Creative Warriors

Traci Schubert Barrett – Beyond Success: What if There’s More?   As self-employed people, we set out to run our own businesses, take charge of our lives, create some freedom, and do big things.  We set out to make ourselves successful and happy, yet when we achieve this success, sometimes we find ourselves wondering, “is this it?” We find ourselves wanting even more. I speak with Traci Schubert Barrett today to find out how to find contentment in our lives even after we’ve met our goals. As Traci and I discuss, we often measure our success using external factors such as wealth, fame, and power, but true happiness and fulfillment come from finding meaning and purpose beyond these external markers.  As self-employed business owners, it is important for us to have a vision for our lives, including professional and personal goals, so we can avoid feeling discontented by identifying the significance beyond our success. Traci Schubert Barrett was one of the founding team members of national cable television netw

This is the 4th of a 7-part series that I'm calling 7 Blind Spots in Your Self-Employed Business. By definition, blind spots are what you can't see. In this episode, we're going to look at what might be holding you back from marketing efficiently and effectively.   Contact Jeffrey – Self-Employed Newsletter Website Books Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Take the Self-Doubt Survey  Valuable resources to help you –   The Self-Employed Business Institute You know you're really good at what you do. You're talented, you have a skill set. The problem is you're probably in a field where there is no business education. This is common amongst self-employed people! And, there's no business education out there for us! You also know that being self-employed is unique and you need better strategies, coaching, support, and accountability. The Self-Employed Business Institute, a five-month online education is exactly what you need. Check it out! Take The Self-Employed Assessment!

One of the most positive trends I’ve seen over the decades is the idea of working from the inside out.  In my work, that means focusing on the importance of personal development. But in my opinion, the concept of working from the inside out has evolved from a mere philosophy to a practical strategy for achieving the lives we desire. That’s what we’re talking about today with my guest Tammy Gooler Loeb.  Working from the inside out means being mindful of one's personal satisfaction and happiness in their career, rather than solely focusing on external factors such as job duties or pay. Even self-employed business owners can wake up to the fact that they are not, in fact, guiding their lives in a fulfilling direction. I’m certain my conversation with Tammy will give you strategies to unlock happiness in your career. Tammy Gooler Loeb is the author of Work from the Inside Out: Break Through Nine Common Obstacles and Design a Career That Fulfills You. She is a career and executive coach, speaker and facilita

In a world that can get far too complicated, there’s nothing quite like simple wisdom handed down. With all that’s new in business, there are also core principles that were true in the past, are still true today, and will likely be true tomorrow. That’s what we’re exploring today with my guest, Bryan Eisenberg: tried and true core business principles. In our conversation, we discuss how to be a “Rice and Beans Millionaire” – how to stop complicating everything and go back to business basics. Whether you are just starting out in your self-employed life, or have been in the business for years, the timelessness of these core principles will always be relevant in today's rapidly changing world. Bryan Eisenberg and his brother Jeffrey are the co-founders of Buyer Legends. Jeffrey was a former investment banker and Bryan a former social worker. They have been entrepreneurs for nearly three decades and have consulted, advised and mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and businesses over the years, including Google, Ov

I’ve often said that sometimes we self-employed folks feel like rock stars, and other times…not quite so much! Let’s learn to harness the power of owning who we are, to create not only more authenticity, but more consistency in our emotions. Today’s conversation with guest Liz Brunner begins with the story of Liz’s unexpected career transformation from TV journalist to executive communications coach, and how she was able to translate her previous skill sets and experiences into a new career path. As Liz’s grandmother used to say, “no knowledge is every wasted.” From there, we discuss how recent generations are more accepting (and desirous) of a more varied career path than in the past — gone are the days of working for one company for your whole career! – and how self-awareness is a key part of this societal transition. Related to self-awareness is self-confidence. Liz talks about how to manage swings in self-confidence and shares confidence-maintaining tips and tools from her book. Finally, we discuss how f

This is the first of a 7-part series that I'm calling 7 Blind Spots in Your Self-Employed Business. By definition, blind spots are what you can't see. Sort of like you don't know what you don't know. These are the most common blind spots that I have seen across my coaching clients and student over 15+ years of coaching. Becoming aware of and solving these 7 blind spots are guaranteed to make a huge difference in your business.   Contact Jeffrey – Website Books Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Take the Self-Doubt Survey   Valuable resources to help you –   The Self-Employed Business Institute You know you're really good at what you do. You're talented, you have a skill set. The problem is you're probably in a field where there is no business education. This is common amongst self-employed people! And, there's no business education out there for us! You also know that being self-employed is unique and you need better strategies, coaching, support, and account

Over the years as a coach, I’ve heard many people say, ‘I’m happy, but I feel like I could be happier.” So today we’re going to explore the situations (which I think many of us experience!) when things are not ‘awful,’ but you feel like you want ‘more than usual.’ To that end, I’m speaking with Luke Iorio, a mindfulness coach and entrepreneur.  First and foremost, we talk about achieving congruence (a word I love!) with who you really are. I believe many of us self-employed folks have made the choice to be self-employed in the first place in order to better achieve that very congruence – a congruence which certainly makes it easier to be happier! Luke and I explore this idea, as well as how integrity and authenticity underpin congruence. We discuss the concept of ‘know, like, and trust,’ and how connecting with our clients from a more authentic place can help us get to a point where our clients are people we actually and actively want to serve. Luke Iorio is a mindfulness coach, entrepreneur, blogger, an

There are many ways goal setting is different when you're self-employed. In preparing for an upcoming goals workshop for the Self-Employed Business Institute and being attuned to a feeling in the air, I realized yet another way goal setting is different for us. As many things are, it's a strength that can also work against us.   Contact Jeffrey – Website Books Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Take the Self-Doubt Survey   Valuable resources to help you –   The Self-Employed Business Institute You know you're really good at what you do. You're talented, you have a skill set. The problem is you're probably in a field where there is no business education. This is common amongst self-employed people! And, there's no business education out there for us! You also know that being self-employed is unique and you need better strategies, coaching, support, and accountability. The Self-Employed Business Institute, a five-month online education is exactly what you need. C

If you’ve listened to this show, you know how strongly I feel that being self-employed is a largely about one’s self. So, for the business and life success we seek, we must always be developing ourselves. And sometimes, we need to stretch our thinking – perhaps outside of our comfort zone – to what I refer to as ‘hitting the wall on the opposite side,’ so that we can moderate somewhere in between. That’s how we grow. And I suspect my conversation today with Azrya and Benjamin Bequer may do that for you. Among other things, we discuss paradoxes: the paradox of being both fully committed while remaining unattached in your life and business and the paradox of the ‘soul’s curriculum’ vs. ‘free will’ — free will being particularly important to us self-employed folks! We try to at least partially answer the question “if chasing money, status, and security isn’t ‘the answer,’ what is?” And of course, I talk with Azrya and Benjamin about their new book, Beqoming: Everything You Didn’t Know You Wanted, which took me

Today we’re going to be talking about the visibility you need to grow your business…and if you’re uncomfortable with visibility, this episode is especially for you! Today I speak with Susan M. Barber about the subject of visibility, which in my opinion, is one of the biggest challenges that we business owners and subject matter experts face! In our illuminating and practical conversation, Susan and I talk about how you can adapt ‘visibility-increasing’ techniques and methods to your own personal style (even if you consider yourself an introvert!), how to know if you’re actually becoming more visible, and how a good ‘visibility mindset’ can help overcome self-sabotage. We also review Susan’s helpful 4-step process for building visibility.  Susan M. Barber, Author, Podcast Host, Former Fortune 500 IT Director, turned Executive Coach helping business leaders to play bigger, increase their visibility and finally, shine a light on their leadership strengths and elevate their position in the workplace.  She brings

This being the first episode of the new year, I'm excited to announce the topic of my next book and how YOU can be involved. Maybe even be included in the book. This will be my most exploratory book and I look forward to including the experiences of many people. Maybe you?   Contact Jeffrey – Website Books Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Take the Self-Doubt Survey   Valuable resources to help you –   The Self-Employed Business Institute You know you're really good at what you do. You're talented, you have a skill set. The problem is you're probably in a field where there is no business education. This is common amongst self-employed people! And, there's no business education out there for us! You also know that being self-employed is unique and you need better strategies, coaching, support, and accountability. The Self-Employed Business Institute, a five-month online education is exactly what you need. Check it out!   Take The Self-Employed Assessment! E

There’s a shift going on in the world and I’ll bet you’ve noticed it – and that shift is, shop local! That’s why today’s episode features my conversation with Wendy Batten, a self-described ‘chief cheerleader for independent shop owners.’ Although the focus of today’s episode is primarily on those of us self-employed folks who manage brick-and-mortar retail locations, I believe much of what Wendy and I discuss is relevant to all small business owners. Among other topics, we discuss how the pandemic has increased awareness of the importance of small businesses, small shops, and shopping local in general, especially as they impact the vibrancy of ‘main streets’ and ‘downtowns’ in communities across the country. We talk about the importance of working with your communities and local leadership – something that’s applicable to all small-businesses folks! – as well as how every one of us can help support small businesses in our own communities. Wendy Batten is a small business coach and chief cheerleader for indep

Honestly, telling people about the importance of meaningful connections in business today almost seems trite. Unfortunately, many of us, myself included, aren’t as good as we need to be or want to be at actually making and maintaining meaningful connections. But what if we had a system for doing it? And what if we could understand the 5 most important aspects of gaining and maintaining connections? What that help? I hope so – because that’s what we’re talking about in this episode. In my conversation with Vincent Pugliese, we discuss how building a network consistently over time, through a lens of generosity rather than selfishness, is what will help us build connections that will pay off (and not just financially!). Along the way, we talk about standards and expectations in relationships, the importance of spending time on and with people who value what you do, and the collaborative elements of connection. Vincent is the author of The Wealth of Connection and Freelance to Freedom, a keynote speaker, and the

Of course, we’re all curious about what makes people successful, but what if you could learn the four elements that make up the ‘Success Factor?’ How valuable would that be for you? Today, we’re going to explore those four elements in this enlightening interview with Dr. Ruth Gotian. In our conversation, we talk about what Ruth has identified in her research as being the common elements that make high-achieving people so successful. We discuss the importance of ‘emulating mindsets’ rather than ‘copying habits’ to customize mindsets in ways that leverage your unique set of skills and circumstances, and we talk about the importance of transitioning people with high potential into high achievers. Plus, Ruth shares what surprised her most about her findings. Dr. Ruth Gotian is the Chief Learning Officer and Assistant Professor of Education in Anesthesiology and former founding Assistant Dean of Mentoring and Executive Director of the Mentoring Academy at Weill Cornell Medicine. She has been hailed by the journal

Turning your creative ideas into income is certainly not easy: it takes bravery, commitment, and a good business head – which can often seem contradictory to creativity. Today we’re going to talk about what it takes to turn your creative ideas into a viable business, so you can live the life of your dreams. In my inspiring conversation with artist and entrepreneur Miriam Schulman, we talk about ‘talent’ vs. ‘success,’ the vital importance of marketing, and why right now is the best time to turn your creative ideas into a successful business. Throughout the conversation, Miriam shares her experiences and advice for how to move on from a ‘traditional’ career to have a successful, ‘creative’ business. Today's guest, Miriam Schulman, is an artist, author, and host of The Inspiration Place podcast. Miriam has helped thousands of creatives around the world develop their skill sets and create more time and freedom to do what they love. Her signature coaching program, The Artist Incubator, teaches artists go from so-