Branding Deep Dive with Ahmed Cheema

Today we’re talking to Zain Siddiqi. Zain Siddiqi is the owner of WHEREUBEAN coffee which is a coffee shop in Phoenix, Arizona and he is the president of Traversing tradition which is an online publication dedicated to examine modernity through a Muslim Lens. 

Zain started out at Whereubean coffee by picking up some shifts as a barista and in 2020 had the opportunity to become an owner so he knows the business in and out. 

In this episode we dive deep into how to separate yourself as a small business, how to drive traffic to a brick and mortar business, getting employees bought in, reviews, and much much more. 

Key Lessons:

1. Employees at small businesses are more bought in when they see the owner’s work ethic and have a good curriculum for them to learn
2. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get your name out there - take advantage of the local scene

WHEREUBEAN COFFEE - https://www.wubcoffee.com/

Traversing Tradition - https://traversingtradition.com/ 

Today we’re talking to Fred Joyal. Fred is an entrepreneur, speaker, business advisor, and #1 Amazon Bestselling author. He co-founded the most successful dentist referral service in the country, 1-800-DENTIST, which, in his 30 years as CEO, generated over $1 billion in revenue. 
 
Fred started as an extremely shy person, too timid even to make a phone call, and transformed himself into someone who has done stand-up and improv comedy, spoken to audiences of 5,000 or more, met dozens of celebrities, and by being bold, found love, joy, passion, and success. 

In this episode we dive deep into what boldness is, how people can develop the boldness muscle, managing teams, Richard Branson, and much more. 

Key Lessons:
1. Boldness can be developed by intentional practice 
2. Lead as an influencer, not an authoritarian

Fred’s book Superbold: From Under-Confident to Charismatic in 90 Days: https://amzn.to/3IG0mWy

Fred’s website: https://fredjoyal.com/ 

Today we’re talking to Sina Port. Sina is a brand strategist who has worked with Startups, Entrepreneurs, and global Corporations on purpose-driven brand campaigns to create stand-out content and authentic communication with their customers, partners, collaborators, and communities.

She is also the host of the award-winning podcast Shared Diversity where she shares the unique experiences of women founders and entrepreneurs who use the power of diversity in business, branding, and womanhood.

In this episode we dive deep into diversity, purpose marketing, developing relationships, why it's important to build your personal brand, seeking out data to drive your decisions, and much more. 

Key Lessons:
1. You attract what you reflect - Take ownership of your brand. Don’t be afraid to share the values and the impact you want to have. This will help you attract opportunities in line with those values. 
2. Not having a following is not an excuse for not collecting data. Everyone has a community that they can seek feedback from - ask yourself what do people regularly ask me? Ask your friends what do they go to you for. Use this feedback to set your content creation or product development up for success. 

Sina's website: https://www.sinaport.com/
Sina's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sinaportofficial/

Today we’re talking to Shaahin Cheyene. Shaahin has a story that is straight out of a movie (which is in the works by the way). At 15 he created Herbal Ecstasy, then went on to be a pioneer in the vaping industry and for the past decade he’s been selling products on amazon and teaching others how to create winning products. Shaahin is a master at creating products and building businesses. 

In this episode we dive deep into wantreprenuer culture, achieving unreasonable success, separating yourself from the competition, transformational experiences, and much more. 

Key Lessons:

1. You can’t teach hunger but you can develop it through discipline and seeking discomfort
2. We hire people to execute on systems

Email Shaahin at [email protected] with the subject line “Deep Dive” to get Shaahin’s Amazon Mastery course for free. 

Shaahin’s website: fbasellercourse.com  

Shaahin’s book - Billion: How I Became King of the Thrill Pill Cult - https://amzn.to/3oUdmjK 

Shaahin’s podcast - Hack and Grow Rich: https://www.youtube.com/c/HackGrowRich 

ALIM Summer Program: https://www.alimprogram.org/summer-program.html

Today we’re talking to Ustadh Ubaydullah Evans. Ustadh Ubaydullah is the resident scholar at the American learning institute for muslims and teaches for numerous programs and organizations both in the Chicago area and nationally.

In this episode we dive deep into what shapes our perceptions, why Ustadh Ubaydullah wears the clothes he wears, what brands represent to a people, and much more. 

Key Lessons: 
1. Your judgement concerning something is really just an extension of how you conceive of that thing. How you conceive of something is really just an extension of your experience with that thing. 
2. Branding is happening whether you like it or not. The perceptions we have were carefully constructed by someone else - its important to understand and be aware of that

Today we're talking to Parthi Loganathan. Parthi is a former google product manager turned serial entrepreneur and currently is the CEO and founder of letterdrop.com

In this episode, we dive deep into the rise of product management, the importance of distribution, collecting data for startups, and much more.

Key Lessons:

1. Distribution is becoming more important than product 
2. Startup Founders must keep an eye out for problems

Find out more about letterdrop at https://letterdrop.com/

Today we’re talking to Safwaan Mir. Safwaan has spent a lot of time thinking through and trying different career paths and he has a lot to share from the journey. He recently went through a career change from data and analytics to product management and went through the whole recruiting and interview process with several big companies. 

In this episode, we dive deep into how to set yourself apart, how to connect with people on LinkedIn, and the role that brand play on your resume. 

Key Lessons:
1. Start shooting your shot - find people in the positions you want to be in and figure out what you need to do to get there
2. Your resume gets looked at for less than 15 seconds. Having brands that are big in the industry you’re applying to on your resume will increase your perceived value in the eyes of recruiters. If you don’t have the brand names you need to employ a different marketing strategy 

Today we’re talking to Issa Ghaleb. Issa has been an athlete pretty much his whole life. He was a wrestler, he’s trained the bodybuilding route, and for the past few years he’s been an avid CrossFit athlete. He is also an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer.

In this episode, we dive deep into the perception of CrossFit, what makes CrossFit different from your average gym, building community, and some projects he’s working on. 

Key Lessons:
1. Community is about caring and investing in each individual
2. Passion only gets you so far, you need to have a plan to go with your passion

The podcast was featured as one of Feedspot’s ten best customer loyalty podcasts! Check out the full list: https://blog.feedspot.com/customer_loyalty_podcasts/

DP Knudten has worked on some of the biggest brands in the business, including Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Great Wolf Resorts, and much more. He’s the author of Nonfiction Brand - discover, craft and communicate the completely true completely you brand you already are, and co author of the best selling ROTOMA - the ROI of social media top of mind. He also hosts two podcasts with the same names as the books - the nonfiction brand podcast and the rotor podcast. 

In this episode, we dive deep into what branding is, why branding is important, how to discover your own non fiction brand, and much more.  

If you don’t know where to start with your personal brand or you feel like you have to tell a bunch of fake stories to build your brand, this episode is a must listen.  

Key Lessons:
1. Understand and communicate who you are, what you do, how you do it
2. At networking events, find open C formations and avoid closed circles

DP's website: https://dpknudten.com/

Abdul Mannan and Ahmed Cheema reflect back on key lessons from all podcast episodes in 2021.