Bold with Brooke by Brooke Summer

Latest Episodes:

Storytelling in Marketing for Small Business Owners with Nick Demos {Ep 045} Sep 24, 2020

Show notes

Full shownotes: https://boldwithbrooke.com/045

Welcome back to Business Straight Up - business help for photographers and creative business owners! This episode is so freakin' special to me because it is an interview with an amazing man - yep, a MAN - who is one of those rare people that is actually engaged when you're having a conversation with him. I remember talking with him in California last year, and we were able to just connect on a level that most conversations don't really happen on anymore. We are all so distracted, with things competing for our attention over and over again, and it can be so impactful to really CONNECT with someone when you talk to them, instead of constantly thinking about something else. Nick Demos is a Tony award winning Broadway producer who has spent his life telling stories in different formats, from the stage to now in his own life and business, and today's episode is ALL about the stories that you can share in your marketing that will really have an impact on your business. So many of my students share that they don't think they're very interesting, and don't really have any stories to share, but I want to ASSURE you that there are so many things that your clients want to know! Nick and I will outline some suggestions and ideas today, and you might hear a few AMENs in the mix because of some truth bombs. This episode was recorded in early 2020, so you will hear some references to the Super Bowl, and yes, things have changed a LOT. BUT - the need to share more of yourself and your story with your audience hasn't changed, it is still crazy relevant and I'm excited to share this episode with you! Because of the delay in publishing the episode, I wanted to make sure to share Nick's current workshop that is available, Align Your Niche. Because if you don't know who you serve and who you want to attract, how the heck can you decide on ANY of your marketing? I am SO aligned with that message and have felt it in both of my businesses! To find out more about Align Your Niche with Nick, check out the shownotes at www.boldwithbrooke.com/045 for more details, the link will be there. Ready to learn more about storytelling and how you're not as boring as you think? Let's go!

Running a Business with Kids at Home - Productivity for Small Business Owners {Ep 044} Sep 17, 2020

Show notes

Full shownotes: https://boldwithbrooke.com/044

Welcome back amazing business owners! We are going to talk today about some tips for either homeschooling or hybrid schooling or online schooling, or whatever the heck you're doing right now. We're all in a bit of a chaotic place right now, right? Schools are all over the place, and no one is really sure which way is up! Heads up, this episode was originally really long, and I split it into two - because I wanted to break it up and make it a little easier to digest. Running a business with kids at home can be overwhelming at times, and today I have some tips and tricks for you to master it, so that you can maintain your own sanity. Productivity for small business is a necessary skill, and once you can learn a few tricks, you can get so much more done!

How to Schedule Your Days as a CEO & Parent {Ep 043} Sep 02, 2020

Show notes

View full shownotes: https://boldwithbrooke.com/043

How to schedule your days as a CEO and parent - what a loaded topic, right? Even if you're NOT a parent, chances are you have other obligations or things that you have to take care of. Figuring out how to schedule your days when it comes to running a successful and profitable business can be overwhelming, and too often, CEO's end up working a LOT. In 2020, the year of the unknown, and basically the entire world changing in front of our eyes. Back to school this year was different for almost every parent that I know, and it continues to be changing almost weekly. Some parents have been able to send their kids back to school and go back to really working on their businesses, but some are in situations they have never found themselves in before. Some are homeschooling, some are having to do a hybrid model online, and some are facing huge decisions because of all of this. And with all of the things that we have to look at when it comes to these changes, we are left with the question: how to schedule your day as a CEO and parent. Even if you are NOT a parent or if your kids are grown, I want to encourage you to listen in, because this episode will be full of value for ALL business owners. Most of us have something else that we have to focus on, whether it's our children, a parent, a day job, or something else that distracts us from really working ON our businesses, instead of IN our businesses. And I am saying this with all of the love in the world because guess what - I've been there. In almost all of these situations. And this episode is going to outline how we schedule our time as a family, with several sample schedules, depending on the stage of life that you're in, when you're trying to run a business and do LIFE all at once. In this episode, we are going to walk through some of my strategies for scheduling life before and during 2020. I will talk more about our history with schooling and how we were thrown into online and homeschooling. If you are not one of those parents that was looking forward to homeschooling from day one - you are NOT alone - and you can still handle all of this! We are going to go through sample schedules, and how to schedule your day as a CEO and parent in several different situations. SO MANY of my students have asked me how I schedule my days. I'm going to share all of my tips and tricks and the hard-earned, tear-filled lessons in this episode, but first, I want you to know one essential truth when it comes to how to schedule your day as a CEO and parent: There is no one standard schedule that will work for every single person.

3 Ways to Find Your Ideal Clients & Step Into Sales with Luci Dumas {Ep 042} Aug 05, 2020

Show notes

Full shownotes: https://boldwithbrooke.com/042

In today's episode, I am excited to chat with the awesome Luci Dumas - long time photographer and coach who has been through recessions and beaten the odds with her 38 years in business. We are going to chat about two things that MUST be present for a successful creative business - marketing, and sales. Luci details three ways to find your ideal clients who not only want your services, but are willing to pay for it, and we also talk about stepping fully into a position of leadership so that you are a trusted advisor for your clients. Offering them the higher level of service will not only propel your business forward, but change the perspective on what so many consider to be the uncomfortable side of running a business - SALES!

3 Steps to Self Care for Entrepreneurs {Ep 041} Jul 31, 2020

Show notes

Full shownotes: https://boldwithbrooke.com/041

In today's episode, we are going to chat about taking care of YOURSELF as an entrepreneur and business owner right now. I have seen my fellow CEO's and moms freaking out because of decisions that have to be made for the upcoming school year, and the guidelines that we are looking at, and MAN it is not an easy season for the CEO's who work from home and are suddenly in the midst of finding themselves having to DO IT ALL. Right now, we have to be super focused on everyone else's needs because we don't have the village that we all talk about yet somehow can't find. And that is happening in the best of times, throw in a pandemic? All bets are off. Let's look at some actionable steps to take care of yourself in this season so that you can better serve your family, your clients and your students in an amazing way.

Self Love and Entrepreneurship with Shafonne Myers {Ep 040} Jul 15, 2020

Show notes

Full shownotes: https://boldwithbrooke.com/040

Raise your hand if you've ever had some SERIOUS doubt about your ability to actually make this whole business idea WORK? I know I have! Welcome back to another episode of Business Straight Up with Brooke Summer - and this one is going to be something that kind of merges my two businesses together. Today's episode is ALL about self love and entrepreneurship - because I promise you that if you continue to ignore self love and confidence in your life and business, you won't be able to achieve your BIGGEST goals.

Boundaries, Safety & Trusting Yourself in Growing Your Business {Ep 039} Jul 09, 2020

Show notes

Full shownotes: https://boldwithbrooke.com/039

Hello there, amazing business owners and fellow entrepreneurs! This episode is going to be a little DIFFERENT from what you're used to. It was originally recorded earlier today (July 9, 2020) after a whirlwind 48 hours where a very large boudoir photography group and forum imploded amidst allegations of sexual misconduct, among other things. It's a little raw, and includes some tears and swear words, so if there are littles around, put in those earbuds! Unless your kids are used to swear words, like my own. We are going to talk about fears. About just starting out in a new business. About trusting yourself in growing your business. About your rights and boundaries and honoring them. And so much more. This news has been heartbreaking and infuriating and I want to be 100% completely clear: the actions of the founders of Do More Photographers do NOT align with my own core values in my photography business, or in my teaching business. I was an educator on the Do More forum, and like most of the educators and admins who have left, I am absolutely not okay with what has happened. Listen in to hear more.

Top Small Business Website Mistakes: Part 1 {Ep 038} Jun 11, 2020

Show notes

Full shownotes: https://boldwithbrooke.com/038

Well hello there, amazing business owners! Today we are going to chat about the most common website mistakes that I see when I review small business websites. I have done a LOT of website critiques, even before I did them in video format, I have done them locally for about 10 years now. There are a few mistakes that I see over and over and over again, and when I sat down to write out this episode, I actually came up with OVER 20 that I see consistently. I wanted to keep this short and sweet because right now we are all working between kids and chaos, and so I had to leave some out. So we'll start with the most common, and the BIGGEST mistakes that I see. If you loved this episode, don't forget to head over to iTunes and leave a review. It only takes a few minutes but means the world to me and my team, and we have a special gift for you when you do! Type out the review, take a screenshot and send it over to hello@boldwithbrooke.com so that we can send you a special gift! We appreciate the reviews so much, so I want to thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts!

Small Business Website Copy Tips with Kimberley Anderson {Ep 037} Jun 05, 2020

Show notes

Full shownotes: https://boldwithbrooke.com/037

Welcome back, ready for some website help? The words that you put onto your website are CRAZY important when it comes to how your website will perform in turning visitors into inquiries, and then into paid clients! This episode features an amazing copywriter who specializes in writing copy for creative businesses - and can I just tell you how IMPORTANT your messaging is, and how much this information matters? It is so underrated and is something that needs to be discussed more! Kimberley Anderson is the genius behind Red Curl Creative and today we are going to talk about common website mistakes, why copy for your website is different than other writing and marketing, three things that MUST be conveyed on your website, and a secret weapon that you already have in your business that can be a HUGE wealth of content for you when you don't know what to write. Yup - you most likely already have this in place in your business, and you can pull SO MANY stories out of it - Kim really stunned me with that one, what an amazing idea!

How to Organize Website Updates to Boost Productivity {Ep 036} May 27, 2020

Show notes

Full shownotes: https://boldwithbrooke.com/036

It is a beautiful thing to be consistently learning new things, and growing in your life and your business! But when you are learning and reading and listening to amazing resources and fellow business owners, how do you keep track of the things that you want to take in and implement in your own business? Especially website changes! When it comes to the things that you learn and want to use on your own website, how can you keep track of them and get them done, even if you don't have the bandwidth or energy at the time that you learn them? Today's episode is all about a way to organize the ideas and suggestions that you learn, so that you can be productive and get things DONE on your website, in a short amount of time! The feeling of getting something DONE is an awesome feeling, so check out the episode and let me know what was your favorite takeaway!

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