Own Your Next: Bold Moves in Business & Life

Jennifer McPherson
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Marketing

This is Own Your Next, a podcast where entrepreneurs, leaders, and creative builders share the defining moments and bold lessons that inspire you to shape your future and own your next move.

  1. 4d ago

    Stop Using One AI Model for Everything with Jonathan Schwartz

    "I just want to make decisions." Jonathan Schwartz has spent his career going wherever things were heading, from Forbes in the early days of online media to Bankrate, and now he's all in on AI.   I'm Jennifer McPherson. I didn't start my first business until I was 48, and Own Your Next is about taking ownership of what comes next in life, business and leadership.   My guest is Jonathan Schwartz of Groundwork AI, which helps companies build custom AI applications, automate workflows and transform how they work. His career has run through Deloitte, Forbes, Bankrate (where he helped take the company public), Nexstar, television writing for Sony and co-owning a boutique agency.   We talk about why the people who resisted change disappeared, why you should never be married to one AI model, why the biggest gap with AI is knowing what you want, how AI holds up a mirror to the way you run your business, his controversial take that there are too many websites, and why the future of work is spending your day making decisions.   Connect with Jonathan Schwartz Groundwork AI: https://thegroundwork.ai LinkedIn: search "Jonathan Schwartz, Groundwork AI"   🎧 Listen to Own Your Next Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/own-your-next-bold-moves-in-business-life/id1861608494 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47U9XlAOcCQzH9NHLJvX54 Substack: https://jenmcp.substack.com   💬 Want to use AI in your business? Join my free Level Up AI community on Skool: https://www.skool.com/level-up-ai

    Stop Using One AI Model for Everything with Jonathan Schwartz

  2. Oct 18

    AI SEO: How to Get Your Business Found on ChatGPT | Emily Au

    Your website looks great. You've invested in SEO. So why aren't customers finding you? In this episode of Own Your Next, I sit down with Emily Au, co-founder and marketing director of Ready Artwork, to talk about AI search, declining website clicks, and getting your business recommended by tools like ChatGPT and Claude. Emily shares how her agency has adapted through more than 20 years of change, from designing logos and business cards to supporting B2B companies and public agencies with digital marketing. This conversation also brings us full circle. Emily hosted my first podcast appearance. Now she joins me to share her experience building a business, listening to clients, and staying authentic as technology changes how we work. We discuss: • Why a good-looking website isn't enough to generate leads. • How zero-click searches affect website traffic. • Where traditional SEO fits alongside AI search. • Why client education and communication matter. • How small agencies partner with engineering firms on public-sector projects. • Why Emily launched She's Got Hustle to spotlight women entrepreneurs. • The value of human connection in an AI-driven business world. CHAPTERS 00:00 Meet Emily Au 01:00 From graphic designer to agency co-founder 03:44 Knowing your work versus running a business 05:00 Using AI to reclaim time 06:04 Reinventing an agency through industry changes 08:27 Listening to clients and solving website problems 09:30 Zero-click searches and AI SEO 11:11 Partnering on public-sector projects 14:57 Getting found through AI search 17:50 Helping clients understand AI 21:32 Why Emily launched She's Got Hustle 23:44 AI and human connection 26:27 Working with technical teams 28:51 What Emily plans to own next 30:17 Where to connect with Emily CONNECT WITH EMILY AU LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mlyau Website: https://www.readyartwork.com/ Emily's bio: https://www.readyartwork.com/author/emily/ FOLLOW READY ARTWORK YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReadyArtwork Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/readyartwork/ LISTEN TO RAW SPOTLIGHT Featuring Emily's She's Got Hustle conversations: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raw-spotlight/id1771924521 CONNECT WITH JENNIFER MCPHERSON LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-mcpherson-9160b715 Chickenango Marketing Solutions: https://www.chickenango.com Subscribe to Own Your Next for conversations with entrepreneurs and business leaders about decisions, setbacks, and their next move. Are you using AI to search for businesses, services, or products? Share your experience in the comments. #OwnYourNext #AISEO #DigitalMarketing #EmilyAu #ReadyArtwork #Entrepreneurship #WomenInBusiness

  3. Oct 12

    Nobody's Ready for What AI Can Build, with Kayla Orozco

    On this episode of Own Your Next, I talk with Kayla Orozco, founder and design engineer at Mesquite & Thorn Digital, an independent mobile app studio in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Kayla spent almost six years designing chatbots and phone systems for contact centers. This year she started building her own apps, including Handsful, a baby tracker made for parents of twins and other multiples, and School Supplied, which merges school supply lists into one shopping list. She shares what surprised her while building with AI, why beta testing is hard, and what marketing looks like when you are self-funded. We also talk about where AI is going and what it means for everyday people. If you are curious about building your own app with AI, this conversation is for you. CHAPTERS 0:00 Welcome, and meeting Kayla Orozco 0:38 Kayla's background: Brownsville, Texas, and almost six years in conversational AI 1:42 Chatbots, contact centers, and how fast AI has moved 2:09 Handsful: a baby tracker built for twins and other multiples 5:04 What surprised Kayla while building an app 7:07 Beta testing, trust, and launching sooner 8:29 School Supplied: merging school supply lists 11:43 Turning school forms and events into reminders 12:57 Marketing the apps: socials, ads, and UGC on a self-funded budget 14:48 Why marketing is the whole game 16:31 Time, energy, and balance 17:01 Where is AI going? Regulation, Hollywood, and everyday people 19:56 Fear of new technology and new kinds of jobs 21:56 The pivotal moment question 22:33 Building her own thing 24:35 Taking action 26:04 Wrap up and where to find Kayla WATCH THE FULL VIDEO ON YOUTUBE https://youtu.be/9bICmFsEMR8 JOIN MY FREE AI COMMUNITY https://www.skool.com/level-up-ai KAYLA OROZCO AND MESQUITE & THORN DIGITAL Kayla on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaylaorozco Mesquite & Thorn Digital: https://www.mesquiteandthorn.digital/ Studio on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mesquite-thorn-digital/ Studio on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mesquiteandthorn HANDSFUL (baby tracker for twins and other multiples) Website: https://handsful.app App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/handsful-baby-tracker/id6797077032 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.handsful.app SCHOOL SUPPLIED (merges school supply lists into one shopping list) Website: https://schoolsupplied.app App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/school-supplied/id6777847242 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.schoolsupplied Also on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

  4. Oct 12

    AI Is Killing SEO Agencies. This One Is Thriving. with Jim Kreinbrink

    Jim Kreinbrink has kept his agency growing for more than 20 years while search, and now AI, changed everything. His secret? "The problem isn't the problem. My reaction is the problem." I'm Jennifer McPherson. I didn't start my first business until I was 48, and Own Your Next is about taking ownership of what comes next in life, business and leadership. My guest is Jim Kreinbrink, owner and founder of HyperDog Media. He founded the Denver-area agency in 2004 and has spent more than two decades driving growth through search, paid media, digital PR and now AI-driven discovery. Jim also started the Denver SEO Meetup in 2007, created SearchCon in Breckenridge, and AgencyCon grew out of SearchCon. He brought AgencyCon back last spring and it sold out. I was there, and I'll see Jim at the next one. We talk about the moment that changed his agency's direction, staying open to new technology (including AI), keeping a human in the loop, the emotional side of losing a client, why agencies need to remarket themselves to their own clients, and building community in Denver. 🐾 Connect with Jim Kreinbrink HyperDog Media: https://www.hyperdogmedia.com/ Jim's bio: https://www.hyperdogmedia.com/jim-kreinbrink/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hyperdogmedia HyperDog Media on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyper-dog-media AgencyCon: https://agencycon.events/ 🎧 Listen to Own Your Next Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/own-your-next-bold-moves-in-business-life/id1861608494 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47U9XlAOcCQzH9NHLJvX54 Substack: https://jenmcp.substack.com 💬 Want to use AI in your business? Comment SKOOL and I'll send you an invite to my free Level Up AI community. #OwnYourNext #DigitalPR #SEO #AgencyLife #AgencyCon #Entrepreneur #AISearch

  5. Sep 3

    Drew Hendricks: Wine, Websites, and the AI Revolution

    Drew Hendricks has a degree in Philosophy and Ancient Greek, spent ten years as a wine buyer in San Francisco, and now runs Nimbletoad, an AI-powered marketing agency. In this episode, Drew shares how he jumped from wine to the web, why he calls AI "a revolution, not just an evolution," and what small businesses should do right now to get found when customers ask AI instead of Google. We talk content creation, SEO's big shakeup, building an AI growth flywheel, and the bold moves still ahead of him. Highlights: Drew's entrepreneurial journey from the wine industry to founding a digital agency, how AI is changing marketing and business operations, using AI for content creation and SEO, generative engine optimization (getting found in AI search), building a continuous growth flywheel with AI, cost-effective AI tools for small businesses, and Drew's next bold moves. Learn more about Drew Hendricks at nimbletoad.com. Own Your Next: Bold Moves in Business & Life is hosted by Jennifer McPherson. New episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

  6. Jun 23

    He Snuck Onto Hollywood Lots. Then He Built a Brand Empire.

    Marc Gutman is the Founder of Wildstory, a Boulder-based storytelling and content strategy agency that helps brands stand out by creating authentic connections. Under Marc's leadership, Wildstory has earned a reputation for its unique narrative-driven approach, with Marc himself amassing over 7,000 LinkedIn followers and recognition as an award-winning storyteller and entrepreneur. Before launching Wildstory, Marc began his career in Hollywood as a story editor for Oliver Stone's company, and he continues to draw on his passion for narrative in his work with businesses of all sizes. In this episode… Some careers begin with a plan, and others begin by getting close enough to the action that a door finally opens. But how do you turn curiosity, persistence, and a few unlikely breaks into a brand that helps others tell better stories? Marc Gutman believes the answer starts with finding your people, not simply trying to stand out. Drawing from his experience as a storyteller and brand strategist, Marc explains that the strongest brands are clear about who they are, what they offer, and who they are for. That clarity makes a business more memorable, more human, and far less dependent on chasing whatever everyone else is doing. In this episode of Own Your Next, Jennifer McPherson is joined by Marc Gutman, Founder of Wildstory, to discuss building a brand through storytelling. Marc shares how sneaking onto Hollywood lots shaped his career, why brands need a clear narrative, and how businesses can use AI without losing originality. Marc also talks about mindset, belief, and staying in the game as an entrepreneur.

  7. Jun 16

    Social Media Is Lying to You About What People Think

    Adam Probolsky is the President of Probolsky Research, a minority- and women-owned market and opinion research firm that provides strategic public opinion insights for corporate, government, nonprofit, and election clients nationwide. Under Adam's leadership, the firm has operated for over 30 years and achieved significant recent growth, conducting research projects for clients ranging from municipalities in Texas to major metropolitan economic forecasts. Adam's background in politics began at age 17, and his expertise combines extensive experience in public policy with a forward-looking approach to technology, including the integration of AI and automation into research workflows.  In this episode… Social media can make it feel like everyone is shouting the same opinion, but the loudest voices are rarely the full picture. When leaders rely on that noise to understand what people think, what are they missing? Adam Probolsky believes social media sentiment is not the same as actual public opinion. Drawing from his experience in public opinion research, he explains that most people do not publicly share their views online, and those who do often represent a very specific, biased subset of the population. For leaders, that means social media can be useful information, but it should never be mistaken for representative data. In this episode of Own Your Next, Jennifer McPherson is joined by Adam Probolsky, President of Probolsky Research, to discuss why social media often distorts public opinion. They explore why leaders misread online feedback, how representative polling reveals a clearer picture, and why gut instinct should not be disguised as data. Adam also talks about how AI is changing research workflows.

  8. Jun 9

    From Navy Ships to Fearless About AI

    Devon Hayes is the Co-founder of Elevation Marketing, a Denver-based digital marketing agency specializing in smart, data-driven marketing for contractors and home service businesses. Under her leadership, Elevation Marketing has built a strong reputation for long-term client retention and results-driven strategies, with most clients working with the agency for over five years. Devon brings a unique blend of technical expertise from her background in the Navy and deep experience in SEO, digital strategy, and client education, recognized for her practical approach and clear communication style. In this episode… From coordinating missions at sea to navigating the chaos of a growing business, some careers take unexpected turns that shape how we handle change. What does it really take to move from structured routines to boldly stepping into uncertainty and innovation? According to Devon Hayes, a veteran of the Navy turned marketing agency co-founder, the key lies in embracing flexibility and curiosity. She recalls confidently tackling every challenge head-on early in her career, only to realize that building repeatable systems and processes saves more time than improvising. This mindset shift — seeing obstacles as learning opportunities rather than setbacks — has been central to her growth and ability to guide her team through change. In this episode of Own Your Next, Jennifer McPherson is joined by Devon Hayes, Co-founder of Elevation Marketing, to discuss moving from military precision to business leadership, navigating costly hiring mistakes, and leveraging AI as a tool rather than a threat. Devon also shares insights on mindset shifts that turn challenges into opportunities.

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This is Own Your Next, a podcast where entrepreneurs, leaders, and creative builders share the defining moments and bold lessons that inspire you to shape your future and own your next move.

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