How I Broke Into: Michael Prywes Interviews Artists and Entrepreneurs About Their Big Break

This "How I Broke Into" interview is filled with stories of courage and self-discovery, and provides tremendous insight into how a global brand can result from the initial efforts of one person’s decision to forge a new path. Here are notes from the show:

Jill's love of yoga and fitness began early on. She has a love/hate relationship with business--she grew up in a solar community and her family's business was solar. She worked in the family business from a young age.

As a child, Jill was on the standard American diet, was overweight, teased, scrutinized. She discovered Jane Fonda's Workout and Raquel Welch's Yoga Program (Total Beauty and Fitness). She discovered how important a teacher, even one on video, is. But she overdid t with the videos and became anorexic.

We discussed "The Best Little Girl in the World" (1981) with Jennifer Jason Leigh (I wrongly said it starred Ally Sheedy).

Anorexia/Bulimia is the #1 cause of death in teenage girls.

For Jill, falling in love led to a path to self-love.

She started studying shiatsu while attending Northwestern University, and this led to healing.

The Coregeous Ball is part of her product line; it's a soft, grippy pliable ball meant for self-healing.

She never planned to teach. But she was inspired by her mentor Glenn Black at the Omega Institute. Shortly before 9/11, she decided to explore teaching.

She enrolled in the 200 hour Teaching Program for yoga. She felt inhibited by the rigidity of the teaching program's failure to take time for body and tissue sense. She started to change the way she taught.

Jill became known for her lateral abdominal churning--Nauli Kriya--and had an 8 page spread in Yoga Journal.

Her mother worked for JetBlue, which has a family program of flights all over the U.S. Jill offered to fly to yoga studios all over the country.

"I had balls. And now I have a ball products business."

She does compassionate cadaver labs with Gil Hedley so movement educators can see the anatomy on the inside.

Yoga Tune Up does not stay in the yoga space.

Center for Pain Rehabilitation - Mitchell Prywes, MD, Danbury, CT

Hospitals are finally embracing all parts of well-being.

Tune Up Fitness has 500 teachers worldwide.

Jill's husband Robetr is a serial entrepreneur. 6 months into dating, he came to a 3 hour core workshop and couldn't believe how fast it flew by. He said, "We need to bottle this." The collapse of her mother and step-father's business made Jill reticent to build a business.

She licenses materials and products globally.

The Roll Model is being translated into other languages.

"Self care health care."

She has shared perspective with Dr. Kelly Starrett, best-selling author Becoming a Supple Leopard and Katy Bowman, author of Move Your DNA.

She doesn't quite feel like she's arrived yet.

We discussed the school system and deskbound kids. She recommended Starrett's Deskbound: Standing Up to a Sitting World.

 I mentioned how much I enjoyed Starrett's appearance in 30 Days of Genius on Creative Live, in which he mentioned Jill.

She did programs on breath, fascia, and pre-natal fitness for Creative Live.

"We met at a time when all of us were trying to reach people."

Robert is her business backbone, loves building businesses. It's scary to go along with new initiatives.

Jill knew, in writing her first book, that she need to capture the soft-tissue soft tool market, so she did The Roll Model instead of a book on breath. That will be her second book.

She has become known as a go-to expert in the field of fascia.

She is impressed with Wim Hof's breathing method.

Her daily practice involves soft tissue self-care, walking, range-of-motion exercises. Josh Landis is a strength and conditioning coach that has been helpful.

Web sites include YogaTuneUp.com and TuneUpFitness.com.

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After practicing law for nearly 10 years, Melissa Garcia left it all behind to follow her dreams in fashion and hasn't looked back since.  Melissa spends her days making appearances as a fashion expert on shows such as the TODAY Show, The Wendy Williams Show, EXTRA or The Meredith Vieira Show to name a few; shooting segments for global network-Fashion One as their Business/Fashion Expert; writing fashion Columns for sites such as E! or Ivanka Trump or styling actors/TV personalities. Melissa embraces charity work; she was lead stylist on a charity shoot benefiting the Women's Prison Organization, is a volunteer for Dress For Success and has also offered her services for both women's and children's cancer organizations.  Her relatability, professionalism and expertise make Melissa one of the most highly sought after fashion experts in the country. Melissa lives in New York and is married to her high school sweetheart with whom she has three beautiful children.

Follow her on Snapchat @mgarciastyling Follow her on Instagram http://instagram.com/melissagarciastyling Follow her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/melissagarciastyling Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/mgarciastyling

Notes from the show:

 From an early age, Melissa loved fashion. Her grandmother knitted and crocheted and her grandfather was a tailor.

She always thought that success meant becoming a doctor or lawyer.

She almost dropped out of law school, but she doesn't consider herself a quitter.

Melissa practiced for 10 years, and hated most of it.

While she was an attorney, Melissa found that people sought her fashion advice.

Melissa's best friend, a holistic life coach, convinced her to leave law.

She started up a web site after taking an 8 week online course.

A local blogger, Amy Selling of LuluandLattes.com promoted her.

She creates a "digital lookbook" for easy repeat use from a phone.

Every woman has a different feeling about hiring a personal stylist. There is a lot of insecurity involved.

"I feel we're all given gifts that we're born with, and whether you choose to pursue them or not is up to you... What do you love to do that comes naturally and easy to you, that's not easy for everyone else? That's your gift."

Her job is to tap into each individual's personal style.

Having a supportive husband was instrumental to her success.

One of her best friends' friend is in PR, and connected Melissa. They shot a segment on an iPhone and that got her her first gig: better TV.

"I always come from a place of 'Yes.' "

"Fear: False Evidence Appearing Real."

"If you don't let fear get in the way, and you kind of take a huge chance and leap of faith and walk through the fear, amazing things happen on the other side."

The Today Show had her first appearance during a blizzard.

"My real job is when I am home."

It takes a village.

Social media keeps her in the loop.

"I've had to become comfortable in the uncomfortable."

Book recommendations:

Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success by Steve Harvey

Destiny: Step Into Your Purpose by T.D. Jakes

Discussed Life is Too Short for Miller Lite

The joys of helping clients feel beautiful

She has worked with a number of charitable organizations, including Dress for Success and Women's Prison Association.

She still works with everyday women.

Melissa wants to do more television and more charitable work.

When she left law, her family took a financial hit.

Her preference for social media platforms has shifted from Facebook to instagram to Snapchat.

"Please, take that leap of faith!"

My Dad Arnold Prywes is a true Renaissance Man. By trade, he is a physician and an inventor, but he is also an entrepreneur, a sculptor, a photographer, an architect, and a terrific father. He has been Chief of the Glaucoma Service at the Northwell Department of Ophthalmology since 1981. An Associate Clinical Professor at the Northwell-Hofstra and NYU School of Medicine, he is currently President of the New York State Ophthalmological Society and has served as President of the Long Island Ophthalmological Society, Nassau County Medical Society and Nassau Academy of Medicine. My Dad is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and Fellow and past Councilor of the  American Academy of Ophthalmology. He has also been listed in the Castle-Connolly Guide to Top Doctors for well over a decade. He has been involved in clinical care, teaching and research as founding partner of Glaucoma Consultants of Long Island and Eye Care Associates. He also holds multiple patents, one of which () is completing FDA clinical trials and is being used in Europe and Canada.

My Dad has enjoyed art (photography, ceramics, sculpture, architecture) as an avocation throughout his medical career. His more recent work has been inspired by his mentor of more than 25 years, the museum sculptor Rhoda Sherbell. His work has been exhibited at Allied Artists of America and Audubon Artists of America at the Salmagundi Club in New York City. He was also an All-City lineman for the Stuyvesant High School football team, because why not?

Brooklyn Mack is originally from South Carolina, and is a dancer with The Washington Ballet. He began his dance training at age 12 with the Pavlovich Dance School under Radenko Pavlovich and Milena Leben before receiving a scholarship to study at the Kirov Academy of Ballet. Brooklyn then apprenticed with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago and later joined American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company. Before joining The Washington Ballet, Brooklyn spent three seasons as a principal dancer with Orlando Ballet. He has performed internationally in Venezuela, Latvia, Japan, and many others. He has won many awards and medals, including the gold medal at the legendary International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria, the oldest ballet competition in the world. He was one of only three Americans ever to win. Most recently, Brooklyn was featured in Ebony Magazine, the Grio’s Top 100, and was named as a top “25 [dancers] to watch” by Dance Magazine. In 2015, Brooklyn and Misty Copeland made history at the Kennedy Center in D.C. as the first two African-American leads in a major production of Swan Lake.

Notes from the show:

Brooklyn has always danced, but discovered ballet at 12 years old.

Growing up in South Carolina, there were lots of stereotypes and misconceptions about ballet and male ballet dancers.

At an annual gala, he was blown away by the athleticism of the ballet dancers.

Brooklyn really loved football and wanted to try out. His mom wouldn't take him to tryouts. He asked her, "If you take me to tryouts, I'll take ballet lessons." His mom was shocked.

His Mom researched and decided on the Pavlovich Dance School under Radenko Pavlovich. He attended 6 days a week.

Brooklyn took two buses to class each day.

Ballet became like "wisteria."

He got a scholarship to the Kirov Academy of Ballet.

He made a pact with himself: "If you're not a soloist by the age of 21, you'll go back to school and pursue football."

He started out loving bravura roles like those in Dox Quixote and The Pirate, but then really took to more romantic roles.

"If I can move them in some way, then I don't really care what any artistic person has to say that much, because it's for the audience, first and foremost."

At the Chicago Dancing Festival in Millennium Park, there were almost 12,000 people.He felt "invincible" because of the energy he was getting from the audience.

The Bowie & Queen show at the Kennedy Center in DC came close in energy level despite the audience being one tenth the size of the Chicago show.

When Brooklyn watches a recording, he picks himself apart. It's hard for him to enjoy watching a recording.

When you have reached a certain level, you need to find someone you trust, who understands artistry, someone who is invested in you. Pavlovich is one of Brooklyn's favorite coaches to this day. "He's almost like a Dad to me."

Brooklyn performs with the Columbia Classical Ballet each year for the LifeChance International Gala of the Stars.

Brooklyn danced with Misty Copeland for the first time in 2015--and made history--in the Kennedy Center's "Swan Lake."

Brooklyn admires Misty's ambassadorship for bringing ballet to young people through her appearances in commercials such as Under Armour.

His first job was with the Joffrey Ballet.

He is very much a perfectionist.; every day is the pursuit of perfection.

The small linking steps in ballet are so important; they make a leap sparkle. Brooklyn was able to do the big "tricks" during his first year and a half, but they were very unrefined. The smaller steps and techniques refined the more showy tricks.

Winning Gold Medal at Varna was a moment of "Wow, I can't believe I did that." Everyone who has won is a legend. Being listed among them is still surreal. "Was that a dream?"

The hardest ballets, though he doesn't feel like they're hard when he's dancing, include "Romeo and Juliet" and "Swan Lake."

Adagio is uncommon for a male dancer; it is very slow and you have to control every element. "It's like the difference between 20 fast push-ups and 20 eight count push-ups."

Brooklyn usually gets into character, but he does sometimes talk to himself during a performance.

He has fallen only once during a performance, and his memory of it is priceless.

Brooklyn prepares through visualization.

He shares his physical and nutrition regimen.

Stretch! Stretch! Stretch!

Don't be discouraged if you're not the favorite--there will be a favorite and pay attention to what a teacher or coach says to the favorite.

"Shed your pride. Shed your insecurities. Just be a sponge."

"Put in the extra hours. There's always going to be someone who does something better than you. If you want to be the best, the only way to ever catch that person is to be doing more than they're doing."

Anthony Gelo is one of the hardest working DJs in New York. Anthony was born and raised in Queens, New York and has been in the DJ Entertainment business since 1994. He has performed at events ranging from Wedding Receptions, Corporate Events, Private Parties, School & Nightlife Events to working the crowd in Times Square during Fleet Week. He is a graduate of St. John’s University, where he still regularly works the crowds with expert beat matching and a vast collection of music. Anthony’s company is Good Times Productions, LLC.

Notes from the show:

Anthony got his start working in a video store, and got the opportunity to DJ his boss's teen dance party. It was a disaster. But he was hooked on DJing.

He bought entire record collections from garage sales.

He doesn't consider himself a specialist.

"When I'm playing to a crowd, I'm playing for them, not myself."

His Monday routine: download music from DJ services such as Promo Only Track Trends and Prime Cuts, and organize.

Anthony doesn't like to emcee a lot; he prefers the music to do the talking.

He switched to Serato Scratch Live (Serato DJ) in 2004.

Experience trumps a great music collection.

He thought he was going to have a career in radio.

To this day, Anthony is still very protective of his personal brand; he still considers himself "single op."

His advice to young DJs: get an all-in-one controller, learn basic beat matching, learn different types of music, how to deal with clients, how NOT to make the work about you.

Most of Anthony's clients come from referrals and online reviews.

A Yankee fan from Queens.

The difference between Brooklyn/Manhattan weddings and Long Island weddings.

What it felt like to work Times Square during Fleet Week.

How he stays healthy and builds routines.

Recommended books:

Recommended conference: DJ Times Expo

Recommended social media: Facebook

This podcast hosted by New York attorney Michael Prywes was sponsored by Prywes, PC, a law firm devoted to artists and entrepreneurs.

This podcast may contain attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Rhoda Sherbell is an American sculptor whose work has been compared to Rodin's. She has been commissioned by the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY as well as private commissions from Yogi Berra, Casey Stengel, Aaron Copland, among a host of other celebrities. Her sculptures are in the permanent collections of twenty-five museums throughout the country, including the the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the Jewish Museum, the State Museum of Connecticut, William Benton Museum of Art, and the Brooklyn Museum. She is a member of the National Academy Museum, and is on the board of the Portrait Society of America. In 1960, Rhoda was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters alongside Philip Roth and Norman Mailer. In 2013, the National Association of Women Artists awarded Ms. Sherbell as Artist of the Year, an award previously bestowed upon such luminaries of the art world as Mary Cassatt and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.

Notes from the show:

She grew up going to Brooklyn Museum of Art; she didn't love Rembrandt's as her father had. She loved the Egyptian rooms; she would hug the giant cat sculptures.

Her father believed you weren't a complete person if you didn't have a fill exposure to the arts and literature.

Her parents wanted her to go to Cooper Union, but the artists she admired were all at the Arts Students League. She asked for, and received, a scholarship, and asked to study with Reginald Marsh and William Zorach.

She was by far the youngest student there in the 1950s, and Zorach took her under his wing and called her "Baby." He quickly asked MOMA to have her teach sculpting during Christmas break.

Rhoda works on a half-dozen to a dozen pieces at a time.

Her focus now is a series called "The Woman's Question."

She was not interested in portraiture until Zorach asked her to do a portrait of him and his wife Marguerite.

She was not and is not interested in commercialism and wonders if it is a fault. She is interested in exploring "truth."

It was tough to be a woman in sculpture in the 50s and 60s. But she became an academician very early.

"You never feel like you arrived. There's always another hill to climb."

Oronzio Maldarelli didn't want her to be in the American Academy of Arts and Letters because she was a woman, and it would be "a wasted vote."

The foundry with which she initially worked would ignore her and only take care of men. She eventually switched to "Roman Bronze."

The owner of the Portland Sea Dogs Boston Red Sox affiliate commissioned her to sculpt "American Baseball Family."

Zorach didn't use tools, but Rhoda likes tools--she will use anything that works.

Rhoda doesn't sketch, because then the sketch becomes the work of art, and she doesn't want to do a second version.

Rhoda would not take photographs of her subjects.

She recommends going to Shu Swamp Nature Preserve in Mill Neck, NY.

She sculpts from memory, sometimes in the near dark.

You should always strive for a "unity of opposites" in line and volume.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is her favorite museum.

Artists must acknowledge and try to connect with an audience.

She loves Pierre Puvis de Chavannes' paintings.

Her discovery that "Las Meninas" by Velasquez was painted impasto.

"Spirit of the Dance" killed William Zorach.

"Artists need a William Zorach in their life."

Rhoda always knows when to stop sculpting a certain piece.

Yogi Berra was lots of fun. His wife was fiercely protective of him. He wanted "Sherbell portrait" like Casey Stengel had.

Percy and Joanne Uris were Rhoda's Medici-like patrons.

The story of Aaron Copland's confused Great Dane.

The camaraderie of MacDowell's Artists Colony and Rhoda's decision to leave.

"To be an artist, you need to know who you are.""

"If you're a person of purpose, you have to say 'My time is valuable, I'm not going to live forever. Protect the time..."

This podcast hosted by New York attorney Michael Prywes was sponsored by Prywes Schwartz, PLLC, a law firm devoted to artists and entrepreneurs.

This podcast may contain attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Cinematographer Reed Morano is the Director of Photography for HBO’s hit new show Vinyl, executive produced by Martin Scorcese and Mick Jagger.

In early 2013, Reed was invited to become the youngest member of the American Society of Cinematographers; she is one of very few women out of approximately 340 active members in the organization. She has been named one of variety's"10 Cinematographers to Watch", one of ioncinema.com's "American New Wave 25", and one of five innovative cinematographers in icg magazine's "generation next" spotlight. In 2012, reed's work was featured in Indiewire's "On the Rise '12: 5 Cinematographers Lighting Up Screens in Recent Years" and "Heroines of Cinema: An A-Z of Women in Film in 2012." Some of Reed's thoughts on the digital revolution and how it has affected filmmaking are featured in Keanu Reeves' acclaimed documentary Side by Side. She was honored to be featured in Kodak's long-running OnFilm series.

Reed's work appears regularly at the Sundance Film Festival including the premieres of Little Birds, Shut Up and Play the Hits, and For Ellen. Frozen River won the Grand Jury prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and went on to be nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Actress for Melissa Leo and Best Screenplay) and seven Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Picture; Reed's work on the film was the subject of an article in American Cinematographer. In 2013, Kill Your Darlings, a 35mm period piece about the beat poets set in 1943, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Jason Leigh was released theatrically and premiered at Sundance, as well as the Toronto and Venice film festivals. Also in 2013, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, premiered at Sundance and was released theatrically that fall; the drama was directed by George Tillman Jr. and stars Jennifer Hudson, Anthony Mackie, and Jeffrey Wright.

In January of 2014, HBO premiered the first season of its new original series, Looking, shot by Reed. Reed's other theatrical premieres of 2014 include The Skeleton Twins, War Story, Autumn Blood, and Rob Reiner's latest feature, And So It Goes, starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton, written by Mark Andrus of As Good As It Gets.

In the summer of 2014, Reed began production on her first feature as both the director and DP; Cinedigm's dark drama "Meadowland" stars Olivia Wilde, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Elisabeth Moss, Juno Temple and John Leguizamo. Reed is currently leading the charge on a movement to control motion interpolation a.k.a. "the soap opera effect" on our HDTVs; Reed's change.org petition is supported by nearly 10,000 signatures and has gained momentum, attracting the attention of both the film and technology communities.

Reed currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and two children.

Notes from the show:

Her dad suggested NYU film school to her because of her love of photography.

All DPs develop an intuition so they can tell from a script how it wants to be shot.

No one teaches you in film school what the etiquette is for a cinematographer.

It takes years and years to find the right combination of your style, the director's ideas, and what's right for the story.

Vinyl's pilot had already been shot before Reed's interview for the HBO series.

Reed likes to light a whole space and yield to amazing spontaneous moments more than planning every shot.

There's a fear of not having enough light.

Reed left film school in no rush to direct.

Reed started working in the grip and electric departments on local shoots. Her first "big" film was Returning Mickey Stern, shot on Fire Island, NY.

Fellow filmmaker and college buddy Toshiro Yamaguchi invited Reed to join the crew of Mickey Stern.

Gripping gave Reed a real understanding of the set. It also provided a paycheck while she shot films on the side.

You build up stamina and muscle memory over time.

She feels like "just one of the guys"- you have to "have a trucker's mentality... you have to be chill."

That time she saw Conrad Hall, ASC speak.

The moment she found out she had been invited into the ASC.

How she got into the ASC.

Her partnership with Olivia Wilde.

The American Cinematographer Manual

The photography of Philip-Lorca diCorcia

Find Reed on Instagram at ReedMorano

This podcast hosted by New York attorney Michael Prywes was sponsored by Prywes Schwartz, PLLC, a law firm devoted to artists and entrepreneurs.

This podcast may contain attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Gene Seymour is an arts critic and culture reporter who writes frequently for CNN and USA Today. In New York, he was a longtime film and jazz critic at Newsday. His writings have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, Entertainment Weekly, the Washington Post, and many other publications. Gene is a contributor to The Oxford Companion to Jazz and is the author of Jazz: The Great American Art, a history for young adults. Gene is a two-time winner of the New York Association of Black Journalists Award for distinguished criticism.

Notes from the show:

Gene started out as a reporter, and approaches criticism from a reporter's perspective.

Got his big break when Nels Elson passed along opportunity to cover the Philadelphia Jazz Festival.

Gene's years as a television critic were among his happiest as a journalist because he got to cover tv, politics, and culture.

Gene's came to Newsday as a New York City jazz critic, but later provided movie criticism.

Gene was raised in a Hartford CT household which always had jazz records playing: Miles Davis, Ahmed Jamal, Dave Brubek, Chet Baker, Charlie Parker.

His Dad's motto: "If it doesn't have soul, it isn't worth it."

His Dad loved Paul Desmond's "Time After Time" and Sonny Stitts's "Who Can I Turn To?"- these songs became emotional touchstones.

Music critics range from composer Virgil Thompson to George Bernard Shaw.

It is not Gene's role to explain on behalf of a musician, but to write on behalf of the spectator.

The art of note-taking during a live performance vs. a movie.

Lena Horne vs. the cell phone.

Jazz: The Great American Art

First Book of Jazz - Langston Hughes

"Jazz is the 20th century."

"Have We Reached the End of Jazz Itself?" - The Nation

Flying Lotus, Kendrick LaMarr, and the future of jazz.

Groundhog Day, The Big Lebowski, and giving movies a second look.

Critics' controversy over Wes Anderson.

John Leonard's disdain for All in the Family.

The passing of Harper Lee.

Better Living Through Criticism - A.O. Scott

Recommended Blogs:

The Psychology of What Makes a Great Story - Brain Pickings

This podcast hosted by New York attorney Michael Prywes was sponsored by Prywes Schwartz, PLLC, a law firm devoted to artists and entrepreneurs.

This podcast may contain attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Nick Pelis has worked for some of the most recognizable distilled spirits industry brands and distributors in the U.S., including Diageo, Moët Hennessy, William Grant & Sons and SKYY Spirits. He founded Citizen Spirits with its flagship artisan rum, Denizen. Denizen's first product was a white rum that blended flavors from Trinidad and Jamaica, and it hit the ground running, earning praise from Forbes, iVillage, and the Beverage Testing Institute. Rum is the second-largest spirits category in the U.S., but Denizen got noticed in a hurry, with 90+ ratings and a number of awards. The Cocktail Enthusiast raved that "Denizen is a game changer for white rums." Denizen introduced its amber 8 Year Aged Merchant's Reserve in 2014, a blend of flavors from Jamaica and Martinique. Denizen's Merchant's Reserve has been praised for capturing the essence of Trader Vic Bergeron's legendary Mai Tai rum.

Nick lives in New York, but has seen distribution for Denizen explode beyond New York all over the US. Recently, Time Out Seattle and the Rum Collective celebrated the arrival of Denizen rum in Washington State.

Notes from the show:

Nick's father, as a sales manager for a high-end Greek food importing company, gave him the opportunity to see how things operate in a business, and Nick saw firsthand how people got excited to receive products.

"If you're going to be successful, you have to deliver something different."

"You need to value other people's feedback."

Nick noticed early on that there was a void in distilled spirits products connecting emotionally with consumer.

Rum was a category that was "a mess."

Nick saw a big opportunity in the "tweener" market - post-college graduates still trying to find themselves.

The concept of a denizen matched Nick's goal of creating a brand around the "liberated spirit."

Nick's first goal was to create a brand that transcends the category.

Nick spent a considerable amount of money developing the brand before developing the product.

Pricing was a barrier to entry; white rums over $20 don't sell.

Offering in-store tasting mitigated risk to retailers.

"On premise"--in bars, restaurants, etc.--cost per ounce matters more.

Nick ended up at Diageo after his boss at DC Comics moved to Diageo.

Nick got an MBA in marketing, because he already had a background in finance, strategy, and operations.

"Very few big companies give people the opportunity to get outside of their comfort zone."

Very few people deliver on promises, especially if you can't offer something of value immediately.

Denizen was not Nick's first entrepreneurial endeavor: he decide to pivot from an online liquor delivery service after 6 months.

Owning a house and renting it out provided greater financial flexibility.

"You can't have your cake and eat it, too. Put your own money in."

A SWOT analysis is everything.

A marketing plan is not just based on messaging.

It was a mistake to hire a PR firm.

Email info[at]citizenspirits.com - Nick takes the time to get back in touch with you.

This podcast hosted by New York attorney Michael Prywes was sponsored by Prywes Schwartz, PLLC, a law firm devoted to artists and entrepreneurs.

This podcast may contain attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.

John Temple teaches reporting and writing courses at West Virginia University. His specialty area is narrative nonfiction writing.

His new book 2016 Edgar Award nominee “American Pain” chronicles how two young felons built the largest painkiller distribution ring in the United States. The book, published by Rowman & Littlefield, also explores the massive rise in the use and abuse of narcotic painkillers over the past two decades.

Temple is the author of two previous nonfiction books: “The Last Lawyer: The Fight to Save Death Row Inmates” (2009) and “Deadhouse: Life in a Coroner’s Office” (2005). In 2010, “The Last Lawyer” won the Scribes Book Award from the American Society of Legal Writers. More information about Temple’s books can be found at www.johntemplebooks.com.

Prior to teaching at WVU, Temple taught and studied creative nonfiction writing at the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned an M.F.A. Temple worked in the newspaper business for six years. He was the health/education reporter for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, a general assignment reporter for the News & Record in Greensboro, N.C., and a government and politics reporter for the Tampa Tribune in Tampa, Fla.

Hollee Schwartz Temple is a journalist-turned-lawyer-turned-professor at West Virginia University College of Law. She is the co-author of Harlequin's "Good Enough is the New Perfect" and the textbook "West Virginia Legal Research."

After graduating at the top of her class with a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree from Northwestern, Hollee headed to Duke University School of Law. She graduated in 1999 and began a four-year stint as a litigation associate at a large Pittsburgh law firm. After her first son was born in 2002, Hollee returned to her firm part-time before joining the WVU faculty the next year.

An active scholar and speaker, Hollee has been published in newspapers (including the Miami Herald, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Michigan City News-Dispatch), national law reviews and legal writing publications. She has conducted seminars on generational issues and projecting professionalism in writing for large law firms.

John and Hollee have also been small business owners since 2013, when they opened the Morgantown, West Virginia's party destination beauty salon known as "The Beauty Bar."

Notes from the show:

John takes 6 months to a year to put together a book proposal. Hollee's proposal on her first book took 3-4 months. A book proposal contains sample chapters, outline, and Hollee's included a national survey she and her co-author Beck conducted.

Mentioned: The New Times article "Pain and Gain", David Simon's book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and the eponymous television show.

Warner Brothers bought the rights to "American Pain," to be adapted for the screen by Melisa Wallack.

"Figuring out who you want to talk to and who is at the center of your story and how to find them is a large portion of the process." 

"There's a human compulsion to tell your story."

"You can ask anybody almost anything as long as the think you really want to know [the answer]."

Mentioned: "Dreamland" - Sam Quinones

"It's a daily struggle [to balance work and home life]. And only one of us could be working on a book at one time."

The Beauty Bar draws on a theme from Hollee's book that women deserve to feel beautiful.

The California model of a "blowout bar" didn't translate to Morgantown, WV, so they pivoted the Beauty Bar to providing many more salon services.

Managing staff and personalities is the toughest part of being a small business owner.

Hollee is a big fan of BNI.

Mentioned: "The Price of Nice Nails"

Hollee gained a competitive advantage through social media and working with Mom blogs.

They are able to juggle home life and work a little more now that their kids are older. Priorities change as children grow. The kids are integrated into their work life. 

Academic jobs allow for their lifestyle.

Hollee can oversee a large staff by living close and having 10 security cameras connected to her cell phone.

Best business advice:

Hollee's: "I'm the heart of the business. I can't just give that away."

John's: "Stick with it until the 18 month point."

Best book writing advice:

John's: "You have to schedule your writing into your day and give it a prime spot in your day."

Hollee's: "I got up at 5 to write for a couple of hours before everyone else got up."

Recommended book: "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield

This podcast hosted by New York attorney Michael Prywes was sponsored by Prywes Schwartz, PLLC, a law firm devoted to artists and entrepreneurs.

This podcast may contain attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.