Brand Design Masters - Personal Branding, Creative Entrepreneurship, Small Business Marketing & Career Success for Designers and Content Creators

Janine also shares insightful tips on how to drive traffic to your website, what the future of graphic design holds, and her personal mantra for becoming a successful creative professional. We discussed: How Janine started out unsure of your journey as a graphic artist and what solidified her decision to pursue it Finding success in social media and how it has helped build a following for her bran...

Bob Gentle is the Owner and Managing Director of Amplify. His company helps business leaders worldwide set, deliver and achieve their goals online and build a business they love.   He also shares insights into how he built an audience as a Youtuber, a podcast host of The Personal Brand Entrepreneur Show, and leader of the Amplify Accelerator group, his personal and business brand community. In thi...

Kathy and I share how we each started our businesses and announced it to our networks. We also discuss visibility as one of the critical aspects of a successful launch.  And finally, to wrap up this final episode of the “Leaving Corporate” series, we  discuss some of the best marketing and branding advice we have to offer from our personal experience in the trenches of solopreneurship to those of...

In this episode, Kathy and I share how we started building our business with the resources that were available to us at that time. From planning on which social media platforms to leverage, to considering our physical office spaces and technology setups.  We discuss: How Kathy started her brand ecosystem. What Kathy did to plan every detail of her brand strategy. How outsourcing is a smart move fo...

We discuss: What happened after I decided to take a break. The realization Kathy had along the emotional journey from the transition. What was Philip’s business plan after leaving. Kathy’s business plan and business model. What Kathy learned starting up her consultancy. How to consider business scope and positioning How Kathy wants her audience to see her brand. How to keep things light and not ge...

In this episode Kathy and I share our own experiences in leaving corporate and the decisions we faced and the signals we received before we decided to leave and strike out on our own.  We discuss: How did we realized it was time to leave corporate. What contributes to wanderlust. My personal experience in leaving the corporate world. What our body tells us contributes to our decisions. What was th...

Kathy Oneto, host of the Sustainable Ambition podcast, and founder of Sustainable Ambition has spent 20 years in the “big corporate” and “big agency” worlds as a brand strategist and senior marketing executive; she's worked in large companies and small, as well as entrepreneurial companies, both as a co-founder of start-ups and as the chief of staff to founders. In this series, Kathy and I talk ab...

Olesya's work is beneficial and highly relevant today given the Covid Pandemic. Listen and learn how she helps her audience manage their psychological needs and reduce stress during these trying times and how to continue to cope as the pandemic eases.  We discuss: How overthinking overlaps with planning. How rumination is terrible for us psychologically. How psychological needs increased during th...

As the company he built imploded, Mark learned hard lessons about persistence and efficiency that all agency owners and entrepreneurs can benefit from hearing.  We discuss: How he started Phanta Media in 2006 His thoughts about the changes in the agency paradigm How he began to leveraged content creation and marketing in developing his brand presence How imposter syndrome actually benefits him How...

We discuss: His thoughts about the digital marketing world after the pandemic What he learned as a facilitator of online webinars and events Tools to help his team manage their work better How he utilizes his YouTube channel in association with his podcast and other businesses How his videos help him to appear at a higher rank of SEO on Google. He uses other social platforms to leverage and utiliz...

Kristin is the living proof of a "jack of all trades, master of none." She didn't focus only on one thing; instead, she explored everything she wanted to try without hesitation. We will hear her unique story of how she decided to become a digital nomad and how she shares her experiences with the world. We discuss: How did she start and manage her chosen path. Why did she decide to niche down to a...

From working in the corporate world that provided him a comfortable living Brandon risked it all and followed his intuition to build a successful business, becoming a well-known podcast coach who helps small entrepreneurs deliver value through podcasting.  Brandon is the founder of the Podcast Branding Academy, an online school for podcasters. He also produces and hosts a top marketing podcast, Br...

Chris is the owner of FlyRyde LLC, a custom automotive lighting company. He works social media better than almost anyone I've ever seen. Chris has now become a full-time content creator and recently has gotten into the NFT and Crypto world.  Let's learn how Chris manages his business wherever he is and shares his perspectives on what NFTs can offer. We discuss: How Chris started on YouTube. How he...

Louise Karch is an award-winning author of Word Glue: Find Your Million-Dollar Brand Name. She names and renames brands, doubling clients’ income. Louise also just finished the first book on strategic taglines in the world - which is to be published soon. She believes that when you have a powerful brand name, your brand strategy should reflect it as well.  We discuss: How naming your brand can be...

Today’s guest is a well-connected and  empowered woman who walks the talk, boldly entering what she calls her “second half” as an accomplished executive over 50 building a new lifestyle brand from absolute scratch.  Following a decorated career in private equity and after receiving distinctions for her support of her husband’s former role as Secretary of Defense, Stephanie Carter embarked on a jou...

James Martin developed his skills in illustration, became a self-described “bad” teacher, and then a less-than-dedicated tattoo apprentice. Eventually, he worked in design agencies where he honed his craft and gained experience to build his own brand and business.  Shout-out to my former podcast guest and good friend Michael Janda who introduced James and I over Instagram! We talk about: Our commo...

Most agencies use the expected social media platforms to promote themselves, but this couple took a different path from the usual Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin posts to help them find potential clients. In choosing to leverage their Youtube channel “Design Break” they’ve been creating a different kind of buzz.  In this episode we chat about: • How they use social media platforms to promote the...

Joining me in this episode is Amy McGlinn, an exceptionally talented copywriter and strategic marketing consultant who uses her skills in the written word to show up for people, give value, and inspire change in their business..  Deeply experienced in content writing and conversion copywriting, Amy knows exactly how brands can express their values in a way that’s irresistible to their audience.  ...

It’s important that you seem approachable so your audience would want to engage with your communication efforts and later on buy into your brand’s product or service. Gabrielle Dolan is an expert in helping her clients do just that. As the go-to for effective business communication and storytelling, she has worked with impressive organizations such as the Obama Foundation, Visa, Accenture, Amazon,...

Jenny Blake is an author, coach, podcaster, and keynote speaker. Her previously published book “Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One” won the Axiom award for best business book in the careers category in 2016 and has helped many business owners during the current pandemic crisis. She is now launching her third book,  “Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business”.  We discuss: Wh...

While there can be some merit in taking that leap, today’s guest still believes that learning the ropes first by working as a junior designer and freelancing on the side will strengthen the bid to build your own company later on. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, Von Glitschka, Creative Director and Founder of Glitschka Studios, knows what he’s talking about. His branding illustrat...

Rachel Zorel shows that a big risk, a leap of faith, and a slow build are all it takes to scale not just her business, but her professional career and personal life, too. Rachel is the Founder and Creative Director of the multidisciplinary design and branding agency 7 Layer Studio. In this episode she shares the story of taking a pivotal career shift from freelancing solo to taking on a team of cr...

Today’s guest took this leap when he decided to quit his job as a jet pilot to pursue a career in marketing. Adam Erhart braved the turbulence in shifting careers to pursue his curiosity and follow his passion in learning about marketing, people, and how he can help them grow their businesses. Adam and I discuss: His transition from being a corporate business jet pilot to digital marketing consult...

Joining me on this episode is Metaforce co-founder, NYU Stern adjunct professor, and author Allen Adamson who believes that focus drives success and that going deep before going wide opens up even more opportunities for you and your career. For Allen, niching down does NOT restrict your brand's potential. It's all about figuring out what you're good at, honing those abilities, and delivering them...

Two years ago, Creative Director and mentor Lauren Gonzalez went outside of her comfort zone to start a YouTube channel to tell the story of how she set up her own agency, struggled to get clients at first, and eventually grew the business to become a consistent client and income machine.    Today, her brand identity agency Principium Studio is primed to scale and support higher income Amazon sell...