Let's Talk About Brand

When I first got to know Mario Marchese, aka Mario the Maker Magician, nearly a decade ago, he had already achieved some success as a children's birthday party magician (including performing for many NYC celebrities). Mario now has a full stage show, selling out theatres and festivals in NYC, London, Edinburgh, and Adelaide. He's won awards from the Magic Castle and has appeared on Sesame Street, Blue Peter, and The Tonight Show. Here’s a bit of what we cover in today’s entertaining, inspiring conversation between friends:How Mario went from teaching elementary school, to performing as a weekend magician, to running his own business (alongside his brilliant, visionary wife, Katie Marchese);Learning how to bring more of his genuine self (and his personal style) to his shows;An overheard comment that changed his life; Building his own show, quite literally;The celebrity moment that helped his dad finally understand;Shifting gears from living rooms to theatres (and learning how to fill them!);The four minutes of every show that make it all worthwhile;What it all means to Mario (and, hopefully, to his audiences);Why less is sometimes more.Find Mario at:https://www.mariothemagician.https://www.instagram.com/mariothemagician Books:The Maker Magician's Handbook: A Beginner's Guide to Magic + MakingRobot Magic: Beginner Robotics for the Maker and Magician❤️Get Started on Your Personal Brand Journey with a sampling of Christine's Personal Branding Questions here: https://www.gritmon.com/talkaboutmybrandSubscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out weekly to ensure you don't miss a beat!

Welcome back to “Let’s Talk About Brand”! My 2023 was a little bit hectic; I did manage to get some incredible episodes released in autumn 2023…and then I didn't pick it back up. But I’ve finally got my feet under me again. And I'm back with a brand new format—one that I’m debuting today with myself as guest!On this season’s episodes, my guests will first lead us through their own personal brand development. Then, I’m going to take them through a few of the deeper questions I go through with my clients to get to the heart of their genuine personal brand: their motivations, the value they bring, all that good stuff.Let's get to it.My career journey before I built my own personal brandTwo life-changing things that happened when I became a full-time journalistHow I leveraged my personal brand to launch a new careerHow Christine Gritmon Inc. has changed since May 20162020: amazing; 2021: awful; 2022: employed; 2023: laid offRe-embracing my personal brand in 2024Why I do what I doThe deeper needs people who work with me haveWhat I truly deliverBringing more personal elements into your personal brandI’m so excited to start the season. Let's go!https://www.gritmon.com/ltab/s5e1cgritmon❤️ Get Started on Your Personal Brand Journey with a sampling of Christine's Personal Branding Questions here: https://www.gritmon.com/talkaboutmybrandSubscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out weekly to ensure you don't miss a beat!

Some brand journeys are worth taking a look at to see what we can take away from them to build our own brands. And no one is a better example of that than this week’s guest, Michael Stelzner.He is the reason that many people have gotten into social media marketing as he is the ring leader behind all of the education that Social Media Examiner brings! However, his personal brand started well before he stepped into the social media industry.In today’s episode, Mike is going to walk us through the development of his brand journey from being the white paper guy to the social media guy and into his newest mission. So many great lessons to be learned!Tune in as we talk about: [00:00] Welcome Michael Stelzner[04:28] How white papers launched Mike Stelzner's personal brand[10:25] How did Mike pivot from being "The white paper guy" to social media?[14:30] How did Mike build up his contacts in an industry he was relatively new to?[16:45] How did Social Media Examiner Start?[18:47] How did Mike move people from online content to an in-person conference?[22:42] How does Mike balance three brands?[25:37] How does Mike find up-and-coming industry voices?[29:33] What should you do if you are asked to be on stage?[30:25] What characteristic does Mike think makes someone successful?[32:00] What is Mike's current mission?[34:11] How to connect with MikeGet Started on Your Personal Brand Journey with my Prework Workbook here: https://www.gritmon.com/preworkFollow Christine Gritmon on Twitter: @cgritmon and join her each Tuesday for the #ChatAboutBrand Twitter chat.Subscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out every Monday to ensure you don't miss a beat!

This week I’m excited to talk to fellow brand designer, Liz Mosley!Liz was originally a stationary designer before recognizing her knack for branding creatives. We’re going to talk about how she first became an entrepreneur with her stationary business and how she ultimately transitioned into brand design. She’s going to share with us important considerations when branding for creatives because it is a bit different from other types of personal branding.We are also going to talk about the evolution of Liz's own personal brand, and we’re going to get to the things that she has learned from her own podcast, Building Your Brand.Tune in as we talk about: [00:00] Welcome Liz Mosley![02:26] How did Liz come to focus on branding?[07:09] What has it been like for Liz to brand herself?[09:06] How did you brand Liz Mosley Designs when it was a stationary company[15:30] How it's different working with a fellow creative on the creative elements of their brand? [18:42] What are the elements that creatives need to have in their branding? [23:04] The story of Liz's brand transition[27:30] How has Liz's podcast fit into her brand?[31:20] Connect with Liz MosleyContact Liz MosleyPodcast: Building Your Brand - https://www.lizmosley.net/podcastWebsite: Liz Mosley Design - https://www.lizmosley.net/Social Media at LizMMosleyGet Started on Your Personal Brand Journey with my Prework Workbook here: https://www.gritmon.com/preworkFollow Christine Gritmon on Twitter: @cgritmon and join her each Tuesday for the #ChatAboutBrand Twitter chat.Subscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out every Monday to ensure you don't miss a beat!

While a personal brand is … well…personal. It isn’t something you should work on defining on your own.But have you ever thought about working with personal brand coach? Do you wonder what it would be like? What would you talk about? What conclusions would you walk away with?This episode is going to be a little bit different. In this episode, I’m going to give you a little taste of what I do with clients in my personal branding work. It's not like a whole session, but my brilliant podcast editor, Sarah Scott of Sarah Scott Studios, has said to me, “I think it might be interesting to see you do your thing on an episode.”And so I've turned that right back around on her and said, “how about I do it with you?”She of course agreed! So I'm very excited for today's conversation with Sarah about her personal brand. This is not nearly as thorough or as specific as I would do with an actual client, but I wanted to give you an episode that hopefully you could take some of this discussion back to yourself and use it to figure out some more of your own personal brand. If you want to take a look at the guide I gave Sarah before our session you can download it here: https://www.gritmon.com/preworkTune in as we talk about: [00:03] Welcome! This episode will be a little different![01:31] Introducing the Guest: Sarah Scott[02:49] Sarah's Journey from Healthcare Consulting to Podcast Management[06:41] The Importance of Niching in Business[09:41] How Your Experiences Can Lead to Building Your Personal Branding[12:50] The Power of the Personal Brand Coaching Pre-Work[14:21] Digging into Past Experience for Your Personal Brand [23:30] Blending Skills to Define Your Personal Brand[29:00] Building a Personal Brand[32:33] One way Christine built her brand[33:14] Choosing a platform for your brand[35:49] Benefits of Establishing Your Brand[38:34] The Power of Networking to Build Your Brand[47:30] Defining Your Brand: The Struggle of Self-Representation[51:42] Generous Curiosity: The Key to Successful Branding[58:26] Where to Find Me: Connecting with Sarah Scott[59:18] Wrapping Up: The Journey of Personal BrandingIf you are ready to start taking your personal brand seriously. Start by downloading my Personal Branding Worksheet at https://www.gritmon.com/preworkContact Sarah ScottWebsite: Sarah Scott Studios Linkedin: Sarah ScottShow Linkshttps://www.gritmon.com/ltab/lets-talk-about-personal-band-coaching-session-sarah-scottFollow Christine Gritmon on Twitter: @cgritmon and join her each Tuesday for the #ChatAboutBrand Twitter chat.Subscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out every Monday to ensure you don't miss a beat!

Today I'm really excited because I'm so happy to have finally had this conversation with Kaitlyn Barclay. Kaitlyn Barclay is the CEO and co-founder of Scout Lab, which is an agency that helps startups with their branding, communications, and marketing. The focus of her work is on founders in addition to being one herself. Kaitlyn and Scout Lab especially work with founders who have a mission behind their work, whether it's planetary health or actual health. She works with and advises founders who stand out in their fields. Many of whom are women, people of color, and part of the LGBT+ community. So today, Kaitlyn and I are going to discuss the development of her personal brand, which really started with developing her reputation in the market by doing the work and absorbing as much as she could from other startup founders. She talks about what influenced her to become an entrepreneur and how storytelling is such a large part of building a brand. And finally, we're going to hear from her about how she put together her personal brand, how that is influenced by being a co-founder and the things that she personally struggled with.Tune in as we talk about: [00:00] Welcome Kaitlyn Barclay![03:37] Where did your career start, and how did it get to that point?[07:09] Why did Kaitlyn decide to work with other companies first, rather than starting her own company? And how did that help you later? [10:41] How did Kaitlyn's reputation get her into FitMob?[13:21] Why is it that Kaitlyn decided to focus on building brands for startups? What is the focus of Scout Lab?[15:50] How did Kaitlyn's personal brand change when she made the shift from consultant to agency founder?[19:05] How does a two-founder brand work when it comes to those personal brands and how do those personal brands serve the agency?[23:03] How does Kaitlyn help founders tell their stories?[25:59] How does Kaitlyn help founders find the balance between professional and personal stories while highlighting their differences?[28:22] Does a founder's personal brand help them build trust for investors and partners?[31:00] What do you personally as Kaitlyn struggle with or have you struggled with the most in the past when it comes to your own personal brand? [34:06] How to connect with Kaitlyn BarclayContact Kaitlyn BarclayWebsite: Scout Labs - https://www.scoutlab.com/Email:Kaitlyn@scoutlab.com Follow Christine Gritmon on Twitter: @cgritmon and join her each Tuesday for the #ChatAboutBrand Twitter chat.Subscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out every Monday to ensure you don't miss a beat!

This week I am excited to talk with a new friend, Kate DiLeo the owner of Brand Trifecta, which, fascinatingly enough, is a software that helps you build your brand and refine your brand messaging. So that is, of course, what we are talking about today.We're talking about how to approach building your brand message and how that may differ for a personal brand versus a B2B brand versus a B2C brand. Then we dig into all the parts of branding to understand what you really need to express your brand. Tune in as we talk about: [00:00] Welcome Kate DiLeo![02:10] How do you define brand?[04:16] How did Kate start to build a SaaS (software as a service) brand technology?[06:28] Are there differences in the approach to building a personal brand vs a company brand?[08:00] What about B2B or B2C, is there a difference in the brand messaging there? [09:50] How does a brand get the consumer to ask "Who am I?"[12:05] Where does brand messaging fit in with your overall marketing content?[14:44] What do brands need to have in order to have a strong brand message[17:03] When did brands shift from being aspirational to being real and relatable?[20:10] Let's talk about becoming a personal brand inside of an organization[22:55] How did Kate start her personal brand?[28:05] What is the most effective way to get your brand message out there?[30:18] Catch up with Kate DiLeoContact Kate DiLeoWebsite: https://katedileo.com/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katedileo/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katedileo/Show Linkshttps://www.gritmon.com/ltab/lets-talk-about-Building-Your-Brand-Messaging-Kate-DiLeoFollow Christine Gritmon on Twitter: @cgritmon and join her each Tuesday for the #ChatAboutBrand Twitter chat.Subscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out every Monday to ensure you don't miss a beat!

On today's episode, I want you to be inspired by the personal brand story of George B. Thomas. I first encountered George when he was on stage hosting the Inbound conference by HubSpot. George has such a great energy, and he brings so much value to many people in so many different ways, not just as a HubSpot expert, but also in the way he talks to people and cares about people's lives. Today we are going to talk about how he first grew his personal brand by aligning himself with other companies and what that led to. We're going to talk about his adventures within agencies and how they helped him to continue to evolve his brand. Then we will talk about the next phase of his career as he launches his own agency and how all that work became the unknown foundation that allowed him to launch quickly. Finally, we talk about his newest initiative that goes beyond his agency work and speaks to the core of what he's always been about, which is,  corralling untapped human potential and encouraging others to go for it the way others have encouraged him along his journey.Tune in as we talk about: [00:00] Welcome George B. Thomas![04:34] How did George start his personal brand?[07:51] Personal Brand Lesson: Be very careful that you don't let what you think are weaknesses stop you, because many times what you think is a weakness can be your strength.[09:14] What was George doing (before video, podcasting or any internet content) that captured the attention of Marcus Sheridan? [11:03] Personal Brand Lesson: If you’re sitting in an organization you can become a leader. You can be a thought leader. Even if you're not the owner, even if you don't work for the organization that you're teaching the things around, that's the power of building a personal brand inside of the organization. [15:31] When it comes to building a personal brand remember that different people engage with different types of humans. So its not a competition with others - you are just reaching the people you were meant reach and others are reaching the ones they are meant to reach.[19:42] How George decided to start his own agency and how the work he had done on his personal brand helped him launch quickly. [24:07] How does George decide what opportunities he is going to align himself to? [29:18] What is next for George? Geroge B. Thomas PodcastHubHerosBeyond Your DefaultFollow Christine Gritmon on Twitter: @cgritmon and join her each Tuesday for the #ChatAboutBrand Twitter chatSubscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out every Monday to ensure you don't miss a beat!