Branding BFF®

Lisa Speer
Branding BFF® Podcast

Branding BFF® is a podcast for service businesses, creative professionals, consultants and coaches. Join Lisa Speer in candid conversations with entrepreneurs and brand creators to gain useful insights and inspiration you can apply to your brand and your business.

  1. Solopreneur Not Solo

    04/26/2022

    Solopreneur Not Solo

    Being a solopreneur can feel like you’re riding a rollercoaster. There are emotional highs and lows, peak income months and slower ones. Your business life impacts your personal life, and vice versa. Along the may want feedback on your pricing, your business goals, expanding your services or target market, navigating client relationships, or insight on your branding, website and marketing. Sometimes you need big picture and vision support, while at other times you need super detailed and specific feedback.  You can get caught in a decision making loop. And while you’d love to be able to bounce your ideas and problems you’re facing with people outside of your friends and family, you’re worried about people will think. It can be very lonely and isolating being a solopreneur. I know because I’ve been there and done that. As a brand new solopreneur in 2004, I started out clientless and clueless. I made countless mistakes. I definitely felt incredibly isolated and alone. My ego prevented me from discussing what was really happening behind the scenes in my business. Ever heard of “fake it until you make it”? Turns out it’s surprisingly ineffectual. I spent time and energy trying to make it look like I had it all together, while quietly behind the scenes I really needed feedback and guidance. Today my experience is totally different. No, I didn’t hire a team, find a business partner or go back to working in an agency. I started letting people in. Each of these has been super helpful. I worked with a coach I hired an operations team to look inside my business for what’s working and what can be improved I have a contractor I bring in to help me with business naming and taglines I’m a member of two business mastermind groups Joining those masterminds has proven to be one of the most impactful and positive choices I’ve made as a solopreneur. I get the ongoing feedback and ideas I need to feel connected and supported. I also have peers I can have confidential conversations with when I need it. No matter the situation, together is better. Learn from my mistakes and let people in. Here are 3 tips: Be willing to be vulnerable – it’s actually a sign of courage and strength Identify what would be the most supportive – is it a one-off item you need help with or is it ongoing feedback and input? Choose who to let in You could create a feedback exchange with a trusted peer. You could identify one item you want to tackle and hire a subject matter expert to help you solve it You could hire an entrepreneur coach for 1:1 for a specified length of time to work on several items Or you can join a group of like minded solopreneurs to gain ongoing support and feedback as you ride the rollercoaster together If you’re not sure where to find a group like that, I’ve created The Solopreneur Mastermind. It’s perfect if you’re craving a place for connection and confidential conversations about your business. It will be limited to 5 people so everyone has ample time and attention over a 6 month period. Get the scoop at https://speerheadsolutions.com/mastermind/ No matter what you choose, I hope you’re letting people in so you can grow and flourish. And remember, solopreneur doesn’t mean going it solo. Together is better.

    4 min
  2. Legally Protecting Your Brand, Karen Boardman

    03/03/2020

    Legally Protecting Your Brand, Karen Boardman

    In this episode we talk with attorney Karen Boardman about “Legally Protecting Your Brand”. A few highlights we talk about are: What intellectual property is Understanding what trademarks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets are – with examples Which items have built in protections and when you should take legal steps for additional protection Which type of business names are easiest to get a trademark registration all the way to the hardest types Benefits of legally protecting your brand Disclaimer from Karen Boardman:  All of my statements here are for informational purposes only and they do not constitute legal advice, nor does this podcast create any attorney/client privilege between myself and anyone listening to it. Karen Boardman works as an attorney at Sellers, Ayers, Dortch, Lyons http://sellersayers.com/ and you can also find her on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/karensboardman/ This podcast is brought to you by Speerhead Solutions, a strategic branding business. https://speerheadsolutions.com/ Is your brand working as hard as you are to get clients? Are your prospects and clients having an immersive experience with your brand? If you’re not sure, you’ll want to download the 4 Critical Elements of Brand Attraction at https://speerheadsolutions.com/ Subscribe to the Branding BFF podcast to stay connected to more behind-the-scenes conversations about branding and business. We also welcome your rating and review on iTunes – so we know what you enjoyed and more people can find us!

    42 min
5
out of 5
16 Ratings

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Branding BFF® is a podcast for service businesses, creative professionals, consultants and coaches. Join Lisa Speer in candid conversations with entrepreneurs and brand creators to gain useful insights and inspiration you can apply to your brand and your business.

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