Real People, Real Business

Megan Dowd is a brand therapist, business strategist, storyteller, and certified equity-centered coach who helps business owners create a better human connection with themselves and their clients by drawing from who they are and what they stand for.

In this episode, Megan shares how she translated her acting chops into business-building skills, the value in finding your internal language to make your external impact, and her approach to creating more human connection in business.

Megan reveals that her theater skills were directly applicable to business, how she helped people for free before realizing she should charge, and her approach to helping clients with their messaging.  

Megan describes how her business came into being, the 3 types of stories she sees many entrepreneurs using, why it’s important to develop your internal language before creating your external marketing strategies, and how she helps clients create an internal guidebook so they can develop effective external strategies. 

Finally, Megan lets us in on the strategy she uses to attract clients, the types of clients she works with, using the scientific method to experiment with marketing strategies to see what works, and what she says is real vs. what we hear in the online business world.

I think you’ll enjoy Megan’s spicy take on marketing and online business, so listen to our delightful conversation filled with great insights and a few laughs!

Skip to Topic:

3:44 - Translating theatrical skills into business
10:59 - Developing your internal language to build effective external marketing
11:23 - Building an internal language guidebook to get past “language canyons”
16:19 - Using experimentation to test marketing strategies
25:02 - Working as a certified equity-centered coach
32:03 - Fiding clients through Instagram and referrals
34:03 - Working with clients who want something more than blanket marketing advice
36:05 - Uncovering hidden baggage we carry around language that may be holding us back
38:42 - Getting spicy about what Megan thinks is real vs. what we hear in the online business world

Find Megan at:

Website: https://withmegandowd.com/
IG: https://instagram.com/withmegandowd

Visit Stephanie at: https://stephaniehayes.biz/

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Luis Báez is a sales enablement strategist and coach dedicated to empowering online business owners, B2B professionals, and underrepresented entrepreneurs by teaching them how to scale their revenues and impact by creating and selling high-end offers - all in addition to his full-time career. 

In this episode, you’ll hear Luis’ unexpected path to becoming an expert in sales, how a simple request for help led him to entrepreneurship, his refreshing and authentic approach to selling, and how he’s building his business on his terms.  

Luis takes us through his circuitous career path that landed him in sales where he built a very successful career. He describes how his side business was born out of a request for help from a friend, discovering a gap in the online business space that he shaped his side business to fill, and the mindset reframe entrepreneurs need around selling.

Luis tells us his approach to teaching sales, how to be successful selling high ticket offers, why business owners should use personalized video to connect with prospects, the way he structures his client engagements, and how he manages his business on top of his full-time career.

Finally, Luis shares what his ultimate goal is with being an entrepreneur, the biggest lesson he’s learned from his entrepreneurial journey, what he would do differently if he were to start all over again, and the biggest difference between what we hear in the business world vs. what the reality is.

You will want to capture Luis’ grounded and refreshing advice for how to approach sales in your business in a way that feels good and take advantage of the tips and techniques he drops to help you connect with your prospects and grow your business.

Skip to Topic:

1:55 - Falling into an unexpected career in sales
3:35 - How a request for help from a friend turned into a side hustle 
5:15 - Finding a gap in the marketing to fill
8:51 -The mindset shift you need around selling as an entrepreneur
10:46 - The real purpose of a personal brand
12:38 - Luis’s “secret sauce” for helping entrepreneurs
15:35 - The key to selling high ticket offers
16:47 - Leveraging personalized video to connect with prospects
18:39 - Why Luis’s sales methodology is based on transparency
22:23 - The different types of clients Luis helps in his business and his full-scope approach to supporting them
25:44 - The importance of communication between all functions of a business
26:19 - How Luis’ client engagements are structured
26:57 - Working a full-time job in addition to his business
28:00 - Luis’ ultimate goal in being an entrepreneur
30:40 - What Luis sees as the difference between what’s real in business vs. what we hear

Find Luis at:

Website: https://www.luisbaez.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/baezluis/
Learn how to use personalized video in your business at: https://www.luisbaez.com/videoask

Visit Stephanie at: https://stephaniehayes.biz/

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Proov company founder, Amy Beckley, PhD, invented the first and only FDA-cleared at-home test to confirm ovulation after discovering her own infertility issues were caused by a progesterone deficiency.

In this episode you will hear how Amy’s business was born when she invented the original PdG test in her basement so she could help other women, like herself, who were dealing with infertility issues.

Amy walks us through the steps she took to start her business beginning with her initial  research, creating a minimum viable product, raising capital using crowdfunding, and selling on Amazon.

Amy reveals the surprising early adopters of her product, the marketing challenges she had to overcome to reach her intended audience, how she uses customer feedback to iterate and expand on her offerings, and how she stays motivated through the challenges of building her business.

Finally, we hear Amy’s advice for growing a team, how she has evolved her product to include technology, and her take on what’s real in business contrasted with what we hear.

I think you’ll find Amy’s story very inspiring on both the business and personal fronts, so join our conversation.

Skip to Topic:
3:29 - Creating a business by solving a common problem
4:26 - Using crowdfunding to raise capital
5:48 - Validating a concept with a minimum viable product
14:48 - Turning scientific research into a business product
18:21 -Iterating from the initial product to a broader solution based on customer needs
19:50 - How the early adopters used the initial product for something completely unintended
21:45 - 2 issues Amy had to overcome with her marketing
23:51 - One thing that has carried Amy through the challenges of building her business
27:21 - Amy’s strategy to growing and  managing a team
28:55 - How Amy has expanded the initial product offering and has incorporated automation 

Find Amy  at:

Website: http://proovtest.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/proovtest

IG: https://www.instagram.com/proovtest/?hl=en

FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/121476308499019/about/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/proovtest/

Visit Stephanie at: https://stephaniehayes.biz/

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Asher Laub is an in-demand violin soloist whose expertise in trans-genre improvisation has led him to performances at high profile venues like Madison Square Garden, Hammerstein Hall, Lincoln Center, the Jacob Javitz Center and across four continents. 

In this episode, you’ll hear about Asher’s journey into music, how he chose the path of independent artist, the parallels between being an independent artist and entrepreneur, and how he is growing his brand. 

Asher has been playing the violin since the age of 2 and by age 13 had already performed with the Buffalo philharmonic. He shares how his path began very conventionally attending college and supporting himself with money earned playing music and how a health crisis shifted his focus back to music.

Asher talks about his early music career, working with booking agents to get work, and his decision to become an independent artist. He discusses the challenges of wearing many hats as a musician and business-builder and his story illustrates the many parallels between being an independent artist and an entrepreneur.

Asher gives us insight into the different ways independent artists monetize their businesses, how he has diversified his revenue streams, and how he has been able to build a brand that attracts and truly resonates with his fans. 

Finally, Asher tells us how he knew it was time to hire a team, how he approaches marketing and using data to drive his strategy, his trans-genre approach to his music, and how he prioritizes time with his family and works it around his business.

Skip to topic:
4:51 - The complicated shift going from musician to entrepreneur
7:55 - How independent artists are monetizing their businesses as entrepreneurs
10:03 - Building a brand as a musician and the value of fans as brand ambassadors
15:09 - The aspect of Asher’s brand that he thinks attracts fans
19:46 - How Asher has diversified his income streams
21:54 - How Asher works in different types of partnerships
23:54 - When Asher knew he needed to hire a team
27:50 - Using data and analytics to drive marketing strategy
30:50 - Determining the right production frequency to keep fans engaged
31:33 - Taking a trans-genre approach to music
34:40 - How Asher prioritizes his family life and works his professional life around that 

Find Asher at:

Website: https://www.asherlaub.com & https://www.fiddlersdreammusic.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/asherofficialmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asherlaub
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asherlaubmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/asherlaub

Visit Stephanie at: https://stephaniehayes.biz/
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As an entrepreneur, you go through the highs and lows of business ownership. If you’ve ever struggled with finding the motivation to keep pushing through the challenges, my conversation with Vanessa Gabriel will give you the mindset reframe that will help you persevere. 

Vanessa is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of Drop Delivery, the technology company that provides the only all-in-one delivery technology solution for delivery companies and retailers in the cannabis industry.

In this episode, you’ll hear how Vanessa’s entrepreneurial journey started while she was still in college, how she recognized the large opportunity in the cannabis industry, and the philosophy that has kept her going through her business successes and failures.

Vanessa’s entrepreneurial streak was planted from the time she was a child growing up with a serial entrepreneur father, and she talks about launching her first business while still in college, the challenges that eventually ended that business, and the tough decision to return to work as an employee as a result.

Vanessa’s keen ability for recognizing gaps in the market spawned her next business developing a technology app for cannabis dispensaries, and she talks about the success of this business, the unexpected acquisition offer she received, and the decision to shift from a consumer-focused service to a delivery-focused service which led to the launch of Drop Delivery.

Finally, Vanessa shares key insights on building cohesive co-founder relationships, using crowdfunding to raise business capital, and the mindset that she has maintained throughout her journey that has helped her persevere through all the rejections and failures.

Skip to topic:
1:58 - Starting her first business from her college dorm room at age 19
3:52 - Going back to square one after a business fizzles out
5:54 - Recognizing an opportunity in the Vape industry and launching a new business
10:25 - Navigating the complexity of differing regulations in the Cannabis industry
14:09 - The mindset that kept Vanessa going after her early businesses weren’t successful
18:24 - An unexpected opportunity to sell her company
20:37 - Her approach to building and scaling her company with a successful exit as the goal
24:20 - Cultivating a synergistic working relationship with her co-founders
25:47 - Making the big decision to return to entrepreneurship after a long hiatus
28:04 - 2 big lessons learned from Vanessa’s early business journey
31:21 - Seizing on an opportunity to create a better experience for consumers
32:43 - Unique difficulties of running a business that serves the cannabis industry
34:27 - Why crowdfunding was a better option to raise capital than traditional fundraising
36:41 - What Vanessa says is the real story behind what it’s like to be an entrepreneur vs. what we hear 

Find Vanessa  at:

Website: https://dropdelivery.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessagabriel/
Drop Delivery Crowdfunding campaign: https://republic.com/drop-delivery

Visit Stephanie at: https://stephaniehayes.biz/

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If you’ve ever thought about getting outside capital to fund your business but weren’t sure what your options were or what the process entails, my conversation with Lighter Capital CEO & Heads Over Heels  co-founder & chairperson, Melissa Widner, will help answer a lot of those questions. 

In this episode, you’ll learn about the different financing options for founders and how Melissa is contributing to the expansion of opportunities available, especially for female founders. You’ll gain new insights from Melissa’s years of experience, not only as an entrepreneur, but also from her work in angel investing, venture capital, and revenue-based financing. You’ll also hear how she started an Australian non-profit to help women entrepreneurs get more support and access to networks and capital.

Melissa walks us through how she came to work in revenue-based financing and explains what the difference is between that and venture capital. She helps us understand the pros and cons of equity-based financing compared to debt-based financing, situations where one type might be a better fit than the other for a business, and how to know when you should consider seeking outside funding for your business.

Melissa delves into how Lighter Capital supports entrepreneurs, what their financing process is, what a typical financing arrangement might look like, and how revenue-based financing can be a pivotal first step before seeking venture capital. She also shares examples of the many successes her Lighter Capital clients have achieved.

Finally, Melissa tells us the observation she made that inspired her to form her Australian non-profit Heads Over Heels to help female entrepreneurs, what she says is the reality of the business world compared to what we hear, and how you can apply for financing with Lighter Capital.

Skip to topic:
4:19 - The difference between venture-based capital and revenue-based financing business models
7:27 - How revenue-based financing works
9:56 - How Lighter Capital helps entrepreneurs
11:55 - Recognizing an opportunity and launching a business while in college
13:56 - Being acquired by a larger business
19:12 - When you should take equity over debt financing
21:33 - The range of funding Lighter Capital provides its customers
24:47 - How to know when you should seek revenue-based funding for your business
27:28 - How to know when you should seek venture capital funding for your business
28:36 - Using revenue-based financing as a starting point before going for venture capital
30:56 - Starting her non-profit Heads Over Heels to support female entrepreneurs running high-growth potential companies
36:03 - What Melissa says is real in the business world vs. what we hear
40:41 - Where to go if you’re interested in applying for funding with Lighter Capital

Find Melissa at:
Website: https://www.lightercapital.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissawidner/
Apply for Lighter Capital funding at: https://lightercapital.com/apply
Free startup valuation calculator: https://www.lightercapital.com/valuation-calculator

Visit Stephanie at: https://stephaniehayes.biz/

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Jeremy Gardner is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and venture capitalist who has found a great deal of success by diving into the ideas he’s passionate about and staying at the forefront of business and industry from blockchain technology, cosmetics, and psychedelics. 

In this episode, Jeremy details how he’s always had a natural inclination to try things out which has served him well being an entrepreneur. Yet what you’ll find especially interesting about Jeremy’s story is that his ventures are often on the bleeding edge, with many of his ideas being ahead of their time, and how he intentionally exits his businesses once they become mainstream. And beneath it all, is his devotion to making a positive impact with whatever he pursues.

Jeremy takes us on his journey from a life-changing experience using psychedelics to becoming a cryptocurrency evangelist and dropping out of college to start the first Decentralized Finance (DeFi) application built on Ethereum. 

Jeremy shares what it was like to be the crypto poster child thrust into the media spotlight and how that experience actually led him to start his own skincare company. He goes on to explain how his penchant for being on the bleeding edge drove his decision to leave his work in crypto, as well as other business that followed, and coming full circle with his venture into the psychedelic industry. 

Jeremy is transparent with the fact that despite all his business success, his road as an entrepreneur hasn’t always been easy. He offers his simple advice for pushing through the difficult times, and he reveals the importance of making a positive impact in all his endeavors. Finally, he gets right to the heart of what he thinks is the truth about being a business owner vs. what we hear.

I think you’ll be inspired by Jeremy’s “try it and find out” approach to business and his dedication to doing good in the world.

Skip to topic:
3:18 - On becoming a cryptocurrency evangelist and starting the first deDefi application
6:30 - What is a blockchain?
7:46 - Ethereum vs. Bitcoin
10:35 - The driving force behind creating Auger
12:34 - Creating something brilliant ahead of its time
15:42 - Being thrust into the limelight as a crypto evangelist
18:55 - Turning a personal struggle into a new men’s skincare business 
21:28 - Shifting business focus to the psychedelics industry
23:58 - Living life on the bleeding edge
32:12 - The struggles Jeremy has faced throughout his entrepreneurial journey
33:42 - The importance of having fun in pushing through the hard times
35:52 - What Jeremy says is real in the business world vs. what we hear

Find Jeremy at:

Website: https://gonzogardner.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gonzogardner/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/disruptepreneur
MadeMan Skincare: https://getmademan.com/  (use discount code Nice30 on a one-time purchase or Naughty50 on a subscription purchase)

Visit Stephanie at: https://stephaniehayes.biz/

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Josh Fuller is the founder and CEO of Matic Digital, a digital strategy and talent growth agency that he grew to over $1.5M in new business in its first year. Josh shares how he did that while also battling serious health and business challenges that would have made most entrepreneurs give up - but he pushed through and kept going.

Building a business is hard work on the best of days, but when you get thrown both personal and business curve balls at the same time, it can be difficult to find the motivation to keep going under the weight of it all.

In this episode, Josh Fuller takes us on his journey to founding his creative digital company, Matic Digital, expanding his services into talent growth, and the rocky road he was forced to navigate after a serious health crisis and a non-paying client converged at the same time.

Josh tells us that he never had plans to start an agency and how he expanded from providing creative digital services to also growing and matching talent. His company focuses on acquiring top talent, and he describes the challenges, advantages and strategies he uses for retaining premium independent workers and the human-centered approach he takes that has been very successful. 

After experiencing business success after just a few months, Josh was hit with an unexpected health crisis while also dealing with a sudden drop in revenue after a large client stopped paying their invoices. He’s very candid about how he considered closing the doors on Matic Digital but details how he was able to persevere by going all in, eventually making it through to brighter days.

You’ll be inspired by Josh’s resilience in overcoming obstacles and his gift for nurturing people and relationships that has become a superpower for growing his business.

Skip to Topic:
2:19 - Launching a creative agency
3:18 - The challenges of being a 1-person show starting a business
4:17 - Branching out into talent growth
6:09- The 3 categories of clients Matic works with
9:15 - The advantages of using top talent
11:08 - Strategy for retaining top independent talent when you’re an agency
13:02 - Why they employ a nearshore strategy for hiring talent
14:11 - Maturing their anchor business model by promoting the human story
17:33 - Creating a different approach to independent work
19:55 - The importance of emphasizing why you do something over what you can do
22:08 - On working with clients in a way that’s collaborative and fun
28:41 - What sparked Josh to start an agency when he previously had no plans to do so
29:58 - The big strength that has helped Josh build his business
31:30 - Helping clients find talent that’s a best fit for them
34:21 - How the move to big agencies revealed the need for strengthened people skills
36:53 - Getting hit with both financial and health crises at the same time
43:16 - Not quitting when things were at their worst and steps Josh took to turn things around
45:02 - The surprise resolution that sparked momentum for Josh and his business
45:52 - The big piece of advice Josh has about going all in

Find Josh  at:

Website: https://www.maticdigital.co/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshfullercd/

Visit Stephanie at: https://stephaniehayes.biz/

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Ken Babcock, along with his 2 co-founders, dropped out of Harvard Business School during the pandemic to launch their business, Tango, a SaaS company that helps users create beautiful step-by-step tutorials of any digital process without the performance art of video recordings. 

As a graduate student at Harvard Business School with a keen interest in what makes high performing teams tick, Ken and his friends honed in on documentation as a key challenge affecting team performance. Because documentation is something people don’t like to do, given the amount of time it takes and how quickly it can become out of date, Ken’s group set out to create a solution to lower the barrier to creating documentation. Today, their SaaS solution, Tango, has over 200,000 users.  

In this episode, Ken tells us about the decision to drop out of Harvard to pursue his business idea, how they funded the business, their user-centric approach to growth, and the elements that have led to their success. 

Ken explains how Tango works to document processes and how it’s being used with different clients.  Ken explains why he and his co-founders pursued funding early on and one aspect that made their business especially attractive to investors.  

Next, he shares the one steadfast focus that has helped them drive the company forward and build an award-winning product, and how their innovation efforts are driven by using data to gather customer feedback.

Finally, Ken discusses what it’s like to work with co-founders and the culture they’ve established that has been key to their success. He also mentions how well TikTok has worked for Tango in attracting customers, the exciting new things they are developing, and the difference between what he learned in business school compared to what he's experienced in the real world of starting a business.

Skip to Topics:
1:59 - How an interest in team performance led to identifying a problem to solve
6:47 - Description of the solution they developed & how it works
7:44 - Different use cases for the Tango product
9:50 - The biggest roadblock for people to do documentation
11:49 - Making the decision to drop out of Harvard to pursue the business
12:28 - How the pandemic exposed an urgent need for Tango’s solution
14:00 - Securing funding to start the business
14:49 - The tactic that helped Tango secure funding
16:03 - The key ingredient that has contributed to the company’s progress
17:49 - The data-driven approach they take to innovation
20:46 - What it takes to establish a good working relationship with co-founders
25:19 - A user and product-led approach to growth  
28:22 - Using a top of funnel sales strategy
29:24 - Their success using TikTok to attract customers
32:56 - Tango’s big mission and the cool things Tango is working on for the future 36:24 - What Ken says is different about what you learn in business school vs. what’s real about running a business

Find Ken  at:
Website: https://www.tango.us/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenbabcock/

Visit Stephanie at: https://stephaniehayes.biz/

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Vinnie Potestivo is an Emmy Award-winning Media Advisor and Creator Economist who helps clients leverage their media and content to make more impact. He is the Founding Creator of I Have A Podcast®, host of its podcast, and the Editor-in-Chief of ihaveapodcast.com, a verified Google News platform for independent podcasters.

If you are a podcaster or content creator, you will not want to miss this episode! Vinnie helps impact-driven clients create and distribute content that’s highly shareable.

In this episode, Vinnie talks about his early career in big media working at MTV and the opportunity he saw with podcasting as the next wave for storytelling and conversations. 

He recounts his observations while working in talent casting with celebrity MTV shows and discusses the importance of content ownership, the power he sees in storytelling and conversations, his passion for sharing valuable content, and how he uses all of that in his own business to help clients leverage small media distribution channels to create connection and impact. 

Vinnie shares some actionable tactics and recommendations for how podcasters can get their content out to a wider audience and get thousands of content shares using blog aggregators. He also lets us in on the benefits of getting your content on Google News and steps for how to do it. 

You’ll also hear what Vinnie says is the future of search and why you shouldn’t be comfortable with the search results you get from Google and Amazon. He goes on to explain how he works with his clients, the unique approach he takes to helping them stand out, and how he leverages their accomplishments in the media.  

Finally, Vinnie explains how he uses creative marketing platforms to become more discoverable and why you should too, and why you should seek out podcast guest opportunities as a business owner, even if you don’t have a podcast. 

You’ll want to take notes on this one, so get your notepad and pen and join our conversation!

Skip to Topic:
1:55 - The opportunity Vinnie recognized in podcasting early on
6:11 - The biggest difference he sees with developing content today vs. 25 years ago
11:19 - Starting his company and working with big media organizations like MTV & Fox News
13:07 - The tech skills that landed Vinnie a job at MTV
13:51 - His unsuccessful attempt advocating for podcasting at MTV 
14:55 - Celebrity use of media platforms as a pass-through to success 
15:12 - How Bravo used the power of story-driven franchises 
15:28 - Scripted vs. unscripted reality television
20:53 - Steps podcasters can take today to get their content shared more widely
21:21 - Vinnie’s prediction for the future of search
21:50 - Benefits of getting your content out on Google News 
22:19 - How to use RSS to share evergreen content
22:28 - Using blog aggregators to get your content shared and discovered more widely
24:11 - Vinnie’s unique approach to working with clients 
25:08 - Why you should seek out podcast guest opportunities even if you don’t have a podcast 
27:40 - How you can join creative marketing platforms to get discovered even if you have a small audience

Find Vinnie  at:

Website: https://VPE.TV
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinniepotestivo/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/vpetv
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinniepotestivo/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VPEtalent

For all the free resources Vinnie mentioned in this episode go to:
Vinnie’s Creator Hub: ht