So this is officially the second episode of my podcast, but technically the third one I’ve filmed.
I recorded one two weeks ago where I was discussing my September goals and everything I’d been working on. And of course, as is part of the entrepreneurship journey, the audio was completely messed up. So I’m really hoping this time I got it right. I probably should stop and check it, but... I just want to get this done.
I love doing these more authentically, especially in this age of AI videos. Which, speaking of—my husband and I were just talking about AI videos yesterday. They’re still really weird and uncanny valley. It shocks me how many people fall for some of them, though I’m not going to lie, there are times where I’ve been fooled too.
But I was watching one yesterday where a toddler was crossing the road and there was this big sinkhole, and the baby fell in the hole, and then at the perfect time a cement truck goes right by and fills the hole up with cement. It was on Reddit, and this woman was asking people to convince her mother-in-law that it was fake because she was crying and going crazy about it.
Like... it’s the fakest video ever. Even if it looked realistic, when is there ever going to be a cement truck that just pours as it’s going by, without any warning, right on top of a baby inside a hole? But anyway, I digress.
Building in Public: The Update
Things happen. Here’s my update on building in public, which is what I’ve committed to doing.
I’m working on redoing my homepage because I initially did it as a landing page—like a sales page—but it really needs to be where my templates live. I’m expanding what I’m working on: LinkedIn templates, other Show it templates, single pages, Canva stuff, all of that. So it needs to be more integrated.
The Tech Stack Saga
It’s been frustrating trying to figure out my tech stack. I think I’ve finally figured it out. (And yes, two weeks ago I said I’d finally figured it out, but then I switched it again.)
So here’s the tech stack now:
Show it with WordPress integration for blogging
Shopify for the cart
Etsy (to help reach my customers since they hang out there)
Pinterest for advertising
Sam Cart for the cart and membership delivery (though I’m going to cancel this since I’m using the Shopify integration)
The Course About Courses
I just joined a course—and it’s very meta—it’s a course about creating courses. From Amy Porterfield.
This is something I’ve been wanting to do for... gosh, I still remember back in 2008 or 2009 when my husband first joined his job, I was wanting to do a course. So I’ve been wanting to do this for a really long time.
I figured now is the time. I’m trying to learn everything and dip my toes in everything. Yes, my goal is to consolidate eventually, but I feel like with a course—especially about websites—it makes sense. Every day I hear people say, “I don’t know how to get online, I don’t know what to do, this is too much.”
You’d think that with all the AI tools, it’d be super easy for people. But I think it’s almost overwhelming. They need a Sherpa to kind of guide them through it, and I’m so happy to do that. That’s what I do with my friends and family—people I know—trying to help them get online.
I have a friend who owns a Thai restaurant, and I helped her with her website. Pilates instructors, therapists... people who need help. I’m totally happy to do it. I’m really excited.
The course doesn’t start until the 29th, but I’m anxious to get started as soon as possible. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
The Focus Struggle: LinkedIn vs. Templates
I’ve been having kind of a struggle figuring out what my focus should be.
I do have this history with LinkedIn. It’s how I helped build the company I was with before—helped build them from nobody knowing who they were to being a big player in the industry. Even though they’re still a smaller boutique company, the big guys in our industry knew who we were. And that was all through organic content, no paid ads. All organic through LinkedIn.
So I’ve thought about maybe doing a course for B2B businesses around that. And I think I could do that. I might still do it eventually.
But part of me was thinking about doing that because I know it’s a lighter lift. And it’s not in 100% alignment—I should say it’s still kind of in alignment, but not 100%—with what I’ve been focusing on, which is Show it, templates, and websites. I do want to do Wix and Squarespace and all these platforms eventually.
I worry that by focusing too much on trying to jump to the next shiny object and being like “Okay, maybe I need to do this, maybe this is what’s going to kick-start things”... I’m operating from a place of anxiety and not necessarily making the best decision.
So I talked it through with my accountability partner this morning (who’s great, and if you’re watching, hi!). I’m really going to try to focus on this for now. If opportunities come up and they feel right, I’ll open that up.
At the end of the day, I just really like creating. I want to do whatever is going to help me create and help others learn how to create. Whether that’s on LinkedIn or on their website. But I guess what I’m saying is: I need to focus.
The LinkedIn Mastermind Decision
Speaking of focus...
I got an email today that I got accepted into a LinkedIn group—a very private LinkedIn mastermind kind of thought leadership group. I applied on a whim like a week and a half or two weeks ago.
The email said there was only 10% acceptance (which, of course, to my ego I’m like “Awesome, that’s really nice”). They could help grow my followers and all these things.
But it’s expensive. And again, I really need to put my blinders on and start focusing.
As much as I want to explore everything, if I don’t put any guardrails up, I’m never going to get traction in anything. I really want to make sure I’m focusing on this because, you know, I don’t have a job per se, but I’m working all the time on this business.
If you can relate to that, let me know. That feeling of: Am I doing the right thing? Is this the right choice?
But I’ve learned that you have to make decisions and you have to make the decisions you make work. It’s okay to change your mind, but you can’t be so stuck in analysis paralysis that a year later you’re like, “I’m still trying to decide.”
No.
So that’s where I’m at with that.
Email Marketing: Pretty vs. Deliverable
There are a lot of things I want to discuss in terms of figuring out emailing.
I love designing and I want to create beautiful emails. But when I sent the email to launch the template, my husband was like, “I’m surprised you didn’t make it pretty.” It was all text.
I was like, “I know, but it needs to be delivered.”
From my understanding, the more images, HTML, links, and all that stuff you add, the more likely you end up in the spam folder. My domain is still new, and there’s this whole domain reputation thing. (If you want me to cover that in the main channel—like how to do email and all of that—let me know.)
I really want to land in people’s inboxes. So I’m trying to figure out that balance of creating pretty things (which is kind of my brand—I create templates to make things look nice) but also wanting to land in people’s inboxes with text-based emails.
I don’t know, we’ll see. If you have experience with that, let me know. I’m just learning this on the fly.
What I Launched This Week
I launched LinkedIn templates and a freebie!
The freebie has one banner and two carousels. Then there’s also a full LinkedIn set—I think it’s 50+ templates I created over the weekend.
For the banners, I used inspiration from all the top creators. I went and looked at what they did a lot of, then kind of mushed that all together and created 10 or 12 banners.
It’s normally $27, and I’m selling it for like $8-something. If that’s something you’re interested in, check it out. (I promise I’m not trying to make this a sales thing, but this is what I’m working on, so I’m sharing it with you.)
Moving Forward
I’m going to be doing this more regularly. I just filmed a video for the tutorial side of things—an over-the-shoulder “learn how to do this in Show it with me” kind of thing.
I’m not going to keep talking just because you’re supposed to for a podcast. I’m sure there’s a million things I forgot—throughout the week I’m always like “Oh, I need to talk about that on the podcast,” and then of course when I sit here, I don’t do it.
Next time I’ll have notes.
But in the meantime, I hope you’re all doing well. I hope you’re enjoying your business. If you’re following along with me, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, reach out—I’m happy to talk.
Have a great week. Until next week, I’ll talk to you later.
Building your online presence? I create templates that make it easier (and some are free!) Check them out at marymilagros.com →
P.S. — The constant theme here? Focus. Guardrails. Not getting stuck in analysis paralysis. I’m choosing to make my decisions work rather than endlessly deliberating. It’s scary, but it’s the only way forward.
