The Business of You with Rachel Gogos

Christine was raised in fear and poverty in a doomsday cult. 

She was taught she would never have the opportunity to gain an education, have a family, or have a career. Since her escape, she has been blessed to do all those things and more-including building a 7-figure Strengths Coaching business. Now she is on a mission to help others overcome their fears so they too can live a life that fulfills them.

Are you using your business to survive or thrive? After fighting for her freedom and finally achieving stability as a young mom, Christine realized that she was made for more. She had built a successful private security business and she was making money, so why didn’t she feel like she had “made it”? 

Despite being proud of the company she grew with her husband, Christine invested in high-level business training with a Gallup Strengths coach. It changed her life forever.

Knowing your strengths can change your life. Christine’s business coach helped her discover her Clifton Strengths-a set of innate abilities that each of us possess. 

By identifying her strengths, Christine found answers to some of her life’s most important questions. She realized although her current business was lucrative, it was not nurturing her love of human connection. Christine decided to pivot and build a business that helped her share her gift of inspiring and empowering women entrepreneurs to overcome their fears by knowing their strengths. 

Use YOUR strengths to build and scale your business! Christine Minh-Minh Garner coaches entrepreneurs, small businesses and large organizations to use their strengths to improve the way they do business! 

Christine shows us how appreciating the strengths of others can help you build sustainable teams, create work you’re proud of and collaborate harmoniously, providing excellence to your clients every time.

Quotes

“I had to start asking myself, if money and time wasn’t an issue, what would I be doing with my life? And it would be to be helping women in business to create a blueprint for their most fulfilling future.”

“Fulfillment is about hope, and it’s about overcoming fear. The reason that this is so near and dear to my heart is because I was raised in poverty and fear.”

“I have found that knowing your strengths and how to utilize them is the biggest fear-bulldozer I have ever seen.”

“How is it that I can aim these strengths to achieve the goal? It’s a beautiful strategy.”

“My higher purpose is helping women and helping businesses and organizations create a strengths-based culture where people actually want to come to work.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit Christine Minh-Minh Garner’s website at www.minh-minh.com  

Explore personalized Strengths Coaching with Christine at https://www.minh-minh.com/coaching  

Listen to her podcast, The Fulfilled Life, at https://minh-minh.buzzsprout.com/ 

And lastly, find YOUR strengths by taking the Gallup CliftonStrengths Assessment on their website. https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=us_strengths_branded_cs_ecom&utm_term=clifton%20strengths&gclid=CjwKCAjw6dmSBhBkEiwA_W-EoG4YyqX58FFTID53M-s6lRCm4NXCF3w5IuB7ygO0IZT5XZVL3nOAzRoCiIkQAvD_BwE

 

 

Jill Salzman is a masterful creator of community. She has built her successful business by empowering women to chase their goals and show up as their most confident selves.

Currently, Jill is growing her third entrepreneurial venture, The Founding Moms, the #1 platform for mom entrepreneurs to build better businesses. A graduate of Brown University and law school, she started a music management firm and then launched and sold a baby jewelry company before creating her current business.

Jill is the author of The Best Business Book In The World and the best-seller, Found It: A Field Guide for Mom Entrepreneurs. Jill is the host of the top-rated entertaining business podcast, Why Are We Shouting?, gave her own TED talk on 11/11/11, was dubbed a mommy mogul by CNNMoney, a Cool Mom Entrepreneur We Love by MSN Live, and was recently named one of the Top 50 Women to Watch In Tech as well as a Top 100 Champion Small Business Influencer after Forbes named The Founding Moms one of the Top 10 Websites For Entrepreneurs. 

Jill Salzman has shared the stage with Richard Branson, Sheryl Sandberg, Daymond John, Marilu Henner, and Desmond Tutu and she regularly appears on ABC7s Windy City Live TV show. In her spare time, Jill enjoys kloofing, baking, and erasing her daughter’s crayon artwork from the kitchen walls.

Visionary entrepreneurs know their why.

Jill demonstrates how important it is to meet the needs of the client you’re looking to serve. What are their struggles? What’s holding them back? Answering these questions can pave the way for a thriving and joyful entrepreneurial journey. By understanding the unique needs of mompreneurs, Jill built a business that celebrates community over competition.

Business doesn’t have to be bland.

In a world of expensive, exclusive networking groups, Jill Salzman created more authentic spaces for mothers to start businesses and network with other visionary moms. Frustrated by traditional boy’s-club marketing tactics, Jill knew that it was time to build the network she wanted to participate in!

Embrace learning, always.

Sometimes we don’t get it right. In this frank, funny and genuine interview, Jill shares her opportunities for growth as she built her company… including a moment of judgment in a networking group that will forever change the way she views mom entrepreneurs. 

This is a must-listen. 

Quotes

“I can have a lot of fun while I’m building a business. Now I’m busy sharing it. They join because they want that.”

“We were raised back in the day to think, ‘business has nothing to do with personal feelings’, but every mom entrepreneur around the world in any city is the same… battling massive fear of failure or guilt that she’s doing something focused on herself.”

“We do a lot of encouragement. Get in front of your brand! You’re a small business. We need to see you, get to know you and we need to trust you in order to buy your stuff.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Check out Jill’s website: https://jillsalzman.com/ 

Visit the website for Jill’s growing company, The Founding Moms: https://foundingmoms.com/ 

Listen to Jill’s Ultra-popular Podcast, Why are we Shouting? https://jillsalzman.com/podcast/ 

Buy Jill Salzman’s Publications, including her beloved field guide for mom entrepreneurs: https://foundingmoms.com/books/ 

Brian Lofrumento is an entrepreneur, speaker, and author whose businesses have reached over 3.5 million people in over 200 countries. Having built multiple six-figure businesses since 19, Brian has taught over 4,000 entrepreneurs worldwide how to launch and grow businesses online using his Ultimate Profit Model framework.

Brian is the author of Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur: What You Really Need to Know to Start Your First Business. He also hosts one of the top business podcasts in the world. In addition, Brian helps students through his engaging, fun, and interactive teaching style, which focuses as much on implementation and mindset as learning and building a customer-center business. 

Turning His High School Intern Job into a Marketing Agency 

While in high school at the age of 15, Brian landed an internship with a digital marketing company. He soon learned the benefits of using SEO to increase website traffic and built one of the most successful soccer blogs in the world. 

With the amount of traction he received from his blog, Brian had the attention of big companies worldwide who wanted to know his secret sauce. As a result, Brian started his own marketing company helping other businesses get noticed on the web.

Discover how Brian has used collaboration to grow his business, his best growth strategies, how he uses his personal brand in his company, and how he frames his high status verbiage when sharing personal information with the world. 

Podcast Resources

Visit Brian Lofrumento on the web

Follow the Brian Lofrumento on LinkedIn

Connect with The Business of You

Visit the Business of You on the web

Like The brandiD on Facebook

Follow The brandiD on LinkedIn

Join us on Instagram

Learn more about Branding on The brandiD Blog

Show Highlights

[03:45] Brian tells his story of how he learned SEO and started his digital marketing company.

[06:39] How Brian has taken collaboration to a new level in growing his business.

[08:45] Utilizing traffic exchanges with another business website.

[10:45] Using the community to spread the word about your platform.

[14:07] Drawing the line between sharing his personal life and what Brian decides to keep private.

Quotes

“Even if you are a solopreneur, you’re never actually alone in your journey.”

“Instead of just talking about entrepreneurship, I also talk about my life.”

“Everybody talks about business, but at the end of the day, we are all humans and we crave that deep, genuine connection.”

“When you take an interest in other people, they will take an interest in you.”

Agapi Stassinopoulos is a best-selling author and speaker and currently conducts workshops for Thrive Global, a company founded by her sister, Arianna Huffington to change the way we live and work.Agapi’s goal: to set you off on an epic spiritual journey.

Inspired by connection to the divine, Agapi invites us to explore what divinity means to us as we live our purpose as founders and entrepreneurs. Her latest book teaches us how to invite prayer into our daily lives. 

She encourages us to transcend perfectionism, fear, self-doubt and stagnation in order to arrive at a mindset of trust, confidence and abundance. 

Struggling with purpose?

Agapi was not immediately a successful performer and author, and her struggles threatened to derail her goals. 

As she received rejections in the world of creative arts, Agapi began to question her ambitions. 

But at the pivotal moment when she could have given up on her aspirations to become an actor, she instead made a decision: to live her life on her terms. She decided to devote herself to innerwork and discover her true values, confidence and voice.

Now, she teaches you to do the same. 

Are you waiting for permission?

We often subconsciously wait for someone to give us permission to live and work as we want to. 

Agapi began exploring what it would mean to be her own best ally–and rely on her connection to God as she took personal and professional risks. 

Her bestselling books were written to help you cultivate your own relationship with a higher entity and infuse faith into your life’s journey. 

The power of prayer…

Agapi Stassinopoulos’ NEW book “Speaking with Spirit: 52 Prayers to Inspire and Uplift You” will serve to help you navigate life’s obstacles.

Written during the early days of the pandemic, Agapi offers prayers for specific challenges of business, friendship, family, partnership and creative inspiration. 

If you feel alone as an entrepreneur, listen to this interview with Agapi to refresh and renew your spirit. 

Quotes

“If you think you’re doing life on your own, please stop and reconsider. Consider the miracle of your life.” 

“I arrived at this place where I am now…because I wasn’t getting what I wanted in the world.”

“The purpose is not to gain the degrees, to create businesses and projects… the purpose is, has this been used to wake me up, and to serve others?”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit her website, Wake Up to the Joy of You. 

Purchase her latest bestselling book, Speaking with Spirit: 52 Prayers to Guide, Inspire, and Uplift You.

See all of her current publications on her website.

Explore the Thrive Global website and current offerings.

Receive inspiration and VIP event invites from Agapi and her team by subscribing to the mailing list.

Welcome to The Business of You Podcast, where you’ll discover how to turn your big idea into big business. Learn how to grow your personal brand into the business of your dreams. Each week, you’ll hear from the founder of successful companies and find out how they walked their epic journey to achieve a flourishing business. Then, listen to learn how you can use their roadmap to create a thriving company and pave your own road to success!

Meet Hope Caldwell

Hope is the founder of the KLH Group, which connects clients to social causes that matter most to them and their employees through high-end service events. Hope is also the co-founder of The Spokes Group, a 501C-3 whose mission is to put deserving children on bicycles promoting health and wellness in communities.

Her First Big Travel Journey to East Africa

Her first time being exposed to a developing country, she quickly realized how broken the people were economically, but how spirited they were in their hearts. From her experience, she found out that she needed to mix her love of travel and contribute to the world. With this experience started the idea of KLH Group.

Working in the US for a big resort designing and planning destination events, Hope has the opportunity to interview for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 

The Four Pillars of KLH Group

The first pillar of her company is destination management, based in South Carolina. Second, she focuses on event design to build out the session space. Third, Hope implements social impact events and wraps up its pillars with its fourth pillar centering on MKAKATI, “where strategy meets the soul.”

Discover how Hope came up with the name for her company, why she had chosen her brand to be a family brand, and how she developed the four pillars of her company.

Podcast Resources

Visit KLH Group on the web

Follow the KLH Group on LinkedIn

Connect with The Business of You

Visit the Business of You on the web

Like The brandiD on Facebook

Follow The brandiD on LinkedIn

Join us on Instagram

Learn more about Branding on The brandiD Blog

Show Highlights

[02:45] Her first big overseas service project in East Africa.

[07:00] Incorporating heart and mission into her events.

[11:12] How she developed the four pillars of her company.

[13:08] Social impact working for her clients at their events.

[14:07] MKAKTI came out of COVID and the need for living fully. 

Quotes

“I felt that the event industry was stagnant at a time where bigger was better.”

“What was new and different for me was touching the hearts of my clients.”

“Our productions are national opportunities for us.”

Welcome to The Business of You Podcast, where you’ll discover how to turn your big idea into big business. Learn how to grow your personal brand into the business of your dreams. Each week, you’ll hear from the founder of successful companies and find out how they walked their epic journey to achieve a flourishing business. Then, listen to learn how you can use their roadmap to create a thriving company and pave your own road to success!

Meet Monique Wilsondebriano

She has been called “A Woman of Distinction” and “The Epitome of the American Dream.” She is co-founder of the Charleston Burger Company, and her company has been featured in Better Homes and Garden magazine and several podcasts. Her new coaching program called Recipe for Retail teaches others how to take their food product from idea to shelf.

Growing Up with Entrepreneurial Grandparents

Growing up in Neptune, New Jersey, Monique spent a large amount of her childhood around her grandparents. Her grandmother ran one of the few black-owned businesses in town, and her grandfather was also an entrepreneur. With her grandfather as a chef, her family often celebrated with food. Growing up around food, Monique was fascinated by how food was prepared and shared with family and clients.

Creating the First Charleston Burger

When she and her new husband, Chivalo, moved to South Carolina after they were married, they decided to throw a housewarming party and invite neighbors and friends. With over 100 invited, people started coming down into her backyard for the party. 

Monique and her new husband had created a burger for the party with the spices mixed in with the burger meat, so every bite would be flavorful. Monique didn’t realize until her mother drew her attention, but they had a long line of guests waiting in line with their plates to get their hands on their delicious burger.

Joking her husband, she told him they should sell their burgers because their guests raved about them. In addition, people asked them to purchase their burgers to take home at future parties, so she and her husband started acquiring materials to package their new burgers. 

Discover how Monique created her food business, how her retail background helped her create their first marinade, and how she expanded into her two other companies working with entrepreneurs.

Podcast Resources

Visit Charleston Gourmet Burger on the web

Connect with Monique Wilsondebriano on LinkedIn

Connect with The Business of You

Visit the Business of You on the web

Like The brandiD on Facebook

Follow The brandiD on LinkedIn

Join us on Instagram

Learn more about Branding on The brandiD Blog

Show Highlights

[03:08] How Monique’s family background pushed her journey toward entrepreneurship. [09:35] Creating their first hamburger for their new housewarming party. [13:38] Starting to test their business model at the farmer’s markets locally. [16:47] Making their first marinade to market to consumers. [21:35] How she branched off to create two additional businesses that help entrepreneurs.

Quotes

“We needed to bottle the ingredients and create a marinade because people want the flavor of the hamburger.”

“We had never seen our new bottle, so we decided to make this a live event on Facebook.”

“At night, when I’m at peace, I listen, and I know exactly where to go.”

Welcome to The Business of You Podcast, where you'll discover how to turn your big idea into big business. Learn how to grow your personal brand into the business of your dreams. Each week, you'll hear from the founder of successful companies and find out how they walked their epic journey to achieve a flourishing business. Then, listen to learn how you can use their roadmap to create a thriving company and pave your own road to success!

Meet Katie Richardson

This week's guest is Katie Richardson, whose first business was a massive sensation! She created a unique baby bathtub that transformed parents' lives, which gave her the recognition of a global entrepreneur and designer. As a result, Katie has been featured on several prominent morning news shows and the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine. Today, clients seek out Katie to assist them in growing their business to the next level. 

Solving the Baby Bathtub Design

After having two children of her own, Katie soon realized design issues with baby bathtubs and decided to use her product design skills to remedy the problems. After two years of development, Katie decided to go big, and at her first trade show in Las Vegas, every store owner who approached Katie at her booth decided to buy her product. 

In her first year of business, her product brought in over $1milliion in revenue. Katie wanted to be intentional when she took her perspective and infused this in every business detail. 

Discover how she shared her message into the world, how she used the press and publications to increase her marketing reach, and how Katie gained clarity and used her clarity to skyrocket her sales.

Podcast Resources

Visit Puj Baby Bathtub on the web

Connect with The Business of You

Visit the Business of You on the web

Like The brandiD on Facebook

Follow The brandiD on LinkedIn

Join us on Instagram

Learn more about Branding on The brandiD Blog

Show Highlights

[04:30] Her first year of business brought in over $1 million in revenue.  [13:18] Asking buyers to share honest reviews of her product.  [25:42] How Katie works her trade show booths and met an important figure. [37:00] The pain of not experiencing your true full potential [40:41] How Katie is marketing herself today and becoming more successful.

Quotes

“I believe that our brand, and our values that we infused into the touchpoints had everyone experiencing something.”

“When you know who you are, you gain so much clarity in life.”

“The pain of not experiencing your true full potential is tremendous.”

Welcome to The Business of You Podcast, where you’ll discover how to turn your big idea into big business. Learn how to grow your personal brand into the business of your dreams. Each week, you’ll hear from the founder of successful companies and find out how they walked their epic journey to achieve a flourishing business. Then, listen to learn how you can use their roadmap to create a thriving company and pave your own road to success!

Meet Aaron Walker

This week's guest is Aaron Walker, a professional life and business coach as well as a mastermind facilitator. He is the CEO and founder of View From the Top, in addition to being an author and a successful entrepreneur who has launched over 14 businesses. Aaron says that entrepreneurship runs in the family and is a part of his life.

Building His First Business at the Age of 18

At 18, Aaron started his entrepreneurial journey opening up his first business with two partners who subsidized the company. At 21, he paid off the debt from the business and repeated this order of operations a number of times when building his other companies. At the age of 27, he sold his business to a Fortune 500 company with enough money to retire. 

Life After Retirement

Almost two years after selling his business, Aaron decided, at the prompting of his wife, to get back into business again. His next step was buying the first business he created with his two partners. 

He believes that faith is the key element to living a good life. In addition, Aaron believes that it’s the type of person that you are that truly matters in life. No matter whether it’s personal or professional, being a good person and using your skills to help other people is what counts at the end of the day.

Discover how Aaron came back after killing a man accidentally, his awakening to life after the accident, and why relationships are his #1 priority in life.

Podcast Resources

Visit View From the Top  on the web

Connect with Aaron Walker on LinkedIn

Connect with The Business of You

Visit the Business of You on the web

Like The brandiD on Facebook

Follow The brandiD on LinkedIn

Join us on Instagram

Learn more about Branding on The brandiD Blog

Show Highlights

[02:18] Aaron’s background and journey into entrepreneurship. 

[04:30] Buying his first business back from his two original partners.

[13:29] The importance of tangible and intangible items such as relationships.

[15:19] Faith and its importance to Aaron’s personal and professional brand. 

[17:41] Why he shoots for contentment but not complacency in his life.

Quotes

“A personal lesson I learned is that there are no limitations in your own business.”

“One of the strongest attributes we can have as an entrepreneur is to be consistent..”

“Money and things are important. We don’t need to make them our god.”

“We built our brand around people that matter the most.”

Welcome to The Business of You Podcast, where you’ll discover how to turn your big idea into big business. Learn how to grow your personal brand into the business of your dreams. Each week, you’ll hear from the founder of successful companies and find out how they walked their epic journey to achieve a flourishing business. Then, listen to learn how you can use their roadmap to create a thriving company and pave your own road to success! Meet Ishveen Anand This week's guest is Ishveen Anand, the founder, and CEO of OpenSponsorship, a VC-backed startup connecting brands to pro athletes, teams, and events. Ishveen, a graduate of Oxford University, was named on Inc's Top 100 Female Founders list in 2019 and on the Forbes30under30 sports list. She has grown OpenSponsorship into the largest and smartest platform globally, completing 6000 deals to date using AI, social insights, and ROI data. Brands that have used OpenSponsorship to find athletes include Anheuser Busch, Verizon, Draftkings, Draymond Green, Rob Gronkowski, and Todd Gurley.

Becoming a Disruptor in the World of Sports

When Ishveen played sports at university, she found that the agencies who promoted athletes didn't care about change or innovation. So she decided to start her own company to change the environment of sports promotion in 2015.

She not only works with big names in popular sports, but Ishveen also includes other non-traditional sports such as Cross Fit. Her current client base is 80/20 male to female, although this is representative of gender in sports. While more than half of the athletes on the platform are signed up by agents, anyone can match up with a deal that is less than six figures because the platform is so simple and easy to use.

Discover how Ishveen uses her diversity as a part of her personal brand, how she challenges the norm in the world of sports, and how she overcame the challenges of growing her startup.

Podcast Resources

Visit Open Sponsorship on the web

Connect with Ishveen Anand on LinkedIn

Connect with The Business of You

Visit the Business of You on the web

Like The brandiD on Facebook

Follow The brandiD on LinkedIn

Join us on Instagram

Learn more about Branding on The brandiD Blog

 

Show Highlights

[02:07] Ishveen’s journey and how she became a sports booking agent.  [05:01] How Open Sponsorship works for athletes.  [09:04] Turnaround time and the process of hiring an athlete. [11:04] How she defines her personal brand and how her brand promotes her business. [18:42] Seeing her brand with human elements and what she loves about her brand.

Quotes

“We’ve created a business that is doing business in the biggest sports leagues in the world.”

“We’ve simplified the sponsorship process to be more like recruitment.”

“Knowing that even small brands and local businesses can utilize athletes on the platform is amazing.”

Welcome to The Business of You Podcast, where you’ll discover how to turn your big idea into big business. Learn how to grow your personal brand into the business of your dreams. Each week, you’ll hear from the founder of successful companies and find out how they walked their epic journey to achieve a flourishing business. Then, listen to learn how you can use their roadmap to create a thriving company and pave your own road to success!

Meet Craig Hewitt

This week's guest is Craig Hewitt, founder, and CEO of Castros, a full-service podcast hosting and distribution analytics platform. He started his own podcast five years ago and decided to get into the business of podcasting by starting a podcast hosting company. Two years later, Craig has expanded his company to include all aspects of podcast production to become a one-stop podcast service shop.

From One Podcast to One Hundred Podcasts

Craig started out with his one personal podcast, Rogue. When he reached episode three, he decided to take on his co-host to share podcast production's responsibilities and creative genius. 

Starting out with podcast hosting then adding production services, Craig enjoys helping other podcasters get their voice heard. He is a firm believer in owning your own brand and doesn't produce much content on social media and other platforms outside of his own. Early on, he decided that he wanted to put his content on platforms that he owns and only amplify what he is saying on channels outside of his control.

The Importance of Communication in Business

Craig believes that his most important personal brand asset is his ability to communicate well with others. He prides himself on building a team with communication as their focus. Craig only hires team members that can communicate well and get the job done.

Discover how Craig has used his personal brand to engage others through speaking gigs, how he defines his personal brand, and why he posts his values on their website and their importance in the hiring process.

Podcast Resources

Visit Castos on the web

Connect with Craig Hewitt on LinkedIn

Connect with The Business of You

Visit the Business of You on the web

Like The brandiD on Facebook

Follow The brandiD on LinkedIn

Join us on Instagram

Learn more about Branding on The brandiD Blog

 

Show Highlights

[01:37] Craig’s journey as an entrepreneur owning a podcast production company. [05:53] How Craig went from podcast consumer to podcast producer. [08:27] Why he chose to take on a co-host for his personal podcast. [14:41] Craig speaks about how your personal brand can become a liability to your business. [17:16] How Craig defines his own personal brand attributes.

Quotes

“Productizing a service or a skill is the easiest way to scale your business.”

“We all want to feel a connection to someone’s journey.”

“The decision you have to make when you want to grow is if you want to own your own real estate or play in someone else’s sandbox.”