Start-up Speakeasy

Start-Up Speakeasy #033 http://kristyoustalet.com/33 Whether you’re a full time entrepreneur or you have a side hustle business, we all have one thing in common:  being creative takes TIME. ...you can’t always crank something out in an hour. As your business begins to grow- you get busier and unless you work with your right brain train it how to be more productive, you’ll be lost in a sea of overwhelm. Whether you’re a writer, designer photographer, service provider or product creator this quick productivity lesson is for you. To sign up for the 90 Day Challenge visit: http://kristyoustalet.com/33 #podcast

Our guest this week is Miranda Writer- she is a certified financial planner and founder of She & Money.com where she works with entrepreneurs and professionals on Financial Planning. In this episode Miranda and I dive into the top three money woes that entrepreneurs face or the most common questions around money and money management:  when should we spend and invest in our biz… so when are we thinking too small or when are we going over board splurging on our businesses? How to plan for varying income… whether your business is seasonal or depends on a few launch cycles each year- we talk about a great approach to plan for this situation. And whether your just starting out in business or if you're launching a new line or program, what is the best way to set budgets and goals without pulling numbers out of thin air.  

The Start-Up Speakeasy | Episode #031 Show Notes: http://kristyoustalet.com/31   Guest: Liz Lockard Host: Kristy Oustalet   Liz works with small business owners drive the right kind of traffic to their wesbites and get more out of that traffic through online marketing Analytics and SEO Strategies.   Oh, and I did I mention she makes it super approachable?  Hallelujah!   SEO Food for Thought: There are over a billion searches each month on google Think about your own buying process.  How much do you rely on google when making a purchase?       Here's where to start: Make sure that you know what you offer and who your customer is on an instinctive level What words do YOU use vs. What phrases do THEY use? Keyword- the phrases that you type into google   Super Simple Format for SEO- to cover your bases   On-site Methods Doing stuff on your site to better optimize for ideal phrases that customers are searching - use google keyword planner and find your ideal clients keyword phrases - how to optimize a page on the

Episode #030 the Start-Up Speakeasy Guest: Shana LaFore     Shana LaFore started her career in the world of art and furniture design. After managing a high-end design showroom, then later transitioned her sales and business expertise into mentoring other creative types.   In this episode, we talk about how Shana challenges herself to take on big projects and continues to push the limits of her business and the unconventional methods she uses to get the word out and get people on board with her craziest ideas.    6 Steps to Make Your Crazy Ideas Contagious:   1. Step away to get a better perspective on things during the process   2. Tell your story + tell it often   3. Show your passion in your business and others will 'buy in'   4. Be open and honest about it and ask for help   5. Remember, doing what's right on paper doesn't always work   6. Make it easy for your audience + collaborators to share   Walk in their shoes... Make them feel welcome, important and like an honored guest.   -       Make it fun and e

Episode #029 The Start-Up Speakeasy (formerly ACE) Guest: Darlene Hildebrandt Host: Kristy Oustalet Show Notes linked up at: http://kristyoustalet.com/29   Darlene has been a professional photographer for over 26 years, her career has evolved through gallery exhibitions, wedding photography and now she teaches others her photo skills.   Before we dive into her photography to use in our businesses, I love the fact that Darlene has continuously grown and reinvented her creative career.  She puts it best by saying, "If you don't try new things all the time  no matter what business you're in... you stagnate."    By challenging herself and experimenting with her business ideas, Darlene has evolved her business to focus primarily on online photography courses and photography excursion courses to places like Cuba and Nicaragua.   Think about it... if you want your business to take you to unexpected places, how can you challenge the direction of your next business move?     As an entrepreneur, photography and creatin

Melissa Burkenheimer is a graphic designer who after working for a design firm, realized that there was little room for growth… it was time to be resourceful and tap into creative ways of finding her own clients. She started as an ambitious freelance graphic designer with nothing more than a few grassroots marketing strategies up her sleeve.   She rush printed a stack of business cards and headed out to networking events and Chamber of Commerce meetings. She rolled up her sleeves and did the work.  Melissa built relationships, connected with other small business owners and really put herself out there.  Eventually, her old school tactics worked and she gained steady traction in her business. Over time, she expanded her offerings, grew her business and gained a handful of noteworthy clients such as Sean Malarkey and James Wedmore. What happens when you get a few spectacular clients referring you to their friends?  It’s time to upgrade your systems, up your game and work through some growing pains. This week’s

Guest: Allie LeFevereEpisode #27   When you’re a solopreneur, putting your business ‘out there’ is equivalent to having your craziest ideas on a platter for everyone to see (and judge).  When you’re the only one working on your business, promoting your business… even talking about your business feels very vulnerable. I mean, you bought a domain with yourname.com ((hyperventilate)).  This shit is real. Are people going to care?Are they going to listen?Do they care what I have to say? My guest this week is Allie LeFevre an amazingly spunky life coach who’s an old pro at tackling vulnerability in business.  In this episode we dive into areas where we’ve each felt exposed with our businesses and what came out of it… the good, the bad, and the ugly.  On the flip-side of feeling like you want to bury yourself alive, some amazing aspects that only being vulnerable can bring out are: Connecting with your audience Showcase your voice Open a dialog to get to know your audience more fully Understand your peeps and trul

Episode #026Guest: Lindsay Goldner Brand Strategist + Graphic Designer  Lindsay is a talented, self-taught Graphic Designer and a Brand Strategist and one of her favorite platforms to drive fresh faces to her website is: Pinterest.   With over 130 Boards and 11,000+ pins, she's an avid pinned to say the least.  She's been an active user for the last three years, and today she shares why she loves Pinterest so much and how she uses it as a tool to drive traffic to her site, collaborate with clients, and spread the word about her visual brand. First things first- Set up your Pinterest account as a business: Sign up for a business account (instead of as a personal user) Verify your website (gives you access to analytics and insights)Another way to see insights is through Tailwind, a free program that tracks where you’re getting the most action which pins are directing people to your site.  This let’s you know what people are responding most so you can focus on that and eliminate what doesn't. Add a 'Pin It' but

Guest: Luz Donahue -  Social MediaHost: Kristy Oustalet A.C.E. Episode #025 Show Notes: http://kristyoustalet.com/25 So, you’re posting on social and trying to get a following…  so you start poking around the web to find other small business owners who are ‘knocking it out the park’.  You take notes + adjust their posting formula to fit your topic + post your heart out. You wait… Then, you hear nothing but sounds of their ‘Like’ notifications ringing in your head like a winning slot machine.  For you, crickets.  Nada. What the?  How come what works for them doesn’t work for me?  Well, you’re not ‘them’ + your peeps want you- not an imitation of them. Now what? My guest this week is Luz Donahue, a Self Promotion Liberator and she’s here to de-stress the process of marketing and have it reflect you + who you are.  Because as we know, when you’re effort is geared towards copying other people- it just doesn’t work. My favorite point in the show is when Luz says: “Social media is not about making all of your follo

Guest: Amanda Lo - CPAHost: Kristy Oustalet  Episode #024Show Notes for this episode are linked up at http://kristyoustalet.com/24   My guest this week is Amando Lo, and she does what we creatives generally find cringe-worthy… she’s a CPA that manages the books and records for small businesses. Lucky for you and me, that there are people like her in the world in that handle these sort of things for us right-brainers. She realizes that small business owners simply don’t have the time to properly keep track of their books, and takes care of it so that you can focus on what you do best + grow your business.  Oh, man.  I feel lighter already…   Amanda walks us through some accounting fundamentals and deductions that likely affect your business. It’s essential to have a business checking account that is separate from your personal.  Not only does it make things easier to keep track of, but co-mingling your accounts can cause the IRS to discredit write-offs. If you work out of a Home Office, keep these factors in m

A.C.E. Adventures in Creative Entrepreneurship           Episode #23 Guest: Elyse SkansiHost: Kristy OustaletShow Notes + Links can be found at http://kristyoustalet.com/23 Elyse Skansi is a top-notch wedding coordinator that truly sets herself apart by specializing in design and transforming a venue to into an event that tells the couple’s unique story. Not only does she actualize dreamy jaw dropping settings for her customers’ weddings, but I adore her approach to working with clients + we can all take note from how creates an outstanding experiences from beginning to end for her clients. Her business, Tying the Knot Wedding Coordination, sprouted from a clicking away on a laptop on a twin bed in her sorority house.  Elyse’s first few jobs were working for other event coordinators where she gained experience and was exposed to the crazy wedding industry.   After 3 years, she knew this was what she was 'meant to do' and decided to take the leap and start her own small biz.  We dive into how Elyse organically

A.C.E. Episode #022 Guest: Jenny Shih     Earlier in her career, Jenny Shih was a project manager working on multi-million dollar engineer based projects, and later realized that helping online service based business owners grow their businesses was her sweet spot.   Using her trained eye from working with a Fortune 500 company, she spotted the need for small business owners to implement systems to avoid overwhelm and leave room to work on big picture business development.   Let’s get one thing straight… A system isn’t: software you use to keep track of things like bookkeeping or email. Then what is it?   A system in your business is a set of steps that you take repeatedly that has been streamlined into a process to save time and be more consistent.    The result is not spending countless hours keeping up with your day-to-day tasks, and leaving you with more mental space to grow your business and time to be creative.   … That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?   I’m in.   As you can imagine, there are man

A.C.E. Adventures of Creative Entrepreneurship Episode #021   Host: Kristy OustaletGuest: Katrina Bress - Mardi Gras ProductionShow notes & links can be found at: http://kristyoustalet.com/21 Mardi Gras in New Orleans is known as 'The Greatest Free Show on Earth' but this week's guest, Katrina Brees gives us a taste of the big bucks that goes into pulling it off and the immense amount of time and energy it takes to orchestrate this two week extravaganza. Don't let the 'free show' fool you, the Mardi Gras industry means big business.  One single float starts at $80k and can easily reach a half million dollar price tag.  Yes, just one. Katrina is an ambitious entrepreneur that handles all things Mardi Gras.  Her small business, I Heart Louisiana, never has a dull moment between: parade production, krewe management, krewe branding, booking entertainment and more.  All of the services her company provides, stays true to her ultimate mission to have the industry support local artists, creative solutions to cut

A.C.E. Episode #020Guest: Leah Kalamakis - Web Designer & Developer   Leah Kalamakis is a Web Designer and Developer who builds websites for women entrepreneurs that understand the value of a great website and are ready to GO PRO in their business.  In fact, she taught herself the ins and outs of the website world just so that she could make a clean break from her repetitive corporate job.    Leah got the education she needed, found a handful of test clients and learned along the way.  Overtime, she created her own little freelancing empire that allows her to continue living in France, frequently travel back to her hometown of Seattle and have a steady flow of income and clients to live the life that she wants. In addition to her website work, she jumpstarted the Freelance to Freedom Project- to inspire other freelancers to create a profitable and fun career. Leah's tips to get you from Freelance to Freedom: Tip #1:  Set a firm quit date.  You'll probably never feel 'ready' to let your security income go,

Mallory started her artsy career creating reconstructed clothing and selling her custom items at craft fairs and markets. She quickly realized how difficult it was to scale her business by selling items that were so one-of-a-kind, and restructured as she began to think bigger about her small biz. Mallory’s revamp emerged as MissMalaprop.com in 2006 as a blog and online shop to promote her work and other artists and designers here in New Orleans.  Alongside her new online home base, she doubled up on exposure by selling other people’s art in local markets and her handmade jewelry at trunk shows, pop-up boutiques, and art markets. She’s been working both sides of the coin for nearly 10 years and it’s her strategy for getting her products and brand in front of a larger audience.   Mallory seeks out the art markets with audiences that are a perfect match for her products, all while plugging her blog and online shop in addition to web shoppers. Pretty smart, right? With so many makers participating in art mar

My guest today is Michelle Ward- a certified coach that works with creative women through career transition.  She's a whiz at helping others see the 'light at the end of the tunnel' when you either: 1.) can't stand your job one more second or, 2.) you're ready to tackle you're dream career but need a solid game plan to see it through. We're not talking: "Leap and the net will appear" kind of mindset… this interview is dripping with real-life tips on how to turn your career around for 'real people' who don't have gobbs of money or investors waiting in the wings.  What to do when you feel like you can’t take your job one more minute… Take 20mins every morning to do something for yourself Get back to doing what you love + making your life doing things that you enjoy Take the lunch hour or whatever time you can for yourself while you're at your day job What is the perfect day job while your building a biz?: Don’t go looking for the Holy Grail of a day job, look for something that Leaves you with energy at the

Laura Simms #017 Create As Folk.com Creative Career Coach Laura Simms is a career coach specifically for those who want to have a meaningful and a career with purpose.  Often times this situation leads down an entrepreneurial track, but it can be really confusing and downright intimating to figure all that out. In this interview, she walks us through her signature “Your Career Homecoming” process that she uses to guide her one-on-one coaching clients. She breaks it down into 3 main steps:1. You’ve gotta believe that’s possible to do what you love + be able to bring home the beacon.2. Digging deep and defining what gives is purposeful to you.3. Playing around with combinations of your strengths and talents + what you like to do + what people will pay you for… the         intersection of these three things are key to finding your sweet spot.

A.C.E. Adventures in Creative EntrepreneurshipEpisode #016Guest: Gary HirschImproviser + Artist   I was first introduced to this week’s guest, Gary Hirsch, on his biggest improv collaborative performance with the 3,000 member audience at Chris Guillebeau’s World Domination Summit in Portland this past summer.    Whoa.  Improv with 3,001 people… pretty impressive + he pulled it off seamlessly.  As a lead member in the international improv company: On Your Feet, Gary uses ‘applied improv’ with small business and even large corporations to positively affect all sorts of blocks such as: Stepping outside your comfort zone Communicating + Collaborating Keeping an audience engaged Idea generators for growth and even products And even building confidence in the face of uncertainty Geeze… that’s quite a list of things I can relate to.  Right?   So, I began to keep tabs on what he was working on… and stumbled upon his collaborative art project called Bot Joy.   A bot is a little robot drawing on the back of domino th

Today’s guest, Rob Hohne started down the path of Law school and decided to follow his curiosity into the world of urban gardening.  ((record scratch))  What makes a law student dream of having chickens, harvesting crops, and plowing land?  Well, I’ll let him tell you about that…  What I will say, is that he designed a successful kickstarter campaign to make it happen and has since expanded his project to his newest venture to a retail local and online store named Homestead. In this interview we dive into Bitcoin.  Rob accepts this alternative currency in the store and we take a look at how it all works from a retail perspective.  P.S.- If bitcoin hasn’t hit your radar yet, be sure to take a look.  It’s changing the perception of credit card & payment processing around the globe, it’s kind of a big deal.   He also gives us kick-ass strategies for a killer kickstarter campaign (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun).

April Bowles-Olin from blacksburgebelle.com she started out as  jewelry maker and Etsy was her platform of choice to dive into the biz world.  As April learned the business ropes, she picked up marketing skills for handmade products and selling strategies. After realizing that business side of things intrigued her a bit more than becoming a mini jewelry factory, she switched gears and began helping other artist design a business and lifestyle they truly want and enjoy. These days, she translates the latest marketing tips and strategies into tailored guides and advice for creative entrepreneurs. In this interview we talk about the 3 Sure-Fire Ways to grow your creative business (no marketing budget required). 1. Gut Check: Are you undervaluing your work?  April’s pricing tips: If you think you’re not charging enough.  You’re not charging enough. What are your competitors are charging + what makes yours different?  Make sure to communicate to your audience  what sets you apart in your product descriptions.