My guest today is Stephanie Carls. Stephanie is a Client Success Manager for Rivet, an online content generator platform. Stephanie got her start with Tweetheart TV on Youtube. Her love of media and video has been her driving influence in her career.

Today, Stephanie tells me about her early days in social media and how she was able to build her own niche in the market. Branding is something Stephanie knows a lot about and she shares with me some of the insights she has learned about personal branding.

The main points of our conversation are below:

How content making is really just storytelling

Why major brands will always adapt to the market

Personal Brand vs. Personal Brand Platform

Why you need to know your strengths

Social Fresh Conference

Why networking is important

How Stephanie would start today

How to keep personal and professional lives separate

The changing culture and opportunities in Austin, Texas

Resources from Today’s Episode:

Stephanie’s website My Savvy Life

Rivet Works

Leave Your Mark, by: Aliza Licht

Steal Like an Artist, by: Austin Kleon

Social Fresh

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, don’t forget to leave review in iTunes, I’d appreciate that. To listen to other Sell Personal episodes, visit www.sellpersonal.com/podcast.

My guest today is Chris Baccus, a seasoned marketing professional. He has worked with tons of great international brands like AT&T, Nintendo, Ford, and most recently commercial real estate. His speciality is digital marketing.

According to Chris marketing is driven by brand awareness, it is the endgame for all brands.Today Chris tells me how he feels about social media’s role in sales and why having a platform is important to your brand and career   

The points of our conversation are listed below:

How marketing and sales work together

How to make a pivot between brands and companies

Why you shouldn’t rush your career path

The difference between PR and Marketing

How modern social media is relationship based

Advice for newcomers to social media

The importance of a personal network

Resources Mentioned Today:

Chris Twitter

Chris’s blog: Sustainable Dad

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, don’t forget to leave review in iTunes, I’d appreciate that. To listen to other Sell Personal episodes visit www.sellpersonal.com/podcast.

My guest today is Jory Des Jardins, the co-founder of BlogHer and general social media strategist. Jory got her start at Penguin a traditional print media company, but soon found her voice and passion in blogging. She has since sold BlogHer and focused on working in an advisory capacity.  Although she is still creating content as well.

On today’s episode Jory and I discuss how social media has changed everything from traditional marketing to the publishing industry. Jory is involved in several advisory boards and has become a seasoned public speaker on the topics of publishing and marketing.

During our talk Jory shares these topics:

How media has changed with social (digital) media.

What an impression is and why it’s important to digital content.

How to pivot a skill set.

Jory’s experience in sales.

Why everybody is in the business of selling.

The way blogging really works.

The future of blogging and the shift to Medium.

The importance of direct communication.

How to use advisors the right way.

To get more information about Jory find her on LinkedIn to connect.

Resources mentioned during today’s episode:

Jory on LinkedIn

SheKnows Media

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, don’t forget to leave review in iTunes, I’d appreciate that. To listen to other Sell Personal episodes visit www.sellpersonal.com/podcast.

My guest today is Jason Miller, VP for Fleischman-Hillard. He has worked with many large brand names such as PF Chang’s. Jason discusses how he has adjusted to his position at Jim Beam. We also discuss the spirits industry and Jason’s involvement with improvisation comedy. He gives great insight into the industry and how it has changed his life.

Some of the topics we mentioned today were:

Jason’s “master plans”

Finding your skill sets

The importance of networking

The challenges of networking

What are Business Development People

The difference between a “gatekeeper” contact and a naturally developed contact

What is currently happening in the spirits business

If you want to learn more about Jason visit his LinkedIn page.

Resources mentioned today:

LinkedIn

Twitter

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, don’t forget to leave review in iTunes, I’d appreciate that. To listen to other Sell Personal episodes visit www.sellpersonal.com/podcast.

My guest today is Jil Wyland, she is the founder of Litigation Presentation and more recently 3DPtree.  Jil found a niche in the legal system that used her background in graphic design. She has been in the scenario recreation business for 15 years.

Her newer company 3DPtree is a 3D rendering company that makes 3D models for costume designers in the movie industry. Jil built her companies from scratch and learned every possible lesson a rookie can learn.

On today’s episode Jil tells me about the early days of Litigation Presentation and what the whole experience taught her.

The topics we talked about today are:

How Jil started her business

How networking helped in getting her first client

Learning how to sell to yourself

The best pricing strategy for a new business

How to delegate your business

The importance of a business plan

Jil can be reached by email at [email protected].

Resources Mentioned During Today’s Episode:

3DPtree

Litigation Presentation

Innocence Project

Vistage

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, don’t forget to leave review in iTunes, I’d appreciate that. To listen to other Sell Personal episodes visit www.sellpersonal.com/podcast.

My guest today is graphic designer Alex Cherry. Alex began his career as a graphic artist for the television show Star Trek. Raised in Los Angeles, Alex quit high school at the age of 16. Soon he found web design and began posting his work online. This lead to his first artistic jobs.

Alex was always interested in art and the creative lifestyle. His work is heavily influenced by music, specifically the band, Nine Inch Nails. Alex discusses his inspiration and how he is able to keep “the water fresh.”

The topics we cover today are:

Living in a world with labels

Alex’s experience in New York at the School of Visual Arts

How to make your work public

How art is interpretive by the viewer

Why social connection is important

How Alex stays authentic

I really appreciate Alex’s story because it really speaks to the importance of keeping one job while pursuing a goal. Alex can be found on Instagram and his website cherry.ac. To email him you can reach him at [email protected].

Resources Mentioned Today:

Cherry.ac

Instagram

Deviant Art

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, don’t forget to leave review in iTunes, I’d appreciate that. To listen to other Sell Personal episodes visit www.sellpersonal.com/podcast.

// My guest today is Kim Fischer. Kim is a news anchor for ABC channel 4 in Salt Lake City, UT. I was first introduced to Kim when she was working in some of the big markets of Texas. She has worked in San Antonio and Dallas, and has managed to connect with every community she serves. Kim is able to do this through social media.

She began using Twitter as a way to see what her community was concerned about before the industry saw the potential of the platform. Kim sees social media as an indispensable tool in her work and has learned the hard way when to pull back from the platform. She is known for approachability and tireless work with various non-profit groups. Some of those groups include women’s’ issues, children protection, and animal welfare groups.

On today’s episode Kim tells me about working in huge markets like Dallas and how social media helped her connect with the community. She also tells me about her road to Salt Lake and how she has embraced the idea of paying it forward.

The topics we covered are:

How social media worked for Kim

Kim’s response to the inevitable trolls on social media

The value of time and skills

How to build a personal brand when tied to another brand

How social media has to change with your life changes

The problems and obstacles facing journalism today

Resources Mentioned During Today’s Episode:

Kim can be seen on Salt Lake City ABC 4. She also has a Twitter handle @ABC4Kim.

ABC4Utah

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, don’t forget to leave review in iTunes, I’d appreciate that. To listen to other Sell Personal episodes visit www.sellpersonal.com/podcast.

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I welcome IBM’s Social Business Evangelist Sandy Carter to the show. Sandy has been with IBM for over 20 years and has been influential to IBM’s relevance in social media. Sandy was the first person at IBM to branch out into blogging and using Youtube to connect with clients and the public.

She credits her genuine interest in people as to why her branding choice has been so successful for her. Sandy is a trusted adviser for many of her clients and has built lasting relationships with them. Today she tells me how she accomplishes that and what she advises newcomers to do when they are just starting out.

Here are some of the topics we discussed on today’s episode:

How to be a trusted adviser

How Sandy finds inspiration for her creativity

Why it is important to build personal relationships

How to find the right audience on social media

The different attitudes toward networking in women vs. men

Sandy is very passionate about her work and creating a platform that reaches out to lots of people. She is a champion of the benefits of networking and honestly enjoys creating strong business relationships.

Sandy encourages people to visit her blog BizTechBuzz and follow her on Twitter @sandy_carter.  

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, don’t forget to leave review in iTunes, I’d appreciate that. To listen to other Sell Personal episodes visit www.sellpersonal.com/podcast.

//

I invited David Hornik to the show today. David is the general partner of August Capital. He is a venture capitalist who has invested in many of the rockstars in the startup world.

David took an unconventional path to venture capitalism. He was able to establish his own Music  major at Stanford, but soon went to Cambridge for his masters in law. He spent time as a public defender and eventually found himself in corporate law.

He found an exciting world in Silicon Valley where he could help people “change the world.” He has invested in businesses like Avant Credit and Splunk. He was the first venture capitalist to write a blog on the subject.

David stresses the importance of placing the people in a startup above the idea. It is the relationship that makes the investment worthwhile.

We discussed these topics on today’s episode:

How Silicon Valley really works.

David’s involvement with Defy Ventures.

How the economy has changed David’s approach to investing.

David’s work ethic and how that affects his life.

David’s projects such as Venture Blog, Venture Cast, and The Lobby conference.

To really connect with David you’ll need to make a connection with the community at large. However he does have an email at [email protected]. He suggests any messages be personable if you want to make contact.

Resources from Today’s Episode:

August Capital

Defy Ventures

Venture Blog

Venture Cast

The Lobby

Lobby Enterprise

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, don’t forget to leave review in iTunes, I’d appreciate that. To listen to other Sell Personal episodes visit www.sellpersonal.com/podcast.

//

My guest is Jay Samit the author of Disrupt You. Jay has worked with some of the biggest companies, like Coca Cola, General Motors, and LinkedIn. Today he is CEO of Seachange International. On today’s episode Jay talks about his book and what has lead him to be one of the go to guys for start ups.

Jay considers himself a serial entrepreneur. He says there are 2 things that are needed to start a business. Insight, and persistence. The job of an entrepreneur is to identify the problem and then hire those who can help solve that problem.

Jay and I talk about these topics:

What Disrupt You is about

Why there is no such thing as a secure job

How to work backwards (goal to the present)

Why conferences are great business opportunities

Why problem solving is the future

Jay can be found on jaysamit.com. His book Disrupt You has a companion workbook that can be downloaded from his website. Jay can also be found on Twitter @jaysamit.

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, don’t forget to leave review in iTunes, I’d appreciate that. To listen to other Sell Personal episodes visit www.sellpersonal.com/podcast.