Launch Youniversity

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

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090: Turning Pain into Purpose

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The Launch Youniversity Podcast
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
090: Turning Pain into Purpose
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Summary:

For many people looking to start a business, most of their ideas come from a place of need or desire. But sometimes, in the most unfortunate cases, the idea is born from an experience of pain.

After losing her daughter, Skylar, to a terminal illness when Skylar was three months shy of her second birthday, Ashley Jones created Love Not Lost, a non-profit organization that photographs people facing a terminal diagnosis to help preserve the memory of their loved ones. In today’s episode, Ashley shares with hosts Shane Benson and Kevin Jennings how she went from a painful idea to a successfully-launched non-profit organization that helps spread love to people during life’s darkest times.

Welcome to episode 90 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

Love Not Lost | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Plywood Presents

Dana Spinola of fab’rik

Headspace app

Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine documentary

Three Takeaways:

  • Do your research. Most people have an idea, but not sure where to start. The first step to any successful launch is seeing what’s out there. Find someone who’s doing something similar to your idea and take notes. What are they doing well? What are they doing that could use a bit of improvement? Then, apply what you’ve learned to your idea.
  • Tap into strategic resources. Feeling stuck? Reach out to people for help — most won’t turn you down for a coffee date to discuss your idea and answer any questions you may have.
  • Take breaks to be mindful. Whether you’re doing emotional work like Ashley or something else altogether, our bodies are meant to handle only so much. Check in with yourself regularly. How are you doing mentally, emotionally, and physically? Listen to what your body is telling you and make sure you’re being intentional about breaks and boundaries in your personal life and work.

Thank you for listening to the Launch Youniversity Podcast! If you have a question that you want to be answered on the podcast… ask us here!

089: Wes Jones of Honeysuckle Gelato on Starting Small, Building Team Culture, and Taking Calculated Risks

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The Launch Youniversity Podcast
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
089: Wes Jones of Honeysuckle Gelato on Starting Small, Building Team Culture, and Taking Calculated Risks
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Summary:

Whether you’re starting your own business with limited resources, or leading a team at an established organization, a realistic vision and the right team members to buy into that vision will ensure an easier road ahead. Today, hosts Kevin Jennings and Shane Benson are joined by Wes Jones, co-owner of Atlanta-based Honeysuckle Gelato, who talk about Wes’s journey from food truck to a permanent location and the steps he and his partners took to grow their business.

Welcome to episode 89 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

Plywood Presents

The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center

Honeysuckle Gelato

Three Takeaways:

  • Define your core values. You have to understand the heart of your business and team before you can communicate that to those you lead and your consumers. Define what is important, and communicate clearly those values to everyone. Ask yourself, “What problem am I solving? How is the culture here a part of solving that problem?”
  • Create margin. As a business owner or leader, there will always be more work to be done. That doesn’t mean all of that work has to be done right away. Create boundaries in your workday and understand that everything cannot be done right now. Take a break to recharge — creating mental space will give you the capacity to think about your business in a new way.
  • Hire people who fit your culture. You want to work with people who not only understand your mission, but who are advocates for it. Take your time in hiring the right people — sometimes being thorough with whom you hire makes all the difference in how people view your brand.

Thank you for listening to the Launch Youniversity Podcast! If you have a question that you want to be answered on the podcast… ask us here!

088: How To Use Real Time Storytelling To Promote Your Business

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The Launch Youniversity Podcast
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
088: How To Use Real Time Storytelling To Promote Your Business
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Summary:

Behind every brand is a good story, and how well you tell that story is the difference between gaining influence and customers or stalling your brand’s growth potential. In today’s episode, host, Kevin Jennings, talks with Clark Campbell, founder of Social Lion, a company that provides real-time social media content for brands and live events. Clark shares how brands have the opportunity to start engaging their consumers in a more meaningful, purposeful way with the use of features such as Instagram Stories, Snapchat, and Facebook Live.

Welcome to episode 88 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

Social Lion

The Launch Loop ebook

The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future

Real Time Summit

Three Takeaways:

  • Do your research. Take some time each day to watch the Instagram Stories of brands you admire. How are they telling their stories? What’s working well for them? What captured your attention? This is a learning process — make a list of the things they do well and the things they could change and then start adding these ideas to the way you tell your brand story.
  • Practice your storytelling. Choose a platform feature — whether Instagram Stories, Facebook Live, or Snapchat — and start sharing your story as it’s happening. Give your consumers a behind-the-scenes look about some element of your product or process or keep them in the loop during a live event.
  • Have a plan. Success is planned. If you’re going to be covering a live event, take a look at the activities, breakouts, and keynote speakers and decide whether you’re going to do a Facebook Live stream or snapshots of the day via Instagram or Snapchat. With a plan, you can have more thorough, thoughtful coverage.

Thank you for listening to the Launch Youniversity Podcast! If you have a question that you want to be answered on the podcast… ask us here!

 

084: Tell Your Story, Sell Your Brand

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Tell Your Story, Sell Your Brand Peachtree Pride
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
084: Tell Your Story, Sell Your Brand
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Summary:

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” – Simon Sinek 

Have you ever looked at a logo and instantly connected it to a story? Maybe Pixar’s animated desk lamp logo can instantly put you in a good mood because you know you’re about to see a great film. Maybe your TOMS shoes make you feel good knowing that your purchase also provided a pair of shoes for someone in need. Great brands do more than just sell products, they connect you to a story. So what story are you telling? On today’s episode, Derek & Kari Beth Chitwood, founders of Peach State Pride, talk with Kevin about telling their story through clothing.

Links + Resources:

Peach State Pride

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber

Emergenetics

Three Takeaways:

1. Sales tactics are meaningless without a story.

Peach State Pride’s success didn’t happen because they managed to come up with some great marketing copy. It happened because they focused on telling their story. They talked about Derek’s memories of growing up on his grandfather’s peach farm, and all the things that native Georgians can relate to. When Derek told his story, the brand sold itself.

2. Hire for your weaknesses. 

Derek is the creative dreamer and creative. Kari is the planner and strategist. Their complementing skills have allowed them to be a great team who can lean into their strengths and trust the other person with their weaknesses.

3. Hire slow, fire fast.

New businesses can sometimes make the mistake of hiring quickly and without firm company values in place. Derek and Kari’s advice is to hire as slow as you can. Take time to fully get to know a candidate before you bring them on the team. And if they’re not a good fit… fire fast.

 

083: How Do I Build My Brand?

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The Launch Youniversity Podcast
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
083: How Do I Build My Brand?
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Summary:

Any entrepreneur who has listened to a leadership podcast or read a business book knows they need to develop their brand and their story. But how do you actually do that? We called in the experts. Andy and Brittany Thoms of See.Spark.Go have built their business around helping others identify and refine their brand and share their stories.
Welcome to Episode 83 of The Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

SeeSparkGo.com

Start with Why by Simon Sinek

The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR by Al Ries

Ask us a question! 

Three Takeaways:

1. Two questions can bring everything into view.
As entrepreneurs, we can feel pressured to have our business be everything to everybody, everywhere. When you feel like you are serving all people, it’s hard to nail down your story and purpose.
If you’re feeling that way, Brittany says to just focus on two questions. Yep, just two.
What specific need am I filling? 
How am I positively impacting my customer’s life? 
If you can definitively answer those questions, you know your story.
2. What’s my brand? 
We like to think of our brand as something we can choose. For instance, “my logo is colorful, so my brand is fun.” But it’s much more than that. In fact, your brand is more about what others say about you, than who you say you are.
How would people describe their interactions with your business?
How would people describe their interactions with you personally?
How do you, and your business, make others feel? 
3. Everything is public relations. 
Every phone call that your team makes. Every email. Your social media posts. How customers pay. And even how you dress, say hello, and shake people’s hands.

Thank you for listening to the Launch Youniversity Podcast! If you have a question that you want to be answered on the podcast… ask us here!  

079: Designing Your Life to Say Yes with Dave Adamson

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Dave Adamson on the Launch Youniversity Podcast
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
079: Designing Your Life to Say Yes with Dave Adamson
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Summary:

Meet Dave Adamson…an Australian sports reporter, online pastor, photographer, YouTuber and podcast host. You might be asking…how can one person be all those things? It’s surprisingly simple: Dave has designed his life and schedule to allow him to say yes to most things. And he does so without sacrificing his sanity or time at home with his family. If you’re a multi-passionate creative or entrepreneur, this podcast is for you. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Welcome to Episode 79 of The Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

Dave Adamson on Instagram

Dave Adamson on YouTube

Jeff on Instagram

Carey Nieuwhof

Three Takeaways:

1. Hack your own schedule.

A trick Dave picked up from Carey Nieuwhof (listen to Carey on our podcast here!) is to work with your natural wiring, not fight against it. For instance, if you’re a morning person…wake up really early. If you’re a night owl…sleep in so you aren’t exhausted every evening. Learn what schedule works best for you and adjust your plans around it.

2. Limit your time in email.

It’s too easy to become slaves to our phones. We hear the notification bell, and we’re checking and replying on autopilot. Dave was spending so much time in email that he decided to treat his inbox like his actual mailbox: checking it once at the end of the day. With this newly-allocated email time in the evenings, he stays more focused and productive during the day.

3. Do you need to add or remove buoys?

Imagine a lap pool with buoys dividing the swim lanes. Their purpose is to keep the swimmers in line so they can focus on swimming their fastest lap. Buoys can be really helpful, narrowing our focus and keeping us on track. But sometimes, like in Dave’s life, it’s okay to remove the buoys and free swim for a bit. Deciding to free swim means Dave can be an online pastor, podcast host, sports reporter, photographer, YouTuber and a list of other things. It’s about deciding what it is you really want and designing your pool to match.