Creative Warriors

What if I said doing business in the selfie age is a good thing? Well, I think it is. But not in the way you might be thinking. Listen and learn how your customer's "selfishness" is an opportunity for your business. How customers are empowered today like they never have been before. Why you want to understand this concept to build a business that speaks to your ideal customers, allows them to create the experiences they want, and to know what is most convenient for THEM. 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. If you want to apply to be a guest on Creative Warriors Talking Stick, CLICK HERE. Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching 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 Y

Pricing for creative services has always been a difficult topic. As creative entrepreneurs, we often feel embarrassed about charging a high amount for our work. We’ll set rate based on time spent or put a fixed package rate up on our website. As a result, we often undervalue our services. The prices you set shouldn’t be based on the cost of the input or the market value of the deliverables. They should be based on the value that you’re adding to the client and also the risk that you’re taking on. At the end of the day, value comes down to a feeling and what people are willing to pay for that feeling. Services are either a productized business (pursuing scale) or a customized services business (pursuing quality). If you’re not a productized business, you need to stop pricing yourself as such. You can reserve the right to charge different clients based on how they value your business. Bring the same creativity you use in your work to your business model. To dive deeper into this concept, I’ve brought on an expe

In the worlds of personal development, motivation, and positive thinking, were are usually encouraged to move forward. While that is likely the goal, maybe we have to first get frustrated enough about what we want to move away from in order to fully commit to where we want to go. A compelling topic and I look forward to hearing your perspective! 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. If you want to apply to be a guest on Creative Warriors Talking Stick, CLICK HERE. Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching 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 and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal

Entrepreneurs know the power of word of mouth, but not many of us put strategies in place to utilize it. We use the same, tired strategies of discount codes for referring friends or a BOGO sale to bring in new customers. Research shows that one out of two products are purchased because of word of mouth, but still we leave it up to hope or the chance that something will go viral. Instead, you can learn what your customers want and create something remarkable that they’ll need to tell their friends about- Talk Triggers. Talk Triggers are strategic operational differentiators done on purpose that create conversation and bring you new customers. They are not a coupon or a contest, and they differ from “Surprise and Delight” tactics. They are something that you do for every customer, every day. You can look at companies with successful Talk Triggers (Cheesecake Factory and their large menu, Double Tree and their cookies) and work backwards to see how the arrived at their end result and how that could be repeatable

Are there things you’ve always wanted to do, but you keep making excuses not to? Well, there’s only one thing holding you back. It’s a four letter word that starts with an “f”: fear. A lot of times, this fear keeps us from ever truly knowing what we will enjoy. It stops us from even attempting certain things. For example, I used to be terrified of heights. If I would look down from a high place, my stomach would drop, I would start to tremble and I kept myself from experience anything that had to do with heights. One day I went rock climbing with a group, with the goal of overcoming a fear. When it came time to repel down the cliff, it was the most amazing experience. I had so much fun, and such a great time falling. I never would have known this was something I truly enjoyed if I had let my fear stay in the way. Today, I have a view from the 31st floor - and I love it. To go deeper into why we can’t let fears stand in our way, and how we can let our “whys” be the reason we conquer them, I brought in an amazi

Usually on Talking Stick, we talk about business quests. Our guest today, David Galaudet, shares the story of a very different quest. A personal quest that led him on a 10,000 mile journey with his dead father's ashes. As you might imagine, there are plenty of life lessons to be learned here. All shared with a touch of humor. One highlight is our conversation about what keeps us on a quest when we really have no idea where we're going or perhaps, even why we're doing it. 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. If you want to apply to be a guest on Creative Warriors Talking Stick, CLICK HERE. Guest Contact - David's website David's book, 10,000 Miles With My Dead Father's Ashes Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is

Have you ever noticed that there are times you feel more productive during the day? Ever felt like there are certain hours when your brain just doesn’t work? Well, it’s not all in your head. We all have internal clocks that dictate our body’s functions - and your brain is no exception. We all go through three phases in a day. We have a peak phase, a trough phase, and a recovery phase. You might think that the best time to be creative is in the peak phase, but in reality you want to save that for your recovery phase. The trough phase is when you want to do all of your administrative and “mind numbing tasks”. Of course we are all different, so the timing of these phases may be completely different. They also may change throughout your life. But if you feel like your trough phase is causing problems for you - there is a secret. It’s actually called a napuccino. What you want to do is drink some coffee, then take a nap for 20 minutes. That’s about how long it takes for coffee to kick in, and the longest amount o

I absolutely love this conversation with Anne Gordon! Anne is founder of WhaleWatchingPanama.com. After years of whale watching tours, interactions with dolphins and guiding her guests to interact with these magnificent creatures, she has compiled a wealth of wisdom from whales and dolphins that we can all learn from. Consider this- whales have been on earth for 30 million years! We humans are toddlers in comparison! This is a wonderful treat! 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. If you want to apply to be a guest on Creative Warriors Talking Stick, CLICK HERE. Guest Contact - Anne's website WhaleWatchingPanama.com Spirit Dolphin Meditation Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX Linc

In today’s world companies have to be transparent - whether they like it or not. If you try to hide things, consumers will find it and use any avenue they can to exploit it. Most recently you’ve seen this from Facebook and Uber. Luckily, there’s a lot you can do to protect yourself. The first thing you need to understand is that every business will face a crisis at some point. Sometimes it’s because of an employee, sometimes it’s because of a claim that is simply not true (of which I discuss my experience in this episode.) Knowing this ahead of time means that you can take a proactive step through crisis preparedness. By having all of your ducks in a row, you can be ready for anything to come along. Know that pleading the 5th amendment doesn’t cut it anymore. Consumers will take action and a moral stance. That’s why you need to make sure you have a crisis manager on your team - and be aware that a PR person is not a crisis manager. To go into how you can protect yourself, I brought in an expert to help my Cre

What really is self-love? Is it different than self-worth? I think many of us, myself included, think we don't have an issue with self-love. Why then do we speak to ourselves, judging and criticizing ourselves, in ways that we would never speak to a friend? Joie Cheng shares her journey through suicidal thoughts to finding self-love. A journey she tells in her book, Naked Truth.  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. If you want to apply to be a guest on Creative Warriors Talking Stick, CLICK HERE. Guest Contact - Joie's website Joie's book, Naked Truth Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching 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 - 12 Must-Have Mindsets for Uncommon Entrep

Being an entrepreneur - you always hear how important it is to know your “why". The truth is, you probably have several "whys". We all do, we all have more than one goal and a purpose behind it. What can be just as important, if not even more so, is your "why not". It can be pretty simple to know what your driving force is to want to do something - but we rarely analyze what is holding is back. What is it that keeps us at a standstill? You need to know why it is that you are feeling stagnant and why your goals are still just that. Sometimes your "why not" might be internal. It may be a fear of success or a fear of instability. Other times it may be a a lack of money, resources, or strong enough network. No matter what it is, you must identify the problem. Once you’ve clarified that, then you can begin to create solutions to allow you to make progress quickly and efficiently. Just like your "why", your "why not" can change - or more may appear along your route to success. Because of that, you need to continual

I could go all Matrix on you and put your brain in a knot. But the truth is, things are as you see them because of how you perceive them to be. Is it a good day or bad day? Depends how you see it. Was that a good thing that happened or a bad thing? Depends how you look at it. That's what makes this a compelling conversation with Dr. Shawn Andrews, author of The Power of Perception. Or at least that's how I see it. 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. If you want to apply to be a guest on Creative Warriors Talking Stick, CLICK HERE. Guest Contact - Shawn's website Power of Perception Workbook Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching 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 - 1

One of the biggest problems creatives have is finding ways to get their products and services in front of an audience. A lot of people just aren’t wired for marketing. Luckily, there’s an option that will fit literally any industry you are in: podcasting. Obviously you listen to podcasts (you listen to mine) so why aren’t you on them sharing your story? There’s no quicker and easier way to get in front of an audience that aligns with you. It doesn’t cost money to guest on other people’s podcasts, and it’ll make sure all of your efforts are getting you in front of the right people. Also, if you’ve ever thought about starting your own podcast I don’t suggest diving right in. Being a host comes at a large cost, and it requires a LOT of time and devotion most people just don’t have. Fun fact, most podcasts stop after only 7 episodes. To avoid being adding to a negative statistic, being a guest is also a great way to test the waters and see if it’s really an endeavor you want to embark upon. To go further into thi

I’m sure you’ve heard the old cliche’ “Honesty is the best policy.” In fact, you’ve probably heard it so it doesn’t mean anything to you anymore. It should. When it comes to business, not being honest with your customers will harm you in the long run. Your customers can sense when something isn’t quite right, and it’ll drive them away. Even if they believe you, there will be a point when they find out you weren’t telling the truth - and it’ll be more devastating to your relationship than anything. Instead, be open and honest with your customers at every chance. They will trust and appreciate you, which means they will keep coming back every time they have a problem that you can solve. I should note, that honesty comes from more than just your words. Honesty also needs to come from the representation of your brand. This means being honest with yourself. Your branding shouldn’t appear like a luxury item when you’re trying to appeal to a wide variety of clientele. You want your customers to look at you and your

If you're in business and plan on being in business for the next several years or more, you better plan on understanding the often misunderstood millennials. They are a major buying force. From a marketing perspective, they are both predictable and unpredictable. To me, Shaun Gold embodies the millennial generation. A nightclub promoter, known as "the nightlife ninja", he's part partier and part intellect having written four books. Part carefree and part very intentional. This IS the millennial manifesto.

I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of people preach about how you need to find your niche. Although this is true, as an entrepreneur you want to make sure you find your niche. By that I mean your area of expertise. Although you want to be able to identify your audience, you don’t want to close yourself off from other business opportunities. For example, if Amazon had been called Online Books for Cheap, they would have significantly reduced their ability to pivot. A study has shown that about three quarters of all businesses make a pivot within their first two to three years, so you want to make sure you give yourself the ability to. I imagine you’re next question is, “How do I know when it’s time to pivot?” To be honest, you’ll know through analysis. Take the time to sit back, look over your business, your industry, and even do a bit of self reflection. Once you have a strong analysis, now comes the time to play. Let your creative side take over. Don’t use your stats to go to an obvious place. Use your creativity t

Story telling in business has become the "in" thing. It's a great way to tell the story of your business and why you do what you do. But let's flip this around. How about stories that create relevancy with your ideal customers? Told in the right way, stories can create a bond between you and your ideal customer. So it's not about you or your business. It's also not a story about them. It's a story of shared values and life experiences to create relevancy and build relationship.

One of the most important things you can do in this world is discover your purpose. It’s really heartbreaking when an entrepreneur spends decades building a business that’s something they don’t care about. They start to feel burned out, and are too scared to try anything else because they’ve become dependant on the income that’s been created. The good news is, you can start making sure your business’ purpose lines up with your personal purpose at any time: and the sooner the better. You do that through brand identity. This is where you explore exactly what your business is and how you communicate it to your target consumer.By knowing what you stand for, and what your company is all about allows you to make the changes you may feel are necessary. And don’t be afraid of change. It’s important in every business. The world is constantly changing, and any business that’s been around for decades has had to make changes to fit into this constantly evolving world. On this episode of Creative Warriors, I am joined by

Many people have a hard time charging what they are worth. This is often because it's easy to not see value in what comes easy to you. Your gift. Most people have no problem charging a lot for what's hard or takes up a lot of time. It's actually the other way around. What comes easy to you is likely what you should charge the most for. Mellissa Seaman will help you find your gift and work with your gift, not against it. 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. If you want to apply to be a guest on Creative Warriors Talking Stick, CLICK HERE. Guest Contact - Mellissa's website Mellissa's SoulGiftQuiz Mellissa on LinkedIn Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching 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 plea

Running a business is a lot like playing sports. Now, I’m not a big sports guy myself, but I certainly respect the passion and drive that athletes have. One of the most important things that sports does right, which a lot of businesses fall short on, is having the support from others. Entrepreneurs tend to try to do it all themselves, which in the beginning is a necessity. As your business starts to grow, though, it quickly becomes a team sport. You need to know who to have that makes up for your weakness, and who who you can pass the ball to when it’s required. More importantly, at any phase of a business (just like any athlete) a business really needs a coach. In sports there are always multiple coaches for one team, and your business should run the same way. Even in solo sports, like Tennis, athletes have coaches to make sure their game is as good as it can be - and they look for problems that the athlete may not see. You should be doing the same. A coach is a great thing to have, no matter how big your b