Episode 54: The Little Voice Within | Shelly Ehler from ShowNo

Shelly Ehler is the passionate and inspiring owner of the ShowNo Towel. In her interview Shelly shares the lessons she has learned through her journey as an entrepreneur and how these have impacted her and continue to foster success in other professional and personal aspects of her life. She often refers to this internal guiding compass as the ‘Little Voice Within’.

Shelly Ehler

Shelly’s product the ShowNo Towel has been featured on the Today show and on the hit T.V. show Shark Tank. Shelly created the ShowNo Towel after experiencing a frustrating situation with her children at the community pool. The task of tending to a tantrum, while protecting both of her sons from the elements and maintaining their privacy culminated into a daunting task. It was also this moment that served as a catalyst for a brilliant concept. That night Shelley received an epiphany to create the ShowNo towel.

The ShowNo is a bath and beach towel for children, it’s a perfect cover up which can be worn as a poncho to keep warm and protected from the sun. It also serves a tent to change in and out of clothes under it’s privacy. At firsts Shelly was insecure as to whether her idea was “awesome or stupid”. She began by gifting the ShowNo towel to friends and family, who instantly validated the practicality of the product.

Shelly’s first big break for mass exposure was granted through the Today Show’s segment on “Moms with Good Ideas”. She was then contacted by the ABC network to appear on the reality T.V. show The Shark Tank. After pitching her product, she was the first entrepreneur on the show to be granted a $50,000 dollar check. Shelly discusses the aftermath of events and clarifies that the agreement is subject to renegotiation. In the final outcome, Shelly was not able to redeem the promised money. None the less she values her time on the show and is extremely thankful for the opportunity and proud to have achieved that platform and exposure for her product. Shelley describes her experience as “I know I wasn’t on Shark Tank to sell a towel, I was on there to sell hope and my journey has just started, I have a really awesome future ahead and I’m just getting started.” In the months after the show aired, a licensing opportunity was finalized with the largest towel manufacturer in the country. The Show No towel will begin to be distributed in the large licensed stores such as, Target, Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc. by Spring 2014.

Shelly Ehler

The experience has also propelled Shelly to pursue a career as an Author and Motivational Speaker around the country. Her focus is to spread the message of hope and following the Voice within, to trust it and allow it to guide you to your ultimate purpose. Shelley is a firm believer that the voice within has guided her to where she is now and that every single place and every single person encountered as a result has a special lesson.

On disappointment and overcoming obstacles; Shelly declares that the success she initially expected was not the same as she had pictured in her mind and was momentarily devastated. However she strongly reinforces the belief in one’s self and being prepared for a learning curve with starting a new business. There are a lot of lessons to be gained with experience and is extremely grateful for learning as she goes along. she explains and in retrospect Shelly states that she does not have any regrets and does not frustrate herself with the ‘what if’s’ is she had to do it all over again.

Ellen DeGeneres

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What business ideas have you come up with that you didn’t pursue?
Have you ever felt or heard that little voice within guiding you to greatness?

Links to Great Stuff:

ShowNo – “A ShowNo is a bath towel and beach towel that kids can use to dry off on their own. It’s the perfect coverup that can be worn like a poncho to keep children warm and protected from the sun. It can also be used as a changing towel so that kids can change their clothes underneath in privacy.”
Shark Tank – “The critically-acclaimed business-themed show, Shark Tank, has the Sharks continuing the search to invest in the best businesses and products that America has to offer. The show received a nomination for a Producers Guild Award in 2013. In 2012 “Shark Tank” received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Reality Program and a nomination for a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Reality Series. The Sharks — tough, self-made, multi-millionaire and billionaire tycoons — will once again give budding entrepreneurs the chance to make their dreams come true and potentially secure business deals that could make them millionaires. They are: billionaire Mark Cuban, owner and chairman of AXS TV and outspoken owner of the 2011 NBA championship Dallas Mavericks; real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran; “Queen of QVC” Lori Greiner; technology innovator Robert Herjavec; fashion and branding expert Daymond John; and venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary.”

Success Quotes:

“The universe gives you what you’re ready to handle.”
“Money without fulfillment is hell.”
“The best thing that you could do for your business is to help another business.”
“I know I wasn’t on Shark Tank to sell a towel. I was on Shark Tank to sell hope. And my journey’s just started.”
“The best thing you can do that will take you the furthest in life is gratitude.”
“Success is when you are living a life where you achieve abundance and where you have found fulfillment.”

Special Requests:

Go out there and find your success!

ShowNo Towel

Episode 53: Personal Branding by Zeb Welborn

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Today, personal branding is extremely important for anyone looking to become successful. Communicating your value and what you can bring to others through your online presence is critical toward building your online reputation and making a difference.

In Episode 53 of the Defining Success Podcast we discuss how you can build your personal brand and how you can use your personal brand to achieve your goals. Our economy has changed and personal branding has become a huge component for people who are looking to make a name for themselves.

Perform a Google search on yourself and see what comes up. Are you happy with the way you’re represented? If you’re not happy then you can do something about it. Create your own content online and determine how people are talking about you and what they are saying about you online.

Personal Branding

Episode 52: Build a Following on Pinterest | Author Jason Miles

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Jason Miles has written six books and has been very active using social media on sites like Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. Jason shares some insights on those social media platforms and how to set up your website to build a following on Pinterest.

Jason Miles

Jason Miles is a best selling author, VP of advancement at Northwest University, & Co-founder of Liberty Jane Clothing, in this podcast he will share his story of how him and his wife found the little niche everyone is looking for, and how they used social media to market their successful business.

Jason began a small at home business using his wife’s sewing skills creating doll clothes in 2008. In 2010 with the introduction of Pinterest his business “Skyrocketed”, and the word quickly got out. With this new demand in his product Jason Miles found another business opportunity in helping seamstresses that used his wife’s design patterns to sell their products on websites such as Pinterest, and Etsy.

Liberty Jane Clothing Logo

After starting the blog that helped his readers market and sell their products online, Jason was contacted by a author from New York that was interested in working with Jason, an expert on Pinterest, to write 3 books called Pinterest Power, Instagram Power, & Youtube Marketing Power. After his initial book contract with McGraw Hill, he launched a series of three self-publishing books 2 of which are #1 Best Sellers on the Kindle Market.

Pinterest Power & Instagram Power

“Instagram is a phenomenal tool for social media marketing, its like Twitter without words.” – Jason

Can you do direct marketing on Instagram? Will it result in traffic and sales? YES! Instagram has recently been utilized by businesses to promote a strong visual marketing campaign. By effectively combining two or three pictures into one, you can quickly grab the viewers attention and then present them with an offer. According to Jason another tactic is to use Instagram for free giveaways, this will not only grow your number of followers but also allow you to see the effectiveness of how Instagram affects your business.

Jason’s visual launch strategy includes using Instagram and Pinterest to create hype and buzz about new product launches. He releases sneak peaks of the new product he is creating, and once his followers can’t wait anymore he unleashes the products to them, creating lots of sales and revenue. A normal eBay auction has roughly a 100 visitors to the auction site, Jason’s eBay auctions have between 2500-3000 visitors to his auction, which tremendously drives up the sale price.

Some final words of advice from Jason Miles on Pinterest and Instagram

1. Pinterest – Don’t start on Pinterest, audit your own site, then utilize the PinIt tool to make sure the images that are used are effectively little ads, and have Pinterest do the rest.

2. Instagram – Have an editorial mission, take eye-catching images of your products in order to cater to your target audience, if done properly the images will work for themselves.

Jason Miles is currently a Senior Vice President of Advancement at Northwest he will be retiring in the next few months in order to focus all of his attention on his business. After having a 16 year career with a NPO charity and being a part of Northwest University for the past 4 years, Jason has finally achieved his long time dream of becoming a successful Entrepreneur. Social media has played a big part in his success by utilizing it as a strong marketing tool for his business.

As with any business its important to have a strong marketing campaign, social media will allow you to create one, just as it allowed Jason Miles to develop a small doll clothing business into a large brand. So use social media to go out there and find your success!

Engaging Discussion Questions:

How do you use Pinterest?
How do you use Instagram?
How do you use YouTube?

Links to Great Stuff:

Marketing on Pinterest – “We’ve built a thriving business based on my wife’s design talent. We’re working hard to dominate our categories, build long-term brand power and get insanely good at delivering our unique products.”
Liberty Jane Clothing – “Jason Miles is the co-founder and marketer at Liberty Jane Clothing. He has a graduate degree in Business Administration, and undergraduate degrees in both Organizational Management and Biblical Studies. By day he’s the Vice President for Advancement at Northwest University, which leaves the evenings and weekends available for all things Liberty Jane!”

Success Quotes:

“Instagram is a phenomenal tool for social media marketing, its like Twitter without words.”

Special Requests:

Interact with us on the Defining Success Podcast Facebook page

Episode 51: Explore Your Options by Zeb Welborn

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Explore your options! Business decisions can be the difference between failure and success. It is critical to the success of any business to make informed decisions. Taking action as an entrepreneur is great, but making informed decisions is even greater.

Many people have hired us for web design, because they did not know anyone else who did it. However, in some of those cases we were not the best option for them, because we were either too expensive for what they wanted, or we did not cater to the type of website design they were looking for.

Small businesses do not have time or funds to hire people. They do not spend the time interviewing multiple people; they will often hire the first person that comes through their door. But it is vital to have options and to make informed decisions.

At the beginning phases of my business I did not make many informed decisions. I chose the first option that came to me. However, I was lucky with the first person I hired because he worked out great. Nonetheless, I wasn’t able to pay him very well, so he did not stick around. I continued following that same hiring process, but I ended up with a bunch of losers, which cost valuable time, energy, and effort. Had I taken the time to do the interview process fully and completely, I would have saved myself a lot of time in the long run and I would have been much happier.

White Chocolate Mint Cake by Daisy Cakes.

In Episode 2 of the Defining Success Podcast, I spoke with Kim Nelson of Daisy Cakes. When Kim began her Daisy Cakes business, she was shipping her cakes across the country for more than double what she currently pays. Because she decided to explore her options, Kim went from paying $45 per shipment to $20 per shipment just by switching shipping companies.

That one business decision allowed her to lower her price point so she could reach more customers and increased her profit margin so she could make more money on the cakes she was selling.

An added bonus of exploring your options and talking to other people is that you become a more informed decision maker, you get a better understanding of what you are looking for, what you are not looking for, what fits best for your business, you get ideas on ways to improve and enhance your business, and you get to see what your competition is doing.

Another added bonus are negotiating points, not only will it help you a better understanding but it will also give you very valuable negotiating techniques with the companies you are doing business with, because you will understand what it costs, what it takes, so it will help your bottom line as a business.

It is important to explore your options. With major business decisions it is always important to give yourself an opportunity to analyze the effectiveness each option will bring you. In the long run, making effective business decisions from the options available to you could save you thousands of dollars and even save your business. Never overlook the importance of making informed business decisions.

If you explore your options when making important business decisions you can have your cake . . . and eat it too!

Zeb Welborn Eating a Daisy Cake

Speaker Zeb Welborn at Shark Boot Camp

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As you may recall, I was recently invited to speak at the Shark Boot Camp event held at the Balboa Bay Club on November 9.

The event was full of great guest speakers, including entrepreneurs who had appeared on the hit ABC TV Show Shark Tank, like Shelly Ehler from ShowNo Towels, Michelle Kapustka from SendaBall, Mike Robinson from Cuddletunes, Mona Weiss from Eco Nuts, Nick Romero from The Ave., Brandon Marz from Marz Sprays.

They also had numerous other speakers on business including Mike Cordes from Viral Booth, Peter Mehit author of Killer Business Plan, Aggie Kobrin from Funder Way, Rey Ybarra, author of Conversations with Shark Tank Winners and former Defining Success Podcast guest, Rey Ybarra, TJ Hale, host of the Shark Tank Podcast and former Defining Success Podcast guest, K.J. from Smartphone Trainers, and Dan Fowler from Red River Productions.

The speaking engagement provided me a great opportunity to interact with other fans of the show and share my expertise when it came to interacting and communicating with the guests who had been on the show itself. Plus, it’s always great to reconnect with others who have appeared on the Defining Success Podcast like Rey Ybarra and TJ Hale.

Another great benefit of the event was the new connections I was able to establish with the people who attended the event. One of our future episodes will include an interview with Shelly Ehler, the owner of ShowNo and several others who may make their way into the Defining Success Podcast.

I’d especially like to thank Aggie Kobrin for inviting me to the event and hope to be involved in future opportunities.

: Zeb Welborn at Shark Boot Camp

: Zeb Welborn and Rey Ybarra at Shark Boot Camp

: Rey Ybarra, TJ Hale and Zeb Welborn at Shark Boot Camp

: Rey Ybarra Author of Conversations with Shark Tank Winners

: Rey Ybarra and Zeb Welborn

: Zeb Welborn

: Zeb Welborn

: Being Introduced?

: Zeb Welborn

: Zeb Welborn Speaking

: Zeb Welborn

: Zeb Welborn Speaker

: Zeb Welborn

: Zeb Welborn

: Zeb Welborn

Episode 50: Bring Yourself Into Your Career | 4th Grade Teacher Karen Krupnick

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As a 4th Grade Teacher Karen Krupnick was an excellent teacher who always brought something of herself into the classroom. Her passion for teaching transferred itself to her students and, as a former student myself, know she changed the lives of her students. Learn how you can bring yourself into your career in Episode 50 of the Defining Success Podcast!

Karen Krupnick

Karen Krupnick was my 4^th grade elementary teacher. Karen Krupnick has been a teacher for 40 years and has taught over 1,200 students, including myself. She fostered the creativity of her students by teaching lessons that were outside of the box.

Karen had no idea she was going to be an educator. She graduated college as a French teacher and it took a while before she made a decision to become a teacher. A friend of Karen’s began teaching preschool and Karen decided to give it a try.

Teaching has changed completely from 40 years ago. When she first started, there was a lot of experimentation in the classroom. It was a time when you tried new things and when she left teaching it became a test-oriented environment.

State standards have changed the classroom many times over. The new common core is looking to change the way teaching is done. The one thing Karen enjoyed about teaching was that she was able to bring something of herself into the classroom (bring yourself into your career) and could teach her classroom in creative ways and now that is definitely not encouraged.

When Karen went into teaching most teachers said they went into education because they could share their passion with their students.

One of the most valuable things Karen learned about teaching was the never-ending progression of students. Because of their different gifts, Karen came to appreciate people in a whole different way. She found the uniqueness of the human being to be very interesting.

Karen loved teaching math and she learned many things she could bring to her students and she loved doing integrated units and bringing all subjects into these units.

The Great Race to Nome

The Iditarod is a sled-dog race in Alaska where somewhere around 100 dog-sledders make this long trip along Alaska and it was immediately fascinating to Karen that human beings do this. At the time Karen was first introduced to the race, there wasn’t a lot of stuff out there. Students could calculate averages, do mathematical equations, read on the subject, and communicate with participants in the Iditarod. As a result, Karen created curriculum and wrote a book on the subject which 1,000’s of teachers were using in their classrooms. Recently; however, the state standards have forced administrators to say that this was not important and were discouraging teachers from using it in the classroom.

As technology evolved, students could do live chats with the mushers. And students could also chat with classrooms that were located at checkpoints along the Iditarod trail.

Karen wishes people outside of education understood that the teacher’s job never stops at 3pm. And that they’ll never understand how much time teachers put into their job over the summers. It’s painful as a teacher that so many other professionals diminish the efforts of teachers and it would be nice if they only knew how much time, effort and commitment most teachers put into their job.

Being a member of the team to educate your child is extremely important. Making sure they’re doing their homework and understanding what goes on in your child’s day is very important. Good, quality parenting is always part of the education process.

One of the things Karen missed was picking up her kids at her line in the morning. She loved seeing their energy and feeling their energy and loved questions.

Karen Krupnick

Engaging Discussion Questions:

Should teachers bring a piece of themselves into the classroom?
What do you think is the best way to educate children?

Links to Great Stuff:

Iditarod.com – “It takes so much more than a field of willing mushers and anxious sled dogs to run the Iditarod Trail Race. With an annual budgetof almost two million dollars, the Iditarod Trail Committee depends on a hard working force of volunteers and supporters to raise the necessary money all year around. An annual sweepstakes isheld. Various items are sold at fairs and benefits. Banquets are planned in both Anchorage and Nome. This volunteer force and the loyal supporters from both the private and business sector make the race possible each year.”

Success Quotes:

“Success is being able to get up every morning and be glad that you’re going to your job.”
“If you love where you’re going and what you’re doing than you’re a success.”
“Be yourself and study the things that you love. Don’t choose what you study because of what anybody else tells you.”
“Be yourself. Bring something of yourself into your classroom.”
“A career goes home with you. A job, you leave behind at the office.”
“Good, quality parenting is always part of the education process.”

Special Requests:

Rate and Review the Defining Success Podcast in iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-success-podcast/id619459909

Board of Advisors for EZeeGolf

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As listeners of the Defining Success Podcast, you may remember Steve Fluke (Episode 45: Listen to Your Market). Steve was the owner of EZeeGolf. EZeeGolf is a golf club that can propel the ball without a traditional golf swing. The club acts more like a gun where you press a button and can hit your ball between 50 and 225 yards down the fairway.

The main goal of EZeeGolf is to help golfers who can no longer enjoy the game because of their physical limitations enjoy the great game of golf. By using this tool golfers who can no longer swing because of shoulder problems, disabilities, or old age can now still get out on the golf course and enjoy a round with their friends and family.

After our interview on the Defining Success Podcast, Steve and I have gotten to know each other much better, so much so that Steve invited me to be on the Board of Advisors for EZeeGolf. In my current position, I’ll be working with Steve to help increase and enhance the online and social media presence of EZeeGolf in a consulting role. If you haven’t checked out EZeeGolf, please do. You can visit their the EZeeGolf website, Facebook page, and/or YouTube page.

EZeeGolf

I’m really looking forward to working with Steve and EZeeGolf to help those individuals who enjoy the game continue to get out on the golf course and enjoy the experience with their families and friends.

If you have any ideas about how we can market and promote EZeeGolf, please let us know on the Defining Success Podcast Facebook page. We’d love to hear your thoughts about this new golf club!

Episode 49: Just Show Up! | Photographer Chris Carlson from the Associated Press

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Chris Carlson has done photography in more than 40 different countries covering some of the world’s greatest sporting and political events. He’s been involved in the business a long time but attributes his consistency and reliability to be one of the keys to his success. Learn how to just show up in Episode 49 of the Defining Success Podcast.

Chris Carlson has been a staff photographer at the AP in Southern California for the past 6 years, Prior to that, he has been on the staff of the Orange County Register where he shared a Pulitzer Prize for coverage. During his career, he has been on assignment in over 40 countries.

Chris’s family was in the newspaper business. Early on he realized his spelling was so bad that the only way he could stay in the newspaper business was by becoming a photographer. Like any field you get into, you have to hone your craft. Chris was very lucky to work with people who were very skilled. Many people took Chris under his wing and helped develop him into a world class photographer.

When Chris started in photography, there was a huge delay between the time he took a picture and the time he had it developed. In some cases it was several hours. Now, photographers know very quickly whether or not they have shot something great or not and they have the ability to take more if they are not happy with what they’ve shot. Twenty years ago photographers were not as lucky because if they took bad shots, they would not be able to recognize this until hours later and in some cases this meant the opportunity was gone for good.

In photojournalism, they have deadlines and now the deadlines have sped up excessively.

One thing that Chris thinks many people in photography may not realize is the way that professional photographers are able to effectively use lighting to create a better picture. The average person would be able to look at a picture and say it’s beautiful, but the professional photographer would be able to understand why the picture looks beautiful. A good photographer can take any situation and make it look like it was shot with photo studio lighting.

Some people get into journalism because they want to get into the world. Chris got into journalism because he wanted to see the world. Being a photographer has given Chris the opportunity to see how the world has unfolded before him.

One of the best assignments Chris ever had was the 2007 U.S. Open where Tiger Woods won in a 19 hole playoff and watching him make a put on the 18th hole to force a playoff was probably the most exciting thing he had ever seen. Watching the crowd react and watching Tiger’s reaction and seeing how competitive that day was was amazing. And he felt very fortunate that photography was the vehicle that gave him the opportunity to witness the experience in person.

A lot of pressure comes from being a photographer. Chris works hard to capture special moments, but sometimes many factors can contribute to the missing of a moment which can be lost and gone forever if he doesn’t capture it as it’s happening. The stress of capturing these events can be a burden. Over time the stress of having to capture that one moment can weigh on you a bit.

Chris attributes his success to luck, good decisions, hard work and sometimes, no matter how hard you try, something happens that you couldn’t plan for and in his case he feels very lucky. Somebody once told Chris that a key to success is just showing up. If you show up and do work you’re already ahead of your competition. He looks at his colleagues that are very successful, he sees that it’s because they have a very strong work ethic.

One of the biggest mistake Chris has made was that he didn’t know if he enjoyed it enough in his time. He wonders if when he retires if he’s going to say that he enjoyed it enough while he was doing it.

Working at the Associated Press, Chris feels fortunate that they cover big stories and the one event Chris wants to go to that he hasn’t yet is the Masters Golf Tournament. Every year Chris covers the Kraft-Nabisco women’s golf tournament events which conflicts with the Masters, but he hopes he can make it to the Masters.

Chris has done countless brush fires, earthquakes, civil unrest. He was on the presidential campaign with President Obama and he’s done the Iowa Caucus and recommends that if anyone has an interest in politics that they should visit Iowa during that time because they are all very knowledgeable about politics.

If you’re interested in becoming a photographer you need to decide what kind of photography you’d like to do and then position yourself to be able to do that. Sometimes it means starting at the high school level and hone your skills to build up to the big time. Photography is incredibly competitive and in order to be successful you must love photography and if you have a good work-ethic, you’ll have a chance to be a good photographer.

When they started introducing digital cameras, your competition grew and the ability to make a living in photography is a lot tougher than it used to be.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What does it take to make a great picture?
How important do you think being reliable is to business?
Would people say you just show up?

Links to Great Stuff:

AP Images – “AP Images gives you access to the world’s largest collections of historical and contemporary photographs, so you have all the imagery you need, right when you need it. AP’s timely, powerful and informative images cover topics ranging from breaking news and sports to business, entertainment, weather, fashion, travel, royalty-free, rights-managed, microstock and more. You can purchase the images you need immediately on our site or set up a subscription service with your sales representative. And with our new API delivery method, you get images in a more flexible, fast and reliable way, within your own interface. AP’s Assignment & Publicity Services is also ready to assist you with start-to-finish planning, execution and distribution for all your promotional needs.”

The International Center of Photography – “The International Center of Photography (ICP) is the world’s leading institution dedicated to the practice and understanding of photography and the reproduced image in all its forms. Through our exhibitions, educational programs, and community outreach, we offer an open forum for dialogue about the role images play in our culture. Since our founding, we have presented more than 500 exhibitions and offered thousands of classes, providing instruction at every level. ICP is a center where photographers and artists, students and scholars can create and interpret the world of the image within our comprehensive educational facilities and archive.”

MSNBC – Pictures of the Week – “NBC News Digital is a collection of innovative and powerful news brands that deliver compelling, diverse and visually engaging stories on your platform of choice. NBC News Digital features world-class brands including NBCNews.com, tv.msnbc.com, TODAY.com, theGrio.com, NBCLatino.com, NBCPolitics.com, Nightly News, Meet the Press, Rock Center, Dateline, Newsvine, Breaking News, and the existing apps and digital extensions of these respective properties. We provide something for every news consumer with our comprehensive offerings that deliver the best in breaking news, segments from your favorite NBC News shows, live video coverage, original journalism, lifestyle features, commentary and local updates. NBC News Digital reaches an audience of more than 58 million unique visitors who generate more than 1.2 billion page views and 140 million online video streams each month.”

New York Times – Lens Blog – “Photography, Visual and Video Journalism.”

Success Quotes:

“Success is balancing my career, my family life, my social life and my future.”
“I got into journalism because I wanted to see the world.”
“The one thing that separates amateur photographers from professional photographers is the way they handle light.”
“Photography is about capturing the moment.”

Special Requests:

Engage with us on Facebook, Twitter and leave reviews on the Defining Success Podcast in iTunes.

Zeb Welborn to Speak at Shark Boot Camp

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Honored to have been chosen to be a speaker at the Shark Boot Camp Event being held this Saturday, November 9 in Newport Beach. Because I have interviewed several of the entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank I’ll be on a panel where we’ll discuss how entrepreneurs can utilize bloggers, podcasters and bloggers to help promote their business.

Because I’ll be presenting, I have the opportunity to offer discounted pricing for this Shark Boot Camp Event. If you’re interested in attending for half-price please visit Zeb Welborn’s Shark Boot Camp Half-Priced Tickets.

Shark Boot Camp

The hit TV show has created overnight success and new ventures along with provided REAL LIFE learning for business owners.

Shark Tank, one of the most popular and successful reality television shows over the past four years, has been a launch pad for almost 250 new or expanding businesses. Season five recently started with some new combinations of Sharks on the panel joining the feeding frenzy.

On Saturday, November 9, from 9:00am till 5:00pm the largest gathering of alumni will share their experiences of being on the show and becoming an “overnight success.” This will be the second reunion held in Orange County and a sell out crowd is expected.

The TV panel of Sharks, all with a net worth in excess of $100 million, team with small to medium sized businesses that are seeking capital or strategic partnerships. This local all-day Boot Camp will provide panel discussion with alumni from the show along with individual presentations on what “worked”, what didn’t work, ideas of how to get on the show and getting picked (a Special Report of those tips is available at www.sharkbootcamp.com), plus presentations on guerilla marketing, social media and working with blogs. A real-world pitch session will be presented to real-world investors and the audience will be able to critique and learn from the contestants.

Local celebrity contestants including Shelly Ehler with ShowNo towels (www.showno.com), who will speak about the lessons learned both in businesses as well as life. Shelly’s “pitch” has been aired five times, and has been one of their most popular segments.

The all day admission fee is $97 and VIP packages are available for $147 which include personal one on one conversations and coaching from the alumni as well as a MasterMind lunch session. A portion of all registration fees will be shared with the Special Olympics in Orange County. The location will be at the Balboa Bay Club on Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach.

For more information about me and the speaking engagement, please visit the Speakers Page for the Shark Boot Camp Event and for half-priced tickets, please visit Zeb Welborn’s Shark Boot Camp Half-Priced Tickets.

Zeb Welborn

Episode 48: Tap Into an Existing Audience | Shark Tank Podcast Host – TJ Hale

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In Episode 48 of the Defining Success Podcast, TJ Hale, host of the Shark Tank Podcast shares how he got the idea for starting his podcast and why he decided to name his show the Shark Tank Podcast. Learn how you can tap into an existing audience to build a larger audience faster in this episode.

TJ Hale

TJ Hale is host of the Shark Tank Podcast. The Shark Tank Podcast is a place where you can come and listen to entrepreneurs tell the whole scoop. Details regarding their business, what really happened on the show, failures, setbacks, big wins, and in some cases what its like partnering with a multi-millionaire/billionaire investor.

TJ Hale was a commercial real estate broker and did some really big deals in the real estate business and when the economy changed he changed he knew he needed to change directions. He then moved into the tech arena and as he was working in the tech business, a good friend of his was experimenting with some online marketing. His friend continued to come up with ideas, but they never lasted very long and TJ kept making fun of him for his many failed ventures and his friend challenged him, asking him to give it a try. They then decided to hold each other accountable.

TJ began by doing research and learned that he thought he was best suited for podcasting. He then Googled how to do a podcast and decided to start the Shark Tank Podcast with its built-in audience and became very successful early on. By learning how to tap into an existing audience, TJ set himself up for success.

The Shark Tank Podcast was chosen by TJ because he knew that any online venture would take time before he could be seen as an expert . . . unless he could tap into an existing audience. He knew that by tapping into the audience of the Shark Tank he could be successful from the beginning.

TJ has learned a lot since he started his podcast. One of the things he’s been most amazed by is the willingness of people to provide information and to be helpful. One story he recalls comes from Cliff Ravenscraft who discusses about a podcast he started around the T.V. Show Lost. The first season he invited some friends over to watch the show and the next season he had to rent out a hotel ballroom in order to meet the demand for a viewing party. TJ likes talking to people and there is something about podcasting that he had a large enough impact that people were willing to buy a plane ticket to fly out to attend his viewing parties.

One thing TJ would change about his progress so far would be getting involved in Facebook. Early on he was very anti-Facebook, but he quickly learned that it was a great tool to connect with his listeners. TJ didn’t start on Facebook until a month ago and he’s glad he did because it changed his whole universe.

If you’re a beginning business person you need to talk to experts. Social media makes it so easy to connect with people.

TJ came from a family that was very skeptical and many people who are using social media are using it in a very sales promotional way which is not how social media should be used, but it turns many people off. When done the right way, social media can have tremendous benefits to any business.

The Shark Tank Podcast started it during Season 4 and this is the first season that he’s been able to interview people as soon as they’ve come off their show. He’s able to ask a lot of great questions to entrepreneurs about their experiences on the show.

The podcast features Shark Tank entrepreneurs and many people who are successful in the Shark Tank of life. The key to success is to continue striving right at the time of success. We focus on many of the negatives and the whole goal is to make us people of significance and not of success.

One of the coolest things that has come about because of the Shark Tank Podcast is that there are now numerous projects starting up to help small business owners. They are now trying to do community level Shark Tank events called the Guppy Tank and they’re doing all sorts of similar shows with many local people involved in the show. The compounding effect on small business is incredible.

There is a lot of great info to help people start a podcast because there are a lot of unknowns. If you plan on starting a podcast, you need a good microphone, but the rest you can do very inexpensively.

TJ Hale

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What existing audiences are available that you could tap into for your business?
What Facebook pages do you think are done extremely well?
What’s the best power connection you’ve made through social media?

Links to Great Stuff:

The Shark Tank Podcast – TJ Hale is the host of the Shark Tank Podcast. Shark Tank is the best reality show on T.V. & a great way for entrepreneurs to get valuable insight from extremely successful sharks. TJ helps take the Shark Tank experience to take the next level on the Shark Tank Podcast.
Cliff Ravenscraft – My goal is to help you create valuable and engaging podcasts that are so compelling that people will want to engage with you and your brand. Allow me to help you save hours, weeks, months or even years of research. Having the correct equipment and using it in the right way determines not only the quality of your podcasts, but how well your podcast converts listeners into subscribers and creates an engaged community.

Success Quotes:

“Success is that I’m the one who determines my own level of control in my life and I don’t surrender that to anyone else.”
“The nice thing about a podcast is that people do trust you.”
“If you’re thinking about doing something, just go out and do it. The worst that can happen is you screw up. Big deal.”
“If you want to be someone who is not just successful but also significant you’re going to put the time in offering value before you get anything in return.”
“You’re best thinking got you to where you are today.”
“People have great ideas all day long. It’s the one they choose to execute and how they choose to execute them that determines their success.”
“So many people are using social media the wrong way it gave me a bad taste in my mouth. It’s been incredibly valuable using it the right way.”
“I didn’t start on Facebook until a month ago . . . it’s changed my whole universe.”
“You’re offering it for free . . . you’re not selling it. You become someone they trust and like to associate with.”
“You’re someone they’re willing to put in their ears while they’re blasting their pecs at the gym.”
“If you’re going to start an online venture, it’s going to take you a while to become established as an expert if you don’t already have that customer base built-in.”
“In the Google Age you can teach yourself to do just about anything.”

Shark Tank Podcast

The Kingdom Net: Learning to Network Like Jesus

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The Kingdom Net: Learning to Network Like Jesus by Dr. Joseph Castleberry was recently made available and we’re excited to give the listeners of the Defining Success Podcast the opportunity to check it out.

If you’re interested in learning about marketing or becoming a marketing expert, it’s important to learn from the best. Jesus used networking not for his own selfish needs but to be of service to others. Dr. Joseph Castleberry explores the necessities of networking and how you can use it to apply to all aspects of your life in his new book.

The greatest networker in history was Jesus Christ. Beginning with a team of three close friends and a dozen followers, He created an organization that today has over 2 billion members.

Jesus networked for a single purpose: to introduce people to the kingdom of God. No product, service, or personal friendship can meet the needs of people more completely than ushering them into God’s rule. Jesus used networking to deliver to humanity the highest level of service that anyone has ever offered.

Regardless of your line of work, adopting the Jesus style of networking can take your life and career to a new level. By networking His way, you can achieve greater success in your career or professional life. You can enhance your personal life through building more and better friendships. You can find more significance in your life by ratcheting up the level and breadth of service you provide to others. Learning to network like Jesus will help you make the most of your life for God and for others.

The Kingdom Net

Episode 47: Network Like Jesus | Author Dr. Joseph Castleberry

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Dr. Joseph Castleberry shares his experience networking and connecting with new people in a variety of locations over his career. In his new book, The Kingdom Net: Learning to Network Like Jesus, he shares how Jesus was able to network and how you can network like Jesus for your business or career. Learn to network like Jesus in Episode 47 of the Defining Success Podcast!

Dr. Joseph Castleberry

Joseph Castleberry is the president of Northwest University. He enjoys writing, and his second popular book, The Kingdom Net: Learning to Network Like Jesus, launches in August, 2013. A native of Alabama, he came to the Pacific Northwest after a transcultural career that took him and his family to New Jersey, New York City, Texas, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Missouri before his soft landing on the banks of Lake Washington.

Dr. Joseph Castleberry started attending school at a very young age and at five years old, he knew that he had a strong connection with God and religion and he’s always been that way.

When Joseph was 12 years old he attended a camp and one student told everyone that God had called on him to preach and it really got his attention. Joseph then prayed to God and said that was what he wanted to do and from then on he began preaching. A few years later he came to his mother and knew that he wanted to preach to intellectual people.

He also had a strong calling to aid in poverty in Latin America and at 15 he traveled to Honduras and experienced the poverty in the area. Honduras was the poorest country in the hemisphere that year and he saw real human misery up close. He was amazed at the power of faith to help lift people up out of trouble, misery and poverty and he felt strongly attracted to Latin America.

In college, Dr. Castleberry fell in love with scholarship. He took Greek and Hebrew and began studying the Bible from a critical perspective and an academic perspective and felt a strong desire to become a professor.

At 21, a family tragedy struck and he was praying to God and he sensed God’s promise to him that he would some day be a college president. His first full-time job was a chaplain at Princeton University.

He then went to El Salvador as a missionary and taught classes at the University and planted a church in front of the Naitonal University and spent 20 years as a missionary in El Salvador, Ecuador and all over the Latin American region.

He had finished his doctorate from Columbia University during that time and came back as the academic dean in Missouri and five years later he was elected as the president of Northwest University in Washington.

One of my gifts was my ability to make friends and to keep them. And I had an ability to connect people to be able to help others become better.

Joseph had a strong desire to work with intellectuals and make a difference in the lives of poor people. He came from a poverty stricken family and he was the first person in his family to go to college and he had a connection with people who were struggling with poverty.

He spent his career in his academy and the other half of his time he spent building churches. The Latin American professional class is a delightful group of people with a hopeful view of the people. As a pasteur he was always good at getting them involved in helping poor individuals across Latin America.

As a pasteur in Ecuador, he started a church in a gated community, but the truth is that church had so many different ethnic groups and so many different socio-economic backgrounds. It was a really interesting mixture of people.

If you build your church around the culture of poor people, you will only reach poor people. If you build a church for the upper-middle class, you can reach everyone.

Joseph Castleberry came to Northwest University to be the president of the University and he didn’t know a soul when he moved there. He had no network at all and had to start meeting people really fast.

He joined rotary clubs and local organizations and he made friends and started developing more connections in his community.

If you look at Jesus’ own networking methods the very first people who he called upon were fishermen. He called upon them because fishermen were great networkers because they knew how to catch the fish, get them inland and then learned how to sell them. So they had experience at getting a product to market.

People think of networking as if someone is trying to get something from themselves. All of the networking Jesus did was seeing how he could serve other people. When people recognize that you have a heart of service, that’s where business is the most elegant.

There is good business and bad business. The person who does business in order to take advantage of people, they wind up paying the price in other ways because life is more than how much money you have.

Dr. Joseph Castleberry

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What do you think of business people?
What can you do to network like Jesus?
What are you doing to serve people?

Links to Great Stuff:

The Kingdom Net – “Jesus came to proclaim the Kingdom of God; he built the Kingdom Net to keep the word and work of God spreading.”

Success Quotes:

“Success means achieving the purpose for which you’re in the world.”
“The most dignified label a person can wear is employer.”
“Human beings need a purpose and a mission. They need something to accomplish and if they don’t have accomplishments, it’s impossible for them to be happy.”
“Nothing has ever taken anything from poverty to prosperity except by business.”
“If you’re going to be successful, it’s not going to come at the cost of your integrity, conscious and dignity.”
“The person who does business like a snake has to pay the penalty of being the snake.”
“Life is more than how much money you have.”
“Network with people in order to serve them.”
“Jesus was a master at working together with other people.”
“No one can buy into a message unless it’s marketed.”
“Why did Jesus choose fishermen to be their first disciples? They were networkers.”
“The greatest commandment is to love the lord your God with all your heart and then your neighbor as yourself.”
“Every person who has submitted themselves to the rule of God has entered the Kingdom of God.”
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was thrown into the world.”
“You currency does not go farther than your set of relationships. Your influence can not go further than your network.”
“Networking is connecting people who had something to offer with people who need things.”
“Any career is highly dependent on your ability to create connections.”
“No career could have been more in tune with who I am as a person.”
“I believed that God was leading me the whole way and I was always obedient to God’s purposes for me were.”

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Rate the Defining Success Podcast in iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-success-podcast/id619459909

Dr. Joseph Castleberry

World Wide Rave | FREE eBook from David Meerman Scott

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David Meerman Scott (Episode 46), author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR is offering his book, World Wide Rave free to anyone who is interested in generating positive word of mouth for any business.

Learn how to harness the power of the Internet to get people talking about you, your company and your products. Get people to visit your website because they genuinely want to be there and reap the rewards!

Take advantage of this opportunity to get your hands on this great book by David Meerman Scott for FREE!

“A World Wide Rave!

What the heck is that?

A World Wide Rave is when people around the world are talking about you, your company, and your products. It’s when communities eagerly link to your stuff on the Web. It’s when online buzz drives buyers to your virtual doorstep. It’s when tons of fans visit your Web site and your blog because they genuinely want to be there.

Rules of the Rave:

Nobody cares about your products (except you).
No coercion required.
Lose control.
Put down roots.
Point the world to your (virtual) doorstep.

You can trigger a World Wide Rave: Just create something valuable that people want to share and make it easy for them to do so.

What happens when people can’t stop talking online about you, your company, and your products? A World Wide Rave is born that can propel a brand or company to seemingly instant fame and fortune. How do you create one? By learning the secret to getting links, YouTube, Facebook, and blog buzz to drive eager buyers to your virtual doorstep. For free.

In World Wide Rave, David Meerman Scott, author of the award-winning hit book The New Rules of Marketing and PR, reveals the most exciting and powerful ways to build a giant audience from scratch.”

World Wide Rave by David Meerman Scott

Listen to Episode 46 with David Meerman Scott where he discusses Real-Time Marketing.

Episode 46: Real-Time Marketing | Author David Meerman Scott

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David Meerman Scott is a marketing strategist, advisor to emerging companies, best-selling author of eight books including three national best-sellers, and a professional speaker on topics including marketing, leadership, and social media. In Episode 46 of the Defining Success Podcast, David shares his ideas on real-time marketing and how you can use real-time marketing to help your business grow.

David Meerman Scott

David Meerman Scott wrote the New Rules of Marketing and PR and he’s helping businesses understand how the marketing world has shifted to giving and receiving instant feedback so you can be found online. In Episode 46 of the Defining Success Podcast, David Meerman Scott talks about Real-Time Marketing and its implication for the future.

David’s first job was at a Wall Street Street Bond Trading desk which he hated. He then began selling economic services to traders and he learned that he was really doing more marketing than he was selling. He then got a job in marketing for a company called Knight Ridder and he’s been a marketer ever since.

In 2002, David Meerman Scott worked for the News Edge Corporation was acquired by Thompson-Reuters and he was an officer and was asked to leave because they didn’t need the management team going forward and it gave him an opportunity to see what he wanted to do moving forward. At 39, he realized he could do some consulting on his own and in 2005, his second book was called Cashing in With Content and his most well-known book is the New Rules of Marketing and PR which has sold 300,000 copies.

Since 2007, David has been earning his income on the speaking market. He drifted from one point to another. David wasn’t afraid to do things that others said would be a mistake. And these events all worked out great for him. In 2002 when David decided to start his own thing and many people looked down on people who started their own businesses because it was seen as if you couldn’t find a real job.

Each of the things that paid off the most were risks that Scott took.

The old rules of marketing and PR were that you either had to buy attention for your business or yourself in the form of advertising, you had to convince media outlets to write about you or you had to reach customers individually through direct selling. The new rules of marketing and PR is the idea that on the web there are millions of people who are looking for things online to buy or do and they go to search engines or they ask their friends, colleagues and social networks. The organizations and the people that create the best content will be the ones that show up in search engines and the more likely friends are to share them.

The New Rules of Marketing & PR Fourth Edition

The New Rules of Marketing and PR is about how to create content. World Wide Rave is another book by David Meerman Scott and in the last year, David has made his book completely free, and to get it search for World Wide Rave. David wrote another book called Real-Time Marketing and PR. When people are making purchasing decisions, they are doing it right now and his book is designed to show how to engage people in real-time. Most companies and organizations are focused on campaign marketing and most companies are doing that exclusively.

The idea of marketing is switching it around from doing it when a business is ready to when the customers are ready. News Jacking is the art and science of turning your ideas into a news story. It provides really cool ideas on how you can create something that people will see because you’re piggy-backing off of a breaking news story.

David gives 35 speeches a year all over the world. This month, David is traveling to Cairo and Cutter and he’ll be gone for six days. In November, he’s traveling to Buenos Aires and Istanbul.

The biggest mistake David sees companies make is that they talk about themselves way too much. And that doesn’t work in today’s world.

It’s very important to create content on the web. To have a great website, to have real-time content around that website, whether it’s a blog or YouTube videos and it’s important to put yourself out there on the web and through social networking.

Facebook has only been open since 2007. Twitter has only been around since 2007. It’s important for businesses to understand what this means for them and their future.

David Meerman Scott

Engaging Discussion Questions:

Do you interact with your customers in Real-Time?
Are you creating content on the web? If so, how?

Links to Great Stuff:

David Meerman Scott – “David’s book The New Rules of Marketing & PR opened people’s eyes to the new realities of marketing and public relations on the Web. Six months on the BusinessWeek bestseller list and published in 26 languages from Bulgarian to Vietnamese, New Rules, now in its 4th edition, is a modern business classic. Scott’s popular blog and hundreds of speaking engagements around the world give him a singular perspective on how businesses are implementing new strategies to reach buyers.”

Success Quotes:

“Success is creating a path that allows you to enjoy life.”
“Social media is about engaging people.”
“Social media is about listening.”
“Social media is about sharing the content you create elsewhere.”
“The way that people are solving other people’s problems on the web.”
“No matter what you’re doing you’re gaining incredible knowledge, you’re learning and interacting with people.”
“Everything that I’ve done all pointed me to where I am now so I don’t have any regrets.”
“Create the content that will be valuable to the people you’re trying to reach.”
“You need to be helpful on the web that will be beneficial to people.”
“The New Rules of Marketing and PR is the idea that on the web there are millions of people who are looking for things online to buy.”
“It’s the organizations and the people that create the best content that generate the higher search engine results and promoted in social networks.”
“The New Rules of Marketing and PR is that the better your content is the more attention you drive to yourself and to your business.”
“If you’re blogging, creating videos and active on social networks than you’re more likely to get noticed than someone who isn’t.”
“I enjoy helping people and being able to interact with people and share ideas.”
“I wasn’t scared to do things that people actually told me were a mistake.”

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Bunkers Paradise Charity Golf Tournament at San Dimas Canyon Golf Course

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Bunkers Paradise held their first annual Bunkers Paradise Charity Golf Tournament for the Special Olympics of Southern California at San Dimas Canyon Golf Course on Sunday, October 13.

For a first year tournament, Bunkers Paradise had close to 50 golfers playing for the Special Olympics of Southern California, including two previous guests of the Defining Success Podcast, Ken Lee (Episode 9) and Kate Hughes (Episode 26).

Ken Lee is the Editor-in-Chief of Bunkers Paradise and worked with San Dimas Canyon Golf Course to help put on the event. Welborn Media and 19th Hole Media are currently working with San Dimas Canyon Golf Course on their social media presence. Check out the San Dimas Canyon Facebook page to see how we can help build and grow the online presence of any golf course. Surprisingly enough, with the help of Gary Christman, Kenny Donovan and Mike Quiroz, the Welborn Media and 19th Hole Media ended up shooting a 14-under par to tie for the lead at the tournament and each of us won brand new Cleveland XL Drivers thanks to the folks at Bunkers Paradise.

Kate Hughes was in attendance as a contributor to Bunkers Paradise and an advocate of the Special Olympics and golf. All in all, the tournament was a great success and we were happy to be a part of it! Even happier that we ended up winning the first ever Bunkers Paradise Charity Golf Tournament!