Christina Talks Podcast

Christina has been working in a marketing role with recruiters with businesses since 2013, and she has found time and time again that clients, before coming to her, have been ripped off. In this episode, Christina talks about the misconceptions around cost, automation and technology in marketing services and what can be done to challenge this.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Part of the problem is people often have the incorrect preconception that the cost of getting marketing or web design is a lot. So then when they are quoted high amounts they don’t question it.
• The more tech you have when it comes to marketing activity, the more things you have to consider and think about.
• If you ask for help, people will always want to help you. However, be mindful of where you get your advice from. Go to people you deem to be an expert on the subject you are asking for help about.

BEST MOMENTS

01:01 “It’s heart-breaking because they hadn’t come to me first, they went to someone locally instead of looking for someone in their niche”
02:52 “Don’t over-tech it”
05:55 “We should only be investing in it when we actually need it”
07:06 “Be really mindful of actually what advice you are taking on board where, everyone’s got a motive”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

https://www.green-umbrella.biz/the-4ps-of-personal-branding/

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

“If you’re not growing your dying, you’ve got life in you, you’ve got soul in you, who says you can’t take over the world”

Jessen James gained financial freedom at just 31 and was a millionaire 2 years later. Listen in to this episode to hear Jessen and Christina delve deep into Jessen’s journey to entrepreneurship, why he has such passion for people and how we all have the capability to create impact and change in not just our own life, but each other’s too.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Jessen grew up in East London, his parents always worked hard and provided the best they could but they were far from being rich. Jess felt like he stuck out as he was not only bullied for having hand me downs and cheaper clothes but also because of the colour of his skin. Sadly at the time he resented his parents, he realises now that they were doing the best they could but it sparked that desire of wanting more and being resourceful. He started his first business at 11 years old.
• A big turning point in Jess’ entrepreneurial career was when he was 15. He walked into a phone shop and convinced the owner to let him sell accessories at school to his peers. They sold extremely but he only got a small cut, at the time he was unhappy but he understands now that the shop owner was taking the risk and creating the supply.
• Jess went on to study at university but it wasn’t for him. He got a job in a locked psychiatric hospital. At just 19 this was incredibly difficult but it made him discover how much compassion and love he had for other human beings. He wanted to become a psychiatric nurse and so that’s what he did and qualified in 2004 and worked in the private sector, going onto becoming the youngest ward manager in the UK.
• As a ward manager in the private sector he was given sales targets. He made a lot of money but in the recession, was let go which he found challenging at the time but now realises it was meant to happen. It made him want to work for himself so he then launched his own healthcare company. When he found the business was bringing him too much stress, he put systems and people in place so he could be more hands off. It then led him to being financial free at 31 and Millionaire soon after at 33.
• There is poverty on our own doorstep in the UK. It made Jess want to do something to help, this is what made him start the group Billion Lives Change. He wanted to use his experience and knowledge in mental health to help people during lockdown and it has only grown since then.
• Community is so important. No matter what you do for a living or what stage you are at in your life, you need support with other people outside of your immediate friends and family.
• Give yourself permission to live a life your business funds. So many entrepreneurs don’t let go of their business due to guilt, imposter syndrome or anxiety. But what is it all for if you can’t live the life you want? You don’t need to feel guilt, anyone has the choice to create the life they want.
• Jessen’s mission in life is all about creating impact in others’ lives and helping them in any way he can. The world needs more people like Jessen, it’s a blessing to have this drive and although there are downsides, he wouldn’t change who he is for the world. He wants to and needs to share the gifts and blessings he has been given.
  
  

BEST MOMENTS

03:45 “What it sparked in that 7 year old boy, was the desire for more and the desire for resourcefulness”

06:45“He or she who brings the most value to any equation gets paid the most”

16:50 “What I do know is people are going to start suffering soon…how can I use all my skills to help people?”

21:22 “You need to be part of a community, you need to have that support outside your immediate family”

41:11 “You know what, I did the best with the resources and the opportunities that I had to create this life that I’ve got right now and I left an impact"

41:33 “If you’re not growing you’re dying… you’ve got life in you, you’ve got soul in you, who says you can’t take over the world”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

https://www.green-umbrella.biz/the-4ps-of-personal-branding/

ABOUT THE GUEST

Jessen James

@jessenjames_official

https://www.jessenjames.com

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

Christina wanted to speak to you all and own up to something. When it comes to bullying, Christina is worried that in the past she may have sometimes been part of the problem. Listen in to find out why and what changes she is making to be actively anti-bullying. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In the online world we have a lot of trolls, haters etc and it makes people frightened of putting themselves out there. They don’t want to have to deal with this negativity.
• In the past, Christina has talked about how you have to embrace the negativity and trolls online. But she now realises this is in part because she is a strong person. Looking at it from a different perspective, she can understand why it would worry and upset other people more.
• Christina is now promising to stop encouraging this kind of behaviour and be there for anyone who needs help or support for the negativity they get online.
  
  

BEST MOMENTS

01:30  “Social is great, it’s awesome, embrace the haters and trolls”

02:52 “I’m offering my help to you, if we speak regularly or if we’ve never spoken before, reach out and I will do whatever I can to help and support you in that situation”

03:40 “We shouldn’t be wearing it as a badge of pride”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

https://www.green-umbrella.biz/the-4ps-of-personal-branding/

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

James Ellis produces an astounding amount of valuable content around marketing and recruitment, specialising in employer branding. In this episode, Christina talks with James about the journey of employer branding, why it’s so important, and what we can all learn from it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• James recognised that most marketing it is the same: recognise your market, understand what you offer, figure out your channels, measure and adjust. However, employer marketing is different, the goal is quality not quantity. You are just looking for that one right person, anything else is waste. This is why he loves what he does and has so much passion for it.
• Employment branding began in the 90s in the UK, it was a leap forward at the time but stalled in the US as was very ad based. It isn’t new but the industry is getting better at it, still deciding what the next steps are and what 'great' looks like, so it can often still ‘feel new’.
• We have a lot of examples of what employer branding shouldn’t be, but not much in the way of examples of best practice and what it should be.
• It’s drummed into us that we have a product or service brand and a personal brand yet not many people talk about their employer brand. This needs more focus. The best brands are the ones where the employer brand is done well and this in turn supports and creates a better consumer brand.
• Employer Branders generally have either marketing or recruitment experience but they must learn to speak both languages to be truly effective. Understanding the importance and relevance of both areas.
• By introducing the downsides of a job/company to a candidate, you introduce more realism to the positives you outline at the same time. You are providing them with the whole truth which makes everything feel more authentic and allows candidates to make a better decision.
• People think about employer branding when it is too late. They only think about it after they start having recruitment problems.
• Marketing is about telling a story and employer branding is no different. It’s important to recognise that you should tell this story multiple times reaching your audience at as many touch points as possible. 
• It’s imperative to remember that there is no workplace or brand that everyone wants to work for. It’s not about that, it’s about finding the right fit, for them and for the brand.

BEST MOMENTS

08:06 “Employer branding, it’s kinda like therapy, when you do it really well, it’s really saying what is the company all about?”

13:05 “The best brands, are the ones when the employer brand when done well, supports the consumer brand”

21:42 “Knowing your audience and knowing what you care about, tightening that message, that’s where the real value comes in, that allows for that transparency, that allows for authenticity”

24:44 “Every good marketer knows you can’t tell a story once and assume anybody heard it at all, let alone believed it”

32:04 “The why reason I love employer brand, the biggest one, is because it’s always challenging”

39:01 “There is no universal place where everybody loves working here, it doesn’t work that way, it’s about where do I fit”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

https://www.green-umbrella.biz/the-4ps-of-personal-branding/

ABOUT THE GUEST

James Ellis

Before falling in love with the art and craft of employer branding, James Ellis was a digital marketer with 15 years of experience learning how audiences think and behave online. He has taken those skills and become one of employer brand’s leading voices, developing and activating dozens of brands of every size, running The Talent Cast podcast for more than four years, writing the Employer Brand Headlines newsletter and writing for a number of industry publications. His mission is to evolve the conversation around recruiting and hiring and to support that mission, he has recently published two books: The Employer Brand Handbook and Talent Chooses You. He lives in Chicago with his wife and daughter

Twitter: @TheWarForTalentLinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/thewarfortalentNewsletter: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/employerbrandnewsWebsite: http://employerbrand.news

Books: http://employerbrandbook.com

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

Vulnerability isn't something that is talked about enough in business, but in this episode, Christina opens up about a recent example of her vulnerability when attending an Empire Builders event. She explains how it made her feel, how she found strength in it and demonstrates how it can create space to grow and develop yourself as well as help those around you.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Expert empires are an event and mastermind company who help people scale their business and grow their success.
• When Christina first signed up to one of their events, she felt a bit vulnerable as she wasn’t already in the existing community. She could see on the event facebook page that there was a lot of people who already knew each other.
• Christina decided to reach out and put a post up online, introducing herself and being honest about being new to the community, to make herself approachable before she arrived at the event. She wanted to be 'in' on the excitement that she was seeing and try and build some relationships before attending.
• In doing this, she inadvertently helped others. Many people commented on her post introducing themselves too, including other newbies and people that knew who she was but she didn't know them!
• There will be times where you can't control everything, however in most circumstances there is always something you can do. Always try and consider this when you are feeling overwhelmed. Not only can it make you feel more in control but it can also help improve the situation and give you focus on what you can control.
• We all know we should ask for help when we need it but it’s very hard to do in practice, but because Christina was open about her vulnerability, it then allowed others who were in the same situation to benefit.
• Being resilient is important but you still should allow yourself to be vulnerable. It's those moments of high stress and high vulnerability that build you as a person.

BEST MOMENTS

04:30 “You’ve got to think what can I do to shift things, what can I do to take control of this situation”

05:37 " The more comments I got the more vulnerable I began to feel"

07:12 -  I think part of what makes me strong is my vulnerability, being open in that way”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

https://www.green-umbrella.biz/the-4ps-of-personal-branding/

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

One year on from the creation of the Christina Talks Podcast, Christina reflects on the past year; what she has learnt, the highs, the challenges as well as her favourite guests!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

-Christina really has to manage herself to ensure she remains consistent in podcasting, there have been times where she has had to miss a couple of episodes but generally she has managed to keep on top of it. Going forward she is going to relax more on the structure of the podcast so she can ensure she gets an episode out every week no matter what!

-Although Christina provides value and great content in her podcast, ultimately she started it for her and that’s what she still reminds herself of a year on. 

-Christina has had some great guests over the past year, it was difficult sometimes to stay focused when she was so excited to interview guests as well as listening to some very difficult and emotional stories.

-Having the right people around you is key to success. Christina has many thanks to those around her that have supported her in building and creating her podcast, including her close team as well as the Progressive Media Agency (https://progressivesuccess.co.uk/events/podcast-media-academy/ )

BEST MOMENTS

02:44 - “The great thing about podcasts is that they’re yours”

11:34 - “It was a lesson in resilience and the things I learnt about negotiation, I think that was the episode so far, from a business owner perspective, that’s the one you could really learn a lot from”

 17:07 - I love the whole brand around the Christina Talks Podcast”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://progressivesuccess.co.uk/events/podcast-media-academy/

Christina Talks Podcast

https://www.green-umbrella.biz/the-4ps-of-personal-branding/

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

Christina has been asked many times if a personal brand is needed. Being asked this can be irritating simply because it isn’t a choice; everyone has their own personal brand. However, the choice you make is whether you are going to leverage it and put the work in to make it work for you.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• For some people having a personal brand works. It can depend a lot on personality and what you are comfortable with sharing and how you share this information.
• Something key to keep in mind when working with your personal brand is how you are going to ensure you stay true to yourself and your values when intertwining yourself so much with your business.
• Consistency and persistence is key when building your personal brand. Everything you do contributes to the strength and the weight of your personal brand.
  
  

BEST MOMENTS

03:07 “We might end up compromising ourselves sometimes”

03:45 “Ultimately you have a personal brand the choice is not whether or not to have one, but whether or not to leverage it”

12:26 “Results from this are not achieved overnight”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

https://www.green-umbrella.biz/the-4ps-of-personal-branding/

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

In this episode, Christina speaks to Phil Burgess. Phil has been working in the I.T industry for 27 years, has a keen interest in personal development, business acquisition and runs his own successful podcast the I.T Career Energizer!

Sign Up For Jessens' Webinar Here: https://bit.ly/jessenct

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The speed and range of change in the technology world since Phil started his career has been vast. There are things we are reliant on now such as streaming and smart phones that hadn’t even been considered in the 1990’s.
  
  

BEST MOMENTS

03:19 “You have to evolve, you have to change you have to learn”

16:54 “The dynamics have changed, now it’s more about looking after your own career so people have to take more ownership rather than relying on the organisation they work for to give them direction”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

When you are creating a business, people will tell you that you need to think about your ‘mission’, ‘your why’ and your values’. This was trickier for Christina as she came into her business as an employee and then took the business over. Green Umbrella definitely have shared values but they have never been written down so Christina wanted to take some time to share her process in thinking and defining these.

Sign Up For Jessens' Webinar Here: https://bit.ly/jessenct

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• If you haven’t taken time to think about your company values and someone asks you the question it can be a little daunting. Take some time and work out a process of defining them as well as figuring out if they are coming across in your messaging; to employees, clients and on social media.
  
  

BEST MOMENTS

03:42: “Sometimes you may feel like your grabbing at buzzwords a little bit”

08:35: “Have you ever talked to someone and though oh wow what they’re doing has such an impact and I want to be part of that”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

In this episode, Christina is joined by property investor, coach, speaker and fellow podcaster Toni Gargan!

A few episodes back Christina talked about how there are not enough female speakers on the circuit and so she wanted to have this discussion with Toni and share their thoughts, and ideas, with you all on the Christina Talks podcast!

Sign Up For Jessens' Webinar Here: https://bit.ly/jessenct

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website