Meet Executive Consultant Carrie LaDue in Episode 18 of Content with Teeth's video podcast The Come Up

Don’t Worry Be Happy 😀

 

The Come Up Episode 18 Video Transcript

 

Scrappy:

What up, what up, what up, what up? Welcome to the Come Up: a video podcast featuring Southwest Florida entrepreneurs and business leaders. I’m Scrappy, and we’re sponsored by Content with Teeth, a creative content agency with over 20 years of experience right here in southwest Florida. As you can see from this fat head, they do things big, really big, specializing in copywriting and video production.

They’ve got content if you need it. If you’d like to sponsor the come up or be a guest, hit me up at HeyScrappy on IG, or Mike at 21,000. You can just text them. Today’s guest is Carrie LaDue, owner of the business consulting firm, Limitless Business of Fort Myers. She’s fascinating. She approaches business solutions and chief’s peak performance. Really amazing. She’s trained or coached a remarkable 15,000 leaders. Carrie, is that true?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

It’s very true, yes.

Scrappy:

15,000 leaders. How could that possibly be?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Large events, large live events and large virtual events, full of thousands of people who registered.

Scrappy:

Were these your events?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Both. It’s been lot of collaborations, as well as my own business, yes.

Scrappy:

I understand right before the pandemic, you had a business. It was a struggle, an interesting journey, and then you sold it. Can you tell us about that?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

I did, yes. At the, right about the beginning of the pandemic, I launched a business for female entrepreneurs who were needing to start their own businesses. Whether they were coaches, or consultants, or it ran the gamut in terms of what their businesses were, but they were looking to do something differently, either because they were tired of what they had been doing and they wanted to take control of their life, or like so many people, they had lost their income, or their partner had lost their income at the beginning of the pandemic.

I helped these women launch their first businesses, get them fully booked with clients, and I grew that business, scaled that business, and then sold that business in just two years’ time.

Scrappy:

Very nice. Very nice. What’s really cool about your business is that you’re actually helping people. You’re very generous with your time.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

I am. Helping people is what keeps me going every single day. Money is sort of the, it’s like the bonus of business, but when you’re doing work that you really love, that really lights you up, it doesn’t ever feel like a job.

Scrappy:

Yeah, it keeps you motivated, for sure. For sure. Limitless Business, tell us about it.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Well, Limitless Business, while I was growing this other business that was called Find Your Flow that was sold, I was always working with larger businesses as well, larger companies, 30 plus employees and that kind of a thing on the side. I had just been doing executive coaching work for so long that I had retained some of those clients. I have a background in organizational development. There’s something about larger businesses that’s really enticing. They’re messy, they’re complex, they’re dynamic organizations. I’ve always really enjoyed trying to shift cultures in those organizations, and help those people become really happy and healthy and thriving.

You can have a business that’s successful, your PNLs look great, but if your people are stressed out, not happy, not thriving, to me, it’s a missed opportunity. Your business can be a real force for good in this world if you take really good care of your people. That’s really what Limitless Business is about. We work with small to mid-size businesses who are really interested in taking things to the next level. That’s not just about doubling revenue and doubling profits, but it’s about unleashing the potential in themselves and in their people.

I don’t think that you have to sacrifice wellbeing, sanity, health, happiness, and those things to be massively successful. That’s really what we help people do.

Scrappy:

I noticed you have an HR bent to your consultancy.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Well, whenever you’re talking about a full business and you’re touching every aspect, from the CEO to the leadership team to the rest of the staff, I would say that’s organizational development. There’s definitely, can be an HR component. We don’t necessarily contract with people to get involved in their HR, but if you want to sustain change in an organization, you typically have to back up any sort of training or development with policy changes as well.

Scrappy:

Sure.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

They do touch each other for sure.

Scrappy:

One of your key words is peak performance, and I think that’s interesting. Can you tell us more about it?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Think about elite athletes, right? The difference between an elite athlete and somebody who just plays in their community softball team, an elite athlete has to take really great care of themselves in order to achieve what they achieve, whether they’re in the Olympics, or they’re competing globally, whatever that is. They need coaches. They need mentors. They need discipline. They have to fuel their mind, their body, and their soul with things that help them achieve, be their very best selves. That’s what peak performance is about.

What we’ve done is taken everything that we know, the science of peak performance, the art of peak performance, and we’ve integrated into the context of business. I like to think about my leaders that we work with as they’re like elite athletes, just in the business context. How can we help them be super well rested, super well-nourished, super clear of mind, clear of thought, so that they enjoy the hell out of their days while they’re building their empires?

Scrappy:

It’s a great analogy. I like that. I like that a lot. Carrie, you go into an office, you go into a new business, you have a new client. The first day, what are you trying to ascertain?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

We’re trying to get a sense of what’s really going on there by speaking to other people. There is somewhat of a diagnostic process. Is the leader’s perception about what’s happening in the business the same perception that the people around the leader has? Where might some of their blind spots be? Where the opportunities is really what we’re looking for, but we’re not just looking for what are the things that are going wrong? You can’t actually build on that. We as humans have to build on our successes. We have to know what our strengths are, and we have to double down on those strengths.

Yes, we’re looking for where are things that could be improved, but I’m very much looking for what are you actually good at? What are you good at as a leader? What are you good at as a business, and what are the things that maybe you’re all doing that don’t align to that? Let’s consider maybe getting rid of that and getting more focused on the things that we’re actually really good at.

Scrappy:

Okay. You say strengths, you say opportunities. That’s half of a SWAT analysis. What about the threats and weaknesses?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Well, yeah, it depends on the work that we’re doing with a client, but if they’re in an industry where they’re not positioned right, if they don’t have a market dominating position, and that needs to be reworked, those are all things that we absolutely need to look at too.

Scrappy:

You have a team. Can you tell us about them?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Yeah, so I have a small but mighty team, a mixture of people with a variety of backgrounds, but they’re all very experienced in terms of helping people transform into being the very best versions of themselves. They run the gambit, from somebody who has a multiple time CEO, both here in the states and overseas, to somebody who’s built her own small business and done coaching, and a business development person.

We are small but powerful, and work together collectively to make sure our clients, we play to our strengths too in terms of that.

Scrappy:

Carrie, they’re all women. What’s up with that?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Yeah. It’s actually not super intentional. We don’t discriminate against men. As we add to our team, we will probably see some more diversity there, but it’s just the way it’s worked out so far. They’re rock stars at what they do, so I’m going to keep them around.

Scrappy:

There’s a lot of leaders in leader positions that really shouldn’t be leaders. How do you break it to them?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

We get feedback from the people that they’re leading. We always try to coach people up. We try to help them become leaders. Most people are very coachable. I would say 98% of the people we’ve ever worked with are very coachable, and they can close their gaps and become better leaders. There are outliers that are better off doing the work than leading other people, but those are few and far between.

We collect feedback, we collect evidence, and we say, “Look, here’s what people are saying, here’s what you’re good at, here’s what you’re struggling with.” Then we set goals around that, and we coach them towards those goals. Most of the time, it’s really unfair. People are labeled as being a bad leader, but nobody is giving them any information in terms of what that really means, why that’s bad leadership, what good leadership is, and how to do things differently.

I have found that most people, with a little bit of coaching and feedback, actually can grow in this way pretty quickly.

Scrappy:

You’re very optimistic. There’s a lot of people out there that can’t lead.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Yeah, I’m sure there are. The people that we encounter in terms of clientele, like I said, those people who can’t lead, they’re the outliers. I think a lot of people can lead and lead well when they are given the right tools and strategies and support. What I think we shouldn’t assume is that everybody can lead without that or just naturally. You deserve to be developed in that area, just like you would learn how to do anything else that you wanted to get really good at.

Scrappy:

You’re a serial entrepreneur, you’re a leader, you’re a director, you’re a business consultant, and you worked so hard. You had a migraine for two months and you had to be hospitalized for 10 days. Tell us about that.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Yes. 2013-ish, maybe, it was a long, very long time ago, I was getting sicker and sicker. I had never had a migraine and then suddenly I had one, and then two, and then 15 a month, and then 63 days in a row, I was in a state of migraine. Went to multiple different emergency rooms, IVs, drugs, and nothing would get any better. It was a combination of things.

It was working too hard, too much, no boundaries, not saying no, thinking that I had to be all things to all people, really demanding work and position and deadlines, but at the root of it, just really not standing up for myself, thinking that I sort of had to take it. That’s just not true. You have to take care of yourself first and foremost. Nobody else is going to do that for you.

Scrappy:

What you just said is like 99% of the population: you feel obligated to your boss. You got to do things to no end. You got to take a deep breath and say, “You know what? I got to do something for me every once in a while.”

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Yeah, you do. You can’t expect other people to suddenly change, for company culture to change, for them to think that you’re more valuable than anybody else necessarily. You have to put your own needs first. Nobody is going to put your needs first, other than you. The sooner you learn that in life, the better. A lot of people are a little disillusioned about that. If I work harder, I’ll stand out more, and they’ll care about me more, and they’ll reward me more. That’s not necessarily true.

Scrappy:

How to books say that though. You got to outwork the competition.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Yeah, I think that’s total BS. I think it’s really outdated programming that we need to let go of. This isn’t just my experience, like you said, like 99% of the population. One of the reasons why I started doing the work that I do with leaders and why I’m still so motivated to do it is because I was watching my colleagues follow the same path. Maybe theirs wasn’t migraines, maybe theirs was like a mystery illness, or a cancer diagnosis, or for men, they would end up in the emergency room thinking they’re having a heart attack to find out it was anxiety.

It was like, this has to change. This isn’t sustainable. Unless you’re going to love yourself enough to change your situation, you have to make the decision that you deserve more and you deserve better.

Michael Barnes:

Hi, I’m Michael Barnes, owner of Content with Teeth. We are a creative content agency in southwest Florida. We specialize in copywriting and video production, with over two decades of experience creating boring content. If you struggle to create compelling stuff for your business or client, check us out at Contentwithteeth.com. Now, back to our show.

Scrappy:

I was in South Carolina working at a radio station, and probably weekly, my boss would come down the hall and yell at me, “Scrappy, Scrappy.” I got really frustrated, I got upset. It was definitely anxiety for me. Then after a while, I read the book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. Then I said, “Oh, that’s Teresa coming down the hall. That’s Teresa being Teresa.” That was my coping mechanism. What other coping mechanisms do you teach your preach?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Yeah, so that is really huge. That’s kind of a part of the work that we do. All battles are in between these two in right here. They’re all up in your head. The state of anxiety that we create for ourselves can become really chronic, where your mind always goes to the worst case scenario. We have negativity bias. One of the things that we do is we really teach our people to look at what’s happening in your brain, and step back and assess it, and analyze it. Is that fact, or is that fiction?

When you start to realize that you are sort of your own worst enemy, based on what you’re telling yourself on a day-to-day basis about every single situation, that’s massively eye-opening for people. What we’ve seen as just within one or two sessions, people who have been struggling with anxiety, it’s reversed. They realize that it was all just the story they were saying to themselves in their head. If you can get in control of that dialogue, you are truly limitless. That is really the thing that gets in our way.

Scrappy:

I love what you’re saying, and I agree with you. Work-life balance though, how can we achieve it? How can we do a better job with our work-life balance based on what you just told us?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Well, the number one thing is you have to believe that it’s possible. A lot of people will, if you’re in disbelief, if you’re like, “This is just the way life is, I’m just going to accept this,” well, then that’s going to be your reality. If you believe that you can thrive financially and have the resources and the revenue and the income that you need, whether that be from a business or your job, and if you believe that you can do that, and also not sacrifice your personal wellness, your time, time with family, time with friends, then you can create that.

It all starts with belief. Once you have that belief, then you start saying, “Okay, what are my goals? What’s my roadmap? What’s my next little tiny step I’m going to take to get there?” Most people get stalled out, because they think they have to have the whole damn plan. They have to know A to Z. That’s not realistic. You just have to have the vision and say, “What’s just the very next thing that I need to do?” Eventually, you move forward and you create a different situation for yourself.

Scrappy:

So far in this conversation, I bet your clients say, “Carrie, you’re a breath of fresh air.”

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

I hope so.

Scrappy:

From a productivity perspective, how do you drive results?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

It’s a combination of everything that we do. You have to have a good strategy underneath it. You need to know where you’re headed. You need to know what your goals are like. You need to know how you’re going to get to where you want to go as a business and as a company. Most people stop there. What we have found is that you can have the greatest strategy on paper, but if you don’t learn to change people’s behaviors, it doesn’t really matter.

We use a combination of tools and strategies that we teach our clients that help them quadruple their productivity. Within the first 90 days of working with people, they increase their staffing capacity by one and a half people per person, per week without adding any new staff. That’s simply by teaching people how to be more productive. More productive doesn’t mean you do more work, it means you work differently. That’s what we do.

Scrappy:

What about marketing? Marketing and promotions and so forth? When I think of it, I’m a consultant myself, I’ll get into that in a second. When I think of marketing, I think we really need to identify who the product is. We need to create a niche. We need to know the audience. We need to of course do a SWAT analysis as far as the competition is concerned, image, branding. One thing that I preach too is self-actualization in terms of the product. How does self-actualization play a role in your consulting?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

That’s what we’re aiming for. That’s the whole reason we do what we do. I think that myself and my team are fairly self-actualized. We walk the walk. Of course, I still have ways to grow. I always will, but we live what we preach and what we teach. It keeps me honest, quite frankly. Some of the reasons why I teach what I teach is because I know that I lean towards the hustle and the grind and the overachieving.

If I have an entire business that is about you being a peak performer and helping you to have balance and be healthy and thrive and eat well and work out and all of those things, that keeps me and my team really honest. I can’t coach people on those things and be out of alignment and integrity about that.

Scrappy:

Right.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

That’s why we do what we do because I’m a bit obsessive about it. I’m a personal development junkie. I just figured out a way to take my passion and share it with other people.

Scrappy:

I know it’s variable, but product centricity versus customer centricity. Do you have a lean?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

I think it’s hard for me to think product because I think service. For us, we’re a service-based business. We have tools that help us provide our service. For me, it’s all about the client and getting the results from the client, for the client. There’s probably multiple different ways that we can go about that, but I’m always going to start with what are the results that they need, and what is the best, fastest way with the least amount of friction that I can get them there?

The product, I don’t really care about. I care about creating the thing that is going to help them get the results that they’re looking for.

Scrappy:

Okay. My consultancy is a lot different than yours. I consult a TV station in Jamaica and a radio station in The Bahamas.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Cool.

Scrappy:

Over the years, I had Antigua, I had different places. I had Guam. My specialty to differentiate myself as a consultant, because I didn’t have the pedigree that you do, I had to create something like the Caribbean consultant. What I would do is go into a company and really have the benefit, like you, of working with an owner, right there beside the owner, which is awesome. It’s not a corporation. Saying, “Okay, what are your goals?” Defining them, ascertaining and taking inventory of what they have and so forth.

One of the problems that I’ve had is I’ll go in, I’ll train the people, we’ll practice, I’ll stay with them on the phone, I’ll stay with them on the internet. Basically, as soon as I leave, after one or two weeks of hoo-rah, there’s a major drop off. How do you sustain?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

You stick with them long enough to make sure that the changes actually are legitimate.

Scrappy:

I wish I could. I wish I could stay in Jamaica and the Bahamas long enough.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Virtually. Virtually working with them. The tricky thing about working with change and creating change in businesses and with people is that we fall back into our old ways of doing and being so easily. I always say that you’re going to default to what’s familiar. What we’ve been talking about, or training, if you’re a consultant, what you’re teaching people, that’s unfamiliar. You have to make that unfamiliar familiar. You have to cross that divide, that chasm, where the new behavior takes hold. That takes some time.

We don’t work with people unless we have 90 days minimum that I’ll work with somebody. At 90 days, they’ve had some really great results, but they’re like, “Carrie, I’m just getting started. Let’s keep going.” I’m like, “Cool, let’s keep going.”

Scrappy:

Right. Sure.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Behavior change, it takes time. You’ve got all these different things that are kind of your own mind, your neural patterning, your family, your friends, your contacts, all these things that are kind of like, you have to fight through to really change and do things differently.

Scrappy:

Sure.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

That’s just the way it is.

Scrappy:

I guess my hurdle is cultural. It’s a huge vast difference between how I see things and how island life sees things. A great case study is the ad agency work that you just did. Can you tell us about it?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Oh, yeah. We have a client that is an advertising agency. They’ve been around for about eight years. They have three co-founders, incredible people. Incredible leaders, care so much about their people, care so much about their clients. The advertising industry, what I’ve come to learn over the years is that it’s notorious for a very, kind of like a burn and churn culture. The client wants something. They say “Jump,” you say, “How high?” Very reactionary. There’s a lot of fear. If we don’t do this thing for this client right now, we’re going to lose them.

What that does is that creates that culture where people feel like they’re on call. It’s just, it’s hard. The interesting thing about the advertising industry is that those are your creatives. Those are artists. To be able to be your most creative self, if you’re in this state of chronic stress, well, we’re not unleashing your creativity. We’re not doing the very best work that we can do for our clients in that state. It’s been really awesome to see the transformation they took to the peak performance strategies we taught very quickly, because they experienced immediately how they felt differently.

Then we did it with the leadership team first, and then we took the work to the rest of their staff. In a very short amount of time, they’re like, “This is a different place to work. This is not the place that I started at a year ago or two years ago.” They’ve built a pipeline of leaders internally in their company. They’ve done between four and six internal promotions.

Scrappy:

Nice.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

They’re able to retain their talent, which is really hard for people right now. They’re able to attract new talent, because their current staff are like, “This place is wonderful to work. They really freaking care about us.” We took them from a 55, 60 hour on average work week down to 35 hours.

Scrappy:

That’s amazing.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Who doesn’t want to work in a company that says, “Hey, guess what? We’re going to force you all to work a whole lot less these days.”

Scrappy:

Carrie, what advice would you give to your 12 year old self?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Don’t take life so seriously. Lighten up, have a little more fun.

Scrappy:

No more migraines.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

No more freaking migraines.

Scrappy:

I’d like you to plug your business. I think you’re fascinating as a person, and your company is very, very intriguing. Can you tell us more about it in terms of where we can reach you and how to get involved with your company?

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Yeah. Yeah, go to Limitlessbusiness.com, just like it should be spelled. We can connect there. You can also find me on LinkedIn, Dr. Carrie LaDue. The way I like to start is just building a relationship. Let’s be friends first. Let me find out what are you into, are our values are aligned? What kind of challenges are you having? Maybe I can help, maybe I can’t. If I can’t, I’ll send you to somebody who can.

Scrappy:

Most of the consultants I know are hardcore. They’re super analytical, and they’re A to Z. You’re special, Carrie, and I really appreciate taking the time to talk to you.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Oh, thank you so much. I appreciate that.

Scrappy:

Yeah. Yeah. We’re sponsored with Content with Teeth, a creative content agency with 20 years of experience right here in southwest Florida. As you can see with our fat head, we do things really big. We’re specializing in copywriting, video production, content. If you’d like to sponsor the Come Up, our show here, or be a guest, hit me up at HeyScrappy on IG, or text Mike at 21,000. Once again, Limitless Business. Carrie, you’re awesome. Let’s stay in touch.

Dr. Carrie LaDue:

Thanks so much.

 

March 5, 2023 The Come Up No comments yet
Fort Myers rapper TMike is the guest on episode 17 of Content with Teeth's short video podcast The Come Up

Invest in Those Who Spit Gold

 

The Come Up Episode 17 Video Transcript

Scrappy:

What up, what up, what up, what up, what up. Welcome to the Come Up, a video podcast featuring Southwest Florida entrepreneurs and business leaders. We’re sponsored by Content with Teeth, a creative content agency, 20 years experience right here in Southwest Florida. As you can see from this fat head, they do things big, really big, specializing in copywriting, video production. If you want to be a sponsor on the Come Up or a guest hit me up @heyscrappy on IG or text my man Mike at 21,000.

Today’s guest is rapper TMike from Fort Myers. People are saying, “Scrappy, he’s a rapper. He’s not a businessman, he’s not an entrepreneur, he’s not a business leader.” And I’m saying, “Mo, no, no, no, no. My man, TMike’s got it going on.” He’s not just a rapper in hip hop. He takes a business approach to his game and to his music. I know him personally. I can tell you he’s fun, he’s genuine, and he’s got that smile. Give us your smile, Mike, give us your smile.

TMike:

I appreciate that, man. Thank you. Thank you. That’s a great introduction. I greatly appreciate it.

Scrappy:

You’re from Fort Myers. This is a Southwest Florida podcast, so it’s really cool to have you on. Tell us about Fort Myers and hip hop. What’s the scene like?

TMike:

Man, the scene in Fort Myers, it’s not too major. It’s a lot of people who rap, who sing. There’s a lot of different genres that come out of the city of Fort Myers. Collectively, it’s a great group of artists. The thing is, it is just not a big spotlight that’s shown upon the city so a lot of things you have to do as an artist you have to branch out. You have to market yourself. You have to build yourself and prove yourself as a brand, not just the artist because people going to listen to your music, but they also want to listen to who you are. They want to be able to resonate with the person that you are.

(singing)

Scrappy:

When did you get your start?

TMike:

I guess 2017 is really when I actually started, when I started taking it serious, actually putting money behind my craft. So I guess I’d say 2017.

Scrappy:

Let’s rewind just a little bit though. You were rapping [inaudible 00:02:33] way before that, right?

TMike:

Yeah, yeah. I was rapping all the time, making beats on lunch tables in the classroom, in the back rapping all the time.

Scrappy:

So you’re musically inclined. We know that about you. It’s awesome. In 2017, you put a team together. Tell us about your team.

TMike:

I started out a friend of mine, Scooby. Well, actually I started out going to this guy named Motif in my friend’s apartment. That was a guy I just met. He was actually staying with my friend at the time so I would go to my friend’s apartment and we’d go to his apartment. He had a makeshift studio in there, so we try to make music. Then my friend Scooby, he introduced me to a guy named Sam, and that was the first time I went to a actual legit studio. And Sam had, I think the name of his studio was Waves and it was in Fort Myers.

I actually gravitated towards Hero and Hero, he’s still on my team to this day. That’s my engineering, my producer. He makes pretty much all of my beats. And after a while, just being in Fort Myers and grinding, pushing out a lot of music, I got in contact with my DJ, DJ Henny, and he just simply was like… He’s a younger guy. He told me he really believed in my music and he liked what I was doing, and he just really wanted the opportunity to be my DJ.

Scrappy:

Oh, very nice.

TMike:

I wasn’t looking for him and he just happened to reach out. He was very genuine and he just became a part of the family organically, really.

Scrappy:

As an entrepreneur, you have to manage the situation, but also be the star of the situation. So how do you go about delegating?

TMike:

Few times I have to remind myself or other people have to remind me that I’m the artist. Sometimes I should just think about the music. But as an independent artist, when you are so hands-on, it’s hard to take steps back, because if I have Hero doing this, I know this is going on. It’s not just something that’s a surprise to me. Everybody in the team knows that this is happening. We all know that this needs to get done. So I never really put myself above the work. We all have to work, you know what I mean?

Scrappy:

It’s a fine line between being creative and being business. Where do you draw the line?

TMike:

I stick to textbook things. If this is proven to work, I just keep doing it. In the business world, it’s not too much room for creativity unless you’re taking risks. Sometimes the risk, it outweighs the reward and the reward is greatly received. So it just depends on the situation. You don’t want to, like I always say, never been against the market. You don’t want to put your money in something that doesn’t look fruitful. If it doesn’t seem like it’s going to pan out, it’s never a good idea to put your money on it. So sometimes you got to stick with what you know. But in a business world, it’s frowned upon to take too many risks but you get great rewards. And when it comes to creativity, you’re not bound by any rules. There is no logic. It is literally an open canvas. So it is up to you to create.

Scrappy:

Entrepreneurially, you have to make sacrifices, you have to take leaps, you have to make big risks and you certainly believe in yourself and you’ve done that. Do you feel really confident about your crusade?

TMike:

Yes. I mean, with anything in life, there’s ups and downs. You’re going to look back and ask yourself, “Did I do the right thing?” But the only way you can honestly answer that question is by continuing to go. You don’t know what the end has to hold. I’m still not finished, I’m still not done but if I could look back and say that I’m further than I am last year, then you’re making progress. You got to keep going.

Scrappy:

What makes you first pop off? When did all of a sudden TMike become somewhat of a household name in Fort Myers?

TMike:

Honestly, man, it’s still surreal to myself. I don’t know exactly when it happened. I feel like it is just me continuously to put out music, continuously to put my face out there. I want you to see me. So like I said, I would probably say like 2019 probably is when I feel like I heard people singing my music and they weren’t close friends of mine. You know what I mean?

Scrappy:

That’s pretty. That’s pretty amazing that you started in 2017 and you could walk down the street and hear your music in 2019 unwittingly. That’s totally cool. Another thing too, man, is your music. I’ve listened to pretty much all of it. It’s smooth, well produced, tells stories. I really enjoy. In fact, I think it’s important that we celebrate your music here right now and play one of your videos. Is that okay?

TMike:

Oh yes, sir. Most definitely.

Scrappy:

One time for Constantly. Got it going on TMike.

TMike:

Yes sir. Thank you. Constantly. Here we go.

Scrappy:

The Come Up baby.

TMike:

The Come Up.

(singing)

Scrappy:

I love your lyrics, dog. I love your lyrics.

TMike:

I want to give you everything, man. I want you to feel good when you listening to the song. And I want you to feel what I’m saying. I want you to be able to relate with what’s going on.

Scrappy:

How do you write?

TMike:

Honestly, I go off the beat man. Me and Hero or whoever I’m working with at the time, we’re going to sit there. We’re going to come up with a sound. We’re going to create the sound and however the sound makes me feel, is based off what my lyrics will go off of.

Scrappy:

And do you have a process, whether it’s writing pen and a pad, punch in freestyle? How do you go about it in studio?

TMike:

Honestly, it’s a mixture of both. I usually start off writing on my phone, no pen and pad. I got my notes and my phone. I start off with that. I can’t really completely write a song without going in the booth, so I’ll write down a little bit. Go in the booth, lay something down, see how it sounds. Freestyle a little bit, might ride a little bit more. It’s really based on the momentum I’m at when I’m in the booth.

Scrappy:

It’s interesting when you say the phone, because has there been an instance where, maybe it’s a compromising instance, but you hear something, you maybe you’re with your girl, maybe with your buddies at the club. “Yo, yo, yo, wait, hold on, hold up. I got something in my head.” And you record it.

TMike:

Yes. That’s happened. I was at a concert one time, I think it was called The Legends Tour. It was a Lil Durk, Lil Baby, Moneybagg Yo and we were in the crowd. We were sitting where we were sitting at, and I just had a thought in my head and I pulled my phone out and I was able to put it in my notes. I used to write. I used to have a composition notebook when I was in high school. I would write stuff down, but I’ve lost it. I mean, years ago. I haven’t seen that thing for a long time.

Scrappy:

Well, our audience is mostly business people and we all want to live vicariously through TMike. So tell us about one of your really great concert experiences.

TMike:

My favorite concert experience was, I believe it was that same concert, the Arena. We was in the Orlando Magic Arena and we actually, we had seats in the…

Scrappy:

No, no, no, no, no, no. I don’t want to hear about seats, TMike watching. I want to hear a concert story about TMike spitting.

TMike:

Oh, that was my favorite. My favorite experience had to be a few weeks ago. I was at a truth lounge in Tampa, had a show out there, and actually my brother, Sherm, it was his first time performing, and we performed our latest song, Bloody Nose live for the first time and the whole… Everybody in the club was going ridiculous. So it was a crazy feeling. Even my DJ, Hero, they were like, “Bro, we’ve never seen a club do that,” especially for me. You know what I mean? So for everybody to just be hanging on to listen to the words that I’m rapping and everybody just having fun and enjoying themselves.

Scrappy:

That was my next question.

TMike:

That was pretty much my favorite moment.

Scrappy:

Definitely. That’s my next question, because there’s baby steps, there’s recording, there’s feeling good about the recording, there’s getting your music out there, but all of a sudden to go to another city and perform and have the audience know your lyrics, man, that’s goosebumps, right?

TMike:

Yeah, that’s something. That’s something. My dream is to be able to just hold the mic out and have everybody sing my lyrics.

Scrappy:

Give it another year.

One more year.

TMike:

Yeah, man. Hey, I’m praying by the grace of God.

Scrappy:

So you have this great audience. They’re feeling you, they’re understanding you. Do you know who they are? Can you define who they are for us?

TMike:

Honestly, I say myself, I see the fans as me. Those people are who are in the crowd, it’s the same person who stand on that stage. I make my music for people like me. I make music because I fell in love with music. So I try to put what made me fall in love with music, into my music.

Scrappy:

Interesting, interesting. Young, old, black, white, tough, sensitive, young.

TMike:

It’s black, white, but younger. Most people I see at my shows are anywhere between, I say like 22 and 32.

Scrappy:

Okay. One thing…

Michael Barnes:

Hi, I’m Michael Barnes, owner of Content with Teeth. We are a creative content agency in Southwest Florida. We specialize in copywriting and video production with over two decades of experience creating unboring content. If you struggle to create compelling stuff for your business or client, check us out at contentwithteeth.com. Now, back to our show.

Scrappy:

… That I tell rappers that I think is very interesting, but oftentimes goes by the wayside, is understanding your audience and then marketing to them on site. Do you give them mixtapes? Do you get data from them? Do you get their email addresses or their IG addresses, their social media information because right there, that’s gold. When you have people singing your lyrics and repeating to you and feeling you on that level, somehow someway, you need to capture that.

TMike:

One thing I always do after every set I do, I let people know my Instagram and my email to connect with me. I always follow whoever follows me. I reach out to whoever, reach out to me because you don’t have to reach out to me. You don’t have to follow me. You don’t have to be a fan of mine, but I appreciate you for doing that. You know what I mean? So I try my best to reach out to each and every person.

Scrappy:

That’s awesome. That’s awesome because branding is the relationship between the product and the consumer, and you’re on stage and you’re doing it in real time, man, that’s really cool. How about your identity and your image? How would you describe yourself?

TMike:

I describe myself as just a hardworking, humble person man. I like to have fun just like everybody else. I like to enjoy the fruits of my labor, but honestly, I’m just a humble guy. I’m blessed to be alive. I’m blessed to be in a position I am. I don’t take life for granted at all. I know any day I could wake up and not be here.

(singing)

Scrappy:

I watch your videos. I see this sensitive guy, I see this tough guy. I see this guy that’s lyrically gifted. I see this party guy. I see this guy with a gun, pop, pop, pop, pop, pow. So I see all these different aspects of you, all these different facets of TMike. So if I’m a consumer, how would you describe yourself to us in terms of why we should listen to you?

TMike:

I would describe myself as human. Like you said, man, all those different things you see is different things that everybody go through. Everybody gets mad, everybody has fun. Everybody laughs, everybody cries. Sometimes you have to be serious, sometimes you want to be the comedic relief. So I would just simply describe myself as human. I just give you the human experience. Everything I go through, you go through.

Scrappy:

I feel you. For real. I’ve interviewed 500 rappers in my life and you’re very genuine. You’re very real. You’re very sincere. You’re caring man and I feel that through the podcast for sure.

TMike:

I appreciate that.

Scrappy:

Yeah, and it comes through, man. It’s real. And next 30 days, what song are you going to put together? What’s the message going to be? What’s the theme going to be? What story are you going to tell?

TMike:

The next 30 days I have a huge project I’m coming out with. It’s called Already Made It. I just finished shooting the video yesterday with Brand Films. Shout out Brand Films. Man, Already Made It is just about the way I feel right now in my career, in my life. Just feeling good, feeling like I’ve accomplished a lot of things. Not really everything that I need to accomplish, but I feel good about the position I’m in. So the song is about achieving things and putting your best foot forward. Feeling like you are on the right track and where you should be in life.

Scrappy:

You’re in a good place. You got a catalog kicking right now, you got your social media game, you’re doing concerts. People are identifying with you. You’re really in a good place, a really good position to take it to the next level. Speaking of which, competition, do you feel like you have any?

TMike:

Always, always feel like I’m in competition with people, but I honestly feel like my competition is the person that’s number one on the top 100 Billboards. My competition is the people who are constantly getting posted on blogs and the people that you see on TV. I’m with competition with Drake. That’s my competition. My competition is Tim’s and Wiz Kid and people like that. I see those people as my competition.

Scrappy:

Really? Afro beats?

TMike:

Well, anyone. I mean whoever’s at the top of the game, that’s my competition.

Scrappy:

Nice, nice.

TMike:

I’m a artist. Whether it’s Afro Beats, it can be drill beats from the UK, whatever it is, I’m up for the challenge. I just want to be the best that I could possibly be at my craft.

Scrappy:

You mentioned Drake. What makes him so successful?

TMike:

Man, timeless. I feel like he makes timeless music. He’s able to just go with the times. Whatever is needed in the world musically, Drake provides. I mean, you can like it, you can hate it and you can love it. I mean, whatever it is, he’s going to give you something to just listen to.

Scrappy:

It’s interesting because he’s a walking brand violation now. In marketing and branding we say, “Stick to a lane, have your niche, carve your identity.” And what does Drake do? Hip hop artist puts out a house album and it’s successful and it sounds great.

TMike:

Like you always say, “Throw something against the wall, see if it sticks.”

Scrappy:

Absolutely. Absolutely. So do you feel like you need radio and record labels to be successful?

TMike:

No. You need word of mouth. You need a fan base. You just need fans. You don’t need anything except for the fans, that’s really it.

Scrappy:

And we’re you rapping in grade school?

TMike:

Yeah, battle raps, cracking jokes and stuff like that. Nothing too serious, but, all the time. Every day, pretty much especially during lunch.

Scrappy:

You have a big personality for sure. And speaking about grade school, if you were to go back to grade school tomorrow and you were going to address the class, what kind of advice would you give them?

TMike:

Oh, man. I would tell them to never stop learning. Never be afraid to ask questions. When I was younger, I was afraid to raise my hand in class and ask questions but now that I’ve gotten older, knowledge truly is power. Learn as much as you possibly can and to understand the stock market. I wish they would teach financial literacy in school these days. They don’t teach anything that we could really use in the real world, except for math. That’s the only thing we’re actually taught so just learn outside of school, learn outside of the textbooks, and learn the stock market. That’s what I would tell them.

Scrappy:

I think you’d be a great teacher.

TMike:

I try my best man. The kids are the future. They need to know these things.

Scrappy:

So let’s say there’s an 18-year-old rapper that’s on the come up. He’s just starting out, what advice do you give him?

TMike:

Try your best to find an engineer. Find your own engineer. Find your own sound. Don’t go chasing waterfalls, don’t pay for streams. Don’t put your money into scams and to just be careful because there’s a lot of sharks out there against independent artists such as myself. You’re going to get fake emails, you’re going to get fake DMs. There’s going to be people telling you they could get you a Grammy like this. It’s fake. You got to understand these things. So number one thing is to be careful.

Scrappy:

My man, TMike. Got it going on. You got it going on and we’re sponsored by Content with Teeth, a creative content agency with over 20 years of experience right here in Southwest Florida. As you can see from the fat head, we’re doing a really big specializing in copywriting and video production. We got content and if you’d like to sponsor the Come Up or be a guest, hit me up at @heyscrappy on IG or text Mike at 21,000. TMike, I’m banking on you. If there’s a stock market I’m investing in you, my brother.

TMike:

Yes sir. Yes sir. DJ Scrappy, thank you so much, man. It’s always a pleasure talking to you. I greatly appreciate it.

 

February 13, 2023 The Come Up No comments yet
linkedin organic

Why The Office’s Michael Scott Stans LinkedIn Organic

Table of Contents

Why is Organic LinkedIn Marketing Important?

LinkedIn organic refers to content or strategy on the platform that is not advertising or paid media. This social network is one of the most potent platforms for connecting with decision-makers and colleagues. In addition, marketers prefer LinkedIn to communicate with businesses about their products and services, especially those in the B2B sector. 

 

Why You Should Care?

Organic LinkedIn marketing allows you to drive traffic to your website, identify quality leads, share your expertise through thought leadership content and grow your network.

You’ll feel that human interactions are worth your time, not some episode of The Office where everyone is scheming and plotting (except Pam!). In this post, you’ll learn how to utilize an organic approach on LinkedIn to build your brand and generate demand for your product or service.

What Does Organic Mean on LinkedIn?

To justify our fees as a forward-thinking marketing agency, Content with Teeth is plunging into Artificial Intelligence and recently chatted with Trigger Me Karen about how Michael Scott feels about LinkedIn organic.

 

linkedin organic

 

Even though Michael Scott is fictional, Trigger Me Karen reports that Dunder Mifflin’s head honcho views the platform as a “fantastic resource.” 

There you have it; that’s all you need! This really is a mic drop moment where this post should end, but we will soldier on discussing LinkedIn organic through the pop culture prism of The Office.

News Flash from a Non-Karen

Are you a visual learner? We have a video summarizing LinkedIn’s organic strategy for those who would rather watch than read.

 

 

Use a Swipe File to Craft Office-Worthy Non-Cringe Content on LinkedIn

It would be best to have a tool to generate ideas when you don’t know what to write and have a soul-crushing white screen staring at you bleakly. So, it would be best to have a tool like a swipe file.

A swipe file is a collection of unique content to get new ideas — you can save images and/or text sections from emails, social media posts, online ads, videos, blogs and any media you can screenshot and store as a resource in a spreadsheet format.

The primary purpose of a swipe file is to scan the collection of images and text, avoid Dwight stealing your precious ideas and then confront the whole office crew in an absurd Mexican stand-off.

 

What Does Organic Mean on LinkedIn?

Organic posts are more likely to appear in the feed of people you are connected with and follow you. A non-organic paid ad, however, enables companies to maximize their reach, increase their brand awareness and even drive leads.

Organic posting is cost-free posts by a company or user that aims to leverage its content to build your brand identity, showcase culture, promote events and/or share industry knowledge.

People and brands use organic posting to interact with their audience with consistent content that aims to persuade, entertain, inform, and educate.

The Pros and Cons of Organic LinkedIn Marketing

LinkedIn is a business social network. It does not suit all brands’ marketing strategies equally. You might find that it is a popular social media platform to promote your business, but you could find out that your ideal customer doesn’t exist within the pool of LinkedIn users. However, there are some benefits of getting involved with LinkedIn; let’s review the pros first:

  • B2B (or business-to-business marketing) thrives on LinkedIn
  • The LinkedIn Newsfeed has a long lifespan
  • Organic posting saves money
  • You can retain existing customers

You’ll soon be making connections and interacting with companies as soon as you start providing value. However, remember that organic results take time. You’ll need patience before seeing a swarm of followers on your LinkedIn company page. Let’s go to the downside of organic LinkedIn content — it might be harsh to say, but you’re quick on your feet like Jim and up for the challenge!

You may need to use paid ads to see faster results.

  • Organic content reach is down on most social media platforms
  • If your content doesn’t get engagements fast, the algorithm will stop promoting it
  • Paid advertising is expensive if you’re aiming for massive reach
  • You might get watered on…

How do I get more organic views on LinkedIn?

We might contradict ourselves by answering this question—however, the truth is that there is a way to thrive with organic posting, but you have to be patient. Avoid putting all your eggs in one basket; your business’s future might be risky. 

The secret is to build your target audience efficiently and produce contextual content for them — you might have a shot at going viral on LinkedIn and growing your audience without paid posts. It’s laborious but not impossible. Here are some things you could do to maximize your organic posting performance:

  • Set an engagement target
  • Deliver value
  • Maintain a steady posting cadence
  • Craft eye-catching formats
  • Respond to comments
  • Mix your content (post different topics)

 

Trigger Me Karen Commands You to Get Our Creative Tool

We don’t have the chat records but Trigger Me Karen is about to rampage if you don’t download our swipe file, a creative tool that allows you to store images and text and scan them on a spreadsheet, fomenting bursts of creative inspiration.

Appease Trigger Me Karen and fill out the form below!

 

How to Improve Your LinkedIn Organic Reach?

Like the last section of our article, you must keep your LinkedIn audience top-of-mind. If you are ready for a complete organic marketing strategy, consider these top tips:

  1. Boost your top-performing organic post consistently
  2. Repost on groups that fit your context
  3. Be active and be social
  4. Keep in mind that it’s not always about your business: add value always

The top advice is to answer comments and comment on other people’s posts. Social media algorithms, in general, are almost delivering little to low organic reach — especially the LinkedIn algorithm. So, the best thing you could do is to get people to notice your content by interacting with theirs. Business professionals will likely engage with posts offering insights about a specific industry, quotes, checklists, company updates, events, employee pictures, and educational videos.

Why Does Organic Content Matter on LinkedIn?

A lot of companies now jump on LinkedIn’s bandwagon. With over 700 million registered customers, this platform can drive quality traffic to your webpage. Remember that LinkedIn brings professionals and companies together in one sole platform. You must leave a positive impression if one finds its way into your content. You’ll need to drive attention by either providing high-value or entertaining content.

Considering an organic effort is crucial because you’re working to increase trust and expertise with your audience. You are also feeding the algorithm and exploring best practices for search engine optimization. You can contact us when the time is right, and we’ll gladly help you with your content strategy. Be a good Office mate and find an ally — “Would you like to form an alliance?”

Organic LinkedIn Marketing Best Practices

You should follow a few more tips to make your organic efforts close to perfection. Here are five more:

  • Use hashtags – they categorize content by using one or more words without spaces (#contentmarketing), for example. Use three or more per post so you can make your content discoverable by users.
  • Understand the differences between a profile and a LinkedIn page – a profile is where you add your experience and personal information, vs. a page where you add your business data.
  • Create LinkedIn posts of varying lengths – different formats and content densities will allow your audience to consume your content easily. They’ll recognize your effort and are more likely to interact with your content.
  • Share external articles on the platform – your chance to promote your blog articles, send traffic to your website, or comment on another thought leader’s content. This will increase your trustworthiness and boost your SEO efforts.
  • Publish consistently on other social media platforms — if you find one or two more social media channels that benefit your business, cross-promote to expand your reach.

 

The Importance of LinkedIn Groups

They are virtual meeting rooms where people with similar interests can post and discuss the same topics. You may help others understand your industry and have a shot at pitching your products and services.

A couple of best practices exist to improve your LinkedIn groups. It’s crucial to focus on sharing value-add content rather than making a sales pitch.

Find the right group using the easy-to-use LinkedIn search tools to find people near you with the same interests or common goals.

  • Ensure people are active in that group: how many posts are they sharing? Are people engaging?
  • Reach out to some group members and ask them if it’s helpful.
  • Study the content in the group and share similar content or something that will provide more value. Answer questions to show your expertise, and ask questions too!
  • Promote when possible but without entering the spam zone

Trigger Me Karen and Michael Scott Are LinkedIn Besties

Trigger Me Karen must have the last word and reports that Michael Scott would stan a LinkedIn organic strategy.

linkedin organic

We don’t know what stan means, but the young people say it and parrot them to appear semi-relevant in the current cultural moment.

We do ask you to stan our swipe file. It’s a creative tool that will allow you to place the above image of Michael Scott next to a screengrab of male hair growth therapy ad copy.

Say what you will about Michael Scott, but he has an awesome hairline!

Grow creative follicles and download our swipe file!

Video Transcript

Michael Barnes:

Welcome. Hello, my name is Michael Barnes from Content With Teeth. Today, we have Kate Pozeznik on a call. Kate is a resume writer and LinkedIn guru, and today we are going to ask Kate some questions about LinkedIn Organic. Kate, LinkedIn Organic, does that have something to do with farming or the earth, or what exactly is LinkedIn Organic?

Kate Pozeznik:

Great question. No, we’re not diving into gardening today. There’s nothing related to food or growing. However, when we talk about organic growth in LinkedIn, it’s how can we engage in a way with our audience without necessarily using paid advertising or without doing some kind of promotions that’s paid. So it’s more like, how do you create content that targets your audience in a way that connects with them and grows your business organically as opposed to growing in other ways?

Michael Barnes:

Okay. If you had to deploy one strategy to boost your LinkedIn organic presence, what would it be and why?

Kate Pozeznik:

Well, that’s a good question, and I think it’s different for everyone. I can share what has worked for me as a business owner is connecting with my audience who happen to be women executives, is understanding what kind of content is of interest to them, and then deciding in what format should that be delivered. So for some folks, that could mean video delivery, because that’s the type of media that the target audience wants to consume. For me, what’s been successful is long form posts, and what I mean is what it sounds like. It’s a longer written piece that you post on social media, and the way I structure it is I talk about something personal that a lot of people can relate to, and then I transition into how does this relate to building your career as a female executive?

For me, that has reached a lot of people who can identify with some of the challenges I’ve presented. For example, I talk about a toxic work environment that I was in several years back, and that it made me an unhealthy person physically, mentally, emotionally, and how difficult it was to create a plan in terms of how to transition out and just doing something else. A lot of people can identify with stress in the workplace, gaining weight, relationships that are under stress because of your job. So, when I post something like that, someone can identify it and say, “These are a few ways that you could transition your career without putting yourself at risk financially or otherwise.” Those things tend to really resonate with my target audience.

Now, I’m not saying that this is necessarily something that would work for everyone, and one thing I wanted to mention is that one of the trends that we’re seeing in social media but LinkedIn as well is video is queen. So I know that a lot of people are hearing that. Video, video, video. It is true. That’s the type of content a lot of audiences are looking for. So if you’re the type of person who feels comfortable in front of a camera, that might be your avenue toward reaching those people and growing your audience.

Michael Barnes:

My third and final question, Kate, is what are some tips to improve your LinkedIn profile? And the second part of that question is specifically to this new year. We are recording this on January 3rd, 2023. What are some things that are new in LinkedIn that we can deploy in 2023 to improve your LinkedIn profile?

Kate Pozeznik:

I have all sorts of tips around creating a stellar profile that’s going to grab your audience’s attention as well as some trends. So I’m going to try to fit in as much as I can here without overwhelming our listeners. The first piece of advice I would give is to create a robust profile, and what I mean by that is the more you fill out, the more relevant connections you’re going to receive. A recent headshot. A lot of times, I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a networking event and you’d seen a picture of someone that you’re meant to meet up with, and when you go to the networking event, you cannot find that person. And you realize it’s because they look nothing like the photo that they posted on LinkedIn or another social media site. So I always recommend if your photo is older than a couple years or you’ve changed your hairstyle, something like that, then that is the time to update your headshot.

Another thing that is really important is having a strong headline. That is the text that’s featured directly underneath your name and headshot. That needs to be strong, because it’s directly below your name, so it’s one of the first things people are going to see, but it’s also what folks are going to see when you, for example, comment on a post. All that is visible is your name and that headline. So if it’s relevant, if it involves or features your value prop differentiators, that is going to grab someone’s attention and the right audience members. Now, let me just give you a quick example to give some context here. So, one way of doing this could be your job title, and then helping X do Y. So for example, chief marketing officer helping Fortune 100 companies increase demand generation, revenue growth, and brand awareness. So you have some specific areas of expertise that are being called out. So, those are a couple big things.

The other piece of your LinkedIn profile that is really critical and it’s a great opportunity to show some personality and really lay out what you do, who you serve, and how you do it is your about summary. Now, this tends to be the section of LinkedIn profiles that everyone is afraid of doing, because it’s just a big open block. I suggest keeping it short and sweet. You don’t need to write a novel. They give you a lot of space, but there’s no need to necessarily take up that much room. And what you want to do is have a great hook. The first three lines are all someone’s going to see before they click open your about summary. So those three lines need to grab someone’s attention. One line that I had used in the past was, “If you told me I’d be founding a tech startup just two years ago, I would’ve laughed.”

That’s a way of transitioning into what you really want to convey to your audience. Think about your mission, what are you out to do, why do you do it, and how do you do it different or better than someone else in your industry or in your role? So those are a few things that I would say spend the most time in those areas. There are other sections in your LinkedIn profile that I think are important but not as critical. So if you only have limited time, I would suggest spending it there. And then, another part of this is becoming a LinkedIn All-Star. And the reason you want to do this is because all-star profiles rank higher in searches by recruiters, prospective talent, your peers. You are actually 40 times more likely to be found in searches. So in order to figure out where you stand in terms of becoming a LinkedIn All-Star there is a profile status on your dashboard, which is located directly under your about section.

And one of those foundational elements that LinkedIn is looking for for all-star profiles is the amount of connections that you have. It needs to be 500 plus. However, I would tell people that you want to prioritize quality over quantity when it comes to connections, because the way algorithms work is your content is often populated based on the people you’re connected with, what you’re looking at. So you need to make sure that you’re very focused in that area. I want to pivot from there to talk a little bit about the latest and greatest, because I want to be conscious of time, which is talking about some of the content preferences people have, and I touched on this a little bit ago. Audience members or LinkedIn users, and let me just tell you how robust of a network LinkedIn has. There is 850 LinkedIn users as of July 2022, so that number of course has probably risen, and about 260 million of them are actually monthly engaged users, but only 3 million people are posting. So I know that was a lot of numbers, but the point here is that-

Michael Barnes:

That was 850 million total users, right?

Kate Pozeznik:

Total users, but only 260 of them are consistent monthly users. Out of that, just 3 million people or professionals are engaging. They’re posting content, they’re liking posts and so on. What that means for us, if you are a business owner and entrepreneur, you have a great advantage if you are engaging on LinkedIn, and it doesn’t have to be every single day, hours a day. What people are looking for though is personalized content, meaning that you’re being more authentic, you’re being more genuine, you’re giving behind the scenes. “This is what it’s like to be a content creator or a resume writer or a lawn care service owner.” People like hearing things like that. So LinkedIn is doing something where they’re aligning more personalized content recommendations based on your user activity and interest. Now, this means that if you’re a consistent poster or engager, then the algorithms are going to be more kind to you in terms of who is actually able to see your posts and content and the type of content that you are seeing.

So that can be something that people should keep in mind. There are some news with newsletters and recurring articles. You can actually build a subscriber list by sending out a one-time notification to page followers, and then those followers or newsletter subscribers will get consistent reminders of when you post. So this is good if you have a newsletter. Now, you have two touchpoints where you can get folks engaged with the written materials that you present on LinkedIn. One thing to note, and this is important across LinkedIn on your profile, is incorporating SEO practices so that members can more easily find your profile and newsletter. As a business owner or an entrepreneur or you’re offering services as a freelancer or contract worker, you can create a services page. And before, you could only include photographs. Now, you can actually add videos and links to a services page. However, right now, those links are limited to certain domains, which include Google Drive, Vimeo, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

So as of right now, you’re limited as to the types of domains that you can leverage in terms of adding. However, this is an awesome opportunity to showcase some of your work in a media that is different than photographs. And so, you can use this to make your services page stand out. I mentioned video content is really a big deal, and one easy way if you’re video averse, one thing that you could do is turn on creator mode in your LinkedIn profile, and you can create a 30-second introduction video to let people know who you are and what you do. People feel that that personal connection comes through video as opposed to written text. So, video is also more memorable, and it makes you seem more human to others. So that’s a really great opportunity to just show people who you are and in a short clip.

So those are a few things that people should be keeping in mind is leveraging some of these tools to stand out and differentiate yourself. And not all these tools are being leveraged, so if you are utilizing them, you are putting yourself at a great advantage. I think one thing that you asked about too was how you can make your LinkedIn profile a selling tool. And there are some things that I would just like to emphasize when you’re thinking about leveraging that social media platform to sell. I preach value first, selling second. Give away information of value to people before you try to sell them. So, what that would mean is building out your LinkedIn profile page, offering thought leadership or education. So, let’s just say you own a tire shop. Post a quick article or a blurb about three ways that you can avoid uneven wear on your tires.

It’s helpful information, it doesn’t take long to create, and it’s relevant to your business. So, using keywords throughout is also going to help, so take advantage of that. And then, leveraging a features section which gives you another opportunity to showcase testimonials from past clients or customers, videos, and so on. And then, engaging. And I know I’ve brought that up a few times, but it really can make the difference if you engage with the people who are reading or viewing your content is keeping that in mind. And then, having some kind of call to action when you post, or even when you send a direct message to someone. You need to tell people what you want them to do after they’ve engaged with your content. If you want them to go to your website, say, “Go to my website for more information,” or “If you’d like to learn about X, DM me.” So those things are really important. Otherwise, our audience members don’t know what they’re supposed to do next with the information they’ve been given.

Michael Barnes:

Okay. Thank you so much for these super helpful tips on LinkedIn Organic. Can you just tell us, for people that would like to learn more about you and your company, where to find you?

Kate Pozeznik:

Certainly. I appreciate that. My web address is quirkpersonalbranding.com, and quirk is a quirky word. It’s Q-U-I-R-K personalbranding.com. So yes, if you have questions, feel free to go on my website. You can also contact me via email, which is [email protected]. It’s been a real pleasure.

Michael Barnes:

Great. Thank you, Kate. Absolutely. Thank you so much. We’ll talk soon.

Kate Pozeznik:

Sounds great. Thanks.

February 2, 2023 Social Media No comments yet
Episode 16 of Content with Teeth's video podcast The Come Up features the owners of Made For This Fitness gym

Train with Brains 💪

The Come Up Episode 16 Video Transcript

Scrappy:

I’m Scrappy, and welcome to The Come Up, a video podcast featuring Southwest Florida entrepreneurs and business leaders. We’re sponsored by Content with Teeth, a creative content agency with over 20 years of experience right here in Southwest Florida. And as you can see by this fathead, they do it really big, specializing in copywriting and video production. They’ve got content, lots of content. And if you’d like to sponsor The Come Up or be a guest, hit me up at HeyScrappy on IG or Mike at 21,000 by text. Today’s guests, special guests, Teddy and Cherish Joseph, owners of MadeForThis Fitness gym in Lehigh Acres, my hometown. And you guys have a very unique approach to exercise, nutrition, and overall fitness. I’m very impressed with y’all. I checked out your website.

Teddy Joseph:

Yes, yes. Thank you. Thank you-

Cherish Joseph:

Thank you.

Teddy Joseph:

… for having us.

Cherish Joseph:

Yeah, hi.

Scrappy:

I like your website a lot. The photography, you get to the point. You really educate us very quickly on what you’re all about. Can you tell us about yourselves?

Teddy Joseph:

Yeah, we are a group and personal training facility where we specialize and customize all various different types of nutrition programs, customized exercising. We focus on culture, family. We focus on just making people feel [inaudible 00:01:32] the new style of exercise science and understanding what they’re doing, how to do it, what to eat, when to eat, how to eat. We just do it all. So one-stop shop for fitness and making sure that everybody feels welcome.

Scrappy:

I like when you say culture, because every gym or fitness center has culture. How do you differentiate yours from the others?

Teddy Joseph:

We just like to keep a very positive and upbeat environment. So our environment is very positive, very uplifting. You have coaches, trainers, just everybody there from the time you walk in to the time you leave out, welcoming you and embracing you with everything that has to do with health and fitness and just giving you that little touch of love, man. Just really, showing you a great time at MaddeForThis Fitness.

Scrappy:

How long have y’all been in business?

Teddy Joseph:

We’ve been in business for about seven years now.

Scrappy:

And you’re right next to the ice cream store. That’s got to be crazy discipline for y’all.

Teddy Joseph:

It is crazy discipline. [inaudible 00:02:32].

Scrappy:

Do you ever have any weakness? Any weakness, and you go over there and help yourself to ice cream?

Cherish Joseph:

Yeah-

Teddy Joseph:

[inaudible 00:02:38] yeah.

Cherish Joseph:

We go occasionally, yeah. They have really good ice cream.

Teddy Joseph:

They have really good [inaudible 00:02:41], have really good foot traffic as well, so it brings a lot of people’s curiosity along. So that’s pretty cool.

Scrappy:

You guys are entrepreneurs. It’s not easy being an entrepreneur. It’s a leap of faith. There’s risk taking involved, there’s passion, certainly. I can see it in your website and yourselves. Can you tell us about your entrepreneurial experience and journey?

Cherish Joseph:

Okay, I grew up, and I worked nine to five type of jobs because you can rely on security when it comes to that. And he played sports and played football and everything like that and worked as well. So he was actually the first one that did entrepreneur, jumped into that. And I was like, “Okay, if that’s something you want to do, you’re really going to go for it.” I was supporting it. But I still worked my nine to five, you know what I’m saying? So we brought in money and everything like that.

And then it started growing, and I seen him. And he’s just really good with people and just wanting to help. So it took me a little bit longer to fully be like, “Okay, let me just immerse myself into entrepreneurship” because there’s no security in it. You literally have to give all your time. You have to literally go out there and get it because if you don’t, there’s nothing coming in.

Scrappy:

It’s awesome because-

Cherish Joseph:

One or the other-

Scrappy:

I’m sorry. You’re customizing the experience, but you’re also making it personal, and you have an expert. So I got Teddy or Cherish saying, “Come on, let’s do this.”

Teddy Joseph:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

Cherish Joseph:

When they come into a class, you can have people that’s been with us for five years, and then you have people that today’s their first day. They can all come to the same class, but every exercise is demonstrated with a modified version and an advanced version, so everybody can come to the same class but get it at their fitness level. And everything can always be modified, so there’s really no limit to any type of [inaudible 00:04:40] that we can do.

Teddy Joseph:

Yes.

Scrappy:

So if we had to break it down on a pie chart between psychology, mindset, mental strength versus just being fit and buff and looking good, perhaps sexual, and then perhaps nutrition and being healthy, how do you break down that pie chart? What percentages? Can you break that down for me? They’re all important.

Teddy Joseph:

Yeah, they’re all important. But first and foremost, in that pie chart, I would say mindset.

Cherish Joseph:

Yes.

Teddy Joseph:

You have to understand mindset before just diving into fitness or trying to grasp the mindset. Because there’s a lot of mental barriers and mental illusions that we put up. “Oh, I can’t do that.” There’s a lot of things that you beat yourself up on before you even step into the battlefield.

Scrappy:

Interesting. You seem like a guru. Did you create these programs?

Teddy Joseph:

I did create these programs, yep.

Scrappy:

Okay. And-

Teddy Joseph:

I spent a lot of time playing sports my whole life; playing football, basketball, running track. I went to school for exercise science, have a degree in exercise science and sports management. I did a lot of coaching, working with mentors. I’ve just done a lot in the field of exercise, science, and health and wellness.

Scrappy:

So you’re like a scientist. You’re tinkering. Always trying to get better, right?

Cherish Joseph:

[inaudible 00:06:23] a lot, yeah. He’s very good.

Teddy Joseph:

It’s what turns me on, man.

Scrappy:

Very cool. Very cool. You’re a great role model. How do you encourage women to get in the gym and stay there?

Cherish Joseph:

Just being relatable. You know what I mean? For instance, yesterday I didn’t get to do my regular workout like I normally would outside, so I just grabbed some bands. And in between tasks that I had to do, I was doing band exercises in the house. So instead of being like, “Oh, I didn’t get to do it today,” I really just try to make it more of a priority. Even if it’s 15 minutes, I’ll be like, “You don’t have to have a whole gym. You can literally use your baby, do some body squats. There’s a lot of things that you [inaudible 00:07:00] and make it more relatable and just more seem like it’s easier.” And they feel a lot better. You want to feel like a woman first. You know what I mean? So it helps a lot of women.

Scrappy:

What’s your ratio for male to female at your gym?

Teddy Joseph:

I would say about 70%, 75% women, and then the rest male.

Scrappy:

Wow, that’s amazing. That’s awesome. That’s really great. That’s really great. Because I think of a Pilates, I think of Tai Chi, yoga, swimming and so forth, as far as building up our bodies in a unique way. And just weightlifting, Teddy, you’re probably not a proponent of just doing that, right?

Teddy Joseph:

No, no. We focus on overall health and wellness, so we’re not just lifting weights all the time. We have mobility periods of the class where we stretch, we focus, we do yoga. We implement a lot of different things because like I said, it’s not just about banging the weights all the time. Sometimes you might just need the resistant bands. Sometimes you might need therapeutic exercises, things to really, really work those small, small, minute muscle fibers. So it’s not really just about banging heavy weights all the time.

Cherish Joseph:

[inaudible 00:08:22] curls.

Teddy Joseph:

[inaudible 00:08:26] curls, right?

Scrappy:

A customer of yours, maybe it’s a female and she’s been working hard, she’s been grinding and trying to make it happen for herself physically, but her tummy is still sticking out. How do you break that news to her? How do you politely say, “Girlfriend, you still have a big old tummy?”

Teddy Joseph:

Well, I wouldn’t say that. But what I would do is try to find solutions for her. I’m a solution-oriented person, man. I want to figure out how can we find a solution for this problem, for this issue? What are you doing? I’m going to evaluate, what are you doing? I’m going to ask you to assess and take daily inventory of what you’re eating, how much times are you exercising, what’s the calorie deficits? What are we doing? You know what I’m saying? What are we doing? I will evaluate, step by step, what is going on in your daily routine that is leading to that end result. Because that’s the fruit that you’re bearing for me right now, and we want to get to the root of the issue and find out what’s going on beneath the surface. You see what I’m saying? So that we can go ahead and produce better fruits.

Scrappy:

You’re like a PhD without a PhD/

Cherish Joseph:

I’m telling you, when he’s always educating himself, he is always educating. He doesn’t just reach a certain level of knowledge and then that’s it. He’s always learning. Always educating himself, always growing, always evolving, and just trying to give more.

Teddy Joseph:

Yeah. [inaudible 00:09:57]

Scrappy:

How about marketing?

Teddy Joseph:

[inaudible 00:09:58].

Scrappy:

Teddy, you’re a scientist when it comes to exercise. How about nutrition? Do you have your own programs?

Teddy Joseph:

Yes, we do have our own programs. I’m a nutritional specialist, so I do have my own programs that I teach people step-by-step, just giving them a great guide, reference points of as what to eat, what times to eat. Just things that will help them store fat, things that will help them decrease fat, things that will help them bring out more lean muscle. Just science-based information, getting down to the nitty gritty. It is nothing that’s very, very attractive or sexy to, “Hey, you’re going to lose 30 pounds in two days.” You know? It’s none of that stuff, but it’s really based off of sound, nutritional concepts. And I believe in, like I said, the lifestyle change of your journey rather than it’s just a quick fix, just a 15 day, 21 day, you know?

Cherish Joseph:

He’s not giving himself enough credit. All of our workout programs, all of our nutrition programs, all of our nutritional coaching, all that kind of stuff, he has made his self. He has it down to where it is so self-explanatory and so easy that our children, that are eight years old, three years old, understand it.

Teddy Joseph:

They know what carbs are.

Scrappy:

Wow, wow.

Cherish Joseph:

They know what carbs are. Even on the nutrition plan, it’s literally, for metabolism, it’s sunrise to sunset type of thing on how you should eat and when you should eat at the part of the day. He’s put so much time and effort into it. I’ll be like, “I want to do this type of training and this and this and this,” and then he’ll put it all together, customize it for you. You just have to do it. You have to hold yourself accountable. And we help the clients hold themselves accountable. But there’s nothing that he cannot create. Like-

Teddy Joseph:

And that’s another thing that you said: accountability. Accountability is-

Cherish Joseph:

And consistency.

Teddy Joseph:

… huge. Accountability and consistency is huge. And that is something-

Scrappy:

Discipline too, right?

Teddy Joseph:

Yeah-

Cherish Joseph:

Yeah.

Teddy Joseph:

… definitely. Discipline. Having that discipline mindset that to whether or not I feel like it. Because we all operate best when we feel like it, right? You know what I’m saying?

Scrappy:

Right, right.

Teddy Joseph:

We feel like it, we’re like, “Oh yeah, I’ll give it a [inaudible 00:12:18].” But understanding that whether you feel like it or not, I’m still going to do the same consistent patterns and habits every day. And that’s going to get you to your goals faster. [inaudible 00:12:30]

Scrappy:

Can you tell us about…? I’m sorry, go ahead.

Teddy Joseph:

And then we have your back holding you accountable. Checking on you, making sure that you’re doing the things that you say you’re doing, checking your logs. We have a private group that we form, making sure that everybody’s on board, everybody’s accountable, we communicating and interacting with each other.

It’s one thing for me just to tell the members, but when there’s other members interacting and encouraging each other and pushing each other, it creates that real team and family-oriented environment that really, really helps people get going because we can throw ideas at each other, back and forth. You know?

Scrappy:

Sure, sure.

Cherish Joseph:

All our members know each other’s names. We want everybody to know everybody.

Speaker 4:

Hi, I’m Michael Barnes, owner of Content with Teeth. We are a creative content agency in Southwest Florida. We specialize in copywriting and video production with over two decades of experience creating unboring content. If you struggle to create compelling stuff for your business or client, check us out at contentwithteeth.com. Now, back to our show.

Scrappy:

Here I am thinking salads and water is the secret, and you’ve got this-

Teddy Joseph:

No.

Scrappy:

… nutrition program.

Cherish Joseph:

It’s real food.

Teddy Joseph:

Definitely don’t want to do salads and water, man.

Scrappy:

Can you tell us a great customer experience? A great customer success story?

Teddy Joseph:

So many.

Cherish Joseph:

There are.

Teddy Joseph:

So many.

Cherish Joseph:

Miss Kate?

Teddy Joseph:

You can talk about her.

Cherish Joseph:

Okay, Kate is one of our senior clients. She comes in every single day with the best attitude. And she loves coming into the gym. She looks forward to it every single day. And she’s an older lady. She has a lot of balance issues. Her balance-

Teddy Joseph:

Balance and coordination.

Cherish Joseph:

… when she came to us, yeah. She couldn’t walk straight or have good balance. So she’s been doing our workout programs and our nutrition, and she has developed a lot of tone, muscle mass, and her balance. She has gotten a lot faster in her paces, and she’s lifting a lot more. And she spreads her energy. We have MVCs of the Month, Most Valuable Clients, we do that at our gym, that exude all of the things that we want our gym to be. And she’s gotten it a bunch. And so she just wants everybody to succeed. She’s super encouraging, and she just exudes what MadeForThis is. But her transition and transformation from when she started with us to now is like-

Teddy Joseph:

Night and day, man.

Cherish Joseph:

It’s night and day. You could barely see that she has a balance thing. And she’s a lot more mobile. She does some special stretching-

Teddy Joseph:

Stretches and mobility.

Cherish Joseph:

Stretching and mobility with Teddy that’s really helped her. Then we’ve had one of our clients, she lost… Tiara lost… In two months, she lost 40?

Teddy Joseph:

Yeah.

Cherish Joseph:

We have one client, she lost 42 pounds in two months, and she’s great. They all just-

Teddy Joseph:

And then we-

Cherish Joseph:

… come in.

Teddy Joseph:

And then we have those Tiaras consistently. People that lose 40, 50 pounds in eight weeks.

Scrappy:

Wow, wow.

Teddy Joseph:

People that have amazing belly fat loss transformation pictures. Our transformations at MadeForThis Fitness speak for themselves.

Cherish Joseph:

We have a wall of them.

Scrappy:

Oh, cool.

Teddy Joseph:

[inaudible 00:16:12] yeah.

Scrappy:

Okay. I want to give some quick-hitter questions to wrap this up. And if you could just give me quick responses to each question, I’d appreciate it. Anti-aging tips.

Teddy Joseph:

Anti-aging tips.

Cherish Joseph:

It really goes back to nutrition. You know what I mean? Of course you need to take your water. And then the foods you eat, they can aid you, or they can help anti-age. He’s the scientist when it comes down to all of that, but everything always circles back to nutrition.

Scrappy:

Teddy, how do you get people from quitting?

Teddy Joseph:

Making them find out… Finding out their why. Their why determines everything. Their why for committing, their why for starting a program, the exercise. Their why. Their purpose, their mission behind why they’re doing what they’re doing. If you can remember your why, you can find a will to keep pushing.

Scrappy:

Is exercise addictive?

Teddy Joseph:

Yes, it is.

Cherish Joseph:

Yes.

Teddy Joseph:

A great addiction.

Scrappy:

Can it be too addictive?

Teddy Joseph:

Not really. No, I don’t think so.

Scrappy:

Okay.

Teddy Joseph:

Just depends on how you look at the glass.

Scrappy:

Home gyms. Do you dissuade people from having a home gym to come to you guys?

Teddy Joseph:

No.

Cherish Joseph:

No.

Teddy Joseph:

I definitely encourage home gyms. Whatever you can’t get done at MFTF, or if you need extra assistance, extra help, I’ll give you a guide, I’ll give you support, whatever you need to accomplish that thing at home in your own gym. [inaudible 00:17:52]

Scrappy:

Can you get a bigger butt on the StairMaster?

Teddy Joseph:

On the StairMaster? Yes, you can. Just depending on how you use it. Yeah, so there’s the tension technique with the exercise definitely. You can use that.

Scrappy:

Is there such a thing as being too buff?

Cherish Joseph:

No.

Teddy Joseph:

No. The same thing. It’s how you view the glass.

Cherish Joseph:

Okay, okay.

Teddy Joseph:

If that’s what fits your cup of tea, man, go for it.

Scrappy:

Do you suggest ancillary exercise such as martial arts or swimming?

Teddy Joseph:

Yes, we do.

Cherish Joseph:

Yeah.

Teddy Joseph:

Yep. It provides, like I said, a different component of muscle group, especially something like swimming that’s low impact on the joints. A lot of seniors can benefit for from those type of programs where it’s swimming, something that’s low impact, resistance with just nature. That’s very, very beneficial.

Scrappy:

Have either of you smack-talked to coach, “Come on!” and talk some crap to get them motivated?

Cherish Joseph:

You should hear us work out together.

Teddy Joseph:

That’s a part of the routine.

Cherish Joseph:

It’s part of it. Sometimes you have good workouts, sometimes you’re mad. But as long as you are in there getting better, 1% better, it’s all that matters.

Teddy Joseph:

Yeah. And it’s always encouraging smack talk.

Cherish Joseph:

Yeah.

Teddy Joseph:

Yeah.

Scrappy:

Okay. Teddy, I know we’ve covered this quite a bit, but if you had 30 seconds, like an elevator pitch, you’re on the first floor, you’re going up to the 16th floor, and I’m in there with you in the elevator, “Scrappy, you got to join my gym, dammit.” What would you say to me in such a short period of time?

Teddy Joseph:

I’ll say, “Hey, Scrap man, listen. You must come to MadeForThis Fitness. Why? Because it’s going to help you, man. It’s going to help your lifestyle. It’s going to help your perspective. It’s going to help you become better at your job now. Whatever you’re doing now, it’s going to help you just push out all the energy and confidence and just take your game to another level. Your body was made to move, you were made to function in this way. So please, man, do yourself the biggest favor and come to MadeForThis Fitness.”

Scrappy:

All right, all right. Any social handles that you want to pitch?

Teddy Joseph:

Yes.

Scrappy:

Social IDs?

Teddy Joseph:

Definitely tap into MadeForThis Fitness LLC One on Instagram. You can also follow us at Made for This Fitness LLC on Facebook. And then of course our website, www.madeforthisfitness.com. Tap in. We got a bunch of nutritional programs, exercise programs, a whole ton of goodness to help you elevate your game and take your health and fitness to the next level.

Cherish Joseph:

We are doing-

Scrappy:

MadeForThis Fitness. Go ahead, Cherish.

Cherish Joseph:

We’re doing a free bootcamp on September 10th, so if anybody wants to come-

Teddy Joseph:

Southwest Florida.

Cherish Joseph:

Yes, we have-

Teddy Joseph:

It’s free.

Cherish Joseph:

Just go to our website under our events and just reserve your ticket. It’s free, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Teddy Joseph:

Come and move with us.

Scrappy:

Very nice, very nice. I appreciate you being in Lehigh. Have you ever heard of this? Lehigh! Have you heard of that?

Cherish Joseph:

No.

Teddy Joseph:

I haven’t.

Scrappy:

I’m a radio disc jockey. I started doing that 10 years ago. Lehigh!

Cherish Joseph:

Are you from here?

Scrappy:

Excuse me?

Cherish Joseph:

Are you from here?

Scrappy:

18 years I’ve been here.

Cherish Joseph:

Oh wow.

Teddy Joseph:

We’ll be there, man. MadeForThis Fitness. Y’all stay tuned. Let’s get it.

Cherish Joseph:

You might see him running on Homestead sometimes too.

Scrappy:

Thank you so much. I really enjoyed that.

Teddy Joseph:

Yeah. Thank you for having us, Scrappy.

Scrappy:

One time. One time for Teddy and Cherish Joseph. MadeForThis Fitness, an awesome couple. We’re sponsored by Content with Teeth, a creative content agency with over 20 years of experience right here in Southwest Florida. As you can see from this fathead, we’re doing it really big, specializing in copywriting and video production. We got all kinds of content. You name it, we got it. If you’d like to sponsor The Come Up or be a guest, hit me up at HeyScrappy on IG, or text Mike at 21,000. Content with Teeth’s The Come Up.

January 30, 2023 Content, The Come Up No comments yet

Seek a Commemorative Ticket to Heaven 🎫

 

Video Transcription

Scrappy:

I’m Scrappy. Welcome to The Come Up a video podcast featuring Southwest Florida entrepreneurs, business leaders. We’re sponsored by Content with Teeth, a creative content agency with over 20 years of experience right here in Southwest Florida. And as you can see by this fat head behind me, they do it really big. Really big. Specializing in copywriting and video production. They’ve got content if you want to sponsor The Come Up or be a guest, hit me up @heyscrappy on IG or text Mike at 21000. Today really digging this guest. Very interesting, very innovative. Today’s guest is Matt Wolff, owner of Ticket Time Machine, an innovative company that celebrates sports and business moments of our past with commemorative tickets. Remember that Dolphins game you went to last year with your family? Well, Matt can hook you up with the tickets all over again. Matt, very clever idea buddy.

Matt Wolff:

Yeah, I appreciate that. It’s ironic I grew up in New Jersey and I don’t like the Dolphins, but what are you going to do?

Scrappy:

Yeah, so tell us about your company.

Matt Wolff:

Yeah. Ticket Time Machine, we’re keeping the printed memory alive with our physical keepsakes. And so if you have an event, you want to commemorate it with something a little bit unique. We customize and personalized, we’ve bridged it with some physical experiences to really enhance the experience of the fan or the attendee and then also have old school tickets. People request this all the time. “Hey, I went to event, I have a digital ticket, can you print me something?” And we have our stock, we can do it.

Scrappy:

Which of the two are more popular?

Matt Wolff:

Well, the people sending for the authentic one, I get more requests for that just because it’s a one-off thing. The animated stuff that we do is more for B2B type stuff.

Scrappy:

The animation and the commemorative. It’s like two different audiences, isn’t it? Two different customers.

Matt Wolff:

Yeah, two different customers. Although you could go B2B with the authentic stuff. I think they’ve moved away from that a little bit and everything depends on volume and what you’re kind of looking to do. But yeah, people love the old school ticket, just walk around with like, ‘hey, this is a cool thing’, rather than whatever they got going on digitally. And I get why they’re doing it, for admission. But people still want something to commemorate and remember the events that they went to and it brings back the memories of who they were with and there’s a whole host of reasons why someone would want to remember an event or a trip or anything.

Scrappy:

Something very tangible. Something that they can touch and see and feel and share with their family members.

Matt Wolff:

Yeah, it’s never going to go away. I don’t know why people think, money’s never going to go away. It’s not in our lifetime at least. And there’s a reason why people like it. It’s not worth anymore than digital funds, a credit card or cash. It’s worth the same, but it’s never going away. So yes, the people want physical stuff, some people hate it, some people want it. I’m a minimalist, I don’t want any clutter, put it all on my phone. And I’m not that type of person, that’s why I started the company.

Scrappy:

Sure. So where do people typically place these things? And they do they encase them? Do they create plaques? They have frames? What do they do?

Matt Wolff:

Yeah, I just posted about that today. All kinds of things. There’s scrapbooks, memory boxes, people just collect them in a shoebox, they frame them, people have created tabletops with them. There’s so many unique different ways that you can do to keep these things and it just depends. Do you have a ton of them? Is it just one real special event? We’re working on some stuff where you can put an acrylic picture next to the ticket that you did-

Scrappy:

Cool.

Matt Wolff:

For a game. That’s maybe just a one-off type thing, but people have hundreds of these tickets. Sport-

Scrappy:

I was going to ask you about that actually because my dad and I went to Fenway Park many times. We’d see Carl Rimsky and I was a kid and maybe to place Carl’s picture on the commemorative ticket would be kind of cool.

Matt Wolff:

So we would love to recreate, literally recreate a ticket from the past or create a really cool ticket. We don’t have permission to do that.

Scrappy:

Okay.

Matt Wolff:

So everything relies on who do we partner with or who becomes a customer of ours. And that’s the ideal way, is for them to become a customer. We supply it for them to offer it to their fans and we’re working on some pretty neat stuff with regards to that. Have you ever been to an event that was worth talking about that had nothing on the back of it? I’ve never been to-

Scrappy:

No, no. Definitely not.

Matt Wolff:

So why would you do a commemorative one? It doesn’t really cost any money. Anyone who knows printing, it’s pennies to put something on the back of that, even if it’s just a black disclaimer. And I use that as an opportunity to sort of entertain, like an Easter egg type of thing where I’ll put a joke as a disclaimer, strong lyrics, just to make up something funny that people will read because most people don’t read the disclaimer and then they’ll start to read and they’re like, wait, what’s going on?

Scrappy:

Well you have to be creative because if I’m going to encase maybe 10 events, both sports and music of my past, these ticket stubs are going to have to look really different and unique. Each one of them.

Matt Wolff:

Yes and no. Because if I showed you my book, which is over there, most Ticketmaster venues use the Ticketmaster stock, which looked exactly the same except for that. Now it’s tricky without getting into the whole big thing of it. Ticketmaster would give you stock for free. It’s a whole trick they do. But you can get your own stock with your own advertising and your own marks and for the teams and the venues that were ordering 300,000 a year, whatever it was, it doesn’t cost a lot of money and you can get someone to pay for it. So you’d have your own logos. So then it would kind of have the same look, but it has a design but different stuff. So I think there’s value to having something that’s all the same, especially now, look you can’t have it. So here’s here’s what it is. But there is beauty in having the mark, the design, the look, the feel of a Dave Matthews concert and a Phish concert, a certain sporting event that looks a little bit different. So we’re working on offering both of those and we don’t have any data to say which one does someone prefer, but eventually we’ll find out which prefers. But my guess would be there’s a lot of each.

Scrappy:

Got you. When I was in middle school, I was in Jacksonville, Florida and I snuck into a Michael Jackson concert. I got in the sixth row by pretending I was a security guard, even though I was very young at the time. And it was awesome. It was an incredible experience. I’ll never forget it. What would you make for me?

Matt Wolff:

Yeah. So now what I could do is I could print a thermal ticket for you and put Michael Jackson on there. That’s what I could do. Now I would never tell anyone to do this, but you can go and the world is pretty easy to figure out how to create your own ticket if you wanted to make a ticket, whatever you want to call it, and go to a Kinko’s and print your own something that’s nice. What we like about this is, this is an actual thermal ticket. It’s thermal stock. This is what everyone used to get into an arena and an event. So there’s again, some authenticity to that, although it might not look as cool. There’s a lot of tickets out there for some of the best shows I’ve been to that they don’t look very good. I have Tom Petty tickets, they were just Ticketmaster tickets on the regular Log Nation stock. But ultimately what we’d want to do is partner with the Michael Jackson estate to come up with a program for anyone who’s seen Michael Jackson-

Scrappy:

Absolutely.

Matt Wolff:

And let’s print something that’s really cool and let’s customize it.

Scrappy:

So your thermal ticket is one of your differential advantages because there are young people who can get on Photoshop or myself and try to replicate something on our own. So what’s your sell, what’s your differential advantage as far as the customer’s concern?

Matt Wolff:

Yeah, that’s a good point. The core of what we do is going to be the thermal ticket and the animated ticket. You can go to 10,000, maybe even more printers and get a regular ticket, even a seasoned ticket and they could maybe put some foil, they can put a perf on it, whatever. There’s thousands and thousands and thousands of companies who can do that. If you start looking at who can do a thermal ticket and you start looking at who can do an animated ticket, we’ve narrowed that down to a very small group of companies and from that we just do it better. We offer better customer service. We operate from the viewpoint of a fan, not a printing company. Say you print this. Well look, I don’t think that’s what you want to do. I think you want to do this. More on an offer like the consulting side of being someone who’s a fan, who’s trying to say what’s going to give the best value to the person on the receiving end.

So that’s really the differentiator and we don’t want to sell on price, but man, this [inaudible 00:09:29] of tickets that are being sold out there that I think are just, anyone can go print or being sold for twice as much as the stuff that our stuff is being sold for. So there’s a lot of things that I think differentiate us, but I think the authenticity and the uniqueness of it. The digital experiences that we’ve added to our stuff, even way more. Just all kinds of, there’s going to be augmented reality and UGC where you can just take a picture of yourself with Michael Jackson behind you and now you post it to social media, video response, engaging with the audience, all different types of stuff. That’s also something that’s going to differentiate us. But it’s good that you brought that up because we are doing the stuff that there’s not a lot of people who can do.

Michael Barnes:

Hi, I’m Michael Barnes, owner of Content With Teeth. We are a creative content agency in southwest Florida. We specialize in copywriting and video production with over two decades of experience creating unboring content. If you struggle to create compelling stuff for your business or client, check us out at contentwithteeth.com. Now back to our show.

Scrappy:

Well actually that’s my next question. What’s the competition like in your space?

Matt Wolff:

Well there’s companies that do print the normal stuff. I would say normal. It’s really nice. Some of it’s nice, it’s full color, there’s foil, it’s great. But nowadays with the machinery out there and the stuff you can do in your own home, I just don’t think, it’s common. It’s just more common. The only difference is they’ve been around longer. They might have some of the bigger relationships than we have now, but that’s going to change.

Scrappy:

That’s what I find fascinating in entrepreneurship. When you make that leap, you go from a full-time job to something full-time within your passion in your field. Tell us about that experience.

Matt Wolff:

Yeah man, that’s the question, when do you jump? And I felt like I jumped at the exact right time and even after everything that happened afterwards I would still go back and do the same thing. But I went from having a very nice paycheck and to not getting any money and no one’s giving me money unless we bring jobs in and it takes, if you’ve started a business before, it takes time before you can start getting enough revenue to start paying for things and not having to put that back in. So it’s tough. You have to be mentally strong. You have to be 100% in, like “Hey, I’m going to make this happen. I’m going to do whatever I need to do to make this happen”. And just know that it’s going to take longer than you expect.

It’s take longer than I expect. It’s taken longer than it should, but I think if it’s what you believe in and you’re passionate about it, that’s an important thing. I think I’m solving a problem, that’s another important thing. And I think I have a good product and that’s a good combination to have.

Scrappy:

Absolutely.

Matt Wolff:

But I say just do it. Start what you want to start. I don’t say just jump and do, you have to have the plan, you have to understand what might happen but you should just start it. That was the biggest obstacle for me in the past, is I just never, I got to that first roadblock and I was like “eh, it’s too difficult. I’m not going to be able to do this”. And this time I just said, “I don’t care what it takes, this is what I’m going to be doing and this is it”.

Scrappy:

You’re all in.

Matt Wolff:

Yeah, I was all in a lot of ways. So mentally, financially. I’m bootstrapping this thing, no investors and with no money coming in, it’s not an easy thing. I saved well and I’m lucky. And you spend smart but it’s not an easy task. I recommend you really getting your mind around what is life is going to be like and what the company’s going to be like and the trials and tribulations that you’re going to go through, the rollercoaster. But I would say there’s very few reasons why you shouldn’t take a chance. The only one is if you can’t give it your all and if it’s just not a thing that is going to be a thing and that’s hard to know, but sometimes you can just tell something’s not going to be a thing.

Scrappy:

Sure, sure. Matt, you’re obviously passionate about this business. From a percentage standpoint, how much of it is financial opportunity versus passion? If you can differentiate the two.

Matt Wolff:

Yeah, that’s a great question. Who can differentiate that. I started this because I’m a fan and this is what I want, this is what I think fans should be able to have. Now I quit my job to make this my full-time business because I believe in it enough that it’s going to take me to where I need to be financially. To live the lifestyle and continue to do the things that I love to do. Which by the way are events, sports and entertainment and concerts and travel to go do stuff. I think it’s going to go way beyond that. But if it doesn’t, it’s okay with me. I just need to be able to provide for myself and my family, live the lifestyle I want and be able to provide.

Because everything we do, like you say, “hey we need a win-win situation”. And then I hear people say, well they want to win-win-win. For me it’s got to be a win-win-win-win. So it’s got to be a win for Ticket Time Machine. It’s got to be a win for ever who’s ever getting our stuff. It’s got to be a win for the people that they’re involved with. Sponsors, partners, their kind of community or organization.

Scrappy:

Absolutely.

Matt Wolff:

And then a win for the fans. And it’s very easy to have all of that. And so that’s important to me. Everything we do is going to be fan first and that doesn’t always equate to the highest profit, but it doesn’t matter. I say even if I don’t make something, I don’t lose money, we should do it. Almost always, especially at the first rate. And I think that there’s organizations that should think that way but they don’t.

Scrappy:

Right.

Matt Wolff:

I say “Hey, you’re not going to lose any money. It costs you nothing. Let’s let the fans decide”. Jesse Cole of the Savannah Bananas who are going gangbusters now. They have a special on ESPN coming out. It’s just crazy. He said, and this is how I think how I got them to work with me after getting in touch with them. I said, “we let the fans decide. We don’t try and determine what’s going to work or what’s not. We let the fans decide and they’ll let us know”. And that probably includes taking a risk with time and money and energy. But the stuff that we can do is say, Hey, it’s not going to cost you anything. Let’s just put it out there, whatever sells will sell and let’s let them decide. And by the way, just because it doesn’t sell like crazy doesn’t mean it was a bad idea. There’s a lot of factors that go beyond that, which I have stories I could share with you. But to go back to the question, it’s a high number, is passion.

Scrappy:

Got you. Got you. I think it’s awesome. And I just got to say we’re sponsored by Content With Teeth, a creative content agency with over 20 years of experience right here in southwest Florida. As you can see with our fat head, we do it big. Specializing in copywriting and video production. We’ve got content and if you want to sponsor The Come Up or be a guest, hit me up @heyscrappy on IG or text Mike at 21000. The last one I have is because you’re passionate about it and maybe your margins, you don’t mind a slim margin to do something special and leverage forward. Walkathons, Marathons, cancer Society, breast cancer societies. Have you thought about that?

Matt Wolff:

Yeah, we’re doing, I mean we do stuff like that. Charity events.

Scrappy:

You’re killing me Matt. I’m not creative here, I’m not original here.

Matt Wolff:

We’re working on something for the cancer and in-person cancer event. All of them. I mean, look, anything, the stuff that you have to try and get creative is like what’s not an event that people want. We’ve done graduations, a thank you for a corporate event. Trade shows and conferences that you want something that’s a little bit unique, like this is something we did for a conference in a trade show where you can walk around. But for me, the little league, the Special Olympics, those are huge things that are not ticketed events. Let’s create tickets for them.

Scrappy:

Absolutely.

Matt Wolff:

Because it’s a great memory, not because you need a ticket to get in. That’s the whole thing. Nine out of ten stuff we do is commemorative or souvenir. Now we can RFID, we can barcode. So we can grant access, limit access, and we can do admission if you need us to. Most people don’t. And so I say, we already have ticketing, we do digital. That’s okay, let’s work with the people who don’t even have tickets. There’s no tickets to this thing, but let’s give people a ticket who want a ticket.

Scrappy:

I’m sold. I think it’s amazing. I came up with 10 ideas that I thought I was really proud of and Matt-

Matt Wolff:

Oh they’re all great ideas by the way. They’re all great ideas, but it’s those ar the things that, it makes me happy to know that that’s what you think of because that’s exactly what you should be thinking of. Are you going to be at any Gator games this year?

Scrappy:

You know what? I love my 60-inch TV, my family, the announcers, my dog. I mean, I was up in Gainesville a couple weeks ago and I visited the school, but there’s something about just getting every ounce of the game in front of me as opposed to being far away. I know this is an experience attached to being there, but I tend to stay home.

Matt Wolff:

No, there’s a lot of people who are like that. I love to go. If I live there, I probably would go to almost every game, but I’m four hours away and I’ll go to a couple games. I go to Jacksonville for the cocktail party.

Scrappy:

Cool.

Matt Wolff:

I’m going to be at the first game. We got something special brewing for that, for some of the fans who-

Scrappy:

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Matt, Ticket Time Machine, man, I really appreciate you. I learned a lot in this experience and always love talking to creative, innovative, charismatic leaders of the future. And you’re doing it. I really admire that you’re taking the sacrifices and risks to do something on your own. It’s totally awesome, man. And we’re brought by Content With Teeth, Content With Teeth doing really innovative things from a content perspective. Matt, thanks again buddy. I really appreciate you taking the time.

Matt Wolff:

Yeah, it was great to chat with you and I talked to Michael, got some more information about Content With Teeth and looking forward to seeing some of the capabilities, but really appreciate the time.

Scrappy:

Yeah, I enjoyed it. Thank you very much.

January 5, 2023 Content, The Come Up No comments yet
Meet Life Coach David Essel in Episode 14 of Content with Teeth's video pocast The Come Up

Score with a Life Coach

The Come Up Episode 14 Video Transcript

Scrappy:

What up? What up? What up? What up? What up? Welcome to The Come Up, a video podcast featuring Southwest Florida entrepreneurs, business leaders. I’m Scrappy and we’re sponsored by Content With Teeth, a creative content agency with over 20 years of experience, right here in southwest Florida. As you can see by this fat head behind me, they do it really big, specializing in copywriting video production. If you need content, give them a call. And if you’d like to sponsor The Come Up or be a guest, hit me up @heyscrappy IG, or text Mike 21000.

I have to take a deep breath because I’m so excited. I’m so excited. Today’s guest, lifestyle guru and Life Coach, David Essel. He’s the author of 10 books, a syndicated radio host, international public speaker. You can check him out at mentalhealthhealing.org. David, what’s up my brother?

David Essel:

Scrappy, so great to be back with you, brother. And you have not changed a bit and I love it.

Scrappy:

The thing is, man, a lot of people say I have energy but not compared to you, that’s for sure.

David Essel:

You know, when you do what you have passion for, you obviously have passion for your work, I have for mine. It comes out of our pores, Scrappy, doesn’t it?

Scrappy:

Absolutely, absolutely. And when I was thinking about you and researching you and trying to get to know you better, I saw your commencement speech at Syracuse. I thought it was amazing.

David Essel:

Thank you. Oh my God, it was probably one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever been given, is to come back to my old alma mater, the university that I played basketball at and graduated from. And to be able to talk to the students and to the faculty, it was a dream come true. And that’s an understatement, Scrappy. It was so phenomenal.

Scrappy:

And you have such a vast knowledge, you’ve shared it with the students, it was really awesome. And your life coaching too, you’re so passionate about it. For those that don’t know exactly what life coaching is, can you break it on down?

David Essel:

Yeah, it’s pretty simple. As a coach, we take individuals who have goals that they want to accomplish and we help them lay out a format or a plan in order to accomplish those goals. There may be people that are struggling with issues they need to let go of, whether it’s addictions, maybe low self-confidence, low self worth. We help them remove those blocks. So really, coaches are all about accountability. We hold our client’s feet to the fire, we work with them at least once a week. We give them homework assignments so when they come in next week, if they have their homework done, they might get an A+, Scrappy. They may even get an apple on the way out the door. And if they end up not doing the work that we’ve asked them to do, then we get a chance to find out why. So it’s all about helping people to achieve goals and being that individual in the background, it is constantly nudging, pushing and encouraging them to greater success.

Scrappy:

You really have an interesting background from body building to Syracuse basketball, to yourself going through drug addiction and alcohol addiction. What made you flip the script and become a life coach?

David Essel:

Wow, that’s a great question. I graduated actually with a degree in sports psychology, so I was working with athletes for a number of years, but therapy is very different than life coaching. And in 1990, I had been already in sports psychology and working with people for over 10 years, and I started thinking there was something missing in my practice. I was really happy with the success my clients were getting, Scrappy, but there was something missing. And so, back then life coaching wasn’t even a title. We called ourselves lifestyle helpers or lifestyle coaches, or lifestyle mentors, but life coach wasn’t even a word back then.

But what I realized was this, one day a client came in and I gave her an assignment, a homework assignment. And the assignment was, why is it that you want to make this one change in your life so badly? You’re almost so angry you want to make this change. And so I said, I want you to write about it as an exercise. So when she came in the next week, I said, go ahead and read your homework to me. Now, in traditional psychotherapy, we don’t give homework assignments. We say, Hey, that was a great 55 minute session, Scrappy, I’ll see you next week. But all of a sudden I said, there’s something missing.

I gave her this assignment, she came back in, I said, now read it to me, and she couldn’t. She was hysterically crying. And I said, Wait a minute. You have this big goal you want to accomplish and the reason you want to accomplish it is on the paper in front of you, but you can’t read it to me. And she said, no. I said, let’s wait. We waited about five minutes. I said, now let’s try. She wanted to get in the best shape of her life to get back at her husband who had left her for a younger woman. So she was all about revenge. And right there in that one exercise with that one person, given that one assignment, I completely switched from a pure counselor in psychotherapy to someone who does what’s called now, life coaching, meaning that we give assignments.

So when I work with a client, every week they have homework assignments, reading assignments, writing assignments, and that’s what makes the biggest difference between a counselor and a coach. Counselors, we’re not trained to give assignments at the level that coaches are, but I love to combine both, Scrappy. The knowledge of psychotherapy, I think, is crucially important to help people change, but the action steps that we give them are just as important.

Scrappy:

Okay. There’s so much to it and you’re so articulate and we could be here, you and I, we could talk for hours, you and I, because I’m so fascinated with you. You’re utterly fascinating, David.

David Essel:

Thank you.

Scrappy:

What I thought we would do is maybe a word association. I’ll give you a word and give me a 30 second perspective on it, okay?

David Essel:

Okay.

Scrappy:

Depression.

David Essel:

More common than we think, more submerged than people know. And what I mean by that is that especially with what people have gone through with the pandemic, the changes that are out of our control, having to be at home with our kids while they’re trying to go to school online, and they’ve never done this before. Lots of people have this incredible frustration with what’s going on in the world. And what does that create? The feelings of lowness, that feeling of depression, that feeling of is it really worth it? Can I still make a difference with my body, money, et cetera, in the middle of a pandemic?

So depression is really a piece of hopelessness. I’ve gotten so overwhelmed with these changes out of my control. I just want to lay in bed. I just want to eat. I just want to drink. The end result of depression.

Scrappy:

Weight loss.

David Essel:

Oh my gosh. We have right now about 85% of the United States of America is either extremely overweight or obese. 85%.

Scrappy:

Wow.

David Essel:

It’s incredible. Now that’s gone up about 5% since the pandemic started, so we already had a huge issue. 80% of Americans overweight. Now it’s up to about 85%. And I’ll tell you what, the genetic part of it is about this big, Scrappy, there’s a very tiny genetic link to obesity. There is a link, but it’s very minor. It’s mainly that we’ve never really learned how to deal with our emotions, and so we use food as medication. Sugar, salt, white flour, fat, all go to the pleasure center of the brain, just like alcohol, nicotine, and everything else. So when people are using food to self-medicate, they don’t want to feel the loneliness, depression, anxiety that they’re going through.

Scrappy:

That feeds right into my next word, discipline.

David Essel:

Oh my gosh, the key to almost everything, Scrappy. So many people lose integrity with themselves because they say, starting tomorrow, I’m getting up at seven and I’m going for a 45 minute walk before I get ready for work. And then they don’t, which means now they’re breaking their own word against themselves. But individuals with discipline look at life totally differently. They say, if I say I’m going to do something, I’m going to, so that I respect myself and so that others respect me as well, Scrappy. Discipline is a key for all of us to be focused on, more so right now especially.

Scrappy:

And that goes back to discipline, they’re all kind of intertwined.

David Essel:

Very much so.

Scrappy:

You talk about depression, we can talk about anxiety, they all kind of go together in many different respects. How about finding a partner?

David Essel:

Oh my gosh. Right now with what’s happened in the last couple of years, there’s a lot of issues in relationships. And we always say people this, a relationship can only work if you are happy alone. Let that sink in. The only relationships that really have a chance of working is if you’re home on a Friday night and you have a great book and you’re happy. You’re home on a Saturday night and you’re knitting crochet, I don’t care what you’re doing, but you’re not drinking, you’re not overeating to numb your emotions, you’re not using pot to numb your emotions on the weekend when you’re alone. You can actually be alone and be happy.

That’s the number one key for people that are looking for relationships. And what we say to everyone that comes to me for relationship help is that our first goal is going to be to get you happy. Once you’re really content and happy with yourself, well guess what? The odds are, you’re going to attract other people that are content and happy with themselves as well. But if you attract people that are unhappy, they’re going to stick out like a sore thumb, because you’re so satisfied with yourself it isn’t going to be worth your time. You’ll walk away shortly.

So the number one goal before you even think about dating is saying, am I happy alone? Really happy alone? If the answer is yes, go find the great partner.

Scrappy:

That feeds into another word, co-dependency.

David Essel:

Oh, co-dependency. Scrappy, one of my favorite words in the world when it comes to, as a matter of fact, I just got done with a session with an 86 year old woman working on co-dependency. She is 86 and she says, David, I read your book on co-dependency, I am a full co-dependent, will you help me? Just had a session with her this morning. So co-dependency we labeled actually, Scrappy, in 2002, as the largest addiction in the world, and it still is today. Co-dependency is the person that’s afraid to rock the boat. They’re afraid to upset anyone. They’re afraid that their opinion may frustrate their partner, so they never give their opinion. That’s one side of co-dependency.

Another side of co-dependency is the person that always has to be right. They’re so co-dependent on being right, that even if all the facts in the world are placed in front of them that they’re incorrect, they’re going to fight to be right because they’re co-dependent on having to have the last word. They’re co-dependent on having to be correct. So this whole co-dependency goes in all these different directions. But we say this in an intimate relationship, the only way to shatter co-dependency in an intimate relationship is for both partners to agree. And this is going to sound so simple, but it’s so hard to be 110% honest with each other, always.

And Scrappy, that’s not an easy thing to do. There are many times in intimate relationships where we have to say to our partner, I’m very unhappy with the way that this is being handled. I’m very unhappy with our communication, or lack of. I’m really unhappy that you’ve shut down again. Or I’m really unhappy that you went out drinking again after we were trying to have a conversation. We’ve got to be honest with our partner. And it’s those thoughts and feelings, Scrappy, that we are not sharing, but that are eating us inside with our partner that destroys relationships in the long run, if not the short run.

Now, being honest and being a hundred percent filled with integrity with your partner is not easy and that doesn’t always mean they’re going to like you. This is crucial. The co-dependent says, no, I could never talk with my husband or wife about that because they may be upset with me. Pure co-dependency. The independent person says, my partner might be really upset with me, but we’ve got to find a way to work through this. That’s different.

Scrappy:

We’re playing Word association with my man, David Essel. And don’t forget, we’re sponsored by Content With Teeth, a creative ad agency with over 20 years of experience right here in Southwest Florida. As you can see from this fathead, we’re doing it really big, specializing in copywriting and video production. If you want to participate with us as a sponsor or guest, hit me up @heyscrappy IG, or text Mike at 21000.

David, you mentioned an 86 year old woman, and I really care about the elderly to a large degree. In many respects, they don’t have a purpose. I don’t want to get in a big question, this is word association. Let’s just say purpose.

David Essel:

Okay. Well, purpose can be volunteering. Purpose can be going into the children’s hospital and being an aid there. I think it’s crucial to have purpose. Let’s talk about addiction. Since COVID happened, the first or second year of the pandemic, we had a thousand percent increase in online alcohol sales. We know that the elderly are falling victim to alcohol left and right. The two largest groups that are struggling with alcoholism, well, it’s always been college-aged students, and that still is true. And the second group that’s struggling the most with alcoholism is our seniors, because they’re bored, because they have no purpose, as you said, because they have nothing to take their time. And so we encourage every senior out there. I’ve met several seniors that are bagging groceries in grocery stores to give them a purpose, to give them something to do. They may need the money or they may not, but they’re always in a great mood at the place I go to, and we’re talking in their eighties.

So I think having purpose is crucial. I am not a fan of retirement. I’m really not.

Scrappy:

How about people stuck in their career, you know, mid range?

David Essel:

Yeah, there’s a lot right now. There’s a lot of fear in the world of career changes, because people don’t know what’s going up next. What type of a vaccine are we going to be talking about, or a virus that we’re going to talk about next? So many companies have cut back dramatically. There’s one client that worked in Atlanta, he was a very high ranking Vice President. I think they had about a thousand people in the building. And after a year of COVID, they decided to send everyone home. Now everyone works out of their home, no one works in the building anymore. Massive changes.

Now, for people who are adaptable to that kind of change, perfect. But for those people who are extreme extroverts who really do need human interaction much more than maybe you or I do, Scrappy, they would have to change careers. They would have to look at it and say, working out of home is terrible for me. I need structure. I need more organization. I need more people interaction. So get to know yourself. Its kind of like the theme we’re talking about today. Get to know yourself and then ask yourself this question. What’s the next best move for me personally?

And that’s not a selfish question, that’s just a realistic question. I’m stuck in a job I hate. What’s the next best move for me? Is it starting to redo my resume? Is it talking to my partner and saying, Hey, listen, I’m really unhappy here, are you willing to up and move if I can find something? But don’t get stuck in a situation that you’re extremely unhappy. Scrappy, life goes so fast. I’m 66, I never even knew I could get to 66 this fast.

Scrappy:

You look 56.

David Essel:

Thank you, brother. I swear I skipped 30 years somewhere, because I don’t know how this all happened. But when I say that, I have to realize my own mortality I have to realize to take advantage of every day. And I don’t mean that just from a success and money and all that kind of crap, I just mean from being happy, like being of service and making a difference and lifting other people which lifts us. I really think the purpose of life is all about that. So I want everyone to wake up to the reality that if you’re in a position that absolutely sucks and you see no way to heal it, then start to look for the alternative of moving on. And you may end up opening doorways that’ll blow your mind with the new people you’ll meet and the new experiences. And don’t be afraid of taking an entry level position or a lateral move. If it brings you joy and peace, my God, it’s not an entry position and it’s not a lateral move if it brings you joy and peace.

Scrappy:

Yeah, but one of the problems is, is there are people with three jobs or 50 hours a week and they have kids to feed and rent to pay, they feel stuck on a whole nother level. And I understand what you’re saying, find some peace and happiness and so forth, but it’s really difficult.

David Essel:

Oh, it is. And Scrappy, I know of several families, just like what you’re talking about. And one of the things we say with them is that there are times in life you cannot change your circumstances. There are times in life you have to keep that job to keep food on the table. There’s times in life you have to do it, but this is the time too, to find a special space for your own mental healing. Is it playing guitar 30 minutes a day, that gets your brain relaxed? Is it listening to classical music 20 minutes before going to bed?

So if you’re stuck in a position where you honestly know there’s no option for the next 12 months, or 24 months, find some special space for you. You still need that self care. You still need that self love. You know, I’ve never played guitar well. I took lessons a long time ago. I still have two guitars and I’m procrastinating like crazy on this, Scrappy, because even though I play terribly, when I have a guitar in my hand, I’m smiling.

Scrappy:

That’s nice.

David Essel:

I’m always smiling. And that tells me that I need to put more time into that.

Scrappy:

You’re feeding your subconscious.

David Essel:

So as you and I are talking, I’m even exposing that David Essel isn’t perfect, and I’ve got some new things I can do as well.

Scrappy:

David, you’ve given us so much great advice, so much knowledge and so forth. But what’s your problem? What are you dealing with?

David Essel:

Well, I just listed one. I’ve been procrastinating and I’m playing guitar for years now, getting back into lessons. I would say that, honestly Scrappy, the way that I feel, even though I don’t play well at all, the way I feel when I just take the guitar out of the case, tells me that it’s what I should be doing. And the other thing, it’s really easy. Even though I’ve been doing this work for 43 years, it’s really easy to fall into workaholism and then come out of it. And then you put all your time into your career and then you come out. And it can be exhausting. And the other thing I have to keep my eye on along with starting to play guitar, is that I’ve really got to keep watching how much I’m putting into work.

We’re in the middle of moving right now. I think this weekend we’re moving. We’re going to stay in the general area here. But I have found with my partner, and we were talking the other night, that after the move, I’ve really got to start to take some downtime. We’ve been pushing super hard. During the pandemic we’ve created four really powerful programs to help this country heal. We’ve put a ton of effort and time and money out there to try to make things available.

As a matter of fact, one of our programs, the most popular one that we created, is called Helping Americans Heal. It’s a free online program and it has gone wild. The number of people that are signing up, it costs nothing and every week you get an email with information on how to boost yourself during these times. Well, we do all that, but then I forget that I have to take care of myself and I have to boost myself, because no one can do it for us, Scrappy. My partner can’t take care of my self care, you can’t take care of my self care, I can’t pay a personal trainer to take care of my self care. So that’s the second thing I have to always be working at. And right now we see that I’ve hit that level of workaholism again. So after the 19th of August, we’re taking a stretch of time so I can chill and then be ready after the 1st of September to kick it again.

Scrappy:

Very cool, very cool. You’re certainly an entrepreneur. Do you have a big team?

David Essel:

That’s a great question, Scrappy. Before the pandemic we had 12 people on our staff. And then during the pandemic, most of it was because of, we just didn’t have the work for people to do. But we’ve got it down now to about four people. So we went from 12 to four. No, we don’t have a big staff, but we have really excellent people with incredible attitudes, Scrappy, and I am blessed to have these four rock stars on my team.

Scrappy:

The number one thing you can give to people in terms of advice, in just a sentence or a couple of words, a phrase, I’m guessing it’s inner mojo. What do you think it is?

David Essel:

I believe without any doubt at all, we need to be able to look in the mirror and come to a level of acceptance with who we are right now today, Scrappy, not wishing our body was different, not wishing our money was different, not wishing our partner was different. We need to come to acceptance, because when we get to acceptance and we can really learn to like ourselves right now today, without anything changes, we have now taken control of our life.

If we can be happy now with the pandemic, with the limitations maybe of finances, if we can find a way, and listen, we know there are people all over the world that are living in squalor, and they’re happy. We see the videos from other countries of kids with huge smiles that have nothing. We hear stories of like Giannis, the basketball star from Milwaukee Bucks, who grew up in Greece with nothing. They have a story on him and his brother’s lives right now. And they found happiness with no basketball shoes, playing basketball, for God’s sake. So I think we really need to find that self-acceptance and find a way to be happy today, even if life isn’t perfect. If we can reach that level, Scrappy, we have got life right there.

Scrappy:

Awesome, awesome. 50 years from now, I’m going to eulogize you. You’re going to give me a couple of index cards to help me out. What are they going to say?

David Essel:

He tried his best every day. He tried to love the homeless as much as his partner. He looked at life from a different perspective, was an incredibly independent human being, but his whole purpose on earth was to help others heal.

Scrappy:

You’ve already written that index card.

David Essel:

Scrappy, I’ve been doing this so long. I’ve known my purpose forever. That’s a fortunate thing. But I’ll say even knowing my purpose, you mentioned it earlier, for 30 years, I struggled with alcohol and cocaine. I had a failed suicide attempt in 1990. Life has not been roses and puppy dog tales the whole time. But the one thing that I can say that’s never changed is my purpose and my passion for the work I do. It doesn’t matter how many personal struggles I’ve gone through, losing my mom and dad in the last year and a half, one of the most horrendous things that anyone could ever go through. But through it all, I feel blessed that I have been in a position of helping others. And I think that’s the reason I’m here, and the reason I have a smile right now with you.

Scrappy:

You always have a smile as far as I’m concerned, it’s awesome. You’re uplifting me, David, right now in this moment.

David Essel:

Scrappy, I love it. And the other times we’ve had the interview, it’s been the same thing. Our energy is awesomely matched. You’re over the top just like I am, and I think it’s great, my brother.

Scrappy:

Awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome. So we really appreciate you and we thank you for your time. One last question. Why Fort Myers? We’re a Southwest Florida Podcast, we celebrate Fort Myers. Why are you here? I mean, you could be anywhere, David.

David Essel:

Yeah, I could be anywhere. But the reason I’m here is that I’m a really laid back dude. And believe it or not, even though all my work is extroverted work, I’m an extreme introvert, Scrappy. My partner, Mia, and I, we have a very simple life. We live an amazingly simple life, there’s not much we need to be happy. And I’m not a city person. We were in Miami about eight weeks ago, and after two days I said, baby, I got to get out of here. And she lived in Miami for 10, 15 years and she loves it there, but it’s too much for me. Cities are too busy, too much traffic. I love Fort Myers area, Naples, Sarasota. I love this whole coast so much. And while we may move somewhere else in the future, it’ll probably be a very similar kind of laid back, a little area like this, Scrappy. I just love it here.

Scrappy:

I’m the same way. I’m from New York City and I live in Lehigh Acres on an acre, and I love every minute of it. My dog doesn’t have a leash.

David Essel:

Isn’t that awesome. That’s the way to have a dog.

Scrappy:

Oh man. Oh, absolutely. It’s a spiritual experience, man. And I really appreciate this moment. I adhere to Buddhism and I try to accept the fact this moment in time is what we have. David, thank you so much, we appreciate you. Content With Agency is sponsoring this. If you want to join us on a show, you can so by going to my IG, heyscrappy. Or just go to 21,000 and text Mike. Nothing but love for you, David.

David Essel:

Scrappy, nothing but love for you. And I’m so glad Content With Teeth is supporting the heck out of you, and all of your positive messages. Keep going strong, brother. And whatever you need me, I’m here for you.

Scrappy:

Thank you. But you know what I forgot? Go ahead and plug all your businesses real quick.

David Essel:

Oh my gosh. Hey, if people want to work with me one-on-one, addiction recovery, saving relationships, improving attitude, weight loss, we cover it all. Just go to talkdavid.com. If you want to join the free program, Helping Americans Heal, every week, you’re going to get content to lift your spirits. Talkdavid.com. I’m a speaker. If you’re a business and you want to bring in a speaker, talkdavid. So the only thing you got to remember is talkdavid.com.

Scrappy:

All right. Thanks again, buddy, I really appreciate your time.

David Essel:

Absolutely. Scrappy, I’ll see you soon.

December 12, 2022 The Come Up No comments yet
In Episode 13 of Content with Teeth's The Come Up, meet SWFL Career Coach Jason Teeters

A Career Coach for the Jet Set

The Come Up Episode 13 Video Transcript

Scrappy:

What up, what up, what up? I’m Scrappy. Welcome to The Come Up, a video podcast featuring Southwest Florida entrepreneurs, business leaders. We’re sponsored by Content With Teeth, a creative content agency with over 20 years of experience right here in southwest Florida. And as you can see with this fathead, they do it big, really big specializing in copywriting, video production. They got content, that’s for sure. And if you’d like to sponsor, come up, or be a guest, hit me up @heyscrappynig or text Mike at 21,000. Today’s guest is Jason Teeters. He’s a fascinating dude. He’s a nurturing lead at Collaboratory, a non-profit organization where he helps people overcome emotional, psychological, and technical problems in collaboration. He’s also owner of JetSetState, where he is a lifestyle designer for creative entrepreneurs. Welcome, Jason.

Jason Teeters:

Wow. Thank you so much, Scrappy. So happy to be in this space with you, my friend. So happy to be a part of this conversation today.

Scrappy:

Yeah, I’ve seen a couple of your videos. You’re an outgoing dude.

Jason Teeters:

My blood type is B positive. I was once told.

Scrappy:

Well, definitely positive, that’s for sure. Collaboratory, and then you have the JetSetState is kind of like two different worlds of technical, psychological communication, emotional consultation, if you will. Can you break it on down for us?

Jason Teeters:

Yeah, yeah. It’s really simple. Now, it’s probably been almost close to 19 years ago, I started, JetSetState, was really focused on creative entrepreneurs. My wife is a wedding planner, and so I found myself in a lot of spaces with content creators, photographers, videographers, hair, makeup, and a lot of them really had this… Most entrepreneurs were able to create something out of nothing almost, right? They had this passion and people wanted to pay them for it. And oftentimes for creative entrepreneurs, they shy away from the business side. And so for my background, one of the things that I started to recognize is, how can I support creative entrepreneurs to keep turning their side hustle into their main hustle, allowing them to keep moving in this space and create a life for them. And so that really got me in this space of helping design a organization or a business that works for them, which along the way really got me involved in helping larger organizations and communities figure out, how do you design a system that allows you to compete or to participate at all levels?

Scrappy:

So, that’s a pretty cool niche. Creative entrepreneurs, helping them out. What’s been the biggest struggle other than financial for them?

Jason Teeters:

I think for a lot of creative entrepreneurs it’s really that motivation, right? ‘Cause oftentimes, it takes a lot to move forward and say you’re going to be a creative entrepreneur. But once you take that first step, you hope that it’s… You’re going to land in this really beautiful space where you’re traveling and you’re just getting business all the time. And I think you know it as well as anybody that often it doesn’t just happen that way. And so really helping take their big ideas and focus them so they can really design a life that works for them, whether it be the timing, whether it be the financial, and so they’re not overworked and overwhelmed, but really focus on moving forward. And so a lot of times clarity and motivation is the biggest piece that then allows for the rest of everything else the true business work to happen.

Scrappy:

Sure, sure, sure. So the creative disposition, what’s the baseline for them?

Jason Teeters:

That’s a really good question. I think oftentimes, we’ve been sold that most creative entrepreneurs are this hustle, 24/7, grind, grind, grind, and they’re just ready to take over the world. But one of the things that I find is they’re really big problem solvers. A lot of times the disposition’s that, “I don’t like the way this is working, I think I could do it better.” And in that process of doing it better, they start to find all these other constraints around either the industry or the environment or the clients or the product or service that really gets them off track. And so they start into problem solving and coming up with ideas. But you know and I know too many ideas makes it really difficult to actually progress anywhere.

Scrappy:

For sure. And you give tips all the time, every day, all day. What’s the best tip you ever gave?

Jason Teeters:

I think the best tip that I ever gave was to get out of your head and get in your heart.

Scrappy:

Interesting.

Jason Teeters:

And I think oftentimes we get so caught up in this perception of what we’re doing and how we’re doing and how we compare to other people, that we have to recognize that this is a long game. This is an infinite game. The idea of building a business, the idea of living life is 80, 90 for a lot of us. I don’t want to be a hundred years old still doing this work. And for me to do that, I think oftentimes I need to just quit getting that in my head and start focusing on and moving towards the things that matter to me, the things that I care about. Because all this stuff is going to be hard, at least find joy in it. Sure. Every step of the way.

Scrappy:

So you’re a big believer in intuition.

Jason Teeters:

Yeah. I am. I think that oftentimes we’ve been told that the only way to know things is between our ears. And I think for a lot of us, we’ve had opportunities and moments throughout our life where we’ve either felt something, intuitively known, had that gut feeling that we ignore because that’s obviously not correct. But oftentimes we find that it is. And I think the more we tap into that, the easier it will be for us to navigate a lot of these spaces.

Scrappy:

JetSetState, you’re an entrepreneur, you’re helping creative entrepreneurs doing that, but you’re also the nurturing lead at The Collaboratory. What the hell does that mean?

Jason Teeters:

Yeah. Collaboratory has this bold vision of bringing the community together to solve every social problem in Southwest Florida in the next 18 years. Every single one of them.

Scrappy:

What are the problems? What are the biggest problems?

Jason Teeters:

I mean, if we just talk about housing, we talk about education, we talk about workforce development. These are really clear. But one of the things that we recognize is that at Collaboratory, we’re not the solver of those problems, we’re the coordinator. And so our idea is, how do we bring people together from all aspects, from a right brain, left brain, from a creative industry to a structural financial industry. We all need us to be able to solve some of these really pressing problems. And my role is how do we bring people into a space to be able to have those conversations, to be able to not only listen, but be heard and operate in a way that we often say we move at the speed of trust. And so how can we start to build that together to be able to make change in our community?

Scrappy:

Are they buying into what you have to say?

Jason Teeters:

I think it’s interesting. I think it’s hard to believe that this is a new way to thin, oftentimes for so many of us, even for myself as an entrepreneur. “I’m going to be the best,” and, “Nobody’s ever going to be better than me.” And we move in that space that we often try to take on more than we really need to. Or we often compete in areas that we don’t need to be competing in. And so I think as a community, we’re having really good conversations about, “Why am I doing this many things when there’s other organizations that are doing this? Why don’t I focus on the thing that I care about and let them focus on the thing they care about?”

And being in a space where you start to hear individuals come together in ways to say, “Oh man, this is a real struggle for me. Oh, we love doing that.” You start to build these bridges that allow people to collaborate. And so long story short, this is 18 years, so we believe by 2040 we want to solve all these challenges. So we’re on the long road. And so we have individuals that have raised their hand. But I imagine along this route, we’re going to start picking up individuals along the way.

Scrappy:

So you have a little Elon Musk in you?

Jason Teeters:

Yeah, I try. I try.

Scrappy:

Okay. We’re talking with Jason Teeters, fascinating guy. Really enjoying this conversation. And we’re sponsored by Content With Teeth, a creative content agency with over 20 years of experience right here in Southwest Florida. As you can see, when we talk about the fat head behind me, they do it really big specializing in copywriting, video production. They got content. And if you want to sponsor, to come up, or be my guest, hit me up @heyscrappynig or text Mike at 21,000. Now Jason, why 18 years? It sounds kind of arbitrary.

Jason Teeters:

Well, I think for us, one of the things that we think about is, what does Southwest Florida look like in 2040? What does the school system look like? What does our water quality look like? What is our workforce development, our housing? It really helps us start to think about who are we speaking for and who are we speaking to, right? Because we know very well that a lot of the youth in this community in 18 years are going to be the parents, they’re going to be the CEOs, they’re going to be the entrepreneurs in this community. And the goal is, how do we carry forward a community that supports and works with everybody to create an environment that attracts the people to come down here, that helps businesses grow, that educates our youth and helps us build something sustainable.

Scrappy:

I think that’s awesome. You’re great facilitators. Is this going on in other communities throughout the United States?

Jason Teeters:

Well, as of right now, we are the first to try this. We call this, we often say, “Welcome to the greatest community problem solving initiative in American history,” because we want to make really clear that across the country, no foundation as of right now has really leaned into this idea of bringing the whole community together to try to solve some of their biggest social challenges.

Scrappy:

Interesting. Very interesting. Jason, I want to do something kind of fun. I want to do some big questions and they’re big questions, but I only want a few sentences for the answers. Okay?

Jason Teeters:

Sounds good. I’ll see what I can do.

Scrappy:

Okay. Dealing with talent, how do you collab with the diva?

Jason Teeters:

I think you let them speak and share their ideas, and then you support that.

Scrappy:

Okay. And raw talent, how do you nurture it?

Jason Teeters:

By letting it breathe.

Scrappy:

Okay. Building trust in a team.

Jason Teeters:

Authenticity.

Scrappy:

Okay. Creative entrepreneurs, not you, you’re an entrepreneur, but your clients. How do they pitch?

Jason Teeters:

They pitch around the outcome that they’re solving for.

Scrappy:

Okay. How do you tell somebody their project is wack? I know you’re not going to say that directly, but how do you break it on down?

Jason Teeters:

Is this what you really imagined for your organization?

Scrappy:

Okay. It’s of nebulous.

Jason Teeters:

Well, they’re always…

Scrappy:

Working away around it.

Jason Teeters:

Yeah. Yeah. They’re like, “Oh, we could do this and this.” And I’m like, “Well, you talked about this. Is that what you really,” “Oh well no, it’s this.” “Okay, well then maybe let’s get back over here.”

Scrappy:

Indirect approach.

Jason Teeters:

Yeah.

Scrappy:

What’s the worst advice you ever gave somebody?

Jason Teeters:

Oh, don’t worry. It’ll work out.

Scrappy:

Come on. I’m sure you gave some worst advice.

Jason Teeters:

Yeah, I think, man, probably my son when I told him, “Well, if they push you, push them back.”

Scrappy:

I think that’s good advice. I’m from New York City.

Jason Teeters:

I got called into the office for that. I got called into the office for that. Telling…

Scrappy:

Are you from Chicago or Indiana? ‘Cause I know you went to Ball State in Indiana, but are you from Chi-town?

Jason Teeters:

No, I’m from Indiana.

Scrappy:

Okay. Very cool. Very cool. And I think your degree is fascinating, industrial psychologist. Now, if one of your clients has a lot of anxiety, how do you talk them down?

Jason Teeters:

I think for me, I often try to figure out what is the fulcrum, what the thing that they’re trying to really solve for. Because oftentimes there’s a lot of things with anxiety, there’s a lot of things that are playing into that, what others think, how they think, what it looks like. But try to get really clear on what is the key thing that you’re trying to accomplish for this moment right now.

Scrappy:

Okay. My boss is a son of a b. I can’t stand him. He’s mean to me. How do I cope?

Jason Teeters:

That’s a challenging question to answer, but I think for me, one of the things that I would say is I always talk about this “me to we.” So what are you doing? Or what is the individual doing to take care of their own wellbeing so that they don’t get wrapped up in thinking that, “This company I work for is me, or this boss is me.” If I don’t have another outlet, then all of my energy goes into this organization or this business or this boss that feels like it’s the same as me. Instead of me recognizing that I have options, I have choices.

Scrappy:

That’s a great one. I appreciate that one for sure. So many of us are mired in multiple jobs, just getting by, just paying the bills, that’s about it. No discretionary income. We feel stuck. What do you tell them?

Jason Teeters:

I think often that feeling stuck is, for my own personal experience, I think the feeling of being stuck typically comes around aspirations for myself. And so oftentimes, it’s really getting back to this. Is that intuitive? Really getting back to what are the things that really move you and how are you doing those on a daily basis? If it’s meditation, if it’s yoga, if it’s reading, if it’s playing video games, whatever it is. Oftentimes when we’re stuck, it feels like the things that really bring us joy are missing from our day to day, which doesn’t allow us the opportunity to get out of our own head.

Scrappy:

I think that’s a fascinating answer, an intellectual answer. But if I’m working two jobs, just no, it’s just frustrating. It’s very frustrating to leverage your way out of that situation.

Jason Teeters:

It really is. And it is a vanilla answer, right? So much of our stuckness has to do with so much of our, has to do with so much of our history. ‘Cause it could be the stuckness around the work, it could be the stuckness around what I like to say, “organizational trauma.” You work in a company, you’re like, “Oh man, I’m just going to try to ride this out.” And then we stay in that space for far too long. And some of it is just a natural fear of breaking the mode. And I think that’s tough for a lot of people to figure out which one of those is making them feel that way, and which one of those do they want to work on first? ‘Cause you can’t do them all at the same time.

Scrappy:

Got you. Collaboratory, it’s a real challenge. You get a bunch of business leaders together, different races and ages and religions, personalities, opinions. How do you get them all on the same page?

Jason Teeters:

I think we focus on the things that we do have in common. I think all of us love living here in Southwest Florida. All of us want clean water, all of us know that every student in every high school across the region will eventually be working in our companies, our organizations, at our grocery stores, at our movie theaters, our gas stations. And so it’s really focusing first and foremost on the individuals that live here and how can we make their life better in some sort of way that allows to give them the agency to quit being stuck, start a business, be involved after school in an education program. And so we try to start with what we have in common.

Scrappy:

Okay. I think that’s awesome. That’s an awesome answer. I really appreciate that. I think too, that in business sometimes, there’s different agendas that are really hard to arbitrate, but for sure, I totally agree with that. How about haters, back stabbers, and gossip queens? How do you deal with them?

Jason Teeters:

It’s so interesting. If you go to the website Collaboratory and you look up nurturing department, that’s what it says right at the beginning, right?

Scrappy:

Okay. Okay.

Jason Teeters:

And that’s where that idea of moving at the speed of trust, because oftentimes you and I both know that to develop a relationship takes time. And we always say, “I don’t want you to leave your ego at the door. I want it in the room because [inaudible 00:18:13] flipped experience can shed light on a way that I’ve never been thinking because I’m only in my silo.” And so creating space for that to happen with respect and with care that isn’t focused around individual or a single topic, but it’s really focused around the betterment of what we’re all collectively coming together for.

Scrappy:

Okay. I’m a big fan of the Buddhist philosophy, living in the moment. How do you get people there?

Jason Teeters:

Scrap, I think that’s one of the challenges, and I think even for myself. And I would often say it feels like something that you would be better at answering oftentimes, because I think when people hear you and they listen to you, they’re like, “Man, Scrappy’s got it all figured out. He’s just himself.” I think for a lot of people, we box ourself up during the week and we have our representatives show up at places we go to. And so really getting people just to be themselves in the messiness and the history of goofiness of all of us, sometimes that’s what’s needed in a space and that takes time for people to just sort of allow that to come out. Because like I said, oftentimes with Instagrams, and Facebooks, and social media, I’m giving you the best that I have to offer. Not knowing that it took probably 30 minutes to take this one shot because the music and the video and all these.

Scrappy:

Absolutely.

Jason Teeters:

Which is why they need Content With Teeth, so they don’t have to worry about that and they can just be themselves.

Scrappy:

Jason, you’re awesome, man. I appreciate your energy and I think that you’re… I’m sure you’re doing big things with JetSetState as an entrepreneur with creative entrepreneurs, and also with Collaboratory as a nurturing lead. We’re brought to you by Content With Teeth doing really big things, content agency. If you want to be part of it, hit up Mike, 21,000 texts or me @igheyscrappy. Jason, awesome man. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Thank you so much. I really appreciate your time, bro.

Jason Teeters:

Thank you so much. It’s such a pleasure to be a part of this, such a pleasure to be able to see you and connect with you again after so long. And I love what you’re doing because this needs to be out there for individuals that are going through that process to know it’s okay to stumble and you have somebody to lean on to learn from and to hear sources of information.

Scrappy:

You want to bust out your socials, maybe get a client out of this.

Jason Teeters:

Yeah, I love it. So you can follow me ig@JetSetStateSetState, Instagram, uh, Teeters Jason is my personal, and then JetSetStatesetstate.com. And then if you’re in the community trying to really make change happen, follow collaboratory.org. You could jump on there and see what we’re doing in the community and be a part of helping us solve some of the largest social challenges in our community in the next 18 years.

Scrappy:

My man, Jason Teeters, thanks for your time, man. I really, really appreciate it and I learned a few things and I… That’s awesome. Really awesome.

Jason Teeters:

Thank you my brother. Thank you so much.

November 29, 2022 The Come Up No comments yet
CWT and the creative video blog

Cat Headroom: The Definitive 2023 Guide to Creative Video

Table of Contents

  1. Use a Swipe File to Help Generate Creative Videos
  2. Types of Videos
  3. The Videos of the Present and the Future
  4. What are Creative Videos?
  5. How to Have Creative Video Ideas?
  6. The Ultimate Checklist for Video Glory
  7. Suggestions for Developing Creative Videos
  8. Have Winning Creative Videos!

What is a creative video?

That is in the eye of the beholder.

For us, the low-fi “high cheese” look of these early ’80s VHS logos gets our wheels spinning:

 

What if these graphics were combined with the Max Headroom, another ’80s pop culture sensation?

 

But what if you don’t have the budget to compete with AMC Networks which is rebooting the first artificial intelligence TV personality and witty glitchbot?

Then you create your own Cat Headroom & Friend inspired by a cute kid and her new feline friend, as seen above.

We know; it’s a picture. We’ll get it moving if you become a client 🙂

To the point at hand, we’ll leave what is an innovative video up to you and the murky vicissitudes of subjectivity. We can help with keeping things fresh, though.

 

Why You Should Care…

In this post, we aim to give video newbies and experienced creators who are tackling brand video ideas on how to keep things from getting stale.

We’ll cover how to generate killer video ideas without spending a fortune.

 

Use a Swipe File to Help Generate Creative Videos

When you don’t know what to write and have nothing but a soul-crushing white screen staring at you bleakly, that’s when you need a tool to generate ideas. So, it would be best to have a tool like a swipe file.

A swipe file is a collection of unique content to get new ideas — you can save images and/or text sections from emails, social media posts, online ads, videos, blogs, and any media you can screenshot and store as a resource in a spreadsheet format.

The primary purpose of a swipe file is to scan the collection of images and text and, by osmosis, have new associations and ideas gurgle to the surface like bubbling water from an underground hot spring.

For example, you could scan a shot from a Max Headroom YouTube video and then the image from a Tweet of cheesy 1980s VHS graphics and get the inspiration to synthesize the two.

Types of Videos

Before getting into our top video ideas, you must understand the different video formats you can create.

Thankfully, many examples content creators and companies have produced will enlighten and motivate you.

Let’s review some of the most popular video formats trending today!

Use a DSLR to create videos like explainer videos

Tutorials/ How-To Vids

This popular video style demonstrates how your product or service works. It’s considered a powerful selling tool to help your audience experience the usability of your product or service. It walks your viewers through a process and answers relevant questions.

 

Explainer Video

Businesses often use these to help viewers solve problems or illustrate a particular topic. They articulate what your company does to people unfamiliar with your business.

It’s typically built to tackle three things: the problem your company is trying to solve, who you are trying to help, and the experience they’ll earn when choosing your products or services.

Testimonials

Testimonials focus on the customer experience. It showcases the positive experience a company or individual had with your business. In summary, a client explains how and why your company was the best choice in the market.

 

Case Studies

Case studies illustrate your company’s value by answering every customer’s question before purchasing: “Will this offer deliver what it promises?”

If done right, you’ll be able to explain your products and services in detail.

This style is a great selling tool because they build trust and offer a clear road map to solve a particular problem. Case studies are BoFu ( “bottom-of-funnel”) content where a prospect has researched you and needs a compelling reason to become a buyer.

 

Video Sales Letter

This type of video persuades a target audience to buy your particular product or service.

 

Social Media

Videos are at the cusp of social media content.

Social media is hungry for video content thanks to the rise of the short-video content displayed in TikTok and Instagram Reels.

They’re a great way to reach audiences of all ages and get your message across social media faster and cheaper.

You might say you need a whole Hollywood production team to produce this content, but you’ll be surprised.

Most content creators use their phones, essential lighting, and a solid microphone to deliver their message. It’s about making your content more human and accessible to your audience.

 

Promotional

These are the most sales-oriented videos on this list; they promote a specific marketing initiative, sale, or event.

It builds awareness and grabs your audience’s attention by getting to the point quickly and aiming to have a positive impact.

 

 

The Videos of the Present and the Future

Use VR as a creative video idea

Livestream Videos

People look for an intimate connection with others and brands on digital channels. So, when you go live and have a dialogue with your followers, it gives a sense of having an in-person conversation.

You allow others to ask questions, complement your work, raise awareness and help them with their challenges in a more human approach.

Livestreams have around 8.2 billion hours of content watched during the third quarter of 2021 and growing, according to Statista.

 

Video Blogs

Yes! Video blogs or “vlogs” are also becoming popular worldwide. They’re a great way to present educational and awareness content without a written blog.

These videos are typical on YouTube, where people share their knowledge on various topics. It’s a great way to keep that human element while using visual resources to help to get your message across.

 

360° videos

Last but not least is the 360° videos. The main difference is that these are recorded in all directions, allowing you to control the viewing directions.

You’ve probably seen this technology with real estate companies that showcase listed homes to home buyers and sellers.

However, there are many other ways that other companies can take advantage of this tool.

It’s been resonating with most audiences, and they have the potential to become the dominating video type of the future.

If you would like help developing creative video ideas, get Content with Teeth’s swipe file.

 

What are Creative Videos?

Ok, we’ve discussed video types and the primary purpose of your content strategy, but what does it mean, and how does it help your business? How can you craft the perfect idea?

Simple.

Creativity is everywhere; it’s just a matter of utilizing your resources and creating something new, ambitious, and interesting that WOWs your audience; it’s more than using the latest visual effects or fancy filters.

It’s about using all your talent and resources to deliver a clear message and have top creative video ideas.

Take TikTok, one of the most popular social media platforms to date. It’s competing with Instagram Reels and has fantastic tools that help content creators craft eye-popping videos.

However, innovative video exists outside these apps, and you have what it takes to create something visually appealing, intelligent, and memorable.

How to Have Creative Video Ideas?

Barbie is inviting people to be creative content producers

Relax. You don’t need to learn to dance or dress like an overweight panda.

When it comes to filming or recording something, there are some essential elements you need to consider:

  • Sound
  • Lighting
  • Setting
  • Cinematography
  • Narrative
  • Performance
  • Editing

Filming is a whole new language, and it’s hard work. Don’t worry. We’ll give you the essential elements to craft an awesome video.

Many people didn’t go to film school and are creating unique content for social media; it’s a matter of trusting yourself.

The Ultimate Checklist for Video Glory!

#1 Brainstorm. Narrow down the topic of your video, who’s your target audience, and what message you want to communicate. Use a digital tool like a swipe file to generate ideas.

#2 Write a script. Again, keep your ideas in order and ensure a consistent narrative with a simple text.

#3 Create a storyboard. You can use pictures or half-made drawings to understand what shots you need to film clearly.

#4 Use lighting. Use different colors, create shadows in the background and play with different styles to give your video personality. Learn three-point lighting and buy all your equipment at Home Depot for almost no money.

#5 Use sound and music if needed. Get a good microphone and decide if background music or sound FX makes sense. Search for royalty-free or copyright-free music on YouTube for quality but inexpensive music to use for your video.

#6 Edit. You can spin your video in all directions with good editing. If you are financially strapped, get free or low-cost video editing software. Trim long sequences and mistakes. “Kill your babies” by removing unnecessary scenes.

Suggestions for Developing Creative Videos

Beyond cinematic language, more options exist to create a fantastic video that WOWs your audience. Here are seven suggestions to spice up those creative ideas!

Use a DSLR camera to shoot creative videos like explainer videos

  1. Use animation – especially on an explainer video or story-based content.
  2. Make a parody – sometimes funny is better. Don’t be afraid to add some humor to your content.
  3. Send a message to your audience, ask questions or ask for feedback
  4. Go behind the scenes – show what is happening while working on your projects; your audience will appreciate it!
  5. Get still photos from the production. They can be used for social media and YouTube thumbnails.
  6. Record a time-lapse or a before-and-after video – a great way to show a project’s progress or final product.
  7. Create a thank you video – giving back and being grateful to your followers for their support is always good.
  8. Do a team member interview – show off your team and let them explain their day-to-day basis and what they love doing the most.

Have Winning Creative Videos!

Sometimes, a boring video can become a fantastic piece with great editing or the right music.

The key to achieving a successful video is always to have your audience in mind and trust your skills.

Have this fact in mind; you’ll never be able to please everybody. So, trust your guts and start creating videos today without remorse.

Creative videos starts with inspiration. Inspiration can bubble from a swipe file, a spreadsheet where you can scan inspirational images and text and develop new ideas. Get Content with Teeth’s swipe file for free below!

October 27, 2022 Content, Video Marketing No comments yet
how content marketing works?

Could Fred Flintstone Describe How Content Marketing Works?

Table of Contents

 

Is content marketing so easy a caveman could do it?

 

Does Fred Flintstone, the most genial of cavemen, throw up a blog or video on bedrock.io, have prospects click, and the dough starts rolling in?

We’ll explain in this post how it’s a little more complicated than that.

Why You Should Care?

If you’re a business owner or marketing professional looking to expand your skills, you’ve heard of content but have questions. Learn precisely what content marketing is, how it works and why it is a steadily performing tool in any marketing strategy.

What is Content Marketing? 

2 x 280 characters should do it:

 

Content marketing fuels your efforts by keeping your brand in front of your audience and connecting with potential customers. It also gives you the chance to increase traffic to your website, establish trust, develop brand personality and support the conversion funnel where prospects become aware of your brand and progress downward to the point where they become actual customers.

A content marketing strategy is a non-intrusive way to reach your target audience and help them with their pain points and challenges through valuable information like industry news, case studies, guides, and more. Content marketing differs from traditional advertising because it focuses on customers rather than a business’s products and services.

Hypothetical Content Marketing Efforts

Learn how content marketing works?

Let’s say you have a travel agency and want to create brand awareness while helping your customers achieve a trip they’ll never forget.

You understand that your buyer is having a rough time putting together a travel plan that will not make them choose between eating or traveling. So, you establish a documented content marketing strategy that will answer their questions, plus let them know you’re the ultimate guide to building the perfect travel plan. 

You decide to use Instagram to create educational social media posts about the benefits of a complete travel plan, industry news, testimonials, case studies, and other content assets.  Next, you offer them a free guide to help them see hotels, airfare, and the best dates to travel.

Once they have downloaded the guide and given you their contact information, it’s time to nurture them with an email campaign.  You’ll soon determine which leads are interested in buying your services or are still considering purchasing in the future.

This example is a glance at how content works, but there are still a few details ahead. Check out our past blog post on creating content that converts!

The Benefits of Content Marketing

How content marketing works for your business?

Before we see how the gears grind, let’s explore some of the benefits of content over traditional marketing:

Customer engagement: by crafting your content for your blog, social media platforms, landing page or website, you’re more than likely to reach your potential audience and the conduit — search engines like Google. 

Brand awareness and thought leadership: by talking about your industry and educating your audience about what you do, you’re allowing them to find answers and learn more about or process. They’ll see you as a reliable source of information and a credible company. 

Lead generation and nurturing: if you have a free eBook and offer it in exchange for your audience’s contact information, you’ll quickly gain potential leads to nurture them down your sales funnel. Likewise, an email campaign will let you connect with your prospects and provide insight to see which contacts are ready to become a customer based who opens and engages with your email content.

Sales enablement: content marketing isn’t just for the marketing department; your sales team can share the content your team creates to help your audience find the answers they need. If you create a video FAQ on your website, the sales team can copy the link and send it to prospects instead of wasting time regurgitating stock answers.

What Do Content Marketers Do?

What content marketing does?

Content marketers are responsible for creating content that resonates with their ideal buyer persona, follows their brand’s tone of voice, and uses easy-to-follow language. 

These are some of the skills they need to have: 

  • The ability to do deep research on a specific subject
  • They need to understand a brands voice like it’s their own
  • Understand basic search engine optimization (SEO) concepts like keyword optimization
  • Strategy and analysis capabilities to identify which assets work and which don’t
  • The ability to produce content in various formats and with key players like influencers, actors, designers, writers, videographers, etc.

Content Formats and How It All Works

Our top eight content formats will succeed in your marketing efforts!

  • Blog Posts
  • EBooks and Whitepapers
  • Infographics and Visual Design 
  • Videos
  • Case Studios
  • Website Copy
  • Newsletters and Emails
  • Social Media

Blog Posts

These deserve your attention because they help your website become discoverable by powerful magnets like Google. In summary, you have two significant advantages: you’ll educate your audience about your industry and help the search engine rank your content better on a results page (SERP).

With a blog, you have an opportunity to bring people to your site and increase the chances of conversions. For example, let’s say you saw this post on one of our social media channels, clicked on it, landed on our site, read it, saw our eBook, downloaded it, and PRESTO! Now you’re in our monthly newsletter. It’s not too much more complicated than Fred Flintstones’ POST-CLICK-CUSTOMER model.

EBooks and Whitepapers A.K.A. Lead Magnets

If done right, your audience will find enough value in these types of content that they are willing to exchange their contact information for it. It’s not a sale but an indication that your visitors get the answers they need while engaging with your brand. Next, nurture them with an email campaign to get closer to the decision stage.

Newsletter and Emails

Emails are crucial in a content marketing campaign if done right. You have a chance to connect with your target audience even further and lead them down the marketing funnel. To have a successful marketing campaign, you must align your emails or newsletter to your buyer’s context. Let’s say somebody visited your website, downloaded your eBook, and gets an email notification thanking them and inviting them to read more about another topic of interest. It takes twelve touch points or more for people to purchase, so emails are a critical component to splash water in your prospect’s face and keep them engaged.

The power of content marketing

Infographics and Visual Design

This format suits an audience that might not like to read a whole blog post. On the other hand, maybe your buyers prefer quick information. So, infographics or visual design could be the best way to present your content. Remember that content marketing is consumer-centric, so you must choose the type of format according to what different segments of your audience like to interact with.

Infographic elements for content marketing

Videos

People are consuming at least six hours a day of video content. As a result, it’s increasingly common for brands to use video, especially with TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts on the rise. So how would you integrate video into your content marketing mix?

Videos for content marketing

Case Studies

This type of format is a valuable tool for closing sales. It gives you more credibility by showing your prospect a feel of the service through another person’s experience. Think of it as a more elaborate written testimonial where you detail the specific steps that benefitted your customer.

Website Copy

Your site is an essential tool, and the copy is crucial. Visitors will probably bounce (visit one page and exit) if you have very long and dense text on your site. Your writing should convey the essential information to help those visitors understand: who you are, what you offer, and how they can connect with you. There are many templates, but a skilled copywriter can help you distill your copy into easy-to-read nuggets that convert.

Social Media

It’s last but certainly not least. These platforms are vital for distributing your content, but which social media is right for your business? It depends on your ideal customer. Understanding your audience, business value proposition, and products and services in full detail will help you choose the right channel to delight your audience with meaningful content. 

Yabba Dabba Content! 

Flintstones content marketing

Here is a formula that would make Fred Flintstone cry out his catch-phrase of contentment:

Put out content so that people will find it and engage with it. Keep pumping out content to keep their interest until they become a customer.

How content marketing works is simple right?

Not really.

This introduction sketches principles, not details. A successful content marketing strategy is a tremendous amount of work. If you want a company that doesn’t go back to the stone ages but can certainly roll a barrel on a round stone, check out Content with Teeth. Tap HERE for a free consultation, or call us at +1 (888) 552-9235.

If you’re just passing through, leave a comment and share this post!

 

October 12, 2022 Content No comments yet
Bid It, Bill It

A Financial App for Hard Hats

The Come Up Episode 12 Transcript

Scrappy:

What up, what up, what up, what up, what up? I’m Scrappy and welcome to The Come Up, a video podcast, featuring Southwest Florida entrepreneurs and business leaders. We’re sponsored by Content With Teeth, a creative content agency with over 20 years of experience right here in Southwest Florida.

As you can see from this fathead behind me, they do it really big, specializing in copywriting and video production. And if you’d like to sponsor The Come Up or be a guest, hit me up @heyscrappy on IG or text MIKE at 21000.

Today is awesome. Very fascinated with these two guys. Our guests are entrepreneurs Randal Kendrix, and FSW’s Dr. Roger Webster. With Randal’s driving spirit and his vision, they’ve created an innovative app called Bid It, Bill It. Randall, this is your baby. So go ahead. Let’s start with you. Tell us about yourself.

Randal Kendrix:

That a heck of an introduction. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. So I have spent a long time and still am in the technology world with Canon USA out of New York. But in one of my trips, one day in my typical fashion, I’m sitting in the airport, bored out of my mind, waiting for the next airplane. And I’m wondering what the heck I’m going to do when I grow up. I was thinking back about a conversation I had with my brother and I realized he still works in a very antiquated, in my opinion, antiquated world of creating bills in either hand or with word docs. He writes things down and there’s a typical structure that a contractor goes through as probably in the middle of their busiest part of their day. Someone will call on a bid or estimate on something. They’ll get the crew running, take off, hair on fire, run by the job site, write down some notes, run home. Friday night, Saturday morning early, they start working on these bids.

Short story long is that they end up losing a lot of money because they forget a lot of details along the way. And I’m thinking, all right, how can I figure that out? I did quite a bit of research, but didn’t find anything other than accounting style or just full on construction apps, which are real expensive. And I thought, well, geez, I got to figure this out. So I asked my brother and a couple other contractors around the country said, “How do you do this?” And all of them are kind of the same way, just a real antiquated way. So I thought, well, how hard is it to learn swift code? There’s another guy down at the bottom down here, laughing right now. I got this. I whip out the laptop, and I turn on YouTube. And I realized a month into this. I thought, man, I could be 95 before I figure this whole process out. Considering I could make little stuff, no big deal, but there’s no way I’m going to make this intense app that I want.

So I’ll fast forward a little bit. I go through Fiverr. I find a really great, what I thought was a really great developer, happens to be in India. A lot of exchange of both culture. He doesn’t know how the US culture works, business works. I’m trying to explain it to him in my west Texas vernacular. And he has no clue about the things I’m saying. So literally I don’t have them behind me right now, but I have those big, giant sticky notes that look a lot like these pads, but they’re literally wall size. So I end up literally writing stuff out and making pictures and they were all over this entire living room that I have here. That was the way I got my points across.

So I mean great experience, nothing wrong with it, but even longer stories. We got the app where I thought it would work, launched it. It started getting some users. And then I thought, well, I’m ready to go to phase two. And I thought, okay, that’s great. So I connect with him, start telling him what I want. And then all of a sudden, just AWOL, just gone. So I don’t know if he got another job. I don’t know if his village fell apart. I don’t know what happened to him. Just gone. And then the code kind of crashed. So here I am out quite a bit of money and with no workable apps. I’m thinking, man, I’m done. I’m lost. And honestly, months later, and really I wrote that note actually in another area. And I said, look, I was kind at my wits end and it was almost seriously like a hail Mary pass. I thought I’m going to call literally right outside my door, less than a mile for Southwest.

I said, there’s got to be somebody who knows something about computers over there. And I called Roger, please tell me what was the gentleman’s name? I forgot what was the gentleman’s name that I called?

Dr. Roger Webster:

Albert Nolt.

Randal Kendrix:

Okay. Mr. Nolt. That’s right. I call, I left a message and it was one of those, Scrappy you know. You’ve made millions of calls in your life. You’re not expecting anything to come back and he was on it like the next day. He just popped me right back and said, yeah, you got to talk to this guy. And I’m like, all right, that’s great. So it is a little bit of hope I connect with Roger. And I mean, I can’t tell you, you talk about relationships, just kind of meshing from the moment on. From the moment we met, funny thing is Roger’s literally a mile, not even a mile outside my front doorstep, he’s already created two apps, pretty darn similar to what I’ve done. And he’s just an awesome guy. So I literally feel like I went from little league coach all the way to Joe Tori. I mean, Roger honestly is the saving grace of Bid It, Bill It at this point in time. So I got to give him a lot of credit.

Scrappy:

With many teams, there’s a driver, and there’s a creative or a scientist. And you need kind of those different core competencies to compliment each other, in order to be successful. Roger, so you get this phone call from Randal, crazy Randall. He’s got this great idea, but you’re kind of like the app expert. You’ve done a handful of these in the past. What were you thinking? What’s going through your mind when you heard from Randall for the first time?

Dr. Roger Webster:

Well, I gave him a call and I said, yeah, I can do it. That’s what I do. I have a PhD in computer science from Temple University, School of Engineering in Philadelphia. Two master’s degrees in computer science, a bachelor of science degree in computer science. And I’ve been teaching computer science for 40 years before I came to Florida Southwest, I was in the Pennsylvania state university system, teaching computer science and teaching app development up there. So I came down to FSW and I retired from there. But instead of retiring, I decided, yeah, I’d like to do a little bit more teaching. So that’s what I do. And I told him, yeah, I can do that for you. So we met it off and I started writing the code and the app is really, really nice. We’re in beta test right now. It’s up on the app store, beta test. Another couple of weeks, it’ll be in full version and looks great.

Scrappy:

Randal, roadblocks and road bumps happen all the time. You go through Fiverr, you go through this guy in India, you get frustrated, but where you are now, are you better off with Roger than if you had been successful previously?

Randal Kendrix:

Oh, I mean, it just fills my face with just excitement. I can’t believe it. Looking back, I mean, I was really in a moment of despair when I got to that point where just everything just kind of fell apart and I’m thinking, ah, money, time, effort, created all these channels and all this. And then you look back at it now where I thought probably was a complete wash out of a road. It appears now that it’s more of just like a bump in the road. And I know a lot of business people around, not only around Florida Southwest, I travel around the world and I’ve heard some horror stories and it felt like one at the time. And then when somebody gets on the other side of that little bump, they look back at it and yeah, it wasn’t that big a deal so far.

Scrappy:

I’m sorry. Many entrepreneurs go through that. Many entrepreneurs have those bumps, those frustrations. They’ve got freelancers that flake out on them and so forth. And I think that’s kind of cool that you’re both rooted in Southwest Florida because that’s been kind of a come together as well. Now both of you have incredible resumes, have done incredible things. Why Southwest Florida? Roger, you first.

Dr. Roger Webster:

Well, my parents moved from Massachusetts down here to Estero, Florida, and they bought a nice little place here about 15 years ago. And I would visit them in the winter of course, and absolutely love it because in Pennsylvania, there’s six feet of snow and down here, it’s 80 degrees in the winter. So I visited them quite a bit in the winter. And I decided when I retired in 2018 that I would buy a place in Florida. And I bought a place in the same community as them, four doors down, actually. And I still have the place in Pennsylvania. I’m down here nine months, a year and up there three months in the summer and it’s been quite nice.

Scrappy:

And Randal, you’re a Texas New York guy, all of a sudden you’re in Southwest Florida. What brought you here?

Randal Kendrix:

Born and raised in Texas and this gorgeous blonde girl I met in New York of all places. So Texas, New York and we meet up in Fort Myers. Actually her folks lived here and right after we got married, she moved to Texas for a couple years. And then I had a chance to come back and man, I’ve never looked back. This is my hometown. I’m a Texan by birth, but boy, I love Florida.

Scrappy:

It’s pretty amazing that here in Southwest Florida, we can do global things. Your company Bid It, Bill It, what’s your niche and differential advantage versus the competition?

Randal Kendrix:

Well, thanks for that. I searched long, like I said, I searched a long time. And what I found is if you know anything about contractors, I’m sure you’ve used people either where you are now, where you lived, they’re craftsman. I mean, if you bring a carpenter in, he’s not an accountant, that’s not what he likes to do. And he doesn’t want to go home and mess with a computer. So I thought, how on earth? And honestly, most of the guys I dealt with early on with Fiverr really wanted to create a very detailed, difficult program. And I just kept rejecting it going, if there’s not a way I’m just going to not do it at all. But there has to be a way, because I look at my iPhone, which I absolutely love. And while it’s a really complex computer, nobody makes it simpler. And so that was the whole thought process.

So what we do differently now, and we will add more as we go, but we want to make that experience one really, really quick and simple to learn. I just did a video last night and I uploaded it to YouTube, which I got to redo. But the whole thing, I think I did five or six minutes. And that’s with an intro. That’s start to finish to opening up the app and creating your first invoice to email to a customer. That’s the whole idea. So no more scribbled notes than waiting two or three days, four, five days to create all your invoices or quotes, you can do it on the fly. So the idea is have it in your hand, it’s local. Don’t need wifi necessarily. It’s on local. I can create a bid in a bill, immediately send it to a customer before I leave their house. Or if I just want to use it for notes, fine. We’ve got pictures in it, but simplicity, which is my whole idea. Simplify your business. That’s the whole mantra of Bid It, Bill It. If I can’t make it simple, I probably won’t make it.

Scrappy:

So how do you differentiate yourself from Get Jobber, Velocity, Procore, Buildertrend?

Randal Kendrix:

Super detailed on the Procore’s, ours is a simplistic bid and/or invoice. So while we may add functionality like that someday, I think that when you look at the department of labor statistics, there’s somewhere between 800 and 1.2 million services folks on the planet. And if you look around at what they use the usage on Quicken by folks in that realm is minimal. They’ll pay someone else to do it. So the thought is to get… Let’s say you have a half million of those. If you get 1% of those huge, huge marketplace, and it’s so simple for them to use the folks that we’ve introduced, it took so far said, well, how much are you going to charge for this? Well right now, nothing. It’s free. We want you to use it and understand it and go from there.

At some point, I think we’ll have a next version, Roger, that will have a charge to it, but it’ll have more information, but the thought is to always have the free, just for those who just want something super simple, boom, and it looks professional. You can upload your own logo. A lot of folks, you can’t do that.

Scrappy:

So from a functionality standpoint, whether it’s organization, speed, manpower, having less of it, saving time, being organized, you really fit to bill, right?

Randal Kendrix:

I think so. Go ahead, Roger.

Dr. Roger Webster:

Fast, easy and powerful. It’s very powerful behind the scenes, but the GUI, the graphic user interface is very simple and easy to use. We use SQL databases on the back end. So we have a database for customers, a database for invoices and a database for how it looks and feels. And it’s very easy to use and it’s customizable. You can make it be an invoicing app for any business you want. You can change all the different categories, the invoice items, the prices, the description, and it’s completely customizable. And you can use your phone to take pictures of the site. We attach that to the invoice and you can print it, send it by text or send it by email.

Scrappy:

Does that translate to the customer? Because here I am doing something for my house and I’ve got credibility issues. I’ve got trustworthy issues with contractors. I’m just going to keep it real. That’s how I feel. So with your invention, can you help me out? The customer out as well, your second customer, so to speak?

Dr. Roger Webster:

Absolutely because the contractor can send you a text, an email or print it right there as he’s doing the quote and you’ll see exactly detailed items of what it’s going to cost. And it’s a quote. And then if you say, yes, I’d like to do it. Then the contractor has a contract between you and the contractor.

Scrappy:

I understand that you guys are in your second year. Randal, how have you progressed?

Randal Kendrix:

The first year and a half, it’s essentially wasted. Not wasted, but wasted time so to speak. Cause I had to start everything over and we’ve been about six ish months Roger, into the new version?

Dr. Roger Webster:

About six months.

Randal Kendrix:

So we’re just in our beta. And as of this week, or probably next week, we will launch the full on polished version of it. And then we’ll be able to hit it worldwide or countrywide, whatever we want to do on that side, which now is the big job now of making sure I get exposure. Which also thank you very much for doing this for us. Just getting the word out and getting in people’s, in their mindset.

Scrappy:

Do you have downloads now or are you just anticipating a huge amount in six months?

Randal Kendrix:

Obviously the drive is six months from now, but we have some downloads now. I’ve tried to minimize just because we’re still very much in a beta site and I don’t want to have people have a bad experience with even the smallest of feature sets. So I’ve kind of kept it quiet, but we’re literally about a week or two weeks out from just doing a massive blast media style blast.

Dr. Roger Webster:

Very, very close, very close. As you know, software is beta testing before it actually goes worldwide on the market to work out some of the initial user bugs, but we’ve got almost all of them done.

Scrappy:

Both of you guys are fascinating to me because you’re grinding really hard on another job. And here you are doing something special for lack of a better term, on the side. So Randal, how many hours are you putting into your real gig, so to speak or your first gig Canon, and then how much time can you put into this?

Randal Kendrix:

I am thankfully an early riser. So I’m up around between four and five, so that’s when I get most of my stuff done. I will spend two to three hours daily or as much as possible, but on average, two, three hours a day on Bid It. And then of course my other job, Canon, is a full-time. So, and that depends on travel. Now I will say if I’m in the middle of an airplane or if I’m driving and I can make calls, obviously if I’m not doing stuff for work, I’ll jump on it, do it at lunch, all that kind of stuff.

Scrappy:

Roger, as a doctor, Roger, at FSW, you had certainly educational responsibilities, but you too, you’ve created a bunch of apps. You’ve been on the cutting edge of app creation. How do you balance the two?

Dr. Roger Webster:

Well, I’m an early riser, just like Randal. And in fact, when we first hit it off, I said, what time do you want to meet? And I said, because I get up at 5:00 AM. If you want to meet by Zoom at 6:00 AM. That’s okay with me. So by nine o’clock I’ve got four hours in before people even wake up and weekends of course, things like that. Number of apps and another consulting clients as well doing app work.

Scrappy:

How about, you mentioned that you’re getting some exposure, but from a marketing perspective, looking out from a timeline, one, two years, how are you penetrating?

Randal Kendrix:

Honestly, not just to toot your own horn, but I want services from folks like yourself. I’m going to need that. I can only go so far. Even with that background from Canon and the advertising and business development, all that, I can only go so far and the bandwidth runs out. I’m going to need some serious help once we get to a certain point. And I think we kind of have a number in mind, but we’ll see how that works out, but definitely want a full on nationwide push at this. I hope within this first half of next year is the thought,

Scrappy:

Okay. Okay. And entrepreneurs, you take risks. You have no fear of failure. Tell us about your entrepreneurial spirit Randal.

Randal Kendrix:

Oh, I have plenty of fear.

I’m just too stupid to stop, I guess. From a young age, I actually owned my own paint contracting business when I was 18. And I’ve never fully given that up. I do more consulting than anything now. And then I do my own projects as well, but I have always had a desire of some level to keep my hands moving and legs and just keep moving and keep asking about this. And even when I’m in my other job, I like to ask a lot of questions and I’m probably too curious at times. I love learning stuff. Especially in this day and age, there’s so much emphasis on the college degree and push and push and push and that’s all great. But boy, there’s also a massive shortage in this world that I’m working on with the app right now with the blue collar guys, the tradesmen. And always had a heart for those guys cause they work hard and they just kind of get the crap of the world. They get beat up a lot.

Scrappy:

Given their blue collars, is there an opportunity for grassroots movement?

Randal Kendrix:

Oh yeah. Yeah. I’m thrilled. One of my heroes right now is, I’m sure you know who he is, Mike Rowe, who’s got his foundation to give scholarships. And as a local guy, I’m pushing as many people as I can without an affiliation Mike, to his scholarships because man, there’s a lot, there’s good money to be made in it. And I can tell you of all the things that I do for a living, the most satisfying stuff is when I’m creating something in my garage or in the house, you can put something together and go, I did that. So it’s a really great feeling.

Scrappy:

Roger, I’ve been here for 18 years and I have a relationship with FSW. I am blown away by the growth over the last 18 years. Can you tell us about your university?

Dr. Roger Webster:

Oh, FSW is a wonderful, I say little college. It’s not really very little. I mean there’s three campuses, Lee County and Collier County and Henry Glades. And I think there’s 25, 30,000 students. I mean at FSW, among the three campuses and in computer science, we’re growing so big that they’re blowing away the inside of the building we’re in right now and putting a $7 million renovation for the school of business and technology and computer science and our cyber security. We offer computer programming and cyber security and of course cyber security and programming, both are really big business. And we’re expanding, we’re hiring faculty, we’re hired two new people. We’re going to hire probably two or three new, more people next year. And it’s really growing leaps and bounds.

Scrappy:

It seems like in this age, everybody has an entrepreneurial spirit. When you look in the eyes of the juniors and the seniors that you teach, do you see that?

Dr. Roger Webster:

Oh yeah, absolutely. And I always tell them, Hey, if you have a great idea for an app, tell me so I can write it for you. But they’ll be able to write it themselves after next semester. And this coming January, spring semester, I’ll be teaching COMP 3655, which is mobile development for a mobile application development for devices. And we’ll be doing iPhone development and Android development. And they will have the first time in FSWs history, a class being taught on how to develop iPhone and Android.

Scrappy:

Wow. Wow. You’re going to give your students a little equity position though, right?

Dr. Roger Webster:

Well, I always tell ’em. I say just because you have a good idea. It doesn’t mean you can make it happen so you know, have great ideas. It’s wonderful, but you’re going to need people like myself and my students to actually develop the code.

Scrappy:

When you see the seniors graduating from FSU right now, what’s their outlook?

Dr. Roger Webster:

Oh, they’re very excited about it. There’s a lot of opportunity in cyber security, all over the country and in computer programming as well. And I tell them all the time you complete your degree at FSW, a four year degree, even a two year degree, you will be instantly employable.

Scrappy:

That’s true. Absolutely.

Dr. Roger Webster:

It is.

Scrappy:

Randal, I was looking at your resume and says board member of Edison Pageant Of Light. That’s impressive. Can you tell us about it?

Randal Kendrix:

Oh, I absolutely love it. So when I first moved here, you’ve been in Florida long enough, you know the typical conversation is, Hey, where are you from? That’s how you start it off. And I had a tough time cause in Texas, everybody’s from Texas. So it’s more like, Hey, what town are you from? Kind of thing. So when I get here, there’s so many transplants, including myself, that finding local was very tough. And my wife who’s been here her entire life had so much and so many connections. There is a wonderful lady in town. Her name is Sue Grime. She’s an institution. If you’ve never met her, you need to, as my wife said, she roped us in.

So if you don’t know, Edison Pageant Of Lights is 80 something years old. It was in honor of Thomas Edison and he actually was there in the early days, giving out the diplomas. Actually her mother got her high school diploma from Thomas Edison and it’s a really beautiful homage to the Edison family. And then all the families in Florida for over 80 years, it’s in my opinion, one of the best local true long-term local things that you can learn and get to participate in Southwest Florida.

Scrappy:

Very nice, very nice. Any parting thoughts as far as selling Bid It, Bill It?

Randal Kendrix:

Well, there’s a lot of ways I’ve thought about going with it, but just me showing my heart out loud. I would love to build a large scale company and pull talent from people like Roger’s students. I would love to feed that college with just job, job, job. That would be a dream. That’s a dream of mine, I’d love to do that.

Scrappy:

That’s awesome. That’s really awesome. We’re sponsored by Content With Teeth, a creative content agency with over 20 years of experience right here in Southwest Florida. And as you can see by the Fathead, we do it really big, specializing in copywriting video production. If you want to sponsor The Come Up or be a guest, hit me up @heyscrappy on IG or text MIKE at 21000. I want to give a shout out to Mary Myers because Mary Myers put us all together today.

Dr. Roger Webster:

She’s the Dean of business and technology.

Scrappy:

Yeah. So Mary, thank you very much. We really appreciate that. And Randal, Roger it’s really, really awesome to talk to you guys today. I love what you’re doing. I appreciate your entrepreneurial spirit and I really love the fact that you’re doing it in Southwest Florida.

Randal Kendrix:

Thanks a lot Scrap. We appreciate your time.

Dr. Roger Webster:

Thanks Scrappy.

September 19, 2022 The Come Up No comments yet

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