Creative Warriors

It can often feel in business, especially during challenging times that recovery is far away. Or that your business needs a complete overall or change of direction. That is often not the case. It may be that turning your business around is just a tweak or two away. This episode should give you hope! The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share!  Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look a

When you are in business, you are in the wish-granting business. When you really think about it, what you offer is what helps your customers achieve what they’re wishing for. And when you can find a way to communicate what you stand for, how you will grant those wishes, and why you are unique in doing so, you will elevate the humanity of your business. But it begins with you; especially for the self-employed. What is your backstory? How can you connect the dots of your life to figure out where you fit in the market? My origin story of being a photographer is what distinguishes me in what I do today; I help people truly be seen for who they are and what they do. And so as you set the stage for your business you can then begin to weave in all the elements of your narrative that will ultimately lead your customers to invest in you, the person, the human, not just your brand.  To dive deeper into the Business of Story, I’ve brought on The World’s Most Industrious Storyteller, Park Howell. Park helps leaders of

Cyber attacks are not just against the big guys. The fact is that for a variety of reasons, attacks against small businesses are extremely common. We all need to be concerned, no matter how small or big our business is, especially during times of major distraction or disconnect, like, say, during a pandemic.  We’re in a weird social place right now, we’re stressed, some of us are even desperate. Cyber attackers prey on these times, often by using false information and fake links from sources we recognize to lure the most vulnerable into downloading malicious code or surrendering credentials. These cyber attacks are well-orchestrated, convincing, and truly raise the hairs on the back of my neck. To help us get us into the minds of cyber attackers I’ve brought on author and speaker, Mark Sangster. Mark is the author of "NO SAFE HARBOR: The Inside Truth About Cybercrime and How to Protect Your Business." He is an award-winning speaker at international conferences and prestigious stages including the Harvard L

We face a big challenge as business owners in today's overload of information. What's good information and at what point does that information influence us so much that we lose the ability to be different than the rest? This is particularly true in trade associations which I am a big proponent of. Have a listen for an idea about how to handle the balance of information and influence. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share!  Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of

Creativity is iterative. It is about possibility. True creativity is about the everyday making of things; of just doing and refining until we can eventually get to our genius. Sometimes all we need is the discipline to just start. So if we can give ourselves the permission to just start with whatever terrible ideas we have, we can often get into that sought after “flow state” even sooner.  Many creatives are binary when it comes to what and how they produce work. Either it’s all about inspiration and the arts, or it’s sitting down and hammering out an idea. Too many of us are quick to judge a thing as good or bad. And in doing that we paralyze our process with fear of failure or looking foolish. But there is an unfiltered nature to “starting ugly” and if we own it, we can open up a variety of pathways until we get to where we want to be. But being a fulltime creative and/or self-employed means you have to wear your discipline hat. You have to have a routine in order to clear your brain and just start.  To

My biggest competition has always been myself. Additionally, I’m a spender. Or, at least I used to be, and I’ve put a lot of thought into my spending habits and what that means for my lifestyle and business. Entrepreneurs often feel pressure to have as big a business as possible because of the competition or the false notion that a business isn’t “real” unless it’s a certain size. I battle with this quite a bit. My business as a photographer was much bigger than my current business. And despite being very happy with both my professional and personal life, I sometimes feel driven to have a bigger business than I do. Many of us who are self-employed are constantly trying to figure out: when it comes to our happiness, what is ‘big enough?’ If your business doesn’t make you happy, is it worth it? Better yet, how can you optimize your business to live the life you want but also keeps you happy in ways other than money?  To dive deeper into this I’ve brought on the co-founder of Common Craft and author of The Ar

Sometimes even when we’re working on our ‘calling’ we don’t even realize we’re working like machines. Many of us have lost our sense of wonder. We no longer look at the world in awe. We begin to believe that desiring something other than what we have is somehow a negative feeling. We Creative Warriors talk a lot about finding our ‘why.’ But what about getting to the why of your ‘why?’ Part of what I write about in my upcoming book delves into what it is like to become self-employed in mid-life. I love coaching clients who are making big life and/or work changes later in life because it is a very different experience than doing it in youth. And the experience, in my opinion, is richer. It’s interesting, then, to pose the question, “why bother?” Why now? What is it about this particular life that isn’t working? Once you begin to own your experience- both the good and the bad - you can step into whatever the next phase might be.  To dive deeper into “getting our bother on” I’ve brought on personal growth pion

There's no doubt our businesses are experiencing a huge disruption with the pandemic and resulting economic slowdown. But if you look at the long history of disruptions you'll see a few patterns emerge. One is to hang on. With patience, it will come around. Second is that you often end up with a hybrid model. Have a listen. There is likely more hope than you might be feeling right now. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share!  Mentions - Patricia's Ohhs Underwear Crystal's Blank Page Coaching Ryan's Dream Trips Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the rig

I often describe the Creative Warriors community as people who find meaning through their work. Some people are ok with doing less meaningful work because they find meaning in other areas of their life. And others, like many of my coaching clients, are transitioning out of corporate work into that of self-employed to find more meaning in what they do. There is a common concept in the business coaching world of The Magic Wand. If you could wave a magic wand and do anything in the world and do it well, what would it be? Additionally, I implore my listeners to think about not just what they would do, but why they haven’t tried to pick up that wand yet? With understanding oneself comes the burden of responsibility to actually do the thing. Which, I admit, can be terrifying. And so it is important to peel back the layers that are holding us back. Perhaps society has told you that only certain jobs are meaningful or that you have to be a certain way to do the work that you deeply want to do? To unpack this furth

As we move deeper into the new normal of our current pandemic-driven lives, we’re starting to see precisely how people are pivoting their careers and choices to provide as best as they can for themselves and their families. With that, we’re seeing a surge in the entrepreneurial spirit, and many are investing their time into realizing their self-employment dreams. Although it might seem like these are uncertain times, entrepreneurship is alive and well. RIght now entrepreneurship is bright and lively and increasingly inspired. So, it’s important to be clear about what it means to be an entrepreneur, how that is different from being self-employed, and to bust the myths that might cloud the entrepreneurial image. What “freedom” do entrepreneurs truly have? What are the rising groups and how can they best be supported? What age is the most successful?  To lay out these entrepreneurship myths I’ve brought on journalist, writer, and speaker, David Sax.  David Sax is the author of The Soul of an Entrepreneur: Wo

Pivoting seems to be all the rage these days. Businesses talking about pivoting in order to thrive or survive during the pandemic and subsequent impact on the economy. I propose that most small businesses and self-employed business owners do not need to make a pivot. They need to evolve instead. Listen in to understand the important difference for you and your business. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share!  Mentions - Patricia's Ohhs Underwear Crystal's Blank Page Coaching Ryan's Dream Trips Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of you

Everyone knows I love a good system. So when I came across a system for naming things, you know I had to do a deeper dive. There is so much more to finding a name than simply finding something you like. Getting the right name that matches your vision and that actually sells can be much trickier than one might think. There are a lot of components to naming things. Whether it’s thinking about the URL, the meaning, pronounceability, connotations, or social media, finding the right name can set the tone for many things surrounding your business. Does your name indicate the level of investment customers are about to make? How can your name make your product the most desirable?  To lay out a system for successfully naming your business, I’ve brought on author of The Naming Book, Brad Flowers. Brad Flowers co-founded Bullhorn, an agency that builds confident brands with language and design. He leads naming and language generation at Bullhorn. He has a degree in English literature, which he finds more useful than

Let's be realistic. When you're self-employed, there are times you work for less than your full value. In this episode, I lay out an actual, realistic process to determine how much less than your full value you should accept and when to say no. The intention is to make you feel empowered, not ashamed. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share!  Mentions - Patricia's Ohhs Underwear Crystal's Blank Page Coaching Ryan's Dream Trips Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you

One of my favorite quotes that I live by is by Jim Rohn who said, “Your level of success rarely exceeds your level of personal development.” In many ways what Jim is referring to capacity. Expanding our capacity is one thing. But taking care of our capacity is just as important.  Capacity isn’t just about doing more. Capacity is also about making space. I often tell my coaching clients, “strive to be bored.” Because when you have achieved “boredom” you have gotten to a place where you can do more by expending less energy. But in many ways building and nurturing your capacity is about doing the inner work, and I’m always looking for new ways of doing the inner work that will produce actionable results.  To show us how we can elevate ourselves by building our capacity in a variety of ways, I’ve brought on the founder and CEO of Acceleration Partners, Robert Glazer.  Robert is a global partner marketing agency and the recipient of numerous industry and company culture awards, including Glassdoor’s Employees’

In times of crisis it’s very easy to get caught up in the stress of the unknown. When emotions are running the show, it’s important to take a step back and look at data that can help clarify what your next steps should be. So, what is the research telling us about consumers right now? And how can we use that information as Self-Employed business owners? Consumers are feeling more stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed than ever before. So if we can break down the data of how people are currently consuming, we can better understand how emotions are driving purchasing, how people’s values have shifted, and, thus, how we can present what we do to realign with our customer’s new values and needs. It is possible to achieve a level of clarity through all of this, and self-employed business owners are the ones most likely to come out on top during this difficult time. To dive deeper into connecting with consumer emotions I’ve brought on researcher and author, Anne Bealle. Anne E. Beall is the CEO and founder of Beall

It’s my belief that humanity has evolved in the best way possible over all the years I’ve been in business. These days people make decisions based more on energy than logic. And so I’ve begun to wonder: have we fundamentally changed or are we the same and what has changed is simply how we talk about business? Regardless of your industry, if you can get to the core of what motivates you, you can perform more authentically. Additionally, as you begin to examine your own life's themes, you may begin to understand the themes of those around you or those you serve and can better strategize ways of connecting with them. To dive deeper into the concept of Life Themes and what drives your personality, I’ve brought on philosopher, writer and psychological researcher, John Voris.  John educates about the very things that make us tick, the roots that make for success or failure in our work, relationships and personal well-being. He earned his degree from the University of California with a degree in Philosophy. His

The most basic formula for success is the intersection of meaning and marketability. You have to connect the meaning of what you do to what the world wants. I share three amazing entrepreneurial journeys of clients I recently worked with in my Small Business Branding program. These stories will inspire you and get you thinking about your intersection of meaning and marketability. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share!  Mentions - Patricia's Ohhs Underwear Crystal's Blank Page Coaching Ryan's Dream Trips Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LI

We could all always use a little inspiration from time to time. Sometimes we seek it out. And sometimes it finds us at the just the right time we need to hear it. I consider myself intuitive and confident in my work. And yet, occasionally I stumble across some outside wisdom that reframes my perspectives in all the right ways. You just never know where the inspiration might come from. The most successful people are the ones who have the perfect balance of both grace and grit. Whether in business or in life, if you believe in what you do, do it with conviction, follow your intuition, and love the process of uncertainty, you will get to the top. Sometimes all it takes is a little reminder that we have all we need within us. We don’t have to have all the answers, but we just have to trust and go. Just start. Start anywhere. Just go out, do it, and if it doesn’t work, try something else.  To dive deeper into her beautiful wisdom, I’ve brought on author and inspiration, Joie Goodkin.   Joie’s career and civic

Some people are feeling like they are walking on eggshells, afraid to say the wrong thing. Yes, there are a lot of changes in the world and in the U.S. that require a whole new level of consciousness about what we say and write. This is particularly true in business. You interact with a lot of people, you don't want to offend anyone and because you're busy, sometimes it's hard to stay on top of every little thing you say and do. I'll explain why this is an important time for change and what you can do. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share!  Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is y

When you have the right brand, it sells itself. We’ve talked before about how far branding has come, how it no longer can start with the image and work its way inward. These days brands will be exposed very quickly if they don’t come from an authentic place. Trust-based relationships with your clients is key. Customer’s need to know that they can be honest about their needs and that they will be listened to. It starts with your brand’s lens. If you have a one-sided lens, you’re not going to be able to understand or give your clients the confidence to ask for what they need.  To dive deeper into branding intrinsically, I’ve brought on Emily Soccorsy and Justin Foster.  Emily and Justin are the founders of the intrinsic brand practice, Root + River and the co-authors of “Rooting Up: Essays on Modern Branding.” Working with heart-based leaders, they believe that all great brands are spiritual experiences. Emily and Justin are on a mission to inspire all leaders to go inward - and reframe and redefine the rol