In this episode of The Business Animal Julie Cortes, the Freelance Rockstar, joins me to talk about the three Ts of becoming a badass in your own business. Julie is full of great, practical information and we share lots of good advice for both new and experienced business owners.

About Julie:

Copywriter by day. Freelance Rockstar by night. Julie Cortés lives, breathes, teaches, speaks, and coaches on all things creative self-employment. She’s run her own business for more than 25 years, is the founder of The Freelance Exchange of KC, and created a much-needed college-level course, Freelancing 101, for the KC Art Institute, where she taught as an adjunct professor. Awarded dozens of times over for her work, leadership, volunteerism, and community involvement, she’s regularly sought out for business coaching, media interviews, and speaking engagements. Julie is loving life, living out her passion for helping creative freelancers succeed.

Reach out to Julie:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/freelancerockstar/

https://www.instagram.com/freelancerockstar/

https://www.juliecortes.com/signup

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Julie Cortez and Her Journey

07:58 The Importance of Mindset in Business

14:03 Training Yourself: Establishing Boundaries and Policies

21:05 Training Clients: Setting Expectations

27:10 Training Family and Friends: Creating Supportive Environments

35:18 Finding Freelancers: The Kansas City Freelance Exchange

38:54 Coaching Services: Supporting Self-Employed Individuals

40:57 The Role of Pets in Business and Life

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6SvNbQVXODE

This week I have a great conversation with storytelling professional Christa M. Hines of The Business Storytelling Studio. Christa has an amazing superpower to make your business' story come alive for your target market and customers. You'll learn about the importance of story in business, the components you should consider when telling your business story, and how to work with a content writer to build the stories that will impact the quality and quantity of customers you reach. Plus we weave a great Star Wars metaphor into the show!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Business Storytelling

01:33 The Role of a Content Strategist

05:14 Journey into Business Storytelling

08:14 Understanding Business Stories

11:15 The Customer as the Hero

14:21 The Hero's Journey in Business

20:25 Components of Effective Business Storytelling

24:15 Creating Anchor Content

30:30 The Value of Professional Writing

33:32 Balancing Business and Personal Life

35:30 Lessons from Animals

About Christa:

I partner with health and wellness entrepreneurs, coaches and executives to position them as industry thought leaders by creating strategic content plans and compelling marketing collateral. I deliver a variety of writing services ranging from website content, executive bios, articles, newsletters, ebooks, and white papers. With more than 25 years of experience working in whole-person healthcare, non-profit, B2B SaaS and magazine writing, I understand the critical role communication and storytelling play in creating meaningful, engaging content that supports business goals.

In addition to my client work, I’m an award-winning writer, author and speaker. My work has appeared in numerous publications, including KC Parent, Vibrant Life, Pregnancy & Newborn, Parents, and Woman’s Day.

I’m passionate about sharing information that helps people of all backgrounds achieve greater personal well-being, which can have positive ripple effects creating healthier families and stronger communities.

Described by clients as a word-whisperer, I geek out on storytelling techniques and transforming lifeless business word jumbles into irresistible, captivating content that’s easy to understand.

For fun, I enjoy trying out Kansas City’s many restaurants with my family, exploring nature trails with my sweet rescue mutt, going on solo writing retreats and consuming storytelling in all of its forms.

Links:

Christa's website: https://christamhines.com

Christa's Substack: https://wordenergybychristamhines.substack.com/

Christa's contact: https://christamhines.com/contact/

Do you perform at 100% or 60% when working on your business? In this all important episode, Angie Wiley of You Are Strong and I have an enlightening discussion around your performance in your business and how you can show up at a higher level to increase the results in your business.

About Angie:

Angie inspires others to stop sitting on the sidelines and become a game-changer!

Angie was an industry leader for 22 years for a top medical device corporation, in sales and sales management. She and her late husband, Chuck, also owned their own small business during this time. In 2013 Angie followed her true calling to help athletes with their mindset and launched YOU ARE STRONG, alongside her full time family and career.

In 2014 Chuck was diagnosed with cancer, and from his new perspective, posed the question to Angie, “What are you waiting for?” After his passing in 2020, the question grew louder and Angie courageously stepped out of the corporate world in 2021 and began living her message: YOU ARE STRONG.

Her program has since helped thousands of athletes, sales professionals and business leaders take action resulting in personal and professional success.

Angie holds a B.S. in Education and Coaching, with a minor in Psychology.

You can find Angie at https://youarestrong.com

The Chuck Wiley Athletic Foundation can be found at: https://chuckwileyathleticfoundation.com/