Launch Youniversity

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

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069: When Passion and Heart Lead the Way: Dana Spinola of fab’rik

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Dana Spinola on the Launch Youniversity Podcast
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
069: When Passion and Heart Lead the Way: Dana Spinola of fab'rik
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Summary:

It’s the opening day of your new clothing boutique. As a new entrepreneur, you’ve worked so hard to see your passion and vision come to life. But when you arrive for your first day of work, you find that your business has been completely robbed. Everything from your inventory to your register is gone. What do you do?

This is what happened to Dana Spinola, CEO of fab’rik boutique stores. Since the 2006 launch, fab’rik has grown to over 40 store locations and launched a nonprofit, free fab’rik. On today’s episode of the podcast, Jeff and David join Dana in the fab’rik offices to hear her story. We hope you find Dana’s unwavering vision and heart as inspiring as we did.

Links + Resources:

Fab’rik

Free Fab’rik

Fab’rik on Facebook

Fab’rik on Instagram

Dana Spinola on Instagram

Three Takeaways:

1. There will be a “death of the vision” moment

This is the moment when everything seems to be going wrong and you wonder if you’ll make it. For Dana, this was her store being robbed on its opening day. When these moments happen, remember your why and let it motivate you to continue going.

2. There’s a difference between working in the business and working on the business

If you’re growing a healthy business, a shift needs to happen from being in the day-to-day to working on long-term vision and strategy. This can be a hard adjustment that requires a ton of trust in your team. But to continue to grow, your business probably needs you to focus on it, not in it.

3. There’s a place for both passion and mission

Dana started her boutique because she had a love and passion for clothing. After her launch was successful, she was able to put resources into a mission and founded free fab’rik. The reason free fab’rik can exist is because of the planning, passion and wise business plan of fab’rik boutiques. When your passion makes way for a mission, it’s a beautiful thing.

060: Why Your Pitch May Not Be Working

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Why Your Pitch May Not be Working via The Launch Youniversity Podcast
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
060: Why Your Pitch May Not Be Working
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SUMMARY:

You happen to find yourself on an elevator with a person of significance and you have a just a few seconds to pitch them what you’re doing. That’s what an elevator pitch is: Selling an idea in a clear and concise manner, in a short amount of time, and inspiring the person you’re pitching to take action. Whether you know that analogy, or this is the first time hearing it, your elevator pitch matters. Good ideas die with bad communication. This episode is about finding, refining, and improving your pitch.

Welcome to episode 60 of the podcast.

LINKS + RESOURCES:

JOIN THE WAITLIST FOR ELEVATOR PITCH

Elevator Pitch is an online, workshop-style video course that guides you through proven methods to shape, hone and sharpen your message and polish your delivery. It includes a printable, digital workbook with exercises providing the step-by-step directions and the writing space you need to develop your pitch as you go.

Following the process outlined in Elevator Pitch, you’ll have crafted your pitch in approximately four hours. How could a stronger, clearer message impact your next presentation, sales call or team meeting? Make your next presentation your best presentation with Elevator Pitch.

Registration for Elevator Pitch is currently closed. It will open soon. Sign up for the waitlist so you don’t miss the next enrollment.

THREE TAKEAWAYS:

If you can’t say it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.

The goal here is to keep it simple. When you pitch a product, you want to tell people who can tell other people. Nobody is going to share your idea with others if they can’t understand it.

A great idea, poorly communicated, is a stalled, unfunded and unsupported idea.

You might have the greatest idea in the world, but if you don’t know how to communicate it well then it’ll never get off the ground. When you’re building out your idea, practice how you would simply and concisely explain it to others. (And practice it again and again and again.)

Your pitch is like your packaging.   

Think about the experience of buying a brand new iphone from the Apple store vs. buying a used one on ebay. One comes in the crisp white box, headphones perfectly folded, screen protector on. The one from ebay will probably arrive in a padded yellow shipping envelope. Which one would you be more excited for? That’s because packaging matters, and your pitch is your packaging. Don’t rely on the fact that you have a great idea and think that the communication doesn’t matter. The communication is what makes the experience great.

048: What Does It Take to Go All-In on Your Dream? Bryan and Shannon Miles of Belay Solutions

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What Does It Take to Go All-In on Your Dream? Bryan and Shannon Miles of Belay Solutions
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
048: What Does It Take to Go All-In on Your Dream? Bryan and Shannon Miles of Belay Solutions
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SUMMARY:

You’ve heard the phrase before: high risk, high reward. Bryan and Shannon Miles of Belay Solutions are walking examples of that. As new parents in the middle of a recession, they decided to go all-in on a new-concept business. Now, seven years later, Belay Solutions leading the pack when it comes to virtual staffing.

How did they start? How have they grown it? What tools have helped them along the way?

Welcome to episode 48 of The Launch Youniversity Podcast.

LINKS + RESOURCES:

Belay Solutions

Virtual Culture by Steven Jones

Book in a Box: Turning Ideas Into Books

Basecamp

Slack

MobileDay

Workplace by Facebook

THREE TAKEAWAYS:

Know Your Runway

Starting a business means taking a financial risk. Whether it’s a big one like Bryan and Shannon, or a smaller one to get a side project off the ground… Shannon told us: Know your runway. Don’t get so caught up in the dream that you forget about the financial reality. Know how much you can put into the business and still survive. Know when your stopping point is.

Create the kind of company you’d like to work for

Culture happens, no matter what. So instead of just letting culture happen to your business, be intentional about creating it. Belay had a unique barrier to creating culture: every person works remotely. So, they use a simple (but effective) filter when evaluating office culture: If I didn’t own this company, would I like working here?

Celebrate along the way

Celebrating milestones matters more than you think. It reminds the team what the vision is and refuels their passion for getting there. Even during busy seasons, make time to stop and congratulate the team on wins.

045: Courage, Vision and Listening to Your Inner Voice with Garrett Gravesen and Kevin Scott of ADDO

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SUMMARY:

If you’re waiting for permission to make or do something (like launching that passion project, pushing back on the status quo at work or even chasing that dream you can’t shake from your mind) then this episode is for you. And we don’t say that lightly.

Kevin Scott and Garrett Gravesen of ADDO join Shane for a candid and inspiring conversation about listening to your inner voice, staying clear on vision and what ten seconds of insane courage could look like. It’s an episode you absolutely do not want to miss.

Welcome to The Launch Youniversity Podcast.

LINKS + RESOURCES:

ADDO.is

Read More About Kevin and Garrett

Chick-fil-A Leader Academy

8 Essential Exchanges: What You Have to Give Up to Go Up by Kevin Scott

The Lepers’ Lessons: Five Questions, Two Perspectives, and the Pursuit of Purpose by Kevin Scott

Dooley: My 40 Years at Georgia by Coach Vince Dooley

THREE TAKEAWAYS:

1. 10 seconds of insane courage can change everything

Garrett and Kevin challenged us in the best way when they said that all it takes to get closer to where you want to be is ten seconds of insane courage. Ten seconds to quiet fear and speak up when you have something to say. Ten seconds to decide which road you’re going to go down. Ten seconds to get past all the mental barriers you’ve made for yourself. If you gave yourself ten seconds to speak a dream or idea into the world without fear, what would you say?

2. The voice inside of you will eventually get quieter (or, louder)

If there’s a voice inside of you telling you to take that chance, try that project, research a career change… don’t push it away. The more you push that voice away and don’t answer its call, the quieter it will get. Don’t wait for permission to do something about the dream or idea you have. And here’s some good news: When you answer the voice, it’ll get louder.

3. Life is too short to do business with people you wouldn’t want to do life with

When you listen to Kevin and Garrett talk about ADDO and the business partners ADDO works with, it’s clear that they not only love what they do, but they love who they get to work with. Life can be challenging and unexpected and surrounding yourself with good people, that you care for even outside of work, is essential for long-term happiness.

044: Launching Customer Experiences and Dreaming Big with Billy Boughey of Elevate Live Events

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SUMMARY:

To elevate means “to lift.” And that’s what Billy Boughey is an expert at. Sometimes it’s lifting the brand of a client. Other times, it’s lifting up his team by fostering a healthy culture. And often, it’s looking at what’s trending in the world right now (spoiler alert: it’s robots) and finding innovative ways to incorporate it into an experience.

Billy is the founder of Elevate Live Events, a creative event agency based in greater Atlanta. The vision of Elevate is to help people and organizations live and lead at a higher level. They do this by creating exceptional customer experiences.

Beyond his work at Elevate, Billy is a dreamer and a doer. We believe that his encouragement and practical advice for entrepreneurs and launchers might be just the thing you need to hear today.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did. Welcome to Episode 44.

LINKS + RESOURCES:

Elevate Live Events

Take a tour of the elevate office (No, really! You’re invited!) by sending an email to: hello@elevateliveevents.com

Billy’s Twitter, LinkedIn and Email

Elevate Live Event’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

THREE KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Good business is built on relationships. 

Billy shared about a recent events his team put on for Auburn and Chick-fil-A. For the aspiring launcher thinking: “how do you even pitch organizations of that size?” Billy answers it for you. Build relationships and add value to them. Somebody you know knows somebody who could be your first client. When you genuinely invest in people and look for ways to bring them value, you’ll be surprised at what doors open up.

2. Don’t think about what it costs, think about what it’s valued at. 

One of the most common question launchers ask is: How do I price my product or service? Billy challenged that way of thinking. Instead of figuring out the math of how much it’ll cost,  figure out how much value it’ll bring. When you’re pricing based on value, not cost, you’ll know when to selectively say no to opportunities and when to give discounts for the sake of relationships.

3. Believe in talent, believe in people and go for it. 

One thing that’s pretty obvious when you talk to Billy is his belief in his team. There’s an intentionality with their work-place culture that weaves into everything they do. Billy also shared about his perspective on keeping the interests of your team above the interests of the client. When you believe in your team and equip and empower them to do their jobs well, they’ll care for the client and the business as much as you do. Hire people you believe in and then get out of their way as they go and do what they’re best at.

036: How to Turn Your Idea Into a Business with Courtney DeFeo

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How to Turn Your Idea Into a Business with Courtney DeFeo
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
036: How to Turn Your Idea Into a Business with Courtney DeFeo
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Summary:

The Launch Youniversity is a community of entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs who want to turn their big ideas into reality. Courtney DeFeo is an expert on doing just that.

As an intrapreneur, Courtney refined her process for bringing ideas to life for a company. As an entrepreneur, Courtney dreams of new ways to grow her business each day.

On today’s episode, Courtney is sharing her experience and advice on growing an idea, presenting it to others and turning it into a thriving business.

Welcome to episode 36 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

CourtneyDefeo.com

Pathway to Launch: Imagine

Pathway to Launch: Validate

ABC Scripture Cards

Three Takeaways:

1. Not every idea is a good idea. And that’s okay.
Courtney has come up with some incredible ideas, both for her business and for companies she’s worked for. But for every great idea, there were a bunch that didn’t work.

As launchers (and really… just humans), our ideas feel like our babies. We want everyone to love every idea and for it to be wildly successful. But that’s not realistic. You will have ideas that never get off the ground, but it’s okay and normal. It doesn’t mean you’re a failure. And it certainly doesn’t mean you should stop dreaming of ideas. Keep pressing forward, the right idea will come at the right moment.

2. Collaboration over competition.
Courtney had to actively seek (and be open to) collaboration over competition in when she was an intrapreneur. When Courtney worked in a corporate setting, she often had to pitch her ideas. If you’ve done this, you know how vulnerable of a position this is to be in. You’re not only sharing your idea, but you’re giving other people the power to change it. But, nine times out of ten, when people speak into your idea, their feedback will elevate it. So don’t shy away from the “That won’t work, but this will…” or “That’s great, what if we add…” conversations. The collaboration might be exactly what your idea needs to be successful.

This applies to entrepreneurs as well. You might not be competing for a boss’ attention, but you’re competing with other forces in the marketplace. When Courtney created her ABC Scripture cards, she noticed that Pinterest was driving a ton of traffic to her site… but not converting to sales. After a little investigation, she realized that her cards were wildly popular on Pinterest, but every post was about how to make the cards yourself.

Instead of trying to shut down bloggers who were giving DIY tutorials on her product–or pretending they didn’t exist–Courtney leaned into the marketplace desire and released her own DIY tutorial. By serving her potential customers well, her web traffic jumped and she was able to get more eyeballs on the other resources and tools she had available on her site.

3. Waiting now will pay off later.
When you’re passionate about your idea, you want to shout its success from the rooftop. That happened to Courtney when she landed her first celebrity client.

When the order came through, she wanted to post it everywhere. But Courtney’s husband reminded her to wait and that the celebrity didn’t ask for that. So she waited. And because she waited, the celebrity later talked about how much she loved the product on massive, national platform. Had Courtney bragged to the marketplace about having this celebrity client, she might have missed the better opportunity.