiet, soundproof rooms. And I got there and there was this man yelling in Greek and like the cubicle next to me. And I was like, my God, this is not gonna work. So that's what I mean guys. Like stuff just never works out the way you plan, honestly. And like, we're all just waking it up as we go. I feel like if someone tells you they've got it figured out, they're lying.
RuthAnn Rafiq
that's what it was. Yes.
RuthAnn Rafiq
It was just such a... It's so true. I just thought it was such a perfect glimpse into your life and my life, because I was like, sorry, my daughter just woke up. I'm like nine months pregnant. I need to go lay down. It was just so funny, because it was one of the...
Megan
yeah.
Megan
I'm like, sorry, I'm lost somewhere in Greece. I don't even know where I am. I'm trying to get home in the co -working space and it's 40 degrees and I'm like, god, yeah, that's a
RuthAnn Rafiq
life, you you're just trying to do the best you can and figure it out and have fun along the way. And that's, you know, what I try to tell people in businesses like, you know, my friends in the online space, like, you know, I'm figuring it out. We're all figuring out. We're all doing the best we can. And you're doing a great job. So you listening to you're doing a great job wherever you are. And I hope this gives you some encouragement. Like, we don't have everything figured out, but it's pretty fun over here. So it's fun.
Megan
you
Megan
It's fun trying to figure it out.
RuthAnn Rafiq
That's right. It's fun in my season of life. It's fun. It's chaotic. It's hard. It's all the things. And I think you can say the same for you. Like it's fun. It's hard. It's wonderful. And I think, you know, that's just how life is. But I would love to encourage everyone listening that whatever your version of success is, it's out there. You can do it. You can make it happen. Even if you don't see anyone doing exactly what you want to be doing, you know, you can pave the way and be that example for people.
Megan
Absolutely.
RuthAnn Rafiq
and really just be that inspiration. And I hope that's what we are for you today. I have enjoyed this conversation so much. Meg, tell everyone where they can find you and I will do the same.
Megan
Well, first of all, thank you again for having me that was so well said I could not have you know chosen a better note to wrap up on so Okay, if you want to find me online best ways probably to go is my website. So Megan Smith calm and Egan Smyth and you can find all the info on you know, working with me programs freebies all the things and like I said, I am still on Instagram Reluctantly, so if you want to see some like travel Instagram stories or send me a DM you can always connect
there as well. at sales with Meg.
RuthAnn Rafiq
I love that. And you can find me at rartspace .com. That's r -a -r -t -s -p -a -c -e .com. And I'm at Instagram, the same as what you just now said. Like I'm there, but I'm not like there. But if you send me a message, I will see it. I would love to hear from you. I'm at r underscore artspace. And we would love to hear from you. Thank you so much for tuning in and listening to the end. I really appreciate you being here.
And Meg, thank you again for being here. And until next time, I will see you later.
