Brand You Personal Branding

There's a lot of great content out there on making the leap from your day job to entrepreneurship. Several good friends of mine teach different versions of this, and a good part of my own business involves helping people with this pivot. The one issue I have is that the information shared (at least free, online) is often incomplete, and the one glaring omission involves the most important and pressing question of all: "How much money do I need to make a successful pivot?" Isn't that what we all want to know? I sure did, and today I'm going to outline a process that may help. Download Your Pivot Pathway One-Sheet Today:   Click Here to Get Your Copy »

A few weeks ago, I hosted a networking event with my friend Brian Dixon we called The Epic Breakfast Club. I've done a number of these kinds of events through the years, always to great results. The biggest payoff is that you become seen as a connector. In today's episode, I share how I put this one together, as well as some principles you can use to host your own.

Ever wish you could "live the dream" as a professional speaker, traveling the world and sharing your ideas with audiences everywhere? If so, today's episode is for you. Today we have one of the top speakers in the HR industry, Jennifer McClure with us to give us some actionable, practical types on how to build a personal brand as a public speaker. She has a powerful portfolio of presentations, professional networks, and social media followers. Moreover, Jennifer has a great story of making the pivot from going from the corporate world and making a transition into launching her own business. So many people want to take what they've learned and "make the leap" -- Jennifer is someone that has actually done it, and today she shares some absolutely incredible tips for anyone that wants to be a professional speaker! Get Jennifer's Guide: 10 Tips to Build Your Brand As A Speaker and Land Gigs Connect with Jennifer on Twitter

Today we have a very special guest on the show, Pat Flynn from SmartPassiveIncome.com and author of the brand new book, Will It Fly? Today, Pat talks to us about a very important concept: business validation. Rather than just launching a new product or service, Pat tells us that we should do a series of smaller steps and tests to validate our ideas. Pat has a special place in my life and business -- he is one of the top 3 influencers that I directly credit with helping me make my career pivot into the personal branding space. He is widely recognized as the leading voice in generating passive income, and his content is an absolute must. Check Out Pat's New Book, Will It Fly: Stop rushing into businesses born from half-baked ideas, misguided theories, and other forms of self-delusion. A lack of proper validation kills more businesses than anything else. As Joel Barker says, 'Speed is only useful if you re running in the right direction.' Will It Fly? will help you make sure you are clear for takeoff. It answers questions like: Does your business idea have merit? Will it succeed in the market you re trying to serve, or will it just be a waste of time and resources? Is it a good idea for YOU? Will It Fly? will challenge you to think critically, act deliberately, and dare greatly. You can think of the book as your business flight manual, something you can refer to for honest and straight-forward advice as you begin to test your idea and build a business that takes off and soars. Get Will It Fly on Amazon »

Ah, productivity. It's a quest we're all on, especially when building a personal brand. How can we be more efficient and effective with our time, decisions, and efforts? Today's guest, Lynn Friesth, is no stranger to productivity. For years, Lynn successfully supervised productivity systems and processes at John Deere. If there are any companies out there that pay extra attention to systems and processes, it's those in the manufacturing business. Lynn now advises organizations large and small in streamlining processes and becoming more productive, and he's offering his expertise to those of us in the personal brand space today. Download Lynn's Free Productivity Guide: lynnfriesth.com/brandyou Connect with Lynn on LinkedIn Resources Mentioned in Today's Episode: Getting Things Done by David Allen Mini Habits by Stephen Guise Do More Great Work by Michael Bungay Stanier Work Flowy app Rev Voice Recorder app

Is inconsistent marketing getting in the way of better clients & more money? You had the best intentions, but you never got serious about marketing in 2015. Your workload is a roller coaster and your marketing gets back-burnered when you get client work. You're running a business (and a life) so you just don't have blocks of time for marketing. You need more (and better) clients but you get paralyzed because you're not sure which marketing efforts will work. You need a simple plan that will take your business up a notch. Today's guest, Ilise Benun from Marketing-Mentor.com is here to help. I've been following Ilise for quite awhile and have to say -- her content in top-notch. She's a brilliant marketing mind, and this interview is full of great perspectives on types of content marketing, ways to connect with people at live events, and much more. I'm going to personally follow this guideline for the first quarter of 2016 and see what it does for me. Tune into this episode and join me on the journey. Find Out More About Ilise here: marketing-mentor.com 2016MarketingPlan.com @MMToolbox

A few weeks ago Dr. Ann Vertel, an accomplished business coach, speaker, and avid listener of the podcast, asked about how to market "soft" skills. In today's episode I share a simple approach to marketing based on your potential client's level of awareness. In short, the more aware a client is of his or her need for your service, the more direct you can be with your marketing. The more unaware they are, the more "indirect" you need to be in your marketing -- preferably with an emphasis on story-telling. Mentioned in Today's Episode: Dr. Ann Vertel How To Market Yourself Like No One Else Can

A few weeks ago Rick Marion, a listener of the podcast, asked about affiliate marketing: "I notice you offer a number of affiliate products. Do you have any tips, other than standing behind the affiliate obviously, on how to select affiliates? How to approach affiliates? And would you recommend purchasing a product that you know your audience would use, so that you can in turn offer it as an affiliate to your audience?" In today's episode I share my income figures from affiliate marketing in 2015, and 4 of the criteria I use to decide on who to partner with. Mentioned in Today's Episode: Ray Edwards Kary Oberbrunner Mario Jannatpour's Real Estate Mastery Summit Kevin Monroe (you should download his 5 questions guide!) Kingsley Grant Matt McWilliams (affiliate manager extraordinaire) A Few Tools I've Become Affiliates For: Bluehost (web hosting) LeadPages ConvertKit

One of the most common issues professional service providers struggle with is setting fees. In this episode, Kirk Bowman from the Art of Value podcast unpacks practical advice on pricing. In my opinion, this is one of the best episodes (ever) of this podcast! There were several instances during our conversation where I had to pause just because Kirk blew my mind with what he was sharing. This is a must listen. Register for Kirk's Pricing Master Class, Free. Join Kirk on Thursday January 7, 2016 at 7:00PM for a free online master class on pricing. I've already registered and plan to attend. Register for Kirk's webinar here »

If you plan to make guest blogging and podcast interviews a part of your overall brand strategy, don't overlook this small but vital part of the process: your bio! Guest need to be both punchy and persuasive so that you maximize your exposure on these other platforms. Your goal: to get visitors who enjoy your content over to YOUR platform and hopefully onto your email list. In this episode, we take a quick look at several guest bios I've written that you can adapt to your own use. Get My ‘Guest Bio Copywriting Swipe File’ Free