How to Tame the Tech Monster and Build Your Business Online with Joy and Confidence – In Just 7 Minutes with Anke Herrmann

Resources/Links:

• Wanting to put your business online but scared of the techy stuff? Learn more about how to use technology to your advantage: www.tamingthetechmonster.com

Summary

Have you ever thought about taking your coaching or training business online but were afraid of the technology?

Do you feel overwhelmed by it?

Want to learn the ways and secrets to growing your business online without the tech struggles?

Anke Herrmann is a tech mentor and business coach who was originally from Germany but now is based in Spain. She helps professional coaches, educators, and other service-based business owners grow their business online, without the tech struggles.

In this episode, Anke talks about how to grow your business online and overcome the tech monster. She also shares her insights and the secrets to use the online setting to your business’s advantage.

Check out these episode highlights:

• 01:50 – Anke’s ideal client: “My ideal client is someone who’s been wanting a one-woman, like a one-woman show or one solo business, and has done well on offering one-on-one and group services, but really feels like I’ve come to a point doing it all, that I’m spending so many plates. There’s just so much- there’s only so many hours in the day.”
• 02:29 – Problem Anke helps solve: “Well, the problem that comes is that when they get to the point, they realize, “Oh my god. I need to use technology effectively to build a business that actually can scale and it can grow without me spinning my wheels like a crazy woman.” And then they look at tech, and then there’s overwhelming setting and it’s like, “Oh my god, this is quicksand.”
• 03:34 – Typical symptoms that clients do before reaching out to Anke: “The symptoms usually are they look at their day and find, “I do so much stuff and all the stuff- I’m doing too many things that I shouldn’t really be doing that take me away from the core of the work I actually want to offer.”
• 04:40 – Common mistakes that people make before they find Anke’s solution: “The classic mistake is to run to the tools, to immerse themselves into researching tools way too soon. I find myself, like my favourite phrase is, “Wait, wait, wait.” Like, “Wait.” Like, “Don’t skip steps. Don’t run ahead.”
• 06:34 – Anke’s Valuable Free Action (VFA): “Slow down and I’d say literally take a piece of paper or document and map out your client journey. Literally, write it down. Because it’s easy to, “Yeah, I know.” Well, no, you don’t. Like, write it down. Like literally step by step what is it that you want them to experience?”
• 06:56 – Anke’s Valuable Free Resource (VFR): Check out Anke’s Website: www.tamingthetechmonster.com
• 07:37 – Q: What is it that makes tech difficult? A: There are basically two parts to it. One part is what people think about it. “Oh, it’s difficult. I’m a woman. I’m too old.” And the other part of it is, well, yeah, there is a lot to learn. People think they need to know it all.”

Tweetable Takeaways from this Episode:

“Before you question your capabilities, question your beliefs.” -Anke Herrmann Share on X

Transcript
(Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Tom Poland 00:09
Greetings everyone and a very warm welcome to another edition of Marketing the Invisible. My name is Tom Poland beaming out to you from Little Castaways Beach here in Queensland, Australia, joined today by Anke Herrmann. Anke, good day. A very warm welcome. Where are you hanging out? Which part of the world are you in?

Anke Herrmann 00:24
Thanks so much for having me. I’m delighted to be here. I’m in the south of Spain and have been living here for the last 17 years. I’m originally from Germany.

Tom Poland 00:34
Oh!

Anke Herrmann 00:34
But I’m stuck in the south of Spain.

Tom Poland 00:36
So, wo in Deutschland? Whereabouts in Germany?

Anke Herrmann 00:39
In Leipzig. I grew up in East Germany!

Tom Poland 00:41
Leipzig? Ah, wonderful! Very historic place. Mind you, a lot of them are in Germany, aren’t they? Compared to Australia. So, you were in Germany, now you’re in Spain, been there for 17 years and why not? It’s a beautiful part of the world. For those of you who don’t know Anke, she’s a tech mentor, a business coach. She helps professional coaches, educators, and other service-based business owners grow their businesses online, without the tech struggles which we’ve all been subjected to from time to time. Brings us nicely, Anke, to the title of this interview, which is, “How to Tame the Tech Monster and Build Your Business Online with Joy and Confidence”. One of the things I love about what Anke does is she wraps everything in the core of our lives. So, everything is context within what’s happening in our lives. And I really love that about your work is you’re always acknowledging how businesses are part of our life, not so much the other way around. So, I like that! So, without further ado, let’s start the countdown timer. Our seven minutes starts now. Question number one, Anke, who is your ideal client?

Anke Herrmann 01:50
My ideal client is someone who’s been wanting a one-woman, like a one-woman show or one solo business, and has done well on offering one-on-one and group services, but really feels like I’ve come to a point doing it all, that I’m spending so many plates. There’s just so much- there’s only so many hours in the day. And somebody recently said, “I feel- I’m strangling my business if I don’t change the way I work.”

Tom Poland 02:16
Oh wow.

Anke Herrmann 02:16
So, they’ve come to a point where they’ve maxed out what they can do with the way they’re working.

Tom Poland 02:22
Okay.

Anke Herrmann 02:22
So-

Tom Poland 02:23
So that might have answered question number two, which is what’s the problem you solved? But did you want to add any more to that?

Anke Herrmann 02:29
Well, the problem that comes is that when they get to the point, they realize, “Oh my god. I need to use technology effectively to build a business that actually can scale and it can grow without me spinning my wheels like a crazy woman.” And then they look at tech, and then there’s overwhelming setting and it’s like, “Oh my god, this is quicksand.” And either they freeze and don’t do anything, or they start playing a lot of stuff in the hope to find that one tool that does it all and magically reads their mind.

Tom Poland 03:04
Oh, that’s such a tool that exists. So, let’s go to question number three, five and a half minutes left. We’ve talked about the ideal client. We’ve talked about their problem that they feel like they’re strangling their business. They need to scale- they understand that tech is at least a part of the answer to this. Question three, though, was- we’ve described that person, what are the symptoms that are going to be are they going to be experiencing where they would go, “Oh, that’s happening! I really need to reach out and have a closer look at what Anke’s offering.”

Anke Herrmann 03:34
The symptoms usually are they look at their day and find, “I do so much stuff and all the stuff- I’m doing too many things that I shouldn’t really be doing that take me away from the core of the work I actually want to offer.” And somebody said, “I am scared of bringing in newbies- I know how to bring in new clients, but I’m scared of bringing in new clients because I know more clients mean more work, more time, more energy, and I’m already maxed out.” So, when there’s descent, like, “I just cannot spin this wheel any faster.”

Tom Poland 04:11
So, like feeling like they’re the guinea pig on a treadmill. So question four-

Anke Herrmann 04:16
Oh yeah. Hamster wheel is the picture.

Tom Poland 04:19
So, question four, and four and a quarter minutes left. Well, these people are intelligent people. They understand there’s a problem that needs to be met. What are some of the mistakes they make before they find your solution? You’ve alluded to one of them already, which is, you know, just buying tech stuff and hoping it would work. What else is- what are the mistakes that they make?

Anke Herrmann 04:40
The classic mistake is to run to the tools, to immerse themselves into researching tools way too soon.

Tom Poland 04:51
Right?

Anke Herrmann 04:51
I find myself, like my favourite phrase is, “Wait, wait, wait.” Like, “Wait.” Like, “Don’t skip steps. Don’t run ahead.” You’re not going- when you plan a dinner party, like what my cause is about is when you plan a dinner party, you don’t think, “Oh, I want to invite people on a Saturday. Let me go shopping.” I know, right? You have to think about, first, what is it? Who’s coming? What are they going to want? Are there’s somebody- are there vegans? Are there kids who don’t eat spicy food? You actually have to make a plan for the menu and think and consider a few things. And only then will use choose the dishes you’re going to make. And only then you’d come up with the list of ingredients. And you always go through that and take it, it’s exactly the same. So, you need to think first about what you actually want your client to experience. How do you want this to work? And so often people- and when I ask, “Oh okay, when I sign up to your thing, what’s the first thing I see? What’s happening next?” And I’ve not ever come across somebody who has a snap on answer. “Well, I don’t know.” Right? Well, you have to think through these things, and you have to think about what you, you know, want to offer in terms of community and material and access and lifeboats. How do you want this to run? And only then you can go and choose the tools that, you know, give you what you need, and not a whole lot of stuff that you don’t need.

Tom Poland 06:13
Right, to figure out that strategic! The answer some of those questions, you’ve already asked, the strategic ones before you get to the tactics, that technology. So, let’s go to question five, just over two minutes left, so you’re under the pump a little bit here! What’s a valuable free action, an idea that we can offer people is not going to solve the whole problem, but it would take them a step in the right direction?

Anke Herrmann 06:34
Slow down and I’d say literally take a piece of paper or document and map out your client journey. Literally, write it down. Because it’s easy to, “Yeah, I know.” Well, no, you don’t. Like, write it down. Like literally step by step, what is it that you want them to experience? In what sequence? How do you want them to go through your product or service? Literally, write it down.

Tom Poland 06:56
In nice, simple terms, and as you quote Einstein in your book. Wonderful book, by the way! Full of, folks, it’s full- I bought the book before the interview. It’s full of fantastic ideas. It’s easy to read. It’s simple, and you can implement stuff that’s going to make a big difference and make sure you do get the book. Go to www.tamingthetechmonster.com. I’ve answered the question to question number six, which was the one variable free resource. Decided to do that in advance but, I got a bit carried away because I was so enthusiastic about the book. It really is a super, super read! Chock full of value. Tamingthetechmonster.com. Question number seven, Anke, and we’ve got a minute left. What’s the one question I should have asked you, but didn’t?

Anke Herrmann 07:37
What is it that makes tech difficult?

Tom Poland 07:39
So, what is it that makes tech difficult?

Anke Herrmann 07:42
Well, there are basically two parts to it, and I know I’ve got a minute left. One part is what people think about it. “Oh, it’s difficult. I’m a woman. I’m too old.” Before you question your capabilities, question your beliefs.

Tom Poland 07:55
Right.

Anke Herrmann 07:56
And the other part of it is, well, yeah, there is a lot to learn. People think they need to know it all. Right? So just prepare yourself. Yeah, learn what you need one step at a time. And, you know, just take it as a learning experience and the learning journey and you can’t expect yourself.

Tom Poland 08:14
I love that. It’s about exploring capabilities. Pardon me?

Anke Herrmann 08:19
Give yourself a bit of slack here is basically the-

Tom Poland 08:21
Right. Cut yourself some slack. Anke Herrmann, thanks so much for your time.

Anke Herrmann 08:25
Thank you.

Tom Poland 08:27
Thanks for checking out our Marketing The Invisible podcast. If you like what we’re doing here please head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate us, and leave us a review. It’s very much appreciated. And if you want to generate five fresh leads in just five hours then check out www.fivehourchallenge.com.