Entrepreneur Escape Pod

Laura Valvasori is a Marketing Foundations Strategist & Mentor for Entrepreneurs, the owner of Good to Grow Marketing, and the author of Good to Grow. She has spent over 20 years helping businesses reach their goals through practical, strategic marketing. In 2020, Laura began diving deep into mindset work and found that it had a profoundly positive impact on her and her business. This helped inspire her to write her upcoming book, Good to Grow: Cultivate Your Mindset and Habits to Thrive as an Entrepreneur. In this episode, Laura share's the story of her entrepreneurial journey with us. We also dive deep into mindset work and Laura's book. Laura's goal for this book is to serve as a source of support for women in the early days of their entrepreneurial journey. Laura noticed there are a lot of resources available to help people with practical aspects of starting a business, but there weren't a lot of books available to help people cultivate the right mindset for entrepreneurial success. Laura's book is filled with a ton of helpful tips, stories and resources to help you cultivate a mindset for success. I highly recommend Laura's book, it's been a fascinating read so far! You can pre-order a copy of Laura's book today through the link below! 

Pre-Order Good to Grow: www.goodtogrowbook.ca

Good To Grow Marketing Website: www.goodtogrowmarketing.ca

Good To Grow Instagram: @goodtogrowmarketing

Laura's Instagram: @lvalvasori

Good To Grow Marketing Facebook: Good to Grow Marketing

Laura's LinkedIn: Laura Valvasori

Melissa's Website: melissarittenhouse.co

Melissa's Instagram: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa's TikTok: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa's LinkedIn: Melissa Rittenhouse

Marika Therrien is a jewelry designer, flower preservation artist and the owner of Blossom and Love. Blossom and Love is the name of Marika's jewelry brand and e-commerce store that specializes in flower preservation jewelry pieces. Marika started creating jewelry in 2020 during the pandemic and in the last two years has turned her hobby into a growing e-commerce business. Marika's mission is to help plant and flower lovers feel feminine and inspired through accessories that make them feel like the most authentic versions of themselves. In this episode, we discuss when Marika started making jewelry and what made her realize she could turn her hobby into a business. We also discuss the benefits of selling at local markets and some of the differences between selling to customers in-person and selling to customers online. We talk about Markia's recent 30-day challenge where she challenged herself to create a new piece of jewelry everyday and live-streamed the process on her Instagram. We also discuss branding and social media growth and what Markia has learned with her brand's social media growth. Last but not least we discuss networking and how it's been beneficial for Marika and her brand, Blossom and Love. If you're someone who is thinking of starting your own fashion or jewelry brand this is the perfect episode for you! I hope you enjoy my interview with Marika and check out her jewelry pieces on her website below!

Blossom and Love Website: https://www.blossomandlove.com/

Blossom and Love Instagram: @blossom.and.love

Blossom and Love TikTok: @blossom.and.love

Melissa's Website: https://melissarittenhouse.co/

Melissa's Instagram: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa's TikTok: @melissa_rittenhouse

Taylor Speegle and Dylan Stroud are managing partners at Wondour Inc., a global strategic design and innovation firm specializing in Metaverse technology. In this episode, we discuss how Wondour started and how Taylor and Dylan became involved with the company. We also dive deep into what The Metaverse is, what Metaverse technology is and how The Metaverse is different from Web3. We also discuss many of the projects Wondour is working on in regards to virtual reality software and hardware. This includes software projects such as StreamPad and Waffles two different types of VR networking software. As well as, a VR planetarium and space project they hope to work with NASA on. 

We also dive deep into innovative hardware projects Wondour is working on such as Project Archery variable display glasses and VisionAid. VisionAid is a groundbreaking project that may allow people with compromised vision to live more free and independent lives. You do not want to miss hearing about this! I hope you guys enjoy this episode! I know you will! Please check out Wondour's website and social media channels below. Thanks and enjoy this episode!

Wondour's Website: https://www.wondour.com/

Wondour's Instagram: @wondourofficial

Wondour's LinkedIn: Wondour Inc

Taylor Speegle's LinkedIn

Dylan Stroud's LinkedIn

Melissa's Website: https://melissarittenhouse.co/

Melissa's Instagram: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa's TikTok: @melissa_rittenhouse

Christi Cooper is the CEO, designer and creative strategist behind Cooper & Heart Creative. Christi has 22+ years design experience and a special focus on the online marketing space. She helps coaches, service-providers, and course creators level up their brands with beautiful, conversion-focused sales pages and websites they love to share

In this episode, we discuss what inspired Christi to go from working at an agency to starting her own design business and what she did to take her business from a side hustle to a six-figure business. Christi shares with us her thoughts on what makes a website effective, her four principles of design that sell as well as the key differences between a website and sales page and how to understand which would work best for your business. We also discuss Christi’s signature VIP day offer, how it increased her productivity and what the offer consists of. I hope you guys enjoy this episode and don’t forget to check out Christi’s website and social media pages below!

Cooper & Heart Creative: cooperandheart.com

I Heart Templates: ihearttemplates.com

Christi’s Instagram: @cooperandheart

Christi’s Facebook: Cooper & Heart Creative

Christi’s LinkedIn: Christi Cooper

Melissa’s Instagram: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa’s TikTok: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa's LinkedIn: Melissa Rittenhouse

Melissa’s Website: melissarittenhouse.co 

Elena Loredana is a professional makeup artist, photographer and creative director. She's worked as a make up artist for over a decade and has had her photos published in People Magazine, Woman Magazine, HuffPost, Beautylish and more. She started her business, Lights Camera Glow, in 2020 which offers Elena's services as a creative director, make-up artist, photographer and teacher. She has also launched an amazing eye shadow palette through her business, Lights Camera Glow, that I highly recommend adding to your make-up collection. In this episode, we discuss what is was like for Elena growing up in Romania, her early career as a make-up artist, the inspiration behind her business and more! 

Check out Lights Camera Glow's website as well as all of their social media pages and don't forget to pick up the Lights Camera Glow eye shadow palette as well! Enjoy the episode!

Lights Camera Glow Eye Shadow Palette: https://www.lightscameraglow.com/p/shop.html

Lights Camera Glow Website:https://www.lightscameraglow.com/

Lights Camera Glow Instagram: @lightscameraglow

Lights Camera Glow TikTok: @lightscameraglow

Lights Camera Glow Facebook: Lights Camera Glow

Lights Camera Glow YouTube: Lights Camera Glow Las Vegas

Elena’s Instagram: @elenna.loredana

Melissa’s Instagram: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa’s TikTok: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa’s Twitter: @Virtual_Melissa

Melissa’s Website: https://www.melissarittenhouse.co/

Hazel June is a digital product creator, coach and the creator of Virtual Classroom LLC. With over a decade of experience as a corporate trainer, Hazel has transformed her passion for teaching into her own online coaching and service-based business. Hazel is an expert on how to turn services into scalable products. She has worked with several service-based business and online business owners, coaching them on how to create digital products for their online store as well as courses where they can share their expertise. 

In this episode, we discuss what inspired Hazel to start her business, Virtual Classroom. We discuss how service-based business owners will benefit from creating their own digital products and what kinds of products they can create. We also dive into the difference between courses that are more passive and self-led and courses that are more interactive and offer more of a community and access to the instructor. If you're interested in creating digital products or leading your own course this episode is for you! Don't forget to check out Hazel's website and social media pages below! I hope you enjoy this episode!

Hazel's Website: https://hazeljune.com/

Hazel's Facebook: Hazel June

Hazel's Instagram: @amhazeljune

Hazel's Podcast: You're A Badass

Melissa's Instagram: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa's TikTok: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa's Website: https://melissarittenhouse.co/ 

James Hsu is the CEO and Executive Producer of VRLU, an innovative streaming platform that provides educational, entertaining content utilizing cutting-edge VR-360-technology. It is the most prominent personal-development virtual reality platform in the world and, in less than two years, entered the top 1% of VR content creators globally.

Sometimes known as "Hsuperman," James is a renowned entrepreneur, motivational speaker, life coach, and author of the highly-acclaimed books "Mobilizing People" and "How to Eat Your Way to a Six-Figure Income." In 2021, Las Vegas Weekly and Greenspun Media named him a Top 40 Under 40, an award that celebrates trailblazers who are outstanding innovators, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists. He was also recently the nominee for the Top Tech Of the Year Award, The Cox Innovation Award, And the Community Exemplary Award at the 2021 Cox Business Top Tech Awards.

In this episode, we dive into James's entrepreneurial journey and the power of networking. We also discuss the Metaverse, what it is and what role VR plays in it. We also discuss the future of NFTSs, Web3 and crypto. James tells us more about is upcoming Wondour Workshop happening on July 16th, 1pm - 3pm in Las Vegas. This workshop will feature a panel of speakers discussing the Metaverse and how businesses can position themselves to be successful in this new space. If you're interested in attending this event please see more details below. I hope you enjoy my interview with James Hsu. 

Wondour Workshop: July 16th, 1pm - 3pm - Text "MELISSA" to 702-602-8802 for more details and to register for the event. 

For updates on James's speaking events, movie premieres and more text 702-602-8802.

James's Instagram: @hsumjames

James's Facebook: @TheOfficialJamesHsu

James's Twitter: @HsuMJames

VRLU's Instagram: @officialvrlu

VRLU's YouTube: Official VRLU

VRLU's Website: https://www.vrlu.com/ 

"How to Eat Your Way to a Six-Figure Income"

"Mobilizing People"

Melissa's Instagram: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa's Website: https://melissarittenhouse.co/

Melissa's TikTok: @melissa_rittenhouse

Thanks for tuning into the second solo episode of Entrepreneur Escape Pod! In this episode, I share with you my thoughts on how the podcast is going so far, how I met some of my guests and what I want to do with the podcast moving forward. 

I also share with you my thoughts on what the experts are saying about a possible recession. Is a recession looming or not? How will a possible recession effect the unemployment rate and labor shortage? Are there industries that are still facing a labor shortage or will more hiring freezes and layoffs occur? Which demographics are out of the workforce and will they return? What does a recession mean for remote workers? Will employers demand their workers return to the office if there is a recession? How will this impact entrepreneurs, content creators, eCommerce and online businesses? I will also share my thoughts on what you can do to in order to prepare for a possible recession. I touch base on all of these questions and more in this episode of the podcast. 

Also don't forget to check out my website as well as my web designer, Shannon Payne, and leave a review!

Web Developer Shannon Payne's Website: https://shannonpayne.com.au/

Web Developer Shannon Payne's Instagram: @shannonpayne.au

Melissa Rittenhouse's Website: https://melissarittenhouse.co/ 

Melissa Rittenhouse's Instagram: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa Rittenhouse's TikTok: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa Rittenhouse's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-rittenhouse/ 

Heather Marianna is the CEO of two natural skincare and beauty brands, Beauty Kitchen and Marianna Naturals. Beauty Kitchen was formed in 2012 and started to take off with the launch of Heather’s Beauty Kitchen YouTube series. Over the years, Beauty Kitchen has grown from its start in Heather’s kitchen to a multi-million dollar business. Heather has appeared on hundreds of news segments, talk shows and popular reality programs showcasing Beauty Kitchen’s incredible natural skincare products. Her products have been sold by over 3,000 retailers and featured at many prestigious award shows. In addition to running her own business, Heather coaches many new entrepreneurs with up and coming skincare and beauty brands. She offers a variety of beauty brand coaching packages, online courses and downloadable workbooks available on the Beauty Brand Coaching website. Heather is also hosting a free masterclass on how to build a beauty brand on July 30th, 2022 so make sure you follow her on Instagram for more details! I hope you enjoy this interview with Heather Marianna! 

Beauty Kitchen’s Website: https://beautykitchen.net/ 

Beauty Brand Coaching Website: https://www.beautybrandcoaching.com/ 

Marianna Naturals (For Shipping In Canada): https://marianna.ca/ 

Heather Marianna’s Instagram: @heathermarianna 

Beauty Brand Coaching’s Instagram: @beautybrandcoaching 

Beauty Kitchen’s Instagram: @beautykitchenjunkie 

Heather Marianna’s Twitter: @HeatherMarianna 

Heather Marianna’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeatherMarianna 

Melissa’s Instagram: @melissa_rittenhouse 

Melissa’s TikTok: @melissa_rittenhouse 

Melissa’s Twitter: @Virtual_Melissa 

Melissa’s Website: https://melissarittenhouse.co/ 

Laura Madden is a stylist, sustainable fashion advocate, artist and influencer. Laura was always a fashion lover. After watching the documentary True Cost in 2015, Laura’s perspective on the fashion industry shifted and she became passionate about sustainable fashion. She challenged herself to only shop at second hand stores and was offered a job as a personal shopper at a thrift store in Minneapolis. Laura learned that she could help others enhance their self-esteem by styling their wardrobe while still shopping sustainably. Laura has built a career for herself as a stylist and fashion blogger focused on sustainable fashion. She’s also an artist who has exhibited at several art shows and art galleries across the country. She’s currently having a summer sales event for some of her pieces that you can find on her website. If you’re someone who loves art, fashion and sustainability this is the perfect episode for you!

Laura’s Instagram: @ReFashionedArt + @iamlauramadden

Laura’s Websites: iamlauramadden.com + shop.iamlauramadden.com

Laura’s Summer Sale Event: https://shop.iamlauramadden.com/summer-sale-event

Melissa’s Instagram: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa’s TikTok: @melissa_rittenhouse

Melissa’s Website: https://www.melissarittenhouse.co/