This week, we're diving into the world of education advocacy with a case study on The Michigan Achievement Scholarship campaign. Imagine spreading the news about free college funding to every high sch…

We’ve all experienced the dreaded “bait and switch”. Every once in a while, after a project has been greenlighted and deliverables have started to be made, a client suddenly wants to articulate …

This week’s rerelease is another round on identifying important goals! We’re not here to tell you what's important – that's different for every person. But we are here with a DIY method to reall…

Hiring employees with experience outside of your realm can be intimidating, but it's necessary for any small business. When hiring for skills you don’t have, it's important to have a process in plac…

Working with clients in the nonprofit and advocacy spaces can be both professionally and personally rewarding. Creating tools for these clients can feel easy when supporting their cause seems obvious …

In the creative industry, there’s no shortage of helpful programs to make difficult aspects of the creative process more accessible. Whether it’s designing something in Canva, using AI-generated c…

There are two main ways to use creativity: for open-ended exploration, or for problem solving with an intentional outcome. Either way, understanding the creative process is integral to success. By app…

Hiring as a micro-business can feel like a Herculean task, but it’s important to approach the hiring process from a proactive place. Being intentional about hiring doesn’t just apply to candidate …

Many micro-businesses like ours offer voluntary or “fringe” benefits for employees that extend beyond the required benefits that are rolled up in wages. From health benefits to technology stipends…

In our industries, client feedback comes in all shapes and sizes. From formal feedback on the creative product, to the obligatory formal reference to deep insight gleaned from a short text exchange. A…

Do cool people build cool spaces, or do cool spaces build cool people? Turns out, the answer is both. This episode, we chat with Amber Clark, neighborhoods and economic development director for Meridi…

What does it feel like to nurture something that is larger than yourself, with an enduring legacy? Our guest knows precisely what it feels like to hold space for an organization that is nearly 100 yea…

For the past few years, we’ve been living in a time where change happens fast. Norms around business practices, personal space, and education are all different than they were just three years ago. A…

As you all know, we have been honing our creative strategy skills for over two decades. At this point, we know when creative works and when it doesn’t. But how can you tell? Join us as we dive into …

Mom of three, entrepreneur, and (almost) habitual community servant. As CEO of Michigan Premier Events, our guest Ashlee Willis built her business and her family almost simultaneously. Join us as we t…

Misty Belous, owner of Peoples Yoga in Lansing, MI, is no stranger to the importance of adaptability. Through a series of smart decisions, she continued to safely grow her business despite the pandemi…

Dru Montri, Vice President of Agri Food Engagement for Feeding America, sits down with us to share her passion and knowledge of food access.

Entrepreneurs have a responsibility to develop a continuity plan for when they decide it’s time to retire.

Lily Werbin, President and Co-owner of Elderly Instruments sits down with us to discuss her experience in leading the business her father founded.

Owning a small business is a fulfilling challenge that we both love. Join us as we discuss the things we’ve learned over the years as entrepreneurs.

Developing a commercial space for your business is hard. Even more so when that space is also used to gather community. Triply so when you do it during a pandemic. Believe it or not, Jen successfully …

Small business is vital to Michigan’s economy. Amanda Blondeau from Northern Initiatives joins us to discuss why it’s so important, the work she does with businesses across Michigan, and how entre…

Ego is a word that we often associate with vanity and selfishness. And, perhaps, a recent former president. However, there is more to ego than overinflated confidence. Sometimes, if it’s understood,…

Sometimes the timing just isn’t right and you miss out on that one true hire. This week, we discuss heartbreaks in hiring and the opportunities you can capture from the resumes that just slip throug…

Hiring freelancers comes with a myriad of pros and cons. On one hand, freelancers are usually more cost efficient than contracting with an agency. But, on the other, sometimes you get what you pay for…

Credibility is your ability to be trusted or believed in — but what makes a person credible? Why is being credible so important to business? How can we build our credibility? We're diving into the n…

We're back this week with the second installment of our two-part episode. Last episode, Karen let us in on some big moves that she was making at Render Studios, and this week we're hearing about Jen's…

We can all agree that 2020 has sparked nonstop changes. As business owners, we've been consistently adapting to the changing world around us. But that hasn't stopped us from making some big decisions …

We’ve said before that we think nonprofits have similar concerns to small businesses — keep the lights on, keep people engaged, and keep the mission at the forefront. Which is why we’re please…

This episode, we're going back to basics – business basics. How does business-to-business communications differ from business-to-consumer marketing? We’re chatting about the nuances of marketing a…

Every business is guilty of wasting time and resources at some point. But a wise business owner looks at processes, technologies and people to figure out if there are any leaks. Whether we're wasting …

How can we balance the needs of our audiences and our own organizations so that we all win? Our guest Susi Elkins knows a thing or two about that. Susi is the director of broadcasting and general mana…

All relationships have life cycles – even when it comes to client relationships. Needs change, times change, and businesses scale up and down. Sometimes you have to walk away, and sometimes clients …

Bad manners are something we all deal with from others. They are also something that we all have, whether we're aware of them or not. How do we distinguish the line between an annoying behavior, and s…

This episode, we veered from our scheduled episodes to record an impromptu talk on leading in a crisis. As you know, COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) is currently affecting nearly every aspect of our live…

We love surrounding ourselves with smart, funny women—especially in the recording booth. This episode, author Lyssa Kay Adams talks about changing careers and how being a romance novelist and femini…

Many of us have heard of the 80/20 Rule, which is also known as the Pareto Principle. It's the rule that says 80% of your outputs come from 20% of your inputs. And while it has roots in economic studi…

Some of us were raised to believe that talk about money, politics and religion had no place in polite conversation. So that means we are definitely diving into a discussion about money–pricing, spec…

We've both said that if we weren't business owners in creative services that our skills would still translate to other fields. The same is true of our friend Lis Weston. She changed careers and brings…

We know employees dread employee reviews–but we're pretty sure most employers and bosses dislike them as well. We've both recently been through our last round of employee reviews, and the modificati…

Today more than ever, our internal, external and client teams might not be in our own backyard. In fact, we both have clients we've never met in person across the country. But for professional communi…

This episode, we're welcoming a special guest: Democratic nominee from Michigan House District 68 Sarah Anthony. As Chair of the Ingham County Board of Commissioners, Sarah was the youngest African-Am…

It's safe to say that many of us in creative services would prefer to talk about something other than sales. Anything other than sales. But the fact of the matter is, prospecting keeps our businesses …

When you make the right pairing, unexpected things happen. But one thing is for sure: a great partnership makes all the difference. We're excited to host our first-ever guests, Robin and Betsy Miner-S…

I recently hired some new staff, and I promise you, it's one of the most difficult boss duties around. We've both had our ups and downs when it comes to bringing on new talent. Sometimes, we've hit it…

Did you hear? Professionalism is dead! There are no more rules, and everything goes! Sound great? Or not so much? Listen in as we discuss the many aspects of professionalism.

Just kidding. Human resources is not terrible. But it is tricky business for small business. And emotions! There's weighing the good of the person against the good of the whole team. It's not easy.

What do you do when everything is a priority? Do the things that take up your time align with what you should be or would like to be doing? We'll be breaking down the problem, talk about how we identi…