Your World of Creativity

Meet Laurel Mintz, the principal of Elevate My Brand.https://www.elevatemybrand.com/Inspired by the innovative consulting work she executed early in her career with prestigious brands like Public House Restaurant Group, Bassett Furniture, and Julie Hewett Cosmetics, Laurel knew she wanted to play bigger. Over a decade later, Laurel has created an agency family serving both startups and blue-chip global brands like Facebook, Verizon Digital Media Services, PAW Patrol, and Zendesk. Laurel’s favorite saying is FIOGID. Figure it out, get it done. And that’s exactly what’s brought the agency top talent and accolades since 2009. Laurel sits on the Board of Directors for NFTE (Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship), the Women Founders Network, and the UCLA Restaurant Conference. She is a mentor for The Women’s Global Leaders Initiative and advises LAVA (Los Angeles Venture Association). Laurel and the agency have recently won the W3 Silver Award for the PAW Patrol Road Patrol Campaign, the Patrick Soon-Shiong Innovation Award, the LABJ Women in Business Award, Comerica and LA Lakers’ Women’s Business Award, among others.

Mitch Beinhaker is a business lawyer and estate attorney who runs a solo legal & consulting practice representing business owners, entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals.Through his 28 years of experience, Mitchell has handled business development, marketing, firm management, along with business transactional work for clients of the firm. He has extensive experience with corporate governance, commercial transactions, real estate, and risk analysis. He creator and host of his own podcast – The Accidental Entrepreneur – where he interviews successful business people and professionals who share their knowledge and help you develop your business.

Meet today's guest Jeff Venn, a life architect, business owner, and mentor to young entrepreneurs.​He says, "Many people will tell you where to go, what to do, and how to live, but there's a higher path and calling inside of you that only you can unearth.​ It's time to stop living by other people's scripts and expectations for your life and have your own awakening. I've done this in my own life, taking a forward-thinking, progressive approach to building and running my businesses and how I build and run my days."​In our interview, we discuss:How he started and built Create Studios, a digital marketing agencyHis outreach work at  c o n v e r g e, a community for young entrepreneursHow music influences his life

Bree Noble is the CEO of a Female Musician Academy, helping female musicians to make money from their music.And she also has some great podcasts of her own: The Women of Substance Music Podcast, the Female Entrepreneur Musician Podcast. How do you take someone from just a great singer to a star?Bree explains that while she works in the music industry, not everything depends on talent. There is an element of constant risk-taking, perseverance, effort and even a bit of luck to finally get your music and talent out there. “You have to take a risk yourself, but then you have to have the perseverance and put in the effort to keep going when that doesn't work out the first time.”Bree also explains that the real secret of successful musicians is not only going viral or getting notices by a big-shot producer but rather focusing on hard work and dedication to the art they’re passionate about. “You know, when you have a small business, nobody knows who you are when you first start, you've got to start off on word of mouth and referrals and start getting your name out there. And it's just the same with musicians.”Back in the day, the only way for musicians to be noticed was through getting a record label deal and taking how. Nowadays, with Spotify, Youtube, and those platforms, amateur artists can showcase their music in those platforms and build their career from the ground without necessarily waiting for a label. So while yes, there is a market there to get the exposure that doesn’t take away the element of constant hard work needed to be a truly successful musician. For one thing, you can generate income from streams by building a fan base. Working as a freelancer, session recordings, teaching, or anything else, you can stream, and once you build a good enough fan base you can monetize from it and you’re also constantly getting the word out about your music and what you do. your fan base is, is an asset that can work for you in so many different ways. Sure, you can start a career without them or you can have a fan base that will support you and assist to intimate concerts or studio classes. The best venues for your music genreBree advises that you don't try to fit your music into a place where it doesn't belong because it will just be frustrating. There are so many micro-genres now that you can find a place where your music fits absolutely perfectly into that. Bree tells us how she combined Christian music and Broadway music and jazz all in the same performance, you've got an audience that likes variety. So you're not stuck in one genre. You just need to know what your audience is, where you are and how you can serve them.Right now, you don’t need to live in a specific place to make your music career happen. Social media, Clubhouse, and others are platforms where you can share your music globally and you can take advantage of the opportunities the internet offers. Now you don’t need to be in a particular city to meet people. Courses, curriculum, coaching -- teaching artists, how to be better business people. Bree says that she is a hands-on creator who likes to sit down, jot down a few bullet points and then go on a live stream and talk to get her creative juices going. That way she comes up with her ideas in a much more active manner that makes her feel productive. She also told us that she is finding her podcasts much more fun than a single-event summit.What are some of the topics Bree covers in her podcast?Making money from musicWays to be more efficient while making money from music Different tools to use to make your life easier Female-centered businesses What, what advice or insight would Bree have for someone who is a female and entrepreneur and a musician right now?Consider thinking about yourself as an entrepreneur Find a community of like-minded female entrepreneur musicians like yourself or aspiring ones that are doing what you're wanting to do, where you can get that kind of support.Mentorship and having a group of supportive other females is really important.Make sure to follow Bree in all her projects and find out more about how to make money from your music by going to her website: profitablemusician.com. And if you're a female artists and you're looking for a community, Bree has a free community, a place where you can be with other artists that are trying to do the same thing. That's the female indie musician community on Facebook. And you can access that by going to WOScommunity.com.

Meet Lauren Heath, the empathpreneur.She is a social-worker-turned-entrepreneur with a passion for serving others.Lauren says, "I was put on this earth to serve, and I feel I am fulfilling my true purpose in life by supporting women and their small businesses. I help them deepen their relationships with themselves and their community through the use of social media and video. I accomplish this through mentoring, group programs and digital courses that help lift up these entrepreneurs up to reach their goals of growth and community."We talk about her facebook group for small business owners called Social Media Made Simple for Small Biz Owners where she provides simple, easy-to-follow training on social media with free content and social media tips.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/socialmediamadesimpleLauren is hosting classes, webinars -- and offer lots of freebies to help you.

Meet personal Chef Charles Ragland from San Antonio, TXIn our interview, we discuss:the food experiencehis catering businessworking with familieslessons from his training backgroundhis contributions to kids' programsLearn more about Chef Charles atwww.ChefMatterofTaste.com

Meet today's guest, Amber Fuhriman. She is an attorney practicing immigration and criminal defense in Las Vegas, Nevada. And she is the founder and host of the More Than Corporate Podcast. Amber says, "When I was growing up, I KNEW that I was going to be successful. I just didn’t KNOW that I got to decide what that meant to me! So, I pushed forward following the only idea of success I had ever known…. a college education and a good job. I’ve had a very blessed life, but it hasn’t been all sunshine and roses. I was convinced that when I got this “good job” based upon my hard work and college education that all my problems would disappear! I actually remember saying to my grandma somewhere around 2008 that one day I was going to make $100,000 in a year and all my problems would be gone…. Yup… I know how ridiculous that sounds now."Connect with Amber at:Amber@AmberFuhriman.commorethancorporate.com https://www.facebook.com/groups/morethancorporateAmber Fuhriman

Meet Isar Meitis -- he has gone from fighter pilot to serial entrepreneur, Investor, small business mentor, and now a founder of Be The Stage.We talk about relationships and building them in new, creative ways.Isar is about "TRANSFORMING YOUR ULTIMATE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE TO THE DIGITAL WORLD."Listen as we discuss:How to Have a Deep, Meaningful Conversation with a Dream Client (Without Taking Them to Dinner)Introduce Them to People in Your Network They Should KnowFeature Them as a Keynote Speakers, on Your Stage, in Front of an Audience of Existing and Potential ClientsFollow Up with Every Person in the AudienceConnect with Isar on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/isar-meitisOr visit the website: bethestage.live

Jerome Myers is the preeminent authority of dream realization. As a believer that dreams can, and should be real, Jerome left corporate America when he realized that his role offered financial gain, but little significance. He is the founder and head coach of Myers Methods and has been featured in Black Enterprise, Business Insider, and numerous podcasts. After building a highly profitable division of a Fortune 550 company, Jerome decided to leave the rat race to get away from what seemed to be the endless slew of layoffs. He has developed a system for exiting corporate America and creating a life of impact. Today, he and his company help other apex performers find their calling and live every day on purpose by harnessing the power of his model for a Centered Life, what he calls “the Red Pill”. Jerome and his firms can guide any individual from a monotonous uninspiring existence to a life of fulfillment and impact.Here is a recap:Jerome Myers from Greensboro, North Carolina. He is the founder of the Myers Development Group, a group focused on the area of multi-family real state investment. Multi-family real state refers to having multiple families living in a single place with the same address but with slight variations, say same building but different mailboxes for everyone. He tells us about his amazing project to help and educate people in the financial realm and how to better achieve their dreams. How did Jerome start?After quitting corporate America, he decided to focus in his dream now that he had the resources and experience. He found out that in order to successfully achieve his dream, he also needed to find the right people to help him. ObstaclesAt first, despite being an incredibly knowledgeable young man with a great credit record and career, the bank denied him the credit he needed to start because they considered that he didn’t have the experience necessary for that business. Luckily, after some time, Jerome was able to find the right people to not only help him understand more of the business but also partner with and buy the building.ResultsNot only did they buy the building, but made it all the way to the news, Jerome was considered a rising star in business and his dream was finally taking shape. Furthermore, he was able to form some more valuable connections that would help him grow his business.What is his creative approach? The multifamily real estate industry is a booming business for many people. Jerome explains that the way his company goes about it is called “joint venturing”, they form partnerships and buy the properties and in doing so, everybody has an active role in the investment. In a joint venturing, everyone is a business operator rather than just an investor. Thus, they get to be involved in the process beyond just putting in their money having the operators take a fee from them.“The more time you focus on intentionally building relationships with people who are in the place you want to be or going to the place you want to go, the faster you’ll arrive at that destination.” Jerome also talks about how many more great relationships he’s built and how all of them have helped him get to where we wanted to be. People who turned him down at first were now coming back with an offer and he was able to do business with them as well. The method is not simple at all: they find, fund, fix and flip deals. But Jerome decided to not only have business partners but to also educate them through a single goal: make the information that he didn’t have before be available for everyone. All this information is now available through the Myers method.Four things every investor are trying to overcome:Knowledge and arrogance: They need to know more than just what they heard in a podcast or read in an article. Deals flip: Leads and deals are spelled with the same letters but they aren’t the same - says Jerome, you need to apply your knowledge with the leads in order to get a good deal.Experience: This was the thing Jerome didn’t have before, and it is important that you find someone who knows their way around the business and can present themselves to the bank to help you get the funding.Capital: The bank will only bring the money if you have an experienced person and since the bank, if offering approximately 80% of the capital, you cannot get around to this step before covering the previous one, because that is the only guaranteed you’ll that capital. There is an art and science to everything On one hand, there is the are to finding the deals and then the science behind making them happen. Every investment is a math problem at some level, and then when you bring the part element you elevate it from more than a simple trade. There is art in executing the changes, in communication with people, in helping them grow in a system that makes it difficult for them. You either sell it or you refinance itWhen you refinance it, you take the initial equity out allowing you to have your cash return and invest that in the property thus growing its value and consistently improving it means not only improving the quality of life for the families in it but also gaining more from it. The goalJerome explains that the final goal of his company is that families have safe, suitable places to leave. They want to do their part in making sure that they are in a great situation, including investing in the things that residents may need. Jerome also had a program called Dreamcatchers, where Jerome helps people achieve the things they are dreaming about. Figuring out what to do to catch their dreams and make them happens. He offers mentorships guiding people through the whole journey of people realizing their dreams. Not only does he offer moral guidance but also the resources and even the opportunity to work with him. You need to be committed, not just interested The way to find your dream won’t be easy, won’t be a straight path. It will be a challenging path, having to accept any changes to overcome the many obstacles presented. The mantra Jerome offers is “I’m willing to do whatever it takes for whoever long it takes in order to make this a reality.” Connect at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeromemyers/Learn more at https://www.myersmethods.com/

Meet today's creative guest, Hollis Citron. Hollis writes, "I have been on my own journey which led me to create I Am Creative. I am passionate about helping people of all ages and abilities to get in touch with their creative side and realize how much their life will change because of it."Have you ever had someone look at something you created — a drawing you made, a picture you took, a DIY sculpture, a recipe you made — and tell you that it wasn’t good? She says, "You create because it awakens your soul. Not for external validation. And yet, it hurts to hear:Your work is not good enough. You’re not good enough.You aren’t creative.You don't have enough talent to create.You are not artistic. Nobody wants to see what you create."Hollis is on a mission to make creativity accessible to everyone by exposing new possibilities. She's passionate about helping people build the confidence to recognize, encourage, and express the innate creativity that they are born with. She says, "​I am here to fight for the inner voice in your head that screams every time someone tells you that you and your creative expression is less than. I am here to fight for your ability to explore your creative story."​Yes, you ARE creative. And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. ​Listen as we discuss that moment when you see the lightbulb go on or the Aha moment when you own the experience and you are all in! Connect with Hollis at https://www.iamcreativephilly.net/Podcast: https://creativeconversations.podbean.com/Author Site: https://www.amazon.com/author/holliscitron