The Self-Employed Life

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 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 - Leap Year Course 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 at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

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. So how can we best design our spaces to spark creativity? There are some tactics that many might already know, like surrounding yourself with certain objects, scents, and sounds. But for many the design ends there. There are, however, many studies that have linked a variety of techniques to robust idea formation, and I'm thrilled to share some of these fascinating tactics with all of you Creative Warriors today. To help me dive deep into designing the best creative spaces I've brought on, architect, author, and educator, Donald Rattner. Donald helps individuals and organizations maximize their creativity by drawing on scientific research into the psychology of space. He has taught at the University of Illinois, New York Academy of Art, New York University, and Parsons School of Design. His work has been featured on CNN and in such publications as The New York Times, Work Design Magazine,and Better Humans. He holds a Bachelor's in art history from Columbia and a Masters of Architecture from Princeton. To learn how to be your own creative architect, download this episode now. THE FLEXIBILITY WARRIOR "A lot of creativity happens under the hood." - Donald Rattner Highlights - Surrogate creative spaces can be fruitful for sparking new ideas. Routinization of time and place is extremely important for creative people. The color blue stimulates idea formation. Working in a lofty, open space (or creating the illusion of one) enhances creativity. Looking back on memories can create insightful thinking and build the right positive mood for creative thinking. Great ideas often come when you are physically or mentally not at your best. Always have a notepad available for these sudden sparks of ideas. Choose curved lines over straight ones. A little bit of background noise- about 70 decimals- is optimal for idea formation. Dressing nicely can have an effect on your cognitive style. Guest Contact - Donald's Website Donald's Facebook Donald's Book: My Creative Space: How to Design Your Home to Stimulate Ideas and Spark Innovation 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! Mentions - Learn more about The Mona Lisa Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

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, health, well-being. I hope you can apply my suggestions for your optimal life. 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 - Leap Year Course 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 at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

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 only to clear out what is not working, but also to find new ways of connecting with more clients. As my guests and I often say here on Creative Warriors, business is about human connection and not just the product. But sometimes it takes a bit of thinking outside of the box, or "thinking wildly," to find the right answers. To dive deeper into thinking I've brought on author and a founding partner of The Clearing, Richard Buchanan. The Clearing was voted the UK's best branding consultancy at The Drum's Network Awards two years running. His work with brands including McLaren, Fitness First, Wimbledon and Ocado has won more than thirty industry awards, including D&AD and DBA Design Effectiveness. Richard's book Wild Thinking provides readers with the confidence to run their business differently, through unique access to thinking from the most original organizations in business today. Start thinking wildly about growing your business; download this episode now. THE HOURGLASS WARRIOR "We're humans. We're not machines." -Richard Buchanan Highlights - The brands that work go straight to the heart of a human need and provide an emotional benefit. Businesses need to pay attention to societal needs as well. Just because you've always done something, doesn't mean it's still valuable. Often, less is more. We're often too close to our own business to be objective. It's imperative to refresh thinking. There are benefits to not being perfect. Being human is important. It is important to be clear about what quality means within the context of your market. Finding the right collaborators can accelerate your business. Guest Contact - Richard's Website Richard's Twitter Richard's Book: Wild Thinking: 25 Unconventional Ideas to Grow Your Brand and Your Business 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 customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

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 businesses. What we need is a healthy, thriving entrepreneur ecosystem. 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 at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

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 level of connection. Whether it's taking care of employees or courting customers it is imperative to always strive for a higher level of connection. You've heard me say it before- in today's world the businesses that are the most successful are the ones who consider seeing people as more valuable than serving them. The more personalized the approach, the deeper the engagement. We have the access and technology to deepen engagement, now we need to learn how to use the tools rather than let the tools use us. To dive deeper into fostering impactful engagement with both customers and employees, I've brought on best-selling author and marketing strategist Amanda Slavin. As Founder & CEO of CatalystCreativ, Amanda has counseled global, national, and local organizations in planning for and achieving their branding goals. Through projects with Coca Cola, The Raiders, Google, WeWork, NPR, The Nature Conservancy, and the New York City Ballet, Amanda was featured as a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in Advertising and Marketing. She's spoken at SXSW, TED, Summit Series, and INBOUND about how The Seventh Level Engagement Framework is the future of meaningful, personal connections. To unlock your seventh level of engagement, download this episode now. THE WARRIOR OF RESILIENCE "Create a pathway for people to stay committed." -Amanda Slavin Highlights - Social Media has muddled the meaning of engagement. It has impacted our understanding of who we really are as people. Engagement is the antidote to apathy. Companies can really inspire, they just need the right tools and infrastructure to do so. Employees should be viewed as internal customers and treated the same way external customers. The Seventh Level statement will serve as your starting point and personal north star. The biggest problem in branding is the disconnect between what they think they are saying and how they are really being seen. Once the Seventh Level of engagement is reached, it is important to really take care of customers beyond a loyalty program. How can this engagement be the most personal? Guest Contact - Amanda's Website Amanda's Twitter Amanda's LinkedIn Amanda's Book: The Seventh Level: Transform Your Business Through Meaningful Engagement with Your Customers and Employees Learn more about The Seventh Level 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 customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

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 how engagement is next level customer service. 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 at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

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 the different ways having a purpose can drive a brand beyond being a marketing scheme. Consumers want to do business with companies that align with their personal values. There is nothing wrong with making a profit. The profit's purpose is to help deliver the brand's purpose in all facets of business. To dig into this idea further, I've brought on author, consultant, and professional speaker, Jeff Fromm. Jeff has keynoted more than 500 events all over the world and helps his consulting clients - including Amazon, Dairy Queen, Wingstop, and Gallo -- on leveraging consumer trends, technology and innovation. He is the co-author of three youth marketing books, dozens of research reports, and hundreds of Forbes columns. To learn how to navigate your brand's purpose and build a competitive advantage, download this episode now. THE WARRIOR OF RESTRAINT "If it's passionate for you and adjacent to the business, then it's right." - Jeff Fromm Highlights - A business' purpose should be ingrained in all facets of that business from e-mails to . In order for a purpose to be real and valuable it must be functional, emotional, and societal. There's nothing wrong with making a profit. The profit helps deliver the purpose. Don't be afraid to express your passion. There are 6 modern consumer mindsets that propel top brands: social circle, self, trust, innovation, accessibility, purpose. The mindset of self is an important component of doing business because consumers like to choose brands that align with their personal values. The best purpose driven brands look at the history of why they started. Pay attention to how you're referred. It can inform how you are viewed by your customers. Guest Contact - Jeff's Website Jeff's Twitter Jeff's Book: The Purpose Advantage: How to Unlock New Ways of Doing Business Mentions - Mod Pizza 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 customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

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 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 at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

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 more than sports or entertainment. Customers are hungry for human connection. Because of this, businesses and entrepreneurs are going back to the basics of building, connecting with, and honoring their fans. Some might even believe that nowadays cultivating relationships with their fans is more important than making sales. To dive deeper into the power of fandom I welcome back to the show my buddy, David Scott Meerman. David is an internationally acclaimed marketing strategist, entrepreneur, advisor to emerging companies, VC strategic partner, and bestselling author of 10 books. He is best known for his book "The New Rules of Marketing and PR," a perennial seller for over a decade. His latest book "Fanocracy: Turning Customers into Fans and Fans into Customers" is available now. Download this episode now to discover how your business can nurture its truest fans. THE OWN MUSIC WARRIOR "You live a better life when you're passionate about something." - David Meerman Scott Highlights - Fandom is no longer for sports and entertainment. People can become fans of their insurance companies or any business they use. Getting into physical proximity with your customers can help connect with them and build relationships. Selfies can help build emotional bonds by creating virtual proximity with developing fans. Let go of your creations. Give your fans the freedom to do what they will with your work. Passion is infectious. People want to work with passionate people. If you want to build fans, letting people talk about you is the first step. Be smart with your long term model. The idea is to develop sustainability through a passionate fan base. Guest Contact - David's Website David's Twitter David's Instagram David's Vimeo David's Book: Fanocracy: Turning Fans into Customers and Customers into Fans Learn more about Fanocracy 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 customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn