Strategic Counsel by ForthRight Business

You need to know exactly what to look for when choosing the right agency for you and your business. With the ever-changing agency environment comes different expectations. In this Quick Hit, Scott Lucas from Sterling Brands joined us to discuss how the agency focus should be on problem-solving, not process-following. Catch the full episode here.

Impostor Syndrome is very real and very common. How do you combat it? It comes down to embracing the 80/20 rule, being brave enough to step outside the box, becoming a lifelong learner, and getting in front of managing change. We wanted you to learn from a true expert in the space, so we welcomed on Ryane LeCesne. She’s the Master Your Mindset Coach at Inspire Brand Consulting. Do you want to stan...

We talk a lot about creating a connection to your consumer, customer, or client. It’s a key element in creating Brand-Love. Consumer research can seem like a massive undertaking, but doing your due diligence by engaging your consumer in a unique fashion can deliver value and shape your business. In this Quick Hit, we share a couple key questions that lead to insightful consumer research. Make sure...

For this episode, we welcome special guest Steve Leder, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Badge Design Studio. He discusses an important - and often controversial - topic in the marketing world: creative strategy. We often talk the importance of a brief because it gets everyone on the same page. It’s imperative the brief translates into a creative strategy the entire team can get on board with...

Creating the name of your business, brand, or product is one of the most stressful times for entrepreneurs. Launching your “baby” into the world is both exciting and anxiety-ridden, which also makes naming very emotional. This can unfortunately lead to poor decisions. In this Quick Hit, we give real-world examples and explain what to avoid. Make sure to catch all 4 points in the full episode here.

This week, we’re making the entire episode a Marketing Smarts Moment. We’re honored to welcome special guest Keltie Knight, the 3-Time Emmy Award-Winning TV Host and Creator of “Superfan.” Hear how to achieve your goals, keep trying and trying, develop your personal brand, and why women often focus on so much comparison. You’ll also hear the behind-the-scenes of Keltie’s new show “Superfan,” which...

From the lack of willing employees to overpaying for warm bodies, it’s more important than ever to hold ourselves and our employees accountable. If we don’t, we compromise our culture - making it harder to bring in and retain quality talent. This Quick Hit gives you “In the Trenches” real-world examples to help you navigate this challenge. Catch the full episode here.

Have you thought about how you’re going to approach the later years of your career? It’s an area so many of us don’t have a roadmap for. Successful succession planning means defining the legacy you want to leave, firming up your business and brand to operate independently, putting your talent in a position to grow and prosper, and planning your exit strategy. We’re of course NOT financial advisors...

People often find themselves on a career path that leads directly to a management position, when they are perfectly happy in their current role as a doer. Not everyone is cut out to be a manager - and that’s okay. In this Quick Hit, we discuss how to carve out your own path to success without the trajectory to manager. Make sure to listen to the full episode here.

The digital space is crowded. It’s hard to capture enough attention for your content to break through the noise. Dan Gadd, SVP of Growth for the Atlanta Dream WNBA and former Sr. Director of Digital Strategy for the Atlanta Falcons, calls it “a street fight for attention!” You need a mindset shift that embraces the reality that “there is no reach without reaction.” Dan’s proven framework is your g...

Mike Brown, Founder and CEO of Rebel Mettle Brewery, joined us to talk how their success is as much about creating community within Rebel Mettle as it is integrating into the Cincy community. We talk about the 3 crucial brand questions: Who am I? How am I different? Why would you want me? It’s important to get this right from the beginning to allow your community to know who you are. Listen to the...

So many workplace struggles can be alleviated by starting with mindset. What is your current set of beliefs and expectations? How is this impacting your ability to feel content and excel? Shift your mindset to better excel at work by believing it to see it, focusing on MY career, MY responsibility, realizing you can lead at any level, and managing your energy. We wanted you to learn from the Minds...

People decisions are hard to make for many managers and leaders. Making the choice to fire an employee can be difficult, unless there’s egregious misconduct. So often, team members are kept on - especially if they are a high performer - when they should really be let go. This Quick Hit gives you 2 things to consider if you’re struggling to identify whether it’s time to say goodbye. For the full li...

As a leader, your image and reputation are paramount in order to command the respect you need to influence. Personal Brand Characteristics have the potential to lead to behaviors and actions that can undermine and sabotage your brand. Although this applies equally to males and females, there are certain Characteristics that show up more consistently in females that can lead to significant challeng...

Have you ever landed a role as a manager and thought, “Now what?” How do you transition from one role to another without abandoning responsibilities? Or define your new role successfully? Make sure to catch this Quick Hit with 2 of the 4 tools you need now. Listen to the full episode here.

We spend a lot of time talking about how to put branding and marketing practices into action. We thought you’d appreciate hearing it from the other side of the table for a change! We’re excited to welcome on one of our clients to talk about how our collaborative work to evolve their mission, vision, and values has transformed his business. He’s Scott Farmer, and he’s the CEO of LYP Health Manageme...

“How can I bring more of myself to work?” We get this question a lot. In fact, it can sometimes feel like we have 2 personalities: 1 at work, and 1 in our personal lives. But unlike many people think, the goal isn’t to fuse these. Listen to this Quick Hit as we navigate 2 of the 4 steps to appropriately achieve the balance you may be seeking. Catch the full-length episode here.

Why is Brand-Love important? Because 90% of decisions are made from the heart. As consumers, we are constantly inundated, which means setting your business apart from the competition requires you to emotionally connect to your consumers. After learning the tools we discuss in this episode, check out Anne’s book “The Super-Highway of Relevancy: Getting More People to Choose Your Brand, More Often,...

Scott Mautz is Founder of Profound Performance, a popular author, keynote speaker, and our prior business coach! Oftentimes, we think we need to be the named leader in order to lead. This is far from the truth. In this Quick Hit, we bring you audience questions from our “In the Trenches” segment. Don’t miss out on the 4 tips in the full episode here.

You want to be a leader. How do you take that into your own hands? Get very clear on your personal brand and clean out what is not serving you, develop your vision and declare it out loud on repeat, surround yourself with supporters and hire a coach, and build your reputation and skills beyond your current role. Take these to heart and you’ll be on the right path to keep rising in your career. Do...

A PR campaign should be an essential part of every business’s marketing efforts. PR (Public Relations, or earned media) can build credibility through third-party endorsements and drive awareness and engagement of your latest news. Join us for this Quick Hit where we share the 1st tip on how to develop a compelling campaign. Make sure to listen to the full-length episode here.

“Leading from afar” has become a hot topic due to remote working environments. But even before our current situation mandated it, we have found the very best type of leaders have the ability to do so from afar. This means giving their teams space and autonomy to do things their own way. And the benefit? They end up with higher performers and better results than those that micromanage. We call this...

Whether you have or haven’t yet vetted an agency for your business, there are strategies to implement to ensure a more successful relationship. Unfortunately, we have seen a lot of scammers out there take advantage of businesses. To avoid being one of them, join us as we approach this discussion from 2 perspectives: the corporate side and the agency side. Make sure to catch the full episode here.

Empathy is one of those behaviors that can make or break your relationships. How do you make sure you’re practicing empathy in the workplace? It starts with getting over the judgment, understanding and appreciating other people’s motivators, seeking to find common ground, and asking good questions. We wanted you to learn from one of the brightest minds studying empathy, so we welcomed on Rob Volpe...

For those that dream of being their own boss one day, YES! It is rewarding, exciting, and worth it. BUT - spoiler alert. You are on the hook for EVERYTHING. In this Quick Hit, April and Anne answer 4 questions you may be wondering as you contemplate your big move and don’t know where else to turn. Catch the 4 misnomers in the full episode here.