Yvonne Heimann [00:00:00]
Most people think growing means adding more, adding more offers, adding more content, adding more clients, adding more hours. But a lot of leaders then hit a point where the business isn't working. It's still feels stuck because everything runs through them. So come meet Rachel Minion. She is the founder and rock star of Rockstar and Moon, a B2B marketing agency known for turning overwhelmed businesses into clear revenue generating machines. With over 20 years of experience, she has helped companies increase revenue by 42% year over year. That's a lot. And all of that without hiring additional staff, hitting 171% of annual goals for paid products and generate record breaking revenue without ad spend. Rachel is known for her direct no nonsense approach, so you know why I invited her, and cutting through the noise to build a strategy that actually converts.
Yvonne Heimann [00:01:14]
And with that, let's see how she can bring clarity and her no nonsense approach to this episode because damn girl. As much as I'm in a public face with a podcast and a YouTube channel and all the stuff, I freaking hate marketing.
Rachel Minion [00:01:29]
Don't we all? It's the last thing that any of us want to spend time on because we don't want to talk about ourselves. I don't want to get in your face and say, hey, look at me. I'm amazing. I can do all these incredible things. So we put that behind everything else, including client delivery, getting back on busy work and tasks that we shouldn't be doing because we just don't want to do it.
Yvonne Heimann [00:01:52]
You say I shouldn't be adding to my 175,000 to-do list just to keep myself busy and not focus on the things that I actually should be focusing on?
Rachel Minion [00:02:00]
I mean, it happens, right?
Yvonne Heimann [00:02:03]
I am, I'm the first one to be guilty to get myself busy to not do the things I should be doing. Now, when it comes to marketing specific, and it's interesting, everybody that's listening to this episode and has been around for a while knows that my episodes unplanned, unplanned, usually always perfectly coincide with what's happening in the business. And, I would love to dive into with your bio and introducing you. We were already talking about really getting clear, right? Rather than the whole throwing freaking spaghetti at the wall, suddenly knowing what the hell do you actually talk about? What do you do? Having, having a plan behind things. And that's where I would love to dive a little bit deeper in as.
We internally too are starting a secondary company. And for the first time in my life, I'm starting a company with a plan, with a purpose, with a brand strategy. So I think a lot of us, when we start out, we see a problem and we just do, right? But what's the problem when we come into marketing and actually converting and actually reaching those insane numbers that you've been reaching? How?
How can somebody that might not need to start a new business but feels lost in their own business start getting clear and find their answers?
Rachel Minion [00:03:35]
Think the hardest part is as a founder that we are amazing when we are the engine. We can go talk to anybody about what it is we do. We can get them excited. We can do all of those things. The minute that it isn't the founder doing it, momentum's gone because you don't have the same passion. You didn't build it from nothing. You didn't grow this company and have that oomph.
So when you bring in somebody else, you hire a marketing agency, you do any of those things, something is lost in translation. And the founder has it all up here, but, and it's also right here. And the problem is, is how do we enunciate it and communicate it? And it's just how do we really make a clear playbook on getting from A to B with the right knowledge base? And then not only having the right knowledge base, but who are we targeting?
Because the founder can pivot in a second and understand pain points and dig in. But can that person that you have who's supposed to be writing your thought leadership do the same thing? No, they need that guidance. They need that input. They need that knowledge base. And they need it to be a really narrow path on who am I talking to? What are the pain points? What do we solve for? And what do we do better than anybody else? Then they can start screening.
Yvonne Heimann [00:04:54]
But if I narrow down on one person, I could be losing that person.
Rachel Minion [00:04:56]
Well, if we narrow it down, then at least we're testing our way in. Now, it doesn't mean you just stick with one. There can be multiple, but you cannot do 400 things at a time and do it successfully. You start with one. What's our lowest hanging fruit? Who do we wanna talk to? Who do we know we can sell to tomorrow? Great, let's get them, let's narrow that down, get the right messaging. Now, what's the next tier that we wanna go after? Is it a nuance of the first one or is it totally different?
Is it the same piece? Is it a different piece? And then from there, we have to balance because you may want 500 different industries that you want to go after, but no one group can do that and do it successfully. You have to be able to make sure that you are doing the right things, the right targets, the right priorities to really clear out the noise. And on top of that, that you don't bring in those horrible, bad-fitting clients that we're doing like everything ad hoc for because your team can't enunciate what you actually do when that happens.
Yvonne Heimann [00:06:02]
And like for everybody listening again, you should be watching on YouTube because Yvi's faces are always priceless. it, it's also.
I think a big shift that's also happening at some point when, when we switch more from a founder to a CEO position is, Hmm. Ooh, some people are going to hate me for this. We let go of our ego. So what happens in, in what I call founder stage is.
We do a lot, right? We are the front person. We are there. We can solve everybody's problem. And I've seen it in every single founder at some point where there is a season of, my God, I know how this works. I can, I can save your life kind of thing. And it becomes an ego thing because I can help everybody. And moving into CEO and also potentially completely burning yourself out means getting clear on.
Who do you actually want to help and can repeatedly help?
Because now you've tested all the things. You've got a whole bunch of data. If that is marketing, if that is back of the house in your business, if it becomes a rinse and repeat, but now it's not just feeding me anymore. It's not an ego thing that I get to quote save you.
Rachel Minion [00:07:28]
Well, and I think there's another level of it. I didn't know this. I had to struggle to find this out, but you have the permission to create the business of your dreams. It is working with those right clients that you were really good at serving, that you were really good at getting results for. It shouldn't be unless you have an amazing pain tolerance. The most painful clients in the world who make you bash your head into where you're working until three o'clock in the morning on a Saturday, right? Like because they just couldn't figure it out. Now it can happen here and there, but if there's those patterns of those clients and that's who you're bringing in, you should really go look at the data so you can build the business of your dreams.
Yvonne Heimann [00:08:05]
I'm curious when when a business owner comes to you and they're like, okay, I'm stuck. We are not turning clients over. We are not getting even close to your numbers. What is the piece that you are listening for to number one, look past the general issue of I'm stuck. We're not getting anywhere, but also figure out.
God, I'm totally putting her on the spot now. If they are the right clients, if they are able to receive, if they're ready to become unstuck.
Rachel Minion [00:08:48]
I first ask what they do. Because if I can't understand that in 30 seconds, I know where we're starting.
Tell me a little bit about your business. What do you do?
Immediately, if we're not clear on I do this and I get this result, we have to start there. But then I start asking questions and challenging them on, I see you haven't posted anything ever. What is that doing for your business? And oh yeah, I know I should be doing that. Or, no, it's not a channel I want to use. I'm not interested, right? Like if I hear the definitive, I'm like, no, thank you. Or I've tried that before. It doesn't work. Are you open to trying it again? No. Okay, what kind of results are you looking for is like the next leading question. It's like, well, I want to get leads off of this. Okay, so you are the problem. And I will say it. I will say it very clearly because I'd rather you know you are the problem.
And you need to either test your way in or we see and we validate or I don't think I'm the right person for you and I will send you to somebody else because I don't want to waste your time, your money, your energy.
Yvonne Heimann [00:10:05]
That's a self accountability piece right there. That was a good one. And it's, it's interesting because my first initial reaction was like, yeah, no, we are not interested in that one. My first reaction was cool. They know where their boundaries are. And then you went to the next step, right? Because let's be honest, we build our business. If you say you don't want to do TikTok. Period end of story, doesn't fit into your values. That's a whole nother story to say, yeah, no, it didn't work for us. We're not going to do that again. So it's yeah. Yeah. The yes, the yes, but the yes, I hear you, but we've tried that.
Rachel Minion [00:10:48]
It's, though we have tried that and it doesn't work. And so you want results. And if you're not willing to use the avenues that are proven with proven results, a proven methodology, a proven process, then what are you coming to an expert for? Because you're just gonna waste my time and you're gonna get frustrated with me because I'm not gonna be able to push that rock up a hill.
Yvonne Heimann [00:11:09]
The interesting thing is I, I was at an event last week and I was, I was baffled. You're gonna, you're gonna appreciate this. It's not organic marketing. It's paid marketing, but I'm pretty sure you're still going to appreciate this. Where we had in this hot seat mastermind setting, somebody that was so adamant that paid ads don't work, because they had paid, hold your horses, they had paid $10,000 a month and didn't get any results and they needed to do the pretty much the ads, the graphics, the social media. And I'm like, hold, hold, hold, hold, hold. There is a huge perception issue. And that's exactly what you're talking about where it's like.
We either way see that we don't know what we don't know, right? And this person did not know that all they had done was they got screwed over from an ad buyer. They don't know how to run marketing. They don't know how to recurring revenue ads that convert. They don't know that. They just know how to buy ads for you.
And, and make your stuff seen. That doesn't mean that the stuff that people see are actually converting. That's a whole different job. And, my God, I was sitting there. I'm like, I can't even, and all I kept hearing is that yes, but, I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. You didn't educate yourself. You hired wrong. And now you say this doesn't work. You didn't even try the right way. You didn't hire the right person. You didn't ask the right questions. Now I can't fault somebody for that. We don't know what we don't know. The question is, how do you gonna react to this one now? Are you gonna say, okay, cool, tell me what I did wrong here. Educating myself why this didn't work and learn that you simply hired an ad buyer, not a marketing strategist and do it again and see your own fault or you're gonna be like, yeah, no, this doesn't work.
Rachel Minion [00:13:24]
I think what's really interesting is there's so many churn and burn ad agencies out there that just work so hard to get you in and they're like it's a $10,000 this it's a this it's a that and they don't learn enough about your business to hear are your clients even searching for what you do on that channel?
I mean, I'm great at spending money if you want to give me a credit card, but I don't do that for my clients. There's no way. And that's what these agencies are really built on is here's a huge budget, we can get that, we're going to take a percentage of it, we're going to do these things. And they don't spend enough time with you to understand, are your people really there? Are they going to buy something from it? For example, if they spend that on Facebook and it's a B2B company, there's no way.
It's just not happening.
Yvonne Heimann [00:14:13]
And that's where I think we both think about marketing or business in the, in the same way where it's like you experiment, you get feedback, AKA data, and you adjust, right? So tell me, tell me about this process when you work with clients where it's like, okay, how, how do I get clear about which platforms on what do I even talk about where it's like, there is, there is so much to freaking marketing, which is why I'm like, yeah, I'm in front of the camera. I have a freaking podcast and a YouTube and this and that and here and there. And still it's like, I don't like marketing. So how can we put this "in a box" to make this easy, to make this something where it's like, yes, it becomes a rinse and repeat and I don't have to be sitting here and I'm like, the brain power it takes to figure this thing out of should I be on Instagram and Instagram is rolling out a new feature and TikTok is doing this right now and this is taking off in here and there and all of the social media. I'm like, when you're in it, we get inundated any organic marketing, we get inundated with so much new stuff every single day. How do we not lose our goddamn mind with it?
Rachel Minion [00:15:35]
Well, you know what's funny and how unscripted this is because first. Let me tell you a little story I did create a marketing team in a box and that is what we sell. I Lost my right hand person last year last June believe it or not three years of institutional knowledge. I could start and halfway through my sentence, she would already, hey, there have it done, the document in my hand, whatever, that person, I lost. She.
Yvonne Heimann [00:16:07]
These those, those people are invaluable. I have one in my business and I'm telling her, I'm like, you are not allowed to get sick. It's like, I hope you get pregnant at some point, but I love you. are not getting nine months to leave. I love you, but you can't leave.
Rachel Minion [00:16:26]
Nope. No. so I freaked. I'm already on all the calls. I'm already doing all the things. Like now I have to do your workload and then I have to train somebody and hire somebody for that and bring them up to a level of I need you to read my brain. That doesn't work. So last June, my husband challenged me and he said, so, um, Rach, I'd like to see you sane. I'd really like that. I would really like to see you stay sane and out of a mental institution.
Yvonne Heimann [00:16:58]
Keep him around, he's one of the good ones.
Rachel Minion [00:17:02]
So he said, I challenge you, could you just automate 10 or 20% of her job? I was like, well, sure. I'd have to redo a lot of things. And he's like, so you might as well break it now before you bring in somebody else to train them up. I was like, okay. So I worked from 3AM to 7PM, 21 days straight. And it's just who I am. I can do this. Yeah.
Yvonne Heimann [00:17:27]
Three to seven.
Rachel Minion [00:17:30]
3 a.m. 7 p.m. Yep. 21 days in a row, no days off. 21 days. So.
Yvonne Heimann [00:17:34]
For how long?
Girl, people would die. People would die over here.
Rachel Minion [00:17:39]
I rebuilt my entire business, ground up, brand kits, products, processes, every single thing, how we did every single thing in our project management tool, every piece from the ground up. I automated 90% of her by the end of those 21 days.
Yvonne Heimann [00:17:54]
Damn girl! Where's my audio? I'm waiting for the, I'm waiting for all the celebration sound effects right now. Holy shebango. Fuck yes.
Rachel Minion [00:18:07]
So I didn't rehire. And then I tested every single part of my business and all the things that I do as a marketing agency for my clients and processes and how did I do that over the next six months. And then the end of January, I automated the rest of my team. 100% of them. So now I am spending my time to do the high value work and created a marketing team in a box.
Yvonne Heimann [00:18:30]
And there's a case study for why you should be working with somebody, me, in another business. Holy crap, And what Rachel was talking about, yes, our podcast is completely unscripted. We had no idea this is where it's going I don't even think that story was in your submission where I'm like, this is why I don't script podcasts because you don't you never know which which gold mine you gonna find. Holy shit girl.
Rachel Minion [00:19:06]
So all my processes, all my frameworks, all everything that I have done, all my IP for doing this for now 25 years, I built in.
Yvonne Heimann [00:19:10]
I hope anybody that is watching and listening. I'm going to dive a little bit into this because you potentially listening or watching don't fully understand yet what that means. Me even with my own company, we are we are where you were in your 24 days. This is literally what we internally work on it because it's like that's that's what's paying my bills, right?
Love my podcast, love meeting all of your ladies. What pays my bills is cleaning other people's processes up right now next to the second company we are building. And it's like my own staff never got the time to be updated for my YouTube videos of breaking ClickUp and all the things, right? So this year, our sole focus is making us replaceable. Not that I want to replace my team. I love my team.
And not that I want to replace myself, but I also would like to take a fucking vacation. What you have built is a self sustainable business. You get to choose who you work with. You get to choose who is on the team. It is not again. I love my team, but life happens. If 2020 has taught us anything.
If losing my husband to cancer and having to put my own business on hold for two years has taught us anything that we all have to be replaceable because when life is lifing, shit is going to hit the fan and we either way survive it and we don't. And we only survive it if our business is a business and not just another 24 seven job. And that's what you did.
Rachel Minion [00:20:54]
And don't forget, we started this conversation with marketing your own business sucks. It's a thing that we do last. So why have the one thing that's gonna grow your business be last when it can actually be on autopilot from an expert?
Yvonne Heimann [00:21:09]
And it's this interesting that you bring this up. Late husband was actually also in marketing, usually more on movie and everything. And you probably see the same thing too. It's like marketing seems to be a luxury item. It's one of the first budget items that gets cut. And I'm like, are you kidding me? When the economy goes down, when business goes slow, you need to put more money into marketing to get more in. In front of more people. However, I also understand it. It's the first thing that falls off the deep end. My YouTube channel didn't have any videos go up in Q1 because I was maxed with everything we are doing. And the interesting thing is there is such a thing as a rat's tail to marketing. Initially, you might not see the impact of not focusing on your marketing anymore. But by the time you see the impact, you know how long it's going to take you to ramp that back up. And if you are listening, you are not seeing Rachel nodding her head because she knows exactly what the heck I'm talking about.
Rachel Minion [00:22:18]
Yeah, and I think the dumbest part is we have clients who get into this grind cycle before they start working with us. That grind cycle is really simple. You start off and you're grinding and you're grinding and you're grinding, go get all those new clients. You fill up that pipeline. Well, now all you do is pay attention to delivery. Yeah, so now we're paying attention only delivery. And now our pipelines dry, our contractor projects coming to an end.
And what are we gonna do because other than panic, we don't have a good answer. So you can't just turn it on, turn it off, turn it on, turn it off and expect you're gonna get something because people think you aren't doing it anymore. Versus if you say you're doing this, you're doing this, you're doing this constantly putting out something, whether you're the one that's behind it or not, your audience stays warm. So then when that next one comes up and the next one comes up, then it's there. But if you're expecting you're gonna just put out a post and somebody's gonna see it,
What, less than 10% of people see your post? And if you don't have a following, what is that? Three people, maybe your mom?
Yvonne Heimann [00:23:20]
Yeah. My mom actually watches everything of my Instagram stories. It's like, so what are you doing? What was, what what was that thing? I didn't understand that fully. That was English. Google translate didn't translate that well. What, did she do? Yeah. So true. So freaking true. Oh my God. Yeah. This is why I don't script podcasts because the best things come out when we're unscripted.
Now, I always like to send my audience off with an action item because let's be honest, we can learn 10,000 different things and can listen to how many audio books and podcasts and all the shit. If we don't do and we don't implement, we are not going anywhere. It's like the serial learners that never ever implement. So with that, I wanted to ask you.
For anybody listening right now that might feel stuck or quote, hate marketing, me, funny thing. like, I'm considered an influencer. I don't like marketing.
What should they do? What should they do? What could change how they operate or think right now? What should they do within the next 24 hours? What is something that they can take action on right now to not just listen and not just observe information and be like, yeah, those ladies are so right and nothing has changed within the next year. What can they do right now?
Rachel Minion [00:24:45]
I think we all have to just notice. Notice the one, two, or three little tasks that you procrastinate. Could be every week, could be every month. Whatever those three tasks are that you dread, you wake up and you're like, my God, I have to do this this morning. I really don't want to. Whatever that is, what if you could automate 10% of it? Just 10%. Take that first lift off.
And as you're doing that 10%, you're gonna find other ways so you can get to the 90% of automation. You may have to input something here and there, but if you could make that thing you're procrastinating that drives you down that you never wanna touch in your business, and you can find a way to put something in place to take that lift off your desk, that's what I would do today. Notice that.
Yvonne Heimann [00:25:36]
And with that, Rachel's message is quite simple. Being busy is not the same as actually moving forward and getting things done and showing up and filling that pipeline. So if you've been drowning in options and tactics, let this be your reminder that momentum comes from clarity, standards, and execution plan. You can repeat, did I mention repeat, rinse and repeat. It makes it really easy. You don't need more noise. You just simply need a tight focus and a system to support it. With that, I hope you are following. She Is a Leader number one. So you also see Rachel shorts coming up and all of the little awesome snippets that we're going to share on social media, as well as all the other amazing women that share their journey, share their knowledge, and share their awesome. Thanks everybody.