Finola Howard (00:02.69)
That architecture made me slow down and get incredibly clear before speeding everything up. A client wrote that to me this week, and it's the reason that this episode exists. I'm Finola Howard, your host and founder of How Great Marketing Works. I believe the only way to build a business worth having is to follow the joy that makes you brave enough to do it your way. But joy needs a system underneath it.
And most businesses are running in pieces. Every part working hard and none of them working together. This is where we connect them, your marketing, your business, and you into one whole you can finally see. So if you're a purpose-led entrepreneur, ready to build success as you define it, this is your podcast. Because great marketing is your truth shared.
Mm.
People often ask me, if you won the lotto, would you stop working? And my answer has always come straight from the gut. No. Not because I'm not done yet, but because I haven't made the difference I want to make. That's the truer story underneath everything I do. I've thought a lot about what I want to leave behind. I don't need to work till I die, but I do need to feel that I made the difference I set out to make. Something clear and tangible.
And if I can do that, I'll have that sense of completion. I'll know I achieved the thing I set out to do, that I'll have made a difference in the lives of entrepreneurs, and I'll have made that journey for them easier. Then I can retire with ease and live that portion of my life in joy too. That matters to me. Every phase of life should be lived in joy, in as much as we can. So when a testimonial arrived this week, it hit me like a punch the gut.
Finola Howard (02:04.701)
I have been very lucky. I've had wonderful words from clients over the years, and I've never taken any one of them for granted. I always take them as a measure of whether I'm on track or not, and also a measure of what mattered most to my clients. But this one was different. For the first time I could see the difference. For the first time I could see the difference I set out to make actually being made in someone else's words.
It came from Mary Ann McGowan, who's been working through AI Integrated, the foundation of everything I teach now. And what she described wasn't just a list of results, it was a change in how she thinks. She wrote that it is the clearest understanding she's ever had of her ideal customer. And from there she's been able to build a compelling offer, work through the positioning, messaging, objections, and proof, and create a sales page to bring it all together.
She saw the architecture behind the process so that clarity could come before action. That the prompts are exceptional, but it's thinking behind them and the sequence I have you use them in that makes the difference. And then she wrote this. Perhaps most importantly, I feel inspired. I'll read you the whole thing a little later, but first I want to tell you why it landed with me the way it did. And I didn't write a word of it. It's the advice.
I give every single client and it always makes an impact. Never write a testimonial for your customer to sign off on. Ask them to write it in their own words, in their language, because they will say things about you. Because
Finola Howard (03:58.988)
Because they will say things about you and your work with them in a way that you would never think of saying about yourself. Back in episode 134, I said you can't see the shape of a thing while you're standing inside it. A testimonial is the view from the outside of that shape. It's someone standing where you can never stand, telling you what they see. Testimonials have always helped my work in so many ways. From a marketing perspective, of course.
But also for it can for what it can do for your soul. But also for what it can do for your soul. You'll remember the ground moved under my business this year. And if you listened to episode 135, you'll know it moved fast and not gently. And while the room around me braced against it, I leaned further in. I set out to replace myself with AI on purpose. And by replacing me, something happened that I didn't expect. I actually found me.
What I couldn't tell you in episode 135 was what came next. Here's a story that some of you might be familiar with. It's my what are you for story. When my son Sean was three, he was in the back of the car on the way to his grandmother's for the day. He was looking out the window, and out of nowhere, he asked me, What are you for, mommy? I stuttered and I stumbled, and I came up with an answer that I thought I should give. I'm here to love you, sweetheart.
And he smiled. So I asked him the same question back, thinking I'd stump him. And without a pause for breath, without any hesitation whatsoever, he said, I'm for digging. What? Clarity. And that's the question at the heart of purpose, mission, and vision. What are you for?
And when I built your business integrated, that's one of the very first questions it asks. I had to build it so that it pushes the way I push when I'm working one-to-one with a client. Every prompt in that architecture works like this. It doesn't take the first answer, it looks for the deeper question underneath, the one that actually needs to be asked. And it asks it. And of course, the first person I tested it out on was me. I have to test it out on me first.
Finola Howard (06:20.257)
But it was bizarre to be on the other side of my own questions, to be asked by something I built exactly what I'd ask you. So here's what I had before for purpose, mission, vision. And that it's okay, you know, it's strong enough. So for purpose, I had to make business growth easier, braver, and more aligned for purpose-led entrepreneurs. Mission, which is the how, to equip entrepreneurs with the systems and support.
Follow their joy and succeed on their terms. And Vision was 10,000 entrepreneurs building aligned, courageous, high-impact businesses by the 31st of December 2030.
purpose and the mission are okay, but the vision threw the whole thing off, really. It was a little bit unbelievable.
Purpose and the mission are okay. But the vision throws the whole thing off. It's a bit unbelievable, ungrounded. And I mean, I can rationalise the numbers behind that. And I did rationalise the numbers behind that. But really, was it truly measurable? Like, how do you measure that? My thinking was that they would come through my programs. But just because someone did a program or used a tool of mine doesn't mean they're building aligned, courageous, high-impact businesses.
So let me show you where my AI pushed back. It pushed first on who I work with. purpose led. Was that just a nice description? It asked me. No, it's deliberate. It's a filter. I don't want to work with companies whose culture doesn't align with mine. A company whose only purpose is to make money, I will never work with them. I want to work with people who make a difference in the world and be profitable and sustainable.
Finola Howard (08:17.409)
And then my AI pushed back on where bravery lives. I had easier, braver, and more aligned. Aligned matters to me. It means you're leaning into the essence of who you are, your uniqueness. And by being more aligned, you'll be more successful because of it. And bravery is crucial here because I want to show you that you can be brave enough to do it your way, that it's safer to be yourself than to be like everyone else. That anti-sameness was the seed.
That's where lean into their genius comes from. And bravery doesn't disappear. It found its home in the one belief that everything else rests on. That the only way to build a business worth having is to follow the joy that makes you brave enough to do it your way. There's also a lesson about how you come up with that statement, too, in your business integrated. But let's get back to this story. Then my AI pushed on the how.
Okay, that's the mission. My mission said systems and support. But the systems and tools I build are there for one reason. So you understand what to do and how it all connects. And when you see how it all connects, you'll have your aha moment about how to run a successful business and successful marketing. And you'll stop feeling conflicted about marketing. You still need the how, but connecting the fragmented parts is the essential how.
And in this process, I'm pushing back too. It had me saying in its first versions on their own terms, and I've always said the phrase success as you define it, because it isn't about anybody telling you what to do. It's about you deciding what winning even means to you. And I pushed back for ease because ease is such a fundamental part of flow. And when you're in flow, you're doing the work you were meant to do.
If it's that hard, then something is out of alignment. The architecture, the AI architecture I've built, asks the questions, pushes you, but I still get to decide. I'm the human in this mix, remember. Then it pushed me back on the number, okay, in the vision. 10,000 was the original number. It asked me, is that the number you reach or the number you transform? Because reach is top of funnel.
Finola Howard (10:43.467)
And transformation is always smaller and heavier, and you have to be willing to stand by every single one of them come 2030, which is not so far away. And here's the question it asked me. Which number can you say with a straight face? I didn't need the big number. What I wanted was proof positive that my methodology works. So I asked, What's big enough sample size for me? I started in the thousands and I ended at 250.
And 250 becomes possible, it focuses the mind and it makes me deliver. That's really important to me that we deliver, that I deliver. So here's what I have now, and I hope you will clearly see the difference. And look back on the show notes when you read the difference between both, and you'll it's easier to see it that way. But let me share it with you. So here's my purpose now, after working on myself using my own tools.
To make it easier for purpose-led entrepreneurs to lean into their genius and to achieve success as they define it. To make it easier for purpose-led entrepreneurs to lean into their genius and achieve success as they define it. Okay, even now saying it sits really strongly, really well with me. I feel it in my gut. My mission.
To connect the fragmented parts of business and marketing into a single, joyful system, easy to use, and unmistakable you. That just feels good. It even reorients how I'm thinking for my day ahead. It's it's yeah, powerful. And then my vision. By 31 December 2030, 250 purpose-led entrepreneurs followed their joy, and the money followed.
They reached for the big number and got it, proving there's no ceiling when you build from who you really are.
Finola Howard (12:46.305)
And then there's a question I've never asked myself. I've been naming fragmentation for years since I started in business back in 1999. And it's an issue for true entrepreneurial growth. It's always at the heart of the challenges I see in small business and actually large business too. But I never actually asked the obvious question. I was too close to it, it seems. When something isn't fragmented, what is it?
What's the opposite of fragmented? I'd not even asked that obvious question. Like I would ask a client that question, but I hadn't asked myself that question. What is the opposite of fragmentation? What's the transformation I'm actually seeking for the client? And that's when the word integrated came. The opposite of fragmentation is integration. And that just resonates so deeply with me. And with that resonance, the repositioning.
And the renaming of my offers actually came about. So you can't see the shape of a thing while you're standing inside it. That was true for me too. I was actually case study number one. We're all here for a reason. Most of us feel that somewhere. But it's not often that someone can articulate that reason really clearly and know the measure of their success against it. We've talked on this show about measuring the impact of your content.
But have you ever thought about measuring the impact of your vision? That's what happened here for me. The minute I changed my content pillars to fully align with that more clearly articulated purpose, mission, and vision, I started to achieve it. My reach, my engagement, my followers, they're turning at the moment. And the more I lean into this space, the more they turn. My real views are up 25% consistently in a very short space of time. And I'm more consistent than I've ever been between
20 and 47% more posts across three channels with two more on the way. I'm consistent, not because I'm forcing it, but because every piece now knows what it's for. Those numbers measure attention. They tell you people are listening. They don't tell you whether you're doing what you're here to do. For that you need a different kind of measure. You can measure every post you publish and never once measure whether you're living the vision you started out.
Finola Howard (15:07.605)
Wanting to achieve. You can measure every post you publish and never once measure whether you're living the vision you started out to achieve. This is the value of connecting things. When your purpose, your pillars, your content, and your offers are connected, everything you do moves in the same direction. Nothing pulls against anything else. And when everything moves in the same direction, you can finally see whether you're getting there.
Which is exactly what Mary Ann's testimonial is. It's the first real measure of my vision being achieved. So let me tell you who she is and then read it to you in full. Mary Ann is a very successful author and leadership coach. This wasn't about getting started. She's already successful. What's shifted is how she thinks about her offer ecosystem. And that's letting her move in a different direction again to change her business again, to evolve her business again.
And to support how she wants to live going forward. Here's, and that's success on her terms, remember. Here's what she wrote. AI Integrated has genuinely changed the way I think about using AI in my business. What Finola has created is so much more than a collection of clever prompts. There is a real architecture behind the process. And that architecture made me slow down and get incredibly clear before everything speeding up.
I now have the clearest understanding I have ever had of my ideal customer. From there, I built a compelling new offer, worked through the positioning, messaging, objections, and proof, and created the sales page to bring it all together. The prompts Finola provides are exceptional, but it is the thinking behind them and the sequence in which she has you use them that makes the difference. And then there is the speed. I have been genuinely astounded by why.
By what I've been able to get done. I created a beautiful, fully branded landing page in about 15 minutes. Something I would previously have outsourced with all the time, cost, and back and forth that that involves. Perhaps most importantly, I feel inspired. I'm not using AI to churn out more content, I'm using it to think more clearly, make better decisions, and turn ideas into something tangible.
Finola Howard (17:29.631)
At a speed I simply couldn't have imagined before. AI integrated has been one of the most worthwhile investments I've made in my business. I couldn't recommend Finola and the program more highly.
Finola Howard (17:45.358)
Have to take a breath after that. It means a lot. Now hold that up against my mission. Connect the fragmented parts into a single, joyful system, easy to use and unmistakably you. She named the architecture and the sequence. And a fully branded landing page in about 50 minutes, 15 minutes, where before she'd have commissioned it, you know that back and forth, the brief, the wait, the version that's nearly right, the next round, the next round, the next round. And that's just one piece of your business.
Hold that against my purpose. Lean into their genius. She's thinking more clearly and making better decisions. When I spoke to her afterwards to thank her for the testimonial, she told me the process had made her see her own next level genius. And the offer she'd been sitting on the fence about, she's actively building it now, and it connects to her bigger purpose. Then there's joy that threads through all of it. Perhaps most importantly, I feel inspired.
She put that first. I didn't ask her to. And my vision underneath it all, success as they define it, a business she's reshaping around how she wants to live going forward. I know there's a lot of concern about AI right now about safety, about the impact on the environment, about where all this goes. Those concerns are real, and I'm not dismissing them and I'm not avoiding speaking about them. Dr. Lolly Mancy is coming back again on the show next month.
And we're going to dig deep into exactly that. Today, though, I'm telling you what it's made possible. For 30 years, I've built processes and systems that my clients have used to achieve significant transformation. AI has made those processes easier and more accessible than they have ever been. Not more content, more space. Space for our imagination, for our genius, for our humanity to come through. Because the obstacles that used to stand in the way.
Are now finally cleared. My purpose starts with four words to make it easier. That's why I keep going on with the work. So read your own vision out loud and ask yourself three questions. One, can you feel it true and grounded in your gut? Two, is it measurable? Could you stand behind every person it names when the date comes? Three, do you believe you'll pull it off? If the answer is no, that isn't failure.
Finola Howard (20:10.881)
That's just where the work starts. Mine didn't pass the first two. And once it does pass, ask your clients to tell you in their own words what's changed. That's how you'll know you're living it. Everything I've described today lives inside your business integrated. What Mary Ann has been doing is level one, the foundation stage, your voice, your customer, your offers built into your AI. Purpose, mission, and vision is week four, where level two begins.
And week five is your content pillars built from that foundation. That's the exact path I took, and it's where I started to see my vision happen. If you want a real chance of realizing your vision, this is where it happens. It's live, eight weeks, Mondays at 3 p.m. from the 6th of October, and it's finished before the year turns. So you walk into 2027 already set up.
The early bird rate closes today, and if today is not your day, the doors stay open until three PM on the sixth of October. The link is in the show notes. Today I opened up one of the prompts that sits inside it. Next week I'll open another. A vision you can't measure is only a wish. And that's your truth shared for this week. Keep following the joy. Keep doing it your way.
