Chandler Bolt [00:00:03] Hey, Chandler Bolt here and joining me today is Jadah Sellner. Jadah is a bestselling author. She’s a business coach, an international keynote speaker, TEDx presenter and a host of a podcast called Lead with Love. She’s also the author of a book called She Builds. So this is the Annie Hustle Guide to Grow Your Business and Nourish Your Life. And she’s the coauthor of the best selling book Simple Green Smoothies, where over 1 million people have embraced the simple and healthy habit of smoothies. She’s got a company. She’s got Janice on her media. She builds collective. I wish I had your book handy. And I have.
Jadah Sellner [00:00:48] I haven’t.
Chandler Bolt [00:00:48] I haven’t have it within arm’s reach. So there it is. Knock it out. She builds. That’s the new book. And then that’s the first book, Simple Green Smoothies. Jadah helps women build their businesses in their lives in a way that works for them. So I’m excited about this kind of go, too. I think two different, totally different routes here. I think the unique perspective you have, Jadah will actually first welcome Josh writing.
Jadah Sellner [00:01:15] I feel like when we first connected was when we were both in like buyout transitions on opposite sides of our businesses. So it’s kind of fun to be on the other side.
Chandler Bolt [00:01:26] It is fun to be on the other side. It’s funny, I have a weird memory and I remember exactly where I was in San Francisco on a rooftop, walking around on a phone call giving thoughts on like, okay, you buy that they’re going to buy with your business partner, do this. Don’t do this daily. They’re so funny. But I guess the really interesting perspective that you have that I want to dive into, it will cover a couple of other things. Here is a recipe book, nonfiction book to grow your business, two totally different ones. You’ve had some people come on and obviously and talk about each individually, but you’ve got the perspective of doing both, which I think is really interesting. So we’ll kind of break down each of them and and walk through kind of what that look like. How are they different, similar, all that. And then just how have they been successful as a whole. So I guess for starters, though, why books? Why are books such kind of a big part of your brand in your business?
Jadah Sellner [00:02:24] Yeah, for me, it’s really about affordability and accessibility. I think that we can only work with so many people at a time, especially on the business coaching side. I charge a lot and serve a very minimal amount of people. And for me, when I was first starting my business, I was inspired by Tim Ferriss, the four Hour work week. And also I’m like, I’m not a white dude, I’m not single. I don’t have a college Ivy League educated. Like I really wanted a book that showed proof of possibility being a woman of color, being someone who was married. I’ve been married for eight years now. I have a kid, all of those caregiving responsibilities. So I really wanted to create a book that served that that population and also make it affordable, accessible because I was broke. $42,000 in debt, trying to figure everything out. And I think that books are such a magical resource for us. And the same thing with Simple Green Smoothies. It’s you can only serve so many people on even like a digital level. There’s something so beautiful about holding something in your hands. I just had a friend. I mean, Simple Green Smoothies has been out for seven years now that we’re doing them at eight years. And I just had a friend who still, like has it on their counter, just made a smoothie from that recipe. So there’s something very powerful about having something physical, tangible that you can hold, that you can pass on to people that you can highlight, put Post-its in, you know, soak in the bubble bath, all of those things. There’s just a beautiful transformation that happens when someone sits with your book or listens as they’re doing other things in their life.
Chandler Bolt [00:04:04] Hmm, that’s awesome. And you talked about a couple of things that I wholeheartedly believe in. I mean, the accessibility, it’s I always say it’s like a book is a $15 mentor. The smartest, most successful people on the planet have have, you know, spent a lot of time crystallizing the best things that they know into a book. And all you have to do is pay 15 bucks and a handful of hours and you can learn from them, right? You never might not you might never get the chance to meet them. You might never get the chance to talk to them, asking questions, work with them. You might not be able to afford to work with them, but you can learn those things. Right? And which I think is is so incredible because. Anybody can come up with 15 bucks a hand for hours. I mean, it’s or go to Goodwill, get the book right. I mean, it’s just and then kind of like what you said, the leveraged impact of doing this work once and creating this book, you know, like this signing back here in eight years later, someone has got the recipe book, the smoothie book on the on their kitchen counter. Right. It’s like I can’t think about many things that I’ve done eight years ago that’s still in their home or that’s like still present in their life. And that’s what I think is just so cool about books. It’s it’s cool here in your experience there. Let’s let’s start with a simple green smoothies book and then work into she builds so. Why? Why a smoothie book? And why do you think that book did so well?
Jadah Sellner [00:05:31] So it’s interesting because we actually prolonged pursuing a book right away. So I do this, you know, quarterly planning where this is our very important projects and priorities that we’re focusing on. And so anyone who reached out to us about a book deal, we had grown our Instagram following to over 400,000 followers, had 355,000 email subscribers, and everyone was kind of chomping at the book bit, wanting us to write a book. And really like a book is great, but it’s not going to pay the bills consistently. So we wanted to create a revenue stream for us that then would allow us to step away from our business, have a team that was running everything. We generated over $1,000,000 in sales in the first two years. Once we had a signature core product, then we were like, All right, now we’ll say yes. Like now we’ll talk to literary agents and the agent that we ended up going with. He’s like, I emailed you several months ago and your team was like, You weren’t doing books. And I was like, Well, I’m glad that the timing has opened up. Now we’re ready to start shopping, shopping the book. So that was a really big thing for us, is wanting to create using our business to kind of fund the ability to then write the book that then could expand what we were already building on.
Chandler Bolt [00:06:49] Hmm. Got it. And so was it one of those things like, did you you know, you said, hey, we kind of put it off and then the timing was right. Was it okay? This is a we think this is going to stand alone, make money and be a part of the business. Was it okay? The book probably won’t make money, but it’ll feed into the other stuff.
Jadah Sellner [00:07:07] Yeah, it’s like this.
Chandler Bolt [00:07:08] It’s like how did the.
Jadah Sellner [00:07:09] Second part more of like an ecosystem. You’ve got we got paid really well upfront and then saw that as a credibility builder to just get more people to be able to share about the green smoothie lifestyle and then them being able to sign up for our signature cleanse program that we had at that time.
Chandler Bolt [00:07:29] Got it. Okay. And obviously, this is no businesses. You got a new business that you’re working on now. But what help people understand for people who might not understand, like how that could work, like, okay, a recipe book, how could that relate to a business? So you mentioned the CLEANSE program just now, but like, what are kind of the ancillary things? Yeah, opportunities, especially for people who are thinking like I get asked about this stuff all the time, like recipe book, cookbook. Like, how can I write? What do you see as the opportunities that you both did or can recommend for monetizing on the back end? Yeah.
Jadah Sellner [00:07:59] So something that we how we grew our online community was actually through a free challenge. It was a free 30 day green smoothie challenge that really built that community. And that was kind of the the spark moment for me in losing £27 in three months was drinking one’s green smoothie a day. So that was that. The small, quick, easy win that then built upon me wanting to take the next step to like, okay, now I want to eliminate meat from my diet. Now I want to try plant based eating. I want to eliminate sugar like all of these things. And so creating a book that really emulated the challenge and we shortened it. We did a ten day green smoothie kickstart. It’s like if you could start drinking one green smoothie a day. Build that habit. Your taste buds are going to change and you’re going to want to crave something different. You’re going to want more than just green smoothies. You’re going to want to know what to eat for lunch, for dinner, for snacks. And so that product that we had on the other side was the answer to that. So we were kind of reverse engineering. What’s the first easy, quick win that’s going to make someone actually want the next step are paid product?
Chandler Bolt [00:09:07] Got it. That’s cool. That makes a lot of sense. So the challenge worked well and then you’re saying, Hey, how can we do this slightly differently? And then making that into the ten day kickstart and was the ten day kickstart, was that kind of like the principles that you taught in the book or that was an ancillary add on thing?
Jadah Sellner [00:09:22] Yeah, that was it was kind of a part of a more of the beginning part of the book to kind of get people set up. And then here’s many recipes, like a truly it’s a recipe book. It’s photos of green smoothies and fruits and vegetables and leafy greens, and then also sharing health benefits and tips and things like that. But it was very green smoothie focused. Not all the meals you’re going to eat in a day.
Chandler Bolt [00:09:45] Got it. That makes sense. And so then the the main mechanism of monetization and say that if I don’t stand on the back of the book was the cleanse or was there other products or things that led into.
Jadah Sellner [00:09:59] Yeah, that was the core like leading an into that that product.
Chandler Bolt [00:10:04] Got it. Okay. And what was the price point on that product? Roughly.
Jadah Sellner [00:10:07] It was anywhere from $47 to $99. And now today, my business partner, Jen Hansen, she still runs the company I sold my half in 2016, has a paid membership community that people can get access to those Clintons as well, which is really cool.
Chandler Bolt [00:10:23] I see. That makes sense. Awesome. Thanks for walking through that. I know we’re going through kind of like the Wayback Machine, right?
Jadah Sellner [00:10:29] So the.
Chandler Bolt [00:10:30] Way I talk about this stuff in.
Jadah Sellner [00:10:31] 2013.
Chandler Bolt [00:10:34] Crazy. So I want to ask one more question about the the smoothie book and then let’s talk about kind of we’ll talk about the new book and comparison site. So what were the 2 to 3 things that sold the most books that you can remember?
Jadah Sellner [00:10:50] Yeah. I mean, for us, we had such an engaged community on social media at that time, so Instagram was really big for that. You know, I mean, 2013 is when we started that account. 2015 is when our book came out. So we really leveraged that as well as continuing to do the free challenge, which basically gave people an extra support of like, you can buy the cleanse, but you can also buy the book too. So that was helpful. We also expanded our kind of our distribution channel and being on entrepreneurial type podcast. So just like I’m doing right now, kind of sharing the behind the scenes of community building strategies, we would do that on Entrepreneur podcast, but then people would be like, I want a green smoothie. I want the results that they were able to create in that way. So we were able to expand our audience and kind of diversify not just health and wellness moms at home with their kids, but also starting to reach out to the entrepreneurial community, too. So that was the big thing of doing podcast and almost being in places where our competitors weren’t hanging out.
Chandler Bolt [00:11:58] Totally, totally. It’s so funny you mentioned that because I feel like that’s often. Not what people think they would think. Oh, smoothie book. I bet you went on a bunch of health podcasts or nutrition podcast or all that. But you there saying no, actually other type of ideas, which is we found the same thing with self-publishing dot com. It’s the best conferences of the best class or whatever are entrepreneurial conferences are female business conferences are you know it’s it’s chiropractic conferences is something where it’s not the writing conference. Right because then you’re just another I mean it’s a Brad ocean versus you know I want to be the only girl in the bar. Totally. And it’s like I’m like, very good. And so I love that you mention that because I think especially when authors think about promoting their book, it’s. They think I’ve got to go to the type of podcast with the type of person. Exactly. In my industry. Yeah. It’s interesting. So let’s let’s talk about kind of moving into the new book and I guess kind of bridge question here would be like. You’ve done both now. What’s the biggest difference? Strictly writing and writing and creating a recipe book versus creating a more traditional nonfiction book?
Jadah Sellner [00:13:23] Yes. So writing about recipes was actually really challenging for me. I am actually not interested. Like, I never read a health and wellness book or any recipe books. Like it wasn’t where my natural interest was. I’m more interested in lifestyle and business building and marketing. So I wanted to ghost write that. But me and my business partner, we kind of divided and conquered and we like split the chapters up, wrote them, and I was just like, I don’t want to write about the health benefits of chia seeds. I just don’t. So that was a very big struggle. Another thing that the key difference between she builds and simple green Smoothies is I was a walking paradox with writing the book Simple Green Smoothies. So I’m writing a health and wellness book for people to feel more energized and to live a more healthier life. And I was burning myself out in writing this book. I was up for over 24 hours trying to make the, you know, the publisher deadline. I remember watching my husband and my daughter walk out of the house to go to school when I had been up all night and all day the day before in my yoga pants from the day before. So it’s very exhausting trying to kind of make the deadlines. And I felt like I didn’t want to write another book. I was like that I want to tell a story, but I never want to write another book. So even when she builds, I thought I would hire a ghostwriter. Actually tried and I, you know, shared a couple of my pages with an editor and she’s like, You can write like, you just need help with, like kind of trimming the fat. I tend to write 8000 9000 word chapters when I need to get them down to like 4 to 5000. And so I started to change my relationship with how I approached writing and that I can’t burn myself out while I’m writing this book. And also this is the Anti Hustle Guide to Grow Your Business.
Chandler Bolt [00:15:23] How did you do that and what’s your recommendations for authors is like, what is kind of the A.I. Hustle guide to writing and publishing a book successfully?
Jadah Sellner [00:15:32] So one strategy is asking for more time. So instead of running yourself ragged, if you really can’t make the deadline, ask for more time. And I did do that with my publisher a few times. Then I got to a point where my life coach was like this procrastination. Right now, I actually don’t think you need more time to write the book. I think you need to go all in and write all of the book. So what I for me, I had to learn that I am an immersive creative. I’m not Stephen Price filled set my booty in the sea every day you know just writing and 6 a.m.. I did try it for four months and I just wasn’t making enough progress and momentum. So the thing that worked really well for me is I booked solo writing retreats for myself in hotels for 3 to 4 nights, about an hour to an hour and a half away from my home so that I could have no responsibilities. I don’t even have to greet or say hello to my family. I can just roll out of bed and get to writing. And I did this three weeks in a row, hit the deadline for my publisher. I didn’t ask for more time that third time. And so I think we have to catch ourselves of like when we’re facing resistance versus like, oh, actually we’re pushing and we’re exhausting ourselves and need to slow down and pull back. But I was in a season where I actually needed to like push and move forward through the resistance and I enjoyed the process of writing. I also brought in more support, more editors to and I hired an editor outside of my publishing house, and that really helped me a lot to have someone that I was riffing with on a weekly basis that we were just handing pages, chapters back and forth. Then we’d send it to my publishing editor who would give us more edits, and then we would work on them together. And I realized I’m an immersive creator, I’m a collaborative creator, and I also need kind of the the compression of time to get something out, but in a way that I’m in control of that deadline versus the other way around.
Chandler Bolt [00:17:38] Got it. So you chose it versus it was chosen for you? Yeah. Yeah. That’s interesting. And then Parkinson’s law, I mean, an object will swell in proportion to the container that we give it, right? Yeah. I think that’s why so often for people, it’s your story. I feel like it’s pretty familiar. Where okay, when we do have a deadline and in this case that you’ve chosen, not that someone set kind of arbitrarily for you, it’s okay. Well, I’m in that container now. There’s at least that I don’t know. That’s how I like, you know, high school in. In college. It’s like there’s a paper. All right, cool.
Jadah Sellner [00:18:14] Yeah, cause I.
Chandler Bolt [00:18:15] Know when that paper’s going to get.
Jadah Sellner [00:18:16] Right. Well, my publisher only wanted the first four chapters of my book. Like, I wrote my book and four parts, and. But I knew I needed to write the whole book, so I finished the entire draft of the manuscript, even though I only sent her the four chapters, because I was like, Why am I stuck? I need to write the whole book. I need to see what all the moving pieces are. And so I wrote all of it, but only gave her four chapters at a time, then would get the next one. So there was just this kind of like hot potato game that we were playing with and it made it more fun and I felt less alone in the writing process.
Chandler Bolt [00:18:52] Hmm. I could see that. I mean, I’ve never heard of that structure, but I it’s I could put myself in your shoes and feel like it’s okay if I’ve got to give you four chapters. Will, Now, all of a sudden, in my mind, they need to be four perfect chapters.
Jadah Sellner [00:19:07] Right, Right.
Chandler Bolt [00:19:07] Like drawing a painting without knowing with the rest of the painting looks like it’s like. Well, it’s kind of hard to give you these four if I don’t know the context of what’s around it. So then you just keep adding those chapters and changing your mind about what they should be and all that.
Jadah Sellner [00:19:21] Yeah, and I think the reason for her and every editor is different, but I think what she was trying to find was like, What’s the template? Right? Like, are you on the right track or can we make adjustments, criticism and feedback so that we’re not sending in 13 crappy chapters like we we have a model to follow that’s actually working and then we can apply that to the future chapters. But still, I needed to get my own draft out to be like, What is all here? Based on the see that I promised to them and shopping the book.
Chandler Bolt [00:19:50] Oh nice. And take table contents. Yes. Come on now let’s talk about marketing. What was the because we talk about the differences in writing. What were some of the biggest differences in marketing the book between how you marketed the smoothie book and how you marketed the newest book?
Jadah Sellner [00:20:09] Yeah, so there was a couple strategies with She Builds. I definitely recorded 30 plus podcast about two months before that would all come out in the month of November when my book came out. And then I have kind of a running list now where I do what I talk about is giving yourself permission to be a slow cooker versus a pressure cooker. So I had a pressure cooker moment in the book launch that first three months and actually I listen to tons of these podcasts on your podcast, which was really fun, but then giving myself some breathing space on the other side of, okay, now what is the sustainable marketing plan that I can that I’m not going to burn myself out and keeping this book alive and out in the world. So I record either a mix of podcast basically like show up or live events, or I’m speaking at an event or I’m hosting an event. There’s something. So I kind of have a rotation of 3 to 5 of those, like my face. My voice is out in the world talking about the book in some form, but in that beginning stage, I definitely did the crescendo of of booking podcast Not Too Wild. I know there’s people who book I know you’ve booked way more than that in a shorter amount of time, but that was a really helpful strategy. And then one thing that has been so helpful that I will continue to do is doing live ticketed events small so 40 to 50 people where we I partner with someone who already has a built in in-person local community and they already have a space that we don’t have to pay for. And it’s a two hour event where the price of the ticket is anywhere from 45 to $55. And with that you get a signed copy of my book and I partner with independent booksellers to kind of ship the book or get it to that event so that we’re also supporting indie booksellers. I, I could get it for less buying directly, you know, with the wholesale author rate through my publisher. But I choose to partner with an indie bookseller in that way. And then we have 30 minutes of mix and mingle where people get, you know, cocktails and snacks come together. And then for an hour we have a Q&A. It could just be me and the host. They’re interviewing me, or we might have a panel of women in business. And then the last 15 minutes of that hour, we do a Q&A, and then after that, the next 30 minutes, people can come up to me and get their books personalized. So I’ll sign every book.
Chandler Bolt [00:22:42] Well.
Jadah Sellner [00:22:43] Before they come in the door and like, place them in the seats. And then I say, Hey, if you want to come out, take a picture with me. Want me to add your name to the book? Just come up and say hi during that last 30 minutes of mix and mingle. And I, as an introvert, like just that, that small group size just feels perfect. And so I rinse and repeat this. I have one booked up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I did one in Los Angeles with one of my clients was a brick and mortar art studio in Los. Angeles. I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area. I partnered with two people and I have this long list of people are like, I would love to have you in my city. I will fill the room, fill the seats, and that’s guaranteed 50 people that are going to have a copy of my book and also have an in-person experience with me. The author. Yeah. And and one way that I knew that this strategy works really well as I went to Michelle Obama to see her tour, The Light we Carry, I was in the front row with my friend Jen Kemp. And you know, everyone’s asking like, who read the book? And I was like, Oh my gosh, I only listened to like the first 10 minutes before going to the event, but then watching the conversation and then having this conversation talking about what was inside the books, sharing some of the stories, I was like, I have to read this book now. So even if someone hasn’t read the book yet, that conversation and now they have the book in hand, it really strengthens them to want to actually read the book.
Chandler Bolt [00:24:07] MM That’s a, that’s really cool. So just to recap what I’m hearing, so live in-person to our events, you said you partner with someone in their city, they have an event space so you don’t have to worry about event space. They’ve already got lined up. They probably have some sort of community organization or something where they’re normally gathering people. They’re responsible for filling the room tickets, 40 to $60 somewhere in that range per person. That includes a book partner with local bookstores to ship the books there and then do the kind of mix and mingle Q&A, all that stuff is anything that I missed there.
Jadah Sellner [00:24:48] Now you got it. And I was kind of like thinking of like three P’s of You partner. Then you promote and then you have the panel.
Chandler Bolt [00:24:56] Who, Oh man, writing that down, the three things are the live in person event sell books. That’s good. What so is that for you? Is that more of a is the thought, Hey, this is going to move books is the thought, Hey, this is fun and I enjoy. This is the thought, hey, this is related to the business. And like some of these people become clients, like what’s kind of the it’s process.
Jadah Sellner [00:25:20] They’re all of the above It truly it for me you want something to be sustainable and you don’t want to present your business or then you want to shut it down, close it down and never do it again. You need it needs to be fun and joyful and sustainable so that for me it is fun. It’s also quick. It’s not super long, everyone’s getting paid in some way. The books are being like, book units are being moved, and then I’m meeting people in person and they’re, you know, taking photos DMing me so that I’m able to start conversations in the DMS to invite them to my next live event. That’s a two day quarterly planning workshop. Like here’s my retreat, like just starting to have that open loop conversation because people are sharing and have had an experience with me.
Chandler Bolt [00:26:06] Mhm. That’s cool. And I bet there’s a lot of those people were just kind of your raving fans I mean.
Jadah Sellner [00:26:11] Yeah. Experience. And I’ll share one more. Marketing strategy. I loved the way that I received your book published in the Box and I, and I leveraged that idea sending it to influencers. But another like distribution channel that I kind of shifted to is actually sending it to people who are influencers but also would be ideal clients of mine and gifting that. So even when I speak at events, I’m gifting my book to the speakers on the stage because I tend to work with seasoned female entrepreneurs that are kind of in that 500 K to 5 million a year, and that becomes like, Oh, just read this book and they’ll read a couple of pages and then they’ll send a DM and like, Hey, how can I learn how to like? Do you have any coaching available? I’ve done 30 K just in January, just from the book alone, just from someone like reading the book, devouring it, listening, whatever it is, and then wanting to hire me because all of my my thoughts, my frameworks, every strategy that I share with my clients, one on one or in my masterminds, everything I’ve poured into the book, I didn’t hold anything back and try to create like an open loop. It’s just like those people who who are DIYers and they’re going to try to figure it all out by listening to podcast, reading books. And then there’s those are those who just like, I need someone to coach and guide me. I need to be in person and experience this to actually implement and take action on it. And those are the people that I love working with who just want a more customized approach to how they’re doing their business in their lives.
Chandler Bolt [00:27:49] Yeah, that’s great. I like that a lot. And, and I think we’re, you know, completely aligned on that philosophy of give away all of your best stuff for free and people will pay you to tell it to them again. Right. And not don’t I mean because I get asked this question and we get asked, okay, how much do I include? I mean, I can’t put all my sounds in there because in then I guess. Yeah.
Jadah Sellner [00:28:13] I’m curious for you, what do you think about because there’s also that feeling of like, am I throwing everything and the kitchen sink into this versus someone kind of focusing on like one key message. It’s just a thought piece that I’m. Oh, yeah. What you think?
Chandler Bolt [00:28:25] I think both exist, right And so this goes to like so in my book I talk about kind of like the four piece of bestselling books are person Pain, Promise, Price. And so I think it’s super important to get clear on that. So who’s the person that I’m writing for was the pain that they have that they know that they have was the promise that I’m making with this book. And that’s the part which I think speaks to what you’re talking about, which people try to make this massive promise when they would really probably be much better off making a very specific promise and then fulfilling that promise fully. Yeah, with the book and not holding anything back, I don’t know. That’s kind of cool.
Jadah Sellner [00:29:02] Yeah, I know. I love that. I, I had a fear in throwing. Like throwing. I definitely didn’t throw it in there. And here is writing and editing and doing all the things but including everything. But I just felt like that was the most generous thing to do. Again, coming back to wanting things to be affordable and accessible. And it makes it easier for me when someone’s like, Oh, your how much? I’m like, Go read the book, listen to the podcast. You like to have free and accessible offerings that people can consume. And I’ve had people do things low cost where they come back two years, implement the strategies and then they’re ready to invest in a higher point.
Chandler Bolt [00:29:43] Yeah, you’re paying for yourself and that kind of model, right? It’s like if you can afford to yet go listen and implement. Yeah, that will help you to be able to afford to work with me.
Jadah Sellner [00:29:52] And I think it’s also a capsule like I think with Simple Green Smoothies, that was a time capsule to capture what I learned, what I was teaching to people online that could kind of be a cohesive one stop shop to kind of get those things. And then what she builds, if maybe I don’t want to do coaching or business coaching or strategy, it’s like everything is in there. All of my IEP and thoughts and stories are they all live there. So even if I move on to something else, I feel like I have this time capsule of of a season of my life and body of work.
Chandler Bolt [00:30:26] And that book can still be impacting people, helping people making a big difference. And I know we touched on this a little bit. Any other thoughts on Syria, specifically the launch of the new book? Like, was there anything else that was like the top two or three things that sold the most copies?
Jadah Sellner [00:30:44] I mean, the podcast and the the three P’s of selling your book through live events? Yeah, we’re definitely the the big Needle movers. And then I will also say just being in DMS with people like using social media as, as an opportunity. Even when people book me on the show, I’ll be like, Oh, did you, did you read did you read my book? Like, I almost kind of put like a little like kind of give them a little boost to actually finish the book even before they interview me on their their show. But yeah, I would say the in-person events and the podcasts were the the biggest needle movers for sure.
Chandler Bolt [00:31:25] Cool. And I know we touched on this a little bit earlier on on the show, but any other thoughts on kind of like the so the concepts and she Bill. Mm hmm. Right. And kind of through the lens of authors and female authors and female business owners, like what are maybe one or two of the concepts from the book itself that can be applicable to to those folks.
Jadah Sellner [00:31:51] Yes. So inside the book, I have a framework set up which is Build with Love L-O-V-E. So it’s divided into four parts. So lead, optimize, visualize and expand. So that’s kind of the framework of the book. And we’re moving away from the cycle of fear, which is hustle culture, and that’s f FBAR. So forcing exhaustion, avoidance and rigidity. So we’re moving from fear and then we’re building our businesses with love. And so I would say that one key strategy that has been really helpful that’s under the the love, the lead leading from the inside out, especially as a female entrepreneur, someone who wants to, you know, publish books, is to be able to define your enough number. And it’s very counterintuitive for people who are super ambitious and want to build big businesses, want to build something that is meaningful and impactful. But I think if we can start to define enough, I did this with even with she belts, with the book, with my business, what is my enough number? What how do I define what success is for me from the inside out? And then anything on top of that is a cherry on top. So being able to get clear like I’ve I’ve made tons of money in my businesses, but I know my enough number is like $15,000 a month and I’m good. And it stayed that way even as I’ve expanded my life traveling, doing all of the things. I also had an enough even with my book of like, I’m actually not trying to do a New York Times bestseller with that dramatic push. I want to be a slow cooker instead of a pressure cooker, and I’m going to do a slow, sustainable marketing plan so that I don’t resent the marketing process. Me having this conversation with you several months after, I’m not tired of talking about the topics that are in my book because I didn’t burn myself out in that process. And I’m not saying that’s for everyone, but it’s like, define what’s enough for you. Because if if New York Times bestseller, you know, all of those things, there’s like efforts and extra push and all those things you can do. But I think that piece allows us to be more anti hustle in our businesses and also even in the book writing process of like what truly, truly what is enough. And I’m like, it’s not about New York Times bestseller, It’s truly about I want this book to reach as many women entrepreneurs as possible so that they don’t burn out and over exhaust themselves and then shut their businesses down. I want them to continue to run their businesses. I want them to continue to have time for their family and their lives. And I’m going to do that really like one, 250 books at a time.
Chandler Bolt [00:34:36] MM Yeah, that’s really good. I like that a lot. Well, Jana, what would be kind of what would be your parting piece of advice to the Jadah from years ago before you even wrote the first book and maybe all the other jihadis out there who are thinking about writing their first book?
Jadah Sellner [00:34:54] Yeah, something that I say and I talk about this and she builds is don’t put a timeline on your dreams. Put a timeline on your actions. So I think in the book writing process, we tend to want to we want it yesterday, we want our books done yesterday. And if we can allow ourselves to extend the timeline of when it all gets to completion, but then put a timeline on the actual projects that you’re working on because you know a book is not a sprint. I don’t even think it’s a marathon. I think it’s a triathlon. There are multiple pieces. There’s the writing. There’s the. Editing. There’s the marketing, right? And so it takes stamina for each one of those pieces. And so we’ve got to put a timeline around those key parts in the writing process. But as far as making it to the finish line or getting the result that you want or selling X amount of this or X amount of that, that if we allow ourselves to be more compassionate about the timeline of publishing, but the actions, if we’re showing up for ourselves and being true in our creative expression, it removes the tension and the shame and the guilt of like I should have been further along this book should have been out five years ago. There’s just so much and it just it just takes out all of the joy of the writing process, like arrive right here in the moment, extend the timeline on your dreams, but like, let’s put some parameters and structure around the projects, put timelines around that. We look at the project versus the outcome and the destination. We can actually enjoy the process.
Chandler Bolt [00:36:28] MM Dot the mike. Wow. Yeah, we got quotes, we got acronyms, we got metaphors. The the slow cooker, the pressure cooker. We got love, fear. This is great then. So good. Jadah Where can people go to buy the book minus name of the book where they can find it and find out, you know, grab the book, find out more about you, what you’re up to, all that good stuff.
Jadah Sellner [00:36:54] Yeah. So you can go to Chez builds dot com and that has links to all of the local bookstores. I will just say nothing is cooler than having my 15 year old go to our local bookstore in downtown and like be with their friends pulling the book out. It’s it’s just such a gift and joy. But you will get bonus bonuses in opting in over there after you buy wherever. And I created a link inspired by you Chandler and your podcast. So if you go to she builds dot com slash audible that will take you right to you if you’re an audio listener because you listen to podcasts and you walk in and you’re doing the dishes. I also include a bonus guided meditation in the audio version, which obviously not having the meditation in the book, really helping you set your intention. And then I also have a free gift for listeners today. If they go to she builds dot com slash vision, you’ll get access to the future vision prompts that I talk about in chapter three of the book, which is about really connecting to where you want to be in the next three years. And that’s a great way to paint the picture of expanding that timeline for your dreams and having like, how do you want to feel when you have that book out in the world? And I’ll give you the code for that. I made one for you named after your book. If they put the code published in, they’ll get that for free. It’s normally it costs money, but it be free for your listeners.
Chandler Bolt [00:38:19] Let’s go. Awesome. Well, guys, grab the book, the audio book, the vision map. As a reminder, the book is called She Builds. Check it out. Hope you love it. As much as I love this podcast. This is awesome. Jared, Thank you so much.
Jadah Sellner [00:38:35] Thank you so much. Fun connecting with you and catching up.