Creativity Archives

EP 288: Rethinking Your Business Amidst Change With Second Breaks Founder Lou Blaser

Jul 7, 2020

We are all facing uncertainty–as we do every day. So I wanted to talk with business owners who have their own stories about embracing uncertainty this month and the first person I thought of was Lou Blaser, the founder & host of Second Breaks.

I’ve watched Lou embrace uncertainty over and over again throughout the years. I’ve watched her step outside her comfort zone and I’ve watched her take courageous action.

Earlier this year, she announced that she’d made the decision to upend her business, then a career coaching company for late Boomers and Gen Xers, and move back to the Philippines to help out with her aging m. And while she could have tried to continue with her business as is–she made the bold move to use the change as a way to rethink everything.

That’s where this conversation starts–and throughout, Lou and I talk about how her business has evolved, the questions she asked herself to create the new plan, how she could use her existing assets in new ways, and how she started experimenting with her new ideas.

EP 259: Managing The Creative Process With Brooklyn Book Doctor Founder Joelle Hann

Jan 14, 2020

Joelle is the founder of Brooklyn Book Doctor. She works with authors to help them complete their book projects—whether it’s crafting the proposal or completing the manuscript.

Her job is to be as much creative partner as it is project manager.

After Joelle and I wrapped up our conversation, she told me: “the human element is a huge piece of the puzzle.”

And, honestly, if you listen for this idea throughout this interview, I think you’ll see what she means.

Joelle has become a master of managing for the human element in the creative process. And while Joelle has to manage the human element with her clients, we have to do this for ourselves every day.

Joelle and I talk about the tools she uses to manage different types of writing projects, what she’s learned about managing projects for creative people, and how her project management system blossomed into its own offer for working clients through the book proposal process.

EP 226: Showing Up With Confidence With Tell Me A Story Founder Hillary Rea

Aug 13, 2019

Hillary Rea has always found confidence in showing up on stage and sharing stories. But when she realized that a project she’d been working on for 8 years hadn’t grown the way she hoped, her confidence took a hit.

We talk about how Hillary found her love for storytelling, how being visible makes her feel more confident, and how she’s finding a new sense of confidence after a setback.

EP 214: Creating Content That Stands Out with Awkward Marketing Creator Rachael Kay Albers

Jun 11, 2019

Rachael Kay Albers is a marketer who hates marketing. As the founder and creative director of RKA ink, a branding, web design, and digital marketing studio, Rachael has helped hundreds of small business owners all over the world stand out online without selling their soul or playing the manipulation game.

When not crafting epic, unforgettable brands for her clients, Rachael hosts Awkward Marketing, a business comedy show blending fun-size small business advice with storytelling and sketch comedy, for entrepreneurs who want to create epic, unforgettable brands online.

EP 196: Building An Empire One Piece of Content At A Time With Bonnie Gillespie

Apr 2, 2019

In this episode, you’ll learn how Bonnie Gillespie, the author of Self-Management For Actors, planted a seed before she even started her business. Her bridge job as a show business industry columnist blossomed into an empire that is still rooted in the words she wrote over 20 years ago.

Email by email, article by article, blog post by blog post, book by book, even tweet by tweet, she’s strategically pieced together her body of work.

Bonnie and I talk about how she realized her first book was waiting to be born, the way she used an automated Twitter account to develop a new product, how she stays in dialogue with her audience to fuel the content she publishes, and why she doesn’t buy into guru culture.

EP 182: Launching A Brand On A Mission With Fear Her Fight Athletics Founder Maria Rodriguez

Feb 12, 2019

It’s possible to design a product people are clamoring to buy AND for that product to serve a much, much bigger mission. Learn how Fear Her Fight Athletics founder Maria Rodriguez combines smart product development & activism.

EP 158: Building A New Business From His “Unique Genius” With Strategist Jason Van Orden

Nov 6, 2018

Jason Van Orden founded Internet Business Mastery ten years ago — and over the last decade, he successfully grew it into a well-known resource for starting an online business. Yet, as the business boomed, Jason started to feel more and more discontent with his work, especially during the last couple years. Through scaling the business and automating it, Jason lost connection with his creativity and passion.

EP 149: Combining Creativity and Productivity To Do Great Work With Unmistakable Creative Host & Author Srinivas Rao

Sep 11, 2018

Srini Rao writes at least 1,000 words a day and yet the majority of them you’ll never read. Why does he write so much, knowing that most of it won’t see the light of day through a blog post, an email, or a book chapter? Srini argues that within that daily practice comes some of your best work… and the essential opportunity to master your craft.

Profit. Power. Pursuit. Podcast – Episode 0 – Chase Jarvis & Craig Swanson

Oct 29, 2015

Entrepreneurs approach their paths to profit, power, and the pursuit of what’s important to them in different ways. In this kick off episode, Tara shares her own entrepreneurship story and pulls back the curtain on CreativeLive co-founders Chase Jarvis and Craig...