The Self-Employed Life

The most basic formula for success is the intersection of meaning and marketability. You have to connect the meaning of what you do to what the world wants. I share three amazing entrepreneurial journeys of clients I recently worked with in my Small Business Branding program. These stories will inspire you and get you thinking about your intersection of meaning and marketability. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Mentions - Patricia's Ohhs Underwear Crystal's Blank Page Coaching Ryan's Dream Trips Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

We could all always use a little inspiration from time to time. Sometimes we seek it out. And sometimes it finds us at the just the right time we need to hear it. I consider myself intuitive and confident in my work. And yet, occasionally I stumble across some outside wisdom that reframes my perspectives in all the right ways. You just never know where the inspiration might come from. The most successful people are the ones who have the perfect balance of both grace and grit. Whether in business or in life, if you believe in what you do, do it with conviction, follow your intuition, and love the process of uncertainty, you will get to the top. Sometimes all it takes is a little reminder that we have all we need within us. We don't have to have all the answers, but we just have to trust and go. Just start. Start anywhere. Just go out, do it, and if it doesn't work, try something else. To dive deeper into her beautiful wisdom, I've brought on author and inspiration, Joie Goodkin. Joie's career and civic contributions have been honored with about fifty awards for community service and business accomplishment. She did a stint fighting crime with her work with CrimeStoppers, a national organization that she helped to bring to south Florida. She has won multiple sales and marketing awards, including one co-won with Wayne Huizenga, founder of Waste Management, AutoNation and Blockbuster video for marketing leadership from the South Florida Sales and Marketing Association. She was named Woman of the Year in Marketing and Communications from the South Florida Advertising Federation, was a recipient of the Brotherhood award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and the Golden Rule Award from JC Penney. Learn how to follow both the zigs and the zags, by downloading this episode now. THE WARRIOR OF PHYSICAL STRENGTH "Everything you need to know is already within you. You just have to tune in." - Joie Goodkin Highlights - Living in a polarized society, we have to work harder to show that we are more similar than we are different. Everyone is gifted with intuition. You have to have your own sense of confidence. You always have a choice in what you believe. Real confidence is knowing that you're ok. Look for the greater potential in the narrow opportunities presented to you. 'No' is just a word on the path to 'yes.' Love the process. Trust the universe. Nothing is impossible. Guest Contact - Joie's Website Joie's Book - You Can Do It! Mentions - What You Think of Me is None of My Business by Terry Cole Whitaker Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

Some people are feeling like they are walking on eggshells, afraid to say the wrong thing. Yes, there are a lot of changes in the world and in the U.S. that require a whole new level of consciousness about what we say and write. This is particularly true in business. You interact with a lot of people, you don't want to offend anyone and because you're busy, sometimes it's hard to stay on top of every little thing you say and do. I'll explain why this is an important time for change and what you can do. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

When you have the right brand, it sells itself. We've talked before about how far branding has come, how it no longer can start with the image and work its way inward. These days brands will be exposed very quickly if they don't come from an authentic place. Trust-based relationships with your clients is key. Customer's need to know that they can be honest about their needs and that they will be listened to. It starts with your brand's lens. If you have a one-sided lens, you're not going to be able to understand or give your clients the confidence to ask for what they need. To dive deeper into branding intrinsically, I've brought on Emily Soccorsy and Justin Foster. Emily and Justin are the founders of the intrinsic brand practice, Root + River and the co-authors of "Rooting Up: Essays on Modern Branding." Working with heart-based leaders, they believe that all great brands are spiritual experiences. Emily and Justin are on a mission to inspire all leaders to go inward - and reframe and redefine the role of brands and their impact on the world. Find out how to speak your truth and from the heart by downloading this episode now. THE INNER MUSE AND RIGHTEOUS WARRIORS "A brand is how other people experience what you believe." - Emily Soccorsy and Justin Foster Highlights - Everything in the customer experience is part of a brand. Branding is a spiritual experience. The fastest way to exponential growth is to work with your ideal customer. To develop a really great brand you have to have emotional intelligence. Brand is knowing what conversations you want to have; marketing is how you have those conversations. We need to find our inner light, in order for other's to find us. A rebrand is a pause in order to reroot- and will be critical in aligning with our new post-pandemic reality. Crises bring on spikes in humanity and businesses have to keep up. Guest Contact - Emily and Justin's Website Emily's Instagram Justin's Instagram Root & River's Facebook Emily & Justin's Book - Rooting Up Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

In this episode, I point out one of the biggest problems in marketing. Showing up as a superficial, surface level version of yourself that is not allowing customers to see the real you. You need to break down the facade and show up authentically and as compelling as you really are. I offer you a way to check your website for yourself and how to solve it. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

I love a good 'why' story. I've shared before my story about Bergdorf Goodman and how I've become one of their most loyal customers. I like to share that story because it is part of the foundation of my love for customer service that goes above and beyond. As my guest today so wonderfully puts it, "customer service is not a department. It's a mindset." There are probably many more touch points in customer interactions than we realize. Each one is an opportunity. Each touch point can be the moment where a customer feels truly seen, appreciated, and responded to. A big part of keeping people loyal is knowing when to pause and address a moment in a transaction that may be running on autopilot. How can that moment be better? More personal? More present? To dive deeper into what it means to find your customer service SPARK, I've invited back to the show the leader of the SPARK Movement, and absolute joy, Simon Bailey. Simon T. Bailey has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, including serving as Sales Director for Disney Institute, and has worked with more 1,800 organizations in 47 countries. Simon has been named one of the top 25 people who will help you reach your business and life goals by SUCCESS magazine, joining a list that includes Brene Brown, Tony Robbins, and Oprah Winfrey. His Goalcast video, released on Facebook, has over 87+ million views worldwide. Learn how you can be the Ritz Carlton of your business by downloading this episode now. THE LION KING WARRIOR "The inner spark is the alignment of my head, heart, and hands." - Simon Bailey Highlights - Customer service is not a department. Internal alignment creates external execution. How you start the day, determines the day. See. Really see your guest. Personalize. Take the time to do something that matters. Anticipate. Look around and see what it is not yet. Respond. If you hear it, you own it. Keep. Keep them with random acts of kindness. A big part of keeping people is knowing when to pause. Guest Contact - Simon's Website Simon's Twitter Simon's Instagram Simon's Book - Be the Spark: Five Platinum Service Principles for Creating Customers for Life Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

At a photoshoot years ago, a little girl said to me, "You're bossy." At the time it set me back and made me consider whether it was true. Yeah, it was and still is true. Find out why being bossy isn't so bad, why you should also be bossy and why it's more important now to be bossy. Get your bossy on! The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

Right now thought leaders are facing some of the most vulnerable times they've ever experienced. The current crisis has forced some of our most valued thought leaders into reevaluating how well-rounded their business model truly is. This is the time to look at diversifying your business model. Maturing as an entrepreneur does not mean you forget your through line. If you are confident in the solutions you offer, then why not begin to explore how other audiences can benefit from your services. How can you repackage your portfolio of content and expertise and make it accessible in new ways to new audiences? To dive deeper into how thought leaders can diversify, I've brought on consultant, strategist, and friend of mine, Jason Van Orden. Jason helps thought leaders to reach a larger audience with their ideas, create new income streams from their expertise, and build business models that align with their values and goals. His experience includes creating multiple successful brands, launching over 60 online courses, teaching more than 10,000 entrepreneurs, generating seven figures in online course sales, and 8 million downloads of his podcast. To learn how to create, relate, and ideate, download this episode now. Highlights: Having a niche is finding your through line. Your asset is your process. There are four elements to the online course canvas: the ideal student, the ideal student outcome, the process of getting the student there, the student's experience. Having accessibility is powerful. Thought leaders who are questioning how to diversify should think about how they want to give more access to what they know. We need to be ready for whatever may come out on the other end. We may be forced to shift to another model. Your quotes can be your legacy. Own who you are. Create, relate, and ideate. 'Shared' is one of the most important marketing words. Guest Contact: Jason's Website Jason's Instagram Jason's Twitter Jason's Podcast

There seem to be as many definitions of strategy as there are people on earth. Practically every business owner has different ideas of what strategy means and how to apply it. It's time we take a moment to setting our heads straight about strategy. Applying informed strategic practices can be the deciding factor in how successful a business is. Most businesses are built backwards. The right way to build your business is to deeply understand your ideal customer and then construct your business in a way that speaks to them. Additionally, there are many myths about strategy practices that I want to bust for my community of Creative Warriors. To break down the strategic mindset for us, I've brought on Chuck Bamford. Chuck Bamford, Ph.D., is the Managing Partner of Bamford Associates, LLC, a strategy consulting firm that has worked with hundreds of organizations as they develop and implement a compelling strategy. He is an Adjunct Professor of Strategy at Duke University (Fuqua) and the University of Notre Dame (Mendoza), and was previously a professor at Texas Christian University and the University of Richmond, among others. His latest book is The Strategy Mindset 2.0: A Practical Guide to the Design and Implementation of Strategy. Learn more at bamfordassociates.com. To learn about the five elements that every business should examine for themselves, download this episode now. THE DR. STRANGE WARRIOR "You cannot cut your way to success." - Chuck Bamford Highlights - Half of strategy is making sure we do all the blocking table stakes expectations are met. The other half is finding two or three things that truly separate you from your competitors. It is a myth that we shouldn't care about what our competitors think. Every business has a perfect customer. Cost cutting is not a strategy. Good strategy design starts outside the organization. Structure follows strategy. The 5 elements that a business should examine to determine their competitive advantage: rare, durable, relatively non-substitutable, relatively non-tradeable, and valuable. Standing out today isn't enough. Guest Contact - Chuck's Website Chuck's Twitter Chuck's Book- The Strategy Mindset 2.0 Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

RuPaul once said, "We're all born naked. The rest of life is drag." Everything we put on the outside, from our clothes to a fake smile, is a facade. Find out how not wearing pants in these days of working at home and Zoom calls can help your career. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn