Franklin Taggart's Blog

Dear YouTube Subscriber! If you are struggling to find the right words to get people to buy stuff, you're going to want to watch this video! You're about to hear something that will change your world - FOREVER! You'll learn how to breathlessly mesmerize readers step-by-step as they progress toward the one goal - buying stuff! You'll learn these great things: ** How to sound enthusiastic about anything! ** How to use bullet points to drive home your logic! ** How to think in short, meaningless phrases! ** How to manip- er, persuade people to do things they don't really want to do! ** And how to make it all seem innocuous but exciting with the generous use of exclamation points!!! This Virtual Coffee Break is the best thing that has ever happened, ever!!!!! #communication #directresponselimitations #adspeak

Half or more of the people who contact me for career coaching are nearing retirement and are starting to plan for their next phase of work after they retire. In this Coffee Break, I share some of the most common ideas and directions they come up with and some insight into a few of them.  By far, the most satisfied and successful of my retired clients have been those who found an outlet for their creativity in the work path they chose. Many finally allowed themselves the freedom and chance to take their artistic, crafty, or musical dreams seriously. Some people have come to me asking about buying food franchises or joining network marketing programs. I have some pretty rigorous questions for people who are interested in either of those areas. They are definitely not for everyone. If you are nearing retirement but not ready yet to completely stop working, I offer a four-session coaching program to thoroughly identify and evaluate all of your work options so that your retirement years wil

How is it I can take a three-ingredient recipe for pound cake and make it so difficult and cumbersome that I spoil the cake and hate the process? Three conversations today happened on the topic of simplicity. Solopreneurs, especially us creative types, have a tendency to make everything much more grandiose and extreme than things really need to be. And it's wearing us out. From the teacher with the new business model who just made herself physically sick because she felt she had to be on all the time in order to fill her class. The class didn't get all the way full and she ended up with digestive problems. And then there's the new freelancer who has so many ideas and not enough time to finish even one of them, feeling overwhelmed because she's imagining and offering more options than she can manage. And then there's me, who wants to create an online course but ends up making it include everything. Translated: the course never gets finished because it's just too

Four different conversations today centered on the challenge of planning for the ends of things. There's so much we can't know about our futures so we're creating a projecting an imagined future and constructing a plan for that knowing full well that life never goes exactly according to plan. In our businesses, so much energy and effort go into planning for the start of the business, and we get to the middle stages of planning soon enough, but I haven't met many business owners who plan for the end of their business, or for their exit from it. And then there are the times when we find ourselves in the midst of unplanned endings with no vision for the next stage of our lives. How can those times be planned for?  And ultimately there are plans for the ends of our lives. Some of us don't want to think about this at all. Too scary and too painful. But if we neglect these, our families are left to deal with messes that could have been made much easier had they been plann

This morning was a low-energy morning as many of my mornings are. I used to be thwarted by these kinds of emotions. Depression and anxiety are a kind of baseline for me. Over the past few years, I've learned some valuable things about the way our psychology and physiology work that have given me some useful tools and techniques to get myself out of the morning lows and into some useful highs. The first time I read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, the part of the book that was most important for my life at the time was the section about the pain body and how to bring attention to the painful places in our being. I've worked with that ever since then and it's my first tool of choice. I believe that our attention is one of our primary superpowers.  Another helpful resource I found was the understanding of psychology called the Three Principles, articulated by Sydney Banks. In a spiritual awakening experience, he saw the relationship between three constant principles of our p

Pretty bowled over by the news of Taylor Hawkins' death today. He is definitely too young, too soon, and yet he's made a lot of people feel better through his work here. I'm grateful for his music, his smile, his kinetic energy, and for the connections I share with my son through our mutual love for the Foo Fighters and their music. If you have a big idea or a big dream you've been sitting on, waiting for the right time, tools, or circumstances, please get over your fear and just start. Write, play, sing, create, paint, dance, sell stuff - whatever you want to do - DON'T WAIT! Don't pass up this one-time opportunity to enrich and enliven yourself and those around you. You'll create experiences worth having, and you'll be missed more significantly and deeply when you're gone. DON'T WAIT! If you need someone to talk you into it, I'll be happy to help. Get in touch and you'll be doing your thing an hour after our call is finished. #taylorhaw

After two years in business as a brand strategist, Dre Beltrami became a mom. She tried to operate her business according to her pre-parenthood terms and the latest advice from the business gurus but found herself stretched too thin and needing a long break. Like every other business owner, Dre was challenged by pandemics and quarantines to reevaluate everything about her life and her business. Facing her existential crisis head-on, she made some critical decisions about her business model, her marketing strategy, and her online accessibility and visibility. Hear the rest of the story in this full-length interview that was inspired by an email Dre sent out just Wednesday morning. You'll want to join her weekly email list by clicking the orange button on her homepage: https://thesolopreneursociety.com . While you're there take a quiz or two to discover some valuable insights about yourself. And don't forget - The Mom Bundle will only be available next week - March 28-April 1

Sing to the tune of Daft Punk Is Playing At My House. Yes, everything that worked yesterday is not working today and it's thrown a kink into my works. I'm hoping the tech gods smile upon us and the technician visit tomorrow afternoon will do the trick. This is an expensive service that is costing those of us who depend on it a significant loss of productivity and income. The people have been nice, but I'm ready for the promise of yesteryear that technology will be the solution to our problems to actually come true. Herein lie a few tidbit insights on customer service. People remember these experiences and talk about them. Let's see if Comcast's social listening is on point. If I hear from them as a result of this video I'll let you know. #comcast #customerservice #brandawareness

The first question to ask when you're not filling up your programs, selling enough products, or enrolling enough clients - How Many People Know? I have a client trying to get ten people signed up for a class. So far there are only three. We can assume those three found the offer attractive enough to enroll, so lets go back to the first question. How many people know? She emailed her list of 500 people and has gotten around a five percent open rate. So 25 of her email followers have heard about the class. This class is not the same thing she's been offering all along so it's new to her audience. So many of the people who have taken her classes before won't immediately understand the need to look more closely. She also has a small personal Facebook following and a dreadfully small Business page and Instagram following. She's posted several announcements there, but they haven't received enough engagement to be favored by the algorithm. Our strategy that we came up

Have you ever had an idea that seemed so amazing and brilliant that you just had to share it with someone, but they didn't get it?  I was listening to The Entrepreneur's Ecosystem podcast this morning and they interviewed the creators of Interact quiz software (you should try it! I'm an affiliate  https://interact.grsm.io/jboh69i54xwj ).  In the interview, they talked about their first years in business and the experience of having people not immediately see the value of the software as they sought investors and early adopters and other partners. It wasn't even an idea that the founders were particularly emotionally connected to, but they invested years of development and investment because they believed it could be an industry-changing tool. I was struck in the story by how much faith they had in the idea that it would carry them all the way through to a successful outcome. They had to believe in that validity and value of it for years while other people had to catch u

Had a great conversation with a client this morning after returning from three days off. We were wondering why there was an emotional scorecard around taking time off. We both commented on having habits of stacking missed work up before or after a trip so that everything will continue to get done, but it seemed to both of us that didn't make much sense and it didn't make taking time away from work any easier. In this Coffee Break, I ask about some of the underlying beliefs and habits that drive such behaviors. What is it that makes us feel like taking time off without guilt is allowed? Do you struggle with this? How do you counter those beliefs and feelings/ I like Dan Sullivan's approach - schedule your time off at the beginning of the year before you schedule your work and make sure your work both gets delivered and covers your financial bases. Easier said than done, but important to consider. #selfcare #guiltfreevacation #takingbreaks

I just finished reading Small List, Big Results for the second time. Author Robbie Samuels has packed a powerful coaching process into 140 pages that will walk you from beginning to launch of a product or service that your followers will be waiting for. It will be exactly what they're looking for because you will be working with them from idea to launch. For entrepreneurs and businesses who have followings between 500 and 5000, you'll want to have this book in your collection and follow the steps for a simple way to create and deliver the products and services your clients need most.  Robbie also offers a fantastic collection of tools to help you all the way through the process. Find out more about the book at this affiliate link: https://amzn.to/37tznzR #smallbusinesscoaching #solopreneurstrategy #ideatolaunch

An inside look at one of the ways I've improved my rest habits. Reading fiction at night instead of work-related non-fiction. Gets me out of my frontal lobe, problem-solving mind, and into my left brain fantasy mind. Makes for a better night's sleep and deeper rest. Calling my work habits into question at this late stage of my career might actually give me a little more time to contribute, but it won't be at the expense of my health. #deeprest #selfcare #solopreneurship

On Your Own Best Company this week I am my own guest. There was a break in the guest schedule so I thought I'd bring up a chair and tell some of my story so that you can understand the history behind this podcast. From a Wyoming childhood to first jobs, discovering passions, learning at every step, and making opportunities from hardships, this story covers a lot of ground. #whatdrivesme #mywhy #workingalone

First thing, Happy St. Patrick's Day! Thanks to my friend, Deanna for treating me to corned beef and cabbage at Henry's this afternoon.  I've talked before about the importance of celebrating as a business and marketing practice. Celebrate accomplishments, landmarks, birthdays, holidays, and anything else you can throw a party for, but I'd encourage you to start putting celebrations of every size on your computer. The reason? Because those are the kinds of things that get forgotten in the shuffle and they can mean the difference between a business succeeding and failing. Celebrate your clients, customers, partners, employees, family, friends, acquaintances, and people you don't even know. It creates goodwill and fosters deeper feelings of empathy and trust. Find at least one thing a week to applaud, raise a glass to, or recognize. People will remember and it's easy to do. I'll be my own guest on Your Own Best Company this week, telling my own story of arrivi

Area schools are on Spring Break this week and I, for once, have scheduled three days off in a row. In this Coffee Break, I have a lot to share about how I negotiate with my extrovert family when it comes to how we spend time off. It's not always an easy conversation to have. I also talk about how personality and preferences come into play in our career and business paths. At some point, I started to get cranky with people who could live with the idea that I'm perfectly happy having a one-person business and that I never want to manage a team or an organization.  This podcast was started as a way to support and encourage people like me who want to honor their need for solitude in the work they do. I found that there were a number of people who didn't link being made to feel they were "wrong" just because they didn't do things in the same ways everybody else was. In my family, we've found ways to work with each other in honoring our personalities, strengths

In yesterday's Coffee Break, I was spouting off about the idea of becoming an influencer being a goal. I have no problem with someone pursuing that dream, but if that's their only focus, that alone won't be enough to sustain a business. If they hit the jackpot and make big cash for a little while, I'm not going to say anything negative about it. I believe in luck, as much as I do work. The part I left out yesterday was the crucial role of community in the process of becoming an influencer. For clarification's sake, I want to say that I'm using the word influencer to identify a person who gets paid to influence their community to buy things or join things. I seriously believe that every human being has their own natural way of influencing, but I'm not talking about that here. Some of the online influencers I admire a lot are John and Hank Green. They didn't set out to become influential. They just found an interesting way to communicate with each other th

This thing called Influencer Marketing isn't a new idea. Advertisers have been using influential spokespeople for at least a few centuries. And marketing itself is pretty much just influencing people, so this phenomenon of the influencer marketer is an interesting one. I have a client who aspires to this but has a misunderstanding about what it takes to build a following and become influential. Her question to me seemed like she was asking for a shortcut. She wanted to be able to attract a following quickly and start charging businesses to advertise their stuff. I know this happens sometimes and especially with the popularity of social media, it's becoming more and more of a thing. But I think it's important not to lose sight of how sustainable influence is created and that is what this Coffee Break is about. My answer - focus on making a positive difference and people will start to follow you. When people start to follow you you're an influencer. The rest is just a num

Do we really need Daylight Savings Time anymore? After a night of spotty sleep, I woke up disoriented and thinking I was late for a guitar lesson I was teaching this morning. It all worked out, but I got to thinking while I walked the dog. I've let go of some old habits in recent years that used to serve me pretty well but don't now. It just became apparent that I didn't need to do things that way anymore. So I stopped doing those things and started doing some things differently. Part of the need for change has been physical. I just can't do the same things at the same pace that I did for all those years. Staying up late now pays off in being less productive during daylight hours and contributes to mood swings and irritability. But some of the changes have been made because they just make sense. I know many people personally who have been going through a re-evaluation of their lives and habits and are letting things go that they no longer need. Is that you, too? Tomorro

When people are considering starting a creative career, one of the first questions they ask is "When should I start charging money for my work?" This is a great question. And I think it's worth understanding that there are some people who are so excited about their newfound talent that they rush into trying to make a living from their creative work before they're ready. In this Coffee Break, I share a perception I've had with people I work with and people I've observed over the years to help make sense of that question. The first thing I want you to understand is that getting paid for what you do is only a small fraction of the value of your creativity. And for many people, it doesn't mean anything compared to the intrinsic value of the creative experience. If people are asking you for your work, it's safe to say you can start charging money for it. How much? That's a whole other topic, likely a series of videos, but it's OK to charge something

▼▼▼ Watch or Listen Below!▼▼▼ If you or your business were faced with an unexpected calamity like an accident, fire, or lawsuit, would you have the protection you need to get through it with the least amount of difficulty? Many business owners don't realize they need a few different kinds of insurance protection so they may be underinsured, and in some cases, they have no coverage at all. Danielle Lammon is a licensed insurance agent and agency owner in Aurora, Colorado. She's here on Your Own Best Company to share some direct advice for small business owners with insurance questions. She also has her own story to tell of starting her agency and growing the business, soon to add her third office!  One of the things I appreciate most about Danielle is her commitment to her community. She's serving a term as the President of the Aurora Rotary and she's an active volunteer in many other areas of her community. She sees her business as an important resource that allows her