In this episode of Creative Friction, we welcome Ryan Paul Gibson.  Ryan shares his background in B2B sales and marketing, specifically in the franchise industry, where research played a crucial role. He shares his hands-on approach to gathering customer insights and how it influenced his marketing strategies, business development, and operations. Tune in to hear more about his journey and the lessons he learned along the way.

Listen in as we speak about:

• Ways customer research drives business success
• The customer journey 
• How to uncover customer pain points
• Agile research methods with AI

And much, much, more!

Also — check out Ryan's incredible resource, The Definitive List of B2B Customer Interview Questions, as a way to start bringing more qualitative research into your creative work.

Connect with Ryan:

LinkedIn

Website 

Connect with Your Hosts:

The Meade Company 

Jeff Meade

Fearless Foundry

Madeline Reeves

Thank you for listening to Creative Friction! Please leave us a rating and review if you enjoyed the show. If you want to learn more about Fearless Foundry or The Meade Company, visit our websites!

Creative Friction is a podcast for creatives and agency owners seeking honest and practical guidance on how to grow their business. Tune in for new episodes the first Friday of the month!

All audio and video recordings are owned by Madeline Reeves and Jeff Meade, recorded live every other Friday on LinkedIn, and are released once a month. Music is by Premium Beats.

In this episode of Creative Friction, Madeline and Jeff discuss the struggles that many agencies are facing in terms of generating new customers and the slow process of closing deals. They attribute this to the current economic climate and clients' hesitation to spend money on marketing. They also highlight the challenges faced by tech-related agencies and offer suggestions on how to stand out and differentiate yourself in the market.

Listen in as we speak about:

• How to build a strong sales pipeline
• The benefits of specialization 
• Effective outreach through research studies
• Why you need a marketing plan

And much, much, more!

Connect with Your Hosts:

The Meade Company 

Jeff Meade

Fearless Foundry

Madeline Reeves

Thank you for listening to Creative Friction! Please leave us a rating and review if you enjoyed the show. If you want to learn more about Fearless Foundry or The Meade Company, visit our websites!

Creative Friction is a podcast for creatives and agency owners seeking honest and practical guidance on how to grow their business. Tune in for new episodes the first Friday of the month!

All audio and video recordings are owned by Madeline Reeves and Jeff Meade, recorded live every other Friday on LinkedIn, and are released once a month. Music is by Premium Beats.

In this episode, Madeline and Jeff speak with Maribel Lara of the Sasha Group, discussing how to effectively support small business clients in developing their online presence through social media. We talk about the daily routine and week-to-week tasks involved in work, and challenges faced by clients who expect the agency to handle everything. Maribel emphasizes the need for collaboration, strategy, and a focus on the clients target audience rather than just increasing follower counts. 

Listen in as we speak about:

• Supporting small businesses through social media
• How to empower small businesses
• The importance of aligning with the right clients

And much, much, more!

Connect with Maribel Lara: 

LinkedIn

The Sasha Group Website 

Connect with Your Hosts:

The Meade Company 

Jeff Meade

Fearless Foundry

Madeline Reeves

Thank you for listening to Creative Friction! Please leave us a rating and review if you enjoyed the show. If you want to learn more about Fearless Foundry or The Meade Company, visit our websites!

Creative Friction is a podcast for creatives and agency owners seeking honest and practical guidance on how to grow their business. Tune in for new episodes the first Friday of the month!

All audio and video recordings are owned by Madeline Reeves and Jeff Meade, recorded live every other Friday on LinkedIn, and are released once a month. Music is by Premium Beats.

In this episode of Creative Friction, Madeline and Jeff dive into the topic of Pride Month and the increasing corporatization and monetization of the LGBTQ+ community. They discuss the performative marketing strategies employed by brands during this time and the pushback from queer individuals. Join the conversation as they explore the challenges faced by creative entrepreneurs in staying true to their roots while navigating the commercialization of Pride.

Listen in as we speak about:

• Rainbow Washing in Pride Marketing
• How Corporations can support the LGBTQ+ Community
• Why we need to evaluate actions, not just words
• Why brands must evolve with consumers

And much, much, more!

Connect with Your Hosts:

The Meade Company 

Jeff Meade

Fearless Foundry

Madeline Reeves

Thank you for listening to Creative Friction! Please leave us a rating and review if you enjoyed the show. If you want to learn more about Fearless Foundry or The Meade Company, visit our websites!

Creative Friction is a podcast for creatives and agency owners seeking honest and practical guidance on how to grow their business. Tune in for new episodes the first Friday of the month!

All audio and video recordings are owned by Madeline Reeves and Jeff Meade, recorded live every other Friday on LinkedIn, and are released once a month. Music is by Premium Beats.

Many creatives wish to control their own destiny, to strike out on their own and start their own business. In theory, this often sounds like a dream scenario, but in reality, most people are scared to leave their day job in pursuit of something new. 

However, for the few that do take the leap forward and stick with it long term, we’ve found that there are certain skills and experiences they possess that lead to success. Entrepreneurship certainly isn’t for everyone, especially if you are going down the path of being a solopreneur in the beginning stages.

In today’s episode, we are joined by Jasmine Childress, founder of Eight Thirty Seven, a creative and technology agency that specializes in working with women-led companies to build strong brand pillars and online experiences. Listen in as we pull back the curtain on setting boundaries and expectations with clients, how to handle slow seasons, and what it takes to be successful as a creative solopreneur,

Listen in as we speak about:

• Prospecting for new clients
• Developing relationships with other creatives
• Building up your confidence in your creative abilities over time
• The courage it takes to raise your prices and how necessary this is

And much, much, more!

Connect with Jasmine Childress: 

LinkedIn

Eight Thirty Seven Studio Website

Connect with Your Hosts:

The Meade Company 

Jeff Meade

Fearless Foundry

Madeline Reeves

Thank you for listening to Creative Friction! Please leave us a rating and review if you enjoyed the show. If you want to learn more about Fearless Foundry or The Meade Company, visit our websites!

Creative Friction is a podcast for creatives and agency owners seeking honest and practical guidance on how to grow their business. Tune in for new episodes the first Friday of the month!

All audio and video recordings are owned by Madeline Reeves and Jeff Meade, recorded live every other Friday on LinkedIn, and are released once a month. Music is by Premium Beats.

If you grew up in America, you’re accustomed to entrepreneurial success stories left and right. You knew that if you worked hard and buckled down, you would be given your opportunities. But this isn’t the experience many people who grow up outside of the United States face.

Carrying unique insight and culture outside of the common lens, entrepreneurs coming into the United States can bring a fresh perspective to the companies they join and get off the ground. The challenge is, many people don’t even know that they can have opportunities outside of their lived experience. But with opportunity, also comes challenges.

In today’s episode, we are joined by Ari Krzyzek, CEO at Chykalophia, a creative technology agency that specializes in working with women-led companies to build strong brand pillars and online experiences. We discuss what it takes to grow an impact-oriented agency from the ground up, how to go about identifying and establishing a niche, and the importance of making giving back a core part of your mission as a marketing leader. 

Listen in as we speak about:

• What it takes to grow an impact-oriented agency from the ground up
• How to go about identifying and establishing a niche
• The importance of making giving back a core part of your mission
• The challenges and triumphs of being an Asian woman in leadership

And much, much, more!

Connect with Ari Krzyzek: 

LinkedIn

Chykalophia Website

Connect with Your Hosts:

The Meade Company 

Jeff Meade

Fearless Foundry

Madeline Reeves

Thank you for listening to Creative Friction! Please leave us a rating and review if you enjoyed the show. If you want to learn more about Fearless Foundry or The Meade Company, visit our websites!

Creative Friction is a podcast for creatives and agency owners seeking honest and practical guidance on how to grow their business. Tune in for new episodes the first Friday of the month!

All audio and video recordings are owned by Madeline Reeves and Jeff Meade, recorded live every other Friday on LinkedIn, and are released once a month. Music is by Premium Beats.

Welcome back to Creative Friction! This week we were joined by Dominique Broadway to talk about how to use event based and experiential marketing as a way to grow your brand and create community. 

Dominique Broadway, is a provocative, financial literacy trailblazer on a mission to make wealth attainable for anyone. As an award-winning personal finance expert, speaker, and the founder of Finances Demystified, she has a strong passion for working with young professionals, entrepreneurs, and people of all ages to bring their Dreams2Reality. 

In this episode, we cover:
- Dominique’s first steps into the event industry, and how she branded herself by marketing to herself 
- Dominique’s decision to purchase an events production company coming off the heels of a global pandemic, and how she is cultivating community after a period of isolation
- Dominique’s new book, The Wealth Decision, and the branding decisions she made to represent the truest version of herself and Black women everywhere

If you want to learn more about Dominique and her work, you can find her on Instagram, visit her website, and check out her podcasts, True Wealth Conversations and We Have Options. You can also follow Finances Demystified on Instagram, and check out their website to work with Dominique and her team. Dominique will also be releasing a new book, The Wealth Decision, which is available for pre-sale now and will be released May 30th!

Ad segment info: Relay is a no-fee, online business banking and money management platform that helps small businesses take control of their cash flow and get crystal clear on what they’re earning, spending, and saving. We love how dedicated Relay is to helping small business owners understand exactly how much they’re earning, spending, and saving. Check out Relay by visiting creativefriction.com/relay and apply for an account in less than 10 minutes.  

This episode of Creative Friction was produced by Fina Valenzuela.

Thank you for listening to Creative Friction! Please leave us a rating and review if you enjoyed the show. If you want to learn more about Fearless Foundry or The Meade Company, visit our websites!

Creative Friction is a podcast for creatives and agency owners seeking honest and practical guidance on how to grow their business. Tune in for new episodes the first Friday of the month!

All audio and video recordings are owned by Madeline Reeves and Jeff Meade, recorded live every other Friday on LinkedIn, and are released once a month. Music is by Premium Beats.

Welcome back to Creative Friction! This week we chatted about the importance of hiring slow and firing quick. 

Layoffs are happening all over the place, folks are looking for side work, and agencies are likely going to be in high demand in the coming months, which means you may need to grow your team to support growing work loads.

One of the common mistakes we have seen many agency owners make, including ourselves, is hiring too quickly for the sake of fulfilling contracts - and that can have a massive impact on your agency culture and your profitability. We’ve learned a lot of lessons about hiring the hard way, and want to share what we know so other people don’t face the same struggles.

In this episode, we cover: 

- What does it truly mean to hire slow?
- What are the consequences of not firing people who should be let go?
- What steps can you take to find good employees?

Madeline also talks about her Mastermind Community Figure 8 and her 1:1 coaching opportunities! Her April 2023 cohort has launched, but you can check out Fearless Foundry's website for information on the upcoming cohort. You can learn more about booking a coaching session with Madeline here. 

And Jeff mentions his profitability workshop for agencies! He will be launching that live in April! You can follow Jeff on LinkedIn and visit The Meade Company to learn more. 

Ad segment info: Relay is a no-fee, online business banking and money management platform that helps small businesses take control of their cash flow and get crystal clear on what they’re earning, spending, and saving. We love how dedicated Relay is to helping small business owners understand exactly how much they’re earning, spending, and saving. Check out Relay by visiting creativefriction.com/relay and apply for an account in less than 10 minutes.
 
This episode of Creative Friction was produced by Fina Valenzuela.

Thank you for listening to Creative Friction! Please leave us a rating and review if you enjoyed the show. If you want to learn more about Fearless Foundry or The Meade Company, visit our websites!

Creative Friction is a podcast for creatives and agency owners seeking honest and practical guidance on how to grow their business. Tune in for new episodes the first Friday of the month!

All audio and video recordings are owned by Madeline Reeves and Jeff Meade, recorded live every other Friday on LinkedIn, and are released once a month. Music is by Premium Beats.

Welcome back to Creative Friction! This week we chatted about why we’re celebrating Women’s History Month differently this year. When we started this show, we committed ourselves to honestly addressing vital topics that we didn’t see being addressed enough in the marketing space. 

This year in particular, Women’s History Month feels really heavy. There are SO many areas where it feels like support for women is going backward, making many of us feel like the “celebration” of women is hollow and disingenuous. We decided to dive deep into all of the necessary steps and resources needed to create lasting equity, and systematic change. 

In this episode we cover:
 
- Why we need to push for social policies that actually create gender equity
- Why marketers shouldn’t “pink it and shrink it”
- What it means to show up, support, and become accomplices in the celebration of women

We also mentioned a few resources to aid you this month in celebrating women and truly becoming accomplices, not just allies. One of those resources is the Grapevine Giving Circle, “Women Fighting For Women’s Rights,” led by our own Madeline Reeves! This group supports nonprofits that are addressing inequality and fighting for reproductive rights. 

Madeline also mentioned Luminary’s annual Women’s History Month Summit, hosted in New York on March 9th! This event will kick off WMH and is aimed to uplift, up-skill, and propel women forward in their professional journeys. Madeline will be hosting office hours and would love to see you there!

This episode of Creative Friction was produced by Fina Valenzuela.

Thank you for listening to Creative Friction! Please leave us a rating and review if you enjoyed the show. If you want to learn more about Fearless Foundry or The Meade Company, visit our websites!

Creative Friction is a podcast for creatives and agency owners seeking honest and practical guidance on how to grow their business. Tune in for new episodes the first Friday of the month!

All audio and video recordings are owned by Madeline Reeves and Jeff Meade, recorded live every other Friday on LinkedIn, and are released once a month. Music is by Premium Beats.

Welcome back to Creative Friction! This week we chatted about all things software audits! A software audit is helpful to review all the software being used in your marketing agency. The audit is designed to identify software overlap and determine which tools are still relevant to accomplish agency goals. 

In this episode we cover:

- What to ask when auditing your tech stack
- Why we believe this area has became such a blindspot for agency owners 
- When you should conduct a tech stack audit

We know people avoid the word “audit” with a 10 foot pole, but having something to audit means your business has likely grown. To make sure you're not overspending in the wrong areas, you’ll need to drop the 10 foot pole, take a deep breath, and consider conducting an audit. 

To help you do so, we wanted to provide you a software audit template. Our hope is this tool lessens the stress of a tech audit and helps give you a sense of empowerment when it comes to your business operations and finances.

This episode of Creative Friction was produced by Fina Valenzuela.

Thank you for listening to Creative Friction! Please leave us a rating and review if you enjoyed the show. If you want to learn more about Fearless Foundry or The Meade Company, visit our websites!

Creative Friction is a podcast for creatives and agency owners seeking honest and practical guidance on how to grow their business. Tune in for new episodes the first Friday of the month!

All audio and video recordings are owned by Madeline Reeves and Jeff Meade, recorded live every other Friday on LinkedIn, and are released once a month. Music is by Premium Beats.