The Influential Personal Brand Podcast

The rise of remote work has changed businesses in many ways. One of the most notable consequences has been its effect on the way employees behave and work. Not only is the line between work and home life becoming increasingly blurred, but the distinction between our work and personal devices has also become less clear than ever. While it may seem simpler and cheaper to allow your employees to work on their own devices, the truth is that the laxness around regulated devices and passwords is creating a huge security risk at a time when the threat of cybercrime attacks, like hacking and ransomware, has never been higher. Here to help us tackle this important topic is Denis O’Shea, Founder of Mobile Mentor, a company that provides its clients with invisible securities that aren’t disruptive to their employees’ workflow. In our conversation, Denis describes the challenge that companies currently face in attempting to create a robust security system, while also ensuring a seamless employee experience, and what can be done about it. We also discuss their surprise win of the prestigious Microsoft Partner of the Year award, how it was all thanks to several innovative shifts they’d instituted over the past two years, and what they’re doing to make sure they win again next year. To learn more about security in 2022 and how to leverage the power of an award to scale effectively, make sure you tune in today! 

The best time to start building an online presence will always be in the past, and therefore, out of reach. The next best time, however, is now! Our guest today, Vanessa Lau, is an amazing example of how you can rapidly grow your business, and your brand, through social media, even if you’re late to the game. After reaching an unbearable point of exhaustion and dissatisfaction in her corporate career, Vanessa finally took the plunge into entrepreneurship. In 2018 she started her YouTube channel and today has over 500 000 followers, not to mention the thousands of subscribers she has also gained on her other platforms, like Instagram and TikTok. In our conversation with Vanessa, we discuss her transition into entrepreneurship and the elements that made her success possible. Vanessa explains how her honesty attracted followers and how she unknowingly created a community out of the simple desire to build her network. Tuning in you’ll learn how Vanessa inadvertently found her niche as a business specialist who helps content creators, coaches, and corporate escapees build their businesses, by addressing the pain points that resonated with her community. We also discuss the course business model, how to scale it, and how Vanessa created her flagship course. To learn more about Vanessa’s rapid growth and why it’s never too late, or too early, to get on a new social media platform, make sure you tune in today! 

The only reason a business exists is because of its customers, so every decision it makes should be in service of them. Today on the show we are blessed to be joined by customer success guru Brittany Hodak to hear everything you need to know about how to get CSX right in 2022. Brittany is an award-winning entrepreneur and keynote speaker who teaches sales and marketing leaders to multiply customers by creating superfans. She has spoken to organizations like American Express and the UN, published more than 350 articles for outlets including Forbes, and has also worked with names like Disney, Amazon, Walmart, and Dolly Parton. In our conversation with Brittany, she talks about how to structure your organization so that your customer feels cared for at every touchpoint. We hear about the need to include the CCO in every conversation, how to do away with siloing customer care into one department, and how to empower employees to care for customers in a way that feels right to them. We also talk about how Brittany became obsessed with customer care, how she transferred approaches to building fan loyalty used by entertainers like Taylor Swift into the brand space, and a whole lot more. Be sure to tune in today! 

Publishing has changed a lot in the last few years. With the advent of self-publishing, writers no longer have to go the traditional route. However, this has led to self-publishing becoming more competitive, making it extremely important to know how to launch your self-published book in a way that differentiates you. Chandler Bolt is the Founder of Self-Publishing School and he joins us today to share some of the secrets from his new book Published: The Proven Path From Blank Page To 10,000 Copies Sold. Central to Chandler’s thesis is the need to think of a book launch as a year-long project rather than a one-week sprint. To this end, he has designed a ‘launch triangle’, a three-part framework that you can use to skyrocket your launch. We explore this framework with Chandler and he explains how to set up and manage its individual pieces: the launch team, reviews, and promotions. In our conversation, Chandler also explains how to use reviews and structure your book’s content as well as its Amazon order page to boost its discoverability. If you want to be a self-published author, this episode will be extremely relevant to you, so be sure to tune in today. 

One of the biggest things that Brand Builders Group clients, especially performance and business coaches, seem to struggle with, is how to set their rates. Whether you gravitate towards charging an hourly rate or putting yourself on retainer, each has its unique benefits and downsides. And determining how to price your services can be a singularly challenging process, especially when you need to demonstrate your value to the client, while also factoring in all the hidden costs that are inherent to being an entrepreneur, in contrast to having a corporate salary with benefits. Our guest today, Mary Sobon, is no stranger to these challenges and has spent the past 13 years learning everything there is to know about pricing and finding the right client fit. Mary is a consultant with an extensive executive corporate background, and for the past decade has struck out on her own as a successful consultant with a range of fantastic clients, including our very own AJ Vaden! In their conversation, AJ and Mary discuss how Mary made the transition from working in the corporate realm to being independent, how she learned about the type of client she wanted to serve, and why everyone should consider rewarding clients who are a dream to work with. We also delve into how referrals have helped Mary keep her costs down, the function of adding free services to your invoices, and why you should never publish your rates! To learn more about the art of determining the best rates for yourself, your business, and your clients, make sure you tune in today! 

We can’t always know the lasting impacts that our actions may have on the people we encounter, but sometimes we can see the impacts that someone else’s actions have had on our own lives. For Dr. John Demartini, finding someone who believed in him changed the trajectory of his life. Today on the show, Rory sits down with Dr. Demartini, a human behavior expert, author, and celebrated public speaker, to talk about the unfolding of his career and how he came to be the esteemed figure he is today. In our conversation, Dr. Demartini starts off by recounting his early years and describes the immense difficulties he had to overcome. He shares how speech and learning impediments affected him at school, and how the low expectations of his doctors damaged his self-esteem. He explains how a chance encounter with Paul Bragg changed his perception of himself and inspired him to alter the course of his life forever by motivating him in his efforts to overcome his learning difficulties. Tuning in, you'll hear how Dr. Demartini built his speaking career, starting as a young man in college, and how sticking to his core competencies has been instrumental to his success. To learn more about Dr. Demartini’s life and what he’s learned from his career, tune in today! 

As an entrepreneur or a solopreneur, there is only so much you can do yourself. And while it may be tempting to hire contractors, especially when you’re starting out and wanting to keep your costs low, it’s important to bear in mind the significant benefits that come from opting into an employee-based model. This week on the show, AJ sits down with Casey Clark, CEO of Cultivate Advisors, to talk about how he built and scaled his 8 figure coaching business from the ground up, in an astoundingly brief period. They discuss Casey’s phenomenally successful history in franchising and how those lessons led him to establish Cultivate Advisors, a consulting company that coaches small businesses on how to grow and scale effectively. Hear about the actions that helped place them in the prestigious top 800 of the Fastest Growing Companies on the Inc 5000 list, like prioritizing the quality of their output and utilizing LinkedIn to find exceptional talent. Casey also delves into the importance of building a robust referral model, how they help their clients create sustainable lead generation, and why the two go hand in hand. Today’s episode is full of keenly observed insights from someone with a wealth of knowledge and experience, so if you’re looking to take your small business to the next level, make sure you tune in today! 

A struggle many pro athletes face is that once their careers end, it’s difficult to find an equally lucrative and glamorous profession. It is possible to parlay one’s fame into a business idea or career as an influencer, but only during a short window period in which one’s cards have to be played right. As a former NFL player turned entrepreneur and the Founder of Ice Shaker (as seen on Shark Tank), Chris Gronkowski did exactly this, and he joins us today to tell the story. When Chris got released from The Chargers after injuring himself, he dived straight into his wife’s business, and after a year they were making more money than he did in the NFL. Chris wanted to get back into sports and fitness though, and that is when he came up with Ice Shaker, the idea that would become his signature premium-quality, vacuum-insulated protein shaker. We hear how Chris leveraged all his resources to develop his product before getting the opportunity to present it on Shark Tank. Chris talks about the boom in sales his business experienced after being selected by the committee, going from $80 000 to making over three million in the next 12 months. We take a deep dive into Chris’s marketing strategies today as well, hearing him talk about how to get high rankings on Amazon, the value of engaging with one’s audience, and what he did on TikTok to generate more site visits from one video than he got from the first live airing of his Shark Tank episode. 

Building a brand as a full-time speaker might seem difficult, but that does not make it impossible. You have to start somewhere, be fueled by a genuine passion to change lives, be willing to do it for free at first, and be willing to keep refining your craft. Today we are thrilled to invite Molly Fletcher onto the show to speak about how she transitioned from being a sports agent to a world-class professional speaker using a mixture of passion, persistence, a growth mindset, and a willingness to serve. Molly talks about how her desire to help young aspiring sports agents led to her writing her first book. This led to a second book and a few speaking gigs until one day an audience member encouraged her to take speaking seriously as a potential career. We hear about the steps Molly took after that to promote herself online and how she approached every keynote delivery with a desire to overdeliver. In our conversation with Molly, we talk about how her passion for customer service results in happy clients across the board, which then translates into referrals that land her more and more opportunities to speak. She also speaks to the idea that it is the job of the speaker to build confidence in potential clients because when they invite somebody onto their stage, they are essentially placing their trust in a stranger. Molly is not just a brilliant speaker but a kindhearted person who finds as much pleasure in the success of others as her own, so tune in and prepare for a masterclass in personal branding as well as compassion. 

With the dramatic rise of remote work in response to the COVID pandemic, the world has seen major developments in the space of online services, from reliable platforms for remote meetings, to new toolkits for running a remote business. We are also in the midst of a new phase of development for virtual worlds, like Meta’s Horizon and its concomitant tool, Oculus. While all these changes may seem overwhelming, it’s important to stay abreast of how this online space is developing, especially if you want to grow and maintain your online presence with the changing internet. Here to help us make sense of these exciting new opportunities is Tristan Ahumada, a highly esteemed real estate agent and CEO Of Lab Coat Agents, a company that specializes in helping their clients build and grow their community. We talked with Tristan about his work, how he advises his clients, and why you should build your community around a topic you’re passionate about. Our conversation also covers the emerging world of metaverses, why it’s the future of the internet, and how to establish your presence while it’s still in these early stages. If you’re interested in learning about the different metaverses and how to get involved, make sure you tune in today!