The Business of You with Rachel Gogos

Jonathan Jackson was a child actor in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. But since then, he has become a powerful artist, musician and creator. Now on The Business of You, Jonathan is sharing his unique story - including his journey to faith, fame and personal growth. 

Jonathan Jackson is a multi-faceted artist who creates meaningful art pieces through music, film, and the written word. He is a five-time EMMY® Award-winning actor and Critics’ Choice Award nominee who has starred in numerous TV and films, including ABC/CMT’s hit drama “Nashville” (2012–2018), “General Hospital” (1993–1999, 2009–2011, 2015), “Tuck Everlasting” (2002), “The Deep End Of The Ocean” (1999), “Insomnia” (2002) and “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights” (2004). He also appeared in episodes of “One Tree Hill”, “Boy Meets World”, “The Twilight Zone” and “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.”

His indie band Enation has performed alongside artists across the musical spectrum, including post-punk legends Echo & The Bunnymen, the iconic Sarah McLachlan, Echosmith, and more. Their new album, Ultraviolet Empire, was released in the fall of 2020 and was co-produced by GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Colin Linden. 

Jonathan is also a published Author. His current books include a work of Mystical Poetry entitled “Book of Solace and Madness” and the non-fiction prose “The Mystery of Art”, which has been translated into multiple languages. Jonathan resides in Ireland with his wife, Elisa, and their three children. He enjoys Greek coffee, good wine, and music.

Navigating fame at an early age

At just 11 years old, Jonathan left his idyllic childhood in Washington State to work as a child actor in California. Starring in “General Hospital”, he gained notoriety as a soap opera star and quickly began to book other roles. 

Working in television and movies, Jonathan had a workload that exceeded that of most grown adults. He knew that if he did not anchor himself in his relationship with God and his connections to his family, he would be swept away. With wisdom beyond his years, Jonathan turned to creative self-expression to set himself free. He collaborated with his brother Richard to compose original music, learn new instruments and write screenplays. Laughing, he explains that he had to begin writing because many of the ones he read were not very good. 

Rather than fall victim to the clutches of a dark industry, Jonathan used music and writing to guide himself towards the light. It became the foundation for his life’s work.

Creativity is a divine gift

Self-expression became the basis on which Jonathan connected with others and with his higher power. 

Channeling his gifts into music and written words, Jonathan became a known artist and musician with his band, Enation. Since the band’s inception in 2003, they have toured periodically and continued to produce new work. Jonathan is the band’s frontman, writing most of the songs in addition to singing, playing guitar, and playing the piano.

While navigating fame and building a career as a musician, Jonathan was also on another personal growth journey - his quest to deepen and explore his faith. For more of Jonathan’s story, be sure to tune in next week for Part II of Jonathan’s story here on The Business of You!

Quotes

“I’m more of an introvert, definitely. I’m fascinated by the introvert/extrovert dynamic. I’m not sure how much is nature versus nurture. I was extroverted as a child and became more introverted when I started acting. I do love people, communicating and connecting one on one.”

“Too much attention, positive or negative, is kind of negative. It’s going to kind of attack your ego and put you in a false reality. And if you have too much criticism and judgment, you’re potentially in extremes when you have any kind of spotlight. Searching for an equilibrium was my main focus throughout my teenage years. How do I remain sane through all that?”

“I glimpsed where my life could go if I wasn’t careful. A massive wave could pick me up and destroy me, if I didn’t position myself carefully. I thought, I need to anchor myself.”

“My brother was my closest friend, growing up. I was grateful that we had each other to walk through the madness of LA and the industry together.”

“I was slowly, slowly feeling like something central was missing in my experiences in Protestant churches. Wonderful people most of the time, good intentions. But something about the church itself, I just didn’t understand it. There were so many versions. You start looking around and think, this is very confusing. The sense of something missing was not connected to Christ Himself, it was the vagueness of the church.”

“The modern question is, what do I believe? It sounds like an important question. But the real question if you have any approximation to Christ is, what do Christians believe, and what have they always believed?”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit Jonathan Jackson’s Website at https://www.jonathanjackson.com/

Find Jonathan on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JonathanJacksonHQ/

Follow Jonathan on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jonathanjacksonhq/

Subscribe to Jonathan Jackson’s Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4KKxEIbF5kAGOSi26Nx3Bg 

If weeds were people, they’d be the ultimate entrepreneurs. Stu Heinecke has created a business strategy based on weeds, and it’s quickly taking root in the world of entrepreneurship.

Stu is a business growth strategist and the originator of Weed Strategy™. He is also a keynote speaker, renowned cartoonist and bestselling business author. His first book, How to Get a Meeting with Anyone, was named one of the top 64 sales books of all time. His latest, How to Grow Your Business Like a Weed, introduces a new model for explosive business growth, based on the strategies, attributes and tools weeds use to grow and spread. Stu has been named “The father of Contact Marketing”. He is the Founder of The Total Weed Awards, in collaboration with the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. 

Stu has had an unusual career arc. Mentored by some of the world’s top cartoonists from Playboy and The New Yorker, Stu has had his cartoons published in The Wall Street Journal and Playboy, among other publications. 

Stu has explored Weed Strategy™ for several years, collecting insights from thought leaders from the worlds of business, government, and entertainment including T. Boone Pickens, Kathy Ireland, General Barry McAffrey, Henrik Fisker, Gareb Shamus, Giovanni Marsico, Esther Dyson, Christopher Lochhead, Nathan Myhrvold, Carmen Medina, Jon Ferrara, and Jonna Mendez. 

What do weeds and entrepreneurs have in common?

Stu Heinecke was stuck in traffic on the Santa Monica freeway when he noticed something that would change his life: There, in between the cracks in the pavement, dandelions were growing.

It was an unlikely place for life. They were even spreading and taking over the cracks, one by one. As he sat in a long line of cars, Stu wondered why weeds thrive in the unlikeliest of places - and what it means for us.

In that moment Stu recognized something vitally important. If entrepreneurs thought more like weeds, we could experience the same explosive growth!

Think like a weed

Weeds are so much more than pests. Weeds are natural disruptors, collaborators and process-builders. If that doesn’t describe the ultimate mindset for entrepreneurs and their teams, nothing does. Imagine operating as a fierce collective, growing out of hardship, and taking over industries in innovative, unexpected ways. That’s the power of Weed Strategy™!

So what exactly is Weed Strategy™? To describe weeds and exceptional entrepreneurs, consider how they operate. They follow a consistent pattern: They always deal with what is, they never do anything without an unfair advantage, they never do anything alone, they always focus on what makes them win, and they thrive in disrupted ground. 

Weeds deal with what is happening right now; They don’t obsess about hypotheticals. Weeds don’t do anything without an unfair advantage; They look for ways in which they already have a leg up on the competition in order to come out on top. They don’t do anything alone; They use their connections to get their needs met. And above all, weeds thrive when they’re challenged. We as founders, creatives, entrepreneurs and self-starters could do well to follow their example.

Weeds are the Ubers, Airbnbs and SpaceX’s of the natural world. Applying Weed Strategy™ to your business can  transform your organization into a fierce collective, fanatically replying unfair advantages that explode the scale of your enterprise. 

Enjoy this episode of The Business of You for actionable insights that will change your life!

Quotes

“I was driving the Santa Monica Freeway. It’s no place for a plant to take root… but there in the cracks in the concrete, I noticed a dandelion. It struck me - how did it get here? What makes weeds so special, hardy and unique? Is there a unified model that they use, and is it something we can use in our businesses?”

“To describe weeds, look at what they do and how they operate. They always deal with what is, they never do anything without an unfair advantage, they never do anything alone - it’s always at scale, they always focus on what makes them win, and they thrive in disrupted ground. All of these statements suggest something about the [business] model.”

“Weeds would tell us - We would probably do well to let your actions lead our emotions, rather than letting emotions lead our actions.”

“Weeds never do anything alone. They’re natural collaborators. They would tell us - you need to team up with the smartest people you know, as fast as you can.”

“We are creating unfair advantages for each other through collaborations.”

“When you observe weeds, you can see that they’re aggressive, urgent, resilient, adaptive, and they’re even optimistic. I’m ascribing something to them when they don’t have emotions, but they function in a way we would if we were feeling optimistic.”

“We want our competitors saying, we can’t get rid of them. How can we compete with this!”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit Stu Heinecke’s Website at https://stuheinecke.com/ 

Purchase Stu Heinecke’s Book on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Grow-Your-Business-Like-Weed/dp/1632651998 

Connect with Stu directly on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuheinecke/ 

Find Stu Heinecke on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stu.heinecke.1 

Follow Stu on Twitter at https://twitter.com/byStuHeinecke 

You’ve never heard of a business like David Fischette’s. David is the Co-Founder, CEO, and Chief Creative at Go West Creative (GWC), an industry-leading marketing agency specializing in bringing brand stories to life through unparalleled live, virtual, and hybrid experiences. 

Go West has helped hundreds of organizations, including giants like the United Nations, HP, Deloitte, CVS, SalesForce, DuPont, Petco, Inspire Brands, Farmers, Aetna, and Sonic, effectively communicate their message to key stakeholders.

Go West has also won dozens of awards, including Special Event Magazine's "Top 50 Events Companies," Event Marketer Magazine's "Top 100 It List for Event Agencies," and Expertise's "Best Branding Agencies in Nashville."

David has 38+ years of experience helping big global brands in telling their stories so they can better relate to their target audiences and motivate them to take action.

Known for his passion and over 38 years at the helm of the award-winning Go West Creative Group, David Fischette has established himself as a visionary in the live production, broadcast, media and entertainment industries. He is a highly respected and sought-after Executive Producer and Director, both in Live Events and Film Productions. Additionally, he has produced live performances by Blake Shelton, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, Bebe Rexha, Jay Leno, Earth, Wind & Fire, Chicago, Josh Groban, and other top artists.

When asked about the name Go West Creative, David delivers an exceptional answer:  True North is your purpose, but your True West is your sense of curiosity, adventure and exploration. Success is about marrying the two together.

Build your brand intentionally

Prior to the success of Go West, David had a wild and rocky journey starting out in the events industry. Laughing, he shares that his business has evolved - internally and externally. 

After founding an event production company in 1984, David and his Co-Founder named it Audio Ecstasy. Their original tagline was “When image is everything.” Laughing, David is embarrassed about his original motto. But the name change and rebrand are an important reminder that as we discover our mission and evolve our personal brand, our business needs to follow suit. It’s never too late to pivot and discover that your work can follow the direction of your personal growth!

After doing some soul searching, David realized something important: They weren’t an event company; They were a creative agency. The modalities they worked in - audio, video, creative branding - were just tools in a bigger toolbox. With their mission in mind, they rebranded and watched their business grow exponentially.

To connect with others, be authentic

David has learned many lessons in his 39 years as a creative professional. He’ll be the first to tell you that he spent years trying to make the business seem more successful than it was. But after a situation where an employee embezzled client money, it was time for a reckoning. David cast aside his pride and talked openly with the customers. After informing them of the situation, he told them that he wanted to grow with them and show up for them going forward. The responses were overwhelmingly positive! 

This was an important moment for David and for the company. Instead of shying away from a challenge, he stood up, took accountability for the lack of oversight and used the experience to grow as a CEO and entrepreneur. Out of a difficult situation, he forged deep client relationships that he maintains to this day.

Lesson in diversification

Now, Go West is experiencing exponential growth. They are not in the business of just producing events - they create transformative experiences. 

The team at Go West translates clients’ company messaging into creative experiences, both for corporate teams and for their customers. Their business has three facets: Events, Content, and Experiences. 

They have even invented something entirely new: Spoken Cinema. For Spoken Cinema, Go West collaborates with spoken word artist Steve Connell. Steve writes a unique piece about the company’s vision and mission, then the Go West creative team works on a digital landscape including an original music score. It’s completely unique and seeks to connect customers to the impact and vision of the company - fusing more enduring client relationships for years to come. 

Quotes

“The way that I have connected the most with people is when I shared our actual business struggles. People are actually drawn to authenticity. It took me a lot of years to realize that I don’t have to be something I’m not. I’m just a guy who’s been doing this a long time, and we have wins and we have losses, but we’re persistent.”

“The way to hold on to clients is to be authentic and build trust. Sometimes the best way to build trust is to say - no, we’re not the right agency for you - instead of just accepting everything.”

“I’m a huge fan of experiential. The beauty of experiential work is that you don’t need 2,000 people… you need 50 or 100 people to experience something, and it spreads like wildfire.”

“Our company’s so interesting because we have the event side of what we do, but we also have the content side. We also have an agency side of the business - a business and experiential agency.”

“For Spoken Cinema, we have partnered with a spoken word artist out of Los Angeles by the name of Steve Connell. We’ve been creating these pieces together for over a decade - which either open a show or if it’s a charity, it’s before the ask. It’s specifically connecting the audience to what they do. Not just their job, but what they do. Steve writes the piece and we create the digital landscape and original music score. We’ve done over 250 pieces.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit  the Website for Go West Creative at https://www.gowestcreativegroup.com/ 

Learn more about the Spoken Cinema experience at https://spokencinema.com/about/

Connect with David directly on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-fischette-0119b3/ 

Find Go West Creative on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gowestcreative/ 

Follow Go West Creative on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gwcreativegroup?lang=en  

Verónica Buitrón believes that the most creative, innovative companies have simple processes to follow - removing stress and setting minds free to work on exciting new ideas. 

Veronica is the Co-Founder and CEO of TangoCode, a Chicago-based software development firm focused on Digital Marketing. Prior to TangoCode,  Verónica was a Co-founder of GeneXus USA, a development services firm for enterprises. TangoCode specializes in creating simpler ads. The team at TangoCode use their industry expertise to guide companies through the process of aligning their technology strategy with their business objectives. Basically - they create automation software to simplify business processes!

As a female entrepreneur,  Verónica considers it essential to not only create a diverse and progressive culture within her own company but also to actively promote it within the tech community. She believes that diverse views help solve complex technology challenges in a global market. TangoCode is built upon the principles of innovation, continuous improvement, diversity, and excellence.

These values have enabled TangoCode to create the industry’s most innovative digital marketing solutions at an accelerated rate for its clients and evolve from a software development firm to include the launch of its latest AdTech automation platform, Chassis.

 Verónica speaks publicly on diversity, innovation, and their interrelated relationship. She participates in workshops and fireside chats about a more diverse technology world and the power of finding solutions together.

Change creates innovation

Before founding TangoCode,  Verónica explored many avenues for her talents. But every time she considered software for companies, she saw stable industries - and wasn’t challenged enough. 

Instead, she took notice of an ever-changing industry: Digital marketing. Constantly evolving, the world of digital marketing requires that marketers innovate to survive constant disruption. TangoCode brings both automation and scale to marketers to enrich their value-added services. 

In digital marketing,  Verónica and her husband and Co-Founder discovered an industry that required easier solutions in order to take away the stress and anxiety of advertising businesses. But she also saw a fun and unique challenge for her company to stay on their toes and learn new things every day. As a diverse and unique team, the experts at TangoCode have taken on major challenges - including the creation of simpler beautiful ad design programs for automotive dealers, a self-serve real estate ad platform, integrated medical apps, and even increasing exposure by running ads for teen arts programs.  

Simplicity sets you free

 Verónica knows that the most difficult thing in business is scaling it and making it easy to follow processes - often saying that “It’s a very complex concept to make something simple.” 

Advertising has been complicated for long enough. Now, Veronica’s team creates streamlined systems for companies to use to advertise their services. Businesses are overwhelmed with gratitude when they reach exponentially more customers, eliminate overwhelm and save hundreds of hours of work time. 

While the TangoCode team works on complex issues, one thing will always be simple and true: By following processes, your mind will be free to explore bigger and better ideas.

Quotes

“Simple is a concept that we take very seriously. It’s a very complex concept to make something simple.”

“TangoCode is an interesting company because it was started based on values. This is how I want to work. I want to provide solutions but work in a team collaboration way. I want to make sure that the result was the sum of all our parts. We knew it was possible.”

“Most industries don’t change in a way that actually transforms the solutions you build! But digital marketing keeps changing. It’s very exciting as an industry. It’s very challenging and you have to keep up with what you know. We specialize in scale. So when a company wants to build a digital marketing product, it’s automated. We help them figure out all the pieces and create a roadmap for that product.”

“For a real estate company that works with property management companies, they saw an opportunity. They wanted to be able to provide more value based on the property listing data that they had. Ads were a natural way to expand. They were using listing data to run ads for their clients, but they didn’t want to just become an agency managing ads full time. We worked with them to design an express product - something that’s easy to sell. Within the first year, we were already around $6 million dollars in revenue!”

“We build processes so that we can have freedom. We build frameworks so that people can actually be creative.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit  Verónica’s Website at www.tangocode.com 

Connect with  Verónica directly on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronica-buitron-64a68017 

View the website for GeneXus at https://www.genexus.com/en/ 

Watch  Verónica’s feature in the UniVision video - Women in Tech at https://tangocode.com/latest-updates/

Media Maven Christina Nicholson has a lot to say about public relations. More than anything, she has valuable advice for entrepreneurs - on how to promote themselves authentically, confidently and effectively. 

Christina Nicholson is an award-winning television journalist, course creator, public speaker, podcaster and Founder of the PR agency Media Maven. Christina and her Media Maven team work intimately and exclusively with a select number of high-ticket clients, bringing their public relations goals to fruition through hard work and strategic ad placement. Besides her agency’s work with clients, Christina has used her decades of experience in media to create a suite of products for business owners, with various budgets and goals. Entrepreneurs can take a mini bootcamp on her website to improve their PR skills or invest in the Media Mentoring Program course for a full education on how, when, where, and why to use PR strategies to their full advantage.

Christina has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, the Huffington Post, Time, Yahoo!, PR Daily, All Business Experts, on CNN, WTVJ in Miami, WPTV in West Palm Beach, News 12 in New York City, and in many other media outlets. 

Now on The Business of You, Christina shares her industry’s best-kept secrets to help us all get recognized by the right people, at the right time.

Treat your business like a business

When Christina decided to go out on her own, she thought it would be easy. 

She started an Upwork account, jumped on LinkedIn and worked around the clock. But for two years, she made herself miserable - until she invested in herself! After exhausting her energy, Christina hired a business coach, who told her to treat her business like an actual…business. 

Christina had been wearing all the hats - sales person, service provider, marketer and beyond. For the first time, Christina took a step back and considered the future of her company like a CEO. Her coach advised her to hire a team, thinking big-picture and take on more seasoned clients. 

So many entrepreneurs are guilty of this. In your own business, are you thinking like a CEO? What actionable goals could you set for your business and who could you hire to help you achieve them?

Stop getting in your own way

When asked for her biggest piece of advice for entrepreneurs, Christina responded immediately with this: Stop getting in your own way. 

Founders, particularly women, think that they need to wait for perfect conditions to market their businesses. They make excuses and put off PR and media until they think they've achieved success - when their website is perfect, they have a team and they’re making “enough” money. But Christina advises: This is backwards!

When it comes to PR, she reminds us that it’s all about generating new opportunities for growth. Get in front of people before you’re “ready,” and big things will happen in your business!

Share your wins, everywhere

Christina has noticed a bizarre trend in the world of PR, and she’s here to encourage you to avoid this popular mistake. 

After getting PR coverage, she notices that a lot of businesses don’t share it. They forget to send out an email about it, make a social media post about it, post it on their website, or even mention it beyond their personal circle of friends. Nobody knows they were on TV, and they don’t help get the word out.

Avoid this popular PR mistake. If someone promotes you - on their channel, podcast, in their newsletter or magazine, etc - share it far and wide. This is a great opportunity to ask yourself - where was I featured recently, and who have I told about it? Who could I tell about it? Who needs to know about this? Make sure you’re celebrating your wins, because it will ultimately catapult you to business success. 

Quotes

“I said, you know what? This is a service-based industry, so I don’t need a lot of money to get started. I’ll just go on LinkedIn and Upwork and get my own clients! I did that for two years, by myself…and I was freaking miserable.”

“It was tough because I was wearing all of the hats. I was doing it all myself - I was doing the marketing, servicing the clients, I was the salesperson. It wasn’t until I hired my first business coach that I actually learned about business!”

“Everything I do is under the PR umbrella. But there are different products and services depending on where you are in your business, and how much time or money you want to spend making this a part of your marketing strategy.”

“I’m the kind of manager I would have wanted. I don’t check up on them. As long as you’re hitting those goals, I don’t care. I don’t care what you wear, when you work,  where you went to college, how many hours you worked. Is the client happy, and are you happy? Perfect! We just do our jobs. We’re all adults. We don’t need to be babysat. We just get things done.”

“With our clients, we don’t have a whole onboarding thing for weeks. We have one call - what are your goals? What do you want to see? What do you want? What is the short term goal and end goal? Then we go and execute that day. All this talking, planning and researching - it has a place! But in PR when we’re trying to get you coverage, we don’t waste time.”

“We give our clients updates every week. It’s so important to send them an email every week - this is what we did, this is what worked, this is what didn’t work. We think we’re gonna go this way next week and we need your help with XYZ.”

“Stop telling yourself you’re not ready for it. A lot of women do this. They make all kinds of excuses. You’re putting the cart before the horse. The way you get more money, a bigger brand, more leads and a bigger email list - you get this by being in front of people. You get the attention first, then the leads come in. So many people get this backwards.”

“After you get coverage, please - share it, and share it everywhere! It blows my mind how many people get media coverage and don’t put it on their website, don’t post it to social media, don’t send it to their email list.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Are you ready to finally see your name in popular media outlets like Forbes, Inc., and Fast Company? Download your free guide, 16 Places to Pitch to Be a Contributor at https://www.mediamavenandmore.com/contributor

Visit Christina’s Website at https://www.mediamavenandmore.com/ 

Listen to the Become a Media Maven Podcast at https://www.mediamavenandmore.com/podcast/ 

Connect with Christina Nicholson on LinkedIn at https://LinkedIn.com/in/ChristinaAllDay 

Follow Christina on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/MediaMavenAndMore 

Follow Christina on Twitter at https://Twitter.com/ChristinaAllDay 

Email Christina personally at [email protected]

Jen Kem is an ultra-quotable entrepreneur. She is full of incredible wisdom based on her rich experiences in business - learning how to live her values, maintain her confidence, and empower others.

Jennifer "Jen" Kem is a San Francisco Bay area-based brand building and leadership expert who gets entrepreneurs seen, heard, and paid for being themselves.

She’s the creator of the Master Brand Method: a framework to develop powerful brands that win customers' hearts, which she uses in strategic consulting for emerging entrepreneurs, celebrity brands like the Oprah Winfrey Network and Steve Harvey, and other major corporations including Verizon, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Bank of Hawaii.

She is a successful owner of three multimillion-dollar businesses and the proud mother of three children.

The seeds of entrepreneurship were planted early

Jen Kem had no intention of building a business, much less multiple successful businesses. But a long and winding path led her here. 

At a young age, Jen was in search of one thing: Knowledge. Growing up in Hawaii, she went to her local library in search of information and a world outside her small island community. After devouring the entire children’s section, she worked her way through the adult books - and wished for more. 

Sitting on her Grandmother’s shaggy 1970’s carpet, she was handed the business section of the newspaper and her eyes lit up. She began to realize that the world was impacted by business decisions. 

Even in school, when asked what she wanted to become, she answered precociously that she wanted to become the General Counsel of Coca-Cola International. The adults in her life were stunned. 

Jen never became a lawyer, but what she became is incredibly powerful - a high-level Business Strategist and creator of The Master Brand Method.

Passed up for a promotion inspired her

Jen was working in the corporate world before she became an entrepreneur. She was happy there - until a white male coworker got a promotion over her. 

Regardless of her respect for him, she realized that her qualifications would never be enough in her industry. It was time for her to pave her own path and create the kind of world she wanted to live in. 

She left behind her corner office and charted a new path - a path of trying new things, rediscovering herself again and again, and using her values as a path to the life she wanted.

Doing what works, quitting what doesn’t

Jen has owned multiple businesses, and they didn’t all work out. In fact, she uses her story as a teachable moment to us entrepreneurs - to show us that sometimes, a failure is actually an important lesson. 

Before there was Doordash, there was Webvan, and Jen Kem was on the launch team. It was a great idea back in the late 1990’s! But the market wasn’t ready - and the idea flopped. 

Jen watched the Founder of Webvan recover and go on to do great things. When Doordash became popular, she laughed at the timing: Sometimes an idea is great, but the market just isn’t ready. 

Before she founded The Master Brand Institute, Jen launched an underwear store in Hawaii. It was a great idea, since there weren’t any others like it at the time! Women on the Hawaiian islands were traveling back to the mainland and shopping at Victoria’s Secret for their options in underwear, because they didn’t have any local options. But when the recession hit, her store went under - and she subsequently lost her house, her marriage, and her confidence. Jen fell into a deep depression. 

It would have been easy for Jen to tell herself negative stories about her “failures.” She could have decided that she was bad at business, and that she shouldn’t try again. Instead, her ten-year-old daughter gave her a big pep talk. Jen began seeing a therapist and gaining back her mental and emotional health. It inspired one of her best pieces of advice for us: Focus on what you’re great at. 

When Jen asked herself the hard questions, she realized that she didn’t actually love retail! Was it really a failure if she wasn’t passionate about it long-term? Retail was limiting, and one of Jen’s key principles is autonomy - and her business wasn’t in alignment with that value. This realization made Jen realize that it was time to create a company that was, and she bounced back. 

Values are a verb

Jen’s core values are autonomy, justice, generosity, leadership of self, and legacy. Now, her business clearly reflects those values. 

While businesses frequently feature their values as words on a wall, Jen reminds us that values are how we live, not what we preach. 

Your values can help you make important business decisions. For example, Jen’s biggest goal is to be autonomous; To be in charge of herself and in control of her life. Now, when presented with a choice, she filters it through her values before coming to a conclusion. Does this option give her more autonomy, or take it away? Does it require so much of her time that she loses too much freedom in order to participate? Does this serve the legacy she is trying to create? 

Jen’s work to live her values inspires us to do the same. What are your personal values, and how do you actively use them in your business?

Quotes

“I am obsessed with learning. Reading is my favorite thing to do. Every morning my grandmother would drink her Lipton tea and I would sit on her shaggy 70’s carpet. She would give me the business section of the newspaper, so I started reading about business. I started to understand that that was what made the world move.”

“As a visionary, we do see the future. Sometimes the ideas aren’t ready. Sometimes the market is not ready, but that doesn’t mean the idea isn’t good.”

“The system wasn’t set up to support people like me - women of color, women ingenral. The system was set up to support people who played golf with our boss.”

“I made the big scary decision to leave my corporate job. I took 9 months to create an exit plan. I had to, because I had two young kids. I spent the entire 9 months putting away half my paycheck. I had no reason to leave, I was making $400,000 a year in a corner office with a disco ball in it. I had the trophies and triumphs.”

“Entrepreneurs are the reason we solve problems in the world.”

“I wanted to help others like me get rich, respected and recognized for the fact they could see the future.”

“I’m committed, not attached. Not every business I build is my dream home. We get so attached to our dream home. But a real estate investor never gets attached! So I look at my business like a real estate investor. I put all the elements inside it to make it work, but if it’s not working and I’ve tried everything, I can elegantly shut it down.”

“Courage is a muscle. It’s something you have to keep training. People ask me if I lose confidence. I am still scared to do things! But what I can trust is what I know. I would rather fail fast than fail slow. It doesn’t mean I’m not scared.”

“Values aren’t what you wish for. They are who you are and how you’re behaving right now.”

“Legacy isn’t about the future - legacy is what you’re doing right now to create the world you want to live in. Every decision I make runs through that filter.”

“Maybe is a place we use as an excuse. It slows us down. I only say a clean yes or a clean no. When I filter things through ym values, I don’t have regrets. You start to feel like yourself.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit Jen Kem’s website at www.JenniferKem.com    Connect with Jen Kem on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferkem 

Follow Jen on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JenniferKemComm 

Follow Jen on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jennifer.kem/?hl=en 

Follow Jen on Twitter at https://twitter.com/_JenniferKem_

Liam Austin created his company out of love - literally. Desperate to stay with his partner whose visa was expiring, they set out to build a business they could do from anywhere, and wound up launching an accidental empire. 

Liam Austin is the Co-Founder of Entrepreneurs HQ, a company that helps business owners host virtual events, online summits and mini-workshops. Through the power of virtual events, Entrepreneurs HQ empowers Founders to get more clients, authority and income.

Having launched over 15 virtual summits and online conferences, and countless virtual events, hosting over 400 speakers whilst educating 100,000+ business owners through his programs, Liam is a virtual event strategist.

With all this experience, he's a specialist at making it easy for people to create their own online events and virtual conferences to grow their email list, authority, impact, and revenue.

Desperate times call for successful measures

When Liam met Sarah in 2015, he knew he wanted to spend more time with her. The problem was, they didn’t have any. 

Sarah was Swedish and her visa was quickly expiring. They were in Liam’s native Australia, dreaming of traveling the world together. An idea was born. 

With the clock ticking and a desperate need to stay together, Liam and Sarah conceptualized the idea of Entrepreneurs HQ. They wanted to gather entrepreneurs together to learn from one another, so they hosted their very first online summit. 

They poured all of their energy and focus into the event. They hosted knowledgeable professionals to teach about how to generate sales and leads on LinkedIn - featuring 35 speakers in 3 days. It was a booming success. They hosted 15,000 business owners and sold all of their VIP passes, making over $50,000 USD. Liam was shocked - it was more than his first annual salary!

Realizing that they had made their dreams come true, they embarked on an ongoing whirlwind of travel, adventure, and business. 

Duplication is the key to scalability

Liam and Sarah kept hosting successful events, over and over again. They were so successful that they started hosting events teaching others how to host events. 

The problem was, they were tired. They loved their business and the life they had built, but the constant state of launching was making them feel depleted. With another stroke of genius, they realized that they could repurpose their content. 

Liam took the recording of one of their most successful and profitable workshops and repackaged it for sale again. He expected it to sell some, but the results were far more than he imagined - it sold out again, at the same price point as the live event. 

Liam had discovered something major. People still had the same problem they had had when the event had launched before - they wanted to generate leads and sales easily online. This was information every entrepreneur needed! Not only was the content in demand, they could now access it quickly and easily. Instead of waiting weeks to attend a live event, they could play it on 2x speed and start making money right away. 

Liam and Sarah were excited to see that evergreen content was doing well, and they began duplicating this process with their other events. Now, they have dozens of high-value workshops available virtually, generating income for them while they travel the world!

What can you duplicate in your business?

Liam is a hard worker. But when it comes to online events, his message is clear: After the initial launch, you can work smarter, not harder!

When it comes to your business, how can you generate more income by making your process replicable? What is your process and what are the steps to success? What results have you seen? These questions can help you design your own successful online event - and see massive results for years to come.

Quotes

“After doing this for just a year, we learned so much. We had over a hundred thousand people come to our events.”

“That’s what’s great about virtual events. I’m at home, you can see where I live. You can see my space. It’s the authentic me. Authentic you attracts people who jive with you and enjoy working with you.”

“One of the big things we learned in our first year was that it’s tiring, launching all the time. It’s tiring showing up to your own events all the time. So we packaged one of our old events, sent out an email and it sold out…at the same price we sold it for the first time. People were still having the same problem as they were when we originally launched it. They want more leads, they want more sales, they want more clients. It was the same promise, packaged differently.”

“When you launch something live, you create the landing page, the copy, the emails, the images, the payment processor, the actual product itself…now we just automate it. You can bring in traffic, sales and leads without launching all the time.”

“Partnerships are a great way to grow your business. But as a person, there are some really great benefits of building relationships with people who are servicing your niche.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit the website for Entrepreneurs HQ at https://entrepreneurshq.com/ 

Receive your own Virtual Events Checklist by entering your information at https://entrepreneurshq.com/virtual-workshop-checklist/?utm_source=qwwcom&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=qwwc 

Get free access to the Virtual SUmmit Masterclass at https://virtualsummitclass.com/

Follow Entrepreneurs HQ on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/entrepreneurshq 

Connect with Liam on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/liamaustin/ 

Contact Liam personally by emailing him at [email protected] 

If there’s one piece of advice Irene Nakamura wants you to take to heart, it’s this: Your success begins when you expand beyond others’ expectations for you.

Irene Nakamura is the Founder and Principal of iDepo Reporters and iDepo Hawaii LLC, a woman and minority-owned court reporting firm providing both in-person and remote depositions, e-filing, subpoena and process serving, and record retrieval services to attorneys, law firms, legal secretaries and paralegals. 

iDepo operates two independent companies in Los Angeles and Honolulu, Hawaii, with a network of 100+ culturally-diverse court reporters and staff, nationwide. In addition to a high degree of professionalism, iDepo is known for providing an excellent workplace environment. With nearly 30 years of court reporting experience, Irene is also a Registered Professional Reporter, a Realtime Reporter, and a certified LiveNote Reporter with certifications in California, Hawaii, Washington, Nevada, and Illinois.

Prior to founding iDepo, Irene served as an Official Court Reporter for the Honorable Robert M. Takasugi and the Honorable George H. King at the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Since 1991, Irene has reported on complex cases for national and international law firms including high – profile cases involving the Mexican and Armenian Mafia and several groundbreaking business cases. She has also reported corporate meetings for the Screen Actors Guild, among others.

By founding her own court reporting agency, Irene has become the first Japanese - American woman to do so in Southern California, perhaps in the nation. As hard as it may be for anyone to start a business, Irene says it is especially difficult coming from her background. 

A brand born out of determination

Looking at Irene’s success, it’s easy to assume that she was encouraged every step of the way. But while addressing cultural nuances, Irene shares that for her, this wasn’t exactly the case. 

Irene Nakamura’s mother raised her to be a good wife and mom - but the emphasis was not necessarily on education. Beyond high school, Irene was informed that she had to wait to enroll in college until her brother graduated university. Irene was not having it. 

After all, her brother was pursuing a double Master’s degree - and Irene was not about to wait to start her life until his graduation date. Instead, she worked full-time to put herself through trade school as a court stenographer. She didn’t even understand what it was, but she took to it naturally. Despite the challenges of becoming certified - stenographers have to pass their licensure exam with aa solid A+ and at least a 95% accuracy rate - Irene thrived and quickly became beloved to her clients for her follow-through, attention to detail and dedication.

Relationships build better companies

Irene Nakamura did not set out to become an entrepreneur. 

She was frequently requested by name and became a staple of the court reporting community, and nourished her relationships with others in her field. But the inspiration for starting her own business came out of a troubling moment in her career. 

Irene was requested on a case and communicated that she had surgery that week, so she wouldn’t be able to turn in her transcripts until the following week. Nevertheless, the client insisted on working with her. Despite her communication, she woke up from surgery to harassing messages from people waiting for her transcripts - and realized that it was time to make a change. Her own family, watching her work while recovering and on a holiday, suggested that she start her own company.

Upon launching iDepo, many of Irene’s former clients chose to work with the company long-term. Relationships are everything to Irene, and nurturing her client partnerships paid off in a big way when she started her own brand!

Creating opportunities for others

Irene was beloved by her clients, but she observed that the working conditions for court reporters could be improved. Starting her own company meant that she could have a profound influence on the trade - and change lives along the way. 

Now with three locations and growing, Irene says that her biggest goal is growing an excellent team. iDepo works on a national level, providing services in courts across the United States. The company is in a time of rapid expansion. WIth more graduates looking for stable employment in a trade that impacts lives, court stenography is a fantastic and marketable skill to learn - and iDepo is a company born out of excellence.  

Quotes

“When I was young, I was conditioned to follow the path my mom had led for me. She was grooming me to become a good wife and mother, and that was my path.”

“It was all born out of relationships. I was getting so much work, there was no way I could do it by myself. I needed to start hiring.”

“One of the biggest challenges is the people you work with. Hiring and making sure you have a really good team you can count on. They need to have a really good attitude and an entrepreneurial spirit, I like that even as part of a team. I want them to work well together. Sometimes your coworker might need help! I do my best to cultivate that type of environment.”

“At first I really struggled to put myself out there. I had built my business on relationships but I got to a point where I needed to expand beyond those relationships. I had to have a website, marketing, social media, and being on amazing podcasts like yours to bring brand awareness…”

“We have to pass our national test at 95% accuracy, at 225 words per minute with two people speaking. There aren’t many exams given for a career that you have to have an A in order to pass, not just an A but an A+. One technicality can make or break a case.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit the website for iDepo at https://ideporeporters.com/company-idepo-team/ 

Connect with Irene Nakamura on LinedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/irene-nakamura/  

Check out Irene’s feature in Medium Magazine’s “Power Women” series: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/power-women-irene-nakamura-idepo-reporters-on-how-to-successfully-navigate-work-love-and-life-as-209de062481 

Read Irene’s shout-out in Shoutout LA’s piece Guardian of the Record: https://shoutoutla.com/meet-irene-nakamura-guardian-of-the-record-founder-of-idepo-reporters-and-idepo-hawaii/ 

Your business requires you to be at your peak performance. You make decisions, serve clients and manage a team - isn’t it time that you felt better while doing it?

Ollie Matthews is Rachel Gogos’ Health Coach. Today on The Business of You, Ollie helps us uncover some of the lifestyle changes that are holding us back, and what we can do about them.

Ollie is a Health Coach, Nutritionist and Functional Medicine Doctor living in the UK. He works with stressed-out high-achieving entrepreneurs to help them revitalize their lives from the inside out! Ollie works with clients virtually and in-person.

Ollie Matthews has over 17 years experience in health working with clients in 27 different countries - from the busiest entrepreneurs and parents to professional athletes including Tour de France riders and Olympic athletes. He is known for a very nontraditional method: He moves in with his clients! In a lot of cases, Ollie quite literally lives with his clients to help assess their lifestyle and help them break harmful patterns that are preventing them from living their most optimal lives. 

Ollie is the Founder of OJay health. He hosts OJay Talk Radio, a monthly podcast about reaching optimal health. On the podcast he discusses hot topics such as insomnia, early-onset menopause and hormone balance, burnout and ADHD.

It started with a loss

Ollie was just a young teenager when his dad passed away. It was an event that changed his life forever. Ollie idolized his father and missed him terribly. It was also a time of great confusion. Ollie’s dad seemed perfectly healthy! He wasn’t overweight, he didn’t have any obvious signs of poor health…except for nagging migraines. 

The loss of his father at such a young age set Ollie off on a lifelong journey to understand health. But it also triggered Ollie’s anxiety, sadness and a desire for control. After struggling with his weight after his father’s passing, Ollie fought to gain control of his health, but wound up developing an eating disorder. On the outside, he was winning bodybuilding competitions left and right - but he wasn’t healthy.  Now, Ollie shares that his loss of control in life led to his need for control in his own body. He discovered functional medicine, quit competing and found balance. 

Ollie encourages us to approach lifestyle changes with curiosity and a desire to reset your foundation…not an obsession with perfection! Instead of selling supplements or presenting a fix-all solution, he trains his clients to start where it matters: Deep within.

Doing the work starts with you

Sure, you could take supplements and drink protein shakes! But Ollie Matthews is here to get to the root of it all. 

After quitting the bodybuilding world and leaving corporate jobs behind, Ollie began exploring the world of functional medicine more seriously. Accredited as a Doctor of Functional Medicine, he empowers his patients to start at the root cause of their problems.

When working intimately with his clients, he asks the foundational questions: What does your sleep schedule, nutrition, exercise, stress management and home environment look like? Are you taking care of yourself mentally and managing your stress? Ollie wants to help his clients avoid “masking” or avoidance techniques. Just like his own struggles were a manifestation of grief and trauma - what are you running away from that needs to be dealt with before you can move forward? 

Ollie Matthews once helped Taylor Swift’s Manager. Frustrated and desperate for change, he hired Ollie to come to Nashville and support him - with the ultimate gift of giving his wife back the man she married over a decade before. At the end of their time together, his family was in tears thanking Ollie for his gifts. The stress of touring and managing a popular artist was wearing him down and affecting his entire life. Once he learned to manage his stress and make holistic changes, he became a better version of himself!

What does your foundation look like?

As a busy entrepreneur, it might seem overwhelming to focus on your health. So you might be wondering - where should you begin?

Ollie starts with two things: Nutrition and exercise. Beginning with those two areas affects the most change. He encourages you to work with a nutritionist to figure out whether you’re getting enough protein, so that your brain can reach peak performance. He also recommends exercising every day in order to boost your immune system, clear out arterial plaque and stimulate a better mood. 

Start with how you’re fueling and energizing your body, and watch your life-and your business-begin to transform. 

Quotes

“I thought having muscles would give me that confidence. But it brought up a lot of demons. I couldn’t control my dad passing away, or losing people. But I could control my food. So I became obsessed…and developed an eating disorder.”

“A lot of people are going through stuff…but they don’t realize, this is going to help your life in a positive way.”

“It’s not about the money for me…it’s about seeing that impact.”

“I want to look at your foundation first. Unless you’re sleeping okay, getting good nutrition and managing stress, nothing works.”

“Your gut health talks to your brain. When people can’t focus, I look at the body from a top-down perspective. What is the actual underlying cause?”

“If we get our heart rate up and get our blood pumping, it helps with arterial clearance. It has a better chance of getting to the brain. It gives you much more energy for the rest of the day.”

“I’m persistent, and if I don’t know the answer to something, I want to go out and try to find it. I’m driven to find out more so I can help more people.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Check out Ollie Matthews’ website at www.ojayhealth.com 

Listen to Ollie’s podcast, OJay Health Radio, at https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ojay-health-radio-health-optimization-for-the-worlds/id988469529?mt=2 

Subscribe to Ollie’s Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCKkHLbH09IgCyNoVc_XLLA?reload=9

Connect with Ollie Matthews on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-matthews-78460199/ 

Follow Ollie on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ojaymatthews 

If you have a process for everything except sales, you’ll benefit greatly from this encouraging pep talk from Jennifer Bleam. She’s here to discuss scaling your business, stepping out of your own way and reimagining the possibilities!

Jennifer Bleam is the Owner and Founder of MSP Sales Revolution, a cybersecurity-focused company that teaches entrepreneurs to level-up their operations. She is a trusted educator and mentor for Managed Service Providers looking to dominate their marketplace and build the company of their dreams.

Jennifer’s drive and expertise has led her to grow several multi-million dollar companies and divisions in under 2 years each. She has been featured in countless trade publications and podcasts and has been a guest speaker and trainer on stages around the world including North America, Australia, and Europe. To date, Jennifer has coached nearly 2,000 MSPs on effective sales and marketing to small and medium-sized businesses. Jennifer is a best-selling Author on Amazon for her book, Simplified Cybersecurity Sales For MSPs: The Secret Formula For Closing Cybersecurity Deals Without Feeling Slimy. 

Jennifer is also a wife, and a mother of three boys. When she’s not occupying her role as a Speaker, Author and Founder, Jennifer enjoys traveling out of her home base on the East Coast.

What got you here, isn’t going to get you there

Now and then, Jennifer is on a call with a frustrated client. As a direct and authentic mentor, Jennifer asks them - “Why do you think you’re not seeing growth in your business?”

When Jennifer sees businesses stagnate and plateau, they have something major in common - they haven’t truly scaled up. The Founder is still trying to do it all- refusing to step away and trust their team, wearing too many hats and burning out. It can be hard to delegate and let go of the reins, but MSP Sales Revolution is all about doing that mindfully!

With humor and positivity, Jennifer gives us a helpful reminder that what got us where we are today, might not be exactly what will get us where we want to be. And that’s okay! Her 9-step process gives Founders and CEOs the practical tools they need to retain quality control in the company beyond the scale they’re currently in, launching them into exponential success. 

Evaluate your desire role in your company

As a Founder, you can’t do it all. Jennifer Bleam offers helpful advice on how to remain a visionary and decision-maker for your brand: Start hiring! Whether you begin with a single Virtual Assistant or a dozen, outsourcing administrative tasks can be your gateway to build an expansive company.

It can also be a tough pill to swallow, but not everyone is meant to be an entrepreneur…and not everyone loves it! Her decades of experience have taught Jennifer that pride can get in the way of unhappy Founders evaluating their career. Through her coaching process, Jennifer teaches Founders to make the important decisions that affect their happiness and success: What their strengths are, what role to fill in their own company, how to hire, and how to scale. 

What does scaling look like for you?

Scaling can look different for different  companies. In this episode, Jennifer helps us understand some different ways companies scale and how any service provider can level up - if they’re ready to step up and rise to the occasion!

Quotes

“Many of my clients have woken up and said, you know what? What got me here is not gonna get me there.”

“I have an MSP growth road map. It’s a 9-step system that all my clients walk through to get from Point A to Point B. Point A is usually, they’ve had some success but they don’t know how to document or measure or prove it. And Point B is, I now have a sales and marketing machine!”

“I encourage my clients to hire as quickly as they can - starting with a Virtual Assistant or several Virtual Assistants to do administrative work. I don’t think it’s practical for an owner to run sales and marketing, be a visionary and make decisions about acquisition. That’s a recipe for disaster.”

“We will never buy from someone we don’t know exists.”

“We get very vulnerable. I ask, why are you calling today? There are certain companies that are stuck, and they’ve been stuck for ten or fifteen years. It’s usually because of the owner. The owner can’t get out of their own way. Or, they’re not willing to get uncomfortable.”

“Not everybody is meant to be an entrepreneur. There are business owners who want to close and don’t want to define it as a failure. But it’s not a failure to say this isn’t working - let me close my doors and find something that I like better.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Learn more about MSP Sales Revolution on their website at https://mspsalesrevolution.com/about/ 

Get freebies to expand and scale your business at https://mspsalesrevolution.com/freebies/ 

You can find Jennifer’s book on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jennifer-Bleam/author/B09TRYQZL2?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true 

Connect with Jennifer Bleam on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bleamjennifer  

Follow Jennifer on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JenniferBleamOfficial/