030 The Power of Story for your business

Business Content Marketing

There is Power in your Story

I for some reason just found Ms. Lisa Nichols through my Pinterest boards. Not even realizing I had read the secret many years ago and she was one of the contributors.

One of her stories of growing up in South Central LA and interacting with her Grandmother, telling her that when you get old you want to be able to look back and tell a good story.

I got to thinking about what the legacy will be that i’m leaving behind and will it be a good story…

Story is so powerful and if you think about it it’s the first thing we usually learn. Stories like bedtime stories or fables. Even the best advertisements are really good stories.

On the flip side of the coin what is the story we are telling ourselves. Be it negative or positive, what is the plot line you are going to change to make sure it turns out the way you imagine it to be.

QuoteSpiration

[Tweet “Be encouraged you are not alone”]

No such thing as an overnight success

Looking at someone like a Lisa Nichols and seeing her massive success, you could see that and think she came out of nowhere but that isn’t the reality if you look at her YouTube videos you will see the years of content and work she has put in consistently over the years. So remember there is no overnight success.

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Mentions

Lisa Nichols

Key Takeaways from the Podcast

Make your story GOOD!

Feast and Famine of Entrepreneurship

Being a young and idealistic Entrepreneur can make you shoot for the moon, without even a dirty mattress to catch you.
At least that’s my story of early failure or as tried and true Entrepreneurs say… lessons.

There are no failures only lessons on what not to do the next time!

A false sense of security shook me in my 1st attempt at launching a Business. I can remember balling out my first couple weeks out and then… crickets.

When I say zero clients, and zero prospects for any type of income. Panic set in, my pride would not let me schlep back to my former job on bended knee. Or divulge to my family my dire circumstance so I decided then and there I’d never be so vulnerable ever again.

QuoteSpiration

[Tweet “There are no failures only a lessons. ~Jenae Duarte”]

Why the Transition to Job Optional matters

Using your Side Hustle as a Launching Pad to financially support you in the early transition to Entrepreneurship becoming Job Optional will allow you to have peace of mind. You won’t have the added stress of worrying if bills will be paid.

This also prevents taking on clients you might not want to work with because you need the money. Turning your passion into a nightmare. Feel me…

I know this route is not for everybody, some folks can burn the boats and run with with it. I have found that is just not practical for me. I just don’t function well under that kind of stress and that’s okay. as I always say everything is not for everybody. We work at our pace and stay in our lane.

Don’t get distracted by the HOV lane it’s slow and steady here on the right but we all will get to our destination just at different times.

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Mentions

Dale Partridge podcast Startup Camp : How to grow an online business with Amy Porterfield
info@jenaenicole.com

Key Takeaways from the Podcast

Never begrudge small beginnings
There are no failures only lessons

Reality of Racism

The problem with Racism in America is that we have never truly dealt with the skeletons under our feet. The millions of Black bodies murdered and mutilated that’s never been acknowledged or apologized for.

Consequently there are a subset of people, who’ve benefited in one form or another and refuse to see the truth, that is smacking them in the face. It could be from guilt or ignorance, either way it is a huge contributing factor to the underlying tension that is always just below the surface of our everyday existence.

QuoteSpiration

[Tweet “People are people, there are good people and bad people, period. ~ Jenae Nicole”]

Can we ever be truly United?

I deeply saddens me to know that we are still dealing or rather not dealing with this issue of Race and racism not only here in the United States, that let’s be honest we have never been truly united as evidence of the hundreds of years of persecution and prejudice of people of color.

I want to believe we as a nation will put this foolishness to rest in my lifetime.

I was very shocked to see an actual Black President elected. Trust I was holding my breath until the second term began. Literally waiting on the shoe to drop.

Sad but true…

At the end of the day, I’m ever hopeful the hearts and minds will change to be loving and accepting of others differences around the world. So until that day comes, let us show kindness and be the example daily of what we want to see manifest in our world.

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Key Takeaways from the Podcast

You will never know the impact your legacy will have
I shouldn’t be afraid because of the color of my skin

Standing Out from the Crowd

Authenticity in Business

People fall in love with your special gift, your Authentic self. You have so much to offer and only you can. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. I say a copy of the original is always going to be faded.

God made you, you for a reason. It doesn’t make sense to try and retrofit your life into someone else’s lane. For one you are robbing us from knowing the greatness inside of you.

To stand out from the crowd be free to express yourself in the way you naturally feel led. I promise it will be the best thing to differentiate yourself from the mass of competition. Look at Ellen Degeneres she will look completely ridiculous but honey she is having a ball and making a killing while changing lives. Okay.

QuoteSpiration

[Tweet “When you don’t use your individuality you become cookie cutter and add to the noise ~Jenae Nicole #JobOptional”]

What’s your ‘est’

I heard Gary Vaynerchuk say this before and thought it was so appropriate. The point of it was to say what makes you special? Are you the funniest, craziest, kindest… you get the picture. Whatever it is it’s unique to you like your DNA or fingerprint.

When you don’t use your individuality you become cookie cutter and add to the noise. We only have this one life and this one chance to get it right. So say what you wanna say now. Be who you really are so you can stand out from the middle.

Cutting corners and trying to game the system by using someone else’s persona its not gonna work when the rubber hits the road because you are not going to be able to pull it off. People are smart and can tell a fake when they see it.

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Mentions

Podcast Movement Sessions Podcast
Gary Vaynerchuk

Key Takeaways from the Podcast

Cheaters never win
We only get one life, live your truth

Links

026 Dreaming is Key to Business Success

Business

Dreaming is vital for Business Success

It all starts with a Dream or Business Vision if you will. Even the Bible says the people perish for lack of vision. The point is that you cannot walk into what you cannot see.

Begin with the Dream, that thing that keeps you up at night that you daydream about when you have any idle moment.

Start there, create the blueprint and flesh it out. This is where you are going to to draw your motivation from to move forward when times get tough.

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The Blessing and Curse of having Business Vision

Most Entrepreneurs have great visions for what they want their business to look like and opportunities for expansion. The blessing is being able to see the opportunities available and the curse is being distracted by those opportunities.

You can’t chase two rabbits, going after several business options at the same time is just going to end in a mess. We must stay focused on one thing at a time and crush that before entertaining another.

The ‘shiny ball syndrome’ that is so common in Entrepreneurship makes you lose focus on the goal and then the business vision gets murky.

QuoteSpiration

[Tweet “Discipline becomes dormant in the absence of a dream ~Rory Vaden”]

Hope deferred makes the heart sick but when the desire comes it is the tree of life Proverbs 13. This verse is so key because as you get off track and distracted your true desire getting pushed away you become discouraged when you’re not making progress in your business.

Having a clear vision and plan will help keep you focused on a single goal and lift you in times of hardship.

As I talk about on this episode of the Podcast, dealing with a lingering sickness and not having the energy to work on my passion, but having that clear vision and goal kept me faithful to keep going after missing several weeks.

Mentions

Gary Vee

Key Takeaways

Don’t get distracted
Follow one course until success (focus)
Slow and steady wins the race

Links

025 Consuming or Creating Content

Content Marketing

Are you Creating Content for your Business or just Consuming?

Consuming more Content than we Create, we call that getting fat on the meat of the land. Using precious time stuffing ourselves on the latest and greatest go to advice on Business Startup rather than actually putting in the work necessary to grow our Side Hustle to a level that will give us the Freedom we so desperately want.

I will raise my hand as well, I am as guilty of this as the next chick. Using learning as a procrastination technique. I know it well.

So to prevent us from getting distracted with all the muck that comes at every level let’s focus on what is important today by using “just in time learning”.

That is the key, no need to get overwhelmed with learning how to code a website when you don’t even have a Domain Name, right.

I know this is basic 101, but if you try to master Business before you even really start you never will.

One step at time, slow and steady always beats a fast flash in the pan.

QuoteSpiration

[Tweet “One step at time, slow and steady always beats a fast flash in the pan.” Jenae Nicole]

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Key Takeaways

Don’t get distracted
Follow one course until success
Slow and steady wins the race

Radio is dead … it just doesn’t know it yet

You’ve probably heard the term dead man walking before, denoting the man on death row heading to execution. I don’t want to sound morbid but the truth is this is the state or Terrestrial Radio today the real “Walking Dead”.

I’m not saying tomorrow you’ll cut on your car and your favorite drive time radio station is going to be kaput but hey prepare yourself because the day is coming. I’d suspect it’ll sputter along until most of us 70’s babies are too old to care anymore but I won’t bet my life on it.

The last few years we have seen the fall of major industries that let innovation and technology consume them before they could blink. For those skeptics who can’t see it, I’ll just say I bet the Hotel and Taxi industry wish they took the disrupters AirBnb and Uber a little more serious now that they are being decimated.

I saw the handwriting on the wall for radio in 2005 when XM Radio was just a startup. So for it to still be lingering on that speaks to the phenomenon we find ourselves in with the multitude of generations living at the same time. Anywhere from Great depression era to Millennial and all those in between.

As I’m a 70’s baby I can relate to radio but more on a nostalgic level than anything else. Personally I’d much rather pull up either on Apple music the exact song I want to hear at the moment vs. hoping to hear it and suffer through the commercials.

The one good thing about live radio is the traffic update but more than likely there’s an app for that…

I happen to be chatting with a friend who is a former super popular radio host about this very topic and they said emphatically Radio will never be gone or rather Podcasting will never replace radio. I partially agree with the later, as Podcasting is fast becoming a Buzzword or “It” medium of the day. I don’t see it completely replacing radio but more of one more deathblow to the staggering half dead victim to innovation.

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WE ARE AN ON DEMAND SOCIETY

What do we want? Everything. When do we want it? NOW!

The sad truth is after the advent of the Microwave Oven we can no longer have patience to cook a baked potato in an actual baking oven.

We live in an instant gratification world, now where pretty much anything we want is within reach mere minutes of the thought of it. Never in the history if the world have people had access to as much as we do right now. And frankly I’m as much excited as saddened by it.

A big example of this is we are no longer teaching Cursive Handwriting but at the same time our kids can freely talk to and see cultures around the world at any moment.

Podcast indicted on attempted Murder

So my case for the death of Radio and who will most likely put the final proverbial nail?

I will put myself out there and still say Podcasting.

Just a few reasons are:

Radio is mad expensive to run, how do the keep the doors open? Advertisers/ Sponsorship. Both of these are looking for ROI (return on investment) correct.

To get a return someone must hear the ad first and then take action on that ad second. Basic Marketing 101 says it typically take 9 interactions before most people will take action. I don’t know about you but I can’t tell you when the last time I heard a commercial on radio that I didn’t automatically flip the dial.

First and foremost you had to catch me actually turning on the ‘regular’ radio (generally 1-2 per month) only because I’ll be in the car less than 10 minutes or some other unusual happenstance.

So, why Podcasting? Simply it checks all the boxes. We already have on demand radio with limited or no commercial depending on paid or free versions of Pandora, Spotify. Or YouTube if you’re desperate in the car. Then you have XM Sirius for the “Radio” alternative which a lot of popular radio personalities are already on as well.

Podcasting takes the morning drive and becomes a ride with your favorite topic, passion, guru etc. I have leaned more in one year listening to podcasts than I did in four years of High School. Literally thousands of topics to choose from, I’ve gone from Comedy with Charlie Murphy to Finances with Dave Ramsay.

Now with the popularity of the Serial Podcast and President Obama being featured on WTF with Marc Maron advertisers are taking notice. It’s only a matter of time as Podcasting continues to grow I expect to see the Advertisers are going to follow the ears that are attached to wallets. Especially super niche targeted ears.

A well placed Samsung sponsored advertisement on a popular Podcast about Technology will more than likely get a better response than a huge ad spend on Terrestrial Radio any day just based on our automatic dial flip ad reflex.

The beauty with Podcasting and advertising is when done well you really don’t even notice them, they are woven into the regular content like no big deal.

Some bigger podcasts go right out and do a true Ad roll i.e. “after this word from our Sponsors” kinda thing. I guess a major factor is your industry and your particular audience tolerance.

Either way, the case for Podcasting is pretty strong and I don’t foresee it slowing down anytime soon. I will say I know the Podcast is not the only reason radio is gasping for breath but it definitely kicked him while he was down.

023: Power of the Paycheck for Starting your Business

Business

Use the Power of your paycheck to support your Business

Perspective matters in Business

When you look at your day job paycheck as your first investor in your dream business you will begin to get a new perspective on it.

Yes, the 9 to 5 grind takes much of your precious time and focus that could be better served in getting the Side Hustle off the ground. Like everything in life you have to take the pros with the cons as it were.

Don’t begrudge your humble beginnings, starting small and having a backup plan gives you so much more leverage while growing into a full time Entrepreneur. A dedicated paycheck means you can be selective in what clients you choose to work with and not have to jump at every opportunity because you need funds.

Now while acknowledging our job is an investor for our business, we must be mindful to not just take the money and run. We honor the paycheck by doing what we are paid for by showing up and doing the work with integrity.

QuoteSpiration

[Tweet “Your day job is your first investor in your dream business”]

Burn the boats

Personally I’m not built to jump ship with no lifeline. I’m more productive having the “stable income” as I build my business on the side. Done it, hated it – so focused on income I never could build.
Some folks can and need to burn the boats to really see it through and they thrive in that sink or swim atmosphere.

Baby chicks or Eaglets need their wings to develop before they can fly and leaving the nest. Horses walk almost immediately and if they don’t there is a problem. Me and my tribe are chicks and that’s okay.

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JenaeNicole.com

Key Takeaways

Everything is not for everybody!
Know your truth

We are all Marketers

Whether you’re trying to get a Man, land a dream Job or secure a client contract, it’s ALL Marketing!

In Today’s episode we talk about…

Being Authentic in our Marketing

Why the next new thing is not necessarily the best for you and your audience

Video Marketing is not for everybody specifically Livestreaming

Mentions

Michael Stelzner

Social Media Examiner

Social Media Marketing World Conference

Podcast Movement

JenaeNicole.com

QuoteSpiration

[Tweet “You can only fake the funk for so long, before the real you begins to seep out” ~Jenae ]

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