We're Art & Amber Castillo. Married-Parents-Fitness Trainers & Podcasters. Walking on eggshells, sugar coating, and beating around the bush is not our style. We push the envelope, challenge beliefs, and shift perceptions, ALL while making you laugh so hard you’ll forget about your shitty day. Giving you our opinions and personal experiences on Relatable & Debatable topics where you can count on being motivated, educated , insulted, and thankful that you spent at least an hour of your day wis ...
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Small Business Straight Talk | Productivity, Time Management, Mindset, & Business Strategies
Amber De La Garza, The Productivity Specialist For Small Business Owners
If you’re a small business owner who wants to learn effective business strategies, improve time management, and elevate productivity to maximize profits, reduce stress, and make time for what matters most, this podcast is for you! Amber is a sought-after coach, trainer, speaker, writer and the creator of Leverage Lab®. Amber gives small business owners the straight talk on what it takes to reduce stress, be productive, and grow your business. Tune in and subscribe to get the straight talk on ...
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344 | 4th Quarter Denial Is Not A Good Look
20:55
20:55
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I dive into getting out of denial and getting clear on what you actually CAN accomplish in three months loaded with holiday activities, so you can finish the year strong AND enjoy the season! What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ Ways Living In Denial Shows Up In Your Business ✔ The Truth About Overwhelm ✔ How To Make Your 4th Quarter Less Stress…
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343 | Persistent Marketing: The Pathway To Profits With Troy Trewin
44:28
44:28
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I sit down with the Founder of Grow A Small Business, Troy Trewin, to dive into marketing principles and strategies small business owners can use to grow their business and increase their profits with a bit of persistence. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ How Troy Divides His Time & Energy Among His 7 Businesses ✔ The Main Challenges Troy’s …
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I dive into the topic of theme days and how to implement them so you can take advantage of the awesome benefits gained from taking your time blocking from good to better to batch! What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What Time Blocking Is & Its Benefits ✔ What Theme Days Are & How To Use Them ✔ How I Got Started Theming My Days ✔ What Batching I…
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341 | The Best PR Tactics From An Industry Insider With Marin Richardson
47:43
47:43
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I sit down with the CEO and founder of Disrupt PR, Marin Richardson, to dive into the best PR tactics to attract the right clients and enable you to charge more for your services. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What PR Really Is & How To Get It ✔ How To Track The ROI On PR ✔ What An Ideal PR Client Looks Like ✔ The Time Commitment Necessar…
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340 | How To Create Problem Solvers In Your Business
32:02
32:02
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I dive into the challenge of being the only problem solver in your business so you can step down from that demanding role, effectively empower your team, and create a business full of competent and capable problem solvers. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ The Area You Might Not Realize You Need Support In ✔ Why You’re Currently The Only Prob…
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339 | The Role Of A Small Business Attorney In Your Legal Matters With Elissa D. Hecker
33:23
33:23
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I sit down with small business attorney Elissa D. Hecker to dive into the role a small business attorney takes when hired to give you legal advice, protect your assets, and provide support. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What Legal Matters Elissa Helps Small Business Owners With ✔ The Action You Must Take After Creating A Trademark ✔ Reaso…
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338 | Hey Hero... It Doesn’t Need To Be You
27:19
27:19
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I dive into the many ways you can stop being the only hero in your story and get the support you need to grow your business, increase profits, and reduce the stress of running your business. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ Common Reasons Business Owners Don’t Get The Support They Need ✔ Why It’s Important To Stop Being The Only Hero In Your…
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337 | Streamlining Operations Using A Fractional COO And EOS With Raquel Castillo
41:10
41:10
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I sit down with Fractional COO and The Online Integrator, Raquel Castillo, to dive into the role of a Fractional COO, what an Entrepreneurial Operating System is, and how both can support you in running your business. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What A Fractional C-Suite Executive Is ✔ Why & How Raquel Became A Fractional COO ✔ What Her…
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336 | The Costs Of Poor Client Scheduling To Your Business
29:06
29:06
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I dive into making smarter client scheduling decisions so you can prevent the negative costs poor client scheduling has on your business. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What Poor Client Scheduling Looks Like ✔ Amber’s Scheduling Story That Ended Badly ✔ Krystle’s Scheduling Story That Ended Well ✔ How Those Business Owners Both Failed & Su…
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335 | The Essential Systems & Processes For Success With John McClain
59:51
59:51
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I sit down with John McClain, the CEO & Creative Director of John McClain Design, to dive into creating systems and processes for your business so you can gain peace of mind knowing that every project will run like a well-designed machine and attain greater success. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ How Not Having Systems Almost Cost John His…
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334 | 4 Essential Activities Worth Making Time For
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18:25
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I dive into the heavy mental load business owners carry and discuss four specific activities worth making time for to help you reduce stress, improve your productivity, and better manage your mental load. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What A Mental Load Is ✔ How It Impacts Business Owners ✔ What You Should Be Focusing Your Time On ✔ The A…
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333 | The 5 Biggest Lead Generation Mistakes With Marion Wagner
39:16
39:16
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I sit down with income growth strategist Marion Wagner to dive into the major lead generation mistakes many business owners are making and discuss what to do instead to generate leads that convert! What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ The Lead Generation Mistakes To Stop Making Today ✔ What Hole You Shouldn’t Allow Yourself To Get Stuck In ✔ Whe…
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332 | 12 Ways To Maximize Your Team Members' Time
36:54
36:54
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I dive into the specific time management strategies, skills, and policies you can implement in your business immediately to get the most of your team members’ time without overwhelming them. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What Your #1 Job As A Leader Is ✔ What Skill You Must Train Your Team Members On ✔ My 12 TimeMaximizers To Help Your Te…
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331 | Living In Alignment With Your Personal Priorities With Molly Asplin
35:48
35:48
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I sit down with business mentor and health coach Molly Asplin to dive into the importance of living in alignment with your personal priorities and not just your business goals, so you can feel more in balance and find fulfillment beyond traditional measures of success! What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ Molly’s Definition Of Success ✔ The Powe…
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330 | If You Don’t Do This One Thing, No One Will
27:56
27:56
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I dive into how you can take action to respect and value your own time because if you don’t, no one else will and your business will suffer because of it. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ Ways Others Might Be Disrespecting Your Time ✔ What Not Valuing Your Own Time Looks Like ✔ Which Adjustments Will Have The Greatest Impact ✔ The Steps To V…
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329 | Eliminating The Beliefs Sabotaging Your Growth With Shelly Lefkoe
55:53
55:53
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I sit down with the co-founder of the Lefkoe Institute, Shelly Lefkoe, to dive into the topic of eliminating the beliefs sabotaging your growth so you can stop hitting that wall and attain greater success in business. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What Beliefs Really Are & Where They Come From ✔ How To Know If You Have Self-Limiting Belie…
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328 | Creating A Schedule That Supports Your Ideal Work/Life Balance
33:10
33:10
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I dive into how to create a schedule that more effectively supports your ideal work/life balance so you can actually achieve it. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ The Thing You Must Get Clarity On ✔ What You Should Be Tracking & Auditing ✔ What Gaps Are Important To Solve For ✔ 4 Steps To Create A More Supportive Schedule ✔ The Nuisance That …
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327 | Preparing To Sell Your Business: Practical Approaches With Malcolm Peace
47:32
47:32
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I sit down with the founder of Tsetserra Growth Partners, Malcolm Peace, to dive into how you can best prepare yourself and stabilize your business now to ensure you’ll be able to sell it down the line when the timing is right and should you wish to do so. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ How Malcolm Got Into Buying Businesses ✔ Why You Migh…
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326 | Simple Tech Upgrades To Maximize Your Efficiency
23:21
23:21
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I dive into eight simple upgrades to the technology you use in your business every day that can help you maximize your efficiency. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ How Tech Upgrades Can Impact Your Business & Workflow ✔ Which Simple Tech Upgrades You Should Consider Implementing ✔ My Task Management Program Evolution ✔ My Thoughts & Warnings…
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325 | Burnout Prevention & Recovery With Charlène Gisèle
44:22
44:22
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I sit down with Charlène Gisèle, The Burnout Prevention Adviser, to dive into burnout prevention strategies, as well as tools to help you heal from burnout. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ Habits & Behaviors That Lead To Burnout ✔ How To Know When An Intervention Is Needed ✔ The Mindshift That Needs To Happen To Course Correct ✔ The Healing…
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324 | 5 Steps To Developing A Strong Team
21:45
21:45
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I dive into what it takes to develop and maintain a strong team so you can maximize the benefits of having a team who supports you in achieving your business goals. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ The Smart Alternative To Micromanaging Your Team ✔ Why It’s Important To Invest In Your Team ✔ Necessary Steps To Build A Strong & Effective Team…
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323 | Leveling Up Your Email Management With Yaro Starak
50:01
50:01
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I sit down with the co-founder of email management company InboxDone.com, Yaro Starak, to dive into an effective email management solution that could reduce chaos, keep you from drowning in emails, and get you to inbox zero every single day. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What Is Making It Hard For You To Grow ✔ Why Yaro Hired His First Em…
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322 | How To Stop Micromanaging Your Team
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20:20
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I dive into the root causes of why you’re micromanaging your team so you can stop doing so and instead, empower your team to grow in their roles and invest more of your time in your own high-value activities. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What Micromanagement Is ✔ How It Might Be Showing Up In Your Business ✔ Why You Might Have The Tenden…
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321 | Lessons In Leadership & Building A Strong Culture With Jaime Taets
51:06
51:06
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I sit down with the Founder and CEO of Keystone Group International, Jaime Taets, to dive into the leadership role a business owner plays in building culture and how a strong culture is the foundation for scaling. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ Why Strong Cultures Help Businesses Grow ✔ How To Get Out From Under The Founder’s Dilemma ✔ Way…
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320 | 6 Tips To Manage Your Time Blindness
42:28
42:28
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I dive into the topic of time blindness so you can learn how it might be affecting you and your business, then take action to minimize its unintentional costs. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What Time Blindness Is ✔ Who It Affects & Why ✔ Common Symptoms & Costs of Unintentional Time Blindness ✔ Ways To Tell If You Struggle With It ✔ How T…
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319 | How Intentional Action Leads To Exceptional Results With James Brackin
38:25
38:25
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In this episode of the Small Business Straight Talk Podcast, I sit down with personal coach James Brackin to discuss how intentional action can fuel your growth and lead to exceptional results. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ James’ Background That Significantly Influenced The Way He Lives ✔ What Specific Event Led Him To Bet On Himself ✔ H…
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I dive into the different kinds of perfectionism and how you can use guardrails to curb your perfectionism tendencies so you can stop sabotaging yourself and your business! What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ How Perfectionism Shows Up In Your Business ✔ What Excellence Seeking Perfectionism Is ✔ What Failure Avoiding Perfectionism Is ✔ How Per…
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317 | How To Create A Marketing Plan You'll Actually Stick To With Lauren Tilden
46:53
46:53
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I sit down with retail shop owner and marketing coach, Lauren Tilden, to dive into strategies to cut the noise, devise an effective marketing plan, and be consistent with it so you get the results you want! What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ 3 Reasons Why It Proves Difficult To Show Up Consistently ✔ How To Keep Showing Up When You’re Not Seei…
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316 | Eliminating The Biggest Threat To Your Productivity
16:34
16:34
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I dive into discovering the root cause of why you aren’t more productive so you can take action to eliminate the biggest threat that is holding you back. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What True Productivity Is ✔ The Underlying Reason You’re Not Productive ✔ How You Might Be Sabotaging Your Success ✔ What To Do To Break The Shackles Of Sel…
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315 | Tracking Operational Metrics To Skyrocket Profitability With Marcel Petitpas
58:02
58:02
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In this episode of the Small Business Straight Talk Podcast, I sit down with Marcel Petitpas, the CEO & Co-Founder of Parakeeto, a company dedicated to helping agencies measure and improve their profitability by streamlining their operations and reporting systems. We dive into how you can interpret your important operational metrics to help you tak…
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314 | 10 Ways To Starve Your Distractions & Feed Your Focus
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26:43
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I dive into how you can ruthlessly starve your distractions and feed your focus so you can consistently show up your best during scheduled work time. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What You Can Do To Starve Your Distractions ✔ What you Can Do To Feed Your Focus ✔ Resources To Help You Implement Each Of Those ✔ How Environmental Factors & P…
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313 | Self-Care Or Self-Destruct: Your Choice With Katie McDonald
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45:53
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I sit down with self-care strategist and the owner of B.Nourished.com, Katie McDonald, to dive into her journey to becoming an expert on self-care which began with a long period of self-neglect which led to self-destruction and a life-changing epiphany. Katie shares strategies for committing to nourishing self-care and getting on the path towards a…
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312 | How To Create Time To Work On Your Business
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28:01
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I dive into strategies to create time to work ON your business so you can stop spending so much time working IN your business and instead, invest your time in the activities that will grow it. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ How I Became The Productivity Specialist ✔ Why It’s Important To Create Time To Work ON Your Business ✔ What That Mea…
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311 | Applying Your Learning To Supercharge Your Success With Nick Hutchison
43:32
43:32
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I sit down with Nick Hutchison, the visionary force behind BookThinkers and author of Rise of the Reader, to dive into strategies to consume information in a way that makes an impact and supercharges your success by applying your learning. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ How Nick Became A Book Guy ✔ What Helped Him Stop Living Below His Pot…
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310 | Hold The Line: Reflecting On The Last Year In My Business
31:56
31:56
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In this episode of the Small Business Straight Talk Podcast, I reflect on the last year in my business and give you a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges I overcame, as well as my thought process on determining the right solutions for myself and my business which included holding the line. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ Productivity R…
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309 | Self-Discipline: The Driving Force Behind Showing Up Consistently With Dre Baldwin
54:29
54:29
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I sit down with the CEO and Founder of Work On Your Game Inc., Dre Baldwin, to dive into what he believes is the real key to showing up consistently and achieving success in business and life: self-discipline. This episode is jam-packed with golden nuggets of wisdom you can apply to your business. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ How Dre Sta…
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308 | Vision Of Success: Setting Business Goals Worth Achieving In The New Year
16:22
16:22
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Not every idea or project is worth pursuing. Not every goal is worth creating. When deciding what you want to accomplish in your business this year, make sure it honors your vision of success, otherwise you could be sabotaging many of your personal goals in the name of a successful business and wind up ringing in 2025 feeling like you deserve a big…
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I dive into committing to one new microhabit that will help you enjoy the journey of being a business owner so you can be sustainable for the long haul and that is celebrating your wins, both big and small. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ Why Focusing On Microhabits Is Important ✔ The Key To Success With Any Microhabit ✔ Why You’re Not Cele…
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306 | Cleaning The Slate For A Fresh Start
24:11
24:11
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I dive into how taking time to gain clarity on what hasn’t been working in your business this year and cleaning the slate of that baggage this month can help you start fresh in 2024. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ An Easy Way To Reclaim A Lot Of Time & Energy ✔ 3 Powerful Questions To Ask To Gain Clarity ✔ What You Need To Leave In 2023 ✔ …
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305 | Task Management: Going Beyond Your Business
29:19
29:19
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I dive into some of my favorite task management strategies I use in my business and discuss how they can easily be implemented into your personal life to reduce stress and accomplish more. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ 5 Fundamental Task Management Strategies For Your Personal Life ✔ What Those Strategies Look Like In Your Business ✔ Easy…
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I’m going to share with you a big decision that I recently made in my business and why I made it to help you determine if you are in need of making a big decision. Why? So you can take action to make sure your business goals align with your personal goals in this season. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ My Goals For This Upcoming Season ✔ Th…
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303 | Mastering The Hiring Process With Jamie Van Cuyk
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I sit down with the owner of Growing Your Team, Jamie Van Cuyk, to dive into some effective strategies to help you to grow your team by quickly attracting the right candidates and simplifying the hiring process! What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ Biggest Hiring Challenge Business Owners Face (And What To Do About It) ✔ Why Business Owners Ofte…
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302 | Organizing Your Space For Optimal Productivity
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17:48
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I dive into strategies to organize your workspace effectively so you can significantly increase your efficiency and improve your productivity. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What Disorganization Is Costing You ✔ The #1 Reason You’re Not Organized… Yet ✔ Positive Proof You Can Get Organized ✔ The Magical Power Of A Reset ✔ How Improved Orga…
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301 | Unraveling The Secret To Building Confidence With Nicole Kalil
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55:49
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Do you want to learn how you can build confidence and harness it to be a more effective, successful business owner? Then tune into today’s episode of Productivity Straight Talk in which I sit down with author and leader strategist, Nicole Kalil, to take a deep dive into all things confidence. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What Confidence …
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Well, we made it! 300 episodes of Productivity Straight Talk. Wow! It seems like only a few short months ago I was coming up with ideas for my very first episode. Yet here we are, six-and-a-half years later, producing our 300th episode. It’s been a great ride and I appreciate you being along for part of the journey! In this special 300th episode, I…
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299 | A Look At Fractional COOs With Lauren Goldstein
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I sit down with the founder and CEO of business consulting firm Golden Key Partnership, Lauren Goldstein, to dive into the world of fractional COOs and discuss what they can bring to the table of a business. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ The Role Of A Fractional COO ✔ The Benefits Of Having One ✔ How To Know If Your Business Is Ready To H…
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I dive into how you can get started creating systems in your business so you can gain more control, diminish overwhelm, and run a more efficient, profitable business. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ What A Business System Is ✔ The Results Of Not Having Effective Systems ✔ The Benefits Of Having Business Systems ✔ Where To Start Creating Sys…
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297 | Dumping The Head Trash That's Killing Your Productivity With Renie Cavallari
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I sit down with the My guest on today’s episode of Productivity Straight Talk, I sit down with the CEO and Founder of Powered by Aspire, Renie Cavallari. Renie is an expert at helping people defeat their head trash so it stops holding them back from reaching their potential in their business and life. Tune in and learn how to dump your head trash t…
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296 | Back To The Basics Of Growing Your Business
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In this episode of Productivity Straight Talk, I dive into numerous ways you can stay true to yourself and take your marketing and visibility back to the reliable basics, all so you can strategically nurture your past and current client relationships and continue building long-term success. What You’ll Discover In This Episode: ✔ The Most Important…
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295 | Planning For What’s Possible: A Client Case Study With Ellen Nystrom
57:23
57:23
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I sit down for a indepth client case study interview with the owner of interior design firm Ellen Nystrom Design. Ellen and I take a look back at her successful planning for, execution of, and return from a two-month sabbatical. Like many of us, Ellen had been feeling burned out post-Covid and while stepping away from her business for two months se…
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