Courage & Clarity

Ever find yourself at a cocktail party, mingling with some new people and you're waiting for it... the dreaded question... you know it's coming, and yet you already know you'll clam up when it does:"So, what do you do?"Yep, me too. And if you've ever felt yourself tripping over how to explain your work & your vision, especially to ideal customers, you'll love today's episode with business clarity coach, TEDx speaker and fellow podcaster, Adria DeCorte. 

"What the heck should my brand look and feel like? What sets me apart? How do I show up in a sea of noise?"These are questions I hear a lot, and this week on the show Kaye Putnam is here to help us out in a major way.Kaye is a psychology-driven brand strategist for entrepreneurs. She helps business builders create drool-worthy brands that really underscore a core message. And bonus, she's got awesome free content on unlocking your brand advantage!In the courage part of the episode, Kaye shares her awkward start to online business and how trying to be "like everyone else" got her nowhere fast. Then in the the clarity part, she shares three exercises that all of us can dive into to uncover brand clarity. We're talking about attracting ideal clients and the importance of repeling bad fit ones.IN THE COURAGE PART, YOU'LL HEAR: Kaye's business and how she earns her livingWhat she does on a daily basis when working with clientsHer story and how she got to where she is right nowHow psychology fits in her businessThe story behind the awkward start of her online businessHow she reconciles all of the advice she gets from people- Developing her own tool to identify brand archetypes for herself & her audienceAND THEN IN CLARITY, WE'RE TALKING:Three exercises to achieve brand clarity...1. Identifying your primary and secondary archetype2. ”I believe" exercise3. ”Flip the script" exercise 

Today I'm delighted to welcome the lovely and courageous Lauree Oftrofsky to the show!Lauree is a coach for the A+ type student. She helps people figure out how to actually enjoy the process instead of saving all the good feelings when the goal has been achieved. What a concept, right?!In the courage part, Lauree admits that right when she thought she had her life plan totally locked down (literally, hours before she planned to go into her job and QUIT), her world was turned upside down: the persistent ear infection that wouldn't go away actually wasn't an ear infection after all.It was a brain tumor. In the episode we dig into the wild and scary ride that followed, which includes brain surgery, lots of days recovering in the ICU and the unexpected yet powerful lesson that came from a little tube designed to drain fluid from her head. I was on the edge of my seat with this one, and I know you'll love it too! Then, in the Clarity portion, we're diving into Lauree's top tips for having fun on the way to our goals, rather than waiting to cross the finish line before celebrating. 

Believe me when I say that every single time I welcome a guest onto the show, I feel thrilled. But there's just something about today's guest, my new friend (& soul sister?) Cathy Heller, that created an oh so special conversation here.... and I just know you will love it. Cathy is the host of "Don't Keep Your Day Job", a podcast that's topped the iTunes charts (we're talking "right up there with Oprah" status). She's had guests like Jenna Fischer from The Office, Seth Godin and ... me!In addition to running a podcast that rocks, Cathy is a successful singer who writes music for television & movies. We talk about how she moved to LA with a dream of "making it big", American Idol, rubbing elbows with movie stars, receiving checks in the mail and looking up at the sky like "is this real?" You gotta hear it all from Cathy. Now that she's built a successful business in which she teaches others about music licensing, she's now working on a new course designed to help people turn their passions into profits. And that's exactly what she's teaching us in the clarity episode! 

If you're here, I'm guessing you could use a little more courage in your life -- and who among us isn't interested in feeling courageous?! That's why I love this week's conversation so much.Meet Amy Smith, the sassy, lovely and hilarious life coach over at The Joy Junkie. In this episode, we hear all about Amy's winding path to entrepreneurship -- which might involve belting out a Kelly Clarkson song alone in her car with tears rolling down her face...She also shares 5 real, practical ways to live from a place of courage instead of making decisions that are fear-based. So if you're so ready and excited to build your business but can't stop bumping up against fear at the same time, strap in -- this episode with Amy is for you.In the Courage half, you'll hear: All about Amy's business & how she earns her living How she finds people who struggle when it comes to standing up for themselvesOvercoming anxiety and fear, and some ideas about the "how"Her message to people who are confused & unsettledThen in the Clarity portion, we get into: 5 days to lead from a place of courage instead of fearChanging the idea that we need to be fearlessAwareness (and the NAC method)Hyper vigilance around your self-talkGetting rid of any unnecessary fear triggersSurrounding yourself with "fear-optimized" allies

So you want to start a podcast, blog or YouTube channel, but there's just one problem... You're starting from absolute scratch, and NO ONE knows you online. How are you supposed to get people to actually listen, read or watch?!This week on the show I've got Harriet Morris. In addition to having a lovely accent that you could listen to all day long, she's here to tell you how she went from nobody, to 40,000 podcast downloads in a few short months with ZERO marketing. I've gotten to know Harriet over the years a member of Fizzle, and I've loved her progression. She describes herself as "the eating coach" and she's got a podcast called The Eating Coach Podcast.She empowers her clients to achieve a 95% drop in binge eating without feeling deprived or bad about themselves, and she helped her clients make sugar addiction a thing of the past. Harriet shares her journey and how her lessons from intuitive eating actually apply to business (which is totally fascinating!)Then, we'll get into the four guidelines for creating a podcast or any kind of content online when you're an absolute nobody.IN THE COURAGE HALF, YOU'LL HEAR:Harriet's business, how she earns her living & how she became the eating coachThe lessons from food we can all relate to life & business How she's learned that detachment from results actually creates results  AND THEN IN THE CLARITY PORTION, WE GET INTO: Four guidelines for creating a successful podcast (or content of any kind!) even when no one knows who you are, including: Serving your own needs by serving your audienceDeciding if you are a content creator or a content curator Making it easy for listeners to consume your showThe key to to epic content: real connection"You don't need to be better to be anyone else, you just need to be different." -Sally Hogshead

Okay, so I'm willing to bet that at this point you've heard about "mastermind groups", and that you should totally be in one. {Psst, I made you a pretty little free guide to go with this episode! Go grab it here before you listen: courageandclarity.com/mastermind}A mastermind group is a crew of roughly 4-8 business building peers who meet online or in person on a regular basis for accountability, insight and direction. And when you're in a good one, it totally rocks. But um... how exactly do you find a great group? A great mastermind group doesn't have to be harder to find than the Loch Ness Monster or a boyfriend who will actually watch The Bachelor with you. There's to connect with amazing people online in a way that might change your life, and today we're talking about exactly that -- PLUS 6 huge mistakes I've seen in the formation of groups, and how to avoid them. I've had two personal experiences with amazing mastermind groups -- one online that's been meeting regularly for over a year, and one recent retreat in person in NYC -- so you'll hear all about how I found them and what made them work. On top of that, we've now done two rounds of Mastermind Group pairing over at Fizzle. I've been at the helm when it came to pairing the groups together, and I've seen a lot of different results -- some groups never got off the ground, and others created business besties. Wanna know what makes or breaks a mastermind group? You gotta tune in to the episode. But first, grab your guide so you don't have to take any notes! 

What does it take to build a stunning brand and create a food blog empire? This week, I'm thrilled we have my dear friend Dana Shultz of Minimalist Baker to help us find out! Dana is the creator and founder of Minimalist Baker, an amazing website dedicated to simple vegan cooking with recipes requiring 10 ingredients or less, 1 bowl, or 30 minutes or less to prepare. She's also an author, and I've got her cookbook proudly displayed in my kitchen -- it rocks!We're talking about Dana's story, diving deep into the inner workings of Minimalist Baker. We're rewinding the tapes to her first attempt at blogging, a more general website dedicated to her interests and everyday life.Though her first blog didn't get much traction, Dana noticed the popularity of her food-focused blog posts.She decided to get laser focused, fusing her recipe creating and food photography skills to craft a crisp, clear brand with beautiful & compelling imagery.  Minimalist Baker has garnered a colossal following with a published cookbook to go with it, and Dana didn't just get lucky or stumble upon the right idea on accident. Her approach to branding is her secret sauce, and it's one we can all learn from: an excellent mashup of simplicity, dedication, discipline and authenticity. In the Courage half, you'll hear:All about Minimalist Baker and how Dana & her husband / partner in crime (John) earn their living with the site How she got here, and the roadblocks along the way A peek into the lessons and pivots that led to Minimalist Baker's wildfire successAnd then in the Clarity part, we're talkin':Specific mistakes Dana made with her first blog, and what she sees so clearly in looking backHow a brand can evolve over time without turning an audience off The power of a truly compelling mission statement, why you need to write one and how to do itWhat to do if your message feels murky -- how to find your core and use it to attract eager readersWhat makes a truly excellent brand, and how each of us can strengthen ours "People don't have time to figure out what you do, you have to be really really clear about what you do.""I don't think that you have to be the best at something, you just have to be interesting, value-adding and consistent."

This week on the show I'm welcoming Erin Kelly, Co-Founder of MemberVault! Erin spills all the beans about MemberVault, an amazing software that helps entrepreneurs deliver and sell content. Even better, the platform makes courses more fun to complete by making it feel like more of a game, complete with badges and opportunity to unlock new content. Not only is Erin a savvy Co-Founder, but she runs the company with her husband from an RV with a toddler in the mix!In the Courage episode, she shares her path to Membervault and what it's like to truly live as a digital nomad.  Then, in the Clarity part, she dishes up 3 awesome, fun, easy and simple ways to boost engagement and identify your hottest leads. In the Courage episode you'll hear: Erin's background as an Online Business Management (OBM), what it's like to run an OBM business, and how it differs from a VA businessDealing with resistance and learning to take steps when you're stuck All about MemberVault -- what it is, and how she and her husband started itA peek into the life of a digital nomad -- the pros, cons, and how to make aligned decisions like deciding to stop traveling full-time And in the Clarity portion, you'll hear: 3 awesome, fun, easy and simply ways to boost engagement and identify your hottest leads How personalized content works, and some suggestions for incorporating it into your businessWhat it means to "gamify", and why this is the hot content trend we all need to know about The importance of tracking potential customer behavior, identifying easy opportunities to convert them into paid members 

How do you quadruple an email list in 30 days, attract nearly 1,000 challenge participants, and launch a course with 250 participants?After tons of trial and error last year, 2018 got off to a fast start for me. And today, I'm seriously stoked so spill ALL the details. Ready to go behind the scenes with me?!IN THIS SOLOCAST EPISODE YOU'RE GETTING A BACKSTAGE PASS, INCLUDING: My process for creating a new opt-in lead magnet that quadrupled my list in 30 daysHow I decided to host the Most Productive Week Ever 5 Day Challenge, and my favorite free resource for learning how How I got nearly 1,000 people to participate (<-- wildest dreams over here!)Exactly what I did on each day of the challenge -- mini-lessons, email series & going liveLeveraging the challenge audience to create a funnel for my Goals That Stick course Facts, figures, numbers, results -- all the things we nosy business nerds want to hear!