Tue, 13 February 2018
What’s In This Episode:Have you ever thought about how you make decisions? What is your process for making a business decision? Jill listens to her gut. If you don't have a process, can you improve? Jill throws things at the wall and sees what sticks or doesn't stick, and bases her decision and her feelings on that. "Hone the gut. Fine tune the feeling." - JillThen Jill and Brad hear back from a former guest, Nedra Rezinas, who weighs in on a previous episode. She took maternity leave and relied on her colleagues to cover her clients, and it worked out great for her. A lot of the time, business owners are afraid to take time off because they think something will go wrong; it's very much a control issue. But taking time off helps you be a better business owner. So if you're afraid of taking time off, don't be - it'll work out! "By reaching out to the experts, they may give me some things to consider that I haven't thought about." - BradJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 things to do before you make a business decision:
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Tue, 6 February 2018
What’s In This Episode:As business owners, there's one overarching thing we have to do: we have to make decisions. Big or small, there is seemingly no end to the things we have to make a call on (that's why Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs famously wore the same thing every day, so they could avoid having to decide what to wear). Sometimes, it's just exhausting. "One of the rules that I recommend is that no one can work for the family until they've worked for someone else for a few years." - BradFormer trapeze artist Hannah Sullivan and her wife Jade call into the podcast to discuss one big problem: working with family at their company, Pogo Insurance. Hannah's dad, their boss, is your typical alpha male and constantly wants to be the hero. Some of Hannah's siblings, who also work for the company, don't do their fair share of work. Overall, the ladies just want to be taken seriously. Brad says that one solution is to have regular family meetings. Establish ground rules and talk about what's going well (and not so well). If they can separate out and have Hannah's dad as a mentor or advisor, that might be the best case scenario. If not, the other solution is to work someplace else. "You can't value other people more than you value your own services." - JillJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 worst business decisions they've made:
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Tue, 30 January 2018
What’s In This Episode:If you've made it this far in sticking to your goals, you're on your way to forming a habit! Brad's goal for getting feedback is still going strong; you can help him by filling out this three-question survey. Are there things that you do every day or every week without fail? For Jill's business, she checks e-mail, social media, and checks up on Founding Mom Exchanges. Brad goes to the gym three times a week (and he tracks it using the Streaks App) and both of them are back on the no-sugar wagon. They made it six months last time; can they go a whole year? "Sometimes it's easier to create a habit. What's a small thing that you can change that leads you to that goal?" - BradHarry Duran, host of Podcast Junkies and creator of FullCast, calls to discuss his problem. He primarily gets business via referrals but wants to know how he can branch out to grow his business. Jill says that it never hurts to ask. If Harry is putting out content via newsletters and social media, he can simply ask people to work with him. Brad says he can also send out a quarterly advertising email to get the message clearly across. Harry can also reference case studies and show his audience real people who have gotten value from working with him. Additionally, since he's already getting the referrals, ask them for feedback - what made them recommend Harry in the first place? "Throw an 'ask' into everything you're doing." - JillJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 ways to build a new habit:
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Tue, 23 January 2018
What’s In This Episode:Brad's still maintaining momentum on his feedback goal. Please go here and fill out his three-question survey. He'll love you forever. So you have your goals, but the enthusiasm is waning. How do you get through it? Before he discovered the Streaks App, Brad blocked time on his calendar so that he could work on his goals. He plans around his goal. Jill's all about the accountability buddy (though she's liking the sound of that app, too!). "I like the idea of check-ins. You can't do it alone." - JillKristy Wallace, CEO of Ellevate Network, calls to ask about what the best practices are for owning your brand. She recognizes that there are similar companies out there - and she thinks that's great. But she worries that if other companies do similarly-named events but they don't have the same quality or structure, that could dilute the power of her brand. She's not coming at it from a malicious standpoint; she's just worked really hard to get Ellevate Network to where it is today. Jill's take - even though it's not legal advice - is that if Kristy isn't going to take anyone to court, there's no point to trademark or copyright anything. The whole point of trademarking something is that you want to prevent someone else from doing that thing or using that name too. Any lawyer will tell you that, of course, you need to trademark. Bigger companies have trademarks, and filing a trademark may also make you feel important. If she wants to, Jill says that Kristy can put a "TM" mark next to their brand name, meaning that they're filing for a registered trademark. Brad says that nine times out of ten, a conversation is all that's needed. Something like, "Hey, that looks awfully similar to what I've been doing. I would appreciate it if you called it something different." Additionally, he tells Kristy she can use Copyscape to check for plagiarism. Overall, Jill says, if you're worried about all of this, you're not focused on building your business. So build your business - no one's going to be able to do it as well as you can. Jill and Brad then discuss the top 5 ways to maintain your momentum:
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Tue, 16 January 2018
What’s In This Episode:Are you staying focused on what's important and avoiding the trap of being busy? Brad's trying to stay on top of his goals. In fact, he's serious about getting feedback from others (please go here and answer three questions). Jill says that busy work allows us to avoid the real things you have to do. You don't realize that you're doing busy work, really, until you step back and take a look at it. Plus, every time you get an email and your endorphins rise, it's telling you, "Oh, I'm being productive." Brad says that email, especially, is tricky. Some of it is busy work, some of it is actually important, and there's probably a lead or two. Facebook and other social media are just as bad as getting sucked into email. But it's the same thing: you're rarely going to make more money by chatting with people via Messenger. "There's a lot of busy work that we get ourselves involved in that isn't really making progress on our goals." - BradLloyd Lim calls in and talks about his writing career. He began writing nonfiction books in order to simplify complicated topics for people. Before embarking on writing, he worked for the government, and before that, he worked as a lawyer. But now, he's left the government and is working on rebranding himself. He's worked on a lot of public interest projects, but he's doing a lot of them for free. How does he start moving toward getting paid for the work that he does? Brad suggests that Lloyd narrows down his expertise into one thing that provides the most value. Jill respectfully disagrees with Brad and says to just start charging. Lloyd explains that he's thought about charging a flat fee for assessment of his clients' problems. But he still needs to identify his target market, what's the problem they have, and what's the solution that he's going to offer. "I'm a big believer in the accountability buddy." - JillJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 ways to measure progress toward your goals:
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Tue, 9 January 2018
What’s In This Episode:Brad and Jill made some goals and now they have to start working on them. It's like a clean slate! A chance to start over! What's Jill going to leave behind for the new year? She's going to try to leave behind massive impatience in her business in 2018. Some of it served her well as an entrepreneur; it even helped her build her businesses. But now, to sustain them, she needs even more patience. Brad's leaving behind social media (he's trying, anyway). He wants to make it a habit to not look at any social media when he's at home. Jill suggests just removing apps from his phone to make it easier not to check. Good luck, Brad! "Business is about trust, and if you can't follow through on your commitments, why would I do business at all?" - BradThen Brad and Jill have a last-minute guest cancellation, which leads to a discussion about commitments. What is it about commitments that people can't handle? No, it's not the first time that a guest has canceled being on the podcast, but doing so last-minute isn't very considerate. Additionally, doing so means that you miss out on other opportunities (in this case, a chance to promote and get advice!). So, for 2018... don't be that person. It makes you look bad, professionally. "Celebrate any progress, even the baby steps, because it's gonna help you move along." - JillJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 ways to make immediate progress on your goals:
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Tue, 2 January 2018
What’s In This Episode:We're welcoming 2018! Brad wants to know if Jill likes goals. She wants to know how Brad defines goals, which he does as "something that you're committing yourself to accomplish in a certain period of time". Jill hates them because she finds specific goals to be too limiting and confining. Weirdly, BRAD AGREES WITH HER. He'd get so wrapped up in his goals, he'd stop noticing that there were other things that needed his attention. But he does think goals are useful, as you utilize different actions when working toward a goal. "I personally don't think as an entrepreneur, I need goals to drive me." - JillKelley Kitley, author, TEDx presenter and founder of Serendipitous Psychotherapy, calls in for advice on how to take her business to the next level. She wants to get on national radio and TV circuits; she wants more speaking engagements. But she doesn't have the money to hire a PR/marketing person, and wonders if she's being annoying. Jill reminds her that there is no such thing as being annoying in business. It's particularly a stigma with women, but there is absolutely no limit. Brad wants to know if Kelley would be open to raising her prices; as a therapist, she needs to make more money if she's going to devote some of her time being her own PR person. People often believe that a PR person can do a better job than they would be able to, but if Kelley knows what she wants, and knows where to find them, she doesn't have to spend that expense just yet. "The thing about pricing is - we charge what we have the confidence to ask for." - BradJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 out-of-the-box goals for the year:
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Tue, 26 December 2017
What’s In This Episode:Christmas is over, but Jill's not giving up on making eggnog a year-round thing. What are the things they loved most from the holiday? Jill's still basking in the hugs from her daughters (and eggnog), while Brad's happy about the slippers he received. "If you spend all your time on your personal brand, then the business can never really move away from you." - BradEric Paul Olson, chief marketing officer for Clever Stilettos, an online magazine for women entrepreneurs, calls in to discuss his dilemma. He can't figure out what he wants to devote time to -- his personal brand or the Clever Stilettos brand. He has a team of eight people to help him run Clever Stilettos, but he runs a podcast to go along with the magazine. Furthermore, Eric's also an actor on Chicago Fire and Chicago Med, so Brad and Jill suggest that maybe he should hire someone to help him with Clever Stilettos while he focuses on acting. Jill says that hosting a podcast is great, but he needs to hand it off to the team once he's done lending his time to it. His team can promote on all sides - both the Eric Olson brand AND the Clever Stiletto brand. Brad says that some fans of Eric Olson, the actor, will be interested in the fact that he ALSO has a digital marketing interest. Basically, it comes down to knowing who your audience is and distributing content accordingly. "I want to pay more attention to my space next year. I used to care less about clutter, but I need more space now." - JillJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 non-money-driven goals for next year:
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Tue, 19 December 2017
What’s In This Episode:The end is near! The end of the year, that is. And, as the year draws to a close, Jill's in love... with a pitch. She appreciates a pitch she received via email was so personalized via audio that she could tell the person really put time and effort into it. Brad had the opposite reaction: he disliked that he had to click and figure out the message, and thought the sender could have just written things out. "Why would I listen to two minutes and thirty-six seconds of yapping?" - BradFrank Ford, author of Happy Accidents: The Transformative Power of "YES, AND" at Work and in Life, improviser, and owner of Four Day Weekend, a comedy space in Fort Worth, TX, calls in to discuss how to open up a new location. He has the opportunity to open up a second location in Dallas, but wonders how to bring the quality and the value to the new digs. Brad says to replicate exactly. Once you can get the quality up to par, then you can innovate. Secondly, he suggests that Frank doesn't have to work with entirely new staff. Transfer some over from the original location so the feel and vibe are there. Thirdly, he says that Frank can follow the example of the Blue Man Group and reconvene frequently to see what's working for best practices. Jill says face-t0-face meetings will be invaluable. And to keep structure, but don't have hard-and-fast rules. Think of SNL, she says. The structure has been carried through for decades and the brand is apparent, but everyone has done it a little differently. "Take some freakin' time off!" - JillJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 things you need to do before year end:
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Tue, 12 December 2017
What’s In This Episode:How long is a long break? In some industries, Brad says, you can take a really long time off. College professors can take sabbaticals. Some professionals can take up to three months! What does Jill think of that? Genius idea. It never hurts to give your brain a break. It's helpful every time. Could Brad take a year off? Well, he could, but he wouldn't have any income. But he's trying to incorporate some sort of sabbatical into his routine. He's going to try it and report back. Good luck, Brad! "As somebody who's taken time off, you'd have to plan in advance. But there's a way to manage it so that it's doable." - JillRuben Ocampo of Conic, an innovation consultancy, calls into the show to ask how to diversify his client base. For years, he's worked with Fortune 500 companies, but now he's looking to also work with smaller companies and non-profit organizations. He's worked really hard to market his brand, and it's finally starting to pay off. But where does he take the business from here? Brad wonders, "Well, if you were one of your clients, what would you tell them to do?" Ruben has a clear vision of where he wants to go, but he's trying to work out the path to get there. He knows that he doesn't have to focus on the little things in business (he has an employee to whom he can hand off tasks!). Ultimately, he wants to establish himself as a thought leader. The good news is that his business is doing well, so Brad suggests that if he wants to take on a business partner, he has to be careful because partnerships can be tricky. If he wants to become part of a larger company, the advantage is that he can get access to larger clients, but he needs to get to know the culture first. Find a place that will value his creativity. However, he might get the largest traction for his ultimate goal by just simply reaching out and saying that he's available for speaking and writing opportunities, and looking for possible projects to collaborate on. "Saying no to this one is saying yes to the next one that might work." - BradJill and Brad then discuss the top 5 ways to plan for a long break:
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