Your Brand Amplified

Anika Jackson, Bleav

Welcome to Your Brand Amplified® – the podcast that takes you behind the scenes of successful businesses, exploring the minds of entrepreneurs, business leaders, marketers and sales experts. I'm thrilled to be your host, Anika Jackson, and I'm on a mission to uncover the stories, strategies, and secrets that have propelled these individuals to success. Tune in to hear the captivating journeys of our guests. From humble beginnings to industry titans, each episode unravels the unique narrative of how these remarkable individuals navigated the world of entrepreneurship, small business, and marketing. Gain exclusive insights into the strategies that drive success in the business world. Our guests share their tested and proven methods, offering you a wealth of knowledge to implement in your own entrepreneurial endeavors. Delve into the world of marketing with our expert guests. Whether it's digital, content, or influencer marketing, we cover it all. Stay ahead of the curve and learn the latest trends and techniques to elevate your brand. Public relations is a key component of any successful business. Learn from seasoned professionals about building and maintaining a positive public image, navigating crises, and leveraging PR to amplify your brand's voice. Craft Your Business strategy is the backbone of sustainable growth. Our guests share their strategic insights, providing you with the tools and knowledge to formulate and execute effective business plans. Elevate your business acumen, amplify your brand, and be inspired by the stories of those who have turned their visions into reality.

  1. Black Girl Ventures: Omi Bell on Democratizing Capital for Under-Resourced Founders

    22 HR AGO

    Black Girl Ventures: Omi Bell on Democratizing Capital for Under-Resourced Founders

    As a teacher, patent examiner, and workforce development manager, Omi Bell consistently rose to leadership only to encounter institutional resistance to meaningful change. Rather than continue fighting from within, she built Black Girl Ventures in 2016 to address a staggering reality: less than one percent of Black and Brown people access venture capital. Her unique dual background as artist and computer scientist enabled her to see systemic gaps clearly and imagine scalable solutions. Omi's philosophy of diplomatic radicalism offers a counterintuitive path to systemic change: engage opposing viewpoints with genuine curiosity rather than confrontation. During her Congressional testimony on expanding the accredited investor definition, she identified shared values across political divides—both Democrats and Republicans care about financial inclusion. By starting conversations from agreement rather than disagreement, she creates space for dialogue that transforms policy. This approach extends beyond finance into community organizing and neighborhood problem-solving. Ready to invest in your own nervous system regulation and join leaders committed to systemic change? Explore Omi Bell's transformative work here, where you'll find comprehensive breathwork sessions, Yoga Nidra guidance, and the option to set up individual breathwork sessions tailored to your needs. For the accessible version of the podcast, go to our Ziotag gallery. We’re happy you’re here! Like the pod? Support the podcast and receive discounts from our sponsors: https://yourbrandamplified.codeadx.me/Leave a rating and review on your favorite platformFollow @yourbrandamplified on the socialsTalk to my digital avatar  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    30 min
  2. Ali Raymer on Transforming Travel Advisory: Client-Centered Strategy Over Commodity Booking

    2 DAYS AGO

    Ali Raymer on Transforming Travel Advisory: Client-Centered Strategy Over Commodity Booking

    Ali Raymer transformed from high school English teacher to multimillion-dollar travel business founder by aligning two lifelong passions: education and travel. Her early experiences organizing student trips sparked the realization that she could educate people through authentic travel experiences in ways traditional classrooms could not. When the pandemic devastated the industry in 2020, she faced a critical choice: quit or persevere. Rather than abandoning her vision, Ali returned to teaching temporarily while the market recovered, a decision that taught her an invaluable lesson about resilience and trust. When travel demand surged again, she was positioned to capture it exponentially. What truly distinguishes Ali's travel advising is her refusal to be a transactional order taker. Instead, she leverages years of lived experience—raising children abroad, navigating logistical challenges in foreign countries, and building genuine relationships with local guides—to provide irreplaceable value that AI and booking platforms cannot replicate. When clients describe their vision, Ali mentally eliminates unsuitable options, asks probing questions to uncover unstated desires, and proposes destinations they never considered. Ali Raymer's mission extends beyond individual clients to transforming the entire travel advisor industry. She advocates fiercely for advisors to build substantial six-figure incomes through strategic specialization and deliberate marketing rather than settling for supplemental earnings. If you're ready to stop putting off your dream vacation and start creating meaningful travel memories with those you love most, Ali is ready to guide you with expertise, authenticity, and genuine care. Visit her website to schedule your free consult call and begin planning your dream vacation! For the accessible version of the podcast, go to our Ziotag gallery. We’re happy you’re here! Like the pod? Support the podcast and receive discounts from our sponsors: https://yourbrandamplified.codeadx.me/Leave a rating and review on your favorite platformFollow @yourbrandamplified on the socialsTalk to my digital avatar  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    45 min
  3. Positioning Mastery and Intellectual Property Protection with Jason Van Orden

    4 DAYS AGO

    Positioning Mastery and Intellectual Property Protection with Jason Van Orden

    Jason Van Orden's twenty-year journey reveals a critical truth: scaling requires systematizing intellectual property, not just working harder. After building a top-ten business podcast, he hit an inflection point—success without alignment felt hollow. This realization shifted his focus to helping established experts break through plateaus by codifying their expertise into frameworks, tools, and signature methods. His core insight: most experts remain bottlenecks because their knowledge stays trapped in their heads or scattered across places. Jason identifies four specific growth constraints that plague expert businesses: strategic sequencing, client delivery, demand generation, and positioning. His own transformation proved the power of codification—by creating a signature method, he shifted from constant one-on-one work to strategic quarterly calls while increasing client results and capacity. Crucially, he discovered that codifying IP actually protects your brand rather than diluting it; formalized frameworks become trademarked assets that competitors can't replicate. If you're stuck despite success, the Growth Diagnostic identifies your specific bottleneck in under 10 minutes. Rather than guessing which constraint is holding you back, this diagnostic provides personalized clarity on exactly where to focus to unlock more impact and income. Stop applying band-aid solutions and discover whether your real issue is strategic sequencing, delivery capacity, demand generation, or positioning—then build your growth strategy accordingly. For the accessible version of the podcast, go to our Ziotag gallery. We’re happy you’re here! Like the pod? Support the podcast and receive discounts from our sponsors: https://yourbrandamplified.codeadx.me/Leave a rating and review on your favorite platformFollow @yourbrandamplified on the socialsTalk to my digital avatar  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    40 min
  4. Jeffrey Dwoskin on Attribution, Automation and Multi-Platform Domination

    13 FEB

    Jeffrey Dwoskin on Attribution, Automation and Multi-Platform Domination

    Jeffrey Dwoskin's career exemplifies strategic problem-solving through direct market experience. From educating late-1990s clients about websites to building Stampede Social, he consistently identified emerging technologies and learned new skills whenever markets demanded them. Each venture built upon previous knowledge, creating a cohesive journey driven by genuine curiosity. His competitive advantage lies not in staying in one domain but in recognizing opportunities at the intersection of passion and market need, then executing with technical depth. Jeffrey's entrepreneurial insight came from firsthand experience at the agency level working with major brands and influencers on Instagram campaigns. He created Stampede Social to consolidate fragmented data across platforms, enabling creators to identify their most valuable fans, track conversions, and understand audience overlap—transforming raw engagement into measurable business results. His approach democratized enterprise-level analytics for mid-career creators, proving that sustainable success emerges from solving problems you've genuinely experienced rather than imagined ones. Jeffrey Dwoskin's fundamental insight for creators is this: understand algorithms but prioritize authenticity over trends. Ready to consolidate your multi-platform presence and track metrics that matter? Visit Stampede Social—the fastest way to get your fans directly to your content without overwhelm. Everything you need to increase engagement on Instagram is now in one central place, designed to help you amplify your authentic voice and measure what actually drives results. For the accessible version of the podcast, go to our Ziotag gallery. We’re happy you’re here! Like the pod? Support the podcast and receive discounts from our sponsors: https://yourbrandamplified.codeadx.me/Leave a rating and review on your favorite platformFollow @yourbrandamplified on the socialsTalk to my digital avatar  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    39 min
  5. From Chef's Kitchen to Tech CEO: Alejandro Oropeza on Bridging Food and Technology

    11 FEB

    From Chef's Kitchen to Tech CEO: Alejandro Oropeza on Bridging Food and Technology

    Alejandro Oropeza's journey from Mexico City's family kitchens to founding flavrs demonstrates how deep domain expertise combined with technological innovation creates transformative opportunities. His unique position allowed him to identify a critical gap: food content viewers experience genuine hunger and desire immediate action. Rather than remaining passive consumers, audiences wanted to bridge inspiration and consumption. Alejandro's resilience defines his entrepreneurial identity as profoundly as his vision. Pitching nearly 100 venture firms before securing funding, facing systemic barriers as a Latino founder in an industry where only 2% of capital flows to founders like him, he maintained conviction through what most would consider irrational persistence. His decade-long meditation practice and emphasis on surrounding himself with authentic relationships demonstrate that Alejandro understands entrepreneurial success requires equal investment in psychological resilience and relational support alongside strategic acumen. By enabling chefs to share their stories through video and making their cuisine nationally accessible, Alejandro Oropeza facilitates cultural exchange that honors immigrant voices and expands culinary representation. His entrepreneurial model—grounded in authentic passion, practitioner respect, and bidirectional value creation—offers an alternative to extractive technology business. Experience this vision firsthand: visit www.cookunity.com to discover chef-crafted meals with authentic stories, support independent culinary talent, and join a community celebrating food's transformative power to connect us all. For the accessible version of the podcast, go to our Ziotag gallery. We’re happy you’re here! Like the pod? Support the podcast and receive discounts from our sponsors: https://yourbrandamplified.codeadx.me/Leave a rating and review on your favorite platformFollow @yourbrandamplified on the socialsTalk to my digital avatar  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    35 min
  6. Unstuck and Unstoppable: Rob Tracz's Prime Performance System for Entrepreneurs

    9 FEB

    Unstuck and Unstoppable: Rob Tracz's Prime Performance System for Entrepreneurs

    Rob Tracz's evolution from strength and conditioning coach to performance strategist reveals a critical truth: sustainable success requires addressing the whole person, not isolated skills. After experiencing severe burnout—working fifteen-hour days for three years without rest—and losing his father to cancer, Rob recognized that mastery in one domain means nothing if you've sacrificed relationships, health, and purpose. His insight cuts through the noise of specialized coaching: optimize everything or optimize nothing. Rob's Prime Performance Coaching Framework directly addresses why purpose-driven professionals feel stuck despite consistent effort. Rather than asking clients why they want success, he asks who they're building for—a distinction that transforms abstract ambition into meaningful action. His methodology works because it acknowledges that entrepreneurs often create unsustainable jobs rather than scalable businesses, then wonder why momentum stalls. By building genuine relationships before needing sales, Rob has created an interconnected ecosystem of coaching, masterminds, and community where collaboration drives growth. If you're exhausted by your side hustle, frustrated by stalled momentum, or struggling to balance growth with wellbeing, Rob Tracz offers proven frameworks for clarity and sustainable action. His Free Side Hustle Strategy Call provides direct access to the Prime Performance system that has transformed entrepreneurs' lives and businesses. Stop grinding in isolation and start building intentionally. Schedule your free strategy session here or explore more at his website—where peak performance means thriving in all dimensions of life. For the accessible version of the podcast, go to our Ziotag gallery. We’re happy you’re here! Like the pod? Support the podcast and receive discounts from our sponsors: https://yourbrandamplified.codeadx.me/Leave a rating and review on your favorite platformFollow @yourbrandamplified on the socialsTalk to my digital avatar  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    37 min
  7. Empower or Control: Sean Shannon on Breaking Through the Founder-Led Growth Ceiling

    6 FEB

    Empower or Control: Sean Shannon on Breaking Through the Founder-Led Growth Ceiling

    Sean Shannon's three-decade broadcasting career taught him that true business disruption comes not from clinging to outdated models but from recognizing when market fundamentals have shifted and redefining value accordingly. By repositioning radio stations as marketing strategists rather than advertising vendors and creating in-house creative agencies, he fundamentally changed client relationships from transactional to consultative. Sean's evolution from individual contributor to leader also revealed a critical insight—everything that makes exceptional salespeople becomes a liability in leadership, requiring a complete mindset shift toward empowering others. Sean's current mission addresses the exact problem preventing most small and medium-sized businesses from scaling: seventy-five percent of SMB owners with sales teams don't have documented processes, meaning all business development falls on the founder. His frameworks address the real gaps—aligning sales and marketing around what customers actually need to hire your product to do, understanding team composition, and validating value propositions through direct customer conversations that generate both testimonials and referrals. If founder-led growth has become your ceiling, Sean Shannon's expertise in knowledge transfer and team empowerment can unlock the scaling you've been unable to achieve alone. Book your free sales assessment and consultation or connect directly with Sean to discover how documented processes and empowered teams can drive the twenty-five to thirty-five percent growth your business is ready for. For the accessible version of the podcast, go to our Ziotag gallery. We’re happy you’re here! Like the pod? Support the podcast and receive discounts from our sponsors: https://yourbrandamplified.codeadx.me/Leave a rating and review on your favorite platformFollow @yourbrandamplified on the socialsTalk to my digital avatar  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    53 min
  8. The Accidental Entrepreneur: Benas Leonavicius on Niche Specialization and Client Selection

    4 FEB

    The Accidental Entrepreneur: Benas Leonavicius on Niche Specialization and Client Selection

    Beginning as an accidental entrepreneur who discovered SEO while writing articles during university, Benas Leonavicius built a six-figure freelance agency with an 80% profit margin—a feat most believe requires massive teams and complex systems. His breakthrough came when he identified keynote speakers as his ideal client niche, realizing their simpler SEO needs and exceptional referral networks allowed him to generate substantial income while working just five hours per week per client. Beyond his core agency work, Benas built a personal brand through YouTube by sharing his freelancing journey and entrepreneurial experiences rather than directly targeting clients. His HVAC faceless YouTube channel further illustrates his experimental philosophy: he created a completely automated revenue stream by hiring subject matter experts, recording audio, and delegating editing, proving that you never know which venture will unexpectedly become significant. The philosophy underlying Benas's mission challenges conventional business wisdom: sustainable success requires neither massive teams nor complex systems, but rather deep specialization, relentless focus, and the courage to say no to misaligned opportunities. If you're ready to build your freelancing practice with clarity and purpose, visit Benas's YouTube channel where he shares actionable strategies, real freelancing insights, and guidance to help you launch and scale your own venture—proving that the future belongs to those who do one thing extraordinarily well for the people who value it most. For the accessible version of the podcast, go to our Ziotag gallery. We’re happy you’re here! Like the pod? Support the podcast and receive discounts from our sponsors: https://yourbrandamplified.codeadx.me/Leave a rating and review on your favorite platformFollow @yourbrandamplified on the socialsTalk to my digital avatar  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    46 min

About

Welcome to Your Brand Amplified® – the podcast that takes you behind the scenes of successful businesses, exploring the minds of entrepreneurs, business leaders, marketers and sales experts. I'm thrilled to be your host, Anika Jackson, and I'm on a mission to uncover the stories, strategies, and secrets that have propelled these individuals to success. Tune in to hear the captivating journeys of our guests. From humble beginnings to industry titans, each episode unravels the unique narrative of how these remarkable individuals navigated the world of entrepreneurship, small business, and marketing. Gain exclusive insights into the strategies that drive success in the business world. Our guests share their tested and proven methods, offering you a wealth of knowledge to implement in your own entrepreneurial endeavors. Delve into the world of marketing with our expert guests. Whether it's digital, content, or influencer marketing, we cover it all. Stay ahead of the curve and learn the latest trends and techniques to elevate your brand. Public relations is a key component of any successful business. Learn from seasoned professionals about building and maintaining a positive public image, navigating crises, and leveraging PR to amplify your brand's voice. Craft Your Business strategy is the backbone of sustainable growth. Our guests share their strategic insights, providing you with the tools and knowledge to formulate and execute effective business plans. Elevate your business acumen, amplify your brand, and be inspired by the stories of those who have turned their visions into reality.

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