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Kevin Finke, Founder & CEO of Experience Willow, shares with The Savvy Entrepreneur how more acceptance of our differences and more openness to gender inclusion can spark more creativity, make organizations more adaptable, and help people contribute their best.

Kevin Finke, CEO of Experience Willow, talks about his journey from a small town in central Illinois through several pivots.  He’s had successful stints in major public relations and marketing companies, has been a cutting edge Latinx marketer, and a big-time events organizer.

Today, Experience Willow helps companies change their corporate culture and implement diversity and inclusion programs.  He says it’s fitting that a small-town Illinois kid who never fit in is now helping lots of other people fit in better

It also makes sense that Kevin, a member of the LBTQ community and owner of a certified minority-owned business is leading the charge for more inclusive and diverse work environments.  He helps businesses both small and large change their narratives and stories and rituals to be more welcoming to America’s evolving demographics.

Kevin’s story is sure to open your eyes a bit, and his style is very relatable.  Even though he’s had an insanely successful career, you can tell his small-town Midwest background is still very much a part of him.

Click on the arrow to listen to this uplifting interview, or go here for a transcript of the interview.

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Jackie Comacho Ruiz is the self-professed “Make It Happen Director” at JJR Marketing, her marketing and PR firm. Jackie not only helps entrepreneurs, but she is an entrepreneur herself, several times over. So when she gives advice, she knows what she is talking about!

She joins me on The Savvy Entrepreneur Radio Show to share marketing tips, and specifically, her “5 Types of Marketing” framework, which is the topic of her upcoming book.

The 5 Types of Marketing are:  (1) Foundational Marketing (2) Executional Marketing (3) Time-Bound Marketing (4) Innovative Marketing and (5) Cause Marketing. She talks about why each type is important and gives examples.

She also talks about common marketing mistakes small businesses make, and offers some suggestions on how to balance each of the types. Our interview is chock-full of free, practical marketing tips — there's something in her interview for everyone!

Click on the arrow to listen to our interview, filled with marketing tips for small businesses.  Or go here if you'd prefer to read a transcript.

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Ever thought about having an independent record label as your business or side job?  Rob Sarwark, Co-founder of Tiki Core Records, shares with The Savvy Entrepreneur some insights about how to go about doing that.  He talks first about  the label typically does and doesn't do, and the decisions made by the label vs. those made by the artist.  He shares tips for finding artists to sign to your label, and ways to help artists monetize their work, including merchandise, tours, and recordings.  He also explains some of the key considerations related to music royalties.

It's an interesting glimpse into a world most people never see.  For now, it's Rob's side gig, so he also talks about some of the challenges of building the business while holding down a full-time, more traditional job.

Click on the arrow to take a listen to this interesting corner of the business world.

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James Wilkinson and India Henderson are a husband-wife duo who are the co-founders of their side hustle, Blank Space Coach.  Lots of people have side hustles, but India & James’ side hustle has a twist:  their business is intended to help other people establish and grow their own side hustles.

They started this business after India had successfully grown her own home daycare business.  She has also had a creative side business for a while.  James, India says, is the “numbers guy,” because he has an MBA and also has worked in the financial services industry.  The two of them decided to take their shared learnings to help other entrepreneurs. They joined The Savvy Entrepreneur recently to share the story of Blank Space Coach.

Blank Space offers online courses for a modest fee, and also coaching and consulting services.  They describe coaching as a 50/50 partnership, where Blank Space provides guidance, but the client does most of the leg work. The consulting offering is envisioned as 90/10, where Blank Space provides guidance but also does most of the work.

The two of them are likeable and play off each other in the interview.  It’s clear they are still experimenting with their offerings and their marketing — consulting and coaching are notoriously difficult to get started in and keep viable over the long term.  But it’s also clear they are having a lot of fun in the process, and that the process of building Blank Space Coach is helping them learn more about each other.

The interview has lots of ideas and thoughts for setting up a new consulting business, especially one that is a side hustle, and one that features a husband-wife duo.

Click on the arrow to listen to our interview, or go here to read the transcript.

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Why are jar and bottle lids sometimes so darned hard to get open?  Brandon Bach is on a mission to make jars easier to open, especially for the elderly and disable.

He's the CEO of Consumer Convenience Technologies, a company founded by his father and a friend of his father's, and they have developed and are marketing the EEASY Lid which makes opening jars much easier.  Brandon says it's the first real innovation in jar lids in over 75 years.

Not only does the EEASY Lid make jars of all kids much easier to open, it's made from aluminum — not steel — and so is lighter and easily recyclable, and will help many elderly and people with disabilities who struggle to open certain food & beverage containers.

So why isn't the food & beverage industry pounding down the door to get the EEASY Lid on their containers?  It turns out there are several reasons.  First, the food & beverage industry is complicated because there are several players in the production and supply chain, and the decision-maker differs, depending on the product.  Second, it's hard for the industry to change — the food & beverage industry is hardly the only market segment highly resistant to change, something many entrepreneurs struggle with.

Brandon shares how the company has successfully worked through numerous challenges in design, manufacturing, and sales & marketing, and offers some advice to other entrepreneurs.

Click on the arrow to listen, and be on the lookout for an EEASY Lid on items in stores near you!

 

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