Filed under: Combs & Company, Did You Know That?, Feature Friday, Marketing, Marketing Yourself, Sean ORourke | Tags: Adrian Miller, Did You Know That?, Feature Friday, Sean O'Rourke
We all pretty much know the names and stories of the entrepreneurs who made it big (just check the list of the world’s richest people). But do you know the story of the person who started that dry cleaner’s down the block? How about your favorite non-chain coffee shop? That pub you frequent way too often? The graphic designer for the at-home workout app you’ve been frequenting?
If you think about it, entrepreneurship has been around since that first multi-cellular organism ventured off on its own to find a better source of food. Not much has changed in the intervening few billion years. (OK, maybe a few things.) Being an entrepreneur is still a risky, fulfilling, exhausting, invigorating, difficult, inspiring way of life, and my next guest on Did You Know That? has experienced it more than most.
Adrian Miller has been a successful entrepreneur – many times over – for 30+ years. She’s juggled multiple businesses for more than a decade now, all while being a mom, wife, world traveler, and fount of knowledge. If you’re thinking of taking the leap, or are struggling to keep your fire going, then this is the episode you don’t want to miss.
To learn more about Adrian’s fascinating history, check out her LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amillersalestraining/.
Music: “DuDa” by Ian Post via Artlist
Filed under: Colleen Blum, Combs & Company, Insurance Women, Marketing Yourself, Mental Health, Motivational, Tenacious Tuesday, Try and Stop Me Podcast | Tags: Colleen Blum, Combs & Company, Mental Health, Mental Wellness, Mike Veny, Self Employed Momentum, Tenacious Tuesday, Transforming Stigma, Try and Stop Me Podcast
Episode 6 Mental Health Is An Asset, So Let’s Talk About It
Host: Colleen Blum
Guest: Mike Veny
Mental Health is something society still struggles to talk about or address, the one good thing about COVID is that problem seems to be slowly changing.
Mike Veny is one of the Top Mental Health Speakers in the US talking about just that. Listen as he shares his story through his mental own health journey, how is mother helped him find an outlet and how he is using his mental health as an asset to help change lives all across the country.
Curious for a preview of the episode? Take a listen below!
To be able to listen or download the full episode, click below!
Guest Contact Information:
Mike Veny: LinkedIn
Website: https://www.mikeveny.com/
Author of: Transforming Stigma: How to Become a Mental Wellness Superhero
Podcast: MXV Self Employed Momentum
Follow us on the @tryandstopmepodcast Instagram page
Filed under: Branding You, Colleen Blum, Combs & Company, Exciting News, Insurance Women, Marketing, Marketing Yourself, Motivational, Try and Stop Me Podcast | Tags: Colleen Blum, Combs & Company, Sebastian Rusk, Try and Stop Me Podcast, Want to Start a Podcast?
Host: Colleen M Blum
Guest: Sebastian Rusk
Have You Ever Wanted To Start A Podcast?! All Of The Who/What/Why I Wish I Knew Before Starting A Podcast! check out what the Expert himself, Sebastian Rusk has to say about it!
Have you ever dreamed about starting YOUR OWN podcast but you have used ANY & EVERY excuse under the sun to just push it to the “one day” plan?? Well then THIS EPISODE is all for YOU!!
Sebastian Rusk is the go to man for all of the how to when creating a podcast from idea to inception. Sebastian is the Founder of the Podcast Launch Lab, he is also a kick ass Social Media Speaker, Author and Digital Story Teller. – guys if I knew Sebastian before I started this all I could have saved a good 3 weeks of my life from the countless YouTube clips I watched. Listen along to today conversation about all the questions I had when debating whether to start this show or not.
BTW: Secret for you! For 2 years I pushed down this idea of actually getting my show started because I just didn’t even know where to start. It’s time to put your fears aside & just make the jump! You can do this, I believe in YOU!
Guest Instagram: @podcastlaunchguy
Host: @tryandstopmepodcast
Filed under: BenefitsPro, Insurance Women, Marketing, Marketing Yourself, Susan L Combs, Women in Insurance | Tags: BenefitsPro, BrokerExpo, Charging Fees, Combs & Company, ShowMe the Money, Susan L Combs
Back in college, I worked for the University of Missouri, and to this day, the coolest job I’ve ever had was working as an event manager for the Hearnes Center. This is where the magic happens when it comes to concerts and sporting events. During that time, I got to work with some amazing people, one of whom happened to be Bob Dylan. And as Bob once said, “For the times they are a-changin.” As benefits professionals, boy, don’t we know it!
I’ve had a lot of great role models in my life and one of my most incredible ones has been my mother. Like me, she was an entrepreneur. She owned a Merle Norman Cosmetics Studio and a travel agency in my hometown of King City, Missouri. My mom had worked for a number of years in the travel industry with American Airlines and Auto-Train (later sold to Amtrak) in Washington D.C., before relocating to Missouri with my father and working for a small travel agency. She later opened her own, and I remember that she saw a major shift taking place in the industry when the airlines decided that they were no longer going to pay travel agents fees on airline tickets. She made the decision to start charging fees and I remember her telling me, “If you don’t value your time, no one else will.”
Click here to keep reading!
Filed under: Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, Get Creative, Innovative Broker Lab, Marketing, Marketing Yourself, Motivational, Succession Initiative, Susan L Combs | Tags: Combs & Company, Innovative Broker Lab, Marketing, Succession Initiative, Susan L Combs
So I have the pleasure of writing for the Succession Initiative for LifeHealthPro and they come to me with questions from their readers and I get to respond to them! Here is the latest one:
The Challenge…
Meeting The Challenge…
Hi Terry,
First off, I basically equate that to a mother not teaching her son how to cook and do laundry because she knows he’ll find a wife to do it for him! Learning how to prospect is a life skill in sales. You have to get it down pat in order to be successful in this career. Being handed leads are the reward after you have proven yourself, you know?
OK … now to get off of my soapbox and offer a solution.
Network.
Network with everyone and anyone if you are starting out. Book lunches, coffees and drinks with other salespeople and business professionals in different fields. Get your elevator pitch down and be specific about who you want to be introduced to that are good lead sources for you (CPAs, attorneys, etc.) Be specific about your ideal client, too; if you say “business owners,” they are going to hear Charlie Brown’s parents talking and you’ll go nowhere. Click here to read more!
Filed under: Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, Giving Back, Innovative Broker Lab, Marketing Yourself, Millennials, Susan L Combs | Tags: Broker Motivation, Combs & Company, Innovative Broker Lab, Marketing, Susan L Combs
Dear New Millennial Broker,
So you know I love to give advice by now, right? I recently spoke at Baruch College, a business school in NYC where I serve as a mentor. I didn’t go to school there — I mentor there because the students inspire me.
The theme for the night was: Dream Big, Do More.
How powerful!
I find we so often start thinking about how to improve ourselves or start off the New Year right, but oftentimes we forget to go back to the basics of what got us to where we are today. Dream big, do more. To learn more click here.
Filed under: Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, Exciting News, Marketing Yourself, Story Exchange, Susan L Combs | Tags: 1000 Stories, Combs & Company, Story Exchange, Susan L Combs
The Story Exchange is a nonprofit media organization dedicated to telling the personal and professional stories of women business owners. They showcase the often-overlooked entrepreneurial women around the world who are contributing to their communities and collectively making an impact on the global economy. As an independent 501(c)(3) digital initiative, they aim to provide role models to other women who are pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams. To learn more about The Story Exchange click here! If you would like to visit Susan Combs’s Story Exchange page please click here!
Filed under: Branding You, Marketing Yourself | Tags: Combs & Company, Get Creative, Innovative Broker Lab
As many of you know, I live in NYC. But I’m from a town of about 1,000 people called King City, in the Northwest corner of Missouri, or what I refer to as “God’s Country.” I get emailed, texted and Facebook messaged monthly from people asking for suggestions on what to do on their NYC vacation. I have a great list I have compiled over the years that I send, and I also send this video. It’s from my pal, Johnny T, advising you that there are two speeds in New York: A) You move fast or B) Get outta the way!
I think this is also true for our industry. Let’s face it, it’s been a rough couple of years, but if you are reading this, then you are still standing! How are you adapting? How are you evolving? Here are some things we are doing to stay relevant:
- The millennials are invading: So, I’ve hired a rock star producer that is 25 and speaks their language. For millennials, mentoring and feeling imporant is huge. I encourage you to start looking for your successor!
To pick up at #2….Click Here!
Filed under: Branding You, Marketing Yourself | Tags: Branding You, Combs & Company, Get Creative, Innovative Broker Lab, Marketing Yourself
Ok, so one thing I’m really good at is branding, connecting and getting the word out so I thought I’d share a few tips of things I use frequently:
1. Announcement postcards. In this day and age of email marketing, I have found that people miss getting mail. Have you done something amazing? Have you received an award? Tell people! It’s easy and cheap to do a quick postcard through companies like Vistaprint, where you can get 500 postcards for way under $100. When I became national president of WIFS (www.wifsnational.org), I send out a postcard to clients and referral sources thanking them for supporting me through my journey and it turned into referrals.
To pick up at #2, click here!
combsandco 