Creative Empire Podcast

Episode 161: Empire Mentoring Session: Finding Value + Setting Goals, with Jesi Parker Ekonen - the Creative Empire podcast

Today, Christina and Reina are joined by Morgan Montgomery who owns Paisley & Jade which is a vintage and specialty rental company out of Virgina. Morgan jumps right in talking about how her and her co-founder began their business. She discusses how they set up systems, procedures, and processes which helped them as they grew. The trio chat about finding the right clients and asking for feedback. Lastly, Morgan shares a bit about the company culture and how a team can be a great asset. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/05-1342-post/EP-160-Morgan-Montgomery.mp3   Main Takeaways: How she began Paisley & Jade [0:01:28] How they set up their business when they first started + systems [0:05:45] Why procedures + processes help you integrate core values into everything [0:10:46] What she would have done differently earlier on [0:17:12] What some tips are for finding the right clients [0:23:42] How to ask for honest feedback [0:25:58] Why processes can turn into sales tools [0:31:08] How they are changing their branding [0:32:45] Why they have see growth this year + are having their busiest month yet [0:36:27] What the internal culture looks like + “weird chicken” [0:37:43] How the team culture can be so exciting [0:40:28] Take the right business as opposed to just any business. Click To Tweet Show Notes: IKEA School of Styling Make sure you give it the time that it needs to work. Click To Tweet Bio: A New England native, Virginia resident, and lover of all things modern, clean-lined and loud, Morgan discovered her passion for unique and vintage finds as she designed and propped shows while working towards her B.A. in Theatre from The College of the Holy Cross.  With years of sales and customer service experience behind her, she spent three years in the trenches of the off-premise catering world before co-launching Paisley & Jade, a specialty rental company serving the Mid-Atlantic, in 2012.  Morgan’s passion for business and events extends beyond the walls of P&J, and she loves to share her knowledge through the Paisley & Jade specialty rental coaching program and by speaking at national conferences such as NACE Experience, Lend & Gather, and The School of Styling.  An active member of NACE on the local and national level, she is a past president of her local chapter and also currently serves on the NACE National Board of Directors as the Treasurer. Morgan’s personal and professional work has been featured extensively in national and regional publications, including Southern Weddings, Richmond Magazine, Sage Wedding Pros and The Huffington Post. Social Handles: Website Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram   Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story! The post Episode 160: Systems, Processes, + Feedback, with Morgan Montgomery appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

Joining Reina and Christina today is Michelle Khori. Michelle is an arts and culture writer and the host of The Cultured Podcast. From the beginning the trip dive right in to chatting about Michelle’s business and how she started her podcast. She shares tips on how to write your own bio and reflects on how bullying has impacted her and her business. Michelle shares about her consulting business, plus lots of helpful tips for new business owners. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/05-1339-post/EP-159-Michelle-Khouri.mp3   Main Takeaways: How she helps people tease out their stories [0:04:44] What her tip is for helping you write a bio [0:08:25] How bullying has impacted her business [0:10:15] Why she created The Cultured Podcast [0:14:07] How she reaches her target demographic and audience [0:16:22] What her consulting business can do for your business + results [0:19:56] How to maximize client experiences [0:28:42] What a consultant vs a team member feels like [0:30:19] How to set effective boundaries [0:32:33] What combating burnout can look like [0:38:11] There is so many products on the market that what differentiates those are the vision, they why of those products, the belief. Click To Tweet Show Notes: The Cultured Podcast Apple – Steve Jobs Brene Brown – Braving the Wilderness AdWords Emily Hirsch – FB Ads Jenna Kutcher I am a firm believer that every single human – actually, every living thing, has a cool interesting story. Click To Tweet Bio: Michelle Khouri is an arts and culture writer and the host of The Cultured Podcast, a weekly show that unearths intriguing perspectives in art, theatre, travel, design and literature while digging at the roots of what inspires us. Aside from her work as a storyteller, Michelle helps businesses bring their narratives to life as a branding and content development consultant. Visit www.michellekhouri.com to learn more about her consulting work and www.culturepodcast.com to get your weekly dose of culture. Social Handles: Website Facebook Twitter LinkedIn The Cultured Podcast Website The Cultured Podcast Facebook The Cultured Podcast Twitter   Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story!   The post Episode 159: Finding the Story Behind Your Business, with Michelle Khouri appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

Joining Reina and Christina today is a big influencer in the creative community, Jessica Rodriguez, who is a business and visibility strategist. She is also the host of the #daydreamachievers podcast and movement, which serves purpose-driven women and helps them scale their online business from four-figure months to six-figure years. The trio start the episode by talking with Jessica about how she started her business and how it has transformed many times. Jessica gives us lots of reasons and actionable tips about finding clarity in in your business. The conversation is then shifted into funnels and how you find what people need, to help your own business. In the end, Jessica shares her tool to map out funnels for you. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/16-1297-post/EP-160-Jessica-Rodriguez.mp3   Main Takeaways: How entrepreneurship started for her [0:01:33] What some of the limiting beliefs in this creative industry are [0:06:40] How being aware of your weaknesses can help your business [0:09:45] Why you have to get clear before you brand + spending money [0:12:10] What going towards your goal looks like with Jessica [0:17:03] Why you have to change your mindset to shift your business [0:19:24] What are Click Funnels are + how they can grow your business [0:21:20] How to really start selling + finding out what people need [0:29:42] What some tools are to map out funnels [0:35:45] Put some blinders on and stay on your lane. Click To Tweet Show Notes: B-School – Marie Forleo Russell Brunson – ClickFunnels Jessica’s Funnel Template Sometimes there’s different ways that you can express that creativity for yourself. Click To Tweet Bio: Jessica Rodriguez is a Business and Visibility Strategist, Podcast Host, and founder of the #daydreamachievers™ movement – serving purpose-driven women scale their online business from four figure months to six figure years, without compromising the life they truly want in order to do so. Within the first year of her business, she went from working 4 jobs and carrying $120k worth of debt to replacing her income to become a full-time lifestyle entrepreneur along with becoming completely consumer debt free just a few years later. Through her 1:1 work and her Achievers Circle membership community, she has committed herself to helping women create their own freedoms in life – both personally and financially. When she’s not helping people create massive growth in their online business, you can find her curled up on the couch with her husband and furbabies Netflix binging or traveling to the next adventure life brings. Jessica can be found at thedaydreamachiever.com. Social Handles: Website Facebook Instagram Pinterest   Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story!   The post Episode 158: Clarity + Funnels, with Jessica Rodriguez appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

Joining Reina and Christina is Shelley Cohen of From Shelley with Love. Shelley is a personal stylist and interior designer, plus has an amazing blog! The trip dive into the conversation by talking about what clothes the wear at home while they work and why you should be showing up for yourself. Shelley explains that you may not feel like you need to get dress, doing it will actually make you feel better. She shares tips to help us get ready in the morning, like cleansing your closet, as well as shifting you mindset and straying from negative self-talk. In the end she chats about why we should wrap ourselves in clothes we love and re-frame how we think about ourselves. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/31-1269-post/EP-157-Shelley-Cohen.mp3   Main Takeaways: Why you should be dressing for your stay at home career (0:02:15) What showing up for yourself means (0:05:30) How you just have to fake it until you make it to feel better (0:13:34) How to identify negative self-talk + shifting that (0:18:14) What some tips are to help you get ready in the morning (0:21:55) 1) Cleanse your closet Why you need to evaluate + start a morning routine (0:24:17) Why to spend time in the “today” (0:30:35) Why you should wrap yourself in clothes you love (0:36:51) How to re-frame how to feel about yourself ( 0:39:05) I’m a huge advocate for slowing down, slow dancing with your morning and just being a bit more in touch with that good little voice. Click To Tweet Show Notes: Lisa Carpenter Adrienne Dorison Denise Sheffield Thomas Revivify Casey Erin Wood Alex Honeysett Her Closet Cleanse Link What you wear is just another way of self-expression and showing up for yourself. You’re worth everything and more. Click To Tweet Bio: Shelley Cohen is a personal stylist & interior designer who helps big-hearted girl bosses style themselves and their spaces for maximum creativity, energy & confidence! From closet cleanses (that are wayyyy more fun than juice cleanses, BTW), to picking out the coolest outfits for an upcoming event or conference, to giving your home office a sparkly makeover (from anywhere in the world!), Shelley will wield her magic style wand and have you saying “OMG – I can’t believe this is me!” Learn more at fromshelleywithlove.com Social Handles: Website Facebook YouTube Instagram Pinterest   Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story! Click for Full Transcript The post Episode 157: Dressing For Your Stay At Home Career, with Shelley Cohen appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

This jam session episode features Reina and Christina chatting about shopping small this holiday season. This episode is really for us who want to be conscious in where we put our money. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/31-1266-post/EP-156-Jam-Session-Shop-Small.mp3   Main Takeaways: What having someone buys from you [0:02:08] What the Heart Centered Holiday Gift Guide is [0:04:56] How to deal with decision fatigue [0:05:30] Why shopping from smaller online businesses is worth it [0:07:12] How to treat holiday guilt [0:13:20] How to accept gifts graciously [0:17:01] Why you are a driver of the economy [0:20:01] What some gifts that give back are [0:21:14] Reina + Christina’s favorite small businesses + gifts [0:26:47] How you can buy products outside of Amazon [0:35:39] When everyone else is zigging, how do you zag? Click To Tweet Show Notes: Amazon PeraChic Boutique Heart Centered Holiday Gift Guide Katie Williamsen – Creative Empire Podcast Elizabeth Cattell Julie Ball Erin Gerstenzang a – loom Rifle stationaries Brittany Branson – Creative Empire Podcast Magnolia Shop Money Bootcamp with Denise DuffieldThomas Autumn Witt Boyd Julie Ball – Sparkle Hustle Grow Tonya Dalton of Ink Well Press Pamela Corman she’s another painter Janet Gwen Designs PopSockets Kuzeh Olive & Pearl oliveandpearlcandles.com Little Seed Farm – Tennesse June & December Pen+Pillar Norabloom Botanical HoneyShea Kristen Lay of Thimblepress Marigold & Grey of Jamie Kutchman Wynn Rachel Allene Pencils of Promise Glassy Baby Jenni Waldrop – Fuzzy & Birch Make sure you give it the time that it needs to work. Click To Tweet [TRANSCRIPT]   Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story! Click for Full Transcript The post Episode 156: Jam Session with Reina + Christina, Shop Small appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

Today Reina and Christina are joined by Burgundy Fox co-founder Leslie Wong. Burgundy Fox empowers women to celebrate themselves by combining authentic lifestyle content with curated intimate apparel for all sizes. The trio start out by discussing how Leslie decided to start a subscription box service. They also discuss packaging and how to create changes in packaging, plus keeping it on brand. Lastly, they discuss what bringing on a co-founder looked like and how growing her team has helped the brand. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/03-1276-post/EP-155-Leslie-Wong.mp3   Main Takeaways: Why she started a subscription service [0:04:21] How to have a mission behind your brand [0:08:28] Why packaging is important + changing  [0:13:16] How done is better than perfect [0:16:33] What hiring on a co-founder looks like + letting go of everything [0:19:29] What tactical things helped the transition to the entrepreneur world [0:28:20] As you continue growing, listening to your customer’s experience and the problems they’re having. Click To Tweet Show Notes: Burgundy Fox HoneyBook Birchbox Dollar Shave Club Victoria’s Secret Paper Source The Lean Startup Book Gary Vee It definitely takes time to create awareness and that is hard. Click To Tweet Bio: Leslie Wong is the Founder and CEO of Burgundy Fox, an e-commerce brand on a mission to celebrate all bodies and empower women. After experiencing how unenjoyable lingerie shopping was, she set out to create a more modern and inclusive experience that celebrated all women’s bodies and minds. Leslie has 10 years of marketing and partnership experience, is an advisor to companies HoneyBook, Cloudspotter, Curvy Unicorn and serves on Rising Tide Society’s Creative Council. She spends her free time practicing vinyasa yoga, listening to business podcasts and enjoying all the great food Chicago has to offer. Connect with Burgundy Fox on social @burgundyfoxco Social Handles: Website Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest LinkedIn   Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story! The post Episode 155: Beginnings + Branding, with Leslie Wong appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

Today Reina and Christina are joined by Marie Parks and Jessi Honard of North Star Messaging + Strategy. They serve purpose-driven entrepreneurs and help them figure out what is their outward facing message. The two started the conversation by talking about how they began working together. They transitioned into talking about finding uniqueness in your own brand as well as core values. Once you find those, the ladies talk about finding your core pillars that will drive your content strategy. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/03-1273-post/EP-154-Marie-Parks-Jessi-Honard.mp3   Main Takeaways: How the two women began their partnership [0:01:39] How to really find your uniqueness + stand out qualities [0:04:23] Why you should focus on core values [0:10:47] How to feel in control of your content + core pillars [0:14:17] What an example of an effective content strategy looks like [0:21:23] Why you need to find a place to start with consistency [0:27:20] What some pieces to create time for [0:29:40] What is important to notice about your competition [0:36:35] I think it’s so possible to try new things and to tap in to new things while digging deeper rather than spreading wider. Click To Tweet Show Notes: Copywriting Character Quiz red.com Kurt Elster – the Unofficial Shopify Podcast – Kurt’s Creative Empire Podcast Mark Manson Bushra Azhar – Bushra’s Creative Empire Podcast You can change what you do and you can change how you do it but you can’t change who you are. Click To Tweet [TRANSCRIPT] Bio: Jessi Honard is a self-professed word nerd whose copy packs a powerful, persuasive punch. She puts her years in marketing + education to work, empowering entrepreneurs to achieve big results. Marie Parks is a compulsive writer with an eye for detail (thanks to years of nonprofit grant writing) and the coveted ability to combine heart + logic. Her copy makes readers stop, drop, and read. Together, they help purpose-driven entrepreneurs find their true north and make a lasting positive impact. Social Handles: Website Facebook Facebook Community Instagram YouTube   Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story!   The post Episode 154: Core Values + Content Creation In Your Business, with Marie Parks + Jessi Honard appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

This Creative Empire podcast episode Reina and Christina chat with Davey and Krista Jones of daveyandkrista.com. This power couple specialize in helping businesses create brands and websites that are, not just beautiful but also compelling, and encourage your visitors to take action. At the beginning the Davey and Krista duo dive head first into SEO and how it can really help your business. They share the 3 main pillars of SEO which are: strong content, building relationships (especially through linkbacks on your site), and user experience. After discussing the ins and outs of SEO they jump on to chatting about having a content strategy and how blogging needs to be deliberate for you. Lastly, we talk about mindset shifts and pivoting while in your business. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/23-1242-post/EP-153-Davey-Krista-Jones.mp3   Main Takeaways: How SEO can optimize content for your ideal clients [0:03:27] What the 3 main pillars of SEO are [0:06:03] How they define content strategy [0:07:48] Why to be super deliberate on your blog [0:09:44] What shifts have looked like for both of them [0:15:32] What mindset shifts you need to make to pivot [0:20:54] Why “shiny object” syndrome happens [0:27:27] What some ways to get pre-validation [0:34:12] If you’re not making little changes every day, you are not growing. Click To Tweet Show Notes: The Rising Tide Society The Scobeys Krista Jones – Creative Empire Episode Davey Jones – Creative Empire Episode Graham Scobey Burbn Foursquare Instagram Elon Musk Jeff Goins + Seth Godin Neil Patel Jeff Goins – Creative Empire Episode The Dip by Seth Godin As the person goes through your feed, you have to be compelling enough for them to stop looking to what you’re doing. Click To Tweet [TRANSCRIPT] Bio: Davey and Krista are brand strategists and designers who specialize in helping businesses create brands and websites that are beautiful, compelling, and encourage action. After building a successful photography business and launching the Rising Tide Society, one of the largest communities for creatives in the world, Davey and Krista decided to make helping creatives run better businesses their full time gig. They believe in chasing hard after an intentional life—one that includes fulfilling work, palm trees and blue skies, time with the pups, and—of course—wine and pizza. Social Handles: Website Facebook Instagram Krista Instagram     Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story! Click for Full Transcript The post Episode 153: How to be Deliberate In Your Online Business, with Davey + Krista Jones appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

Reina and Christina are joined today by Katie Den Ouden and Katie is an entrepreneur, freedom lifestyle coach and holistic business strategist. She teaches ambitious women how to live and lead by design instead of by default so that they can become the womEn that they’ve always known they can be. At the beginning of the episode Katie jumps in to talk about the difference between living by default and living by design means. Shes asks us all why we are not living more intentionally and helps us to think about how to cut out the fluff. She talks all about the abundance mindset and why we should shift to that. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/23-1239-post/EP-152-Katie-Den-Ouden.mp3   Main Takeaways: What living by default means + living by design means [0:01:45] What it looks like to live by design [0:04:15] How to identify seasons + what is essential [0:06:49] How to start being intentional in your business design [0:13:43] What her 90 day set-up looks like + cutting out the “fluff” [0:15:22] What the abundance mindset looks like + how to shift into this [0:29:43] How to fit service-based activities in your business [0:34:02] It’s not really designing our lives if we’re just imitating someone else or following someone else’s show, someone else’s rules. Click To Tweet Show Notes: Tony Robbins Live By Design Guide As a business owner, you can’t be on 24/7 all the time 365 days of the year. Click To Tweet Bio: Katie Den Ouden is an entrepreneur, freedom lifestyle coach, and holistic business strategist teaching ambitious women how to live & lead by design instead of default, so that they can become the woman they’ve always know they can be. Katie’s work {programs, challenges, experiences} meet women in the season of becoming – as a woman, leader, and luminary – and gives the strategy, soul, sisterhood, and self-care to get there. Social Handles: Website Instagram Facebook Pinterest   Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story! The post Episode 152: Living By Design, with Katie Den Ouden appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

Photographer and founder of Avner Road Photography, Nicolette Fernandez, is Reina and Christina’s guest on The Creative Empire podcast in this Empire Mentoring Session. The trio dive right into talking about focusing in on aspects of business and what rescue time really means.  They share how time tracking can really help you as a business owner, to see what parts of your business are taking the most amount of time. The trio also discuss finding focal points in your business and how client communication is critical to help your business grow. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/23-1236-post/EP-151-Nicolette-Fernandez.mp3   Main Takeaways: How to figure out where to dive in and focus on investing time in a certain area of business + rescue time [0:01:58] How time tracking can help you figure out what you’re spending your time on [0:03:30] What working or in your business looks like + finding focal points [0:06:39] sales visibility, client customer services Why to figure out where you clients have came from + ask them questions [0:12:52] Why to trade your services to build your portfolio [0:20:52] How to determine your focal points [0:24:46] How listening to people can help you figure out how your ideal clients feel [0:26:53] As soon as you call yourself something, it’s almost like you see everybody else who is out there doing it. Click To Tweet Show Notes: Jenni Waldrop – Creative Empire Podcast Episode Text Expander App Rising Tide Society Social Glue Session It takes dedication to not do all the things so that we can concentrate on the things that matter most to us. Click To Tweet Bio: Nicolette is a wife to her sweetheart, mama to an active toddler and believer that joy can be found in the everyday. After 9 years as a college administrator, she took a leap of faith to stay home with her son and launch her photography business full time. She realized her business could be used as a way to pursue her passion of motherhood and serve her family, while using her creativity to encourage and serve others. Nicolette specializes in lifestyle sessions for newborns and branding for creative entrepreneurs. These niches allow her to run alongside her clients, celebrating with them, pouring in words of love and support, while providing images that share their story. Social Handles: Website Facebook Instagram   Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story!   The post Episode 151: Empire Mentoring Session: Finding Focus + Client Insight, with Nicolette Fernandez appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

Today Reina and Christina are joined by Ava Aslani of Essentia Law, an attorney from Canada. Ava is here chatting all about how laws in Canada are different. At the beginning Ava and Christina really bond over learning all of the differences and similarities of the law. They chat about things from a trademark registration, to a copyright registration, to online business structures. They also talk about what it looks like to work with people across the border regarding laws. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/16-1225-post/EP-150-Ava-Aslani.mp3   Main Takeaways: What some things to consider as a business in Canada [0:01:50] What the pros and cons of a BC Company and a Federal Company [0:05:33] What does a trademark look like in Canada [0:10:21] How copyright law works in Canada [0:13:03] What some examples of copyright infringement are [0:15:45] What moral rights are and how it works in Canada [0:18:18] How to do business across country boundaries [0:22:39] How to enforce your contracts + the benefit of taking payments [0:26:39] What the tax systems loos like when crossing the border [0:32:12] I think the key wherever you’re looking for your CPA is to make sure that they’re familiar with cross-border transaction issues. Click To Tweet Show Notes: Etsy Canada Eaton Centre It’s important because we have to consider these international rules and regulations as online business owners. Click To Tweet Bio: Ava grew up in Toronto but the mountains and the ocean drew her to the west coast and she moved to Vancouver in 2010. She completed her law degree at the University of British Columbia, after which she articled at the Vancouver office of one of Canada’s largest national firms. She moved to the Okanagan Valley in 2014 and practiced as a general solicitor prior to launching Essentia Law to combine her legal training with her passion for innovation and Entrepreneurship. Ava’s business law practice is focused on providing effective and practical legal solutions to small businesses in a variety of areas including business formation, corporate structuring and reorganizations, and corporate governance. She particularly enjoys working with emerging and growth-stage companies in the technology industry and assisting on the unique legal challenges they face. Social Handles: Website Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Google+ Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story!   The post Episode 150: Canadian Laws for Creatives, Ava Aslani appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

In this Creative Empire podcast episode Reina and Christina chat with Julianne Smith, founder of The Garter Girl. The Garter Girl is a stylish wedding garter design company that began in 2004. The Garter Girl is dedicated to redesigning wedding traditions, helping brides make memories and creating family heirlooms through the art and design of wedding garters. The trip start by discussing how Julianne began blogging. Julianne shares tips for blogging and helps you figure out who you are blogging for. She also gives us tools for creating content and discusses permission to let yourself fail in your business. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/16-1225-post/EP-149-Julianne-Smith.mp3   Main Takeaways: How she started with blogging [0:04:28] Why you should blog + tips for blogging [0:07:48] What the difference is between a business with a blog vs. blogging as a business [0:09:57] Why you should repurpose content [0:14:53] What some helpful tools for creating content [0:19:27] How to use your blog to establish yourself as an expert + leading with value [0:26:09] Why you should give yourself the license to fail in your business [0:38:04] Sometimes, done is better than perfect. Click To Tweet Show Notes: United with Love Garter Girl Rising Tide, Tuesdays Together meetings Today Show Martha Stewart Style Me Pretty Engage! Conference The Knot Brides Magazine Jamie Kutchman Creative Empire Episode, Marigold and Grey The blog was really just my way of telling my story on my terms, to tell my story directly to my clients. Click To Tweet Bio: Julianne Smith is The Garter Girl, a stylish wedding garter design company that began in 2004. The Garter Girl is dedicated to redesigning wedding traditions, helping brides make memories and creating family heirlooms through the art and design of wedding garters. Julianne believes that a wedding garter is a small, but meaningful, way for a bride to celebrate her own personal style. The Garter Girl’s sophisticated wedding garters are designed to be modern heirlooms intended to be cherished for generations to come. Each and every stylish wedding garter in the The Garter Girl’s collection is meticulously hand created by Julianne and designed with a recognizable modern femininity that encompasses her signature style. The daughter of a seamstress and a surgeon, Julianne grew up in small town Pennsylvania surrounded by lots of family and tons of laughter. It was a love of politics that brought her to the nation’s capital where she fell in love with D.C. and city life. Before creating The Garter Girl, Julianne was a communications strategist and media specialist. She worked on Capitol Hill for a member of Congress and served in the White House’s administration. Combining her passion for DC, media and weddings in 2010, Julianne started the Washington DC area’s top wedding website, United With Love. Featuring locally helpful wedding planning advice, Julianne built United With Love to be a trusted resource and a well-known brand with thousands of readers every day. She was able to sell United With Love in 2016. Julianne is obsessed with style and is known for her passion and sophisticated attention to detail. She is also known for consistently being overdressed, a loyal friend and always ready to host. She is the mother of three small children and lives in the city of Washington, D.C. with her husband and family. Follow Julianne over on Instagram or check out her blog for more behind the scenes and the occasional family picture! Social Handles: Website Blog Facebook Pinterest Instagram Twitter   Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story!   The post Episode 149: How To Use Your Blog to Create Connections, with Julianne Smith appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

Today is a jam session with our co-hosts Christina and Reina, plus Dannie Fountain. Reina and Dannie are jamming out about their new book, that was just released this past Tuesday. The Duo jump into what makes goal setting important and their reasons for wanting a book like this created. They chat about how they break down parts of each guest expert, so that the reader can really identify with parts of their lives. The book boasts a lot of information and takeaways, so they explain the best way to digest the book. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/30-1218-post/Reina-and-Creative-Book.mp3   Main Takeaways: What makes goal setting important [0:02:37] How they have guest experts to give ideas for planning [0:05:14] What the most common thing they found while creating this book [0:10:47] How to be proactive while reading the book + how to digest it all [0:16:13] Why you need to take in compliments [0:19:57] What the clear focus of the book was [0:28:55] Writing your goals down sets you up to be exponentially more successful, and all it takes is pen to paper. -Dannie Fountain Click To Tweet Show Notes: Dannie Fountain’s Creative Empire Episode Powersheets Natalie MacNeil’s Conquer Kit Cici’s Pizza Simon Sinek Lacey Sites Lara Casey Courtney Johnston –  The Rule Breaker’s Club bigplanforthecreativemind.com The Scobey’s Tim Ferriss’s – Tools of the Titans Lisa Jacobs Amber McCue Tara Newman Jillian Smith – One Touch Events Jenna Kutcher Natalie Franke – The Rising Tide Society and HoneyBook Before you plan, you have to reflect. -Reina Pomeroy Click To Tweet About The Big Plan for the Creative Mind: We believe that because just because we are more creative, more right brained, more flow or intuition oriented, doesn’t mean that one should not plan. In fact, there is an opportunity to do it differently – there’s not just one way to do goal setting. When you Google goal setting books, you find very corporate style, linear left brain books. A lot of creative types and people who want a little bit more flow get turned off by this. They’re planning or flowing in a way that doesn’t really identify with that left brain linear type of planning. In the past, maybe if they’ve had a corporate job or had some kind of a structure that is very left-brain dominant, they’ve been told that their process is wrong or they’re made to feel inadequate in the way that they do things. In the creative industry there are plenty of tools like Power Sheets, the Conquer Kit, Your Best Year or the Fresh Start Notebook that are breaking the mold of the standard goal-setting book. These leaders are writing and creating content around these topics, but what we fail to see is a collection housed together where their unique goal-setting strategies, mindset, and execution are being showcased. This is an opportunity for the creative industry to get a glimpse of what it’s like both in people’s businesses and in their lives. Social Handles: Reina’s: Website Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dannie’s: Website Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest     Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story!   The post Episode 148: Jam Session with Reina + Dannie, Big Plan for the Creative Mind appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

Today, Reina and Christina are joined by Valerie Gernhauser, the owner of Sapphire Events as well as Ruby and Pearl. She’s also the author of Pricing for Profit. She works specifically with the entire creative industry now to help them price their services to be profitable and bring them the kind of margin that they need in their life. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/11-1210-post/EP-147-Valerie-Gernhauser.mp3   Main Takeaways: How she started her own business [0:01:30] How pricing should reflect your experience [0:07:30] Why you should network and build relationships with people in your industry [0:11:19] Why mass vendor gifts are not a great marketing tactic anymore [0:15:46] How to use your web presence to help catch vendors eyes [0:21:25] 1) Updated look + Quality of work 2) Consistency of work website, social How to decide on a marketing strategy + charging what you’re worth [0:32:54] What her course, Pricing for Profit, is all about [0:43:30] The [wedding] industry was relatively undervaluing itself for what I knew the hard work I was putting into and my peers were putting into at all levels. Click To Tweet Show Notes: Martha Stewart Weddings video Kristin Kaplan the Knot Wedding Wire code empire and you’ll get 10% off. – Sapphire Sessions for Creatives and the course is Pricing for Profit on the Teachable platform Affiliate link: https://sapphire-sessions-for-creatives.thinkific.com/users/express_signin?email=hello@christinascalera.com As a creative person, it’s a blessing and a privilege to be able to share our art with the world hands down. Click To Tweet [TRANSCRIPT] Bio: I am a recovering attorney, Yale grad, pug lover, Springsteen fanatic, and Florida native. Calm, cool, and collected is my mantra. I’m a natural-born leader that takes pride in moving people, creating memorable milestones, and maintaining poise under pressure. As a thought leader and industry expert in the event space, I’m grateful to share my knowledge on national platforms such as the Engage! Luxury Wedding Business Summit, Trouvaille Workshop, Cultivate Retreat, Munaluchi’s Coterie Retreat, and honored to present as a keynote speaker at SEPA, ILEA, NACE, and and WIPA events across the country. I’m very proud of the success of my Sapphire Sessions speaking tour, a specialized program for wedding planners and event designers aimed at elevating event industry best practices for the benefit of the greater good. I like getting lost in Anthropologie, spontaneous road trips, mixing metals and prints, kitchen dance parties with my daughters, and getting my hands dirty in a flower bucket or two. I’m a consummate over-achiever and a habitual mover-and-shaker. I consider myself very fortunate to bear witness to unfettered, intrepid, veracious love stories on Saturdays. I’m living the life I’ve imagined. Social Handles: Website Facebook Facebook Group   Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story! Click for Full Transcript The post Episode 147: How to Price for Profit, with Valerie Gernhauser appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

Joining Reina and Christina today is Jenni Waldrop, the founder of Fuzzy & Birch. Jenni begins by chatting about her Etsy shop and her blog. She chats about why she is a firm believer in Etsy and why she will never leave Etsy. The trip talk about consistency in selling and Jenni gives us some tips on creating consistency in an Etsy shop by having quality items,pictures look good, and wording the items correctly so people can find them. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/11-1207-post/EP-146-Jenni-Waldrop.mp3 Main Takeaways: Why she started her Etsy business + blog [0:02:32] Why she has chosen to stay on Etsy [0:08:18] What new businesses are joining Etsy [0:12:23] How Etsy compares to Amazon Handmade [0:14:52] What some mistakes are that you can avoid [0:19:36] How to create consistency in selling [0:26:19] Why you have to be able to evolve and change with the sales platforms [0:28:58] How to scale your shop or listings + listening to your buyers [0:32:48] Why you should show your personality in your shop [0:36:02] When everyone else is zigging, how do you zag? Click To Tweet Show Notes: Lisa Jacobs Etsy Subscriber Tribe Amazon Handmade Not On A High Street Shopify Bang-Up Betty Hot Knots FuzzyandBirch Creative Empire Special Page Make sure you give it the time that it needs to work. Click To Tweet Bio: Jenni Waldrop used an Etsy shop to free herself from the chains of corporate slavery. A 6-figure seller of sarcastic home decor, she now teaches other women how to turn their crafts into full-time income. Social Handles: Etsy FuzzyandBirch Blog Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story! The post Episode 146: How to Sell With Etsy + Personality, with Jenni Waldrop appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

This jam session episode features Reina and Christina chatting about masterminds and masterminding. They are  covering lots of different questions that you guys have had and that they even had about masterminds. Specifically, what is in your mind? What can you expect to get out of these things? What do these things even do for you? Why would you want to be a part of on and which ones we’ve been a part of and which ones were running. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/13-1215-post/Episode-145-Jam-Session-with-Reina-and-Christina-on-Masterminds.mp3 [Graphic] Main Takeaways: What is a mastermind [0:01:22] What the types of masterminds are [0:04:21] What are peer masterminds vs. paid masterminds [0:08:17] How to figure out why you want to join a mastermind [0:09:33] What rules of masterminds can be [0:13:30] What some takeaways from Masterminds have been [0:17:10] How hotseats work [0:22:33] How Reina is starting a mastermind and what they are [0:25:44] What service Christina offers in sales [0:27:10] How masterminds can help network and create credibility [0:32:05] When everyone else is zigging, how do you zag? Click To Tweet Show Notes: Adrienne Dorison Jenny Waldrop Rebecca Jacobs Contract Shop Social Glue Sessions – Reina Sprint Mastermind – Reina Fueled with Heart Accelerator – Reina Amber McCue – Freshly Implemented Program Melissa Griffin Shopify Rising Tide Creative at Heart Make sure you give it the time that it needs to work. Click To Tweet [TRANSCRIPT] Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story! [GRAPHIC]     Click for Full Transcript The post Episode 145: Jam Session with Reina + Christina, Masterminds appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

This Creative Empire podcast episode Reina and Christina chat with Ashley Crouch, the founder of Appleseed Communications, a PR firm that specializes in rising female entrepreneurs. Ashley is a visibility strategist and a founder of a no-photoshop fashion magazine, Verily. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/01-1176-post/EP-144-Ashley-Crouch.mp3   Main Takeaways: How to tell your story in a different way from others + leveraging visibility [0:05:15] What is a visibility strategist [0:08:27] How to know when you have expertise + honing your skills [0:12:41] What working with Ashley can look like [0:17:31] Why you should learn how to do visibility yourself [0:24:55] What return on investment (ROI) is on visibility [0:27:25] How successes are happening for her [0:34:49] If you feel restless at all to play a bigger game, that is your permission. Click To Tweet Show Notes: Janet Easter Elle Magazine Kara Eschbach Verily American Eagle – AerieReal Darling Magazine – Real not Retouched Carry Hammer – Role Models Not Runway Models Chris Cilabo Psychology Today Magazine Jeff Walker says, “Sales is enthusiasm transferred” Free download of Ashley’s 5 Perfect Proven Pitch Templates If you hired a PR agency to teach you how to build your business, you made the right decision. Click To Tweet [TRANSCRIPT] Bio: Ashley Crouch is the founder of Appleseed Communications, a PR firm that specializes in rising female entrepreneurs. Clients include best-selling authors, CEOs of multimillion dollar companies, TEDx speakers, social innovators, and more. Appleseed has gotten clients featured on hundreds of outlets, including New York Post, Entrepreneur, FOX Business, MSNBC, CNBC, Huffington Post Live, Fast Company, Forbes, Inc, TIME, SUCCESS, Business Insider, and more. Ashley has secured partnerships with the United Nations, SELF Magazine, Maria Shriver, and beyond. Her online Publicity Accelerator, Master the Media, offers high-value publicity training for promising women entrepreneurs. In 2011, Ashley was on the founding team for the “first no Photoshop fashion magazine for women, “Verily”, which currently sees 1 million views per month. Ashley has written for outlets such as the New York Times/Women in the World, Business Insider, Fast Company, TIME, Huffington Post, Refinery29, and more. She is an international speaker on media literacy, publicity strategy, and entrepreneurship, speaking to audiences at Princeton University, University of Texas at Austin, AltSummit, and Lady Project National Summit. Ashley and her businesses have been featured in TODAY.com, Huffington Post, The Sydney Telegraph, International Business Times, and Darling Magazine. Social Handles: Website Facebook Instagram LinkedIn   Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story! Click for Full Transcript The post Episode 144: How to Leverage Visibility, with Ashley Crouch appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

Joining Reina and Christina today are Jennie Brown and Sophie Davies, from Prim’d Marketing. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/28-1143-post/EP-143-Jenni-Brown-Sophie-Davies-1.mp3   Main Takeaways: What their signature product, the Brand Plan, is [0:02:46] How to find your unique value proposition [0:04:51] 1)Customer Niche 2)Brand Package 3)Style/Personality 4)Price Why to define your brand values [0:08:11] What are transitional points to re-brand or redefining brand messaging [0:13:36] Why you need to be really intentional about curating content [0:16:45] How to figure out your methodology + asking customers for feedback [0:22:42] Why processes + pricing can go hand-in-hand [0:27:49] How to give your clients a great experience [0:32:21] What working with a partner can look like [0:39:05] By getting really clear about those brand values, it can dictate so many other things that help you as a business owner. Click To Tweet Show Notes: Autumn Witt Boyd Chloe Meyer Danielle LaPorte Preferred and Referred – Jules Taggart Mary Beth Storjohann – Creative Empire Episode – Workable Wealth Podcast BaseCamp Contactually A client really loves to feel held and have the confidence that you have a tried and true tested process. Click To Tweet [TRANSCRIPT] Bio: Sophie Davies is the co-founder and resident social media and content strategist at Prim’d Marketing.  Sophie has worked with an international portfolio of clients in the fashion industry, ranging from Lacoste and Calvin Klein to independent designers, as well as consulting with brands in the lifestyle, wedding, parenting and publishing industries on their social media marketing. You can connect with her on Linkedin, Instagram or Twitter. Jenni Brown has a skillful eye for writing and design and a love helping clients discover who they are and how they’re different through words and visuals. At Prim’d Marketing, she’s the resident branding and web strategist — she guides clients through identifying the best pieces of their experience, personality, and style to form a cohesive and authentic brand. She’s an end-to-end story teller; she has sharp skills in design coupled with an MFA in Writing from the University of San Francisco. She has 7+ years of marketing experience with clients ranging from Fortune 500 such as Pepsi and Taco Bell to small businesses and personal brands. Since moving to the Bay Area from Los Angeles, she’s worked with startups as well as in the publishing and lifestyle industries. When she isn’t creating beautiful marketing and brand strategies through The Brand Plan for Prim’d clients, she writes and designs for Prim’d. Connect with her on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram. Prim’d Marketing helps businesses and personal brands look and sound like the best versions of themselves through a brand positioning and content marketing program called  ‘The Brand Plan’. The foundation and guiding light to any subsequent branding, website and content marketing. Social Handles: Prim’d Marketing Website Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram Sophie Linkedin Instagram Twitter Facebook Jenni Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story! Click for Full Transcript The post Episode 143: How To Develop A Compelling Brand Narrative, with Jenni Brown + Sophie Davies appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.

This Creative Empire podcast episode Reina and Christina chat with Mike Kelly of Member Vault. http://creativeempire.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/28-1144-post/EP-142-Mike-Kelly.mp3 Main Takeaways: What some common hurtles are for entrepreneurs to create a course [0:06:29] How the “curse of the expert” can hinder you [0:10:57] What the different angle is about Member Vault [0:14:53] How Membership Vault is offering freebies to our listeners [0:26:07] How to use free mini courses to upsell [0:30:54] What may be simple for you, may be difficult for others [0:34:41] Why you should niche down to sell courses [0:36:04] How to use Member Vault as a tool [0:41:59] We really want to empower people who are just starting out especially, that they can do this. Click To Tweet Show Notes: Member Vault Erin Hook Kelly Adrienne Dorison – Little List Leverage Cradle To Brave – Christina’s first course Mailchimp Conferencing Better – Reina’s first course Lewis Howes Amy Porterfield Chalene Johnson Mariah Coz Gary Vee Bonnie Faulkner – Episode 79 Ashley Kelly + Knit Stars I love having that knowledge. The problem is I can never unknow it. Things that are obvious and easy to me are not to other people. Click To Tweet Bio: Mike Kelly is the Co-Founder and developer of MemberVault, a content platform who’s focus in on maximizing engagement for all of your content. He’s currently living the full time RV lifestyle with his wife (other co-founder), 15 month old son, and hound dog. Currently parked near Seattle, Washington. Social Handles: Website Facebook Twitter LinkedIn   Do you love what you’ve heard? Add this graphic to your Insta Story!   Click for Full Transcript The post Episode 142: Engagement + Course Creation with Member Vault, with Mike Kelly appeared first on the Creative Empire podcast.