Joining Reina and Christina today is Jeff Goins, an author and a full-time blogger, speaker, and entrepreneur. Jeff is here talking about his new book and the way artists need to shift their mindset. He chats all about artists throughout history have flourished, but artists now seem to think that all artists starve. Jeff also talks about some myths that he disproves in his book about artists such as: not practicing in public, that big breaks are something that can just happen, and the idea of recreation. The trio then chat about the differences he sees in men and women in the creative industry. Closing they chat about where Jeff sees himself going and some advice he would have given himself. 

Main Takeaways:

• What his backstory is behind the book, Real Artists Don't Starve [0:01:25]
• Why he thinks artist are choose to be poor [0:12:59]
• What some of the myths are that he disproves in his book [0:18:18]
• How to market as an artist [0:20:35]
• What a "big break" looks like [0:26:42]
• Why you should not believe "big leap" stories [0:33:24]
• What the differences in mindset from men and women in the creative industry [0:36:30]
• How to deal with criticism + reflecting on the negative reviews [0:42:43]
• What his advice to himself is [0:49:54]

Show Notes:

• Jeff's Book: Real Artists Don't Starve
• Madeleine L'Engle
• Michelangelo
• Rab Hatfield
• Bill Wallace
• Henri Murger
• Modigliani
• Austin Kleon
• Picasso
• Moulin Rouge
• Gertrude Stein
• Lisa Congdon
• Walter Mathau
• Jim Collins
• John Grisham's Book: The Firm
• Long Miles Coffee Company
• Elizabeth Gilbert - Big Magic
• Jody Noland -  Leave Nothing Unsaid
• Chris Guillebeau

Bio:

Jeff Goins is the author of four books, including the national best seller, The Art of Work. He is also a full-time blogger, speaker, and entrepreneur. Originally from Chicago, Goins graduated from Illinois College and spent the next year on the road with a band. After that, he moved to Nashville to chase a girl and spent the next seven years working at a nonprofit. He now writes and speaks for a living and runs an online business helping writers and creative entrepreneurs chase their dreams. Jeff’s award-winning blog, GoinsWriter.com, has been visited by over four million people from around the world. His work has been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today, Entrepreneur, Forbes, and Psychology Today. He and his wife, Ashley, live just outside of Nashville, TN with their son and dog.

Social Handles:

• Book Website
• Website
• Blog
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter

Today Reina and Christina are joined with Ashleigh Blatt of The Power Squad Project. Ashleigh is a money maker for celebrities and high net worth entrepreneurs; her tag line even is, "I make celebrities rich". The trio dive into how Ashleigh got started on this path and she shares how to really put yourself, and your business, out there. She talks about how even celebrities have insecurities about their online presence. They discuss diversifying revenue streams and how to continue momentum in your business. 

Main Takeaways:

• How social media + online marketing can grow your business [0:01:06]
• Why putting yourself out there, with value, is important [0:06:02]
• How celebrities even insecure about their social media [0:10:39]
• Why diversifying your revenue streams is a good thing [0:14:08]
• Why people are buying custom experiences to feel special [0:22:58]
• How to continue momentum in your business [0:30:11]
• Where is enough for a business, with gratitude [0:36:24]

Show Notes:

• The Power Squad Project Podcast
• Bethenny Frenkel
• Jennifer Aniston
• Entrepreneur
• Today Show
• Rosemarie Groner from the Busy Budgeter

Bio:

Money maker for celebrities and high net worth entrepreneurs Ashleigh Blatt came out of her behind-the-scenes role to the forefront as the Chief Curator & Master Motivator within The Power Squad Project, an email community for women entrepreneurs who want to connect with like-minded women entrepreneurs interested building a giant business that gives them freedom, a challenge and an impact on the world.

Social Handles:

• Website
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Medium
• The Power Squad Project Podcast

Joining Reina and Christina today is Kurt Elster, of Ether cycle and the Unofficial Shopify Podcast. He is a Senior E-commerce Consultant who helps Shopify store owners uncover hidden profits in their websites. The trip start this episode by chatting about how to niche down in your business as well as how e-commerce can fit into most businesses. Kurt talks about how to help make your e-commerce store more efficient by getting rid of the "fluff" as well as creating a job for each page. In addition he shares some tips for conversion optimization on your e-commerce store. 

Main Takeaways:

• How to niche down in your business [0:03:25]
• What fixed pricing can look like [0:05:49]
• How e-commerce can fit into a freelancers business [0:09:25]
• How to make e-commerce more efficient [0:14:14]
• What a great "about page" should look like [0:15:59]
• Why people buy from people, not brands [0:20:39]
• How copyrighting is probably the single greatest conversion rate optimization tactic [0:23:21]
• How to migrate to Shopify [0:26:03]
• What some success stories look like [0:28:16]
• Why you need to pick a medium and share your story [0:34:02]

Show Notes:

• Shopify
• Ether Cycle
• Klaviyo
• Active Campaign
• Hot Jar
• Maria Bamford
• Ezra Firestone
• BOOM By Cindy Joseph
• Cart2Cart
• tacticalbabygear.com
• Logan Ketterling
• Kurt's e-Commerce Boot Camp (40% off, if you use coupon code: Creative Empire)

Bio:

One of the most highly regarded independent consultants in his industry, Kurt Elster is a Senior Ecommerce Consultant who helps Shopify store owners uncover hidden profits in their websites. Kurt is the founder of ecommerce agency Ethercycle, host of the popular Ecommerce Hacks Weekly video series, author of Ecommerce Bootcamp, and host of The Unofficial Shopify Podcast. These resources have helped thousands of Shopify store owners create impact, freedom, & wealth. You can learn more and subscribe to Kurt's free newsletter at http://kurtelster.com/

Social Handles:

• Website
• Unofficial Shopify Podcast

Today, Amy Cherry of Amy Nicole Photography is joining Reina and Christina today for an Empire Mentoring session. Amy is chatting all about what it’s like to move a business from one place to another and the struggles with uprooting your work. The trio jump right into discussing Amy's big move and how she is finding her clientele. They discuss how to find your unique value proposition to stand out, plus how to determine your ideal client.

Main Takeaways:

• How to let clients know where you are, especially when you move [0:03:18]
• What moving can look like as a business owner [0:05:13]
• How to price yourself as a photographer [0:09:45]
• Why finding your unique value proposition (UVP) into your business [0:15:53]
• How to find what makes you different from everyone else [0:22:45]
• Why talking with your ideal client can help you [0:25:54]
• How being an introvert + building deep connections can actually help your business [0:27:56]

Show Notes:

• Shelby Steckbauer
• Lauren Hooker of Elle & Company
• Justin and Mary Marantz
• Don Miller + Building a StoryBrand podcast

Click for Full Transcript

Bio:

Amy Cherry has been photographing stories of life and love for 10 years and has been the girl behind Amy Nicole Photography for 5 years. Family & the simple moments of life endlessly inspire her and she's thankful to call Charlottesville home with her husband, Jeremy, after spending some time in Nashville together. Her work has been featured in National Geographic Traveler, The Washington Post, Nashville Lifestyles and many wedding publications like Southern Weddings, BRIDES.com and Snippet & Ink.

Social Handles:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter

Joining Reina and Christina is Katie Williamsen. Katie is the web strategist and designer at Katie Williamsen Web and Social Media, LLC. Katie is talking all about websites and giving you helpful tips to make your website more functional. At the beginning, the trio discuss how each persons background can help influence our businesses. From there, they jump into web design and Katie share lots of useful advice. She shares how navigation of your website is one of the most important pieces to your web design as well as optimizing your blog posts to be scannable and having appealing visuals. 

Main Takeaways:

• How our backgrounds can influence our own business [0:01:15]
• How user experience can help, or hinder, your ideal client [0:05:44]
• What some of the biggest website mistakes are [0:07:12]
• How to optimize your blog for visitors [0:10:06]
• What SEO  + Google Analytics actually are [0:16:08]
• Why calls to action (CTA's) are a good idea [0:22:54]
• What the top two things to do for your website [0:26:35]

Show Notes:

• Jenna Kutcher
• Katie's Blog Post:  Creating A Simple User Experience Test
• Is Google Analytics installed?
• Installing Google Analytics on WordPress or Squarespace
• Melyssa Griffin
• Meg Clark
• The 5 Website Pillars You Can’t Ignore Opt-In
• The 5 Website Pillars You Can’t Ignore Blog Post

Bio:

Katie is the web strategist and designer at Katie Williamsen Web and Social Media, LLC. She’s passionate about helping fellow Boss Ladies create pretty + functional websites that work for them and sharing her knowledge with others. When Katie isn't strategizing with clients or blogging, she’s spending time with her husband, Chad, and their pup Hobbes. She love to travel, create craft cocktails, throw parties and receive snail mail.

Social Handles:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Bloglovin'

Click for Full Transcript

This jam session episode features Reina and Christina chatting and getting honest, about self-care as a business owner. Today we’re going to be talking a little bit about self-care but also other things and how to be a more whole person. The duo discuss everything from hobbies and how they can help you creatively in a business, to their top tools they use to stay productive, such as apps like Sworkit and Asana Rebel.

Main Takeaways:

• Setting boundaries such as business hours [0:01:47]
• How your hobbies can help you feel scheduled [0:03:32]
• Working in different places to be more productive [0:06:50]
• What Reina's "One Body" idea [0:07:50]
• Top list of helpful things to be more productive [0:09:06]
• Why hobbies can help you be creative [0:18:57]
• How to start a hobby [0:28:15]

Show Notes:

• Powersheets
• Nikki Elledge Brown
• Moab
• Arches National Park
• Savvy Experience
• Cassey Ho
• Sworkit
• Asana Rebel
• Dannie Fountain
• Pollo Tropical
• headspace app
• Uber Eats
• Costco
• Chipotle
• Lauren Carnes
• Eric Whitacre
• Lauren Bowling - Financial Best Life
• Pentatonix
• Jimmy Fallon
• The Roots

Joining Reina and Christina today is Meghan Maydel. Meghan is a Sales Funnel and Marketing Strategist (plus, CMO-for-Hire) for service-based creative biz owners who want a to FINALLY get consistent with their client + cash flow, taking their biz to the next level while they’re at it. The trio jump right into talking about marketing trends and how they can help your business. Meghan gives marketing tips throughout the episode such as keeping your marketing consistency and giving new things time to work. They also discuss how outsourcing can help you get back to what you love in your business. 

Main Takeaways:

• What is positioning strategy + tips [0:04:11]
• What some trends that she thinks will be staying around [0:09:00]
• How to integrate Anchor into a marketing strategy [0:13:41]
• How Anchor can disrupt podcasting [0:18:03]
• How to use your favorite way to create content + consistency [0:28:21]
• Where your content should be going, according to your ideal client [0:29:19]
• Why outsourcing can be helpful [0:20:24]
• What changes she has coming up in her business [0:32:17]

Show Notes:

• Anchor.fm
• iTunes
• Instagram
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Amy Porterfield
• Pat Flynn
• Snapchat
• Hootsuite
• Buffer
• LinkedIn
• rogue marketer
• Kristen White
• Jessica Rasdall
• Gary Vaynerchuk
• K-Swiss

Bio:

Meghan is a Sales Funnel + Marketing Strategist (& CMO-for-Hire) for service-based creative biz owners who want a to FINALLY get consistent with their client + cash flow, taking their biz to the next level while they’re at it. She comes from a design and advertising background having worked for one of Ad Age’s “top 10 agencies to watch in the U.S.” where she worked on campaigns for Volvo, Trident, Converse, and more. She also has worked extensively in the in-house design field, helping companies discover their brand story and how to infuse it into everything they do. She broke out on her own in 2014 and launched what is currently Meghan Maydel in early 2015. When she isn’t waist deep in her biz, you can find her hosting her podcast—Bosses & Booze—planning her next Halloween display, and/or chillin with her hubby and 2 fur babies.

Social Handles:

• Website
• Facebook
• Facebook Group
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Youtube
• Anchor at /meghan-maydel
• therealroguemarketer.com

Joining Reina and Christina today is Elizabeth Quintal of Cheeky Days. Elizabeth chats about the idea and philosophy behind her business as well as implementing a philanthropic vision from day one of your business. The trio discuss collaborations and promoting yourself, plus Elizabeth shares how to get out there as a maker.

Main Takeaways:

• What the Cheeky Days Box is all about [0:01:12]
• How to incorporate a philanthropic mission from day one [0:03:11]
• Why finding others to collaborate with can help your business [0:06:13]
• What changing from a nonprofit money mindset to entrepreneur mindset [0:09:20]
• What pricing in your business can look like [0:12:50]
• How to promote as a maker [0:20:40]
• What her process is to reach out to unsubscribes + follow-up forms [0:23:13]
• What some unique challenges are as a service-based business [0:24:55]
• How to overcome customer objections [0:27:51]

Show Notes:

• Thrive Conference
• Todd Herman’s 90 Day Year live in San Diego
• Cyndie Spiegel
• Alt Summit
• Leslie Wong of Burgundy Fox
• Birch Box
• Shopify
• Etsy
• WooCommerce
• Allie Cassazza - Episode 117

Bio:

Elizabeth Quintal is the founder of Outside The Box by Cheeky Days, a subscription box for families inspiring connection, creativity and community. Elizabeth worked in non-profit for ten years serving homeless children and families in Houston. Outside The Box draws from Elizabeth's experience working for local nonprofits and the realization that a lifestyle of love, kindness and connection can bring about change and build community. Her passion is to raise awareness about the importance of community and the impact each of us can make.

Social Handles:

• Website
• Box Website
• Blog
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Twitter

Joining Reina and Christina for this Empire Mentoring session is Brianne Dosier, a photographer, branding strategist, and face behind Brightly & Co. With Brianne, Reina and Christina help her to figure out what her transition into coaching will look like. They discuss the why and how of the transition, as well as the confidence behind the new title. They discuss how easy it is to unintentionally block yourself and how to get past that, to move forward. Also discussed is fear and pre-validation and how both can help you make business decisions. 

Main Takeaways:

• How to shift your vision of your business + transitioning [0:04:05]
• Why giving yourself permission + having a plan, go hand-in-hand [0:08:17]
• How to stop blocking yourself  [0:10:47]
• How fear can help and hinder you [0:12:53]
• Where are you clients coming from and focusing on that [0:20:55]
• What her pre-validation process has looked like [0:24:07]

Show Notes:

• Together Experience

Bio:

Brianne has been a photographer and branding strategist for over 10 years. She just didn’t always know it. These were the projects she did on the side, just for fun, and sometimes she even got paid. After years of pursuing her career in music and working as an administrator for a “real” job Brianne took a leap of faith and started her own company, Brightly & Co. Branding Strategy, Design & Photography + lots of teaching and encouragement, in August of 2015. After experiencing the heart wrenching transition of a dream dying, Brianne knows what it takes to turn a new leaf and pursue that deep passion you may not have known was there. That’s why her heart is in supporting and helping other creatives learn, grow and pursue their passions. When she’s not cultivating brands for driven entrepreneurs, she’s usually teaching/speaking at workshops, having tea chats with friends and watching hilarious comedies (or Disney movies) with her fluffball Kitty and hunky boyfriend.

Social Handles:

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Pinterest

This Creative Empire podcast episode Reina and Christina chat with Adrienne Dorison, a consultant and operations expert who helps businesses earn more to be able to give more. The trio start off by talking about what bottlenecks are in a business and Adrienne shares what the three are: 1) leads 2) sales 3) scaleability. From there she discusses how to help you with those by using metrics in your business. She then discusses visibility and knowing where you are in your business, to help you with your business.

Main Takeaways:

• What the "bottlenecks" are and how to unblock them [0:02:07]
• Where and how to find qualified leads + where you are spending time on leads [0:05:04]
• How to use ROI + how to use the metrics of it [0:08:13]
• How to talk about your business [0:13:16]
• Why you should stop comparing yourself to others [0:20:51]
• How to change + break your habits [0:25:34]
• Why you should be pro-active to be visible [0:32:48]
• Where to start tracking metrics in your business + tracking goals [0:34:15]
• Why knowing yourself and knowing what season of business you are in is important [0:39:10]
• How personal responsibility can influence your business [0:41:39]

Show Notes:

• Mel Robbins - The Five Second Rule
• Bonnie Faulkner's Episode
• Tony Horton

Bio:

Adrienne is a Business Consultant + Founder of Good Businesses Do Good™ who believes your purpose is to profit, she helps entrepreneurs double their businesses in half the time by getting them more focused, more strategic and more profitable so they can give back to the world in meaningful ways.

Social Handles:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• The School of Self-Mastery Podcast