Launch Youniversity

Turning Good Intentions into Reality in Your Career, Business and Life

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038: Brewing Beer and Business With Purpose: Joel Iverson of Monday Night Brewing

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Brewing Beer and Business With Purpose: Joel Iverson of Monday Night Brewing
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
038: Brewing Beer and Business With Purpose: Joel Iverson of Monday Night Brewing
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Summary:

Joel Iverson is one of the three founders of Monday Night Brewing, a top craft beer brewery in the Atlanta area. As the official Taste-Testing Ninja of Monday Night Brewing, Joel is joining Launch Youniversity on the podcast today to talk about how beer deepened relationships, relationships built a brewery and how the brewery is launching and thriving with purpose.

Welcome to episode 38 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

Monday Night Brewing

Monday Night Brewing blog

The 10% Entrepreneur by Patrick J. McGinnis

Three Takeaways:

1. What’s your purpose?
There are a variety of craft beer places in Atlanta, but what makes Monday Night Brewing special is it’s purpose: To deepen human relationships over some of the best beer in the country. Monday Night Brewing was built from relationships, so their goal is help facilitate and invest in relationships. Similar to a sticky statement, it’s powerful to be able to summarize your purpose in a single sentence. It’s your job to tell the marketplace what you want to be known for, and give them the words to communicate it.

2. It Takes Time.
Not every person can quit their job and launch headfirst into entrepreneurship. Joel and his partners had families and jobs and responsibilities to think about. So they started small and gradually grew. In time, through consistent efforts and producing a quality product, they were able to go full time and see their business thrive.

3. Do you need to hold on or let it go?
Joel credits learning how to discern this question to time. As the entrepreneur of your business or mastermind behind a project, it’s so instinctual to want to take the reins on any and every issue that needs to be fixed. But creating a culture of asking questions, learning, and problem-solving means that you need to not be the person to swoop in, but help your team figure things out along the way.

037: Life Lessons From Launching An Agency with Blake Howard of Matchstic

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Life Lessons From Launching An Agency with Blake Howard of Matchstic
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
037: Life Lessons From Launching An Agency with Blake Howard of Matchstic
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Summary:

On today’s episode of the Launch Youniversity Podcast, David is sitting down with Blake Howard. Blake is a passionate entrepreneur and co-founder of Atlanta-based Matchstic, a brand identity firm. Blake is sharing his story on how he got started, how he built a thriving business and the lessons he learned along the way.

Welcome to episode 37 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

Matchstick

Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team by Alina Wheeler

Creative Mornings

Sid Mashburn on LYP Pt 1

Sid Mashburn Pt 2

Belay Solutions

Three Takeaways:

1. Find Your Genius.
This is something we say as often as we can on the podcast. Find your genius: the place where your talent and passion collide. Blake had a talent for art and a passion for business. This led him to graphic design, which was the first step in ultimately opening up his own branding agency, Matchstic

2. Let Tough Seasons Shape You.
Matchstic was hit hard in the 2008/2009 recession. They lost clients and had to make painful layoffs. They could have let the recession sink them, but they let their hard season refine them. It was in those times where they realized the need to find what they were the absolute best at and focus on it. That’s how they narrowed their focus on branding.

3. Perfect Your Pitch.
Blake told David that Launch Youniversity’s own Jeff Henderson gave him advice years ago on how to prepare and perfect a pitch: Problem, solution and action.

1.     Identify the problem you’re trying to solve

2.     Explain the solution

3.     Invite people to take action

If you’d like Jeff to dedicate a full podcast episode on perfecting your pitch, let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

031: World-Renowned Vocal Coach Jan Smith on Dreaming Big, Being Honest and Staying Humble

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World-Renowned Vocal Coach Jan Smith on Dreaming Big, Being Honest and Staying Humble
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
031: World-Renowned Vocal Coach Jan Smith on Dreaming Big, Being Honest and Staying Humble
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Summary:

In this week’s episode, Launch Youniversity is joined by Jan Smith, a renowned vocal coach for celebrity musicians out of Atlanta, GA. You might have heard of a few: Justin Beiber, Usher and the Band Perry.

Jan is a singer, songwriter, vocal coach, Grammy-nominated music producer, and founder of Jan Smith Studios, Inc. Jan and Jeff discuss humility, success, growing your business beyond yourself, and how honesty impacts client relationships. Jan shared so much wisdom with us and we know you’ll get as much out of listening to her as we did.

Welcome to episode 31 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

Three Takeaways:

1. Are you dreaming big enough?
Jan came from humble beginnings and had no idea what was in store for her. After working as a Psychologist for a period of time, she began teaching vocal classes inside a local music store on the side. Jan was also a musician herself and truly loved her craft. From teaching local vocal students to now running a business serving 200 clients—all together 7000 people annually across the globe—Jan’s dream reached a peak that completely eclipsed what she had planned for herself.

2. If you are willing to replicate and delegate, your business can grow beyond you.
Jan realized she could only sell a certain amount of her time for vocal coaching while working full time as a Psychologist. She made an effort to teach and replicate her skills with others she felt had the musical knowledge out of necessity. As the business grew, Jan partnered with her staff to organize those skills, teachings, and practices. This allowed Jan and her team to replicate and delegate efficiently to new staff without losing the quality of working with Jan personally.

3. Be authentic. Be honest.
Jan has found her clients appreciate authenticity and honesty. An example of that would be in Justin Bieber’s documentary, Never Say Never; Jan is captured delivering criticism to Justin. This has helped her to build a deep personal relationship and strong sense of trust with all her clients. Jan is open and available to her clients no matter the day or time, allowing them to reach out to her with more than just musical needs. But, Jan is careful to create boundaries that serve her and her client well in the relationship.

Thanks for listening to another episode of the Launch Youniversity Podcast! Let us know how we’re doing and what you’d like to hear next by leaving a review on iTunes!

019: Launch Lessons with Shani Godwin, CEO of Communiqué

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Launch Lessons with Shani Godwin, CEO of Communiqué
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
019: Launch Lessons with Shani Godwin, CEO of Communiqué
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Summary:

This week, Launch Youniversity is honored to be joined by Shani Godwin, President and CEO of Communiqué USA, Inc, a marketing communications firm based out of Atlanta. After completing her MBA in Marketing, Shani realized that her unique blend of education, professional background and natural talents could help companies find their voice and communicate more effectively with their consumers. So in 2002, Shani left her job in Corporate America and founded Communiqué USA. They started small, but grew organically and quickly, and now, 15 years later, they advise large national brands on everything from global communications strategy to local marketing.

Welcome to episode 19 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

Communiqué USA Website

Communiqué USA LinkedIn

Three Takeaways:

1. Understand your “why”. What are you passionate about? Begin to think about how that idea can be used in the marketplace. Shani purposely pursued careers that allowed her to connect with her passions. No one ever directed Shani towards entrepreneurship, but it was very clear when she started down the path that it was in her zone and in her sweet spot.

2. Take a step of faith—not a leap. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” When you don’t make a move, you can miss the opportunity and the moment. Don’t let yourself get sucked into the paralysis of analysis. Surround yourself with advisors to encourage you to take that next step—and help you avoid pitfalls.

3. You can’t grow until you let go. As Communiqué grew, Shani had to focus on leading instead of doing, so her advisors had a 90 day transition plan created. Shani told herself, “If I let go of the work, the business will fail.” But what she found was that the quality of the work only increased, and making the decision was the hardest part. Once she took a step back from doing the work, she was able to focus on being the visionary the company needed to succeed.

017: Culture, Influencers and Ingenuity: Our Conversation with Sid Mashburn Pt 2

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Culture, Influencers and Ingenuity: Our Conversation with Sid Mashburn
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
017: Culture, Influencers and Ingenuity: Our Conversation with Sid Mashburn Pt 2
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Summary:

This week, Launch Youniversity is honored to be joined again by Sid Mashburn, accomplished entrepreneur and owner of the #1 men’s independent clothing store in the US. In this episode, Sid talks about experience and business growth, team culture, and positive influencers in his life. If you missed Part One of our conversation, listen now!

Welcome to episode 17 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

Sidmashburn.com

Annmashburn.com

GQ Style’s Profile on Sid Mashburn

Three Takeaways:

1. Use your experiences to see new opportunities. As soon as Sid got his driver’s license, he went to work in a men’s store. He loved clothes. He loved working with people. He loved sharing. Sid dreamed about becoming a designer, and even wanted to leave college and go straight to design school in New York, but his father encouraged him to wait. After years of experience working for large companies like British Khaki, J.Crew, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Land’s End, Sid learned the essentials of design, product development, and sourcing. With his combined experience working in small specialty stores and learning from large companies, Sid saw an opportunity like no other.

2. Healthy team culture leads to great customer service. Sid doesn’t believe in commission for selling in his stores. He wants employees that see this job as a real vocation, not a stepping stone to other positions and industries. He wants his employees to feel they’re part of something bigger than selling clothes. They’re really taking care of a piece of someone’s life. Treating his employees this way has lead to above and beyond acts of customer service from his team.

3. Positive influencers make the journey easier. The closest person to Sid is Ann Mashburn, his wife. Sid relies on her judgement, honesty, and trusts her advice on all subjects. Another trusted voice in Sid’s life is David Supple, his COO and business partner. Sid and his team have also established a board of directors for further counsel. Sid firmly believes in welcoming advice from all his trusted family, friends, and peers.

013: Vision and Generosity with Plywood People’s Jeff Shinabarger Pt. 1

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Summary:

This week, Launch Youniversity is honored to be joined by Jeff Shinabarger. Jeff is a social entrepreneur, leader, and author at Plywood People. Plywood is a non-profit in Atlanta that leads a community of over 200 start ups doing good. In this episode, Jeff shares his wisdom on how to launch start ups. We hope this conversation inspires you, challenges, you, and brings you closer to launching your ideas.

Welcome to episode 13 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

Three Takeaways:

1. Take time to celebrate your wins. The Launch phase is tricky. On one hand, your so happy to have launched. And on the other, you feel like your workload in maintaining your launch just increased. It’s not healthy for your season of launch to move into a season of never ending busyness. After you have a big launch, take a vacation or take a few days off. Allow yourself to celebrate and take a mental breather. You’ll come back with a fresh perspective.

2. Having passion doesn’t mean you have a business. You need a plan. It’s important to understand the difference between a hobby, a project and a business. Hobbies bring you happiness, but may not always be something you can quit your day job for. A project is something that makes you happy and may make you money, but it has an end date. A business or organization is when you can afford to pay yourself with your product revenue.

3. Being an entrepreneur can be an interesting and lonely place. Jeff talks about the idea of the conference room table. Next time you’re by yourself near a conference table, take a seat at the head of the table. Now, imagine you’re the President of the United States and you’re in the situation room during a high-tense moment. Who are the people you want filling those chairs at your table? These are people who believe in you enough to tell you “no,” but also want the most success for you. Start inviting those people to speak into your life.