Tim Melanson has a passion for  music and a gift for understanding technology. Soon after he started his first "real job" as a software developer, a tech sector downturn started forcing thousands of highly educated people out of work.

He turned to entrepreneurship as a backup plan. After almost a decade of building business ventures on the side, and then a little "nudge" from his company called a "layoff", he finally took the plunge and has never looked back.

Today, Tim pursues his passion of being a real life RockStar playing music several nights a week in his home town. He also combines his technical experience and strong communication skills to help entrepreneurs build "RockStar" websites. He also hosts the WorkAtHome RockStar podcast, where he interviews successful home business owners and gets their best advice for navigating the "Work From Home" experience.

In this episode, Tim Melanson tells us about…

How he got started in MLM as a cost effective way to learn sales skills and get coaching

The power of asking questions

How even your hobbies can bring value and you should asked to be paid

The huge opportunity the internet is offering musicians and other creatives to promote themselves.

As always feel free to leave your questions and comments

Melanie Beaulieu grew up dreaming of a career in the entertainment industry. From a very young age she would spend countless hours singing, playing imrov and participating in high school theater productions. When adulthood came her way, she took an administrative job in order to pay the bills. It wasn't until 6 in where she realized that life was about following your passions and doing what you were called to do. Melanie left her job and after many challenges she found a niche in the entertainment market. Diversity Booking and Entertainment's princesses and superheroes were born. She now plans to develop more interesting and fun projects with her company Diversity Booking and Entertainment.

In this episode, Melanie Beaulieu tells us about…

-Her princesses and superheroes business of creating smiles

-How she made the leap from a cubicle to being an entertainer and entrepreneur

-The need to step out of your comfort zone

-Being willing to fail and using the fear of failure to fuel your success

As always feel free to leave your questions and comments

One could say Adam Gould was destined to be on a microphone. He was to study radio broadcasting upon graduating from high school, but after receiving a full scholarship to the University of Moncton for his academic and athletic achievements in both basketball and football, he took on business administration.  Adam loves being able to share the excitement he knows firsthand with the crowd, making him one of the most engaging and genuine announcers you will ever hear.

Following his passion of ring announcing Adam already has over 100 shows under his belt, varying from boxing, MMA and Muay Thai.  On his own, Adam has produced 500+ events, including a cross-Canada tour in 2006 with urban artist Classified and Chair of the 2012 East Coast Music Awards. Adam also announced the first two seasons for the Moncton Miracles, a professional basketball team; and not only produced the 2012 Heart Truth Fashion Gala, he was the Master of Ceremonies.

Adam currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with his wife, Rebecca

You can find out more about Adam Gould as well as hear his podcast The Heavyweight Voice on his Website or Soundcloud 

In this episode, Adam Gould tells us about…

-How Adam discovered his passion for being an announcer

-How he is thankful for his parents to have thought him a good work ethic

-How Adam's business got started and deciding to end it to follow his passion

-How fast growth can be bad

-Knowing what you want and going after it

-How he connected with one of the top players in his field

-How working a "regular job" for a while doesn't mean failure

-Having the confidence in the process and that hard work will eventually pay off

As always feel free to leave your questions and comments

BIF NAKED was born in India and raised in the United States and Canada, spending many of her formative years in Winnipeg. After fronting the underground bands Gorilla Gorilla and Chrome Dog, Bif became a prominent alternative artist, performer and songwriter. Her striking image, friendly personality and powerful live performances have had her appearing in concerts and festivals around the world. She has also appeared on film and TV, on shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Bif lives in Vancouver, B.C. Follow her on Twitter @bifnaked

In this episode, Bif Naked tells us about…

-Her passion for helping people

-Her love for performing

-The importance of continually taking action

-Being willing to risk everything

-How to keep productive when you have many creative ideas

-Being flexible and going with the flow

-Telling yourself to just keep going

As always feel free to leave your questions and comments

In the hairstylist profession for over 15 years , Stéphanie Goguen has a passion for hair, whether it be in the salon , participating in hairstyling competitions or as a national portfolio artist for l'Oréal professional Canada. It is the art of hairdressing that fascinates her with its beautiful colors , sculptures, the transformations, and emotions.  All those elements are what stimulates her creativity and growth.

In this episode, Stéphanie Goguen tells us about…

Doing it for the passion and the money will come

Not trying to satisfy everyone

Her need to create and her inspirations 

The importance of listening to your clients

Critiquing your own work and getting feedback

The benefits of surrounding yourself with people that have similar goals

Stepping out of your comfort zone and conquering your fears

Investing in yourself

As always feel free to leave your questions and comments

I will resume with interviews next week but I wanted to try something this week. I feel I've already learned a lot in doing these interviews and I wanted to share some of this insight with you. 

I welcome any feedback you would have about episodes like this or the podcast in general.

In this episode. I talk about...

Defining success for yourself

The importance of taking action

Building a support network

Marc Mawhinney is on a mission to help coaches build stronger businesses!  He has a passion for entrepreneurship, having started a number of businesses in his life and growing one to 100 employees.

After becoming a coach, he saw the struggles that coaches face while trying to build their businesses, and decided to do something about it!  He launched “Natural Born Coaches”, a daily podcast where he interviews successful coaches to share their advice, and works with coaches in his “Accelerate For Clients” 1-on-1 and group programs.

Marc frequently makes media appearances and is a contributor for Entrepreneur.com.

In this episode, Marc Mawhinney tells us about...

Business coaching and how to start in the field

How he used his past failures to build resilience and current success

Not hanging on to old school mentality that internet businesses are not viable

Dealing with haters and anonymous comments

The top success indicator observed in his 400+ podcast episodes

His top productivity tip

As always feel free to leave your questions and comments

Monetizing Your Creativity is a podcast providing ongoing answers to the question: “What does it take to earn a living with your creative talents?”  The podcast focuses on the success principles common to all disciplines by interviewing producers, directors, writers, actors, editors, cinematographers, music composers, animators and more.

Monetizing Your Creativity is co-hosted by industry veterans, Fred Keating and Marvin Polis.

Fred’s four decades in the entertainment industry include producing, directing and writing for radio, television, live theatre and large public events. His 33-year relationship with the Banff World Media Festival has given him access to world-class individuals in various entertainment and related industry craft categories. Fred has also played principal roles in over 30 feature films and 55 television series.

Marvin has dedicated his 35 year career to all forms of media, on the client side and production company side of advertising, promotions, and corporate communications. He’s credited in 5,000+ projects including radio, television, video, publications, podcasts and more. In addition to being a skilled producer and interviewer, he has been a media spokesperson for several major corporations.

You can listen to Monetizing Your Creativity on iTunes, your mobile podcast app as well as on Soundcloud

In this episode Marvin and Fred tells us about...

The importance of also considering the lifestyle of the art you want to create

How volunteering can help you discover your passion as well as provide excellent networking opportunities

The role trust plays in order for one to be able to get work in a creative field

The importance of having jobs that permit you to grow your network

Being willing to be underemployed to get future opportunities

Why they started their podcast

Some of the commonalities they observed in their first 25 episodes

Doing good work today and trusting opportunities will come tomorrow

As always feel free to leave your questions and comments

Kim Ades is the president and founder of Frame of Mind Coaching and JournalEngineTM Software. Author, speaker, entrepreneur, coach,

and mother of five, Kim is recognized as one of North America's foremost

experts on performance through thought mastery. By using her unique process

of integrating online journaling in her coaching, Kim helps her highly-driven

clients to examine and shift their thinking in order to yield extraordinary results.

In this episode Kim Ades tells us about…

How her high school experiences shaped her career

How we need to follow what resonates with us to find our passion

Reasons why we procrastinate

That access to resources don't necessarily require money

How asking for mentorship is a zero risk situation

Using a journal to align your goals

How she got started in coaching others

Cory Huff helps artists quit their day jobs by teaching them how to sell their art online. He is the founder of TheAbundantArtist.com, and is also an actor, director, story teller and photographer. Cory and his wife live in Portland, Oregon with their two perfect cats.

For more information please visit The Abundant Artist Website or Facebook Page

In this episode Cory Huff tells us about...

The 3 roadblocks in making a living from your art

Finding permission to be an artist

Making art that resonates with yourself

The importance of controlling your main platform and changes happening in social media

Building up your network

How he deals with procrastination