Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

I was inspired to launch Umbrex after reading Seth Godin’s book, Tribes. So, I am delighted to talk to him today. In this episode, Seth discusses his career trajectory, his books, his daily practices, his view on content marketing, and why he made the decision to avoid social media. I’m also giving away 100 copies of Seth’s new book, The Practice. To receive your free copy of The Practice while supplies last, fill in your name and address info on this form: http://bit.ly/ThePracticeGiveaway Key points Include: 04:10: How Seth creates a library of his experiences 07:17: What success looks like to Seth 08:29: How Seth curates and decides what content to consume 12:09: Seth’s views on mentors and heroes 15:20: The key to Seth’s productivity 19:08: Seth’s views on social media 26:07: A key insight on creating and distributing content 30:54: The advice Seth would give our leadership on how to market mask wearing to people that don't want to?  

Rudra’s family has been growing tea for over 100 years. They have tea estates in Darjeeling and Assam in India, and in Rwanda. They also manufacture handmade carpets and furniture. He is also an adjunct professor in International Management Institute in Calcutta, and writes for several publications on history and business. Rudra can be reached through his website, RudraChatterjee.com. To find out more about his businesses, go to Luxmi Tea and Obeetee.com. Key points include: 06:51: Top recommended books 07:57: Online events with top economists 11:45: ESG priorities in business 18:16: The elimination of child labor 21:49: Running the family business 27:17: Examples of consulting recommendations that did not work with personal business experience 31:07: The caste system 34:42: How the caste system frustrates progress or impedes Rudra as a business person 36:59: COVID in India

James Carbary is the founder, executive producer, and co-host of Sweet Fish Media, a company that produces podcasts for B2B brands. Today, he shares his expertise on creating, distributing, and getting the most mileage out of your podcast. Key points include: 01:28: Tips on how to create a great B2B podcast 07:07: The naming philosophy of a podcast 10:33: Common mistakes people make when setting up a B2B podcast 14:37: How to make it a memorable experience for the guest 16:59: Sourcing freelancers to create micro videos 18:13: Turning the podcast into a blog post 23:54: Implementing keywords 30:24: The services Sweet Fish Media provides 35:48: A strategy to get more listeners Check out James’ company Sweetfishmedia.com or connect to him through LinkedIn.

In this short episode of Unleashed, I share a process that I use in my consulting practice and have found to be hugely valuable for both myself and my clients. Key points include: Creating categories of companies The power of the list Identifying the missing gems

In this short episode of Unleashed, I share a few valuable ideas taken from David A. Fields and his book, The Irresistible Consultants' Guide to Winning Clients, which I highly recommend, to help identify your core group. Key points include: Creating a master list Segmenting groups Identifying the weak ties

Daryl Tulimieri is a McKinsey alum. He has been at Owens Corning, and GLG, where he helped create and grow a group. Darryl is currently an independent consultant and Umbrex member, and he advises on M&A. But today Daryl is sharing his experience in recruiting and building a team in different contexts. Daryl can be contacted at dtulimieri@ligeradvisors.com or through LinkedIn. You can visit his website at LigerAdvisors.com. Key points include: 02:56: What it's like to participate in recruiting and how it's structured at a large consulting firm 06:23: Daryl’s role at Owens, Corning and what sort of team members he recruited and how it was a different story 10:15: An overview of strategic marketing 13:55: How to evaluate skill sets to identify the applicant who would be successful in a role 17:11: How to get the input to inform your decisions 19:04: Recruiting and building a team at GLG 25:29: The recruiting sales pitch 30:56: The time involved in recruiting 34:57: The work Daryl is doing today

In a weekly email to Unleashed subscribers in the fall of 2019, I asked, "What you are doing this fall to get better at what you do?" Umbrex member J. Andrew McKee sent me the following extraordinary response, and I asked him to be a guest on the show to discuss.  To learn more about Andrew's consulting practice (which we don't discuss), visit: HeadlandStrategy.com. Here is Andrew's answer on what he is doing to get better at what he does: New: Resumed saxophone practice 2-4 times a week, with a goal to resume performing in a narrow (muse-inspired) set of genres by 2021.  I may also get a teacher if I can sustain through Q1 (9 months ongoing!) Hired a change coach with psychology and spiritual training to help me vision an inspiring growth trajectory for my consulting business while balancing writing and family priorities Teaching more private webinars and a university course (one 3-hour module) (me and my staff) Teaching more lunch and learns to our growing staff Doing Zoom hip hop dance classes with my daughters (Michael Peele!) Sending more emotionally vulnerable emails to my close guy friends about the ups and downs of life, and having more 1:1 phone calls where I stop beating around the bush Protecting occasional afternoons for 3-4 hour hikes with masks with longtime friends Calling my father more regularly (Q2 weeks) Resuming a meditation practice after I intentionally let it lapse on behalf of first protecting a full night of sleep, and now that our youngest child is out of diapers and I can manage 10-20 minutes per day. Planning to hire an HR consultant to help us build behaviors to learn new knowledge and skills into a broader sense of "performance review" than is typically done.  I would also like to align this with peer-encouraged deliberate practice.  We are also noodling on hiring an expert for certain skills (e.g., market research interviews), and having them work with us like a coach (pre- and post-game feedback). Added volunteer programs to mentor students at a historically black university, including mock interview practice, career advice, help with career connections, and so on. Sustained: Writing literary fiction 2-3 hours per day Journaling daily about anything and everything ("Morning pages" in the spirit of Julia Cameron) No alcohol since 2013 (or other drugs) No caffeine since summer 2019 (except 1-2 cups decaf coffee or 1 cup of green tea) Intermitted fasting when I feel like it Protecting 7.5 to 8.0 hours of sleep per night, helped by reminders from my Oura Ring Protecting time for the family each day (AM and dinner time) and every weekend, including supporting them in music and sports Reading almost zero business books, which I find very low yield in general Reading widely and muse-inspired, drawing from a long list of books I'd love to read and reading them when I feel inspired, across nonfiction and fiction in a 1:1 mix Listening broadly to music that inspires and moves me

Philipp Humm is a storytelling coach who teaches how to apply the fundamentals of storytelling to sales, marketing, management and connecting with your business audience. Philipp on LinkedIn or learn more from his website, power-of-storytelling.com Key points include: 03:41: Why storytelling matters to consultants 06:03: What makes a compelling story 07:24: Six elements of story 13:33: Who approaches Andrew and how he helps them 15:27: Situations where storytelling can help 16:59: Tips on creating, preparing, and practicing storytelling

A common question independent consultants ask is what type of entity they should use to establish their practice. In this episode, Jonah Gruda reviews the most relevant aspects of the five types of entities that are most commonly considered: Sole proprietorship Partnership Limited Liability Company S-Corporation C-Corporation For each entity type, Jonah reviews: Formation requirements Liability Exposure Taxation at the entity level Tax rates Tax reporting Compensation Number of owners Self-employment tax Jonah Gruda is a Tax Partner at Mazars and specializes in income taxation, executive compensation and stock option planning, estate and gift planning and wealth preservation. Jonah can be contacted through Mazars or LinkedIn.  Download this a comparison of entity types that Jonah and I discuss on the show. Key points include: 01:48: Introduction to the two broad categories of business entities 08:56: The three types of partnerships 12:33: Legal operating agreements 15:11: Overview of limited liability partnerships 18:06: Overview of a limited liability company 27:31: Electing to be taxed as a C corporation 29:55: S-corps and c-corps 43:27: Filing fees Unleashed is produced by Umbrex. For independent consultants interested in joining our global community, visit www.umbrex.com Contact the host, Will Bachman: unleashed@umbrex.com

After years of professional work experience, how do you leverage your knowledge and put it to good use? After a 30-year career as a global strategic business advisor, including 20-years combined as partner at Ernst & Young (EY) and A.T. Kearney, Jeffery Perry decided to found Lead Mandates where, as an independent advisor, he helps organizations improve business and leadership performance. Today, he shares how his experience helped him reach out, connect, and communicate when starting his independent consulting practice. Learn more about Jeffery’s company at www.LeadMandate.com . He can be reached through LinkedIn or connect through Twitter. Key points include: 01:46: The strategic steps to building the practice with intention 05:28: The many reasons to serve on a board 09:06: Preparing for the career transition 11:48: Leveraging connections and reputation 15:59: Establishing a pipeline of opportunities 17:09 Joining the board of Fortune Brands 27:38: Establishing multi-dimensional purpose 34:45: A summary of Jeffery’s professional experience