Each week, Reina + Christina bring you up close with the influencers you dream of meeting at conferences and workshops, but maybe don’t have a budget to attend yet. Sprinkled in between these are teaching episodes, and mentoring that walks show listeners through common problems with solutions during their early days of business.
Episode 180: Jam Session with Reina + Christina, Contentment in Business - the Creative Empire podcast
Feb 22, 2018
Show notes
Today, Reina and Christina are jamming out about contentment within business. They are chatting about what it can feel like to be content in where your business is as well as what contentment would look like for each of them. This episode is full of talking about giving ourselves grace and discussing a real life struggle in business.
Main Takeaways:
What contentment in business would look like for the duo [0:01:28]
How guilt can creep in with contentment [0:06:42]
Why being content with what you want in your business is okay [0:08:25]
Why to focus on one thing in your business [0:12:35]
What does contentment look like for you [0:17:03]
Why we care about what others think [0:19:06]
Write down three things everyday that you’re grateful for and that, I think that helps to create (gratitude).
From experience, you can visible everywhere that you want and if you are not good at selling at the end of the day it does not matter.
— Christina Scalera
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Episode 179: Empire Mentoring Session: Content Creation + Consistency, with Tani Mitsch - the Creative Empire podcast
Feb 19, 2018
Show notes
Today, Reina and Christina are joined with Tani Mitsch of Splash of T Design for an empire mentoring session. Today, we are learning that Tani is struggling with content creation and bring consistency to that routine. The trio talk about the best platforms for your audience and discuss which topics fit with your audience. Also discussed are calls to action and how to use those with a freemium.
Main Takeaways:
How to decide what to create content around + consistency [0:02:45]
What mediums work best + topics [0:13:47]
Where your call to action leads [0:17:31]
How to figure out + creating a freemium [0:20:11]
Whenever you’re going to start something new in your business thinking about why you’re going to do it is always important.
I have a rule of thumb though that I try everything for three months and then, I re-evaluate.
— Christina Scalera
Bio:
Created out of her love for print and layout design, Tani Mitsch founded Splash of T Design to help others create personalized, professionally designed projects to celebrate their individuality and unique personalities. Her love of wedding stationery played a huge role in creating the company, as her circle of friends moved from engagement to marriage, and her unique spin on wedding invitations was always sought after. She received her BFA in Graphic Design from San José State University, and over her professional career, she discovered her passion for editorial design when asked to create style and brand guides, product portfolio brochures, and catalogs for several major brands including Ghirardelli Chocolate Company and San José State University, and of course wedding invitations for her friends. She just loves working with and organizing content on paper! She currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Jeff, and loves spending time with her family and adorable (but mischievous!) husky, Nali. She enjoys baking and cooking, the outdoors, camping, watching comedy TV shows (Seinfeld is her favorite!), stargazing, and even though everyone thinks she's crazy, she truly loves stormy skies over blue ones. Oh, and if you couldn't tell by her company name, she absolutely LOVES tea! :)
Episode 178: All About Surface Pattern Design, with Bonnie Christine - the Creative Empire podcast
Feb 15, 2018
Show notes
In this episode, Reina and Christina are joined with Bonnie Christine. Bonnie Christine is a successful service pattern designer and to date has taught over 50,000 students the art of surface design. She's excited to be launching an all new course, "Surface Pattern Design Immersion". At the beginning of the episode, Bonnie shares about what surface pattern design is and how her new course will teach students the ins and outs of how to become a licensing artist. After that, she shares about the skill needed to become a designer and what has been happening in the industry since she was last on the podcast. Lastly, she shares how residual income has transformed her businesses and all about the new course she has created. Take a listen below!
Main Takeaways:
What surface pattern design is + how she got started [0:02:07]
What her new course, "Surface Pattern Design Immersion" is composed of [0:04:22]
How skilled do you have to become a designer [0:09:28]
What success stories Bonnie Christine has seen + joining the industry [0:14:17]
What does licensing look like [0:20:36]
What the differences are between her old courses to this new one [0:28:23]
How residual income works for her business [0:30:29]
There were no courses, no teaching, no books, and no one talking about how they were doing this. So, I spliced together information from all over the internet, and I learned Adobe Illustrator by watching a couple of guys illustrate robots and tessellating lizards.
What I’ve done is created exactly what I would have died to have taken when I wanted to pursue this career.
— Bonnie Christine
Bio:
Sophisticated and delicate, Bonnie Christine’s designs transcend time and brighten up the past. Bonnie weaves a small part of her life into each pattern she creates, making the design process and end results meaningful and unique. She lives nestled back in the forests of North Carolina where she finds endless inspiration from the mountains around her. Stay connected with her through her blog, Going Home to Roost and attend one of her classes on surface pattern design on either CreativeLive or Skillshare.
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Episode 177: Fear, Strengths, + Confidence, with Christy Wright - the Creative Empire podcast
Feb 12, 2018
Show notes
Today, we’re talking with Christy Wright. Christy is the creator of the Business Boutique; she’s a certified business coach and a speaker who’s spoken on stages all across the country. She is also a podcaster. She’s the host of the Business Boutique Podcast and has and hosts an incredible one-day event. She’s helped many women step into their gifts and overcome fear, which I absolutely love, to make money living their dreams. She believes that you can do it too and I’m so excited to dive into this conversation. At the beginning of the episode, Christy explains the top three things new entrepreneurs get caught up on: not having a business background, thinking they are in a saturated market, and fear. She shares how to combat those feelings and shares about imposter syndrome. The trio talk about validation in your business and Christy shares how pre-validation can help. Lastly, they talk about needing to know your target market and the value of your product. Take a listen below!
Main Takeaways:
How your past experiences shape you [0:01:30]
What things new entrepreneurs get hung up on [0:05:06]
Why fear is normal + the imposter syndrome [0:11:05]
How you can lessen your fear [0:19:04]
What validation can do [0:21:01]
How to help yourself in the pre-validation phase [0:23:24]
What Christy's one day event looks like [0:31:57]
Why you need to know your target market + value [0:34:23]
You can have all the degrees in the world and if you’re not willing to fall down and get back up, you’re not going to be a successful business, because the secret to being an entrepreneur is experimenting and some of those experiments aren’t going to go well.
— Christy Wright
Show Notes:
Dave Ramsey
Susan Jeffers
Donald Miller
The Business Boutique Podcast - Pricing Episode
Jeff Goins - Real Artists Don't Starve - His Creative Empire Episode
The more that you do it scared, the less scared you become, because fear can’t torment you any more with these terrifying possibilities of what’s going to happen if you do it because you did it. Guess what? You survived.
— Christy Wright
Bio:
Christy Wright is the creator of Business Boutique, a Certified Business Coach and a Ramsey Personality with a passion for equipping women with the knowledge and steps they need to successfully run and grow a business. Since joining Ramsey Solutions in 2009, she has spoken to thousands across the country at women’s conferences, national business conferences, Fortune 500 companies and her own sold-out live events. She is the host of the Business Boutique Podcast and her new book, Business Boutique, released April 2017. You can follow Wright on Twitter and Instagram @ChristyBWright and online at christywright.com or facebook.com/OfficialChristyWright.
Episode 176: Empire Mentoring Session: Niching in the VA Space, with Liz Strong - the Creative Empire podcast
Feb 08, 2018
Show notes
Today, Reina and Christina are joined with Liz Strong of Lux + Vita for an empire mentoring session. Liz is a branding and website designer that is branching her business into the virtual assistance space. At the beginning of the episode, we learn more about Liz and her business struggles. From there Reina and Christina chat about growing, prioritizing, and niching in your business. Liz chats about how she really loves the organizational aspect of becoming a VA for her clients and the duo tell her to lean into the "done for you" services. Lastly, the trio chat about passive income and how that looks different depending on the type of business you run.
Main Takeaways:
How to grow a business [0:04:22]
How to prioritize in your business + niching [0:07:11]
Why you should lean into "done for you" businesses [0:14:32]
What testing your language can look like [0:20:44]
Why you should find pain-points [0:24:29]
What passive income can look like as a "done for you" service [0:29:18]
Right now I love being able to do different things that just kind of helps me stay creative and it also just helps me learn right now more about all the different businesses.
Write down what you see people having problems with.
— Christina Scalera
Bio:
Hey y'all, I'm Liz, believer, wife, and chai tea enthusiast! I'm also the owner + designer over at Lux + Vita. Lux + Vita is a full-service graphic design studio serving nonprofits and creative entrepreneurs through branding, websites and more. I've been serving others in any way I can through design since 2010. I love helping other solve problems, whether it's design or business related - if you hop on a call with me, you'll probably end up with a page full of tips and sites to check out. When I'm not working you can find me, my hubby and our rescue pup, Delta, exploring our new home state of Texas.
Episode 175: Starting out + Selling A Business, with Debbie Orwat - the Creative Empire Podcast
Feb 05, 2018
Show notes
Today, Reina and Christina are joined today by Debbie Orwat of the Planner’s Lounge. This episode jumps right in to learning how Debbie sold her businesses and how she determined when outsourcing was needed. The trio chat about organization of your leads and how you can feel when your leads disappear. After that, Debbie shares her favorite lead generating tactics, including: search engine optimization (SEO), personal relations, social media, ads, traditional wedding sites, and referrals. Lastly, she talk about why you should build a lot of relationships at the beginning of your buiness and why establishing trust in your brand is needed.
Main Takeaways:
What selling a business looks like [0:05:41]
What to outsource in your business [0:08:44]
Why you need to keep track + organize your leads [0:10:10]
What disappearing leads can feel like + trends [0:15:59]
Where leads can come from + lead generation [0:28:29]
How to network + create new relationships [0:30:28]
Why SEO + PR can establish trust [0:35:00]
Sometimes it’s just a matter of the personality fit which we can’t help and I always think, if they didn’t hire me, that means there’s another opportunity coming around the corner that either for that date or for something that is an even better fit for me.
I like to think of relationships as the long term marketing strategy.
— Debbie Orwat
Bio:
Debbie is a business coach for wedding and event planners across the US and around the world. She is the founder and editor of Planner's Lounge, a resource site and community for wedding and event planners to relax, talk, learn, and inspire. Through Planner's Lounge, Debbie offers coaching, mentoring, online courses, a private forum community, and digital products to empower wedding and event planners to succeed. In addition to Planner's Lounge, Debbie Orwat is the Founder and Business Advisor for Save the Date Events. Save the Date Events is a multi-award winning event planning and design company based in Denver, Colorado. During Debbie’s 10 year reign as owner at Save the Date Events, the company won numerous awards
including the Knot Best of Weddings Hall of Fame Award, 2 ICON awards, and was published in more than 30 wedding and lifestyle magazines. Debbie was also featured multiple times on local television stations as the entertaining expert. Debbie is the previous owner of StudioWed Denver, a boutique wedding showroom and co-working space. After 10 years of owning her planning business and 6 years owning StudioWed, Debbie sold both of those businesses in the fall of 2015 to focus on Planner's Lounge.
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Episode 174: Empire Mentoring Session: Focusing In Your Business, with Nicole Logan - the Creative Empire podcast
Feb 01, 2018
Show notes
Today Reina and Christina are doing a mentoring session with Nicole Logan from staynorth.co. At the beginning of the episode, Nicole chats about how she just moved to Canada and how she is struggling with focusing. The trio begin by chatting about finding your audience and how creating verticals in your business can help you create consistent content. They also discuss how having people around you and your business, can help you flourish. Lastly, they talk about visibility and the mediums to be sharing your content on, like guest posting on other peoples blogs.
Main Takeaways:
How to find out who your audience is [0:03:26]
How to create content consistently [0:09:36]
Why verticals can help you in your business [0:13:14]
Why you should have people around you [0:15:39]
What mediums you can use for visibility [0:18:42]
How to look at "empty" time [0:25:37]
What plan will Nicole create [0:29:58]
I’m hoping that I can use my posts and my stories and the things that I encounter in daily, weekly, whatever it may be, and inspire people to take the challenges that come up to them and if it means moving out of the country then and by so, then go ahead and do it.
I need to stop, you know, just daydreaming about all the things I want to do with it and then just do it.
— Nicole Logan
Bio:
Nicole Logan is a self-taught handlettering artist and published freelance writer from the Pacific Northwest. She recently took a giant leap of faith by leaving her job, packing her life up, and moving north to beautiful Calgary, Alberta to pursue an education (and live closer to her boyfriend!). She has dedicated the last 8 years of her life working in the media, primarily in print and radio. She is fascinated with the hygge lifestyle, enjoys teaching herself new skills and loves conversing with strangers while in line for coffee.
Episode 173: Our #1 Downloaded Episode | How to Get Organized In Your Business, with Jillian Smith
Jan 29, 2018
Show notes
Today we are sharing our most downloaded episode of all time!
Episode 86: How to get organized in your business, with Jillian Smith
In episode 86 of the Creative Empire Podcast, Reina and Christina talk to Jillian Smith of OneTouch Events, LLC . Creative Empire Podcast. Jillian is a boss at getting organized and staying on task. She shares her top tips and favorite tools for getting organized and how to develop systems that work for you. Also included in this episode are how to find opportunities that are different than what you're currently getting and how to develop your company's core values.
Main Takeaways:
How Jillian organizes her business now and what it looked like when she first started
What Jillian's favorite organizational tools are
How to develop systems that work for you
How Jillian incorporated international travel into her business
How to find opportunities that are different than the ones you currently have
How Jillian strategizes with her clients + how she organizes that strategy
Jillian Smith is the Owner and Principal Wedding & Event Planner of OneTouch Events, LLC. Based in Atlanta, GA, her team specializes in giving every occasion from social events to multi-day business conferences a touch of “WOW”. Jillian is one of Jezebel Magazine’s 2016 Emerging Elite and an expert panelist of The Wedding Business Academy. You can find her business, planning, and leadership tips featured on The Planner’s Lounge, WeddingLovely, Heather Crabtree, and Happy Black Woman.
Episode 172: Empire Mentoring Session: Financial Mindset + Setting Goals , with Magen Ferrer - the Creative Empire podcast
Jan 25, 2018
Show notes
Today Reina and Christina are chatting with Magen Ferrer of The Lefty Writer for an empire mentoring session. Magen is a calligrapher who does wedding stationary calligraphy, spot calligraphy, and offers custom fabric pieces. The episode begins with some chat from Magen about what she is struggling with and why she is holding back from going full time. The ladies share that looking at the financials of your business and having financial goals, will help ease her mind. They chat about ways to increase your prices in the future, but the work that goes into it now: having a unique style and systems for your clients. Lastly, they talk about how leaning on your strengths can do wonders and goal setting in your business.
Main Takeaways:
What is holding her back from going full-time [0:03:04]
Why you need to start looking at financials for your business [0:04:40]
What two things can help to increase prices in the future [0:09:26]
How long your quote pricing lasts [0:11:30]
How to engage clients + gain clients [0:13:52]
Why using stock photos can help a product based business [0:21:20]
Why you need to lean on your strengths [0:29:35]
How goal setting can really help your business [0:34:07]
Don’t forget what the bottom line is especially in this really critical stage of your growth as you’re bridging that gap from full-time worker to full-time entrepreneur.
if you don’t know where money is coming from or you don’t have any confidence that things are coming from particular revenue streams or when they are coming in, you really can’t have a sustainable business.
— Reina Pomeroy
Bio:
Hey everyone! My name is Magen (totally spelled correctly) and I am the calligrapher, owner, and operator of The Lefty Writer, LLC. Let's start with some background info first. I am 28 years young, (freaking out a bit about 30!), a happily married Christian wife and full-time stepmomma of two pre-teens, (Lord, send help!), a full-time airport employee and part-time student, (hectic schedule alert?), a book nerd, (HP⚡️and G⚔️T foreva), and an unstoppable maker of all the things, ALL the things! (Seriously, Michael's should pay me to shop there.) I have always had nice and neat handwriting and always loved making my notebooks, planners, and bedroom wall signs pretty and organized. When I was fifteen I begged my mom to buy me a quill feather and a bottle of ink so I could write like Harry Potter - it didn't work out so well, and I didn't have Google or YouTube or any internet really to teach myself properly. So, I tucked away my feather and ink and settled for using good ol pencils and pens to maintain my handwriting until I reached my twenties. That's when I stumbled upon some calligraphy videos online and decided to seriously discipline and teach myself. Fast-forward to today! I have officially been in business for one full year, and I am working my butt off to turn this love of mine into both my passion and my full-time income. I'm sure you've all heard that quote, "When you do what you love, you never work a day in your life." Well, that's not quite true. I am doing what I love and working my...well, you know, working my BEHIND off while doing it. The difference is I'm working because I love it. And in my opinion, that is the absolute best and most fulfilling feeling anyone can have in their career. And that, my friends, is where my story is headed. Totally #goals, right?!
Episode 171: All About FreeeUp, with Nathan Hirsch - the Creative Empire podcast
Jan 22, 2018
Show notes
Today, Reina and Christina are joined today by Nathan Hirsch, who is a serial entrepreneur and an expert in remote hiring and e-commerce. The trio start the episode by learning more about FreeeUp. Nathan explains how the idea was born, what the platform looks like, and the process looks like if you are looking to hire or be hired. He shares what he sees the top positions people who are just starting a team hire out. Lastly, he shares how freelancers can benefit by being on the FreeeUp platform.
Main Takeaways:
How the Freeeup Marketplace was born [0:01:34]
When to start outsourcing + the strategy [0:05:48]
What the FreeeUp process looks like + comparisons [0:07:39]
What type of people are on their platform [0:11:05]
What the five to ten top positions to hire as a first worker are [0:15:26]
How to become a worker on Freeeup + who would be a good fit [0:18:16]
How FreeeUp helps freelancers [0:25:53]
When you’re an entrepreneur, get away from your computer for a day and go make a list of everything you do on a day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month basis, and then put it in order from easiest to hardest. Start taking the easiest stuff off your plate. Even if it’s an hour or two a day, just get those hours back so you can focus on expansion.
I think people can use contractors way more than they could before. I kind of mentioned this that I had this realization a while ago. But if you’re just hiring from your town and the towns around you, you’re so limited into the talent you have access to.
— Nathan Hirsch
Bio:
Nathan Hirsch is a serial entrepreneur and expert in remote hiring and eCommerce. He has been selling online for over 7 years and has sold well over $25 million worth of product through his eCommerce business. He is now the co-founder and CEO of FreeeUp.com, the hands-on hiring marketplace connecting hundreds of online business owners with reliable, pre-vetted remote workers. FreeeUp is redefining how businesses are able to hire remote freelancers online. He can be found on leading podcasts, such as Entrepreneur on Fire, Eventual Millionaire, and many more, speaking about online hiring tactics. He currently lives in Orlando, Florida.
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