Franklin Taggart's Virtual Coffee Break

Franklin Taggart
  • 5.0 (2)
  • PHILOSOPHY

This podcast appears to become less focused as time goes by. It started as an experiment to post an episode a day for a year. Now, it seems to be an episode a year. Franklin, at various times, has been a musician, recording engineer and producer, a business owner, a personal coach, a marketing agent, a salesperson, a dad, a content creator, a honey bunny, a son, a brother, and a multitude of other descriptors, none of which seem to stick. Two things remain: Franklin has a microphone and a pot-a-day coffee habit. Also here: Episodes from Your Own Best Company and The Reset podcasts.

  1. Freelance After 50 Summit with Craig Cannings - FreelanceU

    04/05/2025

    Freelance After 50 Summit with Craig Cannings - FreelanceU

    If you’re looking for more information and enrollment details for the Freelance After 50 Summit, please visit the Summit page here(affiliate link): https://aff.freelanceu.com/54280/162512 Welcome to this insightful conversation with Franklin Taggart and Craig Cannings, the founder of Freelance University. If you're re-entering the job market, especially if you're over fifty, this video is a must-watch. Craig Cannings introduces the Freelance After Fifty Summit, happening from April 15th to 17th. This event is perfect for those looking to join the freelance world, offering inspiration and insights from successful freelancers. You'll also be introduced to the community and resources offered by Freelance University, a highly regarded resource for freelancer careers of all kinds. In this virtual coffee break, Franklin and Craig discuss the origins and growth of Freelance University. Craig shares how he and his wife started the university sixteen years ago, rebranding in 2018. Freelance University has become an amazing resource for freelancers of all styles, shapes, and forms. Craig's new YouTube channel, Freelance After Fifty, caught Franklin's attention, and Craig explains the inspiration behind it. He reveals that over three-quarters of their audience are over fifty, committed to learning and slowly rolling out their businesses. This demographic has become their best customers, leading to the creation of Freelance After Fifty. Craig discusses the changing reasons people are freelancing today. While the laptop lifestyle was popular five to ten years ago, the pandemic and economic climate have shifted people's focus to financial opportunities. Many are starting side hustles to supplement their income or building full-fledged freelance businesses. Craig emphasizes the importance of mindset when transitioning from an employee to an entrepreneurial mindset. He shares his own experience of awkwardly shifting from a job to running a business and highlights the need to rewrite your job description as a freelancer. The conversation delves into common surprises for new freelancers, such as the significance of mindset, the myth of "build it and they will come," and the importance of community. Craig explains how Freelance University provides a supportive community for freelancers, especially during challenging times like the pandemic. He shares success stories of students who started freelancing after fifty and built thriving businesses. The summit covers various topics, including finding your freelance path, starting a side hustle, getting your first client, and carving out a freelance lifestyle that fits your needs. Craig highlights the importance of leveraging AI tools and technology to stay in demand and improve efficiency. He shares insights into the evolving freelance industry, emphasizing the plethora of opportunities, automation, and the growing interest in remote work. Freelance University Home: https://www.freelanceu.com/ Freelance After 50 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@freelancefifty Chapters 00:00:00 Summit Invitation and Link 00:00:58 Craig Cannings Intro 00:02:08 Inspiration for Freelance After 50 00:04:26 Shifting from an Employee Mindset to an Entrepreneur Mindset 00:07:18 Facing Limiting Self Beliefs 00:07:57 Common Surprises of New Freelancers 00:10:50 Introducing the Freelance After 50 Summit 00:14:42 The Terror of Entrepreneurship 00:17:43 Summit Information and Enrollment Details 00:20:43 Finding a Freelance Niche 00:25:59 Changes in Freelancing Since Craig Started 00:29:49 Future Opportunities for Freelancers 00:31:57 Next Step for Summit Enrollment 00:32:38 A Couple of Summit Speaker Highlights 00:34:53 Freelance University Resources and Community for Freelancers 00:36:48 Franklin’s Summit Topic and Invitation

    37 min
  2. Leaving the Meta/X-Verse

    01/16/2025

    Leaving the Meta/X-Verse

    In today’s coffee break -- pulling the plug on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, and Twitter/X My enjoyment of social media has just gone through the floor for the last few years, and it's gotten worse. I don't feel like I'm serving myself by staying in that environment. I joined Facebook and Twitter back in 2009. At that time, I was going through a pretty serious health crisis and it felt good. To be in a place where I could actually reconnect with people going all the way back to my elementary school days. It was fun to be there and you could count on that if you posted something that a good number of your people following you would see it. I want to say also it hasn't been easy to get to this point to pull the plug. I've had a lot of value over the years from from Facebook and Instagram. Just in terms of making connections there. Now every time that I've thought about leaving. I've had to weigh what makes it worth staying, and I have to be honest with you that it's just gotten worse and worse over the years. For every for every friend’s post that I see. I'll see ten other posts that I didn't subscribe to. The algorithm just continues to feed me things that I didn't sign up for, and I just don't want to do that anymore I do plan on doing a little bit more direct emailing. I'm going to continue to make videos and a podcast. And I'll continue to show up on LinkedIn on occasion. One of the things that I also intend to do is to spend more time reading actual books. I intend also to look at the quality of what I post online, more so than the quantity of what I post online. So it may be that I only post a few times a year from here on out. But I really want to make sure that what I'm putting up there isn't. Just some AI generated crap. I want it to be helpful. Thoughtful. I want it to be meaningful to me at least. If you have my e-mail, send me a note. If you don't have my e-mail, there is a contact form on my blog and you're welcome to use. Find me the old fashioned way. I already feel better. I already feel like that I have some time back. I think that the quality of my life is going to improve dramatically from this decision and I'm going to encourage you to think about even just giving yourself a break from it for a little while and see what the difference is. There are some people that are going to say, am I worried about what it's going to do to my business? I haven't seen any real benefit to my business in a long time and have been very inactive in terms of promoting my business in social media. I found that there are other ways that are much more effective. I don't have a huge business to promote. I only take a few clients at a time, and I don't really do a lot of other things other than maybe release the occasional blog or podcast or video. So I don't feel like that my business is going to suffer at all, in fact. It may actually improve. Take good care. See you here. Chapters 00:00:00 Getting ready to pull the plug on Meta and X. 00:01:26 It isn’t getting better. 00:02:39 What to do with 16 years of stuff? 00:04:28 YouTube is still where I'm going to be spending a lot of my time. 00:05:05 Weighing the decision to stay or go. 00:06:49 Making online connections more meaningful. 00:07:30 Reading actual books. 00:08:38 If you have my e-mail, send me a note. 00:08:49 If you don't have my e-mail, there is a contact form on my blog. 00:09:20 I already feel better. 00:10:05 What about my business? 00:11:06 Revisiting an old New Year's resolution.

    14 min
  3. The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Sector - A Conversation With Pete Pachal

    08/10/2024

    The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Sector - A Conversation With Pete Pachal

    In this Virtual Coffee Break, Franklin Taggart welcomes media industry veteran Pete Pachal for an insightful conversation on the impact of AI on the media industry and creative sector. Pete, a seasoned editor and writer, shares his expertise and discusses his latest venture: The Media Copilot newsletter, podcast, and YouTube channel. Pete has been covering technology for more than two decades and has been following the field of artificial intelligence since before Gmail was trying to complete your sentences. Pete was Chief of Staff for Content at CoinDesk where he led the publication’s AI Committee and wrote the company’s guidelines for the use of generative AI. He’s also held senior editorial positions at Red Ventures, Mashable, and NBC Universal. His work has appeared in Fast Company, Forbes, TIME, and more. In his meager spare time, Pete also hosts Pull To Open alongside journalist Chris Taylor, a weekly Doctor Who podcast that features thoughtful and entertaining commentaries on every single televised story. You can subscribe to the podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@PullToOpen A few of the resources mentioned in this episode: • ChatGPT • Perplexity • OpusClip Important links for The Media Copilot • Media Copilot newsletter: https://mediacopilot.substack.com/ • Training classes: https://learn.mediacopilot.ai/ • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themediacopilot Media Copilot on social: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-copilot/ • Twitter: https://x.com/themediacopilot • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themediacopilot/ #podcast #media #mediaindustry #petepachal #themediacopilot

    44 min
  4. Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, and Connection

    06/04/2024

    Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, and Connection

    Since the public launch of ChatGPT 3 in late 2022, the rapid introduction of artificial intelligence into the mainstream of every aspect of human living has been a central topic of conversation and concern. AI tools have spread across the creative industries like wildfire and have been inserted into every level of task from ideation to packaging. Where we had hoped the robots would take over the mundane tasks of life, instead, we've seen the technology pointed at the big red target on the face of all our creative activities.  While the tech gods have tried to assure us that human labor won't be replaced overnight, we've still seen early signs that the trend will be toward computers and machines doing the work humans once did. This isn't an abnormal pattern. From the earliest development of tools, the whole point has been for human labor to become easier and ultimately redundant. But can we be prepared for how the race will be affected as tech takes over increasingly highly skilled tasks? Before I go any further, I must clarify that I am not anti-tech or anti-AI. I use the tools daily, and I'd be stupid not to. Some of the time required for my creative tasks has been cut by huge percentages. The search for relevant images for presentations that used to take hours has been reduced to minutes with the help of Dall-E and some well-defined prompts. I've been a Grammarly user for a few years now, and I've definitely seen an improvement in my writing as a result. Design tools for graphics, audio, and video have all helped streamline my own DIY production processes. So please don't think I'm against any of this. That said, I have a few genuine concerns about the impact of AI in a few specific areas, represented by the following questions: What will be the impact of AI on creative work and its market value? What will happen to artistic and creative professions? How will we guard against social isolation as we hand the bulk of our communication over to bots? Read more on my blog, https://franklintaggart.com

    16 min
  5. 3 Things to do When Business Slows Down

    05/08/2024

    3 Things to do When Business Slows Down

    Have you noticed a slowdown in your business in the last year? You're not alone. A client I was talking with yesterday asked an increasingly common question, "Is it always this hard to find new business?" She opened her consulting business early in 2023 after being laid off from her job in the post-COVID months. She landed a major contract within a month of opening that kept her in the black for most of the year, but that contract isn't being renewed, and now she needs to find new clients ASAP. She's not the first one to come to me with questions like this in recent months. Costs are increasing, interest rates are rising, wages are not keeping pace, and belts are tightening. When spending slows down, most businesses are impacted at some level. These downturns can be scary times, especially for new business owners who haven't experienced them before. Consistent, steady growth isn't a pattern we see in the normal nature of things. Sustainable businesses aren't that way because their circumstances are always the same. Their sustainability is more often related to their ability to adapt as circumstances change. Like the person I spoke with yesterday, many businesses haven't been around long enough to have built responsive systems to keep themselves afloat during the off-season. They're now learning about cash flow patterns, market rhythms, supply chains, demand fluctuations, and how to account for these things in their planning. Until these systems are in place, these folks have to shift gears into rapid response marketing mode, and waiting passively for the SEO to kick in and people to find your now outdated website just won't do. Two other parts of yesterday's conversation stand out in my mind. First, my client had the good fortune to have a hallmark contract fall into her lap without effort at the beginning of her business. That created an expectation that finding business would be easy for her. She's now seeing that it was a misconception. The second factor is that she is having difficulty thinking creatively because of her stress about the urgency of her situation. The three suggestions I am making here are activities I've found helpful in alleviating my own stress during uncertain times and that reawaken the creative muscles I need to start seeing new ideas and opportunities. I'll also share in this written description an unspoken fourth activity that is facilitated by the others. The three activities in the video are: Making Lists Deep Research Making Offers The fourth I'll mention here is to simply connect with people. The lists and research will fill up with people to reach out to. The next level of work is the actual reaching. For list making, I like to use spreadsheets like the one you can copy or download here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/... In the video, I share a couple of Google tools I use to guide my research and to help sort through information that may be out of date or irrelevant. I suggest to my clients that knowing how to get the most out of search tools is one of the most necessary and marketable skills of our time. AI is definitely enhancing that, as well. The last suggestion I make is to either dust off an old offer or put together a new one to usher out into the marketplace. Is there a new product, service, event, or experience you can put in front of existing and potential customers? It can be any price or package, but it needs to be seen. I've been working on a new series of video production resources for coaches that I'll be rolling out in the next month. I am hopeful these resources will stimulate many months and possibly years of opportunity for me. Stay tuned for the announcement of their availability. These four things are at the heart of my strategy when business slows. If you haven't taken advantage of my free Best Next Step coaching session, you can schedule your one-hour, no-strings-attached call here: https://bit.ly/best-next-step

    13 min
  6. I Suck at Relationships, Why Should Business Be Any Different?

    04/16/2024

    I Suck at Relationships, Why Should Business Be Any Different?

    Relationships are hard. One of my supervisors used to say that when I did crisis intervention work. I believe it. The same theme has frequently emerged in recent conversations with friends and clients. We've noticed similarities as the relationship patterns from personal and family life play out in career and business situations. And why wouldn't they? The challenges I face in marketing, selling, and delivering in my business have the same root as the challenges I have as a spouse, dad, son, and brother.  That root is me. But I'm no longer labeling it as a problem. I just have gotten okay with not being great at relationships. I'm old enough to have read a lot of books, taken a lot of classes, attended plenty of weekend seminars, encountered encounter groups, and tried every way I know how to be better at it. But at almost 62 years old, I've decided that my odds for improvement seem to grow slimmer with each passing year. And it's become most important to just acknowledge all the ways I suck at relationships. And those realizations and acknowledgments apply to my career and businesses as well.  "...it's become most important to just acknowledge all the ways I suck at relationships."I like people fine, as long as we don't have to spend much time together. Read more at https://www.franklintaggart.com/2024/04/i-suck-at-relationships-why-should.html

    19 min
  7. The False Promise of a Better Me

    12/08/2023

    The False Promise of a Better Me

    I've been a #selfhelp #selfimprovement #selfdevelopment junkie for decades. I've spent tens of thousands of dollars on books, programs, curricula, behavior modification, weight loss, smoking cessation, discipleship training, and seeking my vision in the wilderness. If I had invested that money in making more money, I would be comfortably retired by now. For all the time, money, and effort, I would have hoped for a better result. As Jamie Smart says, shouldn't light be streaming from all my orifices by now? But I'm not much, if any, different than I was before all of this. I struggle with the same things, think the same negative thoughts, worry about everything, and don't see the improvement I've been striving for. I use the techniques - mindset shifts, meditation, yoga, nature walks, writing my desires and goals clearly, clarifying my intentions, and doing all the prescribed work - but I'm no better off as a person or in life. Don't get me wrong, I haven't had anything better to do. There are worse ways to spend a life. I've learned a lot about everything along the way, but I've realized that most of my work has been in the wrong direction. I never challenged some important assumptions about the promise of a better me. Until recently, I haven't considered that many of the beliefs I've constructed about myself weren't mine. They came from other people. Another #realization I've had is that many of the messages about myself I've bought into were intended to persuade me to buy something. And the king of all assumptions is that there is a "me" in the first place, let alone to make it better. What if the me that is the object of all the betterment isn't anything more than a bundle of thoughts? More to read on my blog: https://www.franklintaggart.com/2023/12/the-false-promise-of-better-me.html

    15 min
  8. Coming Back After a Hiatus

    10/06/2023

    Coming Back After a Hiatus

    I've had more than a few people contact me for coaching as they navigate new twists and turns in their career and business paths. Most recently, three find themselves having a Rip Van Winkle moment - waking up from a long nap to find that everything is different for them than before. One has been taking care of a dying parent, another has been sending the last of her children to college, and another has rekindled a music career after taking several years off to start another business. They've all returned to industries that aren't as familiar as the ones they left. The pandemic effects are still landing for many people. Music and meeting venues have only recently started reopening, and many have changed formats. I've noticed many businesses have continued to keep shortened or irregular hours than before the disruption. Schools and organizations have also changed their regular routines. I went through a similar time when my music career was interrupted by a six-year series of health challenges. #comeback #disruption #hiatus

    14 min
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About

This podcast appears to become less focused as time goes by. It started as an experiment to post an episode a day for a year. Now, it seems to be an episode a year. Franklin, at various times, has been a musician, recording engineer and producer, a business owner, a personal coach, a marketing agent, a salesperson, a dad, a content creator, a honey bunny, a son, a brother, and a multitude of other descriptors, none of which seem to stick. Two things remain: Franklin has a microphone and a pot-a-day coffee habit. Also here: Episodes from Your Own Best Company and The Reset podcasts.

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