Start-up Speakeasy

Today’s guest is Carrie Liccardi who is the designer for her fashion line Pret-a-Porter.   After leaving New Orleans to learn about the industry in LA through schooling and practical work experience, Carrie returned to her hometown to inspire, launch, and grow her company.  We dive into what it takes to be a fashion designer, and all the lessons she has learned from launching multiple collections, signing on a business partner, and finding investors.

Today’s guest: Justin Shiels is the creator of GoInvade.com which started off as a lifestyle brand and side project to his full time job. He and his team of writers seek out some of the most interesting and sometimes even underground ways to explore New Orleans’ diverse culture scene and has grown a notable following.  But for Justin, it’s only the beginning. As the site started to grow, he saw it as a great opportunity to build revenue through passive income while keeping his full time job (an continues to expand his brand). In the interview, he goes on to talk about what his growing website has taught him: a lot about himself, his skill set, and allows him to see the best opportunities to build off of. 

Julia Hohne on Building Mrs. Vintage  Julia recently opened up a new storefront to showcase her event styling and vintage rentals business.  She takes us back to when Mrs. Vintage was a nugget of an idea and run out of an extra bedroom all while holding down a 9-5.  Julia shares some really great tips on how she pulled off her vision of her quaint vintage empire... while bringing home the bacon.

Collin Ferguson and Cat Todd (today's guests) are the founders of Where Y’Art- a Marketplace + Creative Services + Platform for Independent Local Artists.  They’ve been throwing teaser parties and highlighting artists through their social media campaign, but they are days away from launching their site in time for the holiday shopping season.

Dave Conrey: Media Strategist for Creative Entrepreneurs Dave is a media strategist for creative entrepreneurs + his resume comes with a ling list of experiences that carry creative biz street-cred.  In today's interview, we chat about overcoming resistance and mental obstacles that come along with creative pursuits.  Your takeaway: 3 key pointers to get out of your head and grow your biz.

Brett - handmade community leader Today's guest Brett from I AM THE LAB, clues us in on his killer formula call the Handmade Trifect.  For a successful handmade brand, focus on these things so you can het back to the studio and doing what you do best.

Miriam Ortiz y Pino is a Certified Professional Organizer that helps creative entrepreneurs gain control of their time and space.  Let's be honest, we all need a little help with that- don't we?  In this interview, we chat about why creative entrepreneurs cling to their clutter and Miriam's 'secret sauce' to running your business intead of it running you. Takeaway: 5 scalable systems that all entrepreneurs need to have in place to make our creative biz run smoothly

Loralee Hutton - Her Portable Biz Loralee untangles the start-up process and teaches us to simplify big ideas and swing into action.  After investing in over 50K in programs and products, she scaled way back and started her site on a shoestring budget.  Now she teaches others to do the same.   If you're stuck and your biz is being held hostage by your own excuses- Loralee is here to de-bunk them and rally you to take action.

In this interview, we dive into her insane business launch in 6 weeks and gained 1000 subscribers with nothing but authentic communication, opt-in box and a splash page. We chat about how this launch changed her personal life and the scope of future plans for her business  Throughout our conversation, Nikki touches on tips and tricks that you can implement in your own business.