The Idea Climbing® Podcast

Public speaking is a great way to grow your business if you have the right strategies. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Mike Domitrz.

Mike is a Hall of Fame Speaker, author and Founder of the Center for Respect and conducts keynotes and workshops for tens of thousands of people each year. Now through his unique weekend retreats for leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs, Mike is helping passionate trailblazers become more impactful speakers.

 

 

Mike believes that what you were taught in public schools about speaking is the worst advice to follow. You learn things like, “Tell them what you want them to do, then tell them which way to do it”. It’s so robotic, audiences do not connect to that. Mike believes you must authentically connect with your audiences.

How to Engage with Your Audience the Right Way

Start with a question. Most speakers start with a story. By asking a question and letting the audience answer it, you can set the stage for your whole speech. You’ll know what they want to talk about. The people in your audience have a struggle. They’ve been using a belief system that has led them continually back to the same struggle and they have falsely believed their old system will get them past that struggle. You must break them from those beliefs and help them realize those are false myths.

When you have a conversation that starts with a question your audience is making a discovery instead of you proving something to them. When you’re a speaker trying to be the smartest person in the room, nobody likes that. When you are simply helping them realize something themselves, and they’re the brilliant ones, your message hits home with them and they remember it.

In this episode we also discuss:

How to align your mission with your speech before getting in front of an audience.

How to share your mission without coming across as “salesy”.

How to craft a mission that is worthy of being shared.

How to define and find your target audience(s).

The components of a successful speech.

Ways to get speaking engagements as an unknown speaker.

As an entrepreneur, how to build a speaking career that builds your business.

Common mistakes that speakers make and how to avoid them.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

 

 

 

 

About the Guest

 

 

 

 

 

 

Decades before mainstream America was discussing "Asking First" or sexual harassment cases were on the cover of every major media publication, Domitrz was being brought in by leading educational institutions and the U.S. military to help them pursue a new standard of consent and respect. With Mike being the author of 3 books and an award-winning DVD, he is considered one of the leading influencers and thought-leaders on the topic of Respect.

You may have seen Mike on NBC Dateline as a featured subject matter expert or being quoted in international news publications such as Forbes and The Wall Street Journal. He is continuously being sought out for his proven track record of helping shift the paradigm for people.

In 2003, Mike founded what is now The Center for Respect which conducts keynotes and workshops for tens of thousands each year. Mike's extensive experience enables him to connect with audiences of all ages in honest, unique conversations that are always built on creating positive behavioral change for each individual and the organization as a whole. Imagine teaching 15-year-olds about “Asking First” and then later that same day talking with CEOs about creating mutually amazing relationships in the workplace.

And now in his unique weekend retreats for leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs, Mike is helping passionate trailblazers to be more impactful speakers.

Link to Website:

www.CenterForRespect.com

Links to Social Media:

www.Instagram.com/MikeRespects

www.TikTok.com/@MikeRespects

www.Facebook.com/MikeRespects

www.Twitter.com/MikeRespects

www.YouTube.com/CenterForRespect

www.linkedin.com/in/mikedomitrz

www.linkedin.com/company/centerforrespect

https://www.clubhouse.com/@mikerespects

It takes a lot more than a traditional business plan to design a business. It involves surrounding yourself with the right people, community building, marketing outreach and more. It’s possible to do it with the right strategies. That’s what I discuss in this episode with Colleen Biggs.

Colleen is a 22-year Business Strategist who empowers Business Leaders to expand their influence through Peak Performance Habits to attract the right clients and drive more profits.  She has launched over 340 businesses, is a Keynote Speaker, Author to 7 #1 International Best-Sellers.

Colleen grew up in a very chaotic, unstable household. She believes that when you feel like that as a child you take control of the things you can control. From the time she was a child she felt that she really needed to create that stability for herself because she craved it. Her mom said you grow up, you get a job, you have babies and you’re a homemaker like her mom was. Colleen decided she needed to design a life that looks different than that. She’s been designing her life from that point forward and become a victor instead of a victim.

In this episode we discuss:

How colleen built multiple companies and balanced her personal and professional lives.

Why entrepreneurs can’t be “lone wolves” and how to create your support system.

What it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.

What you need to decide before starting a business.

The one ingredient that all successful businesses have in common.

Examples of how to create your ideal client profile and then find them.

How to build your own community of influencers, clients, and referral sources.

What opportunities to say “no” to as you grow.

How to choose what professional organizations to become a part of.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

 

 

 

 

About the Guest

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colleen Biggs is a 22-year Business Strategist who empowers Business Leaders to expand their influence through Peak Performance Habits to attract the right clients and drive more profits.

She has launched over 340 businesses, is a Keynote Speaker, Author to 7 #1 International Best-Sellers with the latest being Step Into the Spotlight to Expand Your Influence, the CEO and founder of the Leap Community, and was awarded the Most Inspirational Leaders in Business and Entrepreneur of the year in 2023.

Colleen serves as the CEO of three businesses including Lead Up for Women, a community that boasts tens of thousands of female entrepreneurs that are driven by their passions, support and promote others with purpose to fuel female voices with power that are leading the way for all women world-wide to dominate the entrepreneurial market.

Colleen provides women with a community of entrepreneurs who take the leap daily and realize that their network is their Net Worth.

A special download for those solopreneurs to get started with a 30-day business plan on me for free!

https://qj979.infusionsoft.app/app/form/business-action-plan

https://colleenbiggs.net/

https://linktr.ee/ColleenJaneBiggs

Checkout the Leap Community:

https://colleenbiggs.net/Community

Connect with Colleen here:

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/colleen.s.biggs

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-biggs/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/colleenbiggs/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/LeapwithColleen

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@colleenjanebiggs

Connect with the Leap Community on FB:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/310881170189409

Subscribe to our Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/ColleenBiggs

Happiness is something most people yearn for, and gratitude helps you create it. How to find and create happiness is important. But most people don’t think about the effect their happiness has on the people around them. You can create a “happiness and gratitude ripple effect” if you have the right strategies. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Phil Gerbyshak.

 

 

Phil is the Chief Happiness Officer of Happy AF Now, dedicated to helping organizations and their people work and live a more engaged, more productive and more happy life. His upcoming book 7 Habits of Happy AF People will be out in Q2 of 2024.

When deciding on the next phase of his journey Phil considered a lot of topics that he could share with the world. He chose happiness in part because he believes that happiness is an inside job that you control your happiness or lack of happiness. It’s your choice. Over the years he encountered a lot of people that were really unhappy. Maybe unhappy with the right now, unhappy with tomorrow, unhappy with the future and more similar situations. About two years ago Phil decided that, personally, he was going to do something different.  It’s not enough to just be positive, he realized that he had to choose happiness. Which he did and now he’s sharing his journey.

In this episode we discuss:

Why the starting point of happiness is gratitude.

The ripple effect of happiness and gratitude to those around you.

How to practice gratitude every day.

How to move through and beyond tough times in your life.

How to recharge your gratitude and happiness batteries.

Why cheering other people on helps you have a better day.

Ways to charge other people up intentionally.

More of the story behind Phil’s gratitude and happiness journey.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

 

 

 

 

About the Guest

 

 

 

 

 

 

After studying sales for the past 20 years, Phil Gerbyshak realized the reason people aren't as engaged and productive as they could be is simple: it's because they don't know how to be Happy AF. So Phil saw a need and dove headfirst into studying happiness experts like Dr. Martin Seligman, Mister Rogers and Ted Lasso. Now Phil speaks about how organizations and their people can be Happy AF to be more resilient, more productive and more engaged.

Sign up for the Happy AF Blog at https://HappyAFnow.com and listen to the Happy AF Show podcast at https://HappyAFShow.com

There's an artform to marketing yourself at virtual events. They should be treated with the same professionalism as live events if you want to market yourself successfully. That’s what I discuss in this episode with serial entrepreneur Daniel Ruke, better known as Ruke.

Ruke has been doing 100% virtual networking for six years now. He believes that it’s the quickest and easiest way to build your brand. Unfortunately, most people don’t understand the power of virtual networking and how to successfully engage with people at virtual events.

 

Consider advertising; brands need repetition to get in front of their audiences. Statistics say you need to see a brand eight times before you buy whatever they’re selling. TV commercials, radio commercials and print ads are all doing the same thing. Eventually you investigate the product or service that you’ve seen eight or more times. When you’re networking virtually you get to show up to the same groups multiple times. When you do show up multiple times, you’re getting that repetition that leads to branding and marketing results.

Here's another thing that most people don’t understand: At virtual events people are watching you like a television show. The power of that is you get to control what you people are seeing. That means you have control over your brand image at events.

It’s important to understand that because people get curious. What books is he reading? What’s that in his background? You can show off your brand every time. That’s the greatest branding opportunity that you can do for your business at virtual events. Most people don’t take advantage of that. Personally, I’ve realized that having my book (Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea) behind me is product placement while I’m networking. Yet many people don’t think about creating opportunities like that.

In this episode we also discuss:

The most common (and damaging) mistakes people make at virtual networking events and how to avoid them.

Why you have to value yourself before anyone else will value you or your services.

How to create a professional online environment.

How to present yourself and create marketing conversations in breakout rooms.

What a successful "30-second commercial" looks like and how to create yours.

The balance between marketing and sales.

How to create Superfans that will refer you business again and again.

...and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

 

 

 

 

About the Guest

 

 

 

 

 

 

RUKE is the founder of multiple companies that brings your intellectual property to life.

They take Brands through the flow of create, monetize, and scale... handling their branding, marketing, and sales.

🎉 PROUD MOMENTS

RUKE’s companies have worked with Intellectual Properties of: Disney, Marvel, Lionsgate Entertainment, Epic Games, and Chico’s

He and his team have Successfully Launched: 200+ Products, Services, and Brands Over the Last 24+ Years

Has 10 Inventions and Received a Patent for: “A System and Method for Providing a Multi-Players game Experience” in a physical space, bringing video games to life.

……………

🤘FUN FACTS

Has Every Star Wars Toy Since Childhood

Privately Trained as an Artist Since the Third Grade

Married my Wife 3 Months After 1st Date...It’s been 27+ Years with 4 Daughters - One being Gender-Fluid :)

Learn more about Ruke!

www.GameChangersAssemble.com

www.RUKE.com

Writing great marketing copy is an art form. Many copywriters struggle with brevity; short form copy that packs a marketing punch isn’t the easiest thing in the world to create. If you have the right copywriting and marketing strategies you will get the attention of potential clients, keep it, and convert them into clients. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Joe Martin.

Joe is a Chicago-based business growth consultant who helps companies align their messaging. He has built and exited two companies, while his innovative ideas around work-life balance have been featured on WGN, FOX, and the TEDx stage.

Brevity is Your Best Friend in Marketing

Joe went to school for design. Part of his responsibility in his professional life after college was marrying the design part of website and marketing material projects with the copywriting part of those projects. He noticed that raising the bar with the copywriting piece often created a bottleneck. Joe would design a beautiful site and then take it to copywriters and ask them to put two sentences on the first page. They would come back with two paragraphs. Ouch.

Joe’s goal with the websites he designed was to make them profitable, not just pretty. But how? You need to start by answering these questions: Who is the person you want to get the attention of and what action do you want them to take? Then it comes down to: What do you need to say to get them to take that action?

How can you get that point across in one sentence? By focusing on one person. One person? Yes, one person and Joe believes one properly crafted sentence, speaking to your ideal target client, can accomplish that.

A question that he gets asked more than anything else is: “How do you decide on who the person you want to talk to is?”

Yes, ultimately, you’re going to have more than one client profile. It’s important to pick just one to get started and craft that sentence for them. The one you want to pick is the one you can get to. It’s the one with the best referral network, the one that is going to spend the most money with you, the one that is going to tell all their friends about you. Most importantly, it’s the one that you actually want to work with! Ask and answer: Who do you best help? Design your messaging for them, start there with one person first.

Speak to Your Idea Client’s Avatar

How do you focus on that one person? By developing your one marketing sentence.

You need to start a conversation with that one person. Figure out what you need to say to them.

This is important: When you want to create a conversation with one person, you’re listening more than you’re talking. You start by discovering the big problem they have which is why they need your help. That’s the way a great sales conversation goes: “This is the problem you have; we solve that problem, and this is how we do it.”

Let’s look at that again:

Number one: “If I understand correctly, this is the problem you have.”

Number two: “Hey! We solve that specific problem!”

Number three: “This is how we do it…”

You Have Their Attention. Now What?

The purpose of websites has changed in recent years. Websites were originally digital storefronts. The change is now that the highest converting websites act more like a digital salesperson than they do a digital storefront. Now it’s figuring out what we need to say to that person to get them to take the next action. Often the action is they need to get on the phone and talk to somebody. In that case you need to make that first call to action to get them to make that call.

If that’s the case the first button shouldn’t say, “our services” and lead to a page of long copy most people won’t read. Let’s not have that first button say, "learn more”. Tell them exactly what you want them to do, which is schedule a call. This is why you should work with us, and this is the action I want you to take. Get them on the phone with a link to schedule a call right on the homepage of your website.

Your Sentence

Your potential clients want to feel confident that you have the skills to do exactly what they need done to solve a problem. To reiterate, you’re saying “I can solve this problem for you”. Talk about that thorn in their side that you can remove. Get more targeted and really speak to that person. Adele didn’t write a love song for a million people; she wrote it for one person! Ironically, a million people related to the song.

That’s what one sentence can do for you!

In this episode we also discuss:

How to accelerate the know, like and trust cycle to get to “trust” faster.

How to create a common goal that potential clients can relate to.

How to create relationship-based conversations that will lead to referrals.

Ways that you can nurture business relationships that will get you marketing results.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

 

 

 

 

About the Guest

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joe Martin is a Chicago-based business growth consultant who helps companies align their messaging. He has built and exited two companies, while his innovative ideas around work-life balance been featured on WGN, FOX, and the TEDx stage.

His portfolio includes creative work for McDonald’s, Anheuser-Busch, and Microsoft. He has served as a judge for Google Startup Weekend events and mentored students through DePaul and Columbia Universities.

In his spare time he stays fit playing ice hockey, performs music around Chicago, and helps to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

Learn more about Joe!

www.LinksMartinChicago.com

www.6WeekCycles.com

www.UpLevelTourism.com

TEDx Talk https://youtu.be/zRtFOwofqsw

The wrong name for your product or service can be the difference between success and failure. So, how do you choose the right name? That’s what I discuss in this episode with Alexandra Watkins.

Alexandra is a leading and outspoken authority on brand names with buzz. If you have ever eaten a Wendy’s Baconator, you have literally eaten the words. For nearly 20 years, she and her naming firm, Eat My Words, have created love-at-first sight brand names for countless companies including Amazon, Coca-Cola, Disney, Twitter, and Google.

Alexandra has always been good with words. When she was younger, she had a role as an advertising copywriter and loved her job. Occasionally, her boss would throw her a bone and she would get to name a product or service. While she enjoyed the work Alexandra had no idea that “naming” was a profession that paid well. When she discovered that it is a lucrative profession around 20 years ago, she decided to take a leap of faith and go all in to the profession.

Alexandra has a few acronyms in the book, my favorite two are the SMILE test and the SCRATCH test. Her philosophy is that a name should make you smile instead of scratch your head. People like to “get it” and feel clued in, not clueless.

SMILE outlines the qualities of a super sticky name. It’s the five qualities that make a name great.

The SMILE Test

Suggestive: If it’s suggestive you want your name to suggest a positive brand experience and clue people into what you do.

Memorable: Meaning that it’s based on something familiar that people already know as opposed to something unfamiliar and foreign.

Imagery: This aids in memory, just like something based on the familiar.

Legs: Meaning it lends itself to a theme, it has legs to walk on and carry itself throughout your branding and marketing messaging.

Emotional: It’s important that your name makes an emotional connection with your target audience or else it will just go right over their head.

What is imagery?

Alexandra uses the example of a bike lock company named “Kryptonite”. When you hear the name Kryptonite you can picture something in your head because you’re familiar with kryptonite from Superman. Compare that to a similar U-shaped bike lock named “ABUS”. Your brain has no imagery when it hears that name, so there’s nothing to latch onto.

Think about it, you hear that name and then you’re in the bike shop a month later and you’re trying to remember the name, maybe by picturing it. You’re going through your brain’s dusty filing cabinet to retrieve that piece of information. If it’s based on something that’s already in your knowledge base, like Kryptonite, it will be easier to remember if there’s a picture associated with it.

Here are two more examples of imagery:

The Church of Cupcakes. There are all kinds of things you can imagine for the Church of Cupcakes. It creates a picture in your head.

A frozen yogurt franchise that she named “Spoon Me”. It’s funny and memorable and hints at the spoon you get with frozen yogurt.

If the name of your product or service fails the SCRATCH test it’s time to scratch it off your list because it makes people scratch their head with confusion. Here’s what the acronym means:

The SCRATCH Test

Spelling Challenged: If your name looks like a typo scratch it off the list, it will forever frustrate people.

Copycat: You don’t want to copy somebody else. Nobody likes copycats; we learned that early on in school. Why be somebody else when you can be yourself? In the bigger picture of things, you don’t want to open yourself up to trademark infringement.

Restrictive: This is where you have a name that limits your future growth. You don’t want to get trapped with a name that pigeonholes you into one business if you’re eventually going to be doing something else. Examples include 24-hour fitness. What if eventually they don’t want to be open 24 hours? Another example is 1-800-FLOWERS which sells more than flowers, but you wouldn’t know that from the name. Diapers.com sells more than diapers and, again, you wouldn’t know that from the name.

Annoying: This means that your name frustrates people. You want your name to be friction-free. An example of a source of frustration could be if you spell your name with a number in it, people won’t always be able to spell it correctly.

Totally Ambiguous: This means that nobody knows what you do. You want your name to be welcoming, the opposite of annoying.

Curse of Knowledge: This means that you know what it means but nobody else does.

Hard to Pronounce: Your name should be intuitive to pronounce and only pronounced one way. An example of what not to do is the company “Cricut”. They meant it to be pronounced “cricket” but people could see it as “cry-cut”.

In this episode we also discuss:

Why naming your company primarily based on available domain names is the wrong way to go.

What to do if your existing company’s domain name is taken.

More branding tips to make your marketing messages memorable.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

 

 

 

 

About the Guest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alexandra Watkins is a leading and outspoken authority on brand names with buzz. If you have ever eaten a Wendy’s Baconator, you have literally eaten the words.

For nearly 20 years, she and her naming firm, Eat My Words, have created love-at-first sight brand names for countless companies including Amazon, Coca-Cola, Disney, Twitter, and Google.

Her own "Name Hall of Fame" includes frozen yogurt franchise Spoon Me, the robotic vacuum Neato, Burger King’s Mac n’ Cheetos, and Spanish language school Gringo Lingo. The vertical farming company she named Plenty was recently named one of Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential Companies.

Alexandra is a former Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center Author in Residence. Her breakthrough creativity book, Hello, My Name is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick, was named a Top 10 Marketing Book by Inc. Magazine and Branding Journal. She lives by the beach in her Barbie Dream House.

Connect with Alexandra!

Eat My Words: www.eatmywords.com

Hello, My Name Is Awesome Book: eatmywords.com/brand-names-book

Free SMILE & SCRATCH Name Evaluation Test: eatmywords.com/free-name-evaluation-test

Free Brand Names Mini Masterclass: eatmywords.com/learn-about-brand-names-class

Professional Name Review with Alexandra: www.pronamereview.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrawatkins

Facebook: www.facebook.com/EatMyWordsNames

Podcasting is about more than just download numbers, which is what most people focus on. Podcasting can be a powerful tool to grow your business if you have the right strategies. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Steve Ramona.

Steve discovered his calling at a young age and is now on a mission to share his secret sauce for success. He thrives on forging meaningful connections, sharing referrals, and watching people flourish.

His contagious passion for the “Law of Increase” makes his podcast "Doing Business with a Servant's Heart" so successful. This show is chock-full of inspiring stories about overcoming challenges and serving others.

Getting Started in Podcasting

A few years Steve got involved with a company named Pantheon in a podcasting capacity. Steve asked for advice about how to get started. The owner told Steve “Just start recording, I don’t care how you get started, what you look like or what happens on each episode. Just hit record and have fun with it.”

Steve found his first guests through his network. He went to his them and simply said, “I’m launching a podcast, who wants to be a guest?” Steve had 5-10 quick email responses from people, and he was off and running.

Steve believes you can use podcasting as a networking tool, even though a lot of people don’t look at it like that. They look at it as getting the guests, getting the downloads, plays, partial plays and other metrics. Networking is a much more powerful reason to have a podcast.

Podcasting as a Networking Tool

Regarding podcasting as a networking tool Steve pointed out a few things. When you’re on a podcast you laugh, joke, and get to know your guests. You’re also adding value to their lives because you’re promoting them. They’re excited when you get done recording. Then you both start promoting the episode to share both of your messages. It’s a win-win situation.

That’s where the “Law of Increase” comes into play. This happens because of the value you’re offering them from being a guest on your podcast. As a guest, you’ve got their attention.  You’ve got them excited about the show that you’re going to be promoting so their energy level is up. Leverage that in a good way by giving them even more value by helping with their business endeavors and their energy goes up even more. That’s networking at its finest.

Steve says that giving them business referrals is the gold trophy, but it doesn't have to be referrals. If they have a podcast, you can offer them resources, guests, or marketing ideas. Don’t immediately try to sell them something. Offer free resources, don’t say “Come to my coaching program, it’s only $199 a month.” People are going to want you, love you and need you down the road one way or the other when you provide value to them first.

What’s going to happen at the end of the recording and marketing? Most of the time they’re going to ask you “How can I help you?” They might be able to help you find more guests, support your events if you’re in the event space, support a professional community that you’re involved with or any myriad of other things. Let’s look at that in more detail.

Have an “Ask” Ready

Early on Steve realized that if he wanted to build his business through his podcast, he had to have an “ask” ready when he and his guests were having discussions about helping each other. In the early days of his podcasting career, he felt he was “selling” them if he brought anything up. He soon realized that you’re never selling if you bring value to the relationship. Bringing value is a natural human interaction in successful relationships. Sometimes that value will be your product or service if it can help them solve a problem or advance their business initiatives. It could be asking them with help growing a professional community that you’re involved with, and so on.

In another example, your ask could be for help with an event you’re having by asking them to invite their friends. Since you’re offering value first, often, they’re happy to do it. Steve used to be worried that he would be “pitching” them. Since then, he’s learned that’s not the case when you bring them value first. That’s why bringing value is so important. That opens those floodgates of referrals for a variety of opportunities. Some people might become your client, they might offer you resources that you need, regardless of the details it’s going to be a positive experience for both of you.

Answering the Question “Why Should I Be Podcasting?”

Steve says it’s simple: You want to grow your network. You want to meet high-level people. When you have a podcast, and you’re promoting your guests, they’re going to want to meet with you. Without a podcast those same people, especially higher-level people, probably wouldn’t meet with you if you cold called them or asked your friends to introduce you to them. Having that podcast becomes a powerful tool for opening doors. Your podcast will help you meet people you never would be able to meet otherwise.

The possibilities and opportunities are endless!

In this episode we also discuss:

How to leverage podcasting to connect with your dream clients.

What makes a great podcast and what the structure of a great podcast looks like.

How to maintain consistency and quality as you grow your podcast.

A deeper dive into the “Law of Increase”.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

 

 

 

 

About the Guest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Ramona discovered his calling at a young age and is now on a mission to share his secret sauce for success. He thrives on forging meaningful connections, sharing referrals, and watching people flourish.

His contagious passion for the Law of Increase makes his podcast "Doing Business with a Servant's Heart" so successful. This show is chock-full of inspiring stories about overcoming challenges and serving others.

Steve has a knack for spreading good vibes and elevating those around him. He learned from his dad that an entrepreneurial spirit is a great way to make money. He shares stories of how people serve, struggle, and win. He believes that we must overcome something, so why not learn to serve, and overcome it much faster?

Steve learned the importance of customer service early in life. He knew the more he served, the more it was a win-win for everyone. He enjoys working with people, referring people, and helping people grow. The Law of Increase is his mission when he networks around the world.

Steve loves to mentor businesspeople and offer all the resources he can to the people in his life. He says to win, you must grow yourself first; then, you can share this with others!

He is also an avid reader.

Learn more about and connect with Steve:

www.ServingInBusinessPodcast.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveramona/

Want to learn more about building your business with podcasting? Click here to check out this post: "How and Why Entrepreneurs Should Start Podcasting Sooner Than Later"

There’s more to success than “hard work”. If you have the right strategies and mindset, you can manifest amazing things in your personal and professional lives. That’s what I discuss with Melinda Van Fleet in this episode of the Idea Climbing podcast.

Melinda is a Intuitive Energetic Business and Leadership Mentor that helps busy leaders and businesspeople achieve next level results (i.e. make more money, feel good) faster while spending less time, frustration, and money on other services/courses/programs that don’t produce the results you desire.

 

Hard Times Can Turn into Great Times

When she was single Melinda listed all the qualities she wanted in a husband, with the important criteria of someone with a hobby. When she met her soon to be husband, he told her he loved fishing more than anything else. That checked a big box. They were soon married and, unfortunately, they were both laid off from their jobs at the same time. They sold off the stuff they didn’t need, packed up and moved to the Florida Keys. They started over completely from scratch with no money, no jobs and no family or friends in the area.

Fast forward a couple years, they built a very successful sports fishing business called “Good Karma Sports Fishing”. Melinda built a very successful coaching company and her husband soon followed with his own successful coaching company. It was a journey that started with having a vision. Melinda says that everything wasn’t sunshine and rainbows, there were definitely hard times along the way.

How to Start Manifesting

Melinda believes that, when done the right way, everything is connected to manifesting. Unfortunately, that’s where the internet can be very misleading. There are a lot of programs out there that make manifesting sound easy. One example is the “just think positive thoughts and you can be rich overnight” effect. Manifestation done the right way starts with having a vision and putting it out there. Then comes clearing through any of the emotional health in terms of overcoming limiting beliefs, clearing blocks and recognizing triggers. Then you focus on what you want to manifest and follow the breadcrumbs that appear for you, which is your intuition.

When all those things come together with divine timing that’s when everything manifests.

Limiting beliefs are something that will always pop up for people, especially entrepreneurs at different stages of life. They can be dealt with by building extreme awareness where you can look in the mirror and say, “This is a limiting belief” and then work on it. That comes with practice over time. The more you can present and stay away from distractions and noise the better off you will be. You need to stay focused and be aware of your thoughts. It takes a lot of personal drive.

Personal drive needs to be developed. Nowadays that is an even bigger challenge because people are getting very comfortable, especially after COVID. People realized they can live within their means and don’t want to face their fears. People don’t want to do the hard work and the hard work is the mental work.

How to Ask Yourself the Right Questions

You need to ask the hard questions such as “What’s my life going to look like in 10 years if I don’t step up my game?” Having some type of vision and really seeing the future helps. You need to realize that time goes by really fast. Think about the future. Ask questions about the future such as: “Do I want my life to look like this? Do I want to be in debt? Do I not want to be known as a thought leader in my field?” and so on.

You need to be aware of your goals and stay grounded in them. That’s the work.

In this episode we also discuss:

How to know when to run away from something and when to run towards something.

Your life is all about the choices you make. We discuss how to make better choices.

How to tap into your intuition and develop it.

How to eliminate distractions in your life.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

 

 

 

 

About the Guest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melinda Van Fleet helps busy leaders and business people achieve next level results (i.e. make more money, feel good) faster while spending less time, frustration, and money on other services/courses/programs that don’t produce the results you desire.

She is an Intuitive Energy Business & Leadership Mentor, certified life & business coach, certified Ahai 7D Energy Practitioner, Human Design Coach, and bestselling author, host of The Success Codes Podcast and business owner with her husband Ryan Van Fleet of Good Karma Sportfishing & Coaching.

An ordinary life & business coach helps you manage time…Melinda helps you collapse time.

Learn more about Melinda:

Connect with her on LinkedIn

Visit her website

Want another episode of manifesting great things in your life? Click here to check out "How to Manifest Great Things in Your Life With Colin Sprake"

If you want to share and clearly communicate your big idea you need to do it in small chunks of information, not a long presentation. Your big idea has to be shared in a small package. You can’t dump a ton of information on people all at once, they’re not ready to process all of that information.

You understand your big idea because it sprang to life in your mind. You’ve probably researched it, mulled it over and worked on it for a while. The temptation is to try to share everything you know at once. When people listen to you, they’re tuning in to find out whether your big idea is valuable to them. Because of that you need to compress your big idea into short sound bites that are very relevant and very compelling because the attention span you get from other people is limited. If you try to say too much, you lose the opportunity to fully share your big idea.

You start to compress your big idea by asking yourself “Why does this matter to the audience I’m talking to?” You must frame it in a “What’s in it for them?” package, why should THEY care? Strip out 95% of the things you’d like to say and only share the things that are relevant to them, so they’ll do what you want them to do, become a client, support your big idea, etc. It still needs to be a small message even if the solution you’re offering is a complex solution.

How to Know What to Cut Out and What to Leave in

Consider writing and marketing a book. The title and the subtitle are the hook. The table of contents is the next level of detail; it’s the scannable outline. The rest of the book is the details. The three strata are the main point, overview then the rest of it. This is true for your service offerings, pitches to investors or any other big idea that you’re trying to get across. Consultants are trained to do this all the time, clinical papers are written this way, and so on. This is what Steve calls a “brain friendly approach”. Your listener wants to know what matters right away then, if you’re successful with your communication, they’re prepared to listen to a little bit more. If that works, they’re ready to listen to the details. Most of the time they don’t want a lot of detail, especially right up front.

Start With the Bottom Line

When people get a chance to present to their target audience, often they try to say too much. What their audience wants often is the “BLUF”, or Bottom-Line Up Front. They don’t have time to wait 30 minutes for you to get to the conclusion. Give them the conclusion immediately and if they’re interested you can dig deeper if you have time. This is why you need a “brain friendly format” so that you get an opportunity to talk about the details when your target audience is receptive to listening to more.

“Begin with the end in mind”

~Steven Covey

In this episode we also discuss:

The four rules of successful communication.

The definition of a “Memory Dart” and how to create one.

How to create communication agreements.

The components of a “Lead Point” and how to create one.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

 

 

 

 

About the Guest

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Woodruff is known as the King of Clarity. Thirty-seven years in the front lines of sales, marketing, consulting, and entrepreneurship has uniquely equipped Steve to guide others in the principles and practices of clear and effective communication.

He has deep experience in corporate training and workshop facilitation for a wide variety of companies, from startups to Top Five pharma.

Steve is the author of the business book Clarity Wins (2018), and the ground-breaking new book The Point (October 2023). He is the father of 5 grown men and lives in Franklin TN with his wife of 42 years.

Connecting with Steve

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.stevewoodruff.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swoodruff/

X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/swoodruff

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SteveWoodruff

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kingofclarity

How people can order The Point:

https://www.stevewoodruff.com/books

Want to learn about business communications with a twist? Check out another great podcast episode: "How to Use Improv to Improve Business Communications with Bill Prinzivalli"

When you enter the mentoring space, you begin an amazing, life changing journey. How to navigate that journey is what I discuss with Machen MacDonald in this episode.

On your journey you’ll be de-storying who you’ve been while storying who you really are. We show up differently in different situations. When you’re trying to change you have a mindset, or a story, of something like “my services aren’t valuable” or “I’m not worthy”. That’s not necessarily true, it’s just a story that you tell yourself. You need to realize that things aren’t happening to you from external sources to your detriment rather than happening for your betterment. That’s the starting point to rewrite your story and change your mindset.

“Nothing is good or bad except what we make of it”

When events happen, you need to be mindful of the meaning that you associate with those events, good or bad. You can do this by practicing “ADLIB” or “Advance Devine Love In Business”. Love can be found in any situation if you keep an open mind and look for it.

Navigating Your Mentoring Journey for Yourself and Others

When you begin to work on yourself it’s often because circumstances in your life become so frustrating that you decide to change. That is when mentors will show up if you look for them and welcome them into your life. You can find them by asking for help from people who have already faced your situation and come out on the other side. Approach each person with a compliment that shows you’ve done your research about them; “I read about how you built your business” “I heard you say _______ on a podcast and found it insightful”, etc.

They help you go through your trials and tribulations. You eventually achieve the success you were looking for.

After you work on yourself and get into a better place it’s time to help others along their journeys.

It’s time to share the story of your journey and your new insights and awareness with those in your community that need help. Imagine that you’re a lighthouse. You come back and try to shine your light as bright as you can. That light is going to catch people’s attention that need your specific kind of help.

When you are approached by potential mentees the first thing you need to do is set clear expectations. This includes things such as expected time frames to meet, what specific topics you will discuss and why you’ll be discussing them and so on.

We also discuss:

How to make it easy for potential mentors to say yes to creating mentoring experiences with you.

How to guide your mind and create a powerful, positive mindset.

How to break out of depressing and downward spiraling situations.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

 

 

 

 

About the Guest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For over 20 years, small business owners and leaders seeking heightened clarity, confidence, and certainty have turned to Machen as their trusted guide.

With a remarkable track record, Machen has empowered countless elite individuals to optimize their potential and that of their teams, enabling them to accomplish more and reach unprecedented levels of success.

Machen's extensive experience as a serial entrepreneur, having successfully launched and sold five businesses, coupled with his 15-year tenure as a highly accomplished financial advisor, forms the foundation of his expertise. In 2004, he founded The ProBrilliance Leadership Institute, where he continues to make a significant impact.

Learn more about Machen and get some free resources!

https://probrilliance.com/goodness