Life On Brand with Stacy Conlon

When was the last time you were stressed out? For most of us, stress dominates our lives and it is important to learn to manage it. Our minds and our lives are constantly moving at 100 miles per hour and the evolution of our digital society isn’t helping. So what can we do to combat the stress? The answer is slowing down through mindfulness and meditation and we know no better person to guide us through this topic than our good friend Stacy Conlon, aka The Zen Girl.

Stacy is the director of Business Development at The Lean Startup Co. and she also has her own mindfulness business at www.stacyconlon.com. We Stacy back in 2015 when she walked an entire conference hall in San Francisco through a guided meditation. Although mindfulness was starting to gain awareness at that time, we got the feeling that there were several people in that hall uncomfortable sitting there with their eyes closed for several minutes. In fact, we witnessed a few people exit the room to check emails. In the three years since, mindfulness has blown up and we wanted to talk to Stacy to understand why.  In addition, we talk to Stacy about how we can find a balance between life and work. If your home is your workspace and your living space how do you distinguish the two? Stacy comes prepared with tips and techniques for restoring that balance. And as a special bonus, Stacy is going to walk us through a quick guided meditation!

Episode Highlights:

• 2:37 Stacy discusses her time visiting India and spending seventeen days in an Ashram.
• 4:16 The one moment that stands out the most from her time in India.
• 9:06 How a college elective put Stacy on a lifelong journey of yoga and mindfulness.
• 13:35 What led Stacy to the Lean Startup Co. and her current role.
• 19:48  Why she thinks the practice of mindfulness has become so popular in the last few years.
• 22:45 What Stacy’s vision is for her work in the world.
• 23:31 How the entrepreneurial bug reached her and led her to pursue business on her own over the years.
• 27:49 Where her vision ties into bringing mindfulness into the workplace.
• 32:06 Stacy and the hosts share advice for listeners who need to prioritize the work vs. life piece of their lives.
• 39:57 Stacy responds to our slow burn questioning sequence; revealing her views on success, doubt, what she would have done differently, things she found easy or difficult, and the song that best describes her.
• 50:44 Stacy answers the previous guest’s question – Is it weird for someone to never listen to music?
• 51:24 The one question Stacy would ask other business owners.
• 53:36 Stacy guides us through a brief meditation!

Links and Resources:

Stacy’s Website

Grocker.com (check Stacy’s website for a Grocker coupon code!)

The Lean Startup Co.

Life On Brand with Dave Stuart, Jr.

Life doesn’t always work out the way you plan it.

Matt wanted to be a lawyer and as the good Asian boy that I am, I wanted to be a doctor. But just because things don’t work out, doesn’t mean we can’t still do great things with our lives.

Our next guest is a true example of this. His name is Dave Stuart.

Dave and I met back in college at the University of Michigan when we were a part of a pre-med student program. Ultimately, he decided that medicine wasn’t the right thing for him, and I for one am glad that it didn’t.

Today, Dave works as a history teacher by day and runs a successful blog by night that educates teachers on how to engage and impact the lives of their students. It’s a sad reality, but most teachers quit the professional within the first 3-5 years of their career due to the challenging working situation and not having enough support and training.

And Dave wants to do something about that. He wants to help teachers flourish. Because when teachers flourish, students flourish.

In our interview with Dave, we ask him about how he got started and considering he gets approximately half a million of readers on his blog every year, we asked him about tips and tricks he learned along the way as he built his blog and mailing list.

Thinking about starting a blog? Have one but it’s floundering? Then you’ll enjoy our interview with Dave Stuart of davestuartjr.com.

Episode Highlights:

• 2:20 How Dave got to where he is today.
• 4:33 When he decided to go into teaching.
• 5:34 Dave’s favorite period of history.
• 6:37 How a writing passion turned into an entrepreneurial venture.
• 8:45 Dave describes his process for building the blog.
• 13:00 How he landed in the Convert Kit coffee table book
• 17:39 That one reason Dave started the blog and the thing he hopes readers get from it.
• 20:29 How he promoted the blog at the outset. What worked and what didn’t.
• 22:30 Seminal moments throughout his blog’s success.
• 25:56 Daves feelings around his first published post.
• 28:32 Some challenges in his journey as a writer.
• 32:41 How he manages his time and finds balance.
• 37:26 When and how Dave’s online course came about.
• 39:59 Dave’s ultimate vision for the business.
• 42:06 Advice for listeners looking to start a niche blog.
• 45:15 Dave responds to our slow burn questioning sequence; revealing his views on success, doubt, what he would have done differently, things he found easy or difficult, and the song that best describes him.
• 52:60 Dave answers the previous guest’s question – How is your soul?
• 54:14 The one question Dave would ask other business owners.

Links and Resources:

Dave’s Blog

These Six Things

Convert Kit

I’m a Blogger Series    

Charitywater.org

Life On Brand with Bekah and Ryan Wallace

Running a virtual business often does not require an office. However, after six pm it can be a challenge to find a coffee shop open for “business.” Meeting up in bars after hours is an option but it can often be a distraction to be around folks sipping cocktails and enjoying a meal. Today’s guest is changing the coffee and bar culture in their community. Cultivate coffee and tap house was started by husband and wife team, Ryan and Bekah Wallace.

Cultivate isn’t your average coffee shop, it’s a coffee shop that makes beer. The idea came to Ryan, who had been brewing beer as a hobby for a few years when he noticed a coffee shop employee opening a beer at the end of his shift. It took more than six months for him to convince his wife to take a chance on the idea.

Together, the couple founded the business on the premise of building community and giving back to that community. The business is centered around the three concepts of craft, community, and cause. We sat down with the dynamic duo in the garden where they grow food for local hunger relief to discuss business, values, and striving to find that balance.

Episode Highlights:

• 2:27 Why Ryan and Bekah started Cultivate and what makes their coffee and tap house unique.
• 4:56 If the duo always imagined they would be entrepreneurs.
• 6:43 How risk and failure played into their trajectory and fueled their motivation.
• 7:31 A life-changing conversation that Ryan had with someone he respected and admired that had him consider a shift in his trajectory.
• 9:16 How the couple came to be in the hospitality business from a tech/finance background.
• 14:50 The defining moments they knew they had something before they could even fully articulate what it was.
• 15:36 The process of choosing the name and how it applies to several aspects of their brand.
• 19:04 The importance of craft in the type of space they are cultivating at Cultivate.
• 27:35 How Ryan and Bekah learned that there always has to be one person who is constantly looking out for the culture of the business, with intention.
• 29:23 How the metrics of your company come into play – the numbers may work but the emotional quotient also needs attention.
• 30:50 The emotional ups and downs of running the business.
• 36:19 How they strive to find the balance in giving back to their community and how they make choices on what they’re able to do.
• 40:22 The motivation behind the garden they installed in the back of their space.
• 44:06 The long-term vision for Cultivate.
• 48:00 The duo responds to some of our slow burn questioning sequence; revealing their views on success, doubt, and what they would have done differently.
• 52:23 The one question they would ask other business owners.
• 52:59 How they maintain balance and flow in their business and their relationship.
• 55:02 The common language Ryan and Bekah use to maintain level communication.

Links and Resources:

Cultivate

ypsifooddude

Sundays in the Garden   

Life On Brand Webpage

Life On Brand with Abraham Gusman

Today’s guest started his business in a barber shop. The unconventional start sets the tone for what Abraham Gusman and his co-founders wanted to achieve with their business, Wise Men’s Care, which produces all-natural eco-friendly men’s grooming products. The Wise Men caught our attention last year when they were featured in a GQ article highlighting their new grooming product line and unique packaging. Their purposeful and minimal packaging is a huge part of their brand’s message.

We wanted to bring Abraham on the show to talk about where the inspiration for their brand started and how they positioned themselves in the hyper-competitive market of grooming products. We also wanted to find out why he thinks the world needed their product and how the brand’s vision and purpose play into its trajectory.

Episode Highlights:

• 1:56 Abraham reveals if he always thought he wanted to be an entrepreneur.
• 3:23 How he was first exposed to the “do-ableness” of small business.
• 4:26 The story behind the founding of Wise.
• 5:45 When the partners realized they had a winning idea.
• 6:52 The story behind the prototypes and packaging plan.
• 9:46 Why packaging is so essential to a brand.
• 10:50 What the Wise packaging should evoke in consumers.
• 12:19 How the brand communicates their message to their clients.
• 13:50 How they came up with pricing.
• 15:49 We delve into the nuances of the barbershop experience.
• 17:25 The mission Abraham has for Wise and if that has changed since the onset.
• 21:57 How they came up with the name and the importance of wisdom.
• 26:25 The clear path that led Abraham to where he ended up today.
• 28:39 How Canada has been the ideal market to launch Wise.
• 32:04 The company’s approach to the next product and how they decide what they’ll add to the range.
• 34:14 The most essential keys to choosing partners in business.
• 37:58 Understanding conflict and how to approach various issues that come up in partnerships.
• 39:26 The branding strategy the company employed when launching.
• 42:42 Why it’s essential to see every day as a learning experience.
• 43:45 The gateway product Abraham recommends for new users.
• 44:30 Abraham participates in our slow burn questioning sequence; revealing his views on success, doubt, what he would have done differently, things he found easy or difficult, and the one song that best describes him.
• 54:52 The one question Abraham has for other business owners.
• 55:48 The things that Wise does to make their employees lives better.

Links and Resources:

Wise Men’s Care Website

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube Channel

Life On Brand with Keith Tatum

Letters are sexy to us here at Life on Brand so today we are excited to welcome the Type Hunter himself, Keith Tatum. For those of you who don’t know what that is, the Type Hunter Co is an Instagram stream of antique typography from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With over six thousand posts of beautiful lettering and unique advertisements for things from the familiar Bicycle playing cards to German hair tonic, it’s obvious that this passion Keith explored is shared with his over 40,000 followers. At the height of the page’s popularity, Keith decided to shut down the stream and move onto to a new project called Visibility Experiments.

The Type Hunter Co was a passion project Keith started long after becoming a self-taught digital design expert and full-time creative director. With a creative background that combines illustration, interface design, along with high-level director level experience, Keith draws on his skills to shape and improve digital design experiences, while finding a balance within his professional life, his passions, and his personal life. Visible mind mapping is Keith’s current passion project as he now spends a good deal of his free time pursuing ways of exploring the power of pulling ideas out of the brain using visual prompts.

Episode Highlights:

• • 11:18 How as a creative director Keith felt he was getting further and further away from being creative.
  • 17:58 Keith explains he was not trying to actually create a business nor become an overnight success.
  • 20:16  Why at the end of the day business is not always about making money.
  • 24:13 The moment when Keith realized that things were getting a bit bigger than he originally intended and what started to attract brands to Keith’s project.
  • 29:20 How Keith started to share the work being pitched to him and formed partnerships with other designers to whom he then passed the work along.
  • 35:35 What Keith truly dislikes about the design process.
  • 39:19 Why Keith views himself as a “multipotentialite” and why it can be dangerous to think you are meant to only do one thing.
  • 48:25 What it would look like if students had a semester to study the “Art of Exploring your Curiosity and Interests.”
  • 54:59 Keith’s experience in giving up the Type Hunter and how that affected him, his followers, and his social media habits.
  • 1:12:45 The Visibility Experiments and how he found himself starting a new project which involves experiments for seeing thoughts, connecting ideas, pictures and words in order to bring real ideas to light.
  • 1:25:07 How Keith got started with mind maps and his plans to spread the idea to businesses and schools.
  • 1:33:04  We hear about the 100-day mind map challenge Keith has undertaken, his expectations are of the experiment, and his favorite mind map thus far.
  • 1:53:33 Why we should all use mind maps rather than lists!
  • 1:55:00 How Keith defines success.
  • 1:58:04 One thing he would do differently.
  • 2:01:48 What the education system would look like if educators could start to incorporate visual thinking into the classroom
  • 2:03:57 Things that Keith found surprisingly easy and difficult on his journey.
  • 2:11:01 The one musical piece that defines Keith as a person and what he loves about mixing music.
  • 2:19:08 One question Keith wants to ask of other business owners and leaders.

Links and Resources:

The Type Hunter Instagram

Visibility Experiments Instagram

Multipotentialite Ted Talk

The Art of Asking

Life On Brand Webpage