Meet Danielle Kroot - Physical therapist, run coach, and owner of Starting Line, a PT and Run Studio in Portland, Maine.

In this episode we covered a lot! I loved talking all about her brand - creating a mark that encompasses ALL of her services, what the rebranding process was like, choosing a color palette, and the differences between branding for an in-person fitness studio vs. an online business.

We chatted about how she fell naturally into working with the running community as a PT, how being a running PT eventually evolved into the run studio in Maine today, why the "quick fix" mentality is dangerous, and on the flipside how some PTs make people fearful to get back into fitness after injury.

We then talked about why sustainable habit changes make the biggest difference in preventing and treating injuries, why providers need to treat people like individuals within their own personal ecosystems and not solely rely on patterns, and why you need to advocate for yourself (especially as women!)

Danielle explains why batching social media content does not work for her, how becoming a new mom has transformed her business and opened up new opportunities, and why comparison traps have been the devil!

Be sure to follow her on Instagram @runfitdoc (personal account), @startingline207 (Portland, Maine run studio), and @race.ready.running (virtual run coaching) And moms, be on the lookout for the launch of her Moms Run Stronger Program, coming in October! This 12 week virtual program is perfect for moms looking to get back into running postpartum.

Meet Courtney Beggs! Courtney is a professor at Curry College and owner of Education Together Consulting, where she helps families navigate the college admissions process. This involves SO many steps: asking a lot of questions/getting to know the students individually (and their unique needs, learning styles, and goals), researching and presenting 8-10 schools that would be a good fit, prepping for campus visits, essay writing, financial aid analysis and more!

In this episode we talked about how so many students don't fully comprehend student loans and the cost of higher education, how guidance counselors are often outnumbered 400:1 by students (yes, 400:1!), and why college admissions consulting is often financially out of reach for most families (and what she is doing to challenge that!) We also discussed how she came up with the name of her business, and why she purposefully didn't use collegiate colors and a corporate style to brand her services.

Courtney also talks about why collaboration is the key to her clients' success, how COVID affected colleges and students, and how one opportunity to work with a student led to this new, exciting career path! A pillar of her core values is social justice, so we also discussed that although going to college is a cultural norm for most rich white people, students of color are often far less encouraged to go to college at all.

We wrapped up our conversation talking about stereotypes of female professors, why it's important to not only share feedback AFTER you get results but also THROUGHOUT the process of getting there, how we can reframe our life narratives with the help of outside perspectives, and how word of mouth referrals will always be her best client source.

If you have a sophomore or junior high school student or know someone who is anxious about the college application process, email [email protected] or call/text her at 774-218-7195 with any questions! And be sure to give her a follow on instagram @courtney_beggs for more inspiring educational content.

Introducing Mike Iamele! Mike helps people map their lived experiences and figure out what they are most sensitive to - so that they can succeed in all areas of their life.

Mike has an incredible life story - I'm so honored to have him on the podcast. He went from being an uber successful company partner at age 24 to vomiting blood and totally rethinking his life trajectory. One blog post and failed course launch changed everything!

In this episode we talk about the similarities between his work and the branding world, how to figure out what you do subconsciously every time you are successful, how your essence naturally infuses into your business, and why language and word choice is so important.

We also chatted about desires vs. needs and why his work is different than values work, where the term "mapping sensitivities" came from, and how your brand can show up differently depending on the medium (think podcasts, on social media, in-person, on your website) but that it should ALWAYS feel authentically you.

He considers himself a "bad" millennial and wasn't on Instagram until last year, so we had fun talking about that transition (his reels are fantastic!) You'll also LOVE his advice for anyone who has ever been told that they are too much... and his funny story!

Follow Mike on Instagram at @mikeiamele for all the queer shame content, and check out his free Mapping resource at http://www.mikeiamele.com/map!

Everyone, meet Jocelyn! Jocelyn is the owner of Prosperity Accounting. She provides small businesses with accounting, bookkeeping, financial reporting, taxes, and payroll services (what she declares "the boring stuff," though with her bubbly personality it's far from it!)

In this episode we talk about her thought process behind the name, and why she decided not to use green in her branding (in an industry where it's used far too often!) We also talked about how to use your numbers and money to drive business decisions, why the traditional ways of doing accounting don't work for the modern business owner, and why accounting and bookkeeping information is gatekept from the average person. We then dove into her early days of working at Market Basket (which led her to the accounting field!)

We both agree that showing up face to camera on social media can be tough on the days you just simply don't feel like it, and how it can be hard to balance being an "authority" in the online space while also feeling like you don't know everything.

Of course we chatted about how her excel skills come in handy in real life scenarios, why excel is superior to Google sheets, and why we wish we both spent less $$ on dolls, toys, and iTunes songs in our childhood (LOL!)

Be sure to follow her on Instagram @prosperity_accounting - and check out her "Taking Care of Business Template Trio" for solo biz-owners who are struggling to manage their business' accounting. She's also taking on new bookkeeping clients for the summer (so jump on it!!)

Meet Corey McMullen, outdoor product photographer located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire! Corey and I graduated from high school together (feels like SO long ago now) and I had the pleasure of working with him last year on his business cards!

In this episode we discussed if business cards are truly necessary at this point since so many of us work remotely, how post-production has always been his biggest challenge, what it means to "shoot the edit," how he ended up in the photography field without going to school to study it, how he has combined his love for both photography and hiking into a successful career, and how pricing your services is always nerve wracking.

We also talked about how burnout makes it a struggle to dedicate time for social media, how our creative styles are always adapting and hard to define, and why it's great to have connections to other professionals in your industry to refer non-ideal clients to. Oh, and of course we talked about his various sunrise hikes and his favorite peaks in the White Mountains. ;)

I highly recommend giving him a follow on the 'gram @coreyoutdoors because his work is INCREDIBLE. You can also check out his website www.coreydavidphotography.com.

Introducing John Griffin, therapist and aspiring rockstar of The Maladaptive (who aspires to make mental health sexy!)

In this episode we talk about the meaning behind the band name, the visual direction of their album art, how therapy and music intertwine in his life and how his traumatic background led him down the road to being a mental health professional.

We also talk about music and the commercialization of it, the affect capitalism has on the mental health industry, why burnout is so rampant nowadays, and what it's like being a man in a female-dominated industry.

John also speaks to his struggles with ADHD and how that affects his life and career, learning how to manage depression and emotions in a world that doesn't encourage men to do so, how social media and technology make us feel like we need to be "on" constantly. 

Ultimately, when it comes to political debates and disagreements we both agree that it's less about trying to convince people to change their minds in the moment and more about planting seeds so they can come to their own conclusions later.

A question for the audience... would you rather be blissfully ignorant or know everything and be angry and depressed? Let us know, we're still trying to figure it out... :)

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation and I know you all will too! Thanks so much for coming on the podcast without even knowing who the heck I am, John! You're the best! Be sure to give him a follow @themaladaptive and to give his music a listen on Spotify, Apple, Bandcamp... wherever you listen!

It was so much to have Ruby Wallace-Ewing, owner of Ruby Jean Photography, on the podcast! Ruby is a photographer with a speciality in creative portraiture.

In this episode we chat about why she chose to rebrand her photography business last year, what it was like to pivot from wedding photography to creative portraiture, her signature goddess sessions, and what it's like being raised in an artsy family and being encouraged to explore your creativity from a young age.

We also talked about why the fear of pursuing a career in the arts caused her to study psychology in college her freshman year, how Instagram ultimately skyrocketed her business, how she feels that there is enough work out there for every photographer, and her thoughts on the "community over competition" concept.

We then talked about her pet peeves, how tools like smartphones and Canva make content creation more accessible to small-biz owners, why she thinks it's important to show your personal side on social media as a photographer (since you spend SO much intimate time together during your sessions), and why showing your face on Instagram stories is one of the best things you can do for your audience growth.

I told her that her simple tip for getting good lighting when recording videos was life changing for me when she shared it years ago, and we talked about how her non-business-related TikTok went viral (over 10 million views!) and how that experience was for her.

I highly recommend giving her Instagram page a follow @rubyjeanphotography because her work is absolutely stunning! She's also on TikTok @photo.goddess (or @twinfest if you want to see her viral video!)

This week I'm taking a break from my usual programming to make a short announcement:

After next week, the podcast schedule will be changing its release schedule. Instead of weekly episodes there will be an episode released every other week.

I absolutely LOVE recording podcast episodes, but I've had to reflect on the ways I spend my time each day and have realized that I need to make some adjustments in order to live a healthy life. I've had SO much fun meeting new small-business owners and entrepreneurs! But I only have so many hours in the day and have had to make this tough decision to step back from recording/editing weekly episodes.

I hope you all understand - and as I tell all of my clients - everything you do should be sustainable for your lifestyle. I am holding myself accountable to make these necessary changes, and you should take this as a sign to reflect on where you feel stickiness in your life and to reflect. 

Thank you to all my listeners for the support, and I am SO excited for the next few episodes I've recorded to be released (and for all the amazing guests I have booked in April!) Lots of amazing content to come!

Meet Kristin Archambault, owner of Storybrook Road Creative Agency. Storybrook Road is a one-stop creative shop for businesses looking for videography, brand copywriting, and logo design in the greater Boston area!

In this episode we talked all about her recent rebrand, why she chose orange as her main color, what finally made her take the leap into full-time work (which is far more logical than you'd expect!), and why she loves telling brand's stories through branding.

We also chatted about how her grandfather exposed her to art as a kid, how society and her teachers ultimately pushed her away from pursuing a career in art, and how the graphic design field has become more accessible and viable over the past 5+ years.

We agree that some designers can have a reputation of pretentiousness, that gatekeeping makes it difficult to price your services and learn how to run a business effectively, and how a lack of transparency is ultimately hurting the design industry as a whole.

And of course, we chatted about social media! Why it's important to show your face on camera and interact with your followers, why setting boundaries is the biggest struggle when you're a solo business owner, and how some weeks are always going to be crazier than others. Oh... and how she once got trapped in a Sephora??? 

Be sure to follow Kristin on Instagram @storybrookrd ! Have interest in her services? Email her directly at [email protected] !

This week's episode features Ben MacDonald, VP of Sales at The Ad King, Inc - family owned and operated promotional products company (think logo printing on mugs, pens, t-shirts, and other memorabilia!) 

In this episode, we talked about how retro is "in" right now, the beginnings of the business (it's been around since the 1920's, wow!), why college isn't the right path for everyone, and why we both think schools shouldn't push college prep as hard (and how the other options can be great!)

Ben talks about how following in his family's footsteps has been so rewarding, but on the flipside how it can be so difficult to achieve work/life balance. COVID-19 has also affected the supply chain so badly (so be sure to contact your promotional product people ASAP when you need to get something done!)

We also talked about why word of mouth will always be the most important referral source for small businesses, how it can be difficult to turn away work from non-ideal clients, the fear of social media take-downs, and how his father's death affected both his personal AND business life tremendously.

You can learn more about Ben's business on theadking.com - and be sure to follow them on Instagram @theadkinginc ! Interested in ordering some promotional products? Ben can be reached directly at [email protected].