Tales of Misadventure with Nicole Donnelly

Are robots coming for your content marketing? It may seem like it as new AI tools keep hitting the internet every week and the calls for caution grow louder. On today’s episode, Wendy Covey, CEO of TREW Marketing, and Nicole wade into the AI discussion that is on everyone’s minds. Get their take on ChatGPT, generative AI, how entrepreneurs, engineers, manufacturers, and business owners can effectively use AI, and the future of content marketing. Wendy also shares her journey to entrepreneurship, the pain of saying no to potential clients, learning to trust TREW’s team, her marketing insights, and how a “freakishly large redfish” garnered a state record. It’s a new thought-provoking episode of Tales of Misadventure with Nicole you don’t want to miss. 

ABOUT WENDY COVEY

Wendy Covey is the CEO of TREW Marketing, a technical marketing leader, author of Content Marketing: Engineered, is one of The Wall Street Journal’s 10 Most Innovative Entrepreneurs in America, and she holds a Texas fishing record. Wendy has helped hundreds of engineering and technical companies become trusted advisors, grow sales pipelines, and increase market share through content marketing.

HIGHLIGHTS

• 2:21 - Hear the fishing trip story that won Wendy a state, fishing record
• 7:30 - The work from home pitch that failed but sparked an idea and birthed two entrepreneurs
• 13:11 - Find out what pushed the TREW marketing founders to define their ideal client, taught them to say No, and changed the company forever
• 20:46 - Collaboration is one of the best marketing practices
• 23:45 - Building a healthy company culture that fits 
• 31:16 - ChatGPT, generative AI, and the future of content marketing
• 40:44 - Marketing wins and how Google thwarted years of marketing efforts

RESOURCES & LINKS

• Connect with Wendy Covey on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleyne/
• Learn more about TREW Marketing https://www.trewmarketing.com/
• Purchase Content Marketing, Engineered: Build Trust and Convert Buyers with Technical Content  https://www.amazon.com/Content-Marketing-Engineered-Convert-Technical/dp/163299285X
• Discover how Jim Collins’ “Hedgehog Concept” can help you https://www.jimcollins.com/concepts/the-hedgehog-concept.html
• Learn more about Marketing AI Institute and Founder Paul Roetzer https://www.marketingaiinstitute.com/
• Connect with Nicole on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-donnelly-dmg
• Learn more about DMG Digital at dmgdigital.io

Looking to overcome marketing blunders and find inspiration from the experts who have been there? 

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Get in touch with the team at Tales of Misadventure by visiting dmgdigital.io.

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Who knew that 100,000 miles, 75 hotel stays, a lot of missed family dinners, and one soul-crushing board meeting could turn into the opportunity of a lifetime? On today’s episode, Nicole chats with Wesleyne Greer, founder and owner of Transformed Sales, about the "aha" moment that launched her entrepreneurial journey, poor sales leadership, the blunder of trying to be everything to everyone, and the marketing advice that every business needs.

ABOUT WESLEYNE GREER
Wesleyne is a seasoned sales and leadership professional with over 15 years of experience managing multi-million dollar teams. Inspired by her love for sales and passion for coaching, she launched Transformed Sales to help businesses achieve sales goals by providing sales leadership training and developing good B2B sales leadership. With a strong track record for driving revenue through sales, marketing, and ongoing customer support, Wesleyne has earned numerous accolades, including multiple Sales Team of the Year and Sales Excellence Awards. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• 1:52 - How an extroverted introvert spends a free day 
• 4:29 - Poor leadership equals opportunity and turns a steadfast employee into a fierce entrepreneur
• 7:42 - The mishap of 2020 that transformed the heart of a company and revealed Wesleyne’s superpower
• 10:12 - Nicole shares her aha moment
• 11:15 - Niching down in your business
• 13:17 - Don’t be too generic - Wesleyne shares some of the best marketing advice out there

RESOURCES + LINKS

• Connect with Wesleyne Greer on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleyne/
• Discover Transformed Sales for yourself at https://www.transformedsales.com/?r_done=1
• Find The Power of One More by Ed Mylett’s on Amazon or other book retailers
• Connect with Nicole on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-donnelly-dmg
• Learn more about DMG Digital at dmgdigital.io

SUBSCRIBE + FOLLOW FOR MORE

Looking to overcome marketing blunders and find inspiration from the experts who have been there? 

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One life-altering meeting with HR and one stint as a school bus driver set Liz Zurek-Beaudry, Principal of Envision, on an entrepreneurial journey that didn’t quite fit into her corporate plans. Liz gets vulnerable with host, Nicole, about not climbing the corporate ladder, discovering the joy of integrating work with her family life, learning to make money where you make money, the power of tapping into your network, and how being authentic on social media can drive small business success. It’s a new episode that may make you cry and definitely will make you laugh.

ABOUT LIZ ZUREK-BEAUDRY

Liz Zurek-Beaudry is the Principal of Envision, a branding and culture organization that helps companies differentiate themselves in a way that aligns to who they are and their vision, both internally and externally. She also owns MDNA Cloud, a proprietary software that measures an organization’s culture. Based on the data, they can help companies identify what makes them unique and build a strong brand culture.

Liz has worked on large brands including the Muhammad Ali Center, Buick, the General Motors Foundation, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, and Cambria. Envision’s sweet spot is working with SMBs with less than 300 employees. She’s married to an amazing man and mom to two boys born in South Korea. They enjoy traveling as a family and spending time on the lake. Her mantra: Any day can be conquered with a good hat!

KEY TOPICS

• 4:44 - Get to know Liz Zurek-Beaudry and Envision.
• 6:03 - “Any day can be conquered with a good hat.”
• 8:21 - Liz dives into her story and how she learned not to allow anyone to define her. 
• 14:00 - Learning to integrate home life with work life.
• 21:32 - Liz chats about the niching blunder that cost her business $20K and what she learned from it.
• 34:32 - Discover the marketing advice that small businesses need today.
• 37:50 - Nicole shares the importance of understanding your business goals and getting intentional with one marketing aspect.
• 41:26 - Authenticity matters to your business’ branding, culture, and growth. 

RESOURCES & LINKS

• Connect with Liz Zurek-Beaudry on Facebook, www.facebook.com/lzurekbeaudry or visit www.thinkenvision.com 
• Discover the power of MDNA Cloud, https://mdna.cloud/
• Learn more about Ed Kang www.linkedin.com/in/edkang99/ 
• Connect with Nicole on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-donnelly-dmg
• Learn more about DMG Digital at dmgdigital.io

Looking to overcome marketing blunders and find inspiration from the experts who have been there? 

Subscribe to Tales of Misadventure with Nicole Donnelly wherever you prefer to stream podcasts!

Get in touch with the team at Tales of Misadventure by visiting dmgdigital.io.

Don’t forget to enroll in our newsletter for more small business marketing tips and entrepreneurial inspiration! https://info.dmgdigital.io/welcome-to-dmg-digital

Sometimes starting a journey requires a leap of faith because if not now, when? ManufacturingPower’s founder and owner, Mike Franz, shares his thoughts about regret, turning failures into learning opportunities, and how radical gratitude can help entrepreneurs enjoy the journey. He’s also giving an exclusive look at his new manufacturing mobile app, inSuppli, which will revolutionize how manufacturers search, find and buy parts. This episode is packed with a whole lot of encouragement, laughs over A.I., and candid conversations about  marketing misadventure, and how incorporating Hubspot and other technologies can help small business manufacturers and small teams be better marketers.

ABOUT MIKE FRANZ

Mike is the owner and Founder of ManufacturingPower, a platform that provides price and delivery data for industrial supplies.   He started ManufacturingPower with a vision to help small to midsized manufacturers optimize spend management by leveraging true peer-to-peer data that spotlights cost savings opportunities.  

The ManufacturingPower team is currently testing a mobile app that they believe will revolutionize the way companies will search, find, and buy industrial supplies. By highlighting local inventory, this app should be a game changer for distributors and buyers alike!

HIGHLIGHTS

• 02:49: Learn more about the mobile app, insuppli.
• 13:42 - “Life is pretty darn good.” Failures and regrets are opportunities to learn and grow. Mike reminds us to fail fast and turns them into positive moments.
•  16:47 - Radical gratitude, the mindset that entrepreneurs need.
• 18:55 - Check and adjust, the importance for business owners to pivot.
• 22:14 - Be a sponge and willing to learn from people. Mike talks about building a network of people with different ideas and who are smarter than you.
• 23:53 - Staying on top of the latest technology.
• 29:35 - Mike discusses how HubSpot has positively impacted his business and his version of the K.I.S.S method.
• 34:44 - Effective marketing should be done in phases and have consistency. Nicole shares how manufacturers and business can market better.
• 35:34 - Mike opens up about the assumptions he made early on and how having the wrong market fit set him back.

RESOURCES & LINKS

• Connect with Mike Franz via email [email protected] or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikefranz1/
• Learn more about ManufacturingPower and insuppli at https://manufacturingpower.com/
• Reid Hoffman’s LinkedIn article about building a plane while your falling https://www.linkedin.com/posts/reidhoffman_if-entrepreneurship-is-like-jumping-off-a-activity-6791374655509798913-PTCu/ 
• Discover HubSpot https://www.hubspot.com/ 
• Connect with Nicole on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-donnelly-dmg
• Learn more about DMG Digital at dmgdigital.io

Looking to overcome marketing blunders and find inspiration from the experts who have been there? 

Subscribe to Tales of Misadventure with Nicole Donnelly wherever you prefer to stream podcasts!

Get in touch with the team at Tales of Misadventure by visiting dmgdigital.io.

Don’t forget to enroll in our newsletter for more small business marketing tips and entrepreneurial inspiration! https://info.dmgdigital.io/welcome-to-dmg-digital

Success is rarely achieved overnight and is often the result of consistent effort, seizing opportunity, investing in your business, and repeatedly picking oneself up after every fall. On this episode, Exit Your Way co-founder, Damon Pistulka, candidly reminds us that big results come from taking “big chances” and seeing results takes patience. He talks with Nicole about the big opportunity he seized and how not having the right contract in place cost him and his partners a $3+ million deal. Damon sheds light on the need for proper business management and gives his take on the best marketing strategy for manufacturers and small business owners. Together, Nicole and Damon discuss marketing as investing in your business and how combining sales and marketing teams can stimulate small business growth. It’s another episode filled with truth and encouragement that all entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and business owners need today.

SHOW NOTES

ABOUT DAMON PSITULKA

Damon Pistulka is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Exit Your Way. Exit Your Way® helps owners plan, prepare, and execute the sale of their business to exit with 2x+ with more $$$$ and a 90%+ success rate.

He started his career as a Mechanical Engineer and served as a consultant and Business Executive for several manufacturing businesses before Exit Your Way. Damon is passionate about baseball and has volunteered as Board President for a large local non-profit baseball organization.

HIGHLIGHTS

• [00:34] Damon says he’s an introvert but his passion for business and supporting small businesses helps him to push past the tendency to retreat.
• [05:33] Opportunity comes knocking and Damon answers the call. Hear the story that began his entrepreneurial journey and how it lead to his current venture Exit Your Way.
• [09:37] Damon talks about how Exit Your Way works hard to be different than an investment banker. No “as is, whereas” mindset. 
• [15:46] Failing is learning. Damon opens up about the one misadventure that cost his company a $3 million deal and what he learned from the experience.
• [21:15] Nicole and Damon discuss how having a saga, a mission can help entrepreneurs get back on their feet when they fall.
• [25:53] Hear what marketing strategy hasn’t worked and has worked for Damon. Sneak peak, building long-term relationships with clients and people who talk to your clients.
• [27:16] Marketing is farming. Damon and Nicole discuss the need for businesses to look at marketing as an investment and be open to pivoting.
• [30:17] Big chances = big results. Hear Damon’s take on lessening the pain of making mistakes.

RESOURCES & LINKS

• Connect with Damon Pistulka on Linked at https://www.linkedin.com/in/damonpistulka
• Visit Exit Your Way at https://exityourway.us or https://exityourway.ca
• Gwendolyn Greer
• John Jantsch podcast mentioned
• Connect with Nicole on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-donnelly-dmg
• Learn more about DMG Digital at dmgdigital.io

Looking to overcome marketing blunders and find inspiration from the experts who have been there? 

Subscribe to Tales of Misadventure with Nicole Donnelly wherever you prefer to stream podcasts!

Get in touch with the team at Tales of Misadventure by visiting dmgdigital.io.

Don’t forget to enroll in our newsletter for more small business marketing tips and entrepreneurial inspiration! https://info.dmgdigital.io/welcome-to-dmg-digital

Inexperience and a financial crisis didn’t stop SwiftAds owner, Brian Leung, from embarking on his entrepreneurial journey. He chats with Nicole about the blunders, the lessons, his gracious wife, putting the fear of misadventure in the right perspective, and the need for your business to build a digital storefront.

EPISODE SUMMARY

What do rock climbing and entrepreneurship have in common? On our latest episode, Nicole chats with SwiftAds owner, Brian Leung, about their commonality, how his tenacious parents inspired his entrepreneurial journey, and the importance for small businesses to incorporate SEO and Google Ads into their marketing strategy now. Host and guest encourage budding entrepreneurs, solomarketers, manufacturers, and small business owners to “embrace the discomfort,” build a grounding support system, take risks, and keep forging ahead. 

ABOUT BRIAN LEUNG

Brian is a serial entrepreneur and owner/operator of SwiftAds and Treebud. SwiftAds was created to help advertisers 10x their revenue by automating ad creation, campaign monitoring, and optimization. Treebud Media is a full-service digital marketing agency.

Brian's on a mission to reach and help 1,000 small businesses improve or start their online advertising so more people can discover their businesses and ultimately, experience growth.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Brian shares his love of taking risks and likens rock climbing to being a business owner or entrepreneur.  [06:33]
• Hear the foundational story behind Brian’s entrepreneurial spirit. [08:23]
• Starting a business in the middle of an economic crisis would deter most but not Brian. He opens up about his first business venture, the failures he experienced, and the lessons he learned.  [11:38]
• Nicole sheds some light on the likelihood of finding success in your twenties and how experiencing some “hard knocks” improves your chances. [16:08]
• Nicole and Brian discuss how small businesses can market and promote their business even during a recession. [29:55]
• Find encouragement and sound advice, in Brian’s words, on taking calculated risks even when you’re afraid. [37:31]

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Find the full transcript at 

RESOURCES & LINKS

• Connect with Brian Leung on Twitter @bkh_leung or on swiftads.io/
• Connect with Nicole on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-donnelly-dmg/
• Learn more about DMG Digital at dmgdigital.io
• Sign up for our newsletter and get notified when new episodes drop: https://info.dmgdigital.io/welcome-to-dmg-digital

Looking to overcome marketing blunders and find inspiration from the experts who have been there? 

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Get in touch with the team at Tales of Misadventure by visiting dmgdigital.io.

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B2Btail founder, Curt Anderson, opens up about the one misadventure that forced him to reevaluate his entrepreneurial journey and convince his accountant that he was not the biggest train wreck he ever worked with. Together, Nicole and Curt, shed light on the necessity for manufacturers, entrepreneurs, small business owners to be resourceful in today's market.

Show Notes

• JANUARY 20, 2023
• SCRAPPY AND SAPPY, EP 1

IN THIS EPISODE:

Are you being scrappy with your small business or manufacturing venture? How about your marketing efforts? On this premiere episode, Nicole chats with e-commerce legend, Curt Anderson about his own entrepreneurial journey, his love of dogs, the importance of having an open mind with your marketing strategy, and how failing to maintain two business locations led to his biggest success so far. Curt also shares his advice on lessening the pain of making business mistakes and discusses the power of marketing on LinkedIn for B2B businesses.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Curt Anderson is a legend in e-commerce. He had the vision to see how e-commerce would change the way people buy way back in the 90's before Google became a household name. Out of pure resourcefulness, he moved his floral supply company, online and never looked back. Eventually landing on the list for top e-commerce retailers three years running. 

Today, Curt and his team at B2Btail consult with manufacturing businesses through federally funded Manufacturing Extension Programs or MEP's to help them improve their web presence through SEO, web design, and e-commerce strategies.

Curt is a proud girldad, and baseball fanatic who has been to every MLB stadium multiple times over.

KEY TOPICS

• Knowing your why builds dedication and understanding within you and for your business. Curt talks about the why behind one of his early businesses. [12:50]
• Curt shares one of the biggest failures he faced running a wholesale business and how it opened the door to his e-commerce legacy. [16:11}
• Nicole spotlights the successes in Curt’s story, resourcefulness, a.k.a scrappiness, and partnership. [19:16]
• Creating a successful partnership requires “out sacrificing” your partner. Curt shares how. [24:59]
• Don’t miss out on marketing opportunities because you’re afraid to try something new. Learn to leverage social media platforms like Linkedin. [30:47]
• What preventative measures can we make as entrepreneurs to avoid or lessen the pain of making mistakes?  [36:48]

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

RESOURCES & LINKS

• Connect with Curt Anderson on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/curtanderson-b2b or [email protected]
• Find the Small Business Development Center nearest you by visiting https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance/resource-partners/small-business-development-centers-sbdc
• Join the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Linkedin group, https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4215296/
• Connect with Nicole on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nico

Looking to overcome marketing blunders and find inspiration from the experts who have been there?

Subscribe to Tales of Misadventure with Nicole Donnelly wherever you prefer to stream podcasts!

Get in touch with the team at Tales of Misadventure by visiting dmgdigital.io.

Don’t forget to enroll in our newsletter for more small business marketing tips and entrepreneurial inspiration! https://info.dmgdigital.io/welcome-to-dmg-digital