With her What Works empire, Tara McMullin has made space for honest conversations to help small businesses grow for over a decade.
But over the past year, she’s taken a step back to redefine what works for her, and out of it came her new book, What Works: A Comprehensive Framework to Change the Way We Approach Goal-Setting. Find out how she has been embracing her obstacles and rebuilding toward a business model that works for who she is today.
The most recent obstacle you’ve overcome in your business
At the end of 2021, I had to step away from the community I’d been building for over five years due to my mental health. My business was operating in a model that I believe in fully, with a mission that is core to my values and vision for the future. And yet, it was a model that my neurology, psychology, and skills just weren’t able to maintain.
I ran myself into the ground until I had no choice. It was going to be either checking myself into a hospital or making a change.
In the process of stepping away, I had to acknowledge my limitations and rely on support, two things that aren’t what success is “supposed to” look like.
I had to reckon with who I was and who I wanted to be.
The truth is, I haven’t overcome this challenge. It is still with me every day, even though I’m not doing that work anymore. Often, as I write in my book, we’re too beholden to stories of overcoming. A big part of the growth process with regard to this choice has been acknowledging that this isn’t a challenge that I will overcome. And that is its own reward.
Biggest transformation from when you started your business to today
I was 27 when I started to make a handsome full-time living working for myself. I had not experienced much in this world!
Today, at 40, I have a much better understanding of all the beautiful differences there are out there: different people, different experiences, different theories, etc. That allows me to approach my work in a more humane way and allows me to improve the quality of my work, too.
Hardest part of being a professional creator
The hardest part for me is staying engaged with what’s happening in my space and with my audience, without getting sucked into the latest trend or gimmick.
Business stats
Website
explorewhatworks.com
Years in business
14
Industry
Media
Income streams
At my production company, YellowHouse.Media, it’s 100% client services.
At What Works, it’s very in flux! This year it will be about:
80% writing
10% speaking
10% revenue share from old courses.
Average annual business income
You know how sports teams go through “rebuilding years?” Let’s just say it’s a rebuilding year for me. I’m currently earning very little on purpose.
At its peak, my coaching and training business generated over $500k per year. Over the years, I worked on The What Works Network, and our average revenue was about half that.
This year? It’ll be less than $75k for the first time in 13 years.
Current location
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
If you could only have one metric you could look at in your business
Honestly, I think it would be media hits. When I am quoted, do an interview, or land a piece in another publication, good things happen.
The analytic you check most often
I’m slightly ashamed to admit this, but it’s “shares” on my Instagram posts.
I put a good bit of time into turning my long-form audio and written content into short-form visual essays on Instagram. They’ve been really successful for me in terms of marketing and brand recognition and as a creative outlet.
Instagram is a key way I reach new-to-me people, and shares are the vector that happens through. So I’m always judging whether a post was successful or not by the number of shares a post receives. And, I get a little obsessive.
Recommendations
Book that made a big difference for you as a creator
Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen.
Petersen’s method inspired me to move away from content marketing and toward a journalistic approach to what I create.
There have been other books that continued to keep that fire burning:
How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
Having and Being Had by Eula Biss
Favorite podcast that’s helped you as a creator
Maintenance Phase, hosted by Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes.
This show is a distinctly different format from mine, but it served as proof that people were willing to listen to deep history, research, and theory if it’s presented well.
Best online course you’ve ever taken
Introduction to Creative Non-Fiction in NYU’s Professional Studies program.
I wanted to take myself seriously as a writer, as opposed to a good content marketer, before I started work on my book. That course was exactly what I needed: thoughtful instructor, excellent feedback, and a small group of people learning together.
Best conference you’ve ever attended
The first World Domination Summit back in 2010. I always tell people to get in on the first run of an event if they can. The energy can’t be beat. I owe so many long-lasting friendships to WDS, and it was a great experience overall.
Favorite creator right now
Anne Helen Petersen, author of Can’t Even and writer of the newsletter Culture Study.
Habits and tools
One habit you do almost every day that supports your creator life
Reading and listening. I spend a few hours consuming content every day: books, newsletters, podcasts. I know there’s lots of advice for creators to just focus on creating, rather than consuming content. But my best work is always a “yes, and” to something I’ve read or heard. I can’t do the kind of work I do now without having a broad base of knowledge and ideas to work from.
Favorite software tool right now
Descript. I switched my podcast to a narrative style at the beginning of 2022 (that’s like public radio-style). Descript allows me to edit text and sound at the same time, so that creating a cohesive exploration of an idea or story is so much easier.
Best money you’ve spent on your business
Can I say my agent’s commission on my book advance? Without Jessica Faust, I wouldn’t have made some of the decisions I’ve made about changes to my business. And I certainly wouldn’t have found a publisher! She’s been an incredible creative partner and persistent reminder to take myself seriously.
Best hire you’ve made so far
Psychologically, I need to have someone filter my email for me. I have a very high level of rejection sensitivity, and I simply would not be able to cope if there wasn’t someone filtering feedback for me.
I wish it weren’t that way. I’ve tried to work on it. But I’ve had someone doing this task for over 10 years, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. And honestly, dealing with feedback in public is my biggest fear about publishing a book.
Best thing you’ve STOPPED doing in your business
I stopped doing content marketing this year. By that, I mean I’m no longer trying to create content that moves a sale along or attracts potential buyers.
In 2021, I gave a TEDx talk on what I call “remarkable content” and my commitment to creating it. Remarkable content is that which starts conversations or inspires people to go inward to chew on what they’ve engaged with.
My intention is to create something remarkable every time I craft a piece. It’s not that remarkable content can’t be good marketing, but I choose to focus on the “remarkable” part above all else now.
Best thing you’ve done so far to grow or scale your current business
Relationships, relationships, relationships. I think creators often assume the key to growth or scale is the perfect sales funnel or marketing strategy. But for me, the key to growth has always been relationships.
That’s hard for me to admit as a hardcore introvert. But it’s true. My relationships with people at CreativeLive, Crowdcast, Kit, and Mighty Networks, as well as plenty of personal relationships with other creators, have been critical to my success.
Favorite part of Kit right now
I love tweaking my newsletter template. Having the ability to create a very minimal, clean template as a showcase for my long-form writing has been game-changing.
When you switched to Kit
I switched to Kit in 2015. Nathan had reached out to ask if I’d be willing to mention Kit when I mentioned other email marketing platforms. I said, “Of course! But can we talk about my list moving to Kit?”
At the time, there were a bunch of features that Kit had that MailChimp just didn’t. I’ve never regretted the decision, and today, I’m proud to be a customer of a company that is so thoughtful about its product and its impact on the world.
The most important piece of data you look at in Kit
I always keep my eye on open rate. Because my work takes considerable time and energy to engage with, I want to know if there are any trends in subscribers’ willingness to do that.
Closing thoughts
Best advice you’ve taken
My friend Kate Strathmann often reminds me that businesses are channels for needs-meeting. A business that doesn’t meet needs isn’t doing much.
Over the last few years, I’ve had to really pay attention to the ways my business is and is not meeting my needs. Right now, I’m in the process of meeting non-financial needs with my business, and as I consider what the next chapter looks like, I’m allowing my own needs to be just as important as readers’ needs or team members’ needs.
I’m in the middle of telling everyone about the book I wrote! It’s called What Works: A Comprehensive Framework to Change the Way We Approach Goal-Setting.
My intention with the book was to challenge everything you thought you knew about goals, planning, and even productivity. The first half of the book deals with deconstructing our shoulds and supposed-tos, as well as interrogating the cultural stories that create them. The second half proposes a process for radically changing the way you set goals. I’m really proud of it!
Dream come true moment
Definitely writing a book. This has been my dream since at least, my time as a manager at Borders Books & Music.
Best part of being a professional creator today
Getting to have fascinating conversations with ferociously smart people. Connecting with people is difficult for me, but in the context of doing an interview for my podcast or talking about ideas on X/Twitter, the challenges start to fall away.
You can follow Tara on Instagram @tara_mcmullin, sign up for her newsletter, and check out her book at explorewhatworks.com/book.
