In this episode, Zach talks to Kim Swagemakers about Kimpactabout her experience going from employee to freelancer to owner of a produced agency.
In this episode, Kim shares her insights on how to immerse yourself in customer problems to inform your trajectory, choosing a niche based on past products, finding great product service ideas, creating lead flows automated and much more.
- If you want to download Kim’s list of LinkedIn response templates that she mentioned during the interview, you can take them here.
- 12:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. — Zach introduces the podcast, mentioning guest Kim Swagemakers, her journey from freelancer to agency owner, and her evolution into creating digital products.
- 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. — Zach describes the episode’s focus on finding niches, product service ideas, and automated lead flow. He expresses personal interest in understanding how to target valuable problems and niches.
- 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. — Kim describes her company, Kimpact, transitioning from freelance work to product services, focusing on helping professionals and solopreneurs with lead generation and strategy.
- 6:00 – 8:00 — Zach asks about Kim’s client niches and her approach to keeping her skills sharp through direct freelance work.
- 8:00 – 10:00 — Kim discusses her transition from 10 years of corporate work to self-employment in 2010, driven by a desire for freedom and travel, and her initial partnership with a small agency.
- 10:00 – 12:00 — Kim discusses her decision to start her own business and the opportunities that presented themselves in the early Internet era, emphasizing the importance of collaboration in her early independent work.
- 12:00 – 2:00 — Kim explains her transition from a corporate role to a freelance position, focusing on teaching and coaching roles at an agency, and how that differs from her previous job.
- 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. — Zach asks about the transition phases in Kim’s career, exploring the move from employment to self-employment to education-focused work.
- 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. — Kim reflects on her early experiences with online community strategy and how her roles evolved from technical tasks such as writing to strategic and educational roles.
- 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. — Kim shares her journey of discovering her passion for training and education, and how it led her to develop specialized training programs based on recurring customer needs and questions.
- 8:00 – 10:00 p.m. — Kim talks about the fulfillment she finds in teaching and empowering others, and how she began to explore producing her skills and knowledge.
- 22:00 – 24:00 — Kim discusses the challenge of transitioning from a specialist role to teaching, emphasizing the importance of understanding and solving client problems.
- 24:00 – 26:00 — Zach reflects on the importance of immersing yourself in an audience to understand their needs and align services accordingly.
- 26:00 – 28:00 — Kim details her journey through the training phase, considering production and seeking better income opportunities.
- 28:00 – 30:00 — Kim shares her realization of focusing on outcomes and solutions for clients rather than simply responding to their requests, inspired by Brennan’s approach.
- 30:00 – 32:00 — Kim attributes her client relationships to active networking, especially on LinkedIn, and attending various networking events.
- 32:00 – 34:00 — Kim discusses her role in leading social media strategy training for consumer brands, primarily in fashion and retail.
- 34:00 – 36:00 — Zach and Kim explore his career evolution from full-time employment to more training-focused roles, with a focus on overcoming social media challenges.
- 36:00 – 38:00 — Kim identifies the main issues clients face: understanding the role of social media and securing the necessary budget in businesses.
- 38:00 – 40:00 — Kim describes her change in approach, choosing to focus on training and strategic support for marketing professionals, and rejecting random requests from clients.
- 40:00 – 42:00 — Kim explains how her training sessions became a source of leads and how that informed her decision to produce her services.
- 42:00 – 44:00 — Kim says she made a conscious choice to focus solely on social media, leveraging her existing lead flow and training activities.
- 44:00 – 46:00 — Zach explores the risk of specialization and the importance of having a stable lead flow before narrowing services.
- 46:00 – 48:00 — Kim emphasizes the importance of actively engaging with diverse audiences to understand their problems and refine service offerings.
- 48:00 – 50:00 — Kim and Zach discuss the importance of immersing yourself in potential customers’ environments to effectively identify and resolve their problems.
- 50:00 – 52:00 – Kim advises identifying your audience by thinking about past customers and experiences, then engaging with them in online communities.
- 52:00 – 54:00 — Zach and Kim discuss the process of choosing a niche, emphasizing the importance of building on past experiences and adapting to market needs.
- 54:00 – 56:00 — Kim challenges the notion of a fixed niche ceiling, arguing for evolving alongside the changing needs of your audience.
- 56:00 – 58:00 — Kim talks about her decision to focus on social media and start designing her service product, while also looking for platforms where her audience congregates.
- 58:00 – 1:00 p.m. — Kim details her strategy of using training sessions and events for lead generation and her approach to adding value on the platforms where her audience is present.
- 1:00:00 – 1:02:00 — Kim shares her LinkedIn strategy, which involves sharing knowledge, engaging with content interactors, and guiding them into her top funnel.
- 1:02:00 – 1:04:00 — Zach and Kim discuss the transition from specializing in social media to building a product service and seeking collaborations.
- 1:04:00 – 1:06:00 — Kim talks about reaching out to Frank Watching, a major platform, to offer their training services, leveraging their social media expertise.
- 1:06:00 – 1:08:00 — Zach explores the idea of replicating Kim’s strategy in different niches, focusing on identifying and serving a specific audience.
- 1:08:00 – 1:10:00 — The discussion revolves around intentionally targeting platforms and events that speak to Kim’s chosen audience, emphasizing the importance of an audience-first strategy.
- 1:10:00 – 1:12:00 — Kim describes her product service focused on social media strategy, including training, plan writing, and feedback sessions.
- 1:12:00 – 1:14:00 — This service evolved into a longer-term coaching service as clients needed help implementing their plans.
- 1:14:00 – 1:16:00 — Kim discusses her lead generation methods, including LinkedIn content and leveraging a free lead magnet.
- 1:16:00 – 1:18:00 — She highlights the importance of engaging with your audience and providing value in a non-intrusive way.
- 1:18:00 – 1:20:00 — Zach and Kim summarize the lead generation flow, with Kim focusing on teaching social media strategy and converting interested people through targeted content and courses .
- 1:20:00 – 1:23:36 — Kim advises focusing on knowledge and skills acquired over time to solve audience problems, emphasizing that this forms the basis of effective product services.