Monthly Archives: March 2013

Episode 9: Building an Online Golfing Community | Ken Lee from Bunkers Paradise

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Ken Lee is the Editor-in-Chief and Director of Social Media at Bunkers Paradise. Ken talks about how sometimes he tried to do too much too quickly and the importance of quality of quantity when posting on Facebook and Twitter. Learn how to build an online golfing community in Episode 9 of the Defining Success Podcast with Zeb Welborn.

Ken Lee from Bunkers Paradise

Ken Lee from Bunkers Paradise

Recap:

Ken Lee has been involved in sports his entire life.  Golf was something that his granparents got him into.  They played golf together for 40 years and he watched them play as a young child.  Ken loved playing all types of sports and while personally using social media he established contact with Gary Lee from Lakers Nation who had established Bunkers Paradise as a place for used golf clubs reviews.  In 2012, Ken came aboard and changed the direction of Bunkers Paradise to make it an online golfing community and they use social media as a platform to build a strong social media community.

Ken’s vision for Bunkers Paradise was to create an online golfing community for anything and everything golf.  “We live, learn, and love everything golf.”  Any golfer from beginner to pro can connect and interact with us.  They will learn news, the newest golf club releases, and they make it fun.  They also want to help grow and appreciate the game.

Facebook and Twitter work well for Ken Lee to reach customers and clientele.  Ken likes Twitter because there is quick and fast feedback.  Facebook, to Ken, is an avenue to expose people to different articles, fun photos and an opportunity for other golfers to engage with one another.

One tip Ken would give for Facebook is to encourage people to interact with Facebook posts.  If you write an article don’t just submit it, encourage people to discuss the article that you’ve written.  That interaction will give you an opportunity to connect with other golfers.

On Twitter, Ken recommends implementing a strategy and they use it as a gateway for everything.  Use introduction tweets to start discussions and then through the interaction start to develop relationships that can bring people to their Facebook page or to their website.

Social media is the reason why Ken Lee came on board with Bunkers Paradise and he says that it’s been the catalyst for the success of his business.  What people don’t realize is that nowadays, people want instant feedback and any company can do that now.  Anybody can utilize social media in a positive way.

As a result of social media, Bunkers Paradise has been in contact with hundreds of companies including Callaway Golf.  Callaway golf has figured out that social media is huge for the game of golf.  And they have struck up a strong relationship with Callaway through the social media presence Bunkers Paradise has established.

Ken feels he is a good communicator who interacts with people well in the community and people enjoy talking with him and engaging with Bunkers Paradise.  They’re just a bunch of golfers who love this game.  He interacts with people well and has fun while he’s doing it.

Sometimes, in the social media world you can push to fast and sometimes pushing too fast hurts your growth in terms of what you’re trying to accomplish.  Ken’s trying to get Bunkers Paradise too big, too fast and he tends to think he should slow down sometimes and just enjoy the ride.

To Ken, success is different for each individual, but for the most part it’s setting up a goal and it’s not necessarily reaching a goal, but it’s a journey along the way that help people get to that goal.  And whether you have failures or successes along the way, as long as you’re learning the entire time you’ll be successful.  Ken considers himself successful because of the people he works and connects with on a daily basis.

Bunkers Paradise

Bunkers Paradise

Please connect with their Twitter @BunkersPGolf, search for Bunkers Paradise on Facebook and Instagram.  You can also connect with Ken at @GolfingwithLee on Twitter.  They will be giving away some prizes as they reach 6,000 Twitter followers.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

  • What is better to use for businesses, Facebook or Twitter?
  • Do you think moving too fast is a problem for some businesses?
  • How do you know how good a post is when you’re creating a Facebook or Twitter post?

Links to Great Stuff:

  • Bunkers Paradise – Bunkers Paradise is an online community for anything and everything golf.  Ken Lee is the Editor-in-Chief and Director of Social Media for Bunkers Paradise.
  • Callaway Golf – Callaway Golf has figured out the importance of social media.  Visit their website.
  • 19th Hole Media – Although not mentioned in this podcast, I, Zeb Welborn have experienced a lot of success using social media at golf courses here in Southern California and recently started a new website with that goal, 19th Hole Media. Let us show you how we’ve been able to help golf courses grow using social media to build stronger relationships with current golfers and reach out to new golfers.
  • Welborn Media – Located in Chino, CA learn how we can use Internet marketing and social media to reach more customers.

Success Quotes:

  • “Social media has been our forum for success.”
  • “To get people to follow you, you have to tweet things that matter.”
  • “It’s not about quantity, it’s about the quality of the tweets.”

Special Requests:

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Episode #8: The Business Obsession | Tamika Newhouse from Delphine Publications

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Teaser: Author Tamika Newhouse discusses the importance of having a business obsession. She is a four-time African-American literary award winner, the CEO and founder of Delphine Publications, a life-style blogger, radio host and is currently working on her eighth book, Cookie Too.

Thank you for visiting the Defining Success Podcast.  Please download, subscribe and rate our podcast on iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-success-podcast/id619459909 Thanks for listening!

Tamika Newhouse

Tamika Newhouse

Recap: At 15 years old Tamika Newhouse became a single mother.  Even at a young age she knew she was naturally mature at her age and she made a decision to not let being a single mother at her young age hinder her for the rest of her life.  She knew it would be an obstacle, but also knew it was something she could overcome.

Tamika had an affinity for writing at a very young age and experimented with her writing.  When her mother passed away it really inspired Tamika to turn to writing.  She started an online book club and came across many people who had self-published their own books and realized she could do it herself.  Within four months of learning she could self publish her own book, Tamika held her first book in her hand.

To Tamika, obsession is critical toward building a business.  If you have an obsession you’ll do everything you can to make your dreams come to and she found that to be very critical to her own success.

One of Tamika’s idols is author, Terry McMillan, Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, but she also finds motivation from people who have told her that she has inspired them.  She embraces the role of someone who has worked hard to achieve her success and finds motivation in the fact that others have found her inspiring as well.  She feels personally responsible for her own success.

Her greatest skill is that she’s a dreamer, artistic and a visionary and she feels she has the ability to be more creative than others in the business because of her business obsession.  She often dreams about fairy tales and develops movies in her head and puts those movies onto paper.

Cookie Too

Cookie Too

She is most proud of her book, Cookie, because it was based on her life and she nailed it.  And publishing her first book is also a great source of pride for her.  Holding her first book in her hands was something she will never forget.

Tamika has encountered lots of problems with fellow authors and from her readers because not everyone is happy with the work that she has done.  She never regrets anything, but she did learn she needed to grow thicker skin.

Her advice was that you have to learn about the business and the basics of publishing and then learn about the marketing.  You have to know how to brand, budget, market, your audience.  Start meeting people who are already doing what you want them to do.  In today’s environment, there really is no excuse to not get your book published.  There are so many resources and publication out there that can teach you everything you need to know about publishing. Learn the business and set a budget.

To her success is not monetary, it is someone who is satisfied and happy in their job or business means they are a success.  If they are pursuing a dream they never thought they could live would be a success.

She would tell people to make a difference and have a business obsession and you can not fail.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

  • What are you obsessed about?
  • If you could be obsessed with anything what would it be?
  • What obstacles do you have to overcome to achieve success?

Links to Great Stuff:

  • TamikaNewhouse.com – “Tamika Newhouse is a self-published bestselling author who founded Delphine Publications, at the age of 21; Tamika appeared on various bestseller lists and won Self Published Author of the Year at the 2009 African American Literary Awards only 9 months after her debut novel. In 2010 she was inducted into Who’s who in Black San Antonio and she landed a major publishing deal without an agent and still continues to write independent projects. In 2011 her company Delphine Publications won an African American Literary Award for Best Anthology as well as Tamika won for the second time Self Published Author of the Year. She was also nominated by the National Women in Business Association for the 2011 Entrepreneurial Spirit Award.”   You can follow her on Twitter @TamikaNewhouse, Instagram BossLadyTamika and Facebook.com/TamikaNewhouse
  • Delphine Publications – “Launched in 2008 by Award Winning author Tamika Newhouse, Our mission is to publish quality books that women and men can relate to. When reading a novel, the feeling you get when you know how it feels to be that person in the story is unforgettable. Here we strive to give you realistic, unforgettable, and we hope to send messages through our stories by creating novels you can say you truly understand.”
  • Welborn Media –

Success Quotes:

  • “If you really want your dreams to come true . . . if you’re not obsessed about your dreams they won’t come true.”
  • “When you obsess over something you think about it, you eat it, breath it, live it and every thing you do is that obsession and it’s great to obsess over a dream that is going to benefit and enhance your life.”
  • “At the end of the day, when you don’t pursue your dreams and aspirations, there is no one to blame but yourself.”
  • “If dreams were easy, everyone would be living them.”
  • “Success is actively pursuing living out your dream”
  • “My proudest moment was holding that book and saying hey, I did it, in spite of the pain, in spite of the fears, in spite of the struggle and inspite of the doubt.”

Special Requests:

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Episode #7 – Listen and Be a Great Teacher | Vic Braden from VicBraden.com

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Teaser: Vic Braden is one of the most famous tennis coaches of all time and has written over five books on the subject. As tennis legend, Jack Kramer, once said, “One Vic Braden is worth a lot of champions in helping the sport. The [John] McEnroes, [Bjorn] Borgs, [Jimmy] Connors, they’ve been great. But I don’t think any one of them has created the interest in the sport Vic has.” Be sure to listen to the story of Vic Braden when he lost to Bobby Riggs while he was tied to an elephant.

Thank you for visiting the Defining Success Podcast.  Please download, subscribe and rate our podcast on iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-success-podcast/id619459909 Thanks for listening!

Vic Braden

Vic Braden

Recap: 

One of the things Vic enjoyed most about playing tennis was that it gave him an opportunity early on to travel to different places.

Being a good coach is being a good listener and knowing what you’re teaching.   Most coaches talk to much and listen to little.

Vic has been involved in so many things and one of the things he’s most proud of is teaching blind children how to hit a tennis ball and Vic would call out a number and these children were able to play tennis.  Vic loves working with special needs children.

Vic’s biggest concern was that he cared very little about money and didn’t save much because he was too busy helping others.

One thing that Vic thought helped him the most was being a licensed psychologist and the skills he learned as a psychologist has helped him to become a great coach. You need to study how the brain works and why concentration levels vary.  A person would have to be willing to do a lot of research.

Students can find answers to anything they want and when parents have a problem with their computer now a days they ask their 8 year old student to fix it.  Vic recently began putting students who showed interest in tennis and they taught them how to be tennis coaches.  Not only do these young children teach better than most coaches, but their game begins to develop stronger because they are paying attention to detail.

Vic would like you to share his story with others.  He started junior medical ambassadors as doctors are training students about the danger of diabetes and obesity and they teach classrooms about the those dangers and Vic will be making a movie of it that will be available to schools across the way.

If you’re interested in helping Vic Braden to help fund his programs to help students across the United States please visit VicBraden.com and share this podcast episode with your family and friends.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

  • What is the best way for students to learn?

Links to Great Stuff:

  • VicBraden.com – “I feel lucky to have played a small part in the sports world. Looking for creative ways to help people play their chosen sport better, and sooner, has provided me with plenty of excitement and new knowledge. Though I still feel we’re in the “Stone Ages” on many fronts, that will change because there are so many fine researchers generating new projects. In addition, there is evidence that the many disciplines involved in understanding sport are beginning to cooperate on a much higher level….”
  • Vic Braden Books – Vic Braden has written over five books on coaching tennis and continues to be an advocate for the game and the youth who play it.
  • Welborn Media –

Success Quotes

  • “I’ve never seen a little elephant who liked playing tennis . . . He would move with Bobby as though he played doubles with Bobby all his life.” – Vic Braden
  • “I have never played an elephant.” – Anita Bryant
  • “Success is when you’re happy with what you’re doing and happy with the results.” – Vic Braden

Special Requests

Vic Braden

Vic Braden

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Episode #6: Blog Writing to Learn | Erin Klein from Kleinspiration

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Erin Klein discusses how she uses blog writing to make her a better educator, to continue her learning, to share her learning with others and to communicate with other leading educators and education professionals. Pay attention to how Erin has used her blog to make positive change in her community and her classroom.

Thank you for visiting the Defining Success Podcast.  Please download, subscribe and rate our podcast on iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-success-podcast/id619459909 Thanks for listening!

Erin Klein from Kleinspiration

Erin Klein from Kleinspiration

Recap:

Erin Klein has been a classroom teacher and has developed her own blog which has been successful in its own right.

Erin has taught 1st grade, junior high school and now 2nd grade and she loves it.  She used a website for her classroom highlighting her students work and her website became so successful in her school that she got recognition by her district.  And then was asked to give presentations to other teachers and she began to blog as a resource sharing site to share her students work and share resources with other teachers.

As a teacher, Erin feels that the blog helps her become a better teacher and gives her an opportunity to share, get feedback, and offers an opportunity for self reflection.  She knows that maintaining her blog has helped her become a better teacher and by sharing she has helped other teachers become better.

A recent activity Erin Klein did in her classroom that she shared with others is  “If Our Characters Had Instagram,” where students are encouraged to act as if they were a character and then encouraged to think of what types of pictures they would take and share on Instagram which has taken off and teachers all over the world have been downloading her If Our Characters Had Instagram lesson plan.

Erin uses Twitter and Facebook to connect with educators.  She loves using Twitter more so than Facebook because, to her, Twitter is more of a professional outlet.  She loves the ability Twitter gives her to connect with different types of educators all over the globe.

Blog writing is important for Erin because she uses it to share resources and reflect on what she’s doing in the classroom and it also gives her a way to connect with the parents as to what’s going on in the classroom.

One thing Erin didn’t expect when she began blogging is the amount of businesses that would contact her asking her to use their product in her classroom.   Some products she’s recently used in her classroom is the Sifteo Cubes and the Sky Livescribe Interactive Pen, which she says her students love.

Erin would like to see a lot more student choice in the classroom, more teacher-driven content, more creativity, more student voice, more projects, more top-level blooms taxonomy, more mobile and technology apps (used less by particular district approved apps).  Ideally, she would like to put the curriculum in the students hands and having them create it and teach each other.  Putting teachers in a more facilitative role and putting the learning into students’ hands.

Learning is a priority to Erin as she’s always looking for opporunities to learn and grow.  She encourages teachers to ask administrators for things and don’t take no as a final answer.  If she feels something is in the best interest of her students then she wants to ask why and that new teachers are so often told no and that that kills the creative process.  Erin does recommend being professional, but still challenging administrators to accomplish goals that she feels would be in the best interest of her students.

Erin equates success and happiness to each other.  Monetary value doesn’t mean success.  Many people she knows who some people would deem successful are often very unhappy.  She thinks if people are happy doing something they love, regardless of money than they are successful.

Engaging Discussion Question(s):

  • Where do you see the future of education going?
  • Where would you like to see education going in the years to come?

Links to Great Stuff:

  • Kleinspiration – “Erin Klein the technology chairperson for the Michigan Reading Association, a national A Plus Workshop Presenter, SMART Technologies Exemplary Educator, Really Good Stuff Monthly Blogger, Edutopia Guest Blogger, Edudemic Guest Blogger and Magazine Contributor, National Writing Project member, and award-winning EduTech Blogger.Klein has most recently appeared in the Scholastic Instructor Magazine and co-authored Amazing Grades with experts from 13 countries around the world.”
  • If Our Characters Had Instagram – A lesson plan designed by Erin Klein which can be used in classrooms from Kindergarten to High School – If a character/historical figure had Instagram, what kinds of pictures would they take?
  • Sifteo Cubes – “Sifteo Cubes are a magical new interactive game system built on the timeless play patterns of legos, building blocks, and domino tiles.”
  • Sky Livescribe Interactive Pen – “Record everything you hear, say, write and draw. Wirelessly sync notes and audio to your personal Evernote® account where you can replay, organize, search and share your interactive notes any time and anywhere.”
  • The Tutoring Solution’s Share Your Passion Scholarship – The Share Your Passion Essay Contest is open to all High School students. For students to be eligible for one of their scholarships they had to write an essay from the prompt:  “What are you passionate about? Why are you passionate about it? How do you plan on using your passion to help others?”
  • Welborn Media
  • #EdChat – Join the Discussion on Twitter.

Success Quotes:

  • “Put the curriculum in the students hands and having them create it and teach each other.” – Erin Klein

Special Requets:

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Episode #5 – Having a Business Mind | Ashley Majeski from The Ashley’s Reality Roundup

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Reality TV blogger Ashley Majeski tells us about how she got started in blogging and the opportunities it’s created. “It was random”, she says after watching an episode of ‘The Bachelor’ and her friends telling her she should write down all the quips she makes during the show. So she did. After googling her way through the startup process, Ashley began to figure out how to blog and how to have a business mind while doing it.

Ashley Majeski from The Ashley's Reality Roundup

Ashley Majeski from The Ashley’s Reality Roundup

Since she started writing at age 13, through to college where she covered sports and school activities, it seems Ashley has always had a pen to paper, only now it’s a keyboard but her drive has never dulled. She got an internship with the magazine Us Weekly and it was there she fine-tuned her writing toward celebrity journalism. Modeling her site after celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, Ashley narrowed her focus down even further to reality television.

So, you have your blog…now what? How do you get readers?  Ashley says that while trying to figure out this very question,  she discovered a niche of readers with the show ‘Teen Mom’. Every time she would write about this show, her hits would dramatically increase. Eventually, even some of the stars from the shows she was covering would read and generate even more traffic. Ashley quickly became the subject matter expert in reality TV, answering questions and fielding calls from major news outlets looking to her and her sight for information on the shows.

For Ashley, her blog has opened many doors, a far cry from the days of “googling her way through it”. She cautions however that this business is “ridiculously hard to get into” and once you’re in, you walk a very fine line between writing about people to poking fun at them. She says she never intends to be negative, rather she’s had the most success with keeping things positive.

Now people are reading your blog, can you make any money with it? Ashley admits she was spending all of her time working on the blog and decided to try her hand at making some money with it. She began to put ads on her blog and with a few key interviews with major news organizations, her readership skyrocketed and she started to see some positive cash flow. Ashley had developed a strong business mind when it came to managing her blog.

Ashley recommends using a self-hosted blog, meaning make sure you set up your own website with your own domain name because eventually you will be able to post your own ads on your blog page.

One of her favorite article’s was when she was working with the New York Post for a character on Teen Mom and it was picked up by outlets all over the country and it started the storm and because of the story it forced MTV to comment on the future of the show.  Ashley thought it was interesting to show how one story can have such a strong impact on our world.

She enjoys having reality TV stars contact her to post articles on their lives and how these people feel connected to these reality stars. And she’s able to help people to connect with others who they’ve found value in.  Ashley says in order to run a good blog, you have to be very consistent because people lose interest fast and so many other people are doing blog-writing now-a-days.  “Always be  prepared to work.”   Always be willing to ask for help and always give help when you’re asked.

When becoming a blog writer, it’s important to make a distinction for you blog.  Whether your blog is a for-fun blog or a for-profit blog because the strategy is entirely different.  A for-fun blog is a blog where you’re writing just for your own pleasure and a for-profit blog is a blog where your build readership and create things to sell.  Sometimes people post ads and in some cases they are trying to sell a product.

One of the biggest mistakes Ashley has made is being to brutal to some of the reality TV stars she’s written blogs about and she’s learned from her mistakes by being more light-hearted in her writing and does not resort to attacking a person’s character.  Her recent goals are to expand her writing to include more reality television.  All of these people say they are looking for love, but really they are looking for fame.  Ashley says the best reality TV show to watch now is the Bachelor.

Ashley believes that success is doing something you love to do every single day and that other people care about it.  She thought that if she could have picked any career this is what she would want to be able to do.  Success means you’re happy and Ashley is definitely happy.

To follow up with Ashley, go to www.theashleysrealityroundup.com or www.twitter.com/theashleysrr

Engaging Discussion Questions:

  • If you could write a blog on any topic, what topic would you choose?

Links to Great Stuff:

  • The Ashley’s Reality Roundup – I apologize for the mistake in the podcast where I said the name of the website wrong, but for those of you interested in following up with Ashley Majeski or learning more about reality TV shows like the Bachelor and Teen Mom, please visit www.theashleysrealityroundup.com
  • Welborn Media –

Success Quotes:

“Always be prepared to work.” – Ashley Majeski

Special Requests:

 

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Episode 4: An Entrepreneurial Mindset | Charlotte Clary from Ice Chips Candy

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Learn how Charlotte Clary started close to 30 different businesses and finally hit it big with her Ice Chips Candy when she appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank. She is now able to help support her and co-founder, Beverly Vines Hanes’ 39 different grandchildren as a result of the success she experienced from running her Ice Chips Candy business. Learn how the entrepreneurial mindset these ladies possessed helped make them the successes that they are today!

Thank you for visiting the Defining Success Podcast.  Please download, subscribe and rate our podcast on iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-success-podcast/id619459909 Thanks for listening!

Ice Chips Candy as Seen on ABC's Shark Tank - Entrepreneurial Mindset

Ice Chips Candy as Seen on ABC’s Shark Tank

Recap:

Charlotte Clary is a serial entrepreneur and estimates her and Beverly Vines Hanes started close to 30 different businesses while being home-makers and moms before they hit it big with Ice Chips Candy.

The more they understood about healthy products they understood the value of Xyletol and between the two of them they have 39 grandchildren.  Once they came up with the idea and within the first 24 hours they created three different flavors.

They knew it was going to be a big hit when they implemented their tried and true sales process where they cold-called businesses and offered their product for free with the expectation that they could call back later.  They started getting calls from those businesses before they even had a chance to call them.

In 2012, Charlotte Clary says Ice Chips Candy made more than 1.1 million dollars.

The biggest mistake Charlotte made was implementing a sales process that didn’t work, but in all honesty she didn’t feel it was a mistake, but that it was more of a learning process.  Now they’ve been able to adjust the strategy of sending free tins to dental offices and have created a better sales strategy.

Charlotte says perseverance is her greatest asset.  Having started 30 different businesses, she learned new skills in every business she started and applied that to every new business venture she began.

Every day is exciting for Charlotte and she loves looking at sales figures and beating sales figures every month.  They’ve also been very fortunate that some great sales people have come aboard to help them grow their business.  She loves that people are happy with her product and is excited that she’s able to give a healthy alternative to breath mints.

Being an entrepreneur is difficult.  To keep up with the work of the business and maintaining your sales process is a challenge.  They need to get people to help them and get that help as early on as possible.  The business owner is the one that needs to make those decisions and it’s important to hire people to do the little things of the business.

Ice Chips Candy

Ice Chips Candy

Charlotte has always wanted a product in the marketplace and she has been able to fulfill her passion.  She’s also been able to help others get jobs in her community and she loves that.

Charlotte possesses an entrepreneurial mindset and has learned essential skills along the way.  Each business Charlotte became involved in gave her valuable skills that she was able to use in her future business ventures. To become successful in business, this is, in my opinion, the most important skill/trait to have.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

  • If you could be a business owner, what kind of business would you start?
  • What have you taken action on in the last year?

Links to Great Stuff:

  •  Ice Chips Candy – Please visit the Ice Chips Candy where you can order Ice Chips Candy, view Charlottes’ appearance on Shark Tank or see pictures of Charlotte and her partner, Beverly.  If you prefer telephone, you can call them at (866) 202 – 6623.
  • Shark Tank – The Shark Tank appears on ABC every Friday night.  The sharks are entrepreneurs who invest in companies who pitch their product to the “Sharks.”

Success Quote(s):

  • “Create something and figure out how to get it out there.” – Charlotte Clary
  • “Luck favors the prepared.” – Charlotte Clary

Special Requests:

THANK YOU!

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Thank You for Visiting the Defining Success Podcast Website!!!

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Hi everyone!  Thank you for coming to the Defining Success Podcast website.  My name is Zeb Welborn and I’d like to personally thank you for visiting our page.

We recently changed the format to our show, Episodes 1 through 115 focused on people who:

  • Loved What They Did
  • Were Helping Other People
  • Were Good At Their Work

Episodes 116 and on will be focusing on a particular skill, trait and/or ability that has led to someone achieving success.  These are learnable skills which you can quickly implement and apply to your career, your personal life, and/or your business.

Podcasts are great to listen to on your computer, while you’re working out at the gym or driving to work. By interviewing successful people who are helping others and who love what we do we strive to show other people that dreams can be achieved through hard work, commitment and passion.

Please download, subscribe and rate our podcasts on iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-success-podcast/id619459909.

The more you download, subscribe and rate our podcast the more people we will be able to reach and, hopefully, inspire.  We also would like to ask you to please share our podcasts with your friends and help us get the word out through social media and word of mouth.

Thanks again for visiting our website.  If you have any questions or if I can do anything to help you don’t hesitate to contact me anytime.

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Personal Branding | Rich Hammond from the Orange County Register

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Rich Hammond is the USC sports reporter for the Orange County Register and has wanted to be a sports journalist all his life. Pay particular attention to a story Rich tells about former Los Angeles Dodger player, Lou Johnson. Lou had problems with substance abuse and lost his World Series ring as a result. Listen to the podcast to learn how Lou Johnson got his World Series ring back and to learn about personal branding and what it takes to make it in the highly competitive field of sports journalism.

Thank you for visiting the Defining Success Podcast.  Please download, subscribe and rate our podcast on iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-success-podcast/id619459909 Thanks for listening!

Rich Hammond from the Orange County Register - Personal Branding

Rich Hammond from the Orange County Register

Recap:

Rich Hammond always knew he wanted to be a journalist.  He loved reading and writing at a young age.  Once he began writing for his junior high school newspaper, he knew that was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.

Sports writing is a highly competitive field and Rich knew that he needed a strong foundation in his writing abilities and got lucky with some opportunities that were presented to him.  He attributes his success to the fact that he always seized opportunities when they came to him.  He encourages others to do the same.

He attended the CSPA (California Scholastic Press Association) Workshop and established some great connections that helped him along the way.  He goes back to volunteer his time every two weeks during the Summer’s at the campus at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Each day is a challenge writing and every day presents new opportunities for Rich and he tries to make the most of them.  He enjoys successed every day and feels very fortunate that he’s been able to cover numerous memorable sporting events.

Being a journalist is interesting in the sense that you have to understand people’s motivations and you need to distinguish who’s telling the truth.  Often times Rich feels he made mistakes because sometimes he was too cautious about using sources or sometimes he has taken sources at their word and it’s “bit (him) in the butt.”  Typos are also a concern to Rich and he knows the value of making sure to avoid typos.

The coolest part for Rich about being a journalist is going to major sporting events for free.  People pay money to attend these events and he feels very lucky that he’s been able to attend some of the greatest sporting events.  It also gives Rich the freedom to travel, see different parts of the country and a lot of interesting people.

Although journalism is changing the fundamentals are still the same.  You have to be able to tell a story, be accurate, to relate to people, to ask good questions, to be aware and you have to be able to communicate.  We are now in a 24-hour news cycle, if something happens, as a reporter, you need to be on that story.

One of the biggest changes in journalism is the more personalized relationship with their readers.  During the age of newspapers, all people would see was the persons name in print, but now writers appear in T.V., more pictures are shown, they appear on podcasts and establish more of a personal connection then what was done in years past.  Your online reputation is important and now everything you do matters.  With the easy to use Google searches, Facebook pages and LinkedIn accounts it is now more important than ever to establish your online reputation.  When people look for you online, what are you going to find? Personal branding is critical to the success of businesses in the online world.

For Rich, success was working hard, enjoying what he did, and being happy doing it.  For him, it has nothing to do with money.  If money, or titles determine your success than there will always be something that you don’t have.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

  • How Do You Know What You Were Meant To Do?
  • How Do You Know if You’re a Success?
  • How important is personal branding?

Links to Great Stuff:

Quotes of the Episode:

  • “Your name becomes your brand . . . your name is your currency.” – Rich Hammond
  • “If you can go to bed at night being happy with who you are and what you’ve done then I think that’s what makes you a success.”

Special Requests:

Rich Hammond at the CSPA Workshop

Rich Hammond at the CSPA Workshop

THANK YOU!

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Episode #2: Explore Your Options | Kim Nelson of Daisy Cakes

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Kim Nelson is the owner of I Love Daisy Cakes. She cooks and mails some of the most delicious cakes all over the country. She appeared on Shark Tank and struck a great deal with Barbara Corcoran and has never looked back. Learn how she was able to take sales from 2,000 in 2010 to 25,000 in 2012.

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White Chocolate Mint Cake by Daisy Cakes.

White Chocolate Mint Cake by Daisy Cakes.

Recap:

Kim Nelson knew early on that baking was her “God-given talent.”  She started at an early age and made some wise business decisions on her way to her appearance on Shark Tank at the end of 2010.

While in the Shark Tank, Kim asked for $50,000 for 20% of her business and struck a deal with Barbara Corcoran for exactly what she asked for.

She’s worked hard to build her business and took her cake sales from 2,000 in 2010 to more than 25,000 in 2012.

Her biggest mistake in business was not looking into all available options when it came to shipping her cakes across the United States.  She recently switched shipping options and has found it much more convenient for her business.

She advocates people pursuing their passions and advices those interested in baking to go for it.

Her cakes have appeared on the Nate Berkus show and with Anderson Cooper and has been creating opportunities with celebrities because her cakes taste so good.

Kim Nelson from Daisy Cakes

Kim Nelson from Daisy Cakes

Takeaway:  Explore Your Options

Many business owners are very good at taking action to accomplish particular goals, but sometimes it’s very important to consider all your options before making business decisions.

In Kim’s case, she had been paying more than twice as much for shipping going from $45 per shipment to $20 per shipment just by switching shipping companies.  This change in value will help grow her business as she will be able to sell more for less, reaching more customers and making more customers happy.

Taking action is a good trait to have, but learn to explore all your options when making important business decisions and you will be rewarded for doing so.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

  • What is your “God-given talent”?

Links to Great Stuff:

  • I Love Daisy Cakes – Some of the greatest hand-made cakes you’ll ever have.  Her cakes have sold everywhere thanks to an appearance and Shark Tank and their wonderful recommendations.
  • Shark Tank – The Shark Tank appears on ABC every Friday night.  The sharks are entrpreneurs who invest in companies who pitch their product to the “Sharks.”
  • Welborn Media” – When it comes to website design in Southern California, be sure to explore your options.

Quote of the Episode:

“To make people happy with what makes me happy.” – Kim Nelson

Special Requests:

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