The Brand Compass

In this episode: The words community and membership are thrown around by many ‘gurus’ on the net. In some instances, the way they are using the terms are not really true to the form that they take in reality. I bring Mark Masters on to help me to dig into this subject a bit more and we flesh out the nuances between ‘community’, ‘membership, ‘subscription’ and even…’audience’. My feeling is that if...

In this episode: We take the greyness out of what ‘personal brand’ means and make it relevant for you – as a subject matter expert. While this is getting a lot of meaningless attention on social media (potentially for the wrong reasons) – personal brand as a concept is age-old. Think Cleopatra, Caesar, King Tutt, Attila the Hun, or even Mother Teresa. I’m joined by the effervescent Christine Gritm...

In this episode: My topic today may resonate with you, I know its becoming more and more of an issue for the people I have been talking to - who are either consumers or run their own business. And that is this balance between the quality of your product or service…versus the experience your customers or clients are having in buying that product or service from you. I feel like since the pandemic,...

In this episode: I chat to my friend, Ian Anderson Gray, about his journey of finding the “thing” that he has become known for, as a knowledge worker, or subject matter expert. Come listen as Ian shares how a review-based blog post he wrote about Hootsuite, which has reached 7million views to date, kickstarted his road to becoming the Live Video specialist he is recognised as today. It wasn’t a sm...

In this POD BITE episode: A short, digestible tidbit (under 10mins) to snack on as a quick reflective prompt, a rally for new thinking, or to just throw a challenge out there for you to take up - should you choose to. These are dropped in between my normal episodes. This episode is about pointing out when you are using "consultant speak" and why it’s not an effective way to get someone NEW to unde...

In this episode: Andrea and I chat about how she has shaped her business over time to gain her ideal working life, depending on what stage or season she’s been at in her life. We dig into how she is shaping her offers today, and what impact the pandemic had on the decisions she has made. Andrea is also quite well known for her funny side and using a caricature in her early days to “be” the social...

In this episode: The subject we get into in this episode is around defining what a Brand Machine is. This is a concept I use as a working metaphor to teach micro businesses about the mechanism which they can design and build to support them in spinning all those skills plates which they need to, inside their business. If you listened to the episode I did on my Three Amigos, you’ll know about three...

In this episode: I talk about a subject which is highly linked to your reputation as well as the value of your brand…and that is the NAME you have chosen for your business. I decided on this topic for this episode because in the space of a few weeks I had quite a few people within my business community asking for feedback on whether they should change their brand name. This is not an easy question...

In this episode:   This is a topic that you may “go light” on in your early days of starting your business however, as you get further down your business journey, you realise that: LIFE IS SHORT. Prepare yourself for an episode which is (hopefully) going to stop you in your tracks and make you re-evaluate putting off making those changes in your business that you have been quietly shoving to...

We talk about what its like for a predominantly service-based micro business entrepreneur to completely change their business to a product-based business (unrelated to their original business).   To help me unpack this topic, I’ve invited a long-time business friend Tracey Powiesnik to join me. She openly shares what it was like to create a business which was a complete 180 degree turn o...

In this episode:   Big topic this one! I walk you through three of the many hats you wear in your business: Branding, Marketing and Sales. I feel like these get all meshed together for micro and small businesses, and in the end …you are not very clear which role you are plating and when. This seriously impacts your effectiveness in each of this arena on a day-to-day basis. Your long-term mome...

We talk about what service-based micro businesses can learn from the planning that goes into putting on a show at an entertainment venue. We focus on the ‘experience’ of engaging and holding an audience’s attention and moving them through the journey. To help me unpack this topic, I’ve invited David Ventura to join me. David is a Key Account Management specialist who spends his time sharing t...

In this episode: I talk about the 4 growth methods I usually advise micro businesses to plan their focus around. I have found, in my experience, that growing can be more of a painful ache than an exciting adventure. Yes, there are enjoyable parts to it, but really – for a micro business, growing hurts. In this episode I share the 4 ways or methods by which I see micros modelling ‘growth’ or shifti...

We discuss the challenge that many people struggle with, when they jump the employment ship: who am I (if I’m not doing ‘this’ job?); and what do I know that makes me valuable to others? To help me unpack this topic, I’ve invited Alison O’Leary to join me. Ali is a Career Coach specialising in career change to facilitate life change. - - - 𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Ali hails from an impressive corporate bac...

In essence this is a hero's welcome to you - one and all! I give you a quick background to who I am, and why I'm the person to listen to and to guide you along the conversations and discussions to come on the show. I also explain why the show is for micro businesses, who I identify those people as and what I have experienced their particular, unique challenges to be. More in-depth conversations an...