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Returning guest this week is Katie Elzer-Peters. Bridget and Katie continue their conversation which migrates to micromarketing. Do you have a couch? You might consider yard-sale or second-hand store shopping so you can display this cool Instagram worthy spot and adorning it with some trendy houseplants. As Katie says, "the youths" will flock to it and you might even sell the couch!
Business Over Beer episode #85. with Katie Zink, Part 2 Returning for Part 2 of her interview on the Business Over Beer Podcast is Katie Zink, Founder and Principal Consultant with Social Construct Consulting. In this episode we delve into the great work Katie is doing with organizations to create and implement diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) plans, focusing on companies that truly care about these issues. At Social Construct Consulting, her effort is not in convincing people that DE&I is important. She is not breaking down the doors of white CEOs demanding they give up their seat. Her work focuses on companies that want to do better in these areas, who recognize they will be better for it because it helps their employees do better at work, enjoy their work, and will create a safer and more comfortable place for more people at work. She aims to make things better for everybody, but it will take everybody. Prost! Making equity benefit the already widely benefitted How do we convince the people who already have the power and privilege that improved diversity, equity and inclusion are good things for them and their businesses? That question was asked to Katie Zink, Founder of Social Construct Consulting, during the latest episode of the Business Over Beer Podcast by Co-Host Jonathan Kaylor. The question is a reasonable one when you think about all the calls to give more people of color, women, LBGTQ, and other underrepresented groups a "seat at the table". The underlying issue, as Jonathan noted in the episode, is that those in a position to give up these seats are not interested in relinquishing any of their power or privilege because they do not see any benefit for themselves. Katie calmly responded, so you're asking, "how do we make equity benefit the already widely benefitted?" Instantly, Jonathan realized that he had asked the wrong question. And more importantly, his mindset and the questions he had been asking himself, too, about how to advocate for equity, were also wrong. We should not be looking to make a business case for DE&I, trying to measure how it will improve the bottom line. As Katie explains, there is no silver bullet solution, and those who do not understand why this is important for companies, probably just don't care. Even the word "inclusion" is being interrogated because it centers around dominant culture as well. Someone has to do the including, right? One reason so many diversity initiatives fail at companies is because the focus is on hiring underrepresented groups into the existing culture. The only way to address the root cause is to first change the culture, to build a new table, and create a collectivist mindset. Collective Culture Yes collectivism challenges the people who have that power who don't want to give it to anybody. Yes, collectivism requires a relinquishing of power. Yes, collectivism is counter to our current crony capitalist system. No collectivism is not socialism or communism. A collective culture is everyone's job and the purpose is to serve a collective organization, not just certain individuals and real change will not happen by trying to convince the one percenters. This becomes a grass roots initiative, with real entrepreneurs and small business owners, who understand the gap and want change. This is what entrepreneurs do, they pioneer new spaces, new thoughts, and don't wait to be invited to someone else's table. Small business owners must feel empowered to advocate for change, and know that we do have all the power with a collectivist mindset. Angie's Mystery Beer: Browar Witnica, S.A. - Poland Black Boss Porter, 9.4% ABV "Brown-colored porter falling into a dark ruby. The foam is very durable, the smell is clearly caramel. The taste is dominated by burnt caramel with a noticeable and moderate bitterness and sweetness." Episode Links: Katie Zink Social Construct Consulting Join The BOB Crew Koken Market Colorado Native Moose Drool Renewal Workshop Basecamp Controversy Community Call to Action Marcus Carter
Do you ever feel like you are unsure of whether your promises from God will ever happen or do you feel like God's promises seem to happen for everyone else but not for you? This episode is sure to encourage you. As Katie reads and explores chapter 1 of the book of Luke you will get a new affirmation that no word from God will ever fail - even when it takes longer than we expected - we can know that God is true to his promises.
Jesse interviews Katie about her journey after college to Hawaii, where she went through a tough breakup and financially tenuous times. She persevered through those hard times, discovered YNAB (actually re-discovered, having first encountered YNAB in college) and began to get her budget back on track in a notoriously expensive state. The hard work paid off; Katie met her husband and was able to have a dream wedding in Hawaii, and the couple now enjoy a rich life... paid in cash! Katie is quick to point out that she hasn't always made the financially optimal choice, but she is intentional about everything she does. She and her husband decided to hold off paying down their student loans in order to finance their wedding, for example. Katie has set aside money to buy her husband a new computer, and they leave room in their budget for their favorite hobbies and pursuits -- for Katie, her side business coaching women in personal finance and helping them avoid traps like MLM schemes; for her husband, collecting and competing in the Magic the Gathering card game. While this approach may result in paying down debt slower, and not maximizing savings, it's a sustainable approach for them. As Katie reminds us, personal finance is personal! Are you ready to take the challenge? https://www.youneedabudget.com/34dayreset/
In this episode of Brews & BizDev, Paul Greiner of Renoun Creative talks with Katie Kunde of DRNK Wines and Maker Media.As Katie enjoys some of her own wine and Paul sips a Hayburner, they discussthe pro's and cons of family business,when to pivot, and when to stay the course,the importance of bringing humanity and kindness back to our brands--and how we interact with brands,and a lot more!Enjoy, and if you dig our content, please subscribe and share!
Leadership. The word encompasses a whole lot, but one thing's for sure: the positive impact good leaders can have on their employees is priceless. And on this week's episode of Banking On Experience, CRMNEXT's James Gilbert is joined by one such leader. Katie Nehl- Communications Manager at First Community Credit Union (FCCU) and CUInsights author- offers some valuable insight on the subject.What's covered?Why this topic? As Katie says, “Now more than ever, it really truly is important to implement that framework for making an impact- whether that's in your home life, in your child's life before he or she goes back to school, or in your business.”Some of the biggest challenges Katie feels credit unions are facing right now. For one thing, the work-from-home juggling (and all that that entails) can make things pretty tricky for your FI.Some examples of what senior leadership at FCCU did so well in terms of leading employees through this challenging chapter. (Hint: open, clear communication is key.)Katie's own framework for solid leadership (as laid out in her CUInsight Article) that can make a truly positive impact on employees:First: Listen. (Key here? Instead of listening to respond, listen to learn.)Second: Be Real. (An oft-underestimated part of good leadership: the wonderfully contagious effect being willing to laugh at yourself can have on your employees. Humility, folks. It goes a long way.)Third: Work for a cause, not applause. (Note: some good, personal stories here from host and guest that will definitely get your wheels turning.)Fourth and Fifth: Remain positive and be thankful. (They go hand-in-hand.)Katie's 2 cents on the cost of not actively implementing a framework for impactful leadership. – Suffice it to say, there are many. But particularly relevant is the mental health of your employees, and we'd recommend a listen.Here's to you, your employees, and leadership that makes the greatest impact yet!You can find this interview, and many more, by subscribing to Banking on Experience Podcast on iTunes. Or find us on SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher, Spreaker, Buzzsprout and more.
Leaders in healthcare are facing a world that is anything but the status quo. In today’s episode, Katie Lawrence, MHA, CMPE, Director, Ambulatory Optimization & Integration, Prisma Health, examines how leaders can address change in their organizations to become more successful in engaging team members, physicians, and other stakeholders. As Katie says, leadership begins with self, and she talks about how leaders can identify their reactions to changes and how to authentically accept those reactions while understanding that others may not view the same change in the same way. Katie she says one great source she often turns to is Dr. Brené Brown, a research professor who has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. You can learn more about her teachings at https://brenebrown.com. Thanks to Sarepta Therapeutics and to Phreesia for sponsoring this week’s show. Read a new white paper from Sarepta Therapeutics at mgma.com/sarepta. And to find out how Phreesia’s contactless intake workflows are helping practices eliminate the waiting room, visit https://bit.ly/3lm05MV. If you like the show, please rate and review it wherever you get your podcasts. If you have topics you'd like us to cover or experts you'd like us to interview, email us at podcasts@mgma.com, or reach out to MGMA Sr. Editor and MGMA Insights podcast host Daniel Williams on Twitter at twitter.com/MGMADaniel. MGMA Insights is presented by Decklan McGee, Rob Ketcham and Daniel Williams.
Katie Harmon was raised Catholic in Laramie, Wyoming. After falling in love with a Mormon boy at age 15, Katie became socially/emotionally converted to the LDS Church in spite of... High ambitions for herself (Katie was a 4.0 student, got a 33 on her ACT, was in AP classes, got a full ride scholarship to the University of Wyoming, and wanted to become a doctor) and Strongly valuing social justice (e.g., anti-homophobia, anti-sexism, anti-racism). As Katie became fully committed to the Mormon church, she saw her original aspirations slowly slip away, as she began to follow "the Mormon way for women." Katie ended up: Experiencing severe Scrupulosity as a Mormon woman. Enduring an invasive and inappropriate "sexual repentance" process. Marrying 3 months after graduating high school to a man she had only known 7 months. Getting sealed to her husband while her non-LDS family sat outside the Mormon temple. Having three children within a short period of time before she felt ready to do so, based on LDS teachings. Feeling frustrated when, after her 2nd child was diagnosed with major health issues at 20 weeks, priesthood blessings failed to heal her ailing child. She basically discovered after conversion that the "Priesthood power" was not real, and did not work. Confronting the stifling "ableism" of Mormon doctrine, theology, and culture. As Katie's hopes and dreams began to fall apart, she began studying Mormonism more closely, and discovered that she was not taught as an investigator important truths about Mormon history and the LDS church that would likely have prevented her from joining. Katie's motivation for doing this interview is to call on the LDS Church to be fully honest in its missionary efforts, and in its education of children and youth, so that people like her can not be misled into joining and/or committing their lives to the Mormon church without being fully informed about its history, doctrine, and theology.
Scott Gault - From TV Editor to Ramen Chef and Restauranteur Even writing this I can still taste the magnificent ramen I enjoyed at RaRa, one of Katie & Scott Gault’s three Sydney restaurants. I enjoyed every single mouthful and savoured the delicious broth (who do I think I am a bloody food critique?!) as the week before Scott had taken me through the whole process, including ‘agitating’ the broth and how the noodles are also all made on site. Scott worked as a full time TV editor on documentaries, lifestyle and reality series – which in itself would be a dream job to some. But Scott had other ideas…You will absolutely love hearing the couple’s incredible journey including Scott learning the art of ramen making from two ramen masters in Japan – a serendipitous story itself. It isn’t always plain sailing starting a new business and Scott shares the reality of restaurant business – and opening their third restaurant ‘Lonely Mouth’ literally as COVID struck. Scott and Katie (who’s day job is a media lawyer) play to their strengths as a husband and wife team and wouldn’t have it any other way and from what I can see they are nailing it. As Katie’s Instagram mentions you can find her 'worshipping at the altar of ramen' and after my first bowl of the good stuff I might just be joining her there too! Enjoy.Instagram @rara_ramenwww.rararamen.com.auRaRa Redfern, Rara Randwick and Lonely Mouth in Newtown. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
As Katie likes to say, “your Brand Strategy is how you’ll meet your consumer’s needs in a way your competitors can’t, or won’t, in order to set your brand apart.” When the front and back end of your business is integrated and aligned around your “North Star,” every resource you put behind your brand is so much more efficient and effective. When it comes to brand strategy though, it’s so all-encompassing (yes, it’s so much more than your logo, colors, or marketing plan!) that it can be hard to get a handle on what you’re doing well and where there’s room for improvement. Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva goes through the free Brand Checkup Scorecard tool she’s created to help you make sure you’ve got the foundation pieces in place to define, align and activate your Brand Strategy for your food or beverage company. Having these pieces in place help you optimize your brand and align your team around your vision and goals. In This Episode: Four past episodes that can help you get started on your Brand strategy. Why Brand Strategy is not just for big brands, and why you may actually have an advantage. How to recognize solid brand strategy work when you see it. How to download free Real Food Brands Brand Checkup Scorecard tool to see how your brand is doing. Examples of questions from the Brand Checkup Scorecard. The power of documenting your Brand Strategy to align your team. How to go deeper with the Brand Strategy Fundamentals Workshop. Resources: Ep #2: How to Start Building and Documenting Your Brand Strategy Ep #36: How to Define, Align and Activate Your Brand Strategy Ep #45: The 5-Minute Food Business Brand Strategy Formula Ep #49: 4 Common Brand Strategy Mistakes (and How to Fix Them) Real Food Brands Brand Checkup Scorecard Real Food Brands Marketing Roundtable Facebook Group Real Food Brands website
In this episode, we meet Katie Musser, a Youtube content creator/influencer. Katie was the 9-5 kinda gal until she realized she was worthy of the life she wanted to live. Being a constant role model to females of all ages, Katie talks about how important It is to set goals and remind yourself its okay to have goals even though they sometimes seem out of reach. As Katie tells us a little about her childhood she touches on the struggle of finding that self-love aspect which is hard to do for anyone during this unprecedented time. Self-love is more important than anything else in the world and Katie does a great job with giving us the reminder that everyone struggles and that you are not alone. Katie's Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFwaJ0IH9AKnjSpL7B_RtXQ Girl Next Door Cosmetics: https://girlnextdoorcosmetics.com River Birch Candles: https://riverbirchcandles.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/makingsenseofsuccess/support
In this episode, we meet Katie Musser, a Youtube content creator/influencer. Katie was the 9-5 kinda gal until she realized she was worthy of the life she wanted to live. Being a constant role model to females of all ages, Katie talks about how important It is to set goals and remind yourself its okay to have goals even though they sometimes seem out of reach. As Katie tells us a little about her childhood she touches on the struggle of finding that self-love aspect which is hard to do for anyone during this unprecedented time. Self-love is more important than anything else in the world and Katie does a great job with giving us the reminder that everyone struggles and that you are not alone.Katie's Youtube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFwaJ0IH9AKnjSpL7B_RtXQGirl Next Door Cosmetics:https://girlnextdoorcosmetics.comRiver Birch Candles:https://riverbirchcandles.com--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/makingsenseofsuccess/support
In this episode, we meet Katie Musser, a Youtube content creator/influencer. Katie was the 9-5 kinda gal until she realized she was worthy of the life she wanted to live. Being a constant role model to females of all ages, Katie talks about how important It is to set goals and remind yourself its okay to have goals even though they sometimes seem out of reach. As Katie tells us a little about her childhood she touches on the struggle of finding that self-love aspect which is hard to do for anyone during this unprecedented time. Self-love is more important than anything else in the world and Katie does a great job with giving us the reminder that everyone struggles and that you are not alone.Katie's Youtube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFwaJ0IH9AKnjSpL7B_RtXQGirl Next Door Cosmetics:https://girlnextdoorcosmetics.comRiver Birch Candles:https://riverbirchcandles.com--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/makingsenseofsuccess/support
In 2016, Going Places founder, Katie Blomquist, was a first-grade teacher in a low-income elementary school. She had a 6-year student named Jawan who wanted a bike for his birthday and it shocked Katie to learn he had never owned one. She wished she could buy him a bike, but that wasn’t possible on a teacher’s salary. It was something that Katie couldn’t get off her mind knowing Jawan was growing up without the joy of riding his own bike.As Katie started to ask around her class, she realized that most of the kids had never owned a bike. Remembering her own childhood filled with joyful memories of riding her bike all around her neighborhood, she set out to change this sad realization. Katie had the idea to buy all 650 students in her school a brand new, high-quality bike by starting a GoFundMe campaign. With the help of Affordabike, a local Charleston custom bicycle shop, this idea became a reality.Katie’s campaign went viral and some of the top news outlets in the country reported on it including Good Morning America, The Today Show, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, ABC World News, Time Magazine, USA Today, Post and Courier, and The Steve Harvey Show. The story behind Going Places was catching on fire throughout America. On March 30, 2017, she surprised every student at Pepperhill Elementary School with a brand new bike. After this successful event, Katie now had an even greater vision.Her vision was to create a nonprofit whose mission was to bring Joy to children in need. To make that a reality, Katie would have to focus her efforts full time on this new venture, which meant stepping away from teaching. In June 2017, she got to work on building the dream of Going Places, which involved rallying the community around her cause. It was important to Katie that her supporters understood why there was a need for Joy in these children’s lives.Numerous organizations focus on providing the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter, yet one thing often overlooked for children is their social-emotional need for Joy. For many kids living in poverty, it is when they get home from school that the real stress begins. So why a bike?These kids can live in less-than-desirable and unpredictable circumstances and a bike provides them with a sense of freedom and escape. It also builds self-worth by being the first item of value they can call their own. A bike can restore the innocence of childhood that many have had taken away.A person may have all of the basic "needs" in life, but what kind of life is one without Joy? What kind of adult will a child grow up to be if they have lacked Joy?Going Places invites everyone in their community to join them on this ride of providing Joy to these children in need and letting them know that they deserve to go places in life.They're Going Places, Wanna Come?
Following the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department in May 2020, national attention has turned to systemic racism within the United States, specifically for Black people. Some may wonder what racism has to do with finances, but the answer is everything. Systemic racism is still rooted in all aspects of our society today, and progress is still needed for Black Americans to have true equality.Take employment for example:Studies show that companies are more likely to call back a candidate who has a name that's more commonly associated with White people.Black Americans are more likely to be unemployed or have low-paying jobs compared to White Americans. That's in part due to education disparities. But studies show Black workers earn less than White workers even when they have the same education.There's also the racial wage gap: the Economic Policy Institute says that in 2017, Black men made about 70 cents for every $1 their White counterpart made. The gap is especially large when it comes to Black women, who make 62 cents for every $1 a White man makes, according to the National Women's Law Center.This is just one example. Systemic racism has impacted housing, education, wealth, health care, criminal justice, policing, and voting. There's no simple fix to reversing centuries of discrimination. But understanding how pervasive it is, is step one.George Floyd's murder may not have ever occurred if systemic racism didn't also affect finances. As Katie mentions during the show, the Minneapolis police were originally called because a counterfeit $20 had been used, and as the owner of Cup Foods has told numerous news outlets, he was not sure George Floyd knew the money was fake and that law enforcement normally would stop by the supermarket and pick up the counterfeit currency.Regardless of whether George Floyd knew the money was counterfeit, it should have never been a death sentence. As Mark McCoy, a 44-year-old white archaeology professor at Southern Methodist University wrote: “George Floyd and I were both arrested for allegedly spending a counterfeit $20 bill. For George Floyd, a man my age, with two kids, it was a death sentence. For me, it is a story I sometimes tell at parties. That, my friends, is White privilege.”Joining us on the show to delve deeper into the very-large topic of Racism + Finances is Michelle Jackson, host of the "Michelle is Money Hungry" podcast and author of a blog and website of the same name. IncomeWhite: $71,000Black: $41,000Median Net WorthWhite: $171,000 (10x higher than the average Black person's net worth)Black: $17,600PovertyWhite: 8.1%Black: 20.8%UnemploymentWhite: 14.2%Black: 16.7%No Access to Health CareWhite: 5.4%Black: 9.7%COVID-19 DeathsBlack people represent 13% populationBlack people represent 23% COVID-19 deathsAbout Michelle JacksonMichelle accrued more than $60,000 in unsecured debt and paid off that debt while supporting her mom financially while working as a Starbuck's barista. Michelle shares her struggles and triumphs, as well as those of other personal finance bloggers, on her podcast and blog, Michelle is Money Hungry. She also created a financial retreat for financially single women Money on the Mountain.Support the show (https://www.sdflc.org/help-sdflc/donate/)
How can brands stand out and drive incredible customer loyalty? This week on The Inbound Success Podcast, Katie Martell talks about what it means to find your "exceptional truth" as a brand, and why that should be the guide for everything you do as a marketer. As Katie says, "the only thing in the middle of the road, is roadkill," and brands that fail to speak their truth get lost in the crowd. In our conversation, we wade into the controversial waters of whether and when brands should speak out and take a stand, and how to do it in a way that keeps you tightly aligned with your customers. Highlights from my conversation with Katie include: Katie says it is the job of the marketer to understand what is happening in the world. Marketing controls brand perception, and brand perception influences whether someone will buy from you. If you're in marketing, you have to understand where your brand fits in the world of your buyer's identity. When you know what your buyers care about, you can align that with your brand values, and you have an opportunity to take a position that will strengthen your place in the market. Katie says that brands that don't take a position get lost in a crowded marketplace and are not a part of the conversation. By taking a stance about what you believe, you can change the conversation in your market and, in doing so, become a market leader. Katie says brands need to find "exceptional truths" - little kernels of truth that get buyers to stop, pause, and rethink the way they see the world. When you've created that seed of doubt, buyers are open. They're leaning in, they're listening to what else you have to say. And that is when marketing works at its best. That's when they're more receptive to your pitch. This takes knowing buyers so well that you know where they're misinformed or what they don't know or what they don't understand so that you can challenge that. This approach is based on the concepts outlined in the book The Challenger Sale, which is typically used in the sales world but has a lot of application to marketing. Marketers need to be confident to convince the organizations they work for that this type of challenge is the right approach. This can be hard because marketing is a "voyeuristic" profession - meaning that everyone can "see" marketing so they think they are an expert and know how it should be done. As a marketer coming into a new company, its important to determine what your exceptional truth is and then find ways of rolling that out across your marketing in a way that makes your brand unique and different. Resources from this episode: Visit Katie's website Follow Katie on Twitter Connect with Katie on LinkedIn Listen to the podcast to hear Katie's take on why it is so important for brands to find their exceptional truths, and how to use that in your marketing to gain a competitive edge. Transcript Kathleen Booth (Host): Welcome back to the Inbound Success Podcast. I'm your host Kathleen Booth. And this week, my guest is Katie Martell, who is an on demand communications strategist based out of Boston, Massachusetts. Welcome Katie. Katie Martell (Guest): Hi Kathleen. Thank you so much for having me. Katie and Kathleen recording this episode. Kathleen: I am excited to have you here. For everyone listening, I heard Katie speak at Marketing Profs B2B Marketing Forum in, what was that? September or October? October of 2019. Back in the days when we still went to conferences in person. And I was just so blown away. She gave such an amazing talk on Rabble Rousers and it really not only struck me for the content of the talk, but also, you were just an amazing speaker. We can have a separate conversation about that. But anyway, that's why I wanted to have you on and share some of your amazing wisdom with everyone who's listening. So I could go on and on about you. but before I go down too much of a tangent, I would love it if you would explain what an on-demand communication strategist is and what you do, and also a little bit of your background and how you wound up doing that. About Katie Martell Katie: I would love to, and I have to start by saying thank you for the kind words about that talk last year. So the title of that talk was something like "Market Like a Rabble Rouser" and it came from this fascination I have with the world of politics and persuasion mixed with what I do as a marketer. So I've been a marketer in the B2B realm for 11 years now. And what's been interesting is, I've been marketing to marketers for the majority of my career. And that was first at a B2B data services company. We were an early sponsor of the Marketing Profs event. That was a startup that I grew up to acquisition. And then it was a PR firm, an analyst from my own MarTech startups. So I've kind of lived multiple lives, worn many different hats, but always marketing in this world of B2B tech, and MarTech specifically. So I've been a student of marketing in a time when it's completely changing from what was the kind of capital M marketing that we've known it to be. And so this talk was just honestly, they had asked me what I wanted to talk about, which is a moment in time where you go, "Oh, that's a dangerous, that's a dangerous ask of me." And I was honest. I said, "Let's talk about what's happening in the world of misinformation, persuasion." I'm talking Russian trolls, I'm talking campaign interference. I'm talking all the stuff that, you know, you read on the headlines, on whatever news outlet you choose to follow. And let's talk about what marketers can learn from it. So I get up on stage. I give this talk. It went over a little bit of time because that's, hello, it's me. Well, people were absolutely polarized in the audience. We had half the room, a little more than half, I will say, who were like, "Yeah, we got the takeaway. This is great. Thanks so much." And the other half that I just think, I don't know what, didn't go across as well for many, because I presented a lot of information about Russian trolls and some of the exact campaign ads they used and it was pretty incendiary stuff, but that was the point. I was trying to get people riled up and hey, achievement unlocked. Kathleen: But I also think, isn't that polarized response just such a perfect reflection of why that talk was needed in the first place? Katie: I hope so. I was encouraging folks to really, you know, rouse the rabble, you know,? Create emotional responses, shake things up, and that's kind of what I did on stage. Kathleen: Well, and to be clear, just to interject, your talk was not an inherently political talk in the sense that you weren't taking sides, you were presenting facts, right? And people can take that and do with it what they want, but I just wanted to put that out there. Marketers need to pay attention to what is happening in the world Katie: Well, I appreciate it. And let the lesson and the takeaway here be that we need, as marketers, to pay attention to what's happening in the world. I mean, the world around us, look at this past week and today's date. I don't know if you're going to give the date here. It's June 1st. So we are coming off of a weekend of civil unrest, Black Lives Matter protests. It is a time where, if you check social media, you're bombarded with hashtag activism and names and everybody from brands to individuals getting involved in this current conversation. We as marketers should be watching this and learning. Kathleen: Yes. I mean, actually, it's interesting that we are having this conversation today because I literally, just this morning, was online on social media and I saw one person saying something about how you have to speak out and you have to make your positions known. And another person's literally saying "I'm not going to support businesses that don't say anything." It's interesting. There's so many different sides to what's happening right now, but it really doesn't matter what you believe about the current situation. The fact is that the world around us is going to make judgments and make personal buying decisions. And they could be different ones, person to person, but they're going to be made based upon what you do and or do not say right now, right. So if you're not paying attention as a marketer, you're not doing your job Katie: Because this is our job. It is our job. Marketing controls brand perception, right? Brand perception is the reality for consumers. They make a decision about us before they engage with us by the way we act through marketing. That's the kind of inherent "duh" that we know about our jobs, but what that means at a time like this and what it started to mean over the past, I would say, decade or so as the world of social movements, identity, and brands and corporate world they've started to intersect. And so what that now means is, if you're in marketing, you have to understand where your brand fits in the world of your buyer's identity, whether they believe in the Black Lives Matter movements, right? These kinds of areas that were kind of gray areas before of, we don't want to get political. It's not appropriate for every brand to have a comment on what's happening. For example, we're talking about the treatment of African American individuals in the US, if your brand happens to live values that embrace diversity and inclusion and have large representation from that community and you take steps to make sure that their employee experience is great and yada, yada, yada, you might as well leverage that in marketing. You might as well show the world that you're on the same side as the giant movement that's now building in States and cities around the world. My God, this is a great opportunity for marketers, which I know sounds dirty to say out loud, but it's absolutely a time to take advantage of the global zeitgeist right now, and be part of the conversation, be part of the narrative, earn trust. It might help you differentiate. It is a way of saying to the world, "This is where we play, this is what we believe, this is who we are as a brand" that may go well beyond what your product or your service does. That is an opportunity. Kathleen: I agree with you. This is such an interesting conversation. In the past year, I had a conversation about this with someone who I've always considered to be very much a professional mentor/idol/role model. I've come to realize as I've gotten to know this person better that they feel very strongly about keeping all politics, all commentary on social issues, completely out of business. And that is their personal belief. It has come into focus, I think, with this last election cycle, and we had a big debate where the person was saying companies should never post about politics. I personally don't believe that, nor do I think every company should post about politics. People will disagree with me and that's fine, but I think that it all comes back to really understanding your brand. And in this case, especially for privately held companies, brands are very inextricably interwoven with the person that owns the company. This is going to come right down to the owners of the company and what they personally believe in. There are some companies where the person that owns it is never going to talk about politics because that person, as an individual, doesn't talk about politics even in social settings. But then you have companies, and there's some examples I'd love to cite, like Penzeys Spices. They are a spice company out of the Midwest. I had discovered them years ago because I was looking for some really niche spices. I like to cook and I had followed them, and then I started seeing this stuff on Facebook and they come out really, really strongly. This is a long story, but I got into a really big debate with this person. And the person was saying, you are going to lose customers and that's not good for your business. And you're going to alienate people and that's not good for your business. And my feeling is, that might be fine. If you're somebody who believes that you want to live your beliefs and you want your business to live those beliefs, you may lose customers, but you will probably have the ones you keep drive tremendous loyalty and you may gain as much, if not more, than you lose. So, diatribe over. You're the guest, not me! Katie: Oh, please! I love your point of view. I'm honored to be here because I think you are just brilliant and I love your work. You hit on something really polarizing right now which works at multiple levels. It also kind of hearkens back to the fundamental truth that not all marketing advice is going to apply to every company. And I feel like that's an important disclaimer, because we tend in marketing to say, brands should do this, they shouldn't do that. It's really, to your point, what is right for your business, your customers, and most importantly, your goals. Now that spice company, I don't know them, but I guarantee their goal is not to be the spice for everyone. It sounds like they know exactly who their buyer is and they know exactly what that buyer wants from them. They want a spice company that stands for more than spice. Great. Not all car companies are going to be a car for everybody, right? Just like with Patagonia, right? If you're buying a jacket to go skiing and they have a set of brand values that they know aligns with the subset of the total market, but that subset will be inherently loyal to them because Patagonia is an example of a brand that's been consistent against their values. For years, they've always been kind of counterintuitively anti consumption. They sell retail products. They need to drive consumption. Remember that famous ad that was like, "Don't buy this jacket"? You don't know it. You have to Google it. And it's Patagonia saying "We cause too much waste in our industry. We build products that may cost you a little more, but they're sustainably made and we want you to wear them for longer. We're going to help you repair them. We're going to give you some tools to make sure that you can make sure you get the most out of them. They're longer lasting." These are brand values that the buyer can relate to because the buyer also shares those values. So this really isn't a new marketing problem. We like to think it is because of social media and hashtag activism and all the propaganda that's happening. But this really isn't old school marketing best practice. Know your buyer, know where you fit in their world. Bill Bernbach has a great quote that's like, "If you stand for nothing, you'll find some people for you and some people against you. And if you stand for nothing, you'll find nobody for you and nobody against you." Which is worse for a marketer? To be completely out of the conversation or to be clear about where you sit and stand and who you're intended for? I love old time radio. There's a great Sirius XM station about the radio shows from the era of when that was entertainment. Somebody had this quote in the old timey accent. They were like, "The only thing you find in the middle of the road is roadkill my dear." Right now, today, brands do not have to have a comment on who should be president. That is politics. That is up to the individual. We each have a right to vote. Stay out of it unless you're relating to the campaign or you're lobbying for a certain group. Honestly, we need to have a say about issues that matter for our buyers. That's it. If it doesn't matter to your buyers, it shouldn't matter to you and your marketing. If you're a founder, I'm going to kind of disagree with you on this, but if you're a founder trying to lever your organization for your own political, personal views, that's a mistake because not everyone in your company is going to agree with you. Just like not every one of your buyers is going to agree with you. You have to find middle ground. That's what this is about. When you canvas for a political campaign and you're going door to door for, I don't know, Bernie Sanders, you don't open the door and knock on the door and say, let me tell you why you're wrong about insert political candidate. You find common ground. You say, what do we share? What are we aligned on? And how do we then move forward together? It's not about polarizing. It's about recruiting people to see the world the way you do. And those people likely bring the same set of values that you do. Kathleen: To be clear, I should say because I probably didn't explain this, I'm not advocating that businesses come out and say "Vote for so and so." I'm more coming out and saying that the context that came up when I talked about it with somebody, was that there were things happening politically that impacted other issues, whether that's the environment or social issues, et cetera, there was like a trickle down. And there were businesses that at the time were coming out and standing for or against those environmental or social issues. That was what sparked the conversation. It's very interesting to me because the things that swim in my brain when I get into this conversation are, there is an increasing amount of data that started to come out, particularly with younger generations, that they are actually much more likely to buy from businesses that are willing to say what they stand for. Again, I'm not talking about politics, I'm talking broadly about things that you stand for. And I loved your statement about the only thing in the middle of the road is roadkill. Because you know, you look at social activism and business today and you see companies like Tom's shoes, which stand for something, and Patagonia, which stands for something. These businesses are doing very, very well, particularly amongst a younger demographic. And so I think part of it is knowing who you sell to, as you said. Part of it is also recognizing that over time, things are going to change as this younger demographic ages and people follow them, who knows? I don't know what will happen with the next generation, but today's 20 year olds are going to be the 30 and 40 year olds of tomorrow and the next decade, et cetera. And so as our customer populations age, their preferences come with them as they do. It reminds me of the conversation that I've had with people about niching down as a business. I used to own a marketing agency and agencies talk about this all the time. Should we be the agency for everyone? Or should we declare that we are serving this one niche? And the fear that everybody always has when you get into that conversation is the fear of having to say "no" and turn people away. What most data shows, and most people find when they do it, is that when you niche down, you actually thrive. You make more money because you really find the right fit customer and they have a higher perception of you. They stick with you longer, et cetera. And so, there's an echo of that going through my head as I listened to us talk about this. Understanding your brand promise Katie: Absolutely. And again, it comes back to branding basics. You have to know the promise that you're going to make to anyone. That's what brand is. Brand is a promise. When they engage with you, they want to know that they're going to get something that you've promised them. You don't have to take a stance around hot button issues. Stay away from hot button issues, unless you're ready for that, unless that's really core to your business and your values and live throughout the organization. There are many examples, from our history, of B2B companies that stand for something in their industry. This is where this needs to be applied to B2B. B2B listeners might be thinking, this doesn't apply to me because I sell, I don't know, refrigeration. And I'm here to tell you, there is, within the world of refrigeration, a company called Stirling Ultracold, that was kind of a smaller player within this world of refrigeration. They would sell to pharmaceutical companies, and we're talking commercial grade keeping stuff cold, right? That's the extent of my knowledge, but they are ultra low temperature freezers that companies need. This is a great example of a company in a world that we would think, what is controversial about this space? The way they were disrupting their own industry was just with this idea of sustainability and energy costs and carbon footprint -- these things that their product enabled companies to decrease. They saved something like 70% of energy costs. Energy and sustainability and carbon footprint was never a consideration point for this buyer before. They just didn't look at it along that list of criteria that they're making their decision against. It didn't matter. Suddenly, here's a company who comes forward with a great PR program, really strong thought leadership, a leader who says, "I believe we have a responsibility to have a smaller carbon footprint. And guess what? My products enable you to have it." It suddenly changed the entire perimeter of an industry. That is the exact same advice that you and I are preaching right now. Just take a stance in what you believe in your own market. That's how you're going to change the conversation in market. That's how you're going to find buyers that are aligned with you around this value that now matters, and in a broader sense, you know, to the world, but really in this industry. And that's how you're going to differentiate and earn that trust, is when you declare "Here's what we're about." And you do that with confidence, because that allows the buyer to look at you and say, "I know exactly what I'm signing up for." Change the conversation in your industry Kathleen: I love that. And it reminds me of a talk that I heard by April Dunford. Katie: Love April Dunford, high five. Kathleen: I heard it at HubSpot's Inbound conference. April Dunford is an expert on positioning and she gives this talk about the four different ways you can approach positioning for your business. And I don't remember the nickname she has for it, but the example that she gives for one of the ways is about changing the conversation. And she talks about Tesla and how before Tesla, the leader in the electric car market was the Prius. And the whole conversation in electric cars was about battery life. How long could you drive before you needed to recharge? You could substitute refrigeration, but the bottom line is that, as a new entrant, if you think about coming into an established market, you're not going to have the first mover advantage. You're not creating a category per se. So how do you catapult yourself to the head of that market? You do it by changing the conversation. And so she talks about how Tesla came in and totally changed the conversation by saying, "Yeah, whatever. Battery life. Of course, we all have battery life. It's really all about how sexy is the design and how fast does the car go?" And now, you see a completely different dialogue happening in electric cars. You see Tesla as a front runner. And you see a lot more electric car manufacturers focusing on design and speed because they made it sexy. And that's the new conversation. And it sounds like that's exactly the same thing this refrigeration company did. Finding your "exceptional truth" Katie: They had to. And this is really where I think, and I know I'm a little biased. I come from a communications background. I've seen the power of content marketing and PR and all of that working in tandem to lift up brands. I mean, I'm a startup girl at heart. When you can't be the loudest voice in the room and you can't be the dominant player of which, by the way, there's only one in every industry. So the majority are not dominant players. All of us need to figure out how to get more strategic with the way we leverage PR and content. I think we've fallen into a bit of a trap, and I'll use that word gingerly because of the rise of inbound marketing, because of the rise of the tools and tech that allow us to publish a lot of content. What we've sacrificed are the kernels of little ideas that we're using to seed the market. We've become really good at publishing education tips and best practices, which are great and necessary. This podcast is a great example of one. The issue is that we've lost sight of what creates movements, what creates change in people. It's that little kernel of truth. I call them exceptional truths that get people to stop, you know, pump the brakes and go, "Wait a minute. I've been thinking about things all wrong." And when you get a person, a human being to stop and kind of pause, you've got them, that's it. When you've created that seed of doubt, the way that they saw the world may not be that capital T, truth, they're open. They're leaning in, they're listening to what else you have to say. And that is when marketing works at its best. That's when they're more receptive to your pitch, to your ideas and your path forward, but it takes knowing the buyers so well that you know where they're misinformed or what they don't know or what they don't understand so that you can challenge that. This is drawing from, everyone knows, The Challenger Sale. Applying The Challenger Sale to marketing Kathleen: I was just going to say, I used to be in sales and in the sales world, this is The Challenger Sale. Katie: Yes. I don't know what happened. I mean, how can The Challenger Sale extend its way to marketing? Not to say that it hasn't, but you know, is that a puppy? Kathleen: Yes. I have two who are laying at my feet and every now and then they lift their heads up and say, "Wait, there's a world out there!" They're getting excited about The Challenger Sale. Katie: They probably are just as confused as I am as to why The Challenger Sale didn't work its way into the world of PR and content marketing. To me, we need to challenge the way the buyer sees the world. I think very few brands do that. Kathleen: It's very true. I have worked in sales before and when I was in that job, I read The Challenger Sale. I used that approach in sales and it made me very successful. And you're spot on. That has so much applicability in marketing. I owned an agency for 11 years and I worked with a lot of different companies and there is, in marketing, this lemmings syndrome where we see the lemmings running ahead of us and we want to follow them off the cliff. If they're doing it, it must be the right thing to do. And it extends from everything, from messaging and the way we talk about what we do, to things like brand colors. I used to do websites for attorneys and they all wanted forest green and maroon and these very stodgy, old attorney colors. And I remember I had one client and I was like, "Let's just do something crazy." And they were like, "But nobody else did that." And I was like, "Precisely." There's this inclination both amongst marketers and within the business world to play within the lines. And I think that does hurt us. There's a sea of sameness out there and it's the content we create, it's the colors on our websites, it's the way we message. It's, you know, "Hey, you should or should not talk about this in our industry. We don't talk about that so I'm not going to" and I really think that that has tied our hands behind our backs, Katie: I have a lot of empathy. I mean, I'm a Pisces. I'm gonna look at every situation from both sides. And it's empath to the Nth degree over here. But I do have a lot of empathy for the modern marketer. And this comes from being one, but also selling and marketing to them for 10 years. I've been on the megaphone side of MarTech vendors back in the day when there was a hundred of us, marketing solutions in a world of digital marketing that was now starting to shift. Don't forget, 10 years ago, we now had to be good at becoming top ranked on Google. We now had to start using social media to develop a two way dialogue. We then had to automate everything. Then we had to start measuring everything. Now we're trying to leverage AI. It has moved at such a pace. It all happened in nine years. It has moved at such a pace that the marketer, the poor beleaguered marketing ops person and lead gen new roles that are being created because of this ecosystem in MarTech have inherent uncertainty, an inherent doubt and inherent fear because thinking about it, you and I work, we do marketing for a living. This is our income. How are we going to support our families? This is more than a job and an industry, buyers and marketing. I always had this kind of point of view when I was marketing to marketers. The buyer is more than a director of marketing at an IT company. They are an individual who's just trying to figure it out. And a brand like a HubSpot who comes out right at the turning point of an industry in flux to say, we have 10 ways that you can do this better. And five tips for this and seven strategies for success in that, that brand is going to win. That fearful buyer who's like, I just need a job, and I need to keep ahead. The biggest fear for the marketing buyer is falling behind. If we fall behind, we're no longer relevant. If we're no longer relevant, guess what? There's some 23 year old who's going to come up and take our spot because they know Tik Tok. I'm being hyperbolic, but that's constantly on our minds. And so we have to have empathy for that marketer who's like, we are going to do the things that work and copy the things that work because they work and we need a win. It's really those organizations that can allow their marketing team to do what they do best. That means leave them alone. Let them understand the buyer and the market, the way that they're supposed to. The challenge of being a marketer Katie: Somebody else said to me that marketing is a very voyeuristic profession. Everyone can see it. Unlike finance, unlike R&D or engineering, or even sales, to an extent. Everyone can see marketing. Everyone in a business thinks that they're an expert in marketing because they see marketing all day. They see billboards. They see ads. They feel like they know the science and the practice of marketing. That creates a lot of pressure on the marketing team to kind of do whatever everyone else thinks they should be doing. So we have a department that's not only fearful of falling behind, but also facing pressure from the business to do things that may be counterintuitive to what marketing should do. To your point, the lawyers with the maroon versus doing something different. The telling of exceptional truths, the disruption, the rabble rousing, it works on teams that allow marketers to operate with confidence and hire marketers that are allowing them the space to push back and say, "No, this is what marketing does. Our job is to understand who the buyer is, what they need and why we're uniquely fit that market. And that may look different than what you expect, but that's why you hired me." If you're listening to this and you're young and you love marketing, but you're unsure of the path ahead, that's the strongest thing I think you can do is to hone this sense of what marketing does for business and the sense of confidence that you need to bring to every meeting. You almost have to defend your job at every go, but the more you do it, the more resilient you get, the better you get at it. Kathleen: Well, I think it also points to what you should look for in a place of work. I completely agree with everything you just said, and, and I don't often talk about where I work now, but I'm at this company Attila Security, which is in cybersecurity. I knew I had landed in the right place and I had this sense when I interviewed. When I got into the company and I met with the CEO and I presented him with my 90 day plan and strategy, this was about 30 days in, he said, "Yeah, just do it. I hired you because you know what you're doing", you know? "You don't need my permission." And I was like, "Wow, what a great feeling". When you're interviewing, that's a thing to really watch for and to dig into and to see if that's a trait that you're going to find amongst the leadership team of the company that you go and work for. Katie: I wonder how to ask that in an interview. I'm a startup girl who's just been at companies where inherently, there's no one to tell me what to do. What would you ask if you were interviewing? Kathleen: As somebody who hires a lot, I've always been a big believer in behavioral based interview questions. Those are basically, you don't ask people "What would you do?", you ask, "What did you do?" And you ask people to talk about actual experiences. So I would probably ask something along the lines of, you know and it depends on if it's a company that's had marketers before. I would say, "Tell me about a time when a prior head of marketing proposed something that you weren't sure about or didn't necessarily agree with, what did you do?" And if they haven't had marketers before, if it's a startup, I would probably ask them something about being at a prior company. Or I would say, "Tell me about a time the head of sales proposed something," or somebody else in the company presuming that there are other leaders. Because I think past behavior speaks better than hypotheticals. Everybody can come up with the right answer, hypothetically. For what it's worth, that's kind of the approach that I've taken, but some of it is also just a feeling that you get from talking with people. And I think that's something that you hone over time as you work in more places and you're exposed to more different types of people. Standing out in a world saturated with marketing content Kathleen: But one of the things I was thinking about as you were talking, you mentioned HubSpot and how they solve for something very specific at a time when it was a real need. And, it got me kind of circling back to a little bit of what we started with here, which is this need to tell exceptional truths and should companies go there? Should they not go there? One of the things that I started thinking about as you were talking is that the interesting unique moment that we live in right now is that content marketing has become so commonplace. And there are so many companies creating content that there is this saturation. There's just a lot out there. There's a lot of blogs. There's a lot of newsletters. There's a lot of video out there. We're all busy. Nobody has the time to read all of it. So how do you choose what you're going to consume? And this applies to anybody, any buyer out there has this dilemma whether they're actively searching for something or not. And it seems to me that one of the factors that's really affecting what works now in marketing is that one of the most effective ways to stand out amongst a very saturated world of content is to have a point of view. We've talked a lot about in the marketing world about authenticity, and a hot topic lately has been email newsletters and getting really real in your email newsletters and showing personality and individuality, even in company newsletters. And the reason that that's working so well, I believe, is because it is different. Just the fact that it's different and just the fact that it doesn't sound like everybody else, people gravitate to that. So I'd love to know kind of what you think about that. Katie: I a hundred percent agree. Mic drop because you said it yourself. This idea that everyone is a publisher, everyone can produce content - it makes it more important than ever to do what we were suggesting 20 minutes ago, which is to know exactly who you're talking to, what they value, the ways you share that value and just be confident that that is the niche that you have decided to own. You cannot be all things to all people. I'm hearkening back to my marketing undergraduate. This was a long time ago now. It's the one thing I learned. This is not new, right? We just have a proliferation of information now available to us. It makes it more important than ever to have not only a clear point of view, but first a very clear intended audience. You cannot be the solution, in your case, for all CIOs. You're the solution for all CIOs that are extremely risk averse or something. There's something about your buyers that you are really aligned to. Well, many companies fail to understand what that niche looks like and where that alignment happens. I have a newsletter. I call it the "World's best newsletter." I started it when I started consulting, frankly, honestly, truthfully as a way of reminding the world that I wasn't gone. I was leaving a startup at that time that I had co-founded and I was the public face of, and I needed a way to take that momentum and transfer it into my consulting, speaking, whatever it is that I do, practice. So I started a newsletter. I had no intentions with it. I had no best practices around it. I probably break every rule in the book. People love it. And what I do with it is what I've done from day one. I collect the things that hook my attention throughout the week, that I believe more people need to read, and I send it out weekly. And I say, "Here's what is important to me". I am a human being with other other interests outside of marketing. I'm a fierce advocate for feminism, and I'm a fierce advocate for human rights. And I have a documentary coming out about the intersection of marketing and social movements. And all of that is jam packed into this little newsletter, seven links and a quote of the week. It makes no sense. If you were to tell me, as a marketing consultant, it wouldn't make any sense. There's a lot of marketing stuff in there, but sometimes there's a really important New York Times cover story about racism in America. It works for me because people know what they want from me. It's neat. I have been really reticent to do that. It feels wrong. It goes against everything I'm taught as an email marketer, but you know what? It performs. It might be because it's real. I think it's because it's honestly what people want from me. I think that's really what matters. And they come back to it week after week because it serves that need and it's fresh. They don't get it from other people. Finding your unique brand voice Katie: If you're a business, trying to figure out what to send in your newsletter, think about that first. Just like a product and the way that you develop a product, look at the consideration set. What are you up against? What are the other emails looking like from your competitors or even others in the same general industry? Do something different. Maybe it's just doing it shorter. Maybe it's coming at it from a totally different angle, right? Content and thought leadership should be treated like product development. Not only is it something new and different, but it's like this muscle that you have to work on. You've gotta be really good at coming up with the processes to uncover those insights from inside the business to say, "This is what we believe, what we know." And then really, really good at delivering that in a fresh and new way. That's what makes the job of content fun and hard. But it's not what most people do. Most people opt for the easy ebook, the 10 tips, best practices. And then they wonder why isn't this performing? How to find your exceptional truth Kathleen: So true. So if somebody is listening and they're a marketer, who's come into a company and they're thinking about - and let's talk about startups because I think that's the best way to illustrate how this works. If you come into a startup as the first head of marketing, it is a green field, right? You get to shape the clay. If you're coming into an established company, that's a different story, but it's still, the challenge is still there. It's just how you navigate. It might be different. Putting on my hat as head of marketing at a startup, I'm coming in, it's the first time we're going to have a marketing strategy. If I wanted to come in and really mine the richness of what you talk about as exceptional truths, what is the playbook for doing that? Katie: Well, good luck finding a playbook. The place to start, in my mind, is to ask yourself the question, just like you would if you were starting a movement and activism, "What is the change that you want to see in market?" What is that end result that you're hoping to get people to switch? It could just be, you want them to choose you instead of a competitor. Great. So what does that mean? What belief do you need to shift? What misinformation do you have to correct? What new insight, to quote the Challenger model, do you have to bring to the table to get them to see the world a bit differently? I'll give you an example from HubSpot again, because I think HubSpot did this so well. And it's an example that we can all relate to. Your podcast. The name is a great example of the power of what they were able to do, how this came to market. I hate to say it, they were just a blogging, search engine optimization, social media, and eventually an email tool mixed into one. They were not the only player doing this at the time. However, they thought about this brilliantly. They needed people to see the way they wanted things to change. They were advocating for us to use these tools instead of cold calling, billboards, et cetera. The way that they got people to make that shift was to create a dichotomy or create an enemy. I actually presented on this at their conference two years ago, create an enemy. You can find it on their inbound library. And they saw the world in two ways. There's inbound and outbound. There's the new way forward, Mrs. Beleaguered marketer, who doesn't want to lose her job, the way that you're not going to fall to irrelevancy. And there's the old way that you're going to fall behind if you keep using it. They were extremely polarizing with this perspective. It was just one article that started all of this, right? They were like, "Here's the way forward. This inbound and outbound. One is good. One is bad. White, black, right? Devil, whatever it is." And 80% of the market was like, "Oh man, there's no way I'm going to go there." They were pissed because HubSpot is over here, challenging the existing status quo, the way they sell. 20% saw that and went, "Oh, you're right. Let's opt into this." And so HubSpot now of course built an entire movement around inbound marketing. It is a practice. It is a job title. It is a category in and of itself because they started with that kernel of what changes do we need to create. We need to figure out a way to get people to move from A to B, to go from what they think they know to what we want to advocate for. And then they brilliantly built a movement around it. And they did so with a ton of content ideas, a community of people that were proud to call themselves inbound marketers and this kind of repetitive, consistent muscle they use to push the movement forward, now extending years and a $125 million IPO and19,000 people at their conference. It just has ballooned because they were smart about this kernel of truth that they've never deviated from. Are you going to be the next HubSpot? No. This is right place, right time, right conditions and market. But, you do have to find and be willing to provoke, with purpose, the existing beliefs of buyers, and then be consistent about that. If you can do that, your startup is going to make a lot of noise. You're going to punch well above your weight. Even if you don't have the biggest budget, you're going to make waves and you have to be willing to do that or risk falling into irrelevance. Kathleen: It's a really incredible story, that story of HubSpot and it's certainly not the only one. You have Mark Benioff at Salesforce who famously picketed outside with a sign that had a big red X through the word software. And he similarly named the enemy and it was software and his solution was move to the cloud, software as a service. That is an approach that absolutely works. I would say to go out and read The Challenger Sale. So many sales people read it, but so few marketers do, and I love that you brought it up in this conversation. Kathleen's two questions Kathleen: We are going to run out of time soon so I want to make sure I ask you my questions. I could talk to you forever. My first question that I always ask my guests is of course, this podcast is all about inbound marketing, and is there a particular company or individual that you think is just a great example of how to do inbound marketing in today's world? Katie: I think Rand Fishkin and his work with Moz and now with SparkToro which he actually details really well in a book called Lost and Founder. It's a great book. If you're thinking of starting a company read this first. It may scare you away, but he always was the example for me of somebody who was again, challenging white hat versus black hat, giving away all the industry secrets to become a trusted industry resource, to ranked the highest, but it really builds trust in his company and him as an individual. And I think it's just his consistency, Whiteboard Fridays, he was writing five days a week. That's still the best example of consistent inbound marketing. Kathleen: You know, it's so funny because I could not agree with you more. He is somebody that I have followed really closely. I read his book. I read everything he does at SparkToro. I follow him religiously. And I have been very surprised. I think you might be the first person that has mentioned his name. I ask this question of every single guest and that has baffled me because I think he's amazing. So I'm really happy that you said that. Katie: He's also the world's nicest guy. We both spoke at the SpiceWorld conference in, I want to say, 2018. Both of us were speaking in the marketing track and I'm sitting here backstage fan girling because I love him. Who hasn't read his stuff? He comes off stage with the mustache. He's the nicest guy. He's just, you know, very down to earth. And I think that's the secret. He wrote this content to truly help others. And I think that genuine purpose behind the content is really what sets him apart. More people should have mentioned him. Kathleen: Yes. I agree. And maybe they will now because we'll turn them on to his stuff. All right. Second question. You mentioned earlier that the biggest fear of marketers is falling behind. And the second question I always ask everybody is exactly that. It's like every marketer I talk to says, they feel like they're drinking from a fire hose. There's too much to keep up with. So how do you personally stay up to date and keep yourself educated? Katie: 100% LinkedIn. I'm a huge advocate for using LinkedIn appropriately. I have a big following there, so I love it as a platform, but I also use it to consume a lot of best practices. I ask a lot of questions. I'm constantly looking through comments. It's become a resource that just, I find invaluable. It's a mess. Sometimes now people take advantage of LinkedIn to post some really nonsense stuff, but at the core of it, it's there. Can I give two answers? There's a lot of Slack communities that are being built around specific topic areas. I'm not in marketing, but I'm part of a great marketing operations Slack group that keeps me knowing what's going on. I work with a lot of MarTech vendors still as an amplifier now and a community evangelist. I need to know what's going on. And so even on that, in the practice, these Slack groups are hidden sources of insight. So if there's not a Slack group for your world, your community, build it, invite people. They will come. This is not field of dreams. They're desperate to connect, one-On-one, sometimes outside of the loud world that is LinkedIn. Kathleen: That group would not happen to be the MoPro's would it? Katie: No, but now I want to join that one. Kathleen: I'll send you a link. A guy I interviewed once for this podcast has a marketing operations Slack group that I am in. But I agree with you. I have a ton of Slack groups and there's only like, let's say, two or three of them that I'm religious about checking every day. They're just insanely valuable. But, love all of those suggestions. Again, I could talk to you all day long, but we're not going to do that because we both have other things we need to do. Great conversation. I'm sure people will have opinions, both ways, about what we said here today, but that's okay. That's why these conversations are important to have. If you listened and you disagree, tweet me. I would love to hear your perspective. This is all about learning and listening and I'd love to hear what more folks think about this. How to connect with Katie Kathleen: But Katie, if somebody wants to learn more about you or connect with you online, what is the best way for them to do that? Katie: They can Google me. I'm very, very, very Google-able. You can LinkedIn me. You can find my website. I'm just, I'm everywhere. Kathleen, congratulations on over 150 episodes of this. This is a service to the community and we are grateful for it and it's a lot of work to put these together. So thank you for doing what you do and thank you for having me, really. Kathleen: Well, I very much appreciate it. And I will put links to your personal website as well as your LinkedIn in the show notes. So head there if you want to connect with Katie, and she does produce some amazing stuff, so I highly recommend it. You know what to do next... Kathleen: If you're listening and you liked what you heard today, or you just felt like you learned something new, I would love it if you would leave the podcast a five star review on Apple podcasts, because that is how other people learn about the podcast. And finally, if you know somebody else who's doing amazing inbound marketing work, please tweet me @workmommywork, because I would love to make them my next guest. That's it for this week. Thank you so much, Katie. Katie: Thank you, Kathleen. Everyone take care.
Follow along with this episode at: bit.ly/outtobeblm As Katie walks through resources she has been recommended to or personally found helpful to educated herself as a white woman on the black lives matter movement, how to be actively anti-racist, and how to be a better ally.
Flourish to 7 Figures Podcast: Growing Your Online Business to 7 Figures and Beyond
Today’s guests have built an incredible 7-figure business that helps women who want to work for themselves, not by themselves as entrepreneurs! My guests today are rockstar entrepreneurs who prove that the right partnership can make all the difference. I’m so excited to share my interview with Katie DePaola and Liv Chapman from Inner Glow Circle! Inner Glow Circle trains their clients to become accredited life coaches through the International Coach Federation (ICF) and helps them create sustainable businesses they’ll love through group training programs and masterminds. We cover so much in this episode, including: The secrets to a successful partnership and why you should treat everyone on your team like a partner How to clarify your core values in your business and how to use them to train your team members to make decisions The key areas you should focus on to grow your business during times of uncertainty And so much more! This is both a fun and timely conversation for the many business owners still facing the challenges of quarantines and social distancing during the global COVID-19 pandemic. As Katie and Liv share, now is the time to pivot, not panic! You can find all of the links and resources that I mention in today’s episode at MonicaLouie.com/51.
Do you exercise too much or eat insufficient calories? If you are an athlete then listen to Registered Dietitian and marathon runner Katie Kissane talk about eating disorder in athletes. In depth article here - https://eatingenlightenment.com/2020/03/09/eating-disorder-in-athletes/ More Info ... Noticing an eating disorder in athletes can be very difficult. As Katie mentions below, an athlete’s great discipline and focus can like their Achilles Heel. Their demanding discipline becomes their fuel for an out of control eating disorder that sucks the life out of the athlete. Today help shine light into this complex issue, this podcast highlights the professional expertise of Katie Kissane, Registered Dietitian. - Understand How Eating Disorders In Athletes Begin - Why Athletes Develop Eating Disorders? - Tips to Manage Eating Disorders in Sports and Athletics Visit https://eatingenlightenment.com
This Monday, Katie and Michae discuss arguably the most controversial film of Jennifer Lawerence’s career to date, “mother!”. They take a stab at breaking down all of the symbolism, Jennifer’s performance, and what they think writer and director, Darren Aronofsky, was trying to say with this film. If you haven’t seen it yet, you might want to check that out first and come back to (try to) get some clarity, that no doubt you will be looking for after watching! As Katie said, this film won't be everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s something to be said about a film sticking in your mind, years after watching it! Find Katie and Michae on other platforms: Instagram and Twitter: @michaelamandrew @katayhealayy Katie's Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXn_VizHMrpK-spUheLTbsA --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/katie-healy/support
I'd say that anyone who's paid attention to the news in the last few years, has been on social media—or has just conversed with other human beings—has probably gotten the sense now and then that the world seems on edge. Still, many of us parents can get so inspired by our own kids that we get the sense that they're going to change the world—or at least their own corner of it. And a lot of kids might feel like they want to do exactly that. But how to start? How to take the desire to do good and turn it into something real, something that can truly help people? That's the aim of my guest in this episode and the amazing organization she manages. I got to geek out a bit in this conversation because Katie Bowers is the managing director of the Harry Potter Alliance. No, it's not some sort of group where people talk about how awesome Harry Potter is. No, the HPA takes the passion that fans of Harry Potter and other books and movies have, and helps them turn that passion into action. As Katie says in our conversation: “When people truly become passionate about a book or a character, it's because they see themselves in that hero.” And the HPA has turned fans' passion into amazing results. With hundreds of thousands of members spanning 35 countries and six continents, the HPA has helped kids and adults create meaningful change around the world. They're pretty freaking awesome if you ask me! In our conversation, we talk about: The work of the HPA and how they “turn fans into heroes” Why Harry Potter and other fictional characters inspire fans to make social change How to decide what to do if you know you want to do something, but don't know what or how The power of “unironic enthusiasm”—the best way to foster your child's eagerness to help How to help your kids develop leadership qualities needed to bring about change Why it's okay to be Neville Longbottom instead of Harry or Hermione Specific projects for preschoolers vs. elementary school aged kids vs. high schoolers Tips for when your child's project fails The importance of building a good team around you How to help kids handle the risks of the spotlight when they stand up for what they believe Why kids might have a better opportunity to build bridges with those with opposing viewpoints than adults How to teach kids to handle tough conversations with friends and loved ones with opposing views And the value of “time, patience, love, and a willingness to keep at it.” Guys, I got fired up by this conversation—it's a great launchpad for you and your kids to make the world a better place. If you get inspired by this episode, please take a screenshot of your podcast app as you listen, post it to your Instagram Story, and tag me @zendocsteve. You can also share this episode on Facebook and elsewhere by sharing the link www.drstevesilvestro.com/106
Sustainability has become quite the buzzword in recent months as everyone strives to be Eco-friendly and protect our Earth. What social media can fail to convey, however, is how easy it actually is to live sustainably! On today's episode I chat with Katie Wells of @sunflower_inthecity on what it means to live sustainably and how to integrate the practices into our everyday life. As Katie's other area of expertise we also discuss all things budget! From why it's important to plan for optimal budget to how you can create your own plan for 2019. Furthermore, tune in to discover how sustainability and budget are actually co-aligned! In this episode we reference Katie's ebook "Simply Sustainable" as it covers everything we discuss in even more detail and with specific plan layouts for you to follow! Better yet, it's packed full with tips, tricks, and recipes that are all sustainable and budget friendly. The ebook is free as well, simply message Katie on her instagram @sunflower_inthecity and she'll email it to you stat! If you liked today's episode feel free to leave a rate & review, or better yet subscribe! That way you're sure to never miss when a new episode is released. Thank you for listening and as always, feel free to reach out to me on instagram @emilyfeikls
Episode Notes Woohoo! As Katie says: it's our last positive commentary track for awhile! Thanks for listening and follow us on twitter @myrtlebathpod for more updates about episodes, or email us at myrtlebathpod@gmail.com :)
CW for this episode: Frank discussion about rape, victim-blaming, and victim-shaming Sam leaps into a Katie McBain, a rape victim, as she is in the hospital after her attack. As Katie, Sam pursues charges and a trial against the man who assaulted her, in a community that does not want to believe her. Given the … Continue reading Raped – June 20, 1980 →
Another day, another Hallmark Channel movie about a woman falling in love with the prince of a fake country at Christmas. Here's the IMDB description of the movie we reviewed today, Christmas at the Palace: "Katie, a former professional ice skater (Patterson), is hired by the king of San Senova, Alexander, to help his daughter in a Christmas ice skating performance. As Katie spends time in the castle and with the king, she and Alex begin to develop feelings for each other and ultimately fall in love. But will the tradition-loving people of San Senova allow their king to make a foreigner their queen?"
Exodus 16:8 NLT 'The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him.' A problem with spiritual challenge is that in aspiring to be further on, we can easily condemn ourselves if we hold back from where our heart is leading us. As Katie and I walked the way of childlessness, I felt I needed to be strong. I had to hold the line in faith. All this did was eventually to lead to a breakdown, which might have been avoided had I honestly acknowledged my disappointment and pain throughout the journey. Even as Israel again fails to demonstrate confidence in God, God refuses to condemn Israel. If it’s food that is required to ease their anxiety, then food will be provided. Yet, I’m privy to Jesus’ remark that “people do not live by bread alone” (Matthew 4:4). In the everyday of life, I cry out to God and God responds. Yet, have I grasped what it is that God really wants me to discover? God is forever seeking to find the true me. This is most often buried beneath my real and felt needs, needs that distract me from my pursuit of God. Often in pursuit of such needs I may unwittingly remove myself from the shelter of God’s wings. I have come to the conclusion that God is at the heart of all of life experience. I may not be where I planned or imagined many years ago. I may indeed wonder if where I am is the best place to be. However, I can either fix my gaze upon location and circumstance or lift my eyes and acknowledge this is where I am and God is with me. In this space God will care for me, although I might start with exercising my complaint towards God. It takes work to discern and discover God in barren places. QUESTION: Are you complaining about where you are, or are you satisfied by the Lord? PRAYER: Lord, may I be satisfied, morning and evening, by all that you are and do.
Mean girls: they’re a thing, and sometimes it’s *our* girls being the bullies. Experts agree that girls exhibit “relational aggression” more than boys do, and girls are also more deeply upset by it. Even more worrisome: mean-girl behavior used to start in junior high; now it starts in pre-K. Fear not: we’ve got tons of useful advice in this episode, particularly in our interview with Katie Hurley, author of the just-published book No More Mean Girls: The Secret to Raising Strong, Confident, and Compassionate Girls. There is hope! As Katie explained: “Our daughters are not destined to repeat the things that happened to us… especially if we are talking to them about being empathic and being compassionate.” Start sooner than you think: Katie says the sweet spot for impacting your girl’s friendship skills is ages 8-10. Here’s links to some other research and resources discussed in this episode: A Way Through, a site created by female friendship experts Jane Balvanz and Blair Wagner, helps girls in grades K – 8 through painful friendships Kelly Wallace for CNN: How Not to Raise a Mean Girl Our sponsor this week is Erin Condren, creator of the fully customizable Life Planner. Choose your layouts, your extra pages, your colors, your cover. We love the look of everything this mom-owned business makes and we think you will too. Start designing your planner– and support our podcast at the same time! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Totally Crazy or Totally Genius? What is Feng Shui anyway? On this episode we dive deep into the simple truth at the heart of Feng Shui: Environment affects us! On Episode 67 co-hosts Kirsten and Graham talk to Feng Shui consultant Katie Rogers about this ancient practice. Here are a few links we discussed during the show — and keep reading for interview highlights, DIY success, and more! Links we mentioned in Episode 67 * Katies’ website is fantastic and it contains a wonderful list of reading materials. Be sure to check her blog for some great articles. * Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter HC-172 is a go-to warm gray paint color(Katie likes it at 50%) * The Western Guide to Feng Shui: Room by Room, by Terah Kathryn Collins * My Overlays (Kirsten’s DIY obsession) Interview with Katie Rogers We learn how Katie accidentally discovered Feng Shui when she began her first job out of college and couldn’t stand working in a sea of gray cubicles and florescent lighting. She had the idea that perhaps she could go into companies and change the spaces to increase worker happiness and productivity. As Katie began researching interior design, she came across a book by Terah Kathryn Collins and her love for Feng Shui was born! She started experimenting in her own home and in her friends’ homes and began to see results. As Katie sees it, the bottom line is that your home reflects your life. The space that you spend time in is actually having a really profound effect on you. There are general principles to Feng Shui, but it’s also really specific to the individual client. The process begins with trying to figure out what the client needs in their life. More peace? More order? More creativity? Kirsten asks for advice with creating more peace and less chaos when the kids come home from school and Katie says we not only need to make sure there is a space for kids to put their stuff, but moms also have to make it really easy for our kids to put their things away (i.e. not on the other side of the house). There needs to be a natural flow, which is a core principle of Feng Shui. Katie always looks at floor plans, whether the client is remodeling or not, to make sure there is good flow. Kitchens represent health and prosperity. Decluttering a kitchen is crucial! Having a cluttered kitchen could be preventing you from cooking healthy. Bedrooms are also very important in Feng Shui. You should have nothing underneath the bed! Your subconscious is never asleep so by having things under your bed, you are distracting yourself and preventing rest. Katie talks about having visited houses of clients who were actual hoarders and how bad that amount of clutter is to a space. We learn that we need to be intentional about the things we have in our home. It doesn’t matter if something was expensive or given to you for a wedding gift, if you don’t like it, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Order the author's books here View the author's biography and book list His Website: http://www.japitts.net/ Similar authors: Kevin J. Anderson, Jim Butcher, Terry Goodkind, Brandon Sanderson Magic has a cost. Sarah Beauhall, blacksmith and dragon slayer doesn’t know just how high. Her lover, Katie Cornett, has finally been overwhelmed by this spiraling cost and her spirit is blasted from her body and flung into a world of nightmares and monsters. As Katie’s coma deepens and her chances of survival fade, Sarah’s spirit must make a journey of its own through a world of crystalline eaters and malevolent spirits who exist only to hunt and to consume. Night after night Sarah delves beyond the hidden paths, going from crystalline landscapes into the wild lands and lost worlds far beyond the great sea of dreams. When the spirit of a long dead murderer—known only as the Bowler Hat man—begins gathering an army in the forgotten lands, Sarah discovers that more than eaters and feeders pursue her.
What if your customers marketed your product for you everywhere they went? That would be amazing, right? That's exactly what happened to Katie Alarid when she created her adorably unique baby turbans. Immaculately accessorized babies were marketing her product all over the country, and her business has grown enormously in less than two years' time! Katie's turbans are now in 23 boutiques, and she sells even more of them from her own online shop. Is there a product you can create that would market itself? Can you make something so unique, eye-catching, or useful that people can't help but talk about it? I think you can! On the Podcast 01:10 - See A (Tiny) Need, Fill A Need06:21 - A Business is Born08:04 - Getting Into Boutiques12:00 - Driving Online Traffic14:48 - Instagram Strategy = Cute Babies20:40 - Why Starting with Wholesale has Made Katie Successful in Retail24:43 - Honoring Boutique Owners28:59 - The How + Why of ReBranding32:52 - BluTaylor’s Preemie Program39:07 - Why 'BluTaylor'?41:06 - Katie's Adorable Mom Moment (Her tiniest business partner!) Press Play on the Podcast Player below to hear from Katie and learn how to get your customers talking too! See A (Tiny) Need, Fill A Need On the day Katie’s little girl came home from the hospital, she promptly threw up in her hospital-provided hat which sent Katie scrambling to find a replacement. Katie insisted on keeping her daughter’s tender head covered and protected from germs, so she whipped up a creation with some extra fabric and her unique design was born. Visitors later that day commented on how cute the ‘baby turban’ was, and Katie’s business was inspired. (We just love how Katie saw a need and filled a need in the same afternoon!) Seriously, how cute is this?! A Business is Born Someone suggested to Katie that she ask a local shop in town to carry the baby turban. While the compliments of friends and family are great, Katie wanted that ‘real live stranger’ factor we mentioned in Episode 127. Being a savvy business mom, Katie made her sales call with her adorable daughter in tow. And of course, her baby was wearing a product sample. That did the trick! That shop placed their first order and, from there, word-of-mouth helped Blu Taylor organically spread. Katie and her husband also decided to purchase a website to establish their brand's online presence. Getting Into Boutiques A boutique owner 70 miles away from Katie picked up the baby turban and quickly contacted other boutique owners about carrying the item. During a Holiday House Junior League event in Little Rock, Blu Taylor set up a booth and sold turbans. Customers from that event - with their little girls modeling the turban hats all over their towns - actually brought the word back to other wholesalers in their areas. Talk about organic growth! Every time a customer goes outside wearing their adorable turban, the company grows. People can't help but talk about how cute little girls look in these unique hats. They stand out! Blu Taylor is currently in 23+ boutiques, but surprisingly Katie finds that her online retail storefront is stronger in terms of sales. Driving Online Traffic Katie finds that Instagram is a great driver of online traffic for her business. She sends her Instagram photos to Facebook and Twitter, responding to comments on all platforms promptly. Katie believes that her product is unique and something customers are excited to talk about. A testament to the strong word-of-mouth referral Blu Taylor enjoys is how her products have spread to new markets. Katie notices that if she receives an order from a new state, like Oregon for example, in a few weeks she’ll receive more orders from that state. Once again, as that Mama's little girl is spotted all over town in her unique accessory, other mamas ask her about it and promptly head online to get their own! Katie has personally experienced the ‘Wow!’ factor of her own product. Her husband jokes that their daughter needs to take off her baby turban in stores so they can get through shopping quicker... otherwise everyone stops them to talk about that adorable hat! Instagram Strategy = Cute Babies Katie sees the largest portion of her online traffic come as direct traffic via Instagram. In addition, people see her brand name on Instagram and then type in her website directly or search for her on Google. Katie has several tips on how she makes consistent sales with Instagram. Post consistently. Consistency is key when it comes to Instagram. Katie tries to share at least three pictures a day. Her tip is that every 6 to 9 posts should display a complete representation of your company. For Blu Taylor that means sharing pictures of their products and preemie program, sharing photos from happy customers, and providing general information about their brand. Katie says it is important to plan out an Instagram strategy. Make connections using Instagram’s ‘Explore’ search. Katie suggests using the ‘Explore’ search on Instagram. Katie would use this feature to find moms who just had a baby girl, liking and complimenting them. Or she reaches out to moms who may be in the NICU, offering to send a preemie hat to their baby for free. Don’t be afraid to recycle posts. Katie doesn’t follow a strict system but, generally, while thumbing through old images if she sees one that garnered a lot of likes she will reuse that image. Katie’s philosophy is that the people who saw her Instagram post at 7pm 2 months ago won’t be the same people who see her post at 8am 3 months from now. Makes sense! List your website in two places. Interestingly, Katie will put the text of her Web address (www.BluTaylor.com) at the bottom of many of her Instagram posts. Her analytics suggest that visitors are leaving the app and manually typing in the Web address into their mobile browsers. What a great idea to have your website in two places, profile and post! Regardless of whether that post link is clickable, people see your web address one more time and it sticks in their memory even more. Why Starting with Wholesale has Made Katie Successful in Retail Katie has experienced nice profitability with both retail and wholesale, which you don’t often see with a handmade business. BluTaylor began as a wholesale business, selling their hats in bulk to various boutiques, and eventually began to sell their hats online in their own boutique and at shows. Katie finds that women usually don’t give themselves enough credit for their time and skills when setting prices. BluTaylor operates by setting their retail prices after a wholesale price is set. This ensures that the business is profitable no matter who they sell to - boutique owners or direct to their customers. Starting out with distributing her products in boutiques has really helped Katie’s pricing model. With boutique prices on her baby turbans in place, Katie already knows what a healthy profit margin is for her product and can set the retail price accordingly. Katie has also found that doing some market research has helped her set retail prices. She asks her customers how much value they place on the product and then sets prices accordingly. Honoring Boutique Owners Katie’s business model really values boutique owners. Initially, BluTaylor did set a lower wholesale price, but as the cost of production grew, Katie found that she needed to increase her wholesale prices to make her business work. It was scary, but she had to approach her wholesale accounts to let them know about the price increase. Katie found that moving up both wholesale and retail prices incrementally softens the news of a price change. Though Katie feared many boutique owners would bail ship, only one account decided to not carry her baby hats out of 23 total. That one lost account is easily worth it considering that Katie's time and talent is now properly valued, and her business is sustainable. Katie's philosophy when dealing with boutiques is that no other person in their business will be buying their products at the level boutique owners will. She wants to give her boutique owners respect, so she will never undercut them on her own site. It's truly a smart, and caring strategy, if you think about it. Eliminate cross-competition and everyone wins! I just can't even! Too cute! Rebranding: The Why + How When BluTaylor was founded in the summer of 2012 with a different business name, ‘Baby Turban’. The phrase accurately described her product and was easy to remember. (Katie still owns the trademark on that name.) As word spread about her adorable baby turbans, customers wanted the product in larger sizes for their older children, and even for themselves! Creating a ‘Baby Turban’ kids' line felt off. And Katie found that older customers were hesitant to wear a product with the word ‘baby’ in the name. To make her brand more accessible, ‘Baby Turban’ became BluTaylor. In a smart move, Katie bought multiple domain names with iterations of both business names, and linked them to the new site, BluTaylor.com. Katie did not notice a decline in sales after her rebrand, and made it a point to share information about the re-brand for several months in all of her packaging and on social media. Katie’s customers are so loyal that she even had one contact her in a panic: “There’s a new shop called BluTaylor and they stole your design!” Katie had to laugh. What a dedicated fanbase! BluTaylor’s Preemie Program When Katie’s son was born, he spent four days in the NICU after a high temperature scare and rush to the ER. While their time in the NICU was short, she felt for the many families who experienced much longer NICU stays. As Katie developed her baby turbans, she realized that the unique design snugly fit the head of a preemie very well. She challenged herself to create a hat small enough for a micropreemie and succeeded. Since the skin of a micropreemie is so incredibly sensitive, they are only able to wear a few pieces of clothing - like hats. After creating the micropreemie version of her hats, Katie sent a few to families at their local NICU, and a BluTaylor tradition was born. BluTaylor custom makes baby hats for families who request one on their website. The hats are a gift. Since no mom is really prepared for the arrival of a premature baby, Katie wants to bless the families with a needed item. Something as simple as providing a cute baby hat creates a sense of normalcy for the families, and gives them hope. Why ‘BluTaylor’? ‘Blu’ stands for blue, the color of hope. And ‘Taylor’ is a fun way to represent tailor-made. With each hat purchase, a preemie-size hat is donated to a family with a daughter in the NICU. Katie knows that many moms in one local hospital received a hat via BluTaylor’s preemie program. A nurse contacted Katie to thank her for the donations, and said their NICU looks like a runway with all these en vogue baby girls! Katie's Adorable Mom Moment Katie’s youngest daughter, Charlotte, was the inspiration for Blu Taylor and has worn her mom’s adorable creations from day one! You'll have to tune in to hear about the adorable move she does because she's just so used to serving as a product model. It's too funny and too cute! Find Katie Online! BluTaylor.comInstagram: @shopblutaylorFacebook: BluTaylor
Three tips about taking care of yourself first. It’s not easy to have/get balance in your life. Carol and Katie discuss these light hearted tips and, as usual, they get right to the point of why it’s so important to pay attention to yourself before taking care of others. As Katie says, “Put your own […] The post Tips on Balance in Your Life – Podcast 62 appeared first on Skirt Strategies.
Welcome back to episode 53 of the Maximise Potential Podcast. Throughout the last couple of years, we’ve managed to share some incredible accounts of individuals battling adversity, however, in many ways our interview today takes this subject to an entirely new level. At the age of 19, Katie Page had her entire life, as she knew it at that time, taken away from her. Even worse was the fact that she was given no hope that her situation would ever change. However, Katie refused to accept that this was going to be her life’s path and was determined to create a different future for herself, one that has led her to an incredibily fulfilling life whilst also becoming one of the most respected individuals within her profession. Here is Katie to tell us her inspirational story… Key messages from Katie: I think Katie’s story is a perfect example of how you never have to accept the views and perspectives of others, even in the most extreme of situations. Katie has shown us all that if you are passionate enough, persistent enough and have a clear vision of the outcome you are going to achieve, then anything is truly possible. As Katie said, even now the doctors still don’t know how she managed to regain the use of her arms, body and legs… …but as far as Katie’s concerned, her experience taught her that the relationship between mind and body is far stronger than we can ever imagine. Katie is now of the most respected Sports Psychologists in the country, working alongside Dame Kelly Holmes, Jessica Ennis-Hill and an abundance of other Olympic and World Champions. I would thoroughly recommend that you connect with Katie, which you can do if you Google her name plus ‘mind training for sport’ – or you can visit the webpage for this episode and click on the links I’ve added. In addition, on the webpage I’ve also added numerous quotes and statements that Katie mentioned throughout the interview, which are well-worth re-visiting. Katie, thank you again for your time and for sharing your story. Katie Page Quotes: It is essential to have a support team - they helped me to get through the darkest times I created my own outcome, that I wanted The mind doesn't know the difference between if you visualise something or you do it for real Creating boundaries for people isn't healthy I think that we can sometimes miss how much we actually have in our lives Life can be like a tight rope, you can slip so easily and it can be taken away It is so important to embrace life - we can live it, enjoy it and maximise upon it, or we can moan and be negative - and guess what, the outcomes will be very different People come into our life for a reason and we can learn from everyone we encounter Wherever the mind goes, the body will follow The mind and the body are completely connected Connect with and Learn more about Katie Page: Katie's website: Mind Training for Sport LinkedIn: connect with Katie on LinkedIn Twitter: Follow Katie on Twitter Listen to the interview: Click on the following link: http://www.maximisepotential.co.uk/katie-page/ Short url: http://bit.ly/1ckU50d European Podcast Awards: http://www.maximisepotential.co.uk/maximise-potential-wins-european-podcast-of-the-year/ Rate & Review the Maximise Potential Podcast on iTunes: http://bit.ly/itunes-maxpotential Sponsors: Jenrick Recruitment - specialists in Engineering, IT and Commercial recruitment services Xerxes Music
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