Launch Youniversity

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

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092: 5 Ways to Overcome Your Blind Spots as a Leader

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The Launch Youniversity Podcast
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
092: 5 Ways to Overcome Your Blind Spots as a Leader
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Summary:

Leadership doesn’t come without its share of missteps, that’s for sure. But approached the correct way, those mistakes you make — whether as a business owner or someone who works inside an organization — can lead to opportunities for growth. Today, mentors Jeff Henderson, Shane Benson, and David Farmer share what they’ve learned about leadership through years of setbacks, triumphs, and having the right people around them who offered candid feedback. In this episode, you’ll learn five ways to overcome the common roadblocks that might be a barrier to successful leadership.

Welcome to episode 92 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

Personal Brand Assessment

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Dr. Henry Cloud

Five Takeaways:

1. Embrace self awareness. It’s impossible to keep up a constantly fast pace. If you try, you’re well on your way to burnout. Take some time to pause and reflect about where you are and where you’re headed. Whether you journal or take personal assessments, your growth depends on your ability to rest and reflect.

2. Seek feedback immediately. A lack of feedback on your performance is a breeding ground for blind spots in your leadership. Sure, some feedback will feel critical and tough to hear, but the only way you can improve your work and relationships is when you stop and listen to what others have to say about them.

3. Acknowledge your struggles. No one is perfect and no rational person expects you to be. Find some people you can be honest with about the challenges you’re experiencing. If you don’t acknowledge your struggles, your self awareness will most definitely take a hit.

4. Invite accountability. It’s one thing to ask for advice, but it’s a totally different thing when you trust the advice you’ve been given and act on it appropriately. Surround yourself with people who will tell you the truth and who want to see you succeed no matter how tough the feedback.

5. Don’t hide behind your brand. Transparency builds trust. When you show people who you really are and what values you stand by, your product or business will reap the benefits.

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!

 

Why You Should Talk About Your Idea Before You Build It

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Before you start your business, it’s important you tell others about your idea. [Read more…] about Why You Should Talk About Your Idea Before You Build It

072: How to Launch and Grow Your Startup with Emma Pitts of PullSpark

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How to Launch and Grow Your Startup with Emma Pitts of Pullspark
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
072: How to Launch and Grow Your Startup with Emma Pitts of PullSpark
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Summary:

Launching takes courage. Maintaining the launch takes wisdom. Emma Pitts, CEO of Pullspark, is joining us on the podcast today to talk about both. From making bold asks to vulnerability and building a team, we hope this podcast is both encouraging and inspiring for all first-time launchers.

Welcome to Episode 72 of The Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

PullSpark

PullSpark on Instagram

Emma Pitts on Twitter

The Small Business Bible by Steven D. Strauss

Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmul

The Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast

Three Takeaways:

1. Be bold in your ask.

There’s a lot of opportunity in the world if we have the courage to ask for it. Emma has had to step out of her fears and ask friends and business acquaintances, “Who can you connect me with in the next 30 days to help me grow my business?” Don’t be afraid to put a deadline on your request, either! People love being a connection point; when you respectfully ask the right person at the right time, chances are they’ll be happy to help you.

2. You need at least one person who’s been there before.

It’s not uncommon to hear “it takes a village” or “find your tribe” when listening to startup advice. But that can be intimidating for first-time business owners. Where do you even find the village? What if you’re a tribe of one? It’s okay. Emma tells us to just focus on finding one person who’s been there before, someone you can call and ask, “Do I need to file this paperwork?”

3. You can build your own safety net.

If Pullspark lost all clients today, they would still be fully funded for 6 to 7 months. This is because Emma follows Dave Ramsey’s plan of having an emergency fund. When most startup founders think of having large safety nets, they think it means having investors. But you can be your own investor. Make wise decisions; give your extra profit to the business; and with each passing month, you’ll be further along in your savings goals.

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.