Franklin Taggart's Virtual Coffee Break

What do you want to do? I don't know what do you want to do? I'm hungry. Do you want to go out for breakfast? I don't know, do you? Three phones come out to look for options, but we all get distracted. Then the conversation starts again. We all end up frustrated, hungry, and unable to find a choice that works for all three of us. I'm the last person you'd want as a cruise director. Saturdays are m...

Most solopreneurs and freelancers don't start businesses with the idea that they might one day sell them. They usually just want to build something they enjoy doing that generates the income they want. But Stephen Krausse suggests there may be value being created that will someday be worth passing on. Stephen Krausse helps entrepreneurs buy and sell businesses. In this visit with Your Own Bst Comp...

Bodhi got out of school today for the Summer. Sophomore year is over! Now, what are we going to do? I'm not good at leisure time. So this Coffee Break is all about trying some new things that aren't work. The good thing about all this is my work feels like leisure. It's rejuvenating, fun, and always interesting. I haven't found any hobbies that I like as much. This Stanley Tucci series, Searching...

We've been watching Stanley Tucci - Searching for Italy on CNN and loving it. My Italian Sweetie is inspired by the show and we're both blown away by the quality and variety of the food he's finding. He's visiting 20 regions and revealing the unique menu in each. I'm amazed to see the difference, even in regions that are connected to each other geographically. Every one of them has a different foo...

We spend thousands of dollars on workshops and workbooks and courses and worksheets that don't deliver the results we'd hoped for. Why? I think a big part of it is our habit of shifting into a manner of communicating that seems more businessy. That sounds like the stuff we learned in our writing class about writing business letters - formal, stuffy, boring. I'm on a mission to change that. I want...

I'd like to have a word with you. What I'd like to say is... Listen to this idea! I want to feel more optimistic. The way we speak and write about life and people and work and everything else really matter. Words are conduits of energy and they create our experiences. We do need to consider what we say. You are a gift to me and I am blessed by your presence. Thank you. #wordsmatter #wordsshapeexpe...

It's been an exciting weekend with birthday celebrations, Dr. Strange, and a Sunday afternoon band rehearsal. My voice is scratchy and my heart is full, and I don't have much in the way of focus, so I'm going to turn on the camera and see what happens. First, a thank you for the kind birthday wishes! I'm delighted to still be alive and in possession of some of my better faculties. It meant a lot t...

I'm not sure how I got here but here I am. 60 today. I didn't expect to make it this far but I'm glad I have.  So many memories and so much more to look forward to. Life has been, is, and will be good! Thanks for your friendship, time, and attention. Those are the greatest gifts! As I've heard many people say, another day above ground is a bonus! #happybirthdaytome #celebrating #somuchmoreliv...

As an Executive Assistant and a Virtual Assistant, Linda Eskridge realized that much of her responsibility was finding unique and meaningful gifts for the people she worked for to give to prospects, customers, and clients. They wanted more of a personal touch than sending the common branded notepads, pens, and t-shirts. Through these experiences, she had the idea that offering her services as a gi...

We're getting ready to celebrate my friend, Lynn Kincanon who has been named Loveland Poet Laureate for 2022-2024. Lynn is an amazing poet and this award is well deserved. One of the things I admire about Lynn is her commitment to practicing her poetry craft daily. And to take it a step further, she posts these daily poems on her Facebook page for all the world to see. It's one of the few things t...

My friend, Meridith did a TikTok video yesterday asking some good questions about vulnerability. Apologies to her first for my flippant attempts to be humorous. They failed. And her questions did get me thinking. Every few months, the culture at large adopts one of these human qualities as a temporary mascot. Books are written. TED talks are given. Podcasts and videos abound. Just in the past few...

You may hear faint drum beats in the background of this one as my kid copes with some anxiety about upcoming final exams by pummeling his drums. I was not a great student, but I wasn't stupid. I was a slow reader, slow cipher, slow test taker, and a D student until I barely graduated, defeating the odds and the expectations of my guidance counselor. I had professors in college who pointed out that...

At the end of my second year of full-time music, I had a revelation. I was exhausted and broke and I couldn't figure out why. Looking at the calendar for that year showed me something I couldn't believe. I had played 80 percent of my gigs that year for free. It seems like creative people are asked frequently to donate what they do for both good causes and cheap party hosts. After that moment I had...

I come from a long line of teachers. My Grandmother started teaching school not long after she was in high school. She didn't finish her bachelor's degree until she was in her late 40s, but she could get a certificate to teach elementary grades in rural schools in Wyoming just by passing a test. My dad, who would have been 84 today, was also a teacher, and I've had aunts, uncles, and cousins who h...

In marketing, we want to be remembered, but we probably want to make sure we're remembered for the right kinds of things. Like how we treat other people, and how we make our point and do the things we need to do, but not at the expense of another person's value and dignity. We've all heard about the importance of making a good first impression. So when we go into a new group of people for the firs...

Entrepreneurs often compartmentalize the different parts of their lives in ways that become unmanageable and that lead to higher stress, burnout, and in the extreme, health crises. Kc Rossi found herself in the midst of such an experience after building a highly successful company but with the high cost of "being on all the time." This unsustainable lifestyle led to an acute health condition that...

17 cold pitches in my LinkedIn DMs this morning.  You don't know enough about me. You aren't giving me a good reason. So, no I don't want to "jump on a call" with you. I don't have time or interest to jump right now.  Ignore, Delete, Block There are ten thousand other ways to generate leads for your business than cold pitching social media messages. Want to find some that will work bette...

Prices on almost everything are going up. Interest rates are being increased. We're paying more for gas, groceries, home, and travel with each passing day. Are your prices keeping up? Small businesses like ours have to stay sustainable and that means when costs rise, our prices need to adapt. But many are reluctant, thinking that raising prices will turn customers away. And just how do you figure...

After last night's questions about the future of creative work, I rebound with the same idea I always come back to - the activities of business fall into three necessary categories that have to be repeatable and able to be systematized. Make it, show it, sell it is the business plan. Each one of those areas is affected by changes in technology and market trends. This Coffee Break brings it all bac...

In 1989 I worked for a sheet music distributor. I remember being very excited at the time as new equipment was being introduced that would allow us to have our customers call a toll-free number and listen to 15-second samples of new music we were offering and then select a digit at the end of the call where I or one of my sales comrades would take their order. Up until then, we had been making cas...

Sending love and admiration to Betsy Taggart and Monica Corrado this Mother's Day, and remembering Monica's mom, Marilyn. I'm surrounded by courageous role models who were determined to find their own path and be true to themselves. They've been through extreme difficulties and have become positive movers and shakers in their communities. #gratefulformom #gratefulformysweetie #honoringthosewhonurt...

Self-sabotage comes in a variety of packages. We creative people can find ten thousand ways to avoid letting people know what we've made. Why? In this Coffee Break, Franklin Taggart delves into his own mystery around this question.  The intent and the inspiration came from a pure place. They weren't self-serving or vain in nature. They were made to enhance the lives of others. Why does this f...

Most photography studios use traditional marketing methods to book one session at a time. Their communication channels are crowded with competition, and they often have to resort to deep discounting to land new clients. Pro Pet Photog's Monique Renee Eckes took a class that challenged that way of thinking and doing business. In that class, she was inspired to publish a locally-focused book about p...

Attending a high school jazz band concert tonight with my son brought back memories of mentors who have been brought into my life at those times when I didn't know who I was or what I could contribute. They had a vision of me that I couldn't see for myself, and they held it for me until I could take it all on myself. I can't imagine what my life would be like now if I hadn't met each of them at th...

May 4th, 2022 - Star Wars Day.  I missed the theatrical run and didn't see any of the Star Wars movies until Return of the Jedi, but I've been a fan of the Alliance ever since. Darth Vader genuinely scared me and I was driven mad when he revealed his relationship to Luke and Leia. In a testimonial a few years ago, a client of mine said this, "Franklin is like Yoda, only taller and less green....