Elliot Clark got the entrepreneurial itch, and he never looked back. He followed that instinct and it led him to become an influencer before influencers were a thing, launch Apartment Bartender (80K+ followers), be featured on Good Morning America and so much more.  Elliot’s living the dream, but it takes balance and hard work. In this episode of Conquer the Chaos, you’ll learn how Elliot finally made the leap to start a business, the ways his influencer business has evolved and grown, and what he does to maintain balance while scaling his following. Mentioned in this episode: “Let’s Do Drinks” by Elliot Clark Apartment Bartender on Instagram Apartment Bartender on X Apartment Bartender on YouTube Apartment Bartender on Pinterest "Conquer the Chaos” book The Let’s Grow Summit by Keap  

When two CEOs of automation businesses get together, it’s a can’t-miss conversation.   Wade Foster, CEO of Zapier, joined Clate Mask on this episode of Conquer the Chaos to discuss how to know what to automate in your business, what’s holding people back from taking full advantage of automation software, and how to incorporate AI and automation without losing the human touch your audience loves. Listen to learn all this and much more so you can boost revenue and save time in your own business.   Mentioned in this episode: Zapier website Wade Foster’s LinkedIn Follow Wade on X "Conquer the Chaos” book The Let’s Grow Summit by Keap  

There’s something unexpected that could be holding your business back from growth: your mindset. But you’re in luck because David Bayer knows a thing or two about how to overcome mindset hurdles to reach growth goals you never dreamed possible, and he’s sharing them with you in this episode of Conquer the Chaos. Listen as the author, speaker, entrepreneur, and podcaster with 1M+ monthly listeners shares how he has transformed his life and business by changing his mindset and how you can do the same. Mentioned in this episode: “Feeling is the Secret” by Neville Goddard “The Power of Decision” by Raymond Charles Barker "Conquer the Chaos” book The Let’s Grow Summit by Keap “A Changed Mind” by David Bayer “A Changed Mind Podcast” by David Bayer David Bayer’s Instagram  

Conquer the Chaos: How To Escape the Grind While You Grow With Layne Gneiting  What does riding a bike across America have to do with scaling a business? Surprisingly, everything! That’s what Layne Gneiting found when he stepped away from a successful career to fulfill a dream and go on a bike ride across the country. The experience changed his life and revealed valuable principles about what it takes to grow a business without falling victim to hustle culture.  His bike ride was so impactful that he now trains and leads people on biking adventures while helping them become world-class leaders, build booming businesses, and increase their income. Check out this episode of the Conquer the Chaos Podcast for an exclusive peek into what Layne shares with his clients, including some tips that will surprise you. Mentioned in this episode: 2024 Let’s Grow Summit by Keap “Conquer the Chaos” book “Zen in the Art of Archery” Way of the Hero website

Ben Glass is a lawyer, but that’s not all he does. He took the road less traveled in the legal world by starting a business teaching lawyers how to market their firms in an authentic way that forges strong, personal relationships with clients. Now, as he consistently scales his own law firm, he gets to help other lawyers do the same. But here’s the thing: Marketing in the legal world can be taboo. It’s difficult, but Ben has overcome that, and the insight he’s gathered along the way transcends any industry. It can help a small business of any niche scale with personal, strategic marketing. Tune in to this episode of the Conquer the Chaos Podcast as Ben shares his top tips with you. Mentioned in this episode: 2024 Let’s Grow Summit by Keap Partner Day Great Legal Marketing  Ben Glass Law “No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs” (fourth edition)  “Conquer the Chaos” book

Clate Mask calls Joe Polish “one of the best marketers” he’s ever met, and in this podcast, you’ll get a glimpse into why. Tune in to tap into Joe’s expertise as he shares the importance of relationships to help you grow your business and solve problems and why changing your relationship with money is so crucial. You also get tips on how to do more of what’s easy, fun, and lucrative in your personal and professional life. Mentioned in this episode: Genius Network Genius Recovery "Conquer the Chaos” book The Let’s Grow Summit Joe Polish Instagram Joe Polish LinkedIn

Ramon Ray’s joyful attitude and adaptability are infectious. It’s what’s propelled him so far in his career and helped him start, scale and sell multiple businesses, as well as become an in-demand keynote speaker and get his own show on USA Today network.    But Ramon didn’t always have the upbeat, positive perspective he has now. It’s taken time to cultivate, and he’s seen the fruit of it in his life and business. In this episode of Conquer the Chaos, Ramon discusses his powerful journey toward the right mindset, why it’s necessary for a successful business, and how you can merge mindset and automation to scale like you’ve never done before.   Mentioned in this episode: ZoneofGenius.com RamonRay.com “Conquer the Chaos” book The Let’s Grow Summit Ultimate Automator Award  

Joe Stolte is the CEO of Daily.ai, an AI platform that helps businesses design, write and test newsletters that will wow their audience and increase conversion. However, before that role, Joe scaled and sold five technology businesses, which ended in what he describes as “ three successful exits, two spectacular failures.” In this episode of the Conquer the Chaos Podcast, Joe joins Clate Mask to discuss what he’s learned through the highs and lows of his career, including the role curiosity plays in your personal and professional success, the steps you need to develop growth habits, how to revolutionize your follow-up process with AI, and more. Mentioned in this episode: Daily.ai Joe Stolte Instagram “Conquer the Chaos” book The Let’s Grow Summit “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself” “Power vs. Force” “Think and Grow Rich” “Atomic Habits”

If you’re looking to sustainably scale your business, becoming pickier about which clients you take on may seem counterintuitive, but that’s exactly what Stephen Woessner did. Stephen was initially on the fence about trimming down who his company, Predictive ROI, served. But he took the leap to find his niche and his business grew to the point that he had to double his staff. Now that Stephen’s seen what this shift has done in his business and in the agencies he works with, he wants to urge you to do the same. Tune into this episode of the Conquer the Chaos Podcast, to discover how Stephen found his ideal customer niche, his initial fears, the benefits of this approach, and the pivotal role automation plays in the entire gameplan. Mentioned in this episode: Agency Management Institute “Sell with Authority” book “Profitable Podcasting” book The Let’s Grow Summit Conquer the Chaos book Keap's small business automation software Elite Entrepreneurs Predictive ROI’s LinkedIn Predictive ROI’s website Stephen Woessner’s LinkedIn

You probably need better work boundaries. Would you agree? Becca Bunch ran into the boundary-setting dilemma not long after she started her own social media agency, Homemade Social. Her business was scaling quickly, and with that growth came the need for clear boundaries with her expanding list of clients. Becca wasted no time taking intentional steps to protect her time, energy and resources. And she soon found that the boundaries she set would support her growth and benefit everyone involved in Homemade Social, including her clients. In this episode of the Conquer the Chaos Podcast, Becca joins Clate Mask to discuss the importance of boundaries, the hesitations a lot of business owners have with setting them and why they’re imperative to scaling your business and enjoying your life. Mentioned in this episode: Homemade Social website Opal OpenPhone The Let’s Grow Summit Conquer the Chaos book Keap.com

Chris Lee started a company in his garage and scaled it to $233 million in revenue. But he was once bankrupt. So, how did he transform his life? By the end of this episode of the Conquer the Chaos Podcast, you’ll know how. Listen to learn Chris’ journey to success and why your vision is the key to becoming a great leader and surpassing even your most ambitious goals.   Mentioned in this episode: The Let’s Grow Summit Conquer the Chaos book Chris Lee’s Instagram  

Paul Sokol knows the world of business automation like the back of his hand. Since 2008, he’s been automating manual processes to save time and give his customers the best experience possible. Doing so transformed his life and business, so he set out to do the same for other entrepreneurs and their teams.  It goes without saying that Paul is an automation expert, and in this episode of Conquer the Chaos, he is giving you an inside look at some of his best automation secrets, including how you can use Keap’s new Solution Launchpad to get your business fully automated in less time than ever before or how you can use it to easily share (and sell) your own automations with the world. Mentioned in this episode: Keap’s Solution Launchpad The Let’s Grow Summit Paul Sokol’s LinkedIn Paul’s Keap Academy course  

Striking a balance between scaling your business and having a personal life is one of the hardest things for entrepreneurs to master. If you’ve ever felt like reaching your entrepreneurial goals requires you to give up family dinners, vacations, selfcare or anything else that brings you joy, then you need Jason Wojo’s wisdom. In this episode of Conquer the Chaos, Jason, CEO of Lifeonaire, joins Clate Mask to unveil his secrets to balancing business success and life’s joys so you can stop stressing and start living. Mentioned in this episode: Lifeonaire website Conquer the Chaos book The Three Laws of Performance The Let’s Grow Summit Keap: Small business automation and CRM software Get-A-Life Getaway Business Builder Workshop

Melodie Moore, founder and CEO of Business Tech Ninjas, knows the incredible impact automation can have on businesses of all products, services and sizes. However, she’s also well-aware that automating your entire business can quickly become complicated and overwhelming. That’s why in this episode of Conquer the Chaos, Melodie joins Clate Mask to discuss how to automate every area of your business and get the most ROI out of your software without sacrificing endless hours, negatively impacting your team or causing harm to your customer experience. Mentioned in this episode: Business Tech Ninjas website Business Tech Ninjas LinkedIn Business Tech Ninjas YouTube Keap Academy Let’s Grow Summit: 2024 Keap user conference  

There are only so many hours in a day, but Sarah Laws has discovered how to maximize her limited time so she can reach her goals. The best part? Her tips and tricks also help her unlock more hours to spend with family and friends so she can scale her business without sacrificing what means most to her. It’s the best of both worlds, and if you want to follow in Sarah’s footsteps, tune into this episode of the Conquer the Chaos Podcast as Clate Mask and Sarah discuss how to structure your routines to reach your goals and build a life and business you love. Mentioned in this episode: Sarah Laws’ LinkedIn Sarah Laws Facebook

Running a business requires strategy and processes, but without proper planning, these crucial keys to success and growth can go haywire. That’s why Daniel Bussius, award-winning marketing consultant, best-selling author, and CEO of Built by Love®, has spent his career helping entrepreneurs and their teams craft their processes and strategies with intention and care. Daniel Bussius recently sat down with Clate Mask to spill all his process and strategy secrets that will help you provide the best experience for your customers, save time for your team and push you closer to your growth goals. Mentioned in this episode: “Built by Love” by Daniel Bussius The Perfect Customer Lifecycle Let’s Grow Summit: 2024 Keap user conference

Rejection. It stings, doesn’t it? But Jia Jiang wants to flip the script and challenge your reaction to rejection. Instead of running from it, he wants to show you how to face it head-on and use it to make your business better. In this episode of Conquer the Chaos, Clate Mask and Jia Jiang discuss the need for rejection, how to find joy in it, and how to harness it to help you reach your goals and make you a more fearless entrepreneur. Mentioned in this episode: Rejection Therapy website Jia Jiang on Instagram  

Brian Cain works with some of the greatest athletes in the world, and it all starts with one thing: Training their mindset. Now, Brian is coaching entrepreneurs and helping them shape their mindset to reach their business goals. In this episode of Conquer the Chaos, Brian Cain joins Clate Mask to dive deeper into the importance of the mindset, why it matters for your business and how to train yours for maximum success.

In this episode of Conquer the Chaos, Michael Hyatt, founder and chairman of Full Focus, joins Clate Mask to explore the concept of achieving the "double win" in life, balancing success in work and personal life. Together they explore practical strategies for goal setting, introducing the "SMARTER" framework emphasizing specificity, measurability, excitement, and risk, while acknowledging the crucial role of emotion in goal attainment.  

Dr. Darnyelle Jervey Harmon, a 7-time best-selling author, the creator of 5 powerful business systems and the host of the MOVE To Millions Podcast, joins Clate Mask to discuss why entrepreneurs often hold themselves back from earning a higher wage and lays out the broad steps of her "Move to Millions" method. Learn more:  Podcast: https://www.drdarnyelle.com/podcast Website: https://www.incredibleoneenterprises.com Move To Millions Book: https://movetomillionsbook.com/

Piyush Parikh, co-founder of SaaS technical support platform Equinox Agents, joins Clate Mask to discuss the importance of finding your business's niche and how doing so helps small business owners conquer the chaos. Piyush and Clate also discuss the peaks and valleys of entrepreneurship, and why business owners should always look for the next mountain to climb! Learn more about Equinox Agents: https://equinoxagents.com/

Tim Riddle, CEO of Discover Blind Spots, joins Clate Mask to discuss niche growth and relationship building for financial advisors. They discuss the importance of clear and consistent communication, the power of content marketing to address client problems, and the role of automation in streamlining business processes. Learn more: https://www.discoverblindspots.com/

For Michelle Nedelec, consultant and founder of Awareness Strategies, automation and the right mindset are the keys to success. In fact, for over 20 years, she’s helped businesses reach their goals using her expert framework, and she’s sharing it in this podcast. Listen in as Michelle discusses the four-step strategy business owners can use to scale their business in a healthy way. She also dives into the life-changing effects of automation she’s seen as a coach.  Learn More: https://www.awarenessstrategies.com/

In this episode of Conquer the Chaos, Justin Gray joins Clate Mask to talk about a loaded topic: Sales.  Justin Gray’s company, In Revenue Capital, is dedicated to helping companies improve their sales strategies and increase their revenue. But before consulting, Justin Gray conquered the chaos of sales for himself by growing LeadMD, the business he started in his spare room, to over 20 million in revenue. If you want to know how, check out Justin’s episode, where you’ll learn the different stages you should have in your sales process, how to scale with partnerships and more. Learn More: https://inrevenue.capital/

Amit Kakar knows what it takes to succeed with personalization.  “We’re going to crush you.” That’s what two retail pharmacy executives told Amit about his new business 25 years ago. Fast forward to today, and Amit’s business, Avalon Pharmacy, is thriving. How did he do it? By using marketing automation to deliver the best customer experience possible. Press play to learn exactly how automation helped Amit take his customer service to the next level and grow his revenue by 20%.  Learn more: https://avalondrugstore.com/

Sangram Vajre knows what it takes to start and scale a business because he’s done it successfully time and time again, and in this episode, he’s sharing his secrets with you. The entrepreneur started at Salesforce, where he studied the billion-dollar business and used what he learned to launch his own company. Now, Sangram is the Co-Founder and CEO of GTM Partners. Listen as Sangram discusses the tricks of the trade and the mindset that can help entrepreneurs break free from chaos and enjoy their journey.  Learn more: https://gtmpartners.com/

Heidi Jannenga is the Co-Founder and CCO of WebPT, the leading physical therapy EMR software, but she started as a physical therapist using pen and paper. Heidi needed EMR software specifically for rehab therapists, so she built one and shared it with the world. Now, Heidi’s software company has thousands of employees and serves tens of thousands of clinics. In this episode, Heidi shares how to take your idea and turn it into a booming business.  Learn more: https://www.webpt.com/

Justin Rende, the CEO and founder of Rhymetec, the industry leader in cloud security that provides innovative cybersecurity, compliance, and data privacy services to modern-day SaaS businesses. Justin started his career working in the film industry where he gained the confidence to be able to talk to anyone, after realizing that celebrities are just like the rest of us. Listen in as Justin discusses how his background helped him start Rhymetec and how he was able to find his niche. Justin also dives into the importance of finding a niche for your small business and explains how going upstream isn’t always the answer.  Learn more about Rhymetec: https://rhymetec.com/

Park Howell has been in the storytelling business for more than 40 years, and he’s helped PepsiCo, the Air Force, Richard Branson and more craft impactful stories for their brands. If your business has a story, Park Howell can help you tell it. In this episode, you’ll learn how to craft a story that will excite your audience and help grow your business. Learn more about the Business of Story: https://businessofstory.com/

Jaspreet Singh, founder of Minority Mindset, joins Small Biz Buzz in the final episode of Season 2 of our Big Grit docuseries to talk about his journey to entrepreneurship. He's seen every part of entrepreneurship from being scammed by a marketing agency out of his entire budget for a product launch to hitting 1 million subscribers on YouTube. He shifted from taking the MCAT to closing on his first real estate investment in less than 24 hours. Jaspreet is a prime example of Big Grit and having what it takes to make anything possible. 

Justin Wise, founder of The Different Company, joins Small Biz Buzz in the continuation of our Big Grit docuseries to talk about his journey to entrepreneurship. After teaching himself the basics of digital marketing while his family began to grow, Justin had a pivotal moment with a boss that changed everything. He ventured out on his own, built his first successful business, but found himself at another impasse. He asked himself the question: "what makes me different?" The answer led to The Different Company, and the life as an entrepreneur that he never imaged.

Monica Kline, who is the founder of IDentity Brand, joins Small Biz Buzz in the continuation of our Big Grit docuseries to talk about how she used technology to grow her business after numerous setbacks and challenges.  Monica experienced great losses throughout her journey to entrepreneurship, but she continued to bet on herself and her dream. She is the true definition of Big Grit. 

We’ve got Jennifer Hudye of Conscious Copy & Co on the show this week and it was a stellar show for marketers, copywriters or anyone looking to boost their e-commerce game. Conscious Copy & Co helps entrepreneurs and business owners communicate their message through the power of copy in a way that gets people to take action.  “I started it about five years ago and really stumbled upon just this whole skill set of copywriting. I never grew up as a writer or considering myself a writer. Back in 2013, I was introduced to the online marketing world and my eyes were wide open just being like, ‘Oh my gosh. Okay. There's this whole world where I can start a business online from anywhere and get to serve so many more people’”. By building her copy chops Jennifer not only turned her college side-hustle into multiple six-figure revenue streams but she had outside companies clamoring for her expertise. “Some pretty big names started to reach out to me. People like Joe Polish and Dean Graziosi and Brendan Bouchard and Bulletproof Coffee, and it was just this new business, Conscious Copy, took off back in 2015.” Along the way Jennifer learned there’s much more to good copywriting than flowery language. “My dear friend, Lisa Sasevich has a quote, "Sell the destination, not the airplane." And I was selling that airplane. I was like, ‘In this program, you're going to get 85 PDFs and 46 videos that are an hour long.’” Plus Jennifer lets us in on her five C’s for writing copy that connects and converts.  The first one is…Capture attention. You’ll have to listen in for the other four.

On small biz buzz this week we’ve got the founder of article curation site thebrowser.com and author of Thinking Statistically, Uri Bram. “Every day we read hundreds of articles and select our favourite five for you to enjoy, so you'll always have interesting things to ponder and fascinating ideas to discuss at dinner.” - The Browser We’ll be discussing realistic timelines for “overnight success”, how happy subscribers are the most cost effective marketing agency, and how to tell when you’re using busy work to hide from your real responsibilities. “I always took pride that I answered every email, and I went over subscriber rater... It never ends. you clear your inbox and then you wake up in the morning and there's another. I think we're all traumatized.  A lot of the things I was doing, I enjoyed them because I had gotten good at them. But actually, it didn't need to be me doing them. It didn't really take expertise even. They were the simpler tasks. And I was procrastinating from the harder tasks by the simpler tasks. And what I really needed to do is hand off the simpler tasks.” - Uri Bram

Jake Johnson (Keap Creative director) joins us to discuss the soul of branding, pandemic pivots, and finding the folks who’ll pay big for premium offerings “There were people like, "I can't believe you'd spend $30 to watch Mulan And those are people who just don't get it.”. We’ll also tackle one of the most overlooked growth killers, "promo fatigue". What does that mean?. Listen close, because too much attention to your audience may be driving away your current customer base.  “There's only so many messages that consumers can get hit with before it becomes white noise.” Learn exactly why “getting folks in the door” could be your most dangerous move and when to spot the right and wrong time to commoditize your offerings.

Grady Kerr talks with the team about his years as an entrepreneur leading up to his joining Keap and becoming one of the most well known faces in the company with his popular Automation Hours webinars.  “When you're stuck putting out fires. Your day is managing you."  We’ll discuss the global concept of follow up as a critical growth action and how your brand needs to be an extension of yourself if you want to ensure quality control. You’ll also get an earful as we discuss one of the most common barriers to starting a small business... "When I get this done, then I'll start. When I get this done, then I'll start. Or I could say, “I'm just going to run with it, and I will build the train tracks as the train goes." “

Meet Mwale and Chantel Henry, THE WINNERS OF 2020’s IKON AWARDS!!!! Not to mention owners and founders of https://thebestsellersacademy.com/ where they help speakers and aspiring authors gain visibility and brand credibility by turning their story into a bestselling book. Keap has a special place in its business tech heart for these two. Listen in and learn from Mwale and Chantel about their business, the four P’s of possibility, and their journey to find one another. This show is an absolute delight, we’ll discuss how these two used their disparate upbringings (Chantel, growing up in the streets of Baltimore and Mwale a world away in Trinidad) to inform how they approach business, customer interaction, and mission focus. Hear Chantel as she lays out The Four P’s of Possibility:  Process Partnership Profitability Purpose “Great leaders talk about it. When you cast a vision, you have to visit it often. You can't just cast it in a board meeting, you can't cast it sitting at the dining table talking to yourself.  There are days it's not working. And that's when you have to visit that vision often. Not only did we change our process in terms of being able to document the experience in our business, because what's not documented can't be managed. Everyone's talking about pivot. But we've learned, when we went through the process of doing an audit in our business and removing the dysfunction, things that can't be tracked, shout out to Keap for helping us to be able to track what's happening in your business, be able to document, be able to build the right type of campaigns, and we identify those gaps, we realized we didn't need to pivot, we needed to persevere, because, yes, it's good to talk about pivoting, but sometimes as entrepreneurs, it's tempting to use that as a sexy way to say; ‘I’m giving up. I am giving up. It's too hard, I'm giving up’.” - Mwale Henry

Listen in as we talk with Keap Creative Manager, Stephanie Haworth. In addition to being the guiding hand behind Keap’s copywriting, design, and UX; Stephanie has agency design chops and was willing to share the inside insights she’s gleaned from years in the industry. “It's very important not to be insular as an agency owner and not see everyone as your competition. “ Learn how to every agency is differentiated by their teams and what it says about how well they suit different clients. We’ll discuss what it means when an agency is hesitant to workshop over the phone and how important it is to set expectations early.

Digital marketing expert Toccara Karizma joins us to discuss where you should and shouldn't be spending your marketing budget. Facebook ads are an ever-changing animal, Toccara has made it a point to track the ebs and flows of digital marketing as well as the red flags to watch for when hiring outside agencies. Listen in to get insights on CPMs, UTFs, and how they can be the difference between dynamic marketing partners and flat out scam artists.

This week, we've got info on automation from a serial entrepreneur who also has the inside scoop on exactly how powerful Keap can be. Ernest Saco (Sr. Product Manager at Keap) joins us to discuss developing a brand, building a successful business from an idea and making the most of your sales and marketing automation. Want to take your online sales to the next-level? This is the show for you.

Alex Edlund, Keap’s head of demand generation, joins Small Biz Buzz to talk about generating demand for your product and business and creating brand awareness.  His team is responsible for acquiring new customers via marketing, and a lot of the marketing that Alex does is performance-marketing related. It's about getting more leads, more opportunities and sales so the business can grow.  “In demand gen, when we look across my team, it is practically every channel that aids in driving new traffic to the website,” Alex said. “So, paid search, SEO, affiliate marketing, paid social marketing, email, all these channels that can really drum up demand for Keap really encapsulates demand gen.”  When it comes to demand gen, Alex said you have to have a sense for who you are targeting. Who's your target audience? What kind of research have you done to figure that out? If you're a small business that has been in business for quite some time, you have loads of information around that, you have your existing customer base, so look at that customer base to figure out what it is about them that makes them unique, or makes them work so well for your business. “When you have a good audience strategy, then it becomes a little easier for you to pick out which channels to invest in, what areas to have a presence in, because you really want to be where your audience is at,” said Alex. “If you know your audience, it becomes a lot easier to determine where you're going to invest your time.” Click play for more.

Rajesh Bhatia, CTO of Keap, joins Small Biz Buzz to talk about the relationship between AI and automation and how they make entrepreneurs’ lives easier. While conquering the chaos of a small business, entrepreneurs have so many things to worry about, mainly, their sales and marketing, which can be easily automated. For example, if somebody comes to your website and they populate a “contact me” form, the goal is to automate the communication by collecting and transferring the data to a lead capture spreadsheet. That's the kind of high-level AI and automation Keap is presenting to the small business arena.   “All we're doing here is providing [small business owners] the necessary applications, tools and capabilities to make their lives easier–either by being able to help manage their contact lists, their sales and marketing automation, their appointments, their pipelines, etc.,” said Rajesh. “We’re building the software so we can help our small business customers because we recognized how difficult their job is, how difficult their work is. And all we want to do is empower them because ultimately, we are fueled by small businesses. And their growth is important to us as a community, as a country. And more importantly, us here at Keap because that's our mission to help small businesses.” Click play for more.

Nate Shaw, who is the CEO of Brooklyn Music Factory, joins Small Biz Buzz in our Big Grit docuseries to talk about his company’s vision to create a community online that provides the same kind of opportunities and deep connections as teaching music in person. “The whole world can be a community,” said Nate. “At Brooklyn Music Factory, one of our real opportunities in 2021 is figuring out how to grow a meaningful, communal connection online that matches the version we have in person.” Nate expressed how pivoting your business during the pandemic is about perspective, reorganizing your team and finding a mindset that can work. He understood his business can be of a benefit, even in the most dire times. “The fact that we were hiring online teachers from any English-speaking country was amazing. What quality of talent that you could recruit,” said Nate. “Our vision in 2021 is twofold. To expand that online community, and build on it and scale it, to expand our teacher network, just start supporting other studios and teachers that need curriculum that works online and in-person. And then actually to shrink our local community slightly.” Click play for more.

Valerie Aprahamian, who is the founder of Advocates for Angels, joins Small Biz Buzz in our Big Grit docuseries to talk about how her company supports and protects parents of children with special needs and developmental disorders through their Individual Education Programs (IEPs). Valerie’s daughter, Chanel, was diagnosed with autism and a very life-threatening seizure disorder, at the age of three years old, by a team by pediatric neurologists at UCLA. That doctor told Valerie that Chanel would never read, write, talk or ever be successful in school. It was also most likely she would have to institutionalize her. “At that time, I didn't even really know what autism was other than I knew it was a very profound disability,” said Valerie. “So immediately I started educating myself on special education law, and I started finding out what her needs were, what autism was, and how to get her the help she needed.” Valerie was immediately awoken to the reality of special education, the bureaucracy of the institution, and the segregation that they placed upon these kids. She immediately knew she wanted her daughter in a regular school with regular kids in a general education class. “They thought I was crazy because they weren't doing inclusion back then. So I was successful in having Chanel be placed in a general ed class at five years old,” said Valerie. “She was the first child with the diagnosis of autism to be placed in a general education classroom in my local school district. So that's the beginning of the story.” Click play for more.

Natasha Davis, who is the founder and CEO of Impact Branding Consulting, joins Small Biz Buzz in our Big Grit docuseries to talk about her journey from being a nurse to realizing her real passion of becoming an entrepreneur and all the obstacles she had to overcome to be successful.       “It takes time. Shifting from a mindset of being an employee is a big shift to being an entrepreneur, but then you have to shift from being an entrepreneur to being an employer, to being a business owner, it's two different mindsets,” said Natasha. “You have to begin to make different decisions. When you start a business, you're making $5,000 decisions, maybe $2,000 decisions, but then as you continue to grow, if you're doing it right, you're now making $25,000 decisions and $50,000 decisions, it's a different mindset.” Natasha stresses the importance of never stop trying; never give up on yourself. “Even when people say no to you, you have to truly believe in yourself. And you have to believe in what you're doing. Believe in what your cause is,” she said. “And don't look at yourself as this little minute thing. You're on this earth to do powerful things. You are that cargo. And if one person says no to you, screw it, go to the next person. There are people there who need you.” Natasha Davis can be found at impactbrandingconsulting.org.     Click play for more.

Clate Mask, Keap’s CEO, joins Small Biz Buzz to talk about the mindset of entrepreneurs versus small business owners and how having grit can get you through the hard times. Clate expresses the fact that the entrepreneurial journey is hard enough, let alone with the curve balls like we've had this year. COVID-19 really clarified the difference between the typical small business owner and the entrepreneur. “The typical small business owner generally lives in a very concerned state of being and is very cautious and very concerned about the present, and can easily be swayed by circumstances around them,” said Clate. “Whereas the entrepreneur is very focused on the future and is very optimistic and is very driven and action-oriented to not get stuck into a rut, but to actually drive to a better place and is willing to take some risk and is willing to be uncomfortable. Typical small business owners want to be comfortable. Entrepreneurs are okay when they're not uncomfortable so they can drive to a better state.” Clate also discusses Keap’s upcoming conference, IKON, which will be held virtually this year November 12-14. “If you're serious about growing your business and you want to be in a community of people that are like-minded and are serious about growing their business, if you want to understand sales and marketing automation and how it can change your business, and you want some inspiration and motivation, IKON is an event like none other,” said Clate. “It is so remarkable to see what happens when you bring people together and their stories, how they use our software to change the game, how they are overcoming the challenges, how they bring grit and optimism to their work every day. I just love our customers.” Speaking of grit, check out Keap’s newest Big Grit docuseries at keap.com/big-grit. Also, if you want to register for IKON, click here. Click play for more.

Paige Clark, Keap’s Corporate Communications Specialist, joins Small Biz Buzz to talk about utilizing the small business aspect in local marketing when it comes to social media. “If you're really working on growing [your] small business, you want to focus on the people who are your market,” said Paige. “And that's why you want to start with this local bubble on social media.” Per Paige, the first place you should start, whether it’s on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, is geotagging your location, but use it strategically. Don’t tag a place that no one's ever heard of. Don't tag the taco stand on the side of the road because they have good tacos. You want to tag the more general area that is going to have an impact. Click play for more.

Kristen Boss, a business coach geared toward women entrepreneurs, joins Small Biz Buzz to discuss the challenges business owners face to make their first $100K, how to sell confidently and know when it’s time to pivot.   “Why not get there faster by learning from an expert, hiring mentors, getting involved in masterminds? Go get educated!” said Boss when it comes to selling. “It's always going to return back to you. I love grit for building business. It's where a passion and perseverance meet to create a long-term goal. So you have to have the long-term goal in mind and you have to have passion and perseverance, which is grit. You got to be gritty.” Boss said your business has to meet the needs of others. People can tell when someone is selling something to meet their own needs–the entire energy of the experience is very different. Boss also said when it's time to look at a pivot, you should be asking yourself: am I meeting my needs or a felt need I see? Is it an area where I'm an expert? Would I do it for free? Would I find joy and purpose in that? And then lastly, am I running from pain? Or is this a time for me to get critical and do some evaluations and look at what's working? What's not working? What do I need to do differently? Click play for more.