The Content Experiment Podcast

You’re looking to diversify your brand visually, so you find some stock images of people who look different from you and throw those up on your social media. [Whew! Right?] Wrong. Diversity is so much more than just making it look like you serve people of all colors, shapes and backgrounds.

This week on the Stories in Small Business podcast, I’m talking to Christina Jones, a Florida-based brand photographer about diversity in your brand and how to get there authentically. She also shares what we should be striving for in our brand images in general and how effective branding can help you elevate your business.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Christina’s Instagram post that encouraged me to reach out to her
• ColorJoy Stock Photos
• Learn how to have a virtual coffee chat 

About Christina Jones

Christina Jones is a Florida-based lifestyle brand photographer. She helps female creatives and entrepreneurs create scroll-stopping lifestyle imagery so they can attract their target audience and build a brand and business of their dreams! When she's not snapping photos, she's cozy at home with her 8-year-old son Solomon and 3-year-old daughter Olivia or spending quality time with her husband of 10 years, Gary. She loves iced coffee, fashion magazines and could eat brunch at any time of the day!

Difficult conversations aren't fun, but sometimes you need to have them. It sure beats allowing negativity to fester in the back of your mind and destroy relationships. A difficult conversation is exactly where this week's episode of the Stories in Small Business podcast came from.

Something this week's guest, Jaclyn Mellone, did upset me. And rather than let it go, I processed my emotions, discovered that I was being very self-centered and hypocritical and then told Jaclyn exactly what I thought and why. The result? An in-depth conversation about business, mindset and following your competition online. Lucky you, you get to listen in to that very conversation.

I'm so thankful that I spoke up when I felt slighted (I wasn't by the way) because I got so much out of talking out my feelings. And I'm thankful to Jaclyn for being open-minded to allowing me to process what I was thinking and feeling.

I hope you'll tune in and then share how you manage difficult conversations in your life and business.

Mentioned in This Episode

• Go to Gal episode 107: 5 Ways I've Booked Myself as a Podcast Guest WITHOUT Pitching
• Episode 17: Elevate Your Visibility Without a Formal Pitch
• Angie Trueblood
• Untamed by Glennon Doyle
• Alter Ego Effect by Todd Herman
• 30 Days to Authority Building
• Go to Gal Podcast

About Jaclyn Mellone

Jaclyn Mellone helps experts exponentially grow their business by becoming the Go-To Authority in their space. She is a coach, strategist, Keynote speaker, mama, guac lover, and host of the Go-To Gal podcast!

She helps her clients get out of their own way, package their expertise to scale, position themselves as the go-to authority, and have their dream clients and opportunities landing on their lap! Her signature approach combines restructuring her clients business models, reframing their mindset, and revamping their marketing so that they become the go-to authority from the inside out. Jaclyn supports experts at all stages from freelancer to global brands!

She has spoken at marketing conferences around the US, grown her social media channels to total over 50K followers and has been featured in Entrepreneur, Yahoo Finance, Reader's Digest, Parents, Well + Good, and in dozens of podcasts and radio appearances. Be sure to follow her on Instagram!

Jaclyn has proudly built the Go-To Gal empire in her slippers from her living room in Rochester, NY!

Difficult conversations aren’t fun, but sometimes you need to have them. It sure beats allowing negativity to fester in the back of your mind and destroy relationships. A difficult conversation is exactly where this week’s episode of the Stories in Small Business podcast came from.

Something this week’s guest, Jaclyn Mellone, did upset me. And rather than let it go, I processed my emotions, discovered that I was being very self-centered and hypocritical and then told Jaclyn exactly what I thought and why. The result? An in-depth conversation about business, mindset and following your competition online. Lucky you, you get to listen in to that very conversation.

I’m so thankful that I spoke up when I felt slighted (I wasn’t by the way) because I got so much out of talking out my feelings. And I’m thankful to Jaclyn for being open-minded to allowing me to process what I was thinking and feeling. 

I hope you’ll tune in and then share how you manage difficult conversations in your life and business.

Mentioned in This Episode

• Go to Gal episode 107: 5 Ways I’ve Booked Myself as a Podcast Guest WITHOUT Pitching
• Episode 17: Elevate Your Visibility Without a Formal Pitch
• Angie Trueblood
• Untamed by Glennon Doyle
• Alter Ego Effect by Todd Herman
• 30 Days to Authority Building
• Go to Gal Podcast

About Jaclyn Mellone

Jaclyn Mellone helps experts exponentially grow their business by becoming the Go-To Authority in their space. She is a coach, strategist, Keynote speaker, mama, guac lover, and host of the Go-To Gal podcast! 

She helps her clients get out of their own way, package their expertise to scale, position themselves as the go-to authority, and have their dream clients and opportunities landing on their lap!  Her signature approach combines restructuring her clients business models, reframing their mindset, and revamping their marketing so that they become the go-to authority from the inside out. Jaclyn supports experts at all stages from freelancer to global brands! 

She has spoken at marketing conferences around the US, grown her social media channels to total over 50K followers and has been featured in  Entrepreneur, Yahoo Finance, Reader’s Digest, Parents, Well + Good, and in dozens of podcasts and radio appearances. Be sure to follow her on Instagram!

Jaclyn has proudly built the Go-To Gal empire in her slippers from her living room in Rochester, NY!  

You need to stand out online, but thankfully you already have exactly what it takes: your differentiators. These are the things you do or offer that make you different from your so-called competition.

Differentiators are things that make you stand out from others in your industry. I don't really like the word "competition," because I don't think that any of us really has competition. Not if you know your differentiators.

Think about it, when someone buys from you, what are they getting that's unique? No matter if you sell a product or a service--to other businesses or to consumers--you have something unique to offer.

What are YOUR differentiators? As I talk through some of the big ideas, I encourage you to take some notes and do some brainstorming to identify what yours are. Then start to develop content ideas around those differentiators.

Mentioned in This Episode

• No, I'm Not a Freelancer blog post
• Ask Your Audience free challenge

You need to stand out online, but thankfully you already have exactly what it takes: your differentiators. These are the things you do or offer that make you different from your so-called competition. 

Differentiators are things that make you stand out from others in your industry. I don’t really like the word “competition,” because I don’t think that any of us really has competition. Not if you know your differentiators.

Think about it, when someone buys from you, what are they getting that’s unique? No matter if you sell a product or a service--to other businesses or to consumers--you have something unique to offer.

What are YOUR differentiators? As I talk through some of the big ideas, I encourage you to take some notes and do some brainstorming to identify what yours are. Then start to develop content ideas around those differentiators. 

Mentioned in This Episode

• No, I’m Not a Freelancer blog post
• Ask Your Audience free challenge

We speak a lot of languages in life and business. Some of those languages and voices attract people to you and other voices you're pushing down and not sharing as you should.

As a leader, as a female or female identifying leader, it's your responsibility to use your voice and speak up so you're heard. Kaylan Thompson, this week's guest on the Stories in Small Business podcast, shares the identity crisis that so many women face when it comes to what leadership looks like today.

This is such an empowering conversation about fear, why we're hiding our strengths and finding the right people to lead on our teams. She also shares the three questions we need to always be asking in our businesses and how business owners can step into their role as CEO. I love all the books and resources she shares throughout too!

Mentioned in This Episode:

• The Creator's Code: The Six Essential Skills of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs by Amy Wilkinson
• How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination by Sally Hogshead
• The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done by Peter Drucker
• Give Yourself a Promotion workbook
• Episode 41: 7 Lessons Learned in 7 Years of Business
• Joy to Lead podcast (and my episode)

About Kaylan Thompson

Kaylan is a hiring consultant and leadership coach for business owners who want to hire strategically and lead to their fullest potential so they can grow their business sustainably and wisely.

We speak a lot of languages in life and business. Some of those languages and voices attract people to you and other voices you’re pushing down and not sharing as you should.

As a leader, as a female or female identifying leader, it’s your responsibility to use your voice and speak up so you’re heard. Kaylan Thompson, this week’s guest on the Stories in Small Business podcast, shares the identity crisis that so many women face when it comes to what leadership looks like today.

This is such an empowering conversation about fear, why we’re hiding our strengths and finding the right people to lead on our teams. She also shares the three questions we need to always be asking in our businesses and how business owners can step into their role as CEO. I love all the books and resources she shares throughout too!

Mentioned in This Episode:

• The Creator’s Code: The Six Essential Skills of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs by Amy Wilkinson
• How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination by Sally Hogshead
• The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done by Peter Drucker
• Give Yourself a Promotion workbook
• Episode 41: 7 Lessons Learned in 7 Years of Business
• Joy to Lead podcast (and my episode)

About Kaylan Thompson

Kaylan is a hiring consultant and leadership coach for business owners who want to hire strategically and lead to their fullest potential so they can grow their business sustainably and wisely.

Hanging a shingle outside your virtual office isn't going to help you get noticed online. Having a message and sharing that message will. But when you're telling yourself stories like, "It's all been said already," or "I hate writing so I just won't create anything," or "I'm not an expert," you're doing yourself and your audience a disservice.

Content (which isn't just blog posts, by the way) is what attracts your audience to you. It's what helps them to get to know you as a person--and people buy from people, not businesses.

You need to put away these five stories and start creating the content that will help your audience get to know you, see you as the expert that you are and eventually buy from you.

Once you've put away those stories, I want you to join me for a free challenge, Ask Your Audience, which I'm running June 22 to 26, 2020. You can sign up below or join the waiting list if you're listening in after June 2020.

Mentioned in This Episode

• Episode 8: How to Create a 90-Day Content Plan

Hanging a shingle outside your virtual office isn’t going to help you get noticed online. Having a message and sharing that message will. But when you’re telling yourself stories like, “It’s all been said already,” or “I hate writing so I just won’t create anything,” or “I’m not an expert,” you’re doing yourself and your audience a disservice.

Content (which isn’t just blog posts, by the way) is what attracts your audience to you. It’s what helps them to get to know you as a person--and people buy from people, not businesses.

You need to put away these five stories and start creating the content that will help your audience get to know you, see you as the expert that you are and eventually buy from you.

Once you’ve put away those stories, I want you to join me for a free challenge, Ask Your Audience, which I’m running June 22 to 26, 2020. You can sign up below or join the waiting list if you’re listening in after June 2020.

Mentioned in This Episode

• Episode 8: How to Create a 90-Day Content Plan

This is a special episode of the Stories in Small Business podcast. It's a departure from the normal business-centered episode, though I do talk a lot about business. But more, this episode is about being human and not knowing how to process or respond to what's going in the world today.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Build Your Tribe Episode 391: How Your Brand Might Want to Respond to Racial Injustice
• Steven Bartlett's Instagram post
• Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
• Remixed Business with Trudi Lebron
• Pause on the Play with Erica Courdae
• Rachel E. Cargle: A Social Syllabus Series
• Rachel E. Cargle: The Great Unlearn