Franklin Taggart's Blog

If you're still hung up on identifying your ideal client, why don't you put that idea aside for a minute and try something different - talking to strangers. Your parents may have told you to avoid this activity when you were young, but by now you should be able to find at least one person you don't know who is willing to talk with you for a few minutes. The point is that you could be spending all this time identifying your customer avatar while real customers are crawling under your nose waiting to be found. They are literally everywhere. Even if what you're selling is a rare solution to those who have a pinky toenail fungus problem. You won't know until they tell you. They won't tell you unless you offer a space for them to tell you, whether that's by clicking a button on your website or overhearing you telling someone else about toenail fungus while they drink coffee. I think it's important to learn how to tell people the story of what we do in ways th

Would it be easier to find Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster than to find your ideal client, customer, or audience? The trouble with ideals is that they are difficult, if not impossible to reach. In this Coffee Break, I'd like you to think differently about the people you want to make a difference for. If you're struggling to identify an ideal client, you may just not have the experience yet to recognize them. There are some other ways to start. You could always start by identifying situations where you are the best person to call. Your unique qualifications to do what you do can tell you a lot about who needs you. What about serving people who are going through the same things you went through within the past year? Is it possible they could use what you do? Maybe you could look for communities first instead of trying to imagine a perfect person. The communities you belong to are often a great place to start. When in doubt, go for the obvious. Do you know anyone personally who n

Today I helped a couple of people build content marketing channels to support their businesses. One started a blog, the other started a combination of YouTube and podcast channels. The person who was starting the blog mentioned that she had done some Google searches about starting a blog and had been getting spammy email and social media ads that were trying to sell her a $2000 online course for starting her blog, and another $2000 for building her audience. She looked at their sales pages and was overwhelmed by everything they were proposing she needed to do. She was relieved to find out that starting her blog was a relatively easy and inexpensive process and that much of what the course included would be stuff she'll never use. It made me want to share some options for getting started with content marketing that don't break the bank but can be grown to whatever size and shape you want. I learned about content marketing initially by blogging. Writing about things that were int

A client asked me today how she can become a better communicator in her marketing and she was surprised at my answer. Yes, there is an art and science of marketing communication. There's a reason that great copywriters like my favorite, Laura Belgray get paid a lot of money for their skill, but one of the cornerstones that marketing communication shares with almost every other kind is the ability to tell a compelling story - a story that people can't leave hanging. They have to finish it. I'll go even further with the idea. I think songwriters and poets have an even greater advantage. They have learned how to tell a story that leaves such an impression on people that they can remember it years later. These creators have a knack for getting people to stay with their tale until it's over and to want to hear or read it again. Some popular songs only have 8-12 lines in them, but with those few words, a memorable experience is created. If you want people to remember your pro

Reflections while driving home from a band rehearsal I had this afternoon. I've played with Paul Chet's bands for over seven years, one of the longest musical relationships I've been a part of in my long and often interrupted career. I was feeling very lucky to have found this group of guys to play with who are some of the finest musicians I've known. But I also realized that one of the things that made my finding this opportunity possible was that I was ready for it. I've spent thousands of hours learning, practicing, performing, and honing my own craft of music so that I can show up in a band like this and hold my own.  In my business, it's been the same. As I practice the craft and as I work on becoming not only a better coach but a better marketer, salesperson, and business owner, the level of opportunities that are coming my way is noticeably higher than has been the case until only recently. You can always be better at some aspect of what you do. And the b

Since my video two days ago, I've had some other thoughts about what I'd do if I were starting over in business right now. Like I said in the last video, I'm not sure what exactly I'd do differently since the business landscape is so different now than it was then, especially online business.  But I realized there are a few things I would do differently based on my experience. In this Coffee Break, I share what they are and why I would approach my business with these changes. I also tell you a couple of the coaches I would hire to help me get started. I've already taken a class with Tad Hargrave at Marketing for Hippies and I think I would look to him as one of my first choices for coaching and mentoring. I admire the way his own business has evolved and we're enough alike that I think he would understand me and push me where I need to be pushed.  My second choice for mentoring would be Danielle Gardner. I have not had a conversation with her yet, but I like the

If you're ready to expand and scale your business beyond what you're able to do yourself, the first place most consultants will tell you to start is in hiring help. The learning curve and blind spots to this process, especially the first time, can make finding and hiring help a harrowing experience. There are a lot of ways the process can go sideways and leave you and your business in a precarious place. Sophie Zollmann helps small business owners cover these bases easily and with one-stop shopping. You don't have to find a specialist for every other area of your business because she already has the team in place to do all the things you need to have done. And that leaves you with the time you need to do your own job well. Sophie is a certified online business manager, social media manager, and client acquisition specialist. She also brings years of experience as a virtual assistant and business owner to your side. She works with successful healing practitioners, coaches, c

One of the FAQs in my world is what would I do differently if I were starting over in my business. That is an interesting question to consider because if I started over again today, the circumstances, options, and available tools I have now are very different than when I started my earlier careers and businesses. Much of what I've learned in the past twelve years has gone through several cycles of evolution. The basic tasks don't change, but the way I do them changes often. And I can't predict even in the next few months what the circumstance of my business will be. All I can really do is work with the tools I have in the present moment to reach and serve the people I can help. It's still a good thing to plan with the understanding that life will unfold in a way that we all have to adapt. Additionally, not only do our circumstances and tools change, but our interests, desires, and bodies change, too. So those changes will influence how we would start if we were starting

I've met many people who want to make all or part of their living doing creative work but they're intimidated by the business part of it. I get it, business can seem like a very big deal with a lot of moving parts and a steep learning curve. But people aren't born good at business. Business is a skillset and skills are learned. Yes, you can have an aptitude for something. I've met people who were really great at sales early in their lives, but they still had to learn the skills associated with selling. I have an aptitude for music, but I wasn't born able to play the guitar masterfully. It took love and commitment to learning the thing before I could do it competently. Business is the same. What I usually ask people who come to me with this situation is if they are dealing with a skill problem or a will problem. Is it that they can't learn or they don't want to invest the time? We've all heard crap singers who were successful in the music business because

I've had a few conversations lately with creative people who feel like their work is insignificant in a time when such terrifying events are happening in the world. I have joined them in this feeling. It's hard to think about and talk about things like business and marketing as innocent people fight to defend their homeland while it has been arbitrarily attacked. As these historical events and examples of exceptional courage unfold before us, it's easy to think that our small, creative output has no place, at least for right now, in the greater scheme of things. In this Coffee Break, I have a couple of thoughts to share about it. This time is another opportunity for humans who care to find greater ways of coming together both in opposition to and as a viable alternative to those who would dominate the world by force. For some of us, there are ways to bring our talents together in service to a much greater cause than our own egoic interests. For others of us, there is a call

The day I became willing to sell used cars was the day I realized that I could sell my music services. How many creative people will gladly take on jobs in retail and in selling other people's stuff instead of selling what they make? It's more common than you might think. The business plan for a creative is simple but not easy - Make it. Show It. Sell it. For most of us, the making is the best part. It can be difficult but it was the reason we decided to go in this direction. We wanted to spend most of our time making the things we love to make. For some of us, the showing and sharing of our work is not a bad experience. We find ways and places to show people what we've made and we may even generate some sales this way. With technology, there are now more ways than ever to give people an experience of what we do. But selling, for many, is the sticking point. There's a self-consciousness that goes with selling our creations that stops us from acting and is our rationale

Two minutes of silence in solidarity with peaceful people everywhere. (There is nothing wrong with your volume. Sound will return momentarily.) #Ukraine

I looked at the forecast for next week and saw high temps in the 60s starting to show up again. Spring is getting closer! I'm ready to have shoveled my last snow for the year. It also feels like I've come into a Springlike season in my life. The last several years have had a lot of change and grief, along with a lot of reflection and introspection. Some of my limiting beliefs and habits have surfaced and I've been able to put them to rest, for at least a little while. What that leaves me with is a lot of energy, a lot of ideas, and a feeling of fresh optimism despite what else is going on in the world. There are a lot of new seeds being planted in my life - new directions, new clients, and new ideas that capture my curiosity. I don't know where any of them will lead for sure, but I will follow them where they go. I'm ready to tend my own soul more carefully and that's mostly what this Coffee Break is about. Finding ways to honor my own divinity and expressions o

▼▼▼Watch and Listen Below!▼▼▼ For the self-employed entrepreneur, a sabbatical might be the last thing you think about doing, and if you were to take one, it would probably have an agenda attached. We don't usually just decide to take time off for just being. After the launch of her book, Bursts of Brilliance for a Creative Life, author and publisher Teresa Funke was shown by her assistant that she was juggling the management of eighteen projects. Then when the Covid Pandemic started, her three streams of revenue all simultaneously ended. She tried to pivot just like everyone else was, but ultimately found that she was really ready for something else - but what? Finally, in June 2021 she landed on the idea that what was happening could be called a sabbatical, and it wasn't the kind of sabbatical we typically associate with that word. This wasn't going to be a time of focused production, it was going to be something else. Here on Your Own Best Company Teresa tells us the res

I've been called the king of the one-liners and my humor tends toward the sarcastic and dry side. I'm surprised I haven't been beaten up more. I've also been called hard to get to know and Mister Mystery.  For someone who feels like a good communicator, I still end up making a bad first impression a lot more often than I'd like. This habit of trying to get people to laugh at my sarcastic wit is one I probably need to retire.  The most recent story of why is in today's Coffee Break. For anyone who doesn't know me very well, I never intend to mean any harm to anyone. If we both can keep from jumping too quickly to conclusions, we might just have a shot at being good friends. #misunderstanding #communication #miscommunication Today I recorded and produced this Coffee Break and tomorrow's Your Own Best Company Podcast. It's a good one featuring my friend, author and impresario Teresa Funke. And if you have been thinking about starting a podcast and would

A couple of recent conversations have me thinking about the nature of self-discovery. Our individual observations and perceptions are uniquely subjective, even in measurable situations. We each have our own experience of life that can't be easily duplicated or completely understood by anyone else.  This isn't to say that self-discovery doesn't benefit other people. In discovering the 10,000 ways not to invent the light bulb, Edison found the one way that we all have used to interrupt our circadian rhythms. I'm just struck by the fact that my aha moments may only be for me and that yours are only for you, but there is pleasure in sharing them with each other. I'm also curious about how discovering one thing also uncovers the opposite. In finding out something that is a good fit for my personality and preferences, I also find the things that aren't necessarily so. My life will be nearing its end when I no longer want to discover new things that I didn't know b

So you took a great idea and created a way to deliver it, then you built an offer around it and announced it to all the circles you could, tweaking your message as you went...and...crickets? Yeah, sometimes that happens, even to the best sales and marketing gurus.  That doesn't specifically mean that your idea wasn't great. It could be that there was something about the package and offer that people didn't get or resonate with. Could be that you weren't reaching the right people. Could be that the timing of your release was in conflict with too many other options targeting similar audiences. Or maybe you haven't landed on the right way to communicate about it. Sometimes I've faced this and taken a break from it to give myself some space for reflection. I still believe we're given good ideas for a reason. I want to know what needs to shift in order for people to say yes to my offer. Sometimes it helps to get feedback about all these things from someone you tr

Do you ever wake up in a funk? I did this morning. I don't know if it was interrupted sleep, lower back pain, a case of the Mondays, or what, but I was in a low state. I've gotten away from the practice of labeling emotions positive or negative. Especially in the case of emotions that are uncomfortable or uneasy, I don't think it's helpful to add another layer of judgment on top of them. A few years ago I had an insight about the relationship between emotion and the human will. Distinct from willpower, the propensity to override our habitual tendencies and take "massive action", the human will is more like an energy management system. It monitors our energy levels and gives us data to make decisions about what we can commit to doing. Emotions are the language of will. When we have emotional states we consider low, it's because they reflect a lower level of energy. Anger is like the light that goes off when you're about to run out of gas. "Urgent m

I believe we each have our own unique way of influencing other people. One of the benefits of discovering this way, what I call your unique marketing modality, is that it helps lower natural resistance to be more publicly visible and assertive.  Resistance is a natural protective mechanism we all have, and highly sensitive people tend to have it even more acutely than others. While it's not a problem in itself, it becomes problematic if we let our resistance make our important decisions for us. The ego is doing its job to alert us to unfamiliar and possibly threatening circumstances. In the same way we all have patterns of resistance, we also all have an inner source of wisdom that we can learn to tune into. For me, the voice of wisdom comes more quietly than resistance tends to, and I usually need to be in an open and receptive state of mind in order to hear it. One of the things I like most about the marketing modality concept is that it lowers our natural resistance and allows u

This Coffee Break is for all of us who get to the edge of the diving board and hesitate. We think we can make the jump but there's still a voice inside that tries to convince us we're not ready, this is dangerous, and we may not make it out alive.  I bought my first home recording gear a long time ago. The thing I remember most is looking at it and then finding out that I "needed" something else to make my recordings sound more professional and polished, then I "needed" another thing to make my guitar tone sparkle, then I "needed" something else. Then when I made my first recording, it sucked - a lot and I didn't think I'd ever be able to make it sound good. But with practice, it got better and better. I spoke with someone recently who wanted to write but had been taking several courses and wanted to wait until the courses were finished before they'd start to write. My encouragement was to go ahead and start. Our minds create impossible

▼▼▼Watch and Listen Below!▼▼▼ If you’ve been thinking about starting a podcast, you’ll get a lot from my guest today, Jürgen Strauss. Dr. Strauss is a podcaster, speaker, podcast strategist, marketing strategist and connector of Amazing Humans. His business, Innovabiz, partners with thought leaders to enable them to build sustainable visibility, professional credibility and a deep connection with their dream clients. Their philosophy is to make marketing human again!  As host of the InnovaBuzz Podcast, Jurgen has held meaningful conversations with over 500 outstanding entrepreneurs from all around the world, gaining insight into what makes them ‘tick’, what ‘lights them up’, why they do what they do and what inspiration and value they can add to the rest of the world. He also publishes the InnovaBuzz Newsletter and offers education and training resources for both podcast hosting and guesting. For more information and to receive your free copy of the InnovaBuzz Podcasting Flywheel audio