The Influential Personal Brand Podcast

Our recent interview with Kristin Giese did not fail to deliver several ah-ha takeaways that we are highlighting in this episode. Our conversation with her was all about getting booked on television, and, as you will hear from Kristin, you need to up the entertainment value rather than concerning yourself too much with the information. Because television is primarily about entertaining viewers with embellished stories and drama! That is not to say that you should be anyone other than yourself, however. Kristin talks about tapping into your “heightened authenticity” to strike the balance between being true to yourself while still giving the audience the fanfare they want. We also talk about what Kristin said about social media, viewing everybody as a meaningful connection, and doing your research before making a pitch.

Today’s show is a rare occurrence because we’re introducing you to someone who is neither a client nor someone from the industry that we know personally. Her name is Kristin Giese, and she cold pitched us to be on the podcast. We hear from at least four people every week who want to come on the show and we turn down most of them, but in this instance, a couple of factors played a role in us inviting Kristin on. She has outstanding results and her message is of direct relevance to our audience. She is a talent manager and executive producer who has worked with Miss USA, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, The Real Housewives, and has sold TV shows to NBC, TLC, Bravo, and has made 79 bookings on The Oprah Winfrey Show. You get the picture. In this episode, Kristin gives listeners a glimpse into the world of television, focusing on what it takes to make it and have longevity in this medium.

One of the most important points that jumped out from our recent conversation with Angie Lee was that it took her two and a half to three years to even get started and see traction in her business. If you are not willing to dedicate yourself to the mission of building your brand for at least five years, don’t bother getting started at all, because this is a long game. And we don’t mean this to be a discouraging fact but something that motivates you to keep going when it is tough.

Our guest on the show today says she was not cut-out for college. She hated every minute of it until she eventually dropped out and pursued her dream of merging her love for health and wellness with her then-new interest in digital marketing. Today, Angie Lee knows that this was the only path for her since she always knew she was a businesswoman rather than a dietician—which is what she studied for. Her podcast has millions of downloads and she has one of the best personal development events for female entrepreneurs called Pays to Be Brave. In this episode, she talks to listeners about hard work and consistency because there is no overnight success.

For anyone who is into direct sales or is interested in exploring this option, the episode we had with Chris Harder is a must-listen. We speak to him about the benefits of this business model, and he shares how he and his wife have maintained direct sales as part of the income stream through the years, despite the many other sources of income they have. Chris talks about the difference between a personal brand and a media brand and how this distinction will help you to understand what you want to achieve with your podcast for example. We all tend to think that having many followers on social media is the key to success, but as you’ll hear from Chris, you don’t need a million followers to make a million bucks—sometimes you just need a thousand of the right followers.

Chris Harder, our guest on the show today, is generous and humble, and still invests loads of time into his personal development despite his entrepreneurial success. Rory met Chris at a high-level mastermind, programs that the latter not only teaches but also participates in and learns from as a self-proclaimed “self-development junkie”. This is someone who has built a monster personal brand from the ground up and has done it right. His podcast is called For the Love of Money which is his biggest platform, and he has over a quarter of a million followers on Instagram.

Welcome to another special recap edition of the podcast. Today on the show we are diving into our interview with Anton Gunn, a former senior advisor to President Barack Obama. Anton has a master’s degree in social work from the University of South Carolina and is one of the most authoritative voices on socially conscious leadership. He is also the bestselling author of The Presidential Principles and an international speaker and consultant. During our interview, Anton shared some really useful and profound ideas that helped us personally process all that is going on through the lens of a strong leader, a black man, and a personal brand.

Today we introduce our listeners to a good friend and client of ours who we look up to and whose work we respect deeply. He is Anton Gunn, a former senior advisor to President Barack Obama. Anton is one of the most authoritative voices on socially conscious leadership, with a master’s degree in social work from the University of South Carolina. He is the bestselling author of The Presidential Principles and an international speaker and consultant who has worked with, among others, organizations such as Microsoft, Sodexo, and Boeing. In this special episode, we get his perspective on the right way to think about and approach the racial injustice crisis that has flared up in the US in recent weeks.

Do you ever think you’re too old to join Tik Tok? If we learned anything from our conversation with Sazan and Stevie Hendrix, it’s that you’re never too old to create fun and relatable content and that just being present is half the battle. Today, we bring you another special recap edition of the show, where AJ and Rory debrief and summarize Rory’s recent interview with legendary influencers, Sazan and Stevie Hendrix. We spend the first few minutes of the episode just riffing about how cool and funny Sazan and Stevie are, but we get into our constructive takeaways eventually, we promise! For more on how the Hendrixes show up early, use SEO and hashtags to help viewers find them, recycle popular content, create a consistent presence, and evolve with their audience, make sure not to miss this recap episode. It’s full of useful information from one of the most popular couples on social media. Tune in today!

We all have social media accounts, but do we know how to utilize them effectively to leverage our audience and grow our brand? Today’s guests have a few ideas about how to truly connect with your audience, grow your following, and create relatable content. If you’re already one of their millions of followers, you already know that Sazan and Stevie Hendrix are the coolest couples in social media. Together, they have built a loyal following on Instagram, YouTube, and even Tik Tok.