The Self-Employed Life

It's natural in a time of crisis for your emotions and mindsets to be all over the place. Ranging from conviction to make best use of the time on hand to wanting to curl up in a ball somewhere. From pushing yourself to keep going to knowing when it's time for some self-care. The truth is, there's no right way to do this. What you can expect though is to experience a full range of emotions. That is...

I'll admit, as someone who is constantly creating content, I'm often overwhelmed by it. But it is a topic that frequently comes up in my client sessions and one that is especially relevant right now. At a time when many of us are home and working on sharing more content with the world, it is important to make sure that what we create still has a purpose. With all the formats available to us now, h...

In this episode, I challenge you to think about the after effect of the global pandemic. It WILL have an effect on your business. For better or worse remains to be seen. But make no mistake. With such a global shift, it will affect your business. Not just now, but perhaps years from now. People's values will change. What's important to them will change. The time is now to consider how your busines...

It's fair to say, times are pretty scary right now. Now, I believe that we can and will get through it. But when things feel chaotic, it can be hard to keep a clear head and heart. It is time to collectively muster as much courage as we can to push through uncertainty and find ways to adapt.  Finding the courage to change even small things in our lives can feel like a huge task. All of us have it...

What's possible? We are all living under constraints of some kind during this global pandemic. Entire countries under lockdown. Some states in the US under stay at home orders. Almost everyone forced to work at home. Financial constraints frightening and becoming a problem for many. Making do with whatever supplies and groceries we have in our house. In this episode, I explore what's possible. We...

As we move deeper into this stressful time of waiting out the coronavirus, many of us are working from home or isolating ourselves for safety. I find that when there is uncertainty or chaos abound, that is when it is most important to push forward with whatever it is that makes us Creative Warriors. This is the perfect time to turn your space into one that will keep you on a path of productivity a...

The global coronavirus pandemic has almost everyone nervous. Maybe even more so those of us in our Creative Warriors community who are afraid of the impact this will have on their business. But there is another side. It is possible to use this time to thrive. This is not my first rodeo in the world-changing events arena. I've been through 911, the Great Recession and now this. I have some practica...

Every once in a while a company comes around that raises the standard of what business should be.  Whether it's carving out a unique identity, or setting a new standard for exceptional customer service, Zappos has become a shining example of how prioritizing service can make you one of the world's greatest companies. Zappos is a company I've always been incredibly intrigued by. Their employees are...

Business owners often fear that price and what they charge for their services and products is going to deter customers. Well, guess what? It should! The impression you create as to approximately what your price range is has a lot to do with attracting your ideal customers and keeping the customers that are going to waste your time away. Find out what stops people from buying and how pricing can he...

For some of us, online transactions are nerve-wracking. For others, live events are where the anxiety lies. Many businesses do perfectly well existing in one space over the other. But as technology and life become more and more integrated, shouldn't we always be looking at how to exist in a field we're not playing in? Before getting overwhelmed trying to navigate an unfamiliar industry, it's impor...

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking you're not creative because you're not in a "creative" field. But creativity is, in fact, for everyone and creative thinking is a skill that anybody can develop. Having a creative process can be an inclusive strategy for all individuals and groups in a business to start thinking outside of the box. We often think of being creative as being artistic. Whil...

Common business advice is to work ON your business more than IN it. Great advice for making sure you don't get caught up in daily tasks. However, better advice is to work OUTSIDE your business more than ON it. The best thing you can do for your business is to take a look at your business from a different perspective. Especially from the perspective of a consultant from outside your industry and fr...

I hesitated to discuss the journey to becoming a speaker because it is such a specific subject and, frankly, there's a lot of content out there on it. However, there remains a lot of valuable information about the speaking industry that is still untapped and whether or not you are pursuing a career in speaking, understanding it can be valuable to all Creative Warriors.   I love being a keynote spe...

The process of gaining clarity seems like a never-ending process. But an essential one. We need to constantly learn how to say what needs to be said in our marketing and brand message in a more compelling and concise way. In this episode, I explain the difference between your core message and brand message and the journey of clarity. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be...

We often think of B2B as the opposite of B2C; where B2C is about serving people, B2B is serving a company. However, it is important to keep in mind that B2B is still B2H marketing- that is, Business to Human. I'm thrilled to take some time this week to unpack the nuances of the B2B world and the lessons we can learn from current B2B trends. Whether it's risk aversion, keeping up with fast-paced sh...

As the famous quote by Maya Angelou states, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Never is this more important than in your brand message and customer experience. Find out the importance of how you make people feel in every stage of your business. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be par...

Some of you might know that I moved down to Miami from New York City in order to combine my love for city life, architecture, and a more relaxed pace of living. For me, Miami inspires me in more ways than one. Additionally, I've always known that my environment heavily informs my productivity and thus have always strived to create an optimal workspace that promotes both efficiency and creativity....

There are two episodes coming up where I speak to experts about setting up your work environment to inspire creativity, innovation and productivity. In this episode, I add to that conversation a couple tips about considering your health and well-being in your work environment. Equally if not more important in my opinion. Although it's not an either/or. It's all integrated--creativity, productivity...

I love discovering new ways of thinking, especially if it means finding creative ways to view my business from a different angle. Especially when things are going well, it can be difficult to see the things that might be holding your business back. The question then becomes, what can we do to see our business with fresh eyes?   Every once in awhile brands should do an internal health check. Not on...

There are many unique challenges to being an entrepreneur. The fact that there's a fine line, or no line, between ourselves and our business. Therefore, our mindsets can easily get in our way. The fact that we are constantly learning new strategies in business and can't possibly find the time to keep up. We end up running all over the place trying to improve ourselves and apply more action in our...

Has social media ruined the meaning of engagement? Actually, social media is just the base camp for the type of engagement that is currently available to us. There is nothing wrong with getting 'likes' but humans are desperate for more. What do we do with these 'likes.' How do we build from there? Whether it's taking care of employees or courting customers it's time we start striving for a higher...

Social media has diluted what engagement means. In the real world, engagement means creating real relationships. Not just capturing a "like" or a comment on a post. Engagement means to gain someone's full attention and create a dialogue, a conversation and a relationship. What are you doing in your business to create real engagement with your customers? Listen in to see how important this is and h...

Most entrepreneurs understand how important it is to have a clear purpose. Unfortunately for many, "purpose" has become more of a marketing tool and has lost its authenticity. There are plenty of brands, however, that have been able to keep their purpose clear, instilling pride from their consumers, and, as a result, have a competitive advantage to those that don't. It's important to understand th...

The world around us and our customers are changing all the time. Paying close attention to these changes can make the difference as to whether your business stays relevant or not. Have you ever seen a business close and wonder, "how could they have not seen this coming?" Make your business future proof by learning to pay attention. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be p...

Most of us have something that we're really into. Maybe it's a band, a sports team, or Harry Potter. Whatever it is, most of us can say we're big fans of something and that we enjoy sharing in that community. But we often think of fandom as a surface level experience. In reality what we're experiencing is a human bonding through a shared experience. And these days fandom can be found in so much mo...