Sending love and admiration to Betsy Taggart and Monica Corrado this Mother's Day, and remembering Monica's mom, Marilyn.

I'm surrounded by courageous role models who were determined to find their own path and be true to themselves. They've been through extreme difficulties and have become positive movers and shakers in their communities.

#gratefulformom #gratefulformysweetie #honoringthosewhonurture

Self-sabotage comes in a variety of packages. We creative people can find ten thousand ways to avoid letting people know what we've made. Why?

In this Coffee Break, Franklin Taggart delves into his own mystery around this question.  The intent and the inspiration came from a pure place. They weren't self-serving or vain in nature. They were made to enhance the lives of others. Why does this feel so risky?

Ego is a slippery critter for something that is no more than a construct of the mind. Finding ways to release our resistance seems to be the step after we finish something we've invested with heart and soul.

I've been going through it, too. And so have several other coaches, consultants, and helping professionals I know. The courage isn't in the creating, it's in the revealing. That's when we feel most vulnerable. But what is really at stake?

#egotrips #innerchildactingup #helloresistance

Most photography studios use traditional marketing methods to book one session at a time. Their communication channels are crowded with competition, and they often have to resort to deep discounting to land new clients. Pro Pet Photog's Monique Renee Eckes took a class that challenged that way of thinking and doing business.

In that class, she was inspired to publish a locally-focused book about places people take their dogs in Northern Colorado, and NoCo for Doggos was born. In this episode, Monique shares the story of how this idea developed and how it led to filling 34 photo sessions in just a few days.

When she needed to promote her professional videography services to busy veterinary offices, she wondered how she would find and get in front of the people who were making decisions about marketing those services. They were difficult to find online, so channels like YouTube and even LinkedIn didn't prove to be effective. So Monique had a simple idea to promote her services using video, but offline.

Monique also shares about her adventures on YouTube, rebranding and building her Pro Pet Photog channel, and starting a new channel, Cattail Chronicles with her husband, Steve that is growing rapidly and has given him a reason to retire from his corporate job.

Learn more:

https://SilverPawStudio.com

https://www.youtube.com/c/SilverPawStudioFortCollins

https://www.propetphotog.com/

https://www.youtube.com/c/CattailChronicles

If you enjoy the show, please subscribe, review, and share! Your Own Best Company with Franklin Taggart is a podcast of encouragement and support for people who love to work alone.

#creativemarketing #petphotography #northerncolorado

Attending a high school jazz band concert tonight with my son brought back memories of mentors who have been brought into my life at those times when I didn't know who I was or what I could contribute. They had a vision of me that I couldn't see for myself, and they held it for me until I could take it all on myself.

I can't imagine what my life would be like now if I hadn't met each of them at the exact times that I did. My hope is to be that for others now. I'm amazed to find that even at this age, I'm still discovering new mentors for myself.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

Thanks to my gap fillers. Gratitude doesn't seem to be enough.

#mentorship #identitycrisis #weareeachothersangels

May 4th, 2022 - Star Wars Day. 

I missed the theatrical run and didn't see any of the Star Wars movies until Return of the Jedi, but I've been a fan of the Alliance ever since. Darth Vader genuinely scared me and I was driven mad when he revealed his relationship to Luke and Leia.

In a testimonial a few years ago, a client of mine said this, "Franklin is like Yoda, only taller and less green." High compliment! So much so that it was the tagline on my business card for a few years.

I believe humans have extraordinary capabilities wrapped up in things we take for granted and both use and misuse every day. In this Coffee Break I talk about these ordinary extraordinary powers and ask us all to start using them with more resolve and intent. 

I'm excited to see where you all take this one.

#starwars #yoda #maythefourth

I've been online since 1995. I've seen all kinds of platforms come and go, from Usenet groups to AOL and Yahoo groups, to MySpace, to every iteration of Facebook and Twitter. I'm late to the Instagram and Pinterest game, and I was possessed by the recent success my friend Meridith Grundei has had on TikTok to just take a look.

Social media platforms haven't been easy places to build and maintain good quality relationships for the most part. They change too frequently and they seem to benefit by staying more than moderately chaotic. I participate in a few groups where great conversations happen, but other than those, I'd rather spend time elsewhere.

I think we need to build our communities so that they're social media proof. I'm not convinced that email is the answer but in the midst of all the commotion, there are pockets of great communities that would be good no matter where they showed up. The Interact Community is the one I mentioned in the Coffee Break.

Interact quizzes are spectacular tools for a growing number of marketing and business applications, but the software is complemented by an outstanding community of teachers, designers, and users who keep showing up to help each other succeed. The community is only open to people who subscribe to the service so if you're curious, use my affiliate link to join, thanks. https://interact.grsm.io/jboh69i54xwj See what I mean for yourself.

One last caution. Don't write a course about a social media platform. It will be obsolete before you publish it.

Thanks for being here!

#socialmediahype #realcommunity #isthismarketing

Friends don't let friends write weak elevator pitches. No matter how good they are, they can always be better. 

In this Coffee Break, Franklin has some hints that will help your introductions have a more memorable and valuable impact and lead to a natural next step in your relationships with potential clients and customers.

Not included in the video - don't use the word "help." There are ten thousand better and stronger and more sensory words to use than that. Try teach, lead, guide, instruct, coach, prod, poke, lasso... anything besides help.

If you want to schedule an IdeaBurst session, get in touch through my website, https://franklintaggart.com. This session is specifically for creating a targeted message for a specific situation you have coming up, like a new networking group, a sales pitch, or any other setting where you need to leave a positive lasting impression. Talk soon...

#elevatorpitch #ditchthepitch #getintheirheads

When I inquire more deeply into the question of what I need, I find that the list of things I truly need is relatively small. The list of things I've convinced myself I need is longer than my life will allow. And there are things I say I need, but they're just means of getting something I really need.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs identified a few layers of gradually more sophisticated needs, but beyond the bottom layer of core physical survival, I wonder if each successive layer might not actually be necessary.

Advertisers and marketers constantly play these survival needs, convincing us that our face cream is the difference between being accepted or shunned by our social group. If we look more deeply at our social needs, it may be that what we believe we need is more of a player than what we actually need.

See what happens when I make my video early on a Sunday before making my coffee...

I'd like to help you start, finish, and launch the creative passion project you've been waiting to do. https://forms.gle/nrTXBBah6wgc3xAd6

#psychology #spiritualawakening #humanneeds

Do you have enough time to work on your dream creative project? What other commitments, responsibilities, and distractions keep you from getting started and finished? 

For many of us, the frustration of working on our projects only sporadically keeps us from seeing them through. I've experienced that on many of my projects. 

My first and only CD took over two years to finish, from when the first song was written until the release concert. During that time, I moved three times and changed jobs twice, and a week before the release concert, 9/11 happened.

How any of our projects ever get finished is miraculous, especially with the busyness of life. 

My clients manage full-time jobs, parenting, mental health challenges, personal tragedies, and more. Finding time to create is not at the top of the list for many of them, but they are getting it done.

People hire me to help them start, finish, and launch their creative passion projects. Together, we've created and launched blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, online courses, coaching programs, social media content, books, quizzes, websites, events, businesses, and more. 

I help them test concepts, develop strategies, build production systems, plan schedules, make weekly action lists, and stay on task through weekly coaching calls. Working with me shortens the time and avoids common challenges and distractions of trying to figure it all out for themselves.

Ready to start? Get in touch here: https://forms.gle/5TG55sHuMoJzY6UL6

Personal development insights from season 1 guests of Your Own Best Company - a podcast for people who love to work alone.

Thanks for watching and listening! Please subscribe, review, and share if you've enjoyed the show. And please get in touch with comments and suggestions!