Franklin Taggart's Blog

  As an executive, is it often easiest just to take on more responsibility and then work the extra hours that others don't see just to get things done? And is "fine" your stock answer when people ask you how you're doing? Lauren Lefkowitz knows the feeling, and she is here to offer another set of options. When an encounter with a rogue Roomba led to a freak accident, Lauren was forced to stop working long enough to take a good look at her compulsion to take on more responsibility than she had the energy for and make some conscious choices. Learning how to sit on her hands and let other people take on responsibility gave her a new level of freedom in her work. It wasn't a seamless lesson, but she ultimately found positive and doable ways to free herself from the tyranny of saying yes. As a rare executive coach who has real-life executive experience, Lauren now helps other executives and leaders escape the "Fine" trap and discover new ways to take care of

  If you need some creative inspiration for how to reach your customers with valuable and memorable marketing tools, Monique Eckes is back on the Your Own Best Company podcast with some of her latest and greatest ideas. She's also bringing an update on some of the past year's successes and lessons. Monique is the founder and owner of Silver Paw Studio and has become a well-known pet photographer throughout the Northern Colorado region. She is also an active video maker on YouTube, contributing her endless creative ideas on three channels and across all the other socials. In this episode: ** Success with her book, NoCo for Doggos, leads to this year's book project that is a celebration of a breed many misunderstand and wrongly categorize - pit bulls. ** Moving to a new studio and the inspiration to offer her workplace as what sociologists call a Third Place - a point of face-to-face connection that isn't home or work. ** The necessity of putting a good idea on hold. ** S

A Frequently Asked Question for 2023 from people I talk to is - Is it too late to start a creative freelance career? With all the talk about AI, ChatGPT, Midjourney, and whatever the AI flavor of the day is, these friends are rightfully wondering if they've waited too long to get into the game. I don't think it's too late at all. In fact, people getting started now may have an advantage over people who've been at it a while. Enter Sheena McInnes. Sheena is a copywriter who just got into the business in the latter part of 2022. Her first career path was literally in the wilderness as a conservationist and scientist. Ten years into the unpredictable weather patterns, large mosquitos, and non-human trail company (read large wild animals), Sheena found a coach and started looking for the next phase of her work life. She discovered freelance copywriting. Departing from the usual format of teasing valuable goodness from seasoned veteran creators and entrepreneurs, in this epi

 ▼▼▼▼▼ Time-sensitive announcement: Jessica Abel will be offering the Prioritize Like a Pro workshop live online at 1 pm on June 13. Registration information is here: https://jessicaabel.com/prioritize-like-a-pro/   Great, free opportunity to learn about the Weighted Decision Matrix we talked about in the interview! The evergreen version of the Prioritize Like a Pro workshop is here: https://jessicaabel.com/notionmastery/ ▼▼▼▼▼ One of my biggest challenges as a creator is having more ideas than I have time to see them through. It's easy to get distracted, and I often get started on projects when they're new and interesting, only to set them aside as other ideas show up. This makes it exceptionally hard to finish things. I recently attended a workshop presented by Jessica Abel, a creative business coach, artist, author, and teacher, where she introduced a tool she's adapted for creatives called the Weighted Decision Matrix. While I've depended on standard to-do type list

Humans are wired to connect through telling stories. It's been our primary way of communing with each other for thousands of years. Storytelling is so built into the design that we often don't recognize when it's happening or when we're doing it.  Lori Robertson, the SpeakHer Coach, joins Your Own Best Company today to talk about the power of story as a way to encourage, uplift, inspire, and transform. In her work with professional women, organizational leaders, and emerging influencers, Lori teaches how to bring a crystal clear message to people in unforgettable and valuable ways. In this interview, Lori shares her story of being put in front of large crowds early in her speaking experience, how she rose to leadership in an organization that sponsored over 30 large-audience live events every year, and how she now works with her clients to own their message and share their gift-laden stories on stages of all sizes. You may find Lori at ⁠ https://SpeakHerCoach.com⁠ and o

  Depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns are common experiences for many solopreneurs, freelancers, and self-employed. Kim Pratt from the Alliance for Suicide Prevention of Larimer County is the guest on this episode of Your Own Best Company.  Kim shares early warning signs, symptoms, and support resources if you are concerned about your mental health. Her go-to suggestion is to program the number 988 into your phone. This national crisis hotline offers support and services 24/7/365 in the US and is free to call. She also shares insight into how to find the right kind of help and offers both local and national resources for help. In the meantime, stay connected to your family, friends, and peers, and be honest with yourself and with them if you're having a difficult time. More information: ⁠ https://www.suicideprevent.org⁠ #mentalhealth #suicideprevention #depression 

Thanks to Marvin Bee for the invitation to share my story of turning a question and answer session with ChatGPT into a published Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) book on Uncle Marv's I.T. Business Podcast! This was a fun conversation, and I'll be looking forward to welcoming Marvin to Your Own Best Company sometime soon.  We talked about concerns and opportunities that tools like ChatGPT and other technology are presenting as they become more widely used. I recall some of my music career experiences in which tech advances changed everything about the music business in a relatively short period of time. And we talked about my initial surprise at the thorough way my questions were responded to.  You can hear the whole episode here:  Marvin has some other great episodes to check out here, especially if you are interested in more tech-centered conversations. And he's got an Amazon link to the book: https://itbusinesspodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/495-a-conversation-with-chatgpt