Aim Wide Instead of High – CBP003

June 19, 2013 by 4 Comments
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 CLICK ARROW TO PLAY || RIGHT CLICK TO DOWNLOAD Today we're getting into some pretty heavy stuff. We talk about how to take your creative business, products or services and leverage them laterally across different platforms, and for different customers by Aiming Wide instead of aiming high. The concept comes into play in multiple ways First, it's about taking your work and sharing it across multiple platforms in order to reach wider than you have in the past. In the last episode, we related to this concept as Be Everywhere. By sharing your work in a process to get it seamlessly from one social media platform to the next (ie: Instagram to Twitter to Facebook to Pinterest and more), not only are you getting exposure many places, but with simple techniques, you can reach beyond your normal circle of influence. The second way to approach the Aim Wide concept is to use your content in various ways and forms to create multiple opportunities for customers to buy into what you do. … [Read more...]

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That A-List Celebrity You Admire is a Lie

June 18, 2013 by 10 Comments
paparazzi and subject by Jeff Balke - creative commons license.

Let's face it, the cult of celebrity is a ridiculous concept, not that it doesn't exist, but the fact that it exists is truly absurd. We worship these individuals because they have achieved some level of success in sports or entertainment, but the only difference between you and I me (thanks to my good friend Randy for outing me in public over that typo).  is that they either put in a lot more effort, had a considerable amount more inherent talent, or both. Brad Pitt, Bono and Kobe Bryant all have tremendous work ethic. They put in the hours to do what is necessary for their craft, and we worship them for the way they act, sing or pull a fade-away jumper. Think about it: you admire Bono more for Joshua Tree than all of his humanitarian efforts. In a few days, I'm going to be interviewing someone I consider an A-List internet celebrity. I can't give it away just yet, but I'm pretty stoked for this interview. This guy has done more for people like me with his blog and his podcast … [Read more...]

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Father’s Day Starts With Me

June 16, 2013 by 4 Comments
A and Me

WARNING! This post will have a bit of a somber tone. You see, Father's Day is typically my least favorite holiday because, without mincing words, my father is a bit of an ass. I don't speak to the man anymore; he's chosen his own pride and ego over his relationship with his son instead. So be it. Honestly, I'm better off without that kind of negative influence in my life. Now that I am a father, the holiday takes on a whole new meaning. Instead of it being a day to honor a man who doesn't deserve it, this holiday now becomes a day to reflect and remember that my one true goal in life is to be the best possible dad I can to my little guy. In a few weeks, my son turns 3 years old, which has some serious significance, because that means I put more time into my son's life than my father did when I was young. If I do nothing more in this world, being a better dad to Aidan than my my fathers was to me, I will consider my life worthwhile. Of course, I want much more than that, both for … [Read more...]

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How to Not End Up in a Ditch

June 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment
hester and pearl muffins - hesterandpearl.com

The idea for Hester & Pearl happened one night after dinner. I was still in college and I had been dreaming recently. What was I dreaming about? Owning and running my own business, specifically a cafe that would be part gift shop selling products from Etsy sellers around the country. I have been an Etsy seller since 2011, and “all things handmade” is one of my passions. At the time, my mother was months away from retirement, and when I brought it up, she was into the idea of partnering with me in opening a store that would sell her baked goods. Over a year later, we haven’t opened a store. We decided to (do the smart thing and) start slow by launching our business online with an Etsy shop selling our “ship-able” goods: cookies, brownies, small breads. My mother had just retired from thirty-plus years of teaching, and had obviously worked very hard to earn all of her retirement assets. I had just graduated college and had no money aside from what I was making week to … [Read more...]

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Three Things You Can Do Today to Improve Your Creative Business – CBP002

June 13, 2013 by 4 Comments
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 CLICK ARROW TO PLAY || RIGHT CLICK TO DOWNLOAD Before we get into it, who is that handsome devil there on the left? What a stud, huh? That right there is the new, fancy, official icon for the podcast, which means I'm getting more serious, so step back a little and watch me sparkle a bit. Ok … First off, I know I just posted an episode yesterday, and I'm certain I will not be posting them at this frequency all the time, but I want to get multiple episodes up for anyone listening in through iTunes who might need a little more meat to chew on than one short episode. From here on out, you can probably count on an episode bi-weekly for now, and we'll see if there is room to go bigger, more frequent later. At the start, I do a short recap of the previous episode, "Giving Yourself Permission to Suck", and I discuss how it directly applies to my life. Yes, it's true, I sucked a tiny bit last week, but it really does have a happy ending. In the main topic of today's episode … [Read more...]

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