Behind The Spotlight: Lindsay Pinchuk

Welcome to another episode of Behind the Spotlight. Today we have my friend Lindsay Pinchuk. Wait, she is the founder of Dear Found Her podcast. She is also amazing. Uh, she's texting me as we talk, so she's going to come on. But I have to tell you that she started a 7-figure business with $500 in her pocket. She created sponsorships, she created collaborations, she created partnership. She created everything you need to start your business off in the right way, and she was helping moms. Join us, um, and we can talk all about marketing, all around branding, all around, um— she has a mini Bernedoodle, and that's one of my favorite dogs. So here she is.

Hi! Yeah, hi, how are you?

I did my hair hair for you, Linds?

I did not do my hair at all. I'm going to get my hair done actually after this, so my hair is not done. Sorry for that.

It was just me and Benny this morning, so I had time. I didn't have to get anybody off to school. Um, but I was just talking about how you turned $500 into a 7-figure business helping moms. I did, which is amazing, with collaborations and partnerships. And I just wonder You know, we hear stuff like that all the time and people give us the shiny piece of it, right? Why the fun part, you got to work with Target and Nordstrom and all these great things. But I know you well enough to know that there's a crux behind that. And like, what was that deep down in your soul that you needed the world to understand about why you wanted to help people?

You know, it was one of those things that when I got pregnant— so first of all, let's like take it back a sec. There was no social media when I started my business. So I'm sorry my lighting is so bad. I was trying to figure it out and I don't know what's going on here. But there was no social media when I was starting Bump Club and Beyond. And so it was a really different world that we're living in. I was in Chicago. I still live outside of Chicago, but I was downtown Chicago and none of my friends were pregnant. And really and truly, I said to my husband, like, I need to find some friends who are pregnant. There's no one for me to like corroborate with here. And that was my why, you know, I mean, that was really my why was that I needed community for myself. But then what happened was, I got into it, and I started hosting these events. And it was very apparent that other women need the community, needed the community as well. And then also, like, people just needed information, like good information. And I did not want to be going into like chat rooms online. And you know, that was a very different place that we are now in terms of like the internet. And so I wanted people who I could rely on. And then I also wanted reliable resources. So I thought, well, I'm going to provide these resources. I'm going to find these resources. And that was really my why. And then my why kind of changed though over time, right? Like it shifted to me providing myself with a community, which I did. To then creating this career for myself that allowed me the flexibility to be home for my family once I had my daughter and then my second daughter. And then I was able to employ other moms to do the same. And actually, funny enough, so like yesterday, we had a layover in Minneapolis and we got delayed and I ended up going to the Mall of America. This is such a sidebar. But my, like, first employee, like one of my longtime employees who's a dear friend, like I would never even call her an employee, but someone that I worked with for years at Bump Club. I mean, she literally came to the Mall of America to pick me up to take me back to the airport so we could have 10 minutes together. We worked together for 7 years. Thank you. And we were like, you know, we are so close. And these women who worked with me, they were not just employees. I mean, they're my family. And, you know, we know everything about each other, about our kids. I was able to provide myself and all of these women who worked with me with a lifestyle that worked for us as working moms.

We are so lucky to have that and have that— for you to put that out in the world. But that's like who you are. You know, we got really close really fast as well. We're actually friends. I really adore Lindsay and want to meet— we haven't met in person, but one day I'll get to get to know you.

Soon. Soon.

Soon, hopefully. But I understand that creating that community for you, because I got to meet one of your clients in person. We didn't know we both knew you, but she was— glowing about you and then said your name. And I was like, of course it's Lindsay.

That's so nice. And I love that story too, that you met Lauren, that you made that connection. So thank you for saying that. I mean, I just, I think that community is so important and that we underestimate community, right? So I think that like, and I don't know that I, I mean, I knew I built a community with Bomb Club. I knew that that was the business, you know, and that was what I was selling essentially to brands. But it really wasn't until I sold the company and then left the company that I realized how important your community is to your brand. And I think that that is something that as business owners, we don't always know. And we don't always, we don't always put a lot of eggs in that basket. And I say now, like, your community is your number one asset. Your community is gonna be what lifts you up, what supports you, who, you know, your best marketers for you. They're your best advertising vehicle, and ultimately they're gonna be your best customers. And I also think that if your community is— if, if the people in your community are not your customers now, that's okay. Like, there, there is a time and a place for everything. And I think just recognizing how important they are to be in your sphere and in your community is so important. And so that is why, you know, with Bump Club, with Dear Founder, which is my podcast, and all of the work that I'm doing now for brands, I mean, that is my number one thing is that you have to build up the community first and you have to just rely on the community. Period.

100%. And learning from you about your branding and the way that you look at it, you know, one of the things you always say to me is like, we need to simplify. Right? I don't understand why everybody makes it so, so complex and we get into our heads about what we're supposed to be doing and why we're supposed to be doing it. So according to Lindsay, why is it so important to simplify your marketing?

Well, first of all, as small business owners, like we don't have all the time in the world, right? I mean, that is, that is the biggest thing. And it's really important that you have a simple marketing process that allows you to put your brand and yourself out into the world and to get exposure and to build that brand without complications, you know, and, and complexities. And I say this because it works and I did it and it really wasn't, like I said, until after I sold my company and I took a look at what I did that I realized how simple the process was. I mean, every single thing that I did for Bum Club was a very simplified grassroots marketing strategy. And I built upon that. And I want to go back and say that, like, you know, I said at the top of this conversation, I didn't— there was no social media when I started. So we weren't worrying about like trending sounds and filters and videos and reels and stories and all the different things. And I know that can be so hard and complex because, when you're not used to that, that can be a tough, that can be tough. But I want you to think about what, like, I challenge my business, my clients and business owners to really think about it and dial it back to the very simple things that work. And when I think about the very, very simple things that worked when I was first building Bump Club, partnerships. So I mean, I, I started this company built on partnerships. Now I'm not talking about paid partnerships, I'm not talking about advertising. I mean, I did a workout, a prenatal workout with a very popular barre class. It's, it's now called something different now, but they told their community and I told my community, like my building community that I was building. So right away we had this partnership and they were talking about me to their customers. I then started bringing in speakers and of course I was elevating the speakers, but they were elevating the events. And then I was reaching out to brands and I was saying, I have like 50 expectant moms coming, you know, that have a fairly high household income to this event. Would you like to put a product in a gift bag? And they all sent me product. And so from there I really built upon those partnerships to bigger partnerships and to paid partnerships. But even when we were being paid by brands, we always had this level of grassroots and unpaid partnerships and just very simplified, you share me, I share you. And that is how I built my company. And I think that it's, it's a lot of people are like, oh, that's like, oh, it could be that simple. It really is that simple.

Marketing Made Simple, I know, is the program that you have right now. Out in the world. And you've told us two components. You told us build your community and build partnerships. But what is different about Marketing Made Simple? Because I know that, I know clients of yours that are just killing it because they listen to what you say.

Okay. So Marketing Made Simple is my group mentorship. It's online. So, and I want to say that because a lot of people are like, oh, well, I'm not in Chicago. It doesn't matter. It's, we do, I have in-person things in Chicago, but it's online. And it's a robust group of amazing women. There's 50 women in it right now who are— I mean, I have a call with them later today. It's like my favorite call of the whole week. But here's the difference. Here's the difference is that it's built upon my method called Sweep. Now, this is another thing that I realized after the fact, right? Like it was— it wasn't when I was building it. It was like I looked back. This is how I built my company. So I built my company by sweeping the same message through my social media, my website, my emails, my events, my partnerships, and my publicity sweep. And so in Marketing Made Simple, we really break down and simplify the process of all of those tactics. So social media, your website, emails, events, partnerships, and publicity. And we create a content strategy that you can thread through and sweep across all of them. And it all works together. And that is really the backbone and the basis of what I do, because we as small business owners cannot be necessarily content creators all day, every day. And I see Lauren here, like, I'm gonna give a shout out to Niche Needs. Lauren is the client that Beth and I were talking about previously, but she has a product. She bakes challah. She doesn't have time to be doing Reels and social media and emails and stuff all day. So it's creating the message and the content and sweeping it through everything. And that's what we do. Now we meet one-on-one, um, sorry, we meet in a group setting 4 times a month. My students have the opportunity to book one-on-ones with me. They can ask me questions in the group and then they learn and support one another, which is also great. No, when I was building this, and this is something too that I just want to point out to any business owner. When I was building this, I thought, oh, I'm gonna like put up a class, I'm gonna like do— because I had been teaching some classes. But then I was like, you know what, no, I'm gonna ask my community. I'm gonna ask them what they want. Well, they didn't want a class. And that was very evident in the survey that I gave them. They wanted one-on-one time with me, they wanted a community of their own, they wanted a bunch of different things. And so that's what I built them. I've built a choose your own adventure. It's really a hub. Of resources, time together, time with each other. And that's what they told me they wanted, that. And it's working because I'm not like building something that I want, but I'm building something that they want. And I listened.

Wellness Extensive says it's been transformative. So you have a— Nash needs— we did talk nicely about you. I talked about meeting you. We talked about her earlier.

Lauren's been on since the beginning. I think I saw.

She's amazing. I got to meet her in person. But, but what I'm hearing is, and I think what, what's happening in the larger marketing and digital entrepreneurship realm is like people are tired of those big programs because they're not getting anything out of it. And what they actually want is the, the knowledge that you and I have in our heads, because I hear the same thing from my clients. They're like, well, how much time do I get with you in your program? And how much time do you spend looking at my brand? Because everyone's— and I am too, I'm very I've been, I've stopped scrolling. Like I just go see my people now because in my head I'm like, wait a minute, am I not doing this right? Do I need that system? Like those hooks are good. It's all based in psychology and subconscious psychology. So it gets to me. The biggest question I get from my clients, and I know you have an opinion on this, is do I need to build my brand with ads?

And I don't think you do. I mean, I really don't. Like, so when I built Bump Club, yes, we were in a different time. I know that, but I, you know, I built it alongside the rise of social media. And we never really had a paid ad budget. I mean, eventually when we were working with Target, we were working with Nordstrom, we did a program with Huggies, like those programs had ad dollars built in for the program, which my brand benefited from. Now what I tell all of my clients always is if you don't have the organic marketing and you don't have the organic content, when someone goes to your Instagram, your website, etc., your ads aren't going to work. So, you know, and, and that's the other thing. And I, and I also tell people all the time, when you're looking to work with someone, when you're looking to get support, you need to look at and see, like, did they do what you want to do? Yes, there are a lot of people out there who, you know, especially with AI now who are telling you those hooks and what you want to hear, but they have not done what they— what they— they have not done what you want to do. And so I think it's so important to understand and know the background of someone before, you know, you actually invest in working with them. And one of the things that I have heard recently that I mean, I guess I thought I like knew, but like it, like it really struck— it was a— it was the best compliment that I probably could have received, was I— after I had a call with someone, she wrote me a note and she said, I just want you to know, you know, this person and this person that I've worked with before are great for like, you know, boosting your confidence and getting you excited. She said, you are the first person to give me actual tactical step-by-step instructions on how to do something with my brand. And That is really what small business owners want. Like small business, if you own a small business, you're revved up, you're charged, you're willing to go, you're willing to put in the work. I mean, being a business owner is really hard, but you don't always know the step-by-step instructions to market it. And that's what I focus on is really giving you the tools to make it happen and actually make it happen versus like Expert, right?

There's a difference in the market. Like I've been having, you know, I have all, I have all these. I love my interviews and I'm so happy that we're doing this today. But somebody said to me recently, they're like, well, how do you feel about all the experts coming into the PR space who aren't experts? And I was like, you know, she's like, it's being flooded with people who figured out, figured out a way to get themselves one space or one article, or they took somebody else's program and kind of retooled it themselves. But they don't have that nuance. Like, I was a former TV producer, I do TV currently, so I can show my clients, hey, I'm doing what you want to be doing. And I think people get distracted by the shininess, or that if I see one more ad for Forbes— and my question is always like, do you need to be in Forbes? Is that going to get you to your goals? Like, who told you you need to be in Forbes? See, I'm not sure you hear the same things. You need to be doing this system or that system where you're coming down to community partnerships. And I love SWEET because I feel that same way in visibility. You need to be saying the same thing everywhere so you're known for something.

It's interesting because this goes back to what— like, what you just said in terms of, you know, the shininess and whatnot goes back to what I just said in terms of your experience, right? It's so important that you have that hook, that you have that unique selling proposition about yourself that gives you the experience to be sharing this knowledge. Now, this goes back to my number one step, which, you know, my number one step is to tell your story. I mean, that is the most important thing is to tell your story. Why do people want to work with you? Well, for me, I would assume people want to work with me because I took $500, I built a seven-figure year-over-year business, and I sold it. How? Well, I'm gonna show you. And so, you know, everyone has their unique selling points here, and that's, that's mine. And I share my story all the time. I just had a client this morning message me. She said, oh my God, for the first time ever, I put a picture up of myself on my Instagram, and it's because of you. And it— like, I want to connect with my community and not just be like a nameless, faceless brand. And that is really what will take your brand and your business to the next level is having that human connection behind it. And so, you know, it goes back to, you know, all these hooks and all this BS that we see all over Instagram. You got to really look into who is this person. And I do often, it's funny, I'll see people like put up this stuff on Instagram and I'll, I'll look at their profile and then I'll like do a deep dive and I'll be like, this person's actually done nothing. Like, actually, they've, they've never done what they're telling you what to do. And so why would you take and pay someone who's not done what you want to do as your end result?

So, so glad you're saying this, because honestly, the number one thing that I think people don't understand, or people that people do and they're not doing that backend work, is they look at numbers. If they're blue check or they have 35,000 followers or 100,000 followers. And I'm like, can you look and see who's making comments, how many likes they actually have? Like you have to do deeper than surface look because a lot of people still buy followers. A lot of people still are using those bots to beef up how many comments they have and how many likes they have and all that kind of stuff. So it's like doing your due diligence, just don't hire. And I, but my business, and I think some of your business too, is based on referrals.

Mm-hmm. I get a lot of referrals. I mean, it's a lot of word of mouth.

Right.

And, you know, that goes back to your experience and your heritage and people, you know, hearing your name over and over and because you're telling your story. And so other people start to tell your story for you once you say your story enough, which is part of why I say you got to tell your story. But another thing too that I think is important to look at also is then there are those people who go viral and maybe get those 1 or 2 placements and use those to really, you know, showcase their experience or their expertise. And you have to look at those people as well. Like, it was fun, guys. I noticed someone the other day who, um, they had this viral reel a while ago and they got some press from it. Good for them. And, you know, and, but like their social media does real, does not really reflect what it is that they're putting out into the world right now. And that virality of that one reel, like didn't really launch them into, into that atmosphere, but they're using it to get to book clients and as they should. But I think there's, there's also this level of expectation of, um, Like, what is their experience and what are you paying for? You know, I mean, someone who's gone viral once is not necessarily the expert that you want to be doing all of your social media, I think.

You know, I agree with you because then it gets back to being simple. It's getting back to like, can they really help you move the needle? And looking at what they're doing, but understanding— I think a lot of people also like, well, here, just fix me, just do the work. And I think I know when clients work with you and when clients work with myself, It's a lot of work, right? It's not, there's no quick fixes. You're not gonna make 6 figures in 6 months. And you have to do creating a community of people who are following you. It's not raving fans. It's people who take solace in that you know what you're talking about and they wanna hear what it is, right? Creating those partnerships. I know that if I'm having an issue or I have a big business question, I'm calling Lindsay. I have, you know, I have other friends that I call also, because I trust their judgment, and I trust what they're creating in the world, and I trust what they're putting out in the world. You came here because you trust me that I'm going to make you look good, right? And we're going to talk about your stuff because I adore you, and because you know that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to visibility. And this is part of your visibility and my visibility. We've had a lot of people on. Here's that number. It keeps going up and down. But I know— I don't want to take up all your time, because I know you have big meetings for the rest of the day. I would love you to revisit. The one thing that people should be doing, because I think I know when people are listening, they're like, okay, I need to build my community. I need to do partnerships. I need to be simple. Can you give us one hack, one thing that you would put out there and then tell us about how people can work with you?

Tell your story. I mean, honestly, like this is the foundation of all your content. Okay. When you tell your story to the world, you are sharing your authority. You're sharing your expertise. You're connecting with people, and ultimately it— I call your story your bridge to transaction. That is what I call it in all of my courses, my mentorship, everything. It is your bridge to transaction. When you say your story over and over and over again enough, like I said, other people will start sharing it, they'll refer you, they will remember you for when they need your service. But if you're not telling your story, you're not telling them how to work with you and what it is that they can you know, do, you know, do to, to bring you into their ethos, they're going to forget you. So you have to make sure you are sharing that over and over and over again. And from there, that is the foundation of your content. And then you start building the walls. What do you want to be known for? What's important to you? What's your offer? And you build up those things and you say the same things over and over and over again. Now, I'm saying this because I have said share your story multiple times. If you look at my feeds, I tell you all the time, share your story. And it's something I'm known for. I'm known for saying that now. People stop me on the street and they say, oh my God, I shared my story and it was the best content I've ever put out there into the world. And love that. So like, start with your story. That is the best place to start and then build from there.

That's what I— Good advice. OK, so Lindsay gave you a challenge, everybody. You need to share your story. So when you do share your story, tag us. We'll share it out for you again, because that's building your community. Let us be a part of your community.

I think it was last week or the week before, I dropped an episode of my podcast, Dear Found Her, and it was like, how to build your story. I mean, it was 20 minutes, like, how to build your story. It's very simple. You can listen to it and use that and take away and then tag Beth and I. We'll share your story because that's part of it too. Like whenever anyone tags me and is like, oh my God, I shared my story, thanks Lindsay for pushing me to do that, I share it with my own community because that's part of this, so.

Well, that's part of who we are too. We just want everybody to win. If you work with me, I still want you to win. We're all doing this really hard thing together and I couldn't do it without people like you and you're a genius in my business as well. So I know that Marketing Made Simple, the doors are still open.

Yes, so Marketing Made Simple is a cohort-based program, so it's not an open enrollment all year round. We just opened a spring cohort. We have about a dozen women that are signed up already. The doors are gonna close in a couple of weeks. I think I said April 14th is the date that the doors close for this cohort. Everyone in the spring cohort also gets to kind of mesh with the founder, founding cohort too. So that's my previous cohort of 50 women. It's an amazing program. I love it. It is the highlight of everything that I do. You come in and we will really work together to simplify your marketing plan and to get your business out into the world and give you support along the way. A lot of how-tos. It is, it is. I'm so, I'm actually, I am going to say it. I'm very proud of what I'm building with this because it is what people are wanting. It's what they're asking for. And I'm giving it to them and they're seeing results. Someone just said, can you post the link? Well, you can find it at lindsaypinchuk.com or in my Instagram. There's, you could, in the link in my bio, you can also grab it and I'm sure Beth will post it as well.

Yeah, everything will be linked in the caption. Lindsay, thank you for being here. Thank you for being a voice in the world for goodness and for happiness and for collaboration. And just being a friend of mine. So I really wanted to appreciate you publicly because you're amazing.

Thank you so much, Beth. Thank you for having me. And we will be talking, I'm sure, very soon. We will. We will.

So everybody, go find Lindsay. Go follow her. Go find out about her programs. If you're watching the replay, cohorts open all the time. So don't be afraid to go find out what's going on with Lindsay, even if it's a couple of months from now. Thanks so much for coming. Thanks for being on Behind the Spotlight. And again, thanks for watching. And we'll talk to you soon. Bye, everybody.