Funktastic Chats

Carissa Kruse is a Wedding Business Strategist and serial entrepreneur who has been in the wedding industry for over 10 years and has built multiple businesses. She's the founder of Weddings By Carue, a multi-state and multi-service wedding business. She has coached hundreds of entrepreneurs through launching and scaling their businesses with strategy and funnels. In her first year alone, she went from zero to $130,000 without any contacts experience or support. She is firmly anti-hustle and teaches your clients to build a sustainable wedding business with long-term vision that does not rely on 24, 7 posting or a flash in the pan strategies. This is a 2 part series! Today's topics include:How to create a perfect Welcome Sequence How Authentic story-based emails make you the expert of your field & build the trust factor with bridesWhy you need a Lead Magnet on your website (and not just a contact form)...and so much more!!Carrissa Kruse WeddingsWeddings By CarueFunktastic Chats WebsiteMy Wedding BandMentions:Active CampaignHoneybookContent Fuel For Wedding Pros & The Five Figure Funnel Formula

Flara K is a duo from Montreal, Canada who explore a unique blend of R&B, indie pop, and electronic music influences.  I had the pleasure of meeting this talented group at Indie Week Canada!Their debut EP titled Anxious, Irrational, Fashionable is a collection of collaborative efforts alongside Mike Clay (Clay and Friends), Shakur Ahmad (Glass Animals), Milo Gore, and producer Lucas Liberatore. The release, accompanied with a month-long livestream RV tour across Canada helped garner attention from various outlets such as Radio-Canada, BBC Introducing, CBC, including a feature with Thomas Power on CBC's Q.Flara K's WebsiteFlara K's InstagramFunktastic Chats WebsiteTry Bandzoogle for free for 30 Days! Try it free for 30 days, and then use the promo code “funktastic” to get 15% off the first year.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

We're chatting about THE ULTIMATE SALES CRM FOR WEDDING PROS....Zendesk Sell!In this episode, we'll cover how to use Zendsek Sell for your wedding business. Topics include:Keeping Track of Leads through The Knot & Weddingwire AND Following UpDefining Your Sales ProcessBuilding Sales CollateralConverting Leads through Email Sequences...and more!As we step into engagement season, you know to update your Weddingwire and The Knot storefronts, update your website, but what your sales process? The whole essence of Zendesk Sell is to provide an extremely rich view about what the client relationship is about. You will have a full timeline for each person that inquires about your business, including a complete history of emails, text messages, recorded telephone calls!Try Zendesk Sell for FreeThe Podcast WebsiteThe Wedding Band Website

Kate Storey is a digital marketing specialist, copywriter and social media expert. As co-owner of Book More Brides alongside her husband, Nick, she helps wedding business owners around the world better understand how to identify their perfect clients, what to say to get them to book, and how to create strategic online content that builds relationships and salesTopics covered include:How to close buy-later couples: Are couples ghosting you or are you ghosting them?How to bring in consistent leads on a regular basis (slow and fast methods)Blogging & Content Ideas for wedding prosHow to connect with couples on a deeper level and draw an emotional responseEmail Sequences to keep you front of mind and stand out from competitorsKate is passionate about helping wedding professionals find the right words that help them speak directly to their couples' emotional needs (and buying triggers), and add a little fun and personality along the way. She is a big believer in being clear over clever - but her specialty is combining the two to create writing that helps wedding pros connect at a deeper level with the couples they want to book. Her experience extends beyond the wedding industry as well. With nearly 20 years in marketing, social media, public relations, and communications work, Kate has helped everyone from small start-ups, technology and manufacturing companies, national museums and even large corporations like Microsoft create a deeper connection with the people they serve through written and digital communications. Through it all, Kate believes that each business owner intuitively knows their perfect client - they just need a little help sometimes in putting it into words...and that's where she comes in. When she's not teaching marketing skills to wedding pros or recording content for the Book More Brides Podcast and YouTube channel, Kate loves going on adventures with Nick and their four children, savoring another cup of caramel creamer-laden coffee and watching way too many YouTube videos.About Kate Storey:Book More Brides WebsiteBook More Brides InstagramBook More Brides PodcastBook More Brides CRM - Book & manage leads like never before!Funktastic Chats website

HOW TO SET YOUR MUSICIANS ON AUTO-BOOK! Tired of the back and forth trying to confirm all your musicians for gigs? This is the musician and crew scheduling system that manages itself. HOW TO AUTOPAY YOUR MUSICIANS! Do you really want to be wasting your time chasing your team for their gig invoices and burning cash on costly payroll or money transfer services? We hope not! Let's put it all on AUTO-PILOT.These are just two of the MANY features we'll be chatting about with Back On Stage founder, Reuben Avery, and Marketing Director, Eric Tsang​Back On Stage is a highly innovative, web-based productivity app that allows bandleaders and event pros to book gigs in minutes instead of hours. The software automates your gig-booking workflow with client relationship management (CRM), scheduling, communication, and repertoire management tools. It saves us up to 80% of our administrative time and helps eliminate those late-night phone calls and oh-so-familiar feelings of "did I remember to book a drummer for gig X" and "Am I forgetting something?" Back On Stage is an application that keeps bandleaders and event pros everywhere from losing any more hair! The goal of Back On Stage is to help musicians and event pros optimize their capacity, generate more revenue, and improve professionalism, using a single organizational application. It will provide equal opportunities for all by leveling the band management playing field. You can sign up for a free trial today at backonstageapp.comSign up and get a $15 Amazon Gift Card! You can organize your band and your gigs! Use the key 612211210 to get a $15 amazon gift card!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Want to learn how to break through the noise and clutter in order to stand out as an artist?Indie Week "in-person" is a live festival that showcased artists around the world to industry professionals with 240 international bands and took up over 25 bars in downtown Toronto. When COVID happened, Darryl took this opportunity to create a massive 5 day virtual experience with 68+ Panels and 80+ speakers! Speakers include Rock N' Roll Hall of Famer, Marky Ramone (The Ramones), Steve Stewart (Stone Temple Pilots), CDBaby, BandZoogle, and many more! Darryl Hurs has a 25+ year history in the music business including launching and running one of Canada's largest indie music festivals and conference, Indie Week. Recently hired as the director of market development for CD Baby in Canada. Past positions include design and branding/marketing for Live Nation as a freelancer (projects included a corporate rebrand and logo design, launching VIPNATION.com, work for U2, Nickelback, Madonna, Beyonce, Jay-Z and Dave Matthews) retail buyer at HMV, and booker for one of Toronto's top live music venues (The Rivoli).www.Indieweek.com

As Season 1 ends, let's take a trip down memory lane and go over some of my favorite moments from Season 1. Inspiring moments from interviews with The Knot/WeddingPro, World-Renowned Bassist Jeff Berlin, Dubsado CRM, Kool & The Gang's Michael Ray, and more!Season 2 starts Tuesday, November 2nd! Check out a sneak peek of Industry Professionals & CEOS of Bookmorebrides.com, Back On Stage App, and CDBaby!MentionsMichael Ray & Cosmic KreweBook More BridesBack On Stage AppJoseph WootenIndie Week (November 9th - 13th)The KnotMeghan Brown's InstagramDubsadoJeff BerlinIndie Week Canada 2021 Full 5 Day online conference! Limited supply of Earlybird tickets now available!Sign up and get a $15 Amazon Gift Card! You can organize your band and your gigs! Use the key 612211210 to get a $15 amazon gift card!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Ambila Nath is a Spiritual lifestyle coach, serial entrepreneur, tarot reader, energy healer, paid international speaker. She went from a 6 figure corporate job to having a spiritual lifestyle business. She knows that the greatest journey you can take is the one to build a relationship with yourself.In today's episode, we cover:A holistic approach to coaching through energy healing and tarot readingHow tarot readings can allow us to detach our emotions to see new perspectives"Too much to handle" vs. "everyday stress"How a Vision Board can help you let go of limiting beliefsAmbila Nath's WebsiteAmbila Nath's InstagramSchedule a Consultation with Ambila NathMentions:Darren Jay & The Delta Souls (Sponsor)The Female CEOCreate Evolve Overcome MagazineFunktastic Chats Website

Andrea Freeman started her first business when she was 12, second business at 26, and third business at 31. Professionally trained as an educator and leadership development coach she honed her entrepreneurial skills and scaled her celebrity event planning business to multiple six-figures in annual revenue. After years of synthesizing the peak performance habits of the red carpet celebrities and high net-worth clients she's served in her event planning business with the mindset work that has worked in her own life/business (as well as with countless coaching clients), Andrea created the H.O.S.T MethodTM. Now she's on a mission to help service-based business owners realign with their purpose, create greater financial freedom, fulfillment, and make a difference in the world.Andrea's WebsiteAndrea's InstagramAndrea's Facebook GroupThe Upleveled Entrepreneur PodcastFunktastic Chats Website

Is space in music just as important as the notes? If you tuned into my episode with Grammy Nominated artist, Joseph Wooten, you'd know that rhythm forces you to not only give each other space, but to respect each other's space. Take a look at a website that you really like and notice how much space is in between the text and images. How chaotic would the website look if there was no space?

Today, we're taking on the challenge to take multicultural education to the forefront and encourage kids of all cultures to learn about Zimbabwe and Africa. Yeve C. Sibanda lived in Zimbabwe up until the time she was 16 years old. Eventually moving to the states to become a lawyer, a mother, and the cultural curator and ambassador for Zimbabwe and Africa through her company,  Philisa Creatives. She's the author of the picture book, My First Book Of Shona and Ndebele Words.ABOUT THE BOOKMy First Book of Shona and Ndebele Words is an accessible, engaging and easy-to-follow picture book. It is a multicultural picture book staged in Zimbabwe and designed to make learning Shona and Ndebele, the native languages of Zimbabwe, fun. The main character, Rufaro, takes the reader through her daily activities and helps the reader learn basic words for greetings, transportation, family members and many more. Picture books promote language development by allowing the reader to simultaneously see and name various objects. Yeve says that there's a lot of positive things coming out of Zimbabwe and that you should have a piece of that in your home. Mentions:Philisa Creatives WebsiteYeve's InstagramBuy My First Book Of Shona and Ndebele Words

Colin Peterik is the son of Jim Peterik, who founded Survivor and The Ides Of March. Colin is stepping into the spotlight with his debut album, Everything and Nothing,  which releases August 30th, 2021. Imagine if Steely Dan, Genesis, and Todd Rundgren had a baby…Colin Peterik's debut album is filled with endless grooves masterful arrangements and is a song cycle of pocket symphonies and suites that span genres including psychedelic and progressive rock, pop, soul, and everything in between. It's mixed by Grammy award-winning engineer, Craig Bauer! Colin is the owner of The Jam Lab in Brookfield IL and we're going to chat about how Colin helps the Chicago music community scale their music globally through live streaming and recording in order to help musicians turn their craft into a solid product to put out there into the world.Colin's musical relationship with his dad, Jim Peterik, and what it's like to grow up with a dad who wrote hits like "Eye of The Tiger" and "Vehicle"What is The Jam Lab? (Brookfield, IL)How Colin uses The Jam Lab to help musicians scale their music to a global audience How Colin transformed 10 years of written music into a debut albumColin talks about influences like Emmett Rhodes, Steely Dan, Todd RundgrenWhy "Everything and Nothing" needs to be on YOUR play list!You can stream "Everything and Nothing" ahead of its release by visiting:  www.colinpeterik.comColin's Facebook PageThe Jam Lab: Music Production Studio, Rehearsal Facility, VenueMentions:Jim PeterikThe Ides of MarchCraig BauerThe North 41Khari Parker

How funk became the celebratory music and why it's known as the "free man's music"How harmony tells us how to feel and how rhythm gives the music a path forwardMusical ConceptsJoseph's relationship with Steve Miller, Victor Wooten and the rest of his brothersJoseph Wooten is a three-time Grammy-nominated artist, songwriter, keyboardist, and vocalist. Since 1993, Joseph has been an integral member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, The Steve Miller Band. He is a producer, speaker, and fronts his own band, Joseph Wooten and The Hands of Soul. Joseph also serves as the keyboard is to his brother, Victor Wooten. On top of all of that, he's an author of It All Matters from which there's a Ted Talk delivered in Memphis, Tennessee called Why It All Matters.Joseph says the most important thing you can learn from music is that in music, rhythm creates a relationship with things that are normally not compatible. Rhythm gives two different ideas a path forward because rhythm makes them respect each other's space. Joseph says that if you replace rhythm with respect off the stage, it will do the same thing.  Growing up, Joseph's mom told him and his brothers, "What does the world need with just another good musician? What we need are more good people." Their mom knew the music business would be tough and may or may not work out, but knew that they would survive it based on the quality of character that she raised Joseph, Victor, Reggie, Roy, Rudy, and Elijah to be. Sit back, relax, and enjoy as we dive into Music, Culture, Rhythm, and Respect.Listen to Part 1Joseph Wooten's websiteFunktastic Chats website

Joseph Wooten is a three-time Grammy-nominated artist, songwriter, keyboardist, and vocalist. Since 1993, Joseph has been an integral member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, The Steve Miller Band. He is a producer, speaker, and fronts his own band, Joseph Wooten and The Hands of Soul. Joseph also serves as the keyboard is to his brother, Victor Wooten. On top of all of that, he's an author of It All Matters from which there's a Ted Talk delivered in Memphis, Tennessee called Why It All Matters.Joseph says the most important thing you can learn from music is that in music, rhythm creates a relationship with things that are normally not compatible. Rhythm gives two different ideas a path forward because rhythm makes them respect each other's space. Joseph says that if you replace rhythm with respect off the stage, it will do the same thing.  Growing up, Joseph's mom told him and his brothers, "What does the world need with just another good musician? What we need are more good people." Their mom knew the music business would be tough and may or may not work out, but knew that they would survive it based on the quality of character that she raised Joseph, Victor, Reggie, Roy, Rudy, and Elijah to be. Sit back, relax, and enjoy as we dive into Music, Culture, Rhythm, and Respect.Listen to Part 2Joseph Wooten's websiteFunktastic Chats website

A renowned international trumpeter Michael Ray is a seasoned jazz-funk musician who has had stellar runs with Patti LaBelle, The Delfonics, The Stylistics, Kool and the Gang, Sun Ra Arkestra, and many other legendary bands. How Michael Ray's Discography grew to 90+ album credits with Barenaked Ladies, Stanton Moore, Charles Neville, Kool & The Gang, Sun Ra, Jimmy Cliff, and more.How Sun Ra led Michael to Kool & The GangListen to Michael reflect on recording award-winning songs.Learn about Michael's band, Cosmic Krewe!A professional musician for more than forty years, this Trenton, New Jersey native has simultaneously mined every side of the international music scene since the late 1970s playing his supersonic jazz/funk/future trumpet as the Intergalactic Research Tone Scientist with Sun Ra & His Arkestra, prancing around to the funky sounds of tho platinum-selling, stadium-filling, hella killer horn-driven Grammy Award-winning R&B/Funk best-sellers, Kool & the Gang and many other worldwide phenomenons.Cosmic KreweFunktastic Chats WebsiteMentions:Kool & The GangSun RaThe Big Ol' Nasty GetdownFunktastic (The Other Side)

Today it's all about Bandzoogle! Built by musicians for musicians, Bandzoogle is an all-in-one platform that makes it easy to build a beautiful website and EPK for your music. Bandzoogle's team has worked remotely for over 18 years and artists have just surpassed $75 million in commission-free sales through merch, music, and ticketed events.With Bandzoogle, your website works for you with hundreds of tools that will generate more revenue from your website than ever before.Why working remotely is the best way to run a businessHow to maintain company culture and foster a sense of togetherness in a remote work environmentHow not accepting venture capital has allowed Bandzoogle to not raise pricesStacey's growth at the company from Customer Support agent to CEOHow to make your website the end of your marketing funnelHow to drive live stream traffic to your website and monetize through tickets & tipsHow Printful takes the legwork out of providing merch to customers How to test out different merch offerings to fans without having to invest in inventory upfront with PrintfulFunktastic Chats WebsiteTry Bandzoogle for free for 30 Days! Try it free for 30 days, and then use the promo code “funktastic” to get 15% off the first year.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

After 10 years of being predominantly a studio project, The Big Ol' Nasty Getdown is finally taking it to the stage, pulling a rotating cast of musicians from their massive alumni. Each show is unique and takes the crowd and the band on an unexpected fun-filled musical journey. Since the band's inception, many legendary artists have been part of studio projects and live performances.Giving members from Kool & The Gang, P-Funk, and more the green light for creativity freedomPreview of their new song featuring Taylor DayneWhat it's like producing over 250 musicians (household names and local legends)How to get press and find writersHow rotating musicians creates excitement How to find sustainability through (COVID)How to find the right demographicBest business practices in the recording studioSome of these members include members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, George Clinton, and Parliament-Funkadelic, Sly and the family stone Jane's addiction, Earth Wind and Fire,  Living Color, 311, Taylor Dayne, Derek Trucks Band,  James Brown band, Fishbone, War, and a few of my other favorites, like The Meters, Dumpstaphunk, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Kool & The Gang, and The Bill Withers Band.The Big Ol' Nasty Getdown's WebsiteThe Big Ol' Nasty Getdown's Shopify StoreThe Big Ol' Nasty Getdown's Facebook PageFunktastic Chats Website

Donnie Boivin is changing the game of business development. At the age of 22 right out of the Marine Corps, he struggled with what to do next. He landed his first straight commission sales job and has spent over 2 decades learning what it takes to be successful in sales, business & life. At the age of 40, he discovered he'd been living other people's dreams and not chasing his own.Learn why YOU should start a podcast and how to become be the audio magazine of your industry!Are you building a great job for yourself or are you building a company?How to grow your podcast with NO paid advertisingLaunching his own business, he found himself and grew an international business Success Champions. He is the Founder and CEO of the Success Champions family of companies. Success Champions Podcast, Success Champion Magazine, Success Champion Consulting, the Badass Business Summit, and Success Champion Networking.His story about becoming a Success Champion in his own life has inspired thousands to get out of their own way and go for it. Get ready to have your fire lit and start chasing your own dreams. The Growth Mode Podcast Success Champions PodcastDOWNLOAD MY NEW FREE GUIDE: 5 Steps to Monetize Your Passion

This isn't meant to be a hokey “just work hard and it will come to you” kind of thing. These are 7 pages of ACTIONABLE steps that I learned from 20+ hours of guest interviews over my last 13 podcast episodes. I hope that you will find some value from it too.DOWNLOAD MY NEW FREE GUIDE: 5 Steps to Monetize Your PassionTopics include:Task ManagementHow to Never Let Your Emotions Get In The Way...EverCRM and Business WorkflowHow to Get "Word Of Mouth" AdvertisingHow to Get Meaningful Press

Purée Fantastico! is an award-winning design science and strategy company. Jenny's clients include Old Navy, Charles Schwabb, Walgreens, and more!What is brand architecture?Using anthropology and graphic design to help create a culture of people who believe in their dreamsHow to use social media to express yourself through your brand.Taking Fortune 500 businesses from 5M to 500M in annual revenue, boosting a top tier art college's attendance from 33% to 77%, increasing small businesses' inquiries anywhere from 5-15x — we're crafting solutions with enthusiastic success.Purée Fantastico is the business venture of Jenny Ambrose, an award-winning artist, designer, and polymath dedicated to being solution-oriented, relentlessly joyful, curious, and enthusiastic about leaving things better than she found them.With a background in anthropology as well as graphic design, Jenny founded Purée Fantastico in 2008 with the vision that design can not only be beautiful- it can be useful. She understands design as an empathetic practice and utilizes it as a language, establishing her clients as the authorities they are. This connects them deeply with their audiences, clients, customers, and students, yielding the highest results for whatever they're working to achieve.  Coupled with emotional intelligence and critical thinking, design and visual messaging makes a huge difference in how we experience, express, and ultimately understand the world we live in. DOWNLOAD MY NEW FREE GUIDE: 5 Steps to Monetize Your Passion Purée Fantastico's WebsitePurée Fantastico's InstagramFunktastic Chats website

SongShop is a website built to help independent songwriters advertise their song catalog and pitch to artists from all over the world. We're talking to the founder, Steve Gerein! It's also a place where independent artists & bands can go to find original songs to record as their own. SongShop gives artists an entire library of songs to search through and record because SongShop says that finding the time and having the proper network connections to get these songs pitched can be an uphill battle.Today's episode covers:SONGWRITERS:How SongShop advertises your songs to artists who might be interested in recording themHow to pitch songs directly to artists via the Pitch PlatformEarning revenue by instantly getting a cut of the license fee (determined by your membership tier), plus any royalties outlined in the license agreementARTISTS & BANDS:How to Purchase your desired license (Standard or Exclusive)Building a relationship with the Songwriter (because when does that happen!?)LICENSING & MUSIC BUSINESS:What does a license look like?What's the difference between a Standard and an Exclusive songwriting License?What you need to know about mechanical royalties, streaming, and performing cover songsBest practices when it comes to writer's share and BMI.DOWNLOAD MY NEW FREE GUIDE: 5 Steps to Monetize Your PassionSongShop's WebsiteSongShop's InstagramFunktastic Chats website

Where you see chaos in your business, Yvi sees systems and processes. We're talking about game-changing tools that will automate and bulletproof your business.Learn more about Ask YviWhy you need a task management systemThe difference between a task management system & a CRM How to use Clickup and Dubsado togetherHow to repurpose one video into 25 pieces of contentTools covered include Clickup, Dubsado, Repurpose.io, Airtable, and more!Yvi is a business efficiency coach helping digital entrepreneurs automate their business so that they can dominate their industry. She has over 10 years of experience organizing and streamlining businesses into profitability and success. Since moving to the U S in 2007, Yvi has been helping empower entrepreneurs to successfully run sustainable businesses while enjoying life. Yvi has been featured in publications like Forbes, Huffington Post, Thrive Global, Buzzfeed, and a contributor for social media examiner. She helps to accomplish a balance between business and personal life and help you streamline your business, build residual income and find a passive income strategy that fits you, and make your business work for you so you can enjoy all the good things in lifeAsk Yvi's websiteClickUp for Content Creators and Coaches facebook groupFunktastic Chats websiteMentions:ClickupDubsadoAirtableRepurpose.io

Alan Berg is the leading international expert on the business of weddings and events. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or brand new to the industry, you're going to learn actionable content that you as a wedding pro need to utilize NOW!Are you the "making it happen" or "the center of attention"?How to sell results before selling the serviceWhy are you getting ghosted?How to never get ghosted againWhen is a ghost not really a ghost?Alan is fluent in the language of business. He's been in marketing sales and sales management for over 20 years, working with businesses like yours and like mine within the wedding and events industry. Before striking out on a zone as the business consultant, author, and professional speaker, he served as the Vice President of Sales and The Knot Market Intelligence, at The Knot worldwide.And addition to his speaking and consulting services, he serves as an educator for WeddingWire, which is the leading wedding technology company, doing webinars, live presentations, and writing articles. Alan is the wedding at events industries only certified speaking professional, the highest earned designation for a professional member of the national speakers association.One of only 36 global speaking fellows in the world, he's able to help new businesses and solopreneurs, as well as the established players and corporations, understand and achieve their goals. Alan understands business as he's own several of his own, including publishing to wedding magazines. He's spoken and consulted domestically and internationally in 14 countries, and 5 continents and counting.We're chatting about his latest book, Wit, Wisdom and the Business of Weddings: A Compendium of Ideas, Insight and Inspiration from an Industry Leader. Part "How-to-do" and part "How-to-think", Wit, Wisdom and the Business of Weddings is your companion on a journey to a more successful wedding business.Listen to Part 1Alan Berg's WebsiteWit, Wisdom, and The Business of WeddingsMore of Alan's BooksFunktastic Chats website

Alan Berg is the leading international expert on the business of weddings and events. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or brand new to the industry, you're going to learn actionable content that you as a wedding pro need to utilize NOW!The dichotomy of feeding your ego vs being the most profitableHow to give a range of pricing that creates framingHow Alan's love for music, speaking, writing, and consulting made him the leading international expert.Alan is fluent in the language of business. He's been in marketing sales and sales management for over 20 years, working with businesses like yours and like mine within the wedding and events industry. Before striking out on a zone as the business consultant, author, and professional speaker, he served as the Vice President of Sales and The Knot Market Intelligence, at The Knot worldwide.And addition to his speaking and consulting services, he serves as an educator for WeddingWire, which is the leading wedding technology company, doing webinars, live presentations, and writing articles. Alan is the wedding at events industries only certified speaking professional, the highest earned designation for a professional member of the national speakers association.One of only 36 global speaking fellows in the world, he's able to help new businesses and solopreneurs, as well as the established players and corporations, understand and achieve their goals. Alan understands business as he's own several of his own, including publishing to wedding magazines. He's spoken and consulted domestically and internationally in 14 countries, and 5 continents and counting. We're chatting about his latest book, Wit, Wisdom and the Business of Weddings: A Compendium of Ideas, Insight and Inspiration from an Industry Leader. Part "How-to-do" and part "How-to-think", Wit, Wisdom and the Business of Weddings is your companion on a journey to a more successful wedding business.Listen to Part 2Alan Berg's WebsiteWit, Wisdom, and The Business of WeddingsMore of Alan's BooksFunktastic Chats website

With a booking agent and a wedding band leader for parents, this is Meghan's journey from a Music Business major to the director of content & B2b education at The Knot Worldwide. We talk about what it means to be the face of a brand and planning out content, to marketing strategies you can utilize right now to make the most of 2021.Originally a Jazz major at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Meghan is a lifelong musician who made it her business to help other wedding pros reach success. You may have seen Meghan hosting webinars on Weddingpro, or chatting with different guests on Weddingpro's Instagram. Music, in general, stems from collaboration, and in turn how musicians can have an advantage in business because we are naturally so collaborative. Meghan is a proven example that resilience and hard work will get you as far as you can dream of. From being an assistant for an events team to an interior designer to an economics research firm, she learned to be the face of the brand of Two Bright Lights, which is a photo submission and publication platform. All of these different roles took thick skin, resilience, and dedication. All of which shape the mold of today's Meghan Brown; a wedding educator, speaker, and content marketing extraordinaire.Meghan's InstagramMentions:WeddingProThe KnotWeddingwireAlan BergWit, Wisdom and the Business of WeddingsFunktastic Chats website

Today we're chatting with the CEO of SpotMyPhotos by CloudSpotter, Ryan Jacobs, which allows photographers to privately and automatically send attendees custom-branded versions of their photos either in real-time or at a scheduled future point in time. Ryan is also a founding member of the 10,000 Headshots Initiative, operating under the name The Headshot Booker. They provided professional headshots and confidence to 10,000 job seekers displaced by the COVID19 crisis, partnering with Brookfield Properties and over 200 photographers nationwide.CEO Ryan Jacobs is going to give entrepreneurs valuable advice when building a business plan, the challenges small startups face, and how to wake up every day and do what you love.SpotMyPhotos websiteSpotMyPhotos instagramFunktastic Chats websiteJoin Our NewsletterMentions:PartyslateHeadshot BookerCanonBrookfield Properties

Today we're talking to the founder of The Female CEO, Tricia Scott. Tricia is a certified coach, visual content designer, and serial entrepreneur. Tricia is the founder and editor of Create, Evolve,  Overcome magazine, a digital support and education platform of entrepreneurs and small business owners coming together in support and empowerment worldwide.What originally started as a blog for Female CEO's quickly turned into Create, Evolve, Overcome, a digital magazine and a handbook for modern living and working. With over 25 issues released, the global platform has 13 editors across six countries with a reach of 60,000 entrepreneurs that read and come together. Tricia is helping you change your self-talk, put yourself first, ask yourself powerful questions that invite introspection and insight. Liberate yourself and your business through spiritual and personal development, break out of your box, and stop hiding in your brilliance.  The Female CEO's websiteCreative Evolve Overcome MagazineThe Female CEO Facebook CommunityThe Female CEO InstagramMentions:Claire WinterTeresa PetersMarie Fraserwww.FunktasticChats.comJoin Our Newsletter

Are you fueled by money, or by purpose and personal growth? Today we're talking to the CEO & Founder of Free Lunch Coffee, Vin Singh. Growing up in India, he accomplished all of the goals and dreams instilled by his parents. A six-figure income, Vin had all of the luxuries he dreamed of growing up in India, but he still felt unfulfilled. Vin quit his job, sold everything he owned, and traveled the world to set out to find his true gift.  This is an inspiring interview about a man who had it all and gave it all away to help others.If you'd like to make a difference and end child hunger with your morning coffee, it's now possible. We're going to learn about Vin's new company, Free Lunch Coffee. They are on a mission to end hunger from the lives of underprivileged children.  When you buy one bag of Free Lunch Coffee, you are also providing 10 meals to children in need. AND, Free Lunch Coffee gives away 50% of the money they make to end hunger in the lives of young children.  Free Lunch Coffee's website Free Lunch Coffee's Facebook pageFree Lunch Coffee's Instagramwww.FunktasticChats.comJoin Our NewsletterFree Lunch Coffee - Save 15% When you buy one bag of Free Lunch Coffee, you are also providing 10 meals to children in need. Dubsado - The CRM meant for creatives. Client management, contracts and forms, automation and workflows, sending invoices and getting paid.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

In today's episode, Jeff discusses how became spiritually imbued and alert to the mindfulness in life. Coming out of the Dark Night of the Soul with gratitude, joy, and happiness. How Jeff's ego affected his playing and why this is the first time in over 60 years where jeff says he feels happy and wakes up every day in a great mood. How can coming out of a traumatic experience make you the best player that you've ever been? Enjoy this genuine, open, and real conversation with world-renowned bass player, Jeff Berlin.This is Jeff Berlin Part 2: The Dichotomy of the Self Taught vs Academic musician.  In Part 1, we talked about learning skills to play better that are not necessarily transferable over to the gig, but improves your mind and music, makes you more creative, liberates you. Why people see music as a language, but they don't want to learn it as one. Are we as musicians sometimes paying teachers to be taught styles, and how is it different from learning musical content from a set curriculum like every other creative art form? Trust me, both parts are worth a listen.Listen to Part 1Jeff's websiteJeff's Facebook pageFunktastic Chats website

Dubsado is a customer relationship management software company, but in reality, it is so much more. From client management, automation of workflows, sending invoices, getting paid, scheduling appointments, accounting, and reporting, and so much more. It's a streamlined way of saving you time and growing your business. Today we're talking with Biz Johnston, the head of the Dubsado community and human resources at Dubsado. She has worn many hats throughout her time at the company from customer support to marketing, but she always finds her way back to roles that require building strong relationships with people within Dubsado. Biz is helping us trust our crazy ideas because if you don't go after it, you'll never know.Dubsado - The CRM meant for creatives. Client management, contracts and forms, automation and workflows, sending invoices and getting paid.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

“The path to individuality is always based in screw-ups. Look at an early van Gogh, and then look what followed afterward”. Those are the words of world-renowned bassist and educator, Jeff Berlin when discussing learning musical content from a teacher versus something that should be explored and self-taught. He discusses the clear path to becoming a successful musician and having a professional career. He talks about how personal growth and transformation has improved his own playing in recent years. Through this extremely open conversation with nothing left off the table, both of our hopes is that this will be the most definitive interview of his viewpoints ever done.Listen to Part 2Jeff's websiteJeff's Facebook pageFunktastic Chats website

Today we have the vice president of Bandzoogle, Dave Cool.  Built by musicians for musicians, Bandzoogle is an all-in-one platform that makes it easy to build a beautiful website and EPK for your music. Bandzoogle members have earned $5 million since the start of the pandemic. We talk about making money and monetizing your music career and live stream ideas without over-saturating your fan base. For instance, artists received two times the revenue compared to a ticket price, but offering a free show and using  Bandzoogle's built in the tip jar feature. The average tip is actually $42. If you're using Patreon, you're going to rethink all of that because Bandzoogle includes commission-free ways to reward your fans. We're going to talk about Bandzoogle's growth to almost 55,000 members and so much more.Bandzoogle's website - Use this special link or enter the promo code "funktastic" to get 15% off your first year of any subscription.Funktastic Chats website

Today we're talking to CEO, Julie Roth Novack, who spent 20 years in the digital agency world, where she planned over 50 large-scale galas and corporate events. In her mid-forties, Julie left her executive job to launch Partyslate, a website that inspires people planning events and connects them with the leading event professionals and venues across the country and the world. They are currently launched in 14 cities.In an industry where 3% of venture capital money goes to female tech founders, we're going to learn how Julie is taking on a $112 billion market within the events industry through her company, Partyslate. Julie's going to walk through the five elements of brand strategy, scaling the business, how to book the gig and qualify a lead, and how to use the COVID era to expand your digital presence. What is the wild West of Instagram and Pinterest, and what's so special about posting professional photos on Partyslate? You're about to find out.

Funktastic Chats is a podcast designed for creative entrepreneurs. I'm a musician in the wedding industry, but we're focusing on everything creativity. Topics include task management and outsourcing,  because if other people in your business can't do what you do, you created a job for yourself and not a company, and maybe not such a good paying one either. Silencing your inner critic and reinventing yourself to business and workflow ideas.  This is the business education that you may have always wanted. So why focus on creatives?  Well, because there's not one clear path set out for you as a creative. The industry doesn't want you in it. This podcast is about combining your talent with business so that your industry cannot deny you and has no choice, but to open its doors for you.  It starts with being in a mindset of understanding the value of investing in yourself, because if you don't invest in yourself, then who's going to invest in you. CEOs join me every week to help you monetize your passion, whatever that may, be into a full-time gig. Be sure to subscribe and leave me a review on Apple Podcasts. I now offer a free entrepreneur guide, 5 Steps to Monetize Your Passion.DOWNLOAD MY NEW FREE GUIDE: 5 Steps to Monetize Your Passion