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With More than 1 Billion websites in the world (http://news.netcraft.com/archives/category/web-server-survey/) putting a strong personal brand on the frontline of your sales process can be the most important thing you will ever do for yourself and for your business, and it could dramatically improve conversion rates and attract the Clients that speak to you! (http://maverick-ceo.com/wp-content/uploads/dreamstime_s_18633194.jpg) The real questions for entrepreneurs are: What is my personal brand? How do I develop a stronger personal brand? The kind of brand that helps you engage the best kind of clients, those who would LOVE to work with you. In this episode of The Maverick CEO Podcast I sit down with brand expert and legend Debra Trappen (http://d11consulting.com/meet-debra/) (CEO/Owner of D11 Consulting (http://d11consulting.com/), Co-Host of  Brevetv.com (http://brevetv.com/), Key Note Speaker, Co-Producer and Presenter of the LEXI Leadership Summit (http://www.lexileadership.com/)) to find out how she helps entrepreneurs build their personal brand by finding their passion, defining their values, and using social media to spread the word of their new brand. A few highlights from my conversation with Debra : * Why it's important to define your core values * How to brand or re-brand yourself * Taking your business to the next level by attracting your ideal clients * How to stand out and be unique * Building the Golden Circle - the people that will help you build your brand * How to use your personal brand on social media,  Facebook vs Twitter   Listen On iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maverick-ceo-podcast/id797620563?mt=2)   Debra makes one thing clear when it comes to your personal brand: “You already have one,” she says “whether you know it or not." [Tweet "Your brand is a specific image or impression in the mind of others!"]   To Survive You Have To Be Unique Now, more than ever, it is mission critical for leaders to develop a solid personal brand that helps differentiate them from everyone else in a “sea of same.” As an entrepreneur, executive, or small business owner you must understand that leadership has changed.  The days of running a business from “behind the curtain” are gone.  The social consumer wants to know YOU, the leader and visionary of the company they will do business with. As well as helping you stand out from the crowd, strong branding can help elevate your busi

Whether you are a real estate agent, a budding tech entrepreneur or small business owner you know by now that social media is an important part of marketing your business. The real question is how you can engage more people in your brand, and make money with social media? If you want to know how successful businesses use Facebook and social media strategies to win more business, and make more money, read on! For this episode of the Maverick CEO podcast I interviewed Katie Lance for advice on how small business engage more people in their brand, and make more money from social media. Listen on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maverick-ceo-podcast/id797620563?mt=2) Some of the questions that Katie helps answer are: * Which platform should you be on? * Where do you find your target customers? * How to engage more people in your brand. * Can you still make money with Facebook? * What is the next big thing? A frequent contributor to The Huffington Post and Inman News, Katie is a social media consultant working to help businesses supercharge their social media presence. Through her company Katie Lance Consulting (http://www.katielance.com/) she helps some of the biggest names in the real estate: Zillow.com, REMAX International, Docusign (just to name a few) develop and improve their social media strategies to be intentional and highly effective.  It's easy enough to open a profile on a few sites and start posting, but very hard do it well. When I asked for the number one tip she gives her clients on how to build a social media strategy, she talked about using "brand ambassadors" to greatly expand a companies social reach. As an example she explains how she engaged a core group of fans of Inman by “giving them a little insider access, making them part of the process.”  Katie dedicated 200 of the most raving fans of the brand as "Brand Ambassadors", and was able to grow the social following of Inman from just under 7,000 to over 300,000 people! With the total reach of the Ambassadors being over two Million people! Related: The Ultimate Facebook Fan Page, Learn How This Blog Reached 1.8 Million Facebook Followers (http://maverick-ceo.com/ultimate-facebook-fan-page-blog-reached-1-8-million-followers/) The second piece of advice Katie gives is that businesses need to be intentional about their actions on social media, and their social media strategy. [Tweet "If you want to be smart about social medial, you need to “stop

Are you in the real estate industry, and in the business of managing clients? Are you looking for clients that loves your work, and that will come back to you again and again for more business? Or, maybe you are just looking for a way to avoid the clients that drive you crazy? Then this post and podcast is for you. To purchase or sell a house can be, for many, the single largest investment that they will ever make.  The large amounts of money involved in buying or selling a house is a very personal and intimate experience, and emotions can fly high. Imagine if the price that the client would like to sell his or her house for is higher than what the market supports.  What would you do as their agent? Would you tell the client that you can't sell the house for that price, and potentially lose the sale, and the income? To help you better handle similar situations like this, I sat down with one of the highest ranked real estate agents in Seattle, Kim Colaprete of Team Diva Real Estate (http://teamdivarealestate.com/). One of the best Real Estate teams around. I wanted to learn more about how her team manages their clients, and keep them coming back again and again, and giving them TOP ratings on Social Media. And..... maybe more importantly how they avoid crazy clients. With over 15 years in the industry, and owning one of the highest ranked real estate agencies on Yelp, Kim knows more than most about successfully managing clients. Many of these tips might be surprising, but Kim's success is all the proof I need that they are a gold mine for real estate agents, or for that matter, any business in the service industry. Key takeaways: 1. Build Your Own Brand And Identity - In the service industry knowing who you are and how you want to run your business leads to a better understanding of how to find the right clients, and the best way to serve them. 2. Identify Clients That Share Your Interests And Brand Identity - Once you have your own brand and identity, search for places to find clients with similar interests. Using social media (http://maverick-ceo.com/ultimate-facebook-fan-page-blog-reached-1-8-million-followers/) is one of the best ways to find and market to your target clients. 3. A Successful Client On-Boarding Process - When a client comes onboard for the first time, make sure that you have a solid system to introduce them to you and your business. The more you do up front the easier it is to see if this is a right fit for you, and for

Take 5 seconds to look at the statement below. “I wish I could be my own boss and start a small business, then I could do what I REALLY love to do (http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219709)” Have you ever had this thought? “Yes", you say."However, I can’t just quit my day job and risk losing my income....." But what IF I told you that you CAN start a small business without having to quit your 9 to 5 job. What would you do then?   Nick Loper, Chief Side-Hustler at SideHustleNation.com, decided to do exactly that, and in today's podcast he shares his story, and his experiences on how to do it successfully with you. Listen on iTunes. "I never wanted to work for a large corporation" Nick says. "I wanted to be my own boss"."But I wanted to do it without giving up the keys to the company car or abandoning the comfort of a stable salary before going into it full time." In 2005 Nick decided that the time was right, and made a $10,000 investment to build his first small business online. He started his own footwear-only comparison shopping website while still keeping his day job. His business idea was that he could help shoe shoppers find the best deal online and then get paid when he sent shoppers to sites like Amazon.com or Zappos.com. (In the internet world sending customers to other sites is called affiliate marketing.) It was smart, and he wouldn't have to spend all his time doing it. While the comparison shopping website business has started to take less of Nick's time, he now uses all of the experiences and lessons learned  to teach others how to start their own business while still keeping their 9 to 5 job on his wildly successful blog and podcast Side Hustle Nation. Listen on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maverick-ceo-podcast/id797620563?mt=2)   The key take aways from the podcast and the conversation with Nick are: 1. Don’t wait to realize your dream (http://maverick-ceo.com/success-starts-with-action/). 2. The 4 work week is baloney! BUT You can start a business while still having a full time job and have fun doing it if you have the right business strategy…. 3. It's ok to start small and take baby steps while you continue to build your business. 4. Have an Experimenter’s Mindset 5. Join a Master Mind Group!   If you keep on delaying your dream something will come up to discourage you from chasing or living that dream.  Don’t wait for that to happen! Listen to how Nick w

Did you think that we have escaped the worst recession in over 70 years? Did you know that the current generation of graduates will carry the largest amount of student debt ever seen? It’s hard to understand that we are just coming out of the worst recession the world has seen in over 70 years. Although it might not seem like it with all the focus on glitz and glamor , the reality is that just 24 months ago the world was standing on the brink of disaster as one economy after another blew up. Countries like Spain, Italy, France and Greece have seen unemployment amongst youth reaching as much as 50% in some areas! 50%!! Imagine one out of two young people you know not having work. [Tweet "The generation graduating from college now will be carrying the largest amount of student debt ever."] According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, student debt has crossed the $1 trillion mark (http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/student-debt-swells-federal-loans-now-top-a-trillion/)! That is $1,000,000,000,000! Or, to view it differently, student debt  is almost 17% of the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product), the value of all goods and services produced in the US economy each year. There is also a growing gap between the way our universities and colleges teach and train students, vs the way corporate organizations are built and organized. The educational institutions are focusing more and more on collaborative environments, and team work as a foundation for success. However, many corporations still have very rigid structures with cubicles, and separate offices.  So what is a 20 something Millennial with tons of student debt, and not enough work experience to do? (Millennial is defined as someone born after 1981 and before 2006) We are about to find out in this weeks podcast. Listen on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maverick-ceo-podcast/id797620563?mt=2) Despite facing a staggering challenge entering the job market, and with student debt, Nina Sawhney realized that she could not wait for the perfect opportunity to come to her, instead she has to take the matter into her own hands and came up with a way to monetize her knowledge. She is now about to start her own company. While Nina is not your typical 26 year old, did I mention that she has a degree in electrical and computer engineering, and is a Milken Institute (http://www.milkeninstitute.org/) Scholar and Alumnus?  Her experti

What questions would you ask if you had free access to a mentor? A Mentor who had already walked the road ahead and been where you want to go. What could you learn from someone who has seen the highs and the lows that you are experiencing, but survived to tell the story about them? Sharon Herzog is just that kind of mentor, and she has seen and done more in business, and in life, than most other people.  At age 17 she began helping manage her family’s assisted living facility, before going to college and getting her Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and IT. Then she worked as a solopreneur successfully selling woman’s apparel on Yahoo.com, before eventually going back to school for her Graduate Degree in Bioinformatics.  Now 7 years after joining, and subsequently becoming a Director at InTouch Health, a world leading Telemedicine Company, she has returned to her family's business Sex Wax Inc. as Vice President and Marketing Strategist. Sex Wax is famous to all the millions of surfers out there as Mr Zog's Sex Wax I initially met Sharon speaking at Disrupt LA, a tech summit for the Los Angeles start-up scene. There she was featured on the panel of Women in Tech, sharing her background, and the highs and lows of being a female in the highly male dominated tech business world. With her story she inspired the audience, giving her best advice and mentoring the future generation of leaders. Listen in iTunes. In today's podcast you will hear Sharon talk about the following: - The Importance of speaking up to your boss (you can also check out our blog post on this topic here) - Taking action and making change has to come from within yourself - How to deal with stereotypes as a successful female entrepreneur - The need to know what is right for you (not only money wise, but also mentally) - How important it is to surround yourself with great people, and finding a mentor - Understanding that you can’t do everything alone I really hope that you will enjoy today's podcast and be touched, moved and inspired to go out and live a powerful life! What experiences have you had with being a woman in business, or tech that could help mentor other people? What advice would you give a younger version of yourself? Please share your advice here. Also, if you liked today's podcast don't forget to sign up for our free monthly newsletter. You can do that here.

Building a successful business takes time, dedication, passion and hard work, but is there a formula that helps some businesses succeed faster than others?       I sat down with successful executive coach Bob Moore to find out what truly makes a successful business owner and a successful business. In this podcast you will hear more about the importance of using peer groups, building a great culture in your company, how to manage your employees to success. Also [Tweet "Learn how GREAT business owners work ON their business and not in it."] Read on! Before becoming a highly sought after executive coach at Vistage International (https://www.vistage.com/), Bob ran his own engineering company successfully for over 30 years! Now he spends all of his time helping others build their businesses and organizations, and judging from the growth of his 3 groups of top executives, business owners and entrepreneurs people cant get enough of his advice.  After listening to this podcast you will know more about: - Why creating a successful and sustainable culture in your company is so important  - How you can use other successful people to help build your own successful business through a structure of excellence - Why you need to be clear about the goal and the purpose of the business (http://maverick-ceo.com/how-to-avoid-failure-with-1-important-question/) - Why a strategy for managing people (http://maverick-ceo.com/6-worst-hiring-mistakes-made-can-learn/) is equally important to your product and sales strategy - What you can gain from being part of a peer group, and sharing your success and challenges with others can be the most important thing you every do Check out the podcast here: Listen on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maverick-ceo-podcast/id797620563?mt=2)   Do you use peer groups to grow your business? If so what did you learn and how did it help you?   Post your comment here

What is the most important part to focus on when you’re writing a business plan?Do you know what investors look for?How you ever wondered what a truly successful business plan looks like? (http://maverick-ceo.com/wp-content/uploads/How-to-Create-A-Business-Plan.jpg) In this interview I talk to Mark Levine of Southern Growth Studio (http://southerngrowthstudio.com/) about what makes a successful business plan He also shares what investors really look for when they review a business plan. Southern Growth Studio is a growth consulting agency that works with FedEx, Merck and other Fortune 1000 companies to help them develop new or re build businesses and products. Through their venture arm Southern Growth Ventures, they also invest in start-up companies to help them develop into successful and lasting businesses. We asked Mark what they look for when identifying a successful business plan, and a winning start-up. Make sure you check out the podcast, and or the youtube video for the full interview!  Listen and Subscribe on iTunesWatch Interview On YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJB79GiQ7tY)When writing a business plan many of us struggle to find the focus needed to make it short and sweet. It is easy to get lost in all the details, and how to write it in such a way that it will grab the intention of investors. Having a good business plan template might make the process easier.So far in my career I have written a 5 to 6 individual business plans, and a handful of strategy documents for our own company (I consider them to be the same). To me it has been a long learning process, and several of them have ended it failure. BUT when it works, it really works and it has the amazing power to actually realize your dreams. [Tweet "Nothing is more fulfilling than to see a successful business plan come to life"]and a team of people working together to create real results. To me some of the most important questions to understand are:- How much information needs to go into it- What parts of the business plan you should emphasize- What really grabs the attention of a potential investor - What do you bring in addition to a great idea? Many of the talking points that Mark mention in the interview are exact answers to these questions.Some of them might also come as a surprise to you. They certainly did to me.It is clear that to write a successful business plan and create a lasting company is more than just what you write on a piece of paper. Below I ha