217 | Next Level Strategies for Your Brand, Post-pandemic with JBthaGreat
Our guest this week on the pod is JBthaGreat. JB is the chairman of JBthaGreat International and Founder & CEO of Next Level Mastermind. He has worked as a business consultant and advisor with major brands, small businesses, celebrities, politicians, and non-profit organizations.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
What is Branding? Interview with Acclaimed Business Advisor JBthaGreat
Transcript by Otter.ai
SPEAKERS
JBthaGreat, Paul Zelizer
Paul Zelizer 00:01
Hi, this is Paul Zelizer, and welcome to the Awarepreneurs podcast. This podcast is all about the intersection of conscious business, social impact, and awareness practices. Each episode I do a deep dive in with a thought leader in this intersection. Someone who has market tested experience, and is already transforming. Before I introduce our guests and our topic today, and I'm really excited to introduce them to you, I have one request. If you could go over to Apple podcasts or whatever app you're listening to the show on and do a rating and review. It helps tremendously. Thanks for considering. Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you to JBthaGreat. And our topic is next level strategies for your brand post pandemic. JBthaGreat is the chairrman of JBtheGreat International and Founder & CEO of next level mastermind. He has worked as a business consultant and advisor with major brands, small businesses, celebrities, politicians, and nonprofit organizations. JB Welcome to the show.
JBthaGreat 01:05
Hey, how are you? Thanks for having me. I'm glad to be here. And this is exciting. This really is super exciting.
Paul Zelizer 01:11
I'm really excited about our topic today. Before we get into that JB were called Awarepreneurs. And one of the ways we get to know somebody is to ask you about a wellness or an awareness practice that you use to resource yourself for this really important work.
JBthaGreat 01:30
Yeah, that's a really great question. It kind of brings me back to one of my mentors. When I was really upcoming in my early entrepreneur days, I used to kind of suffer from anxiety quite a bit. And remnants of that sometimes try to sneak back up in my life. And one of my mentors told me, he said, You know how you start your day? It's many times how it actually go. And so he said, How about you try this, when you get up in the morning, just take a little time to yourself, don't do anything, don't grab your phone, don't he said just laid there and immediately, right, move into a state of bliss, gratefulness, right meditation, being thankful, and also setting an intention about where you want your day to go. And I started practicing that. And it was really awesome. Because now I wake up, and I literally don't get out the bed unless I set an intention. And I'm feeling good, right? Because many times, we're literally jumping out the bed when we wake up, right? We're grabbing our phone, we're getting emails, text messages, phone calls. And I realized that I wasn't really giving myself time for me to just be thankful and just to be present, when I start my mornings off, and I do my nights like this, as well. So, Paul, that's one of the things that I do. And it works really well. I've been teaching that to people, I coach a consult. And just literally within I don't know, a few days, they've been telling me that it's made a huge impact on their morning, and even their day. So that's something I would do 10 to 15 minutes, when you first get up, even if it's five, right? If you got young kids that are screaming and different things like that, right? Sometimes it may be a little different. But before you get out of bed, just make sure to be present. Be thankful, be grateful, because some folks didn't wake up, right. And so the small things, if we appreciate those we become present, I really believe that starts shifting our life in big ways.
Paul Zelizer 03:41
What a wonderful practice. Thank you. We're gonna get into this work. You do, JB and our topic about branding and your genius of visual storytelling. I have all kinds of questions for you on that, because I suck at it. I'm great with storytelling and an audio and copy. But what you're doing on Instagram is awesome. We're gonna get into all that. Before we do that, JB give us a little like if somebody wanted to understand a little bit about your origin story and how you got into entrepreneurship and being passionate about helping people grow align businesses, and how branding can help them do that, like, give us a short version of how did you get into this?
JBthaGreat 04:22
Yes, so I actually did everything that my parents wanted me to do, right. I graduated high school, I went to college, I spent about five years there. And in college, that's where I really started to learn quite a bit about myself. And I kind of graduated early. So I graduated at 17. And I just always knew in the back of my mind that I wanted to do something in business, just even from when I was a kid trying to sell candy, you know, and we have something in Louisiana called snow cones. So it's like, I'm not sure if, depending on the location of where someone lives is pretty much Like flavored ice, right? And so, you know, so I would do all these different things. And I was very involved. And I really got started in entrepreneurship. My freshman year of college, and so I got kind of introduced to multi level marketing, like a lot of folks, right, and then being a college student, you don't really have a lot of money. So you know, you're living off scholarship money, or whatever money your parents are gonna send you. You know, and then I kind of learned the trick where I would, would not, I wouldn't say a trick like that. But like, Hey, Mom, I need a book, right? It's 100 bucks, or it's like 200 bucks. And then I was literally taking that money to invest into like my business. So I started by being a party promoter promoting events in college. And I was also involved in student government, while working part time at Applebee's. And so I did that throughout my college career, I worked there for almost four to five years. And you know, I was in school full time as well, plus, I was very involved. And so I've always been one of those people that I like to have a lot of things going on, sometimes I can get bored easily. But my journey started from there. And when I graduated, I moved back home. And I said, You know what, I'm going to figure out this, you know, this business stuff. And what was so crazy, one of my mentors at the time gave me a call, he said, Hey, you should look into, you know, doing some online stuff. And so I took my broke computer, it was horrible. Like, I didn't even have like all the keys. And so it didn't even work, right. And then I had like the little flip booths phone, like I started really from nothing. And I literally would take hours, like probably sometimes 12 hour, 15 hour days to learn, just you know how to sell stuff online and market online. And I got really good at that. And in my first year, you know, I was able to make my first six figures. And it really, but that was at 23. So it really took me a process of some time, like five years to just really believe in myself to know that it was possible. And I got connected with the right information with the right people at the right time. So that's really how I got jump started in business.
Paul Zelizer 07:22
And we're going to talk about branding in just a second what it is and kind of going next level with it. Let's just pause for the last word in our title, let's just acknowledge the pandemic. And I know I've heard from so many of our listeners that things have been really challenging over the 18 months, whether some of our listeners, some bricks and mortar business owners, wellness centers, winners, the whole business went away, you know, and and some of its comeback, but others that the income is still the revenue still flowing. But there's been more polarization and programs and clients are more dysregulated like everybody's been affected by this thing. Some more than others revenue wise, some more than others. Emotionally wise, I'm hearing people struggling with mental health challenges and feeling burnt out as a leader trying to hold their teams together or their communities together. That's some of what I'm seeing when we talk about the pandemic. What are you seeing in over these past 18 months that we want to make sure we're paying attention to what branding? How it's relevant now? What do we need to acknowledge that about how the pandemic has impacted entrepreneurs, particularly the kind of entrepreneurs like our listeners, the ones who want to both grow a business and have a positive impact in the world?
JBthaGreat 08:48
Right, that's a really great question that I'm actually asked often, right, so I really, there was a moment when dependent MC first happened, and I was on the phone with my staff. And they're like, what are we gonna do? And I was like, a pause for a moment. I was like, Oh, my God, I don't know. I've never lived through something like this before. I think many of us have, right, I think the last pandemic was 100 years ago.
Paul Zelizer 09:17
Yes. And I'm old, but I'm not that old. So I haven't lived or anything like this either.
JBthaGreat 09:22
Right? And so at first it was just kind of like, well, I really didn't know. But what I did was I said, Okay, I'm because I'm a believer. And so I believe in myself. And I believe that everything that we need to to accomplish our work and mission is within us. And that at any moment, we can tap into this, you know, unused power, unused potential that literally can guide us along the journey. And so, I realized that it was a time to pivot. It was a time to not take a step back, but take a step forward. Right. And so most people are they held on to their beliefs, right about digital online, I had so many phone calls from different people who, you know, they had seen my work in the past, they seen what I was doing online, they're like, oh, that internet stuff, right? And, and now their business has only been able to survive because they had no choice but to move digitally. Like some restaurants. They weren't even using apps like Uber Eats or favor or Postmates. Right. And they were forced to, you know, because the world just went to Super digital. And also to, I think it gave people a chance to step up more, who would have never done that. And instead of seeing it as a burden, I started seeing it as an opportunity. We shifted our models, we started connecting with more people, I invest, I started investing more into myself, my infrastructure, my staff, my team, we started connecting more with people, because there was a need for people to feel connected, because they couldn't in person. So you know, of course, now we're, you know, we're doing zooms. There were folks that never knew how to do a zoom, before the pandemic, they know how to do it now, right? And so what that did was that allowed me to even focus on how I can shift my message with my brand to serve our clients more, our customers more, and how can be more effective. And so I think businesses understand that there's some times you're gonna have to pivot, right? It might be five months from now, a year from now, five years, 10 years, 20 years, or, hey, it could be something else. Dramatic, like a pandemic, or something similar, that can completely change the course of your life, like this has even affected our children, and the way that they function and live on a daily basis. And I have a son. So I know like how this is even affecting the kids. And we do you know, all of us do even parents, right. And so I think this is a great time for those who are ready for more to step up to go bigger, big moves, not small moves, big moves, I believe that this is the time that any person that wants to thrive and succeed, they can do this in this moment. They just need the right strategies, the right belief in place and take action. And that's it.
Paul Zelizer 12:34
I love what you said JP, about, instead of seeing it as a burden, you're seeing it as an opportunity and encouraging others. So branding, like people toss this word around, does it mean your logo? Is it the colors on your website? Is it the photos? Like what the hell do you think branding even?
JBthaGreat 12:55
Right, so it was so crazy, because one of the biggest things like I have great mentors in my life. And I've just always invested in myself, I've read tons of books, and I've watched tons of videos, listen to audios. And when I was up and coming, I was like, man, I need to start building my brand. So a lot of folks think that you need to build your brand first, before you can actually start making money, or selling products or having a service. That's not necessarily true. Right, I realized that my brand was being built as I was providing products and services. Right. And so I mean, I'm seeing people with no websites, right? Make over six figures. I've seen people with websites that are a disaster. And they're running, you know, seven figure companies, right? And so what is it really, the biggest thing about brand is making sure your message is getting to your clients and that they that you can relate to them in a way that makes sense to them. And so that's really what starts building your brand and everything else is kind of like cute accessories. Right? And so it's just like the fact that you can have clothes on right? But you know, having a certain type of shoe or certain type of shirt, just that accessory might make you stand out a little more. And so really to kind of keep it simple. Um, because I completely changed my brand back in 2017. To JB the great, right and so I mean, now we can't even separate me and JB to create or any of my companies because that's all the marketplace knows right now about me. And so, brand is very important, especially when it comes to connecting with your clients. If we take a look at Amazon, for example. Amazon Prime, right? It's not the cute little we don't buy. We don't go on Amazon Prime because of the logo. We go on and we do business with Amazon because of the service that we get in a way makes us feel. It's almost even to the point now it feels like Christmas, when you're getting the Amazon package, right. And so brand brand is just much more than imagery. I think it's more about the way that customers and clients are actually able to connect with the consumer, I mean, with the business, and that is the basis and foundation of brand. Now many people, they have a brand, right, they have a good foundation, but they need some sweeping. And there's nothing wrong with that, right. So, so yeah, so that's, that's my thing about brand, as a whole macro, right. And there's a few micro things that I think that people can do to shift their brand to the next level, which I'm always happy to talk about that. Yeah,
Paul Zelizer 15:54
please, let's end Okay, even before we go there, though, they are kind of as part of going there. So that's the macro. And that's the top level of branding and you changed your brand. And you know, David, the great is, is literally the name of your enterprise, right? Maybe the great international, right, that is your company name. I loved what you said JB about how your your ideal customer or client can connect with your message. That's so simple. And I just those of you who've been listening for a while know about Paul's spiritual highlighter, imagine this bright orange neon thing that he circles things with, right? I just want to circle that. Think about that for a minute listeners, JB just that was a real like drop of wisdom that came in here. Thank you make it real simple, right? That the way that your ideal customer or client connects with your message, that's probably the most concise and also for me resonant version or explanation of brand new I've ever heard JB, so thank you, and listeners pay attention to that, because JB just gave you a gift. So now let's go into like, give us some examples. I am an ideal customer, a client for yours, and you have multiple things. But you know, pick an example like how are you doing that on your website? or How are you doing that on Instagram? Or, like, give me some tangible? What does this even mean if I'm a listener trying to wrap my brain around?
JBthaGreat 17:25
Got it? So great question because I'm actually working on some concepts of this inside of my mastermind, because I'm seeing that a lot of entrepreneurs again, and business owners after the pandemic, making a shift. And so one of the easiest things about brand that you mentioned earlier, Paul was imagery, right? And images can be very powerful. Right? We understand how images can have us buy something at a restaurant or have was not right, some restaurants don't even have images on their menus, right? That's so so imagery is very important. And one of the easiest things that people can do is go get some new headshots, right, go get a new photoshoot. And I think that mean, you had talked about that earlier.
Paul Zelizer 18:14
That was one of the I literally just got my touched up photos for my photography. Brand new, like yesterday afternoon, and I was looking at him this morning. So yes, we've talked about it because it's very alive for
JBthaGreat 18:27
Yes, yes. And, and what's really cool about it is that if you just felt the energy, just from you send it right now, of how that made you feel. That's really powerful like that, right there. You know, it makes you feel good. When you get, you're able to take some images, take some pictures, right, and you're able to see yourself, you're able to see movement in your, you know, movement from your brand, right? Like, it's, it can be very fun. I recommend finding, you know, someone that you can work with, like I have someone that I work with, that, you know, my first time shooting with them. I was a little nervous, be honest with you, you know, cuz I was like, Oh, well, I'm not a model, not sure how to pose or different things like that. And they just walk me through it, you know, they're the professional. And so and sometimes we can be our biggest critic, but I took some photos, they came up very nice. And I put them on, you know, my social media website. And, you know, we got some great feedback from it, right. And now I'm doing more and more of those, because it's allowed me to share my story, you know, as the owner, you know, of my companies, and then also as just an influencer out here as well. And so that's one of the first things I would do is if you're still using, you know, headshots from like, 10 years ago, or 20 years ago, right. I just told a guy he had gave me a pamphlet and I said, Who's sad? He said, Oh, that's me. I was like, What did you take this Right was like 15 years ago, he's still using the same template. It's like the same photo from like, 20 years ago, right for his current business. And I said, hey, look, go get you some new headshots. And it's so crazy ended up doing it. It was only cost him 100 bucks. Right? And he looks great. You know, he looks great in his photos, and he's in his 60s. Right. And so, no kidding. I actually that was last month when I was at a investor meeting out in Dallas, Texas. And so that's one of the things, Paul and I'm happy to give more to if you want Yeah,
Paul Zelizer 20:32
for like, listeners, go check out JB on Instagram, there'll be a link in the show notes. But when you say you're not a model, I'm like, oh, cut it out. Stop. Oh, my God. He's telling me if I'm if I'm like exaggerated, no Davies, like rocking Instagram and has all kinds of style. It's just go look and tell me if I'm like, saying things that aren't true. But anyway, if you want somebody who's doing some digital storytelling, really skillfully, please do go check out all kidding aside, you've learned something about visual storytelling and, and the story of your business. One way I like to describe branding is like it's the storytelling of your business. And you can do that through all the channels, all the, you know, flavors we have available to us to color and clothing and setting and the words you use on your site, and your logo, etc, etc. All of those are part of the storytelling because, again, I'm a storyteller more than I am a visual guy. You're doing something really interesting, through your visual storytelling. Any tips you have for our listeners about how to come up with imagery for socials for our website? Maybe not everybody is, as you know, has some of our listeners might have some comfort issues around just being in their own body in a culture that has so many stories on what we're supposed to look like. How do we be skillful with the exact circumstances we have right now in terms of telling our story visually, which is a real strength of yours?
JBthaGreat 22:14
Right. So Paul, it's so interesting that you actually bring up that point, because I was actually thinking about that, right when you were talking, because I realized for so many people that belief and confidence issues are real. That's how it was for me for some time. I wasn't really sure if I look myself, right, I thought something i thought was kind of weird. I probably still am, right? That's something was kind of wrong with if
Paul Zelizer 22:42
you were weird, you would not be on this show, dude. Yeah, you're weird. Sorry. Sorry.
JBthaGreat 22:50
So like I was, you know, I wasn't comfortable with my voice at, you know, certain time, I thought that if I, you know, was a different color at certain times, and maybe I would have had more success in business sooner. There were just a lot of different things that, you know, if I just think back that I went through, and then I realized that all of it. Like none of it was true, right? Like that. I was just, it's really the conversation that we're having in our head, the store, we're telling ourselves, you made a point about this earlier, if we, you know, if we shift our thoughts in a way that service things can really happen. And one of the biggest things that I realized that I needed to do for my brand was I needed to shift how I looked at my brand and how I viewed myself. And I said that if I be if I How can I really help write the community? How can I help everyone on a global level, like I'm doing now, if I don't truly believe in myself, or truly believe in my work, right. And I found things about me that I knew to be true. Like, I knew that I was a good person deep down inside, right? I knew that. There were certain things about me that I loved. I knew that I loved people, and that there are people that love me. And so I started with what I knew to be true for myself, which all of us do have that about ourselves in some type of way. Right? And sometimes we got to dig deep down inside, like figure out, what is it that we know is true about ourselves. Some of us have amazing musical talents, right? Some of us are great creators, right? Where we can, you know, sing, or we can cook or we're good at certain things. So I felt what I knew to be true about myself. And I decided that I wasn't going to I was going to move beyond this imaginary invisible line that we create for ourself. That keeps us in a box. And really, you kind of have to have, you know, an effort mentality when it comes to the pain of other people and it's hard To say, right, because we've all grown up, where, you know, maybe a kid said something about us when we were in high school or, you know, we put on a certain type of clothing, you know, and somebody was like, why do you have that on? Right? Like, we've all dealt with that. But what matters most is not what other people are saying about you. It's about what you're saying about yourself. Because whatever you're saying about yourself that is going to radiate outward into your world. And so if so, if you have bad thoughts about yourself, right, other people going to feel that too, right? If you have great thoughts about yourself, other people gonna feel that too. And so I just decided, right to love myself, I just decided to take myself serious to take my brand serious. When I did that something shifted, other people started taking it serious, too. I mean, who has the audacity to call themselves great, right, JB the gray, who has the audacity even ahead of that to say His Majesty jbd. Great. Here's the thing. That's brand, it actually comes from a certain place, Paul, if I'm talking too much, just let me know.
Paul Zelizer 26:07
No, you're doing great.
JBthaGreat 26:08
Okay. Yeah. And it actually comes from a scripture, one of my favorite ones that says, I will bless thee, and I will make my name great. I was like, Oh, wow. Right. And this happened at a very interesting time in my life. Around this time, four years ago, my dad passed away. And I was dealing with so much in my life and different things, I just knew that, you know, I just kind of went to my comfort areas, and I decided that I was going to do better things, I was going to do more, and I was going to do great things. And I said that, a lot of times, I'm going to call myself great. And I believe that a start happening in my life. And I believe that whatever you answer to whatever you call yourself, that is what you're going to see happen in your life, you're never going to lose weight, if you keep saying you're fat, you're never going to stop smoking cigarettes, or stop being an alcoholic, if you still call yourself one, right. And so I just decided to call myself something that I wanted to, and that really shifted me. So if you're having confidence issues, the biggest thing is start with a place of comfort, right? Start with a place of comfort, where you feel good. And then from there, right, take the next step. And then from there, the next step, and that next step is different from every single person. But I know that if you can just start with even just appreciating yourself, and loving yourself doing some fun things for yourself. Alright, when was the last time when you actually, you know, took yourself out on a date or women ate some great food or when is seen a great movie, right? When you are able to radiate that out. It impacts every single person around you.
Paul Zelizer 27:54
Thanks for that, Debbie. And here's here's another example listeners. As we're recording this, we're printers is an audio only podcast. And we can get into the strategy for that another time. But I'm looking at your picture as we're recording to be in one of these gorgeous pictures. beautiful blue blazer, black shirt. Really nice watch. Your beard is impeccably trimmed, and you've just got to look on your face. Like, I'm going to go get it today. I don't know what I'm going to do today. But I'm going to go get it right. Bring it on. And these pictures, one of the pictures, one of the ones I love and I just got back from this photographer is me. I'm in jeans, and a pair barefoot running sandals, real minimal sandals. And a nice, you know, short sleeve work shirt blue with these flower prints on and I'm leaning against an Adobe wall that's not even plastered, and there's a cactus behind it. And I'm just like it just like this is me in new. I Love New Mexico because you can go to a business meeting like this. It's chill, and I'm a trail runner, ultra trail runner and like I have an organic garden. And this is literally right near my house and this is my life and hire me or don't hire me. And the difference between how we're dressed in the posture we're in and the expression on our face. And both are can be incredibly effective as a brand. And when I look at the picture and as I'm getting to know you a little bit of what you're in the world like yeah, that's JB and if you see Paul leaning up against an Adobe wall and trail running minimal sandals wearing nice jeans but jeans, and a cactus behind him was not even plastered. Yep, that's right. And both can be incredibly effective brands. Is that fair to say?
JBthaGreat 29:46
Yes. And it was beautiful how you described it right? And because that's who you are. Right and there's nothing wrong with who we are. Right and part of our brand is expressing That in a great way. And some people say, Oh, well, you know, it's so eat most of the problems come, Paul, when we start looking at other people and comparing ourselves to them, right. And I think a lot of folks actually do this. And sometimes they do it subconsciously, right in a way that doesn't serve them. So there are there are times where I look at some folks. And I'm like, Wow, amazing, right? I love their work. I love what they're doing. I love their pictures and different things like that. That's a great thing, right? However it fit. If you start viewing it in a way where it's no longer serving you really like, Oh, well, I'm not successful, because I don't look like this person, then I think that's when you're not doing yourself any justice. And especially when it comes to business, because for example, I don't eat McDonald's. Nothing wrong with that, right. But McDonald's is a successful company, right? So I don't have to eat McDonald's for them to be successful. And it's the same when it comes to your brand that your brand is going to speak to those people who understand your message. And we all can there's, we live in a world of abundance and unlimited resources, right. And so the biggest thing about is that there's enough room for everybody to thrive just for being themselves. And so I love with you, it was so crazy, because I kind of visualized your photo, right? The way you talked about it was so good. And I think that's what matters there. And I love that you did that photoshoot. And I think also too, that some really cool things are going to come out of the imagery of doing that, that you may not have thought of before in the end, and then also the feedback that you start getting from the community around you. And they start seeing more imagery of you. I think it's going to be really cool to Paul.
Paul Zelizer 32:00
So let's do this. When we come back on here, how you operationalize this in your business, things like revenue streams, all that great stuff, the nuts and bolts, how I built this part of our podcast. Before we did I just want to take a quick break and hear a word from our sponsor. Do you have a business that's about making the world a better place, and you want it to grow in terms of helping more people and your revenue? If so, I'd like to talk to you about podcasting. And here's why. When I looked into the numbers and that data around podcasting, three very interesting things stood out about podcast listeners and how they can help a business like yours. Number one, podcast listeners are what are called early adaptors. In other words, we hear new ideas, we say, that's pretty cool. And we try it pretty quickly. It's not hard. We're looking for new ideas. Number two podcast listeners are natural leaders. People work in our faith communities, community work, they turn to us and say you know a lot about things like this, what do you think about blank? Number Three podcast listeners make more money, and not just a little bit more quiet a bit more money. So you put those three things together. And imagine you can get a bunch of those people on your side helping you grow your business, you see where I'm going with that. If you'd like to learn more about how you can use podcasting, either as a guest GPS, being a fabulous guest today, where you want to host your own podcast, where printer's has a podcast success team will walk you through every step of the way, every decision and help you make a line choices to leverage this incredibly powerful medium to grow your business. You can find out more at aware printers.com forward slash podcast dash success. And thank you to everybody in the podcast success team who sponsors this podcast. So JB, in the second part of the show, we'd like to get out our entrepreneur glasses and just like go a little bit more into the details of specifically what you're up to as an entrepreneur and some of the details of how you're implementing branding in your own ventures with a little more granularity. Or do you want me to share that now? Yeah, please.
JBthaGreat 34:23
Okay, perfect. So, so yes, so one of the biggest things that I do is, especially with a really creative with kind of words, and so always like anything that I'm doing to actually amplify right or expand the thought of what people think about it. So for example, like, my mastermind group is called next level mastermind. What do we do we help you know, business owners, entrepreneurs and investors get to the next level. Right. And so that's one of the things that I've learned how to do when it comes to branding and different things like that. So what I do is I start with what's the end goal? Right? So what's my intention? I don't do anything without setting an intention. Right? Before we start staff meetings before I get on phone calls that are important. I say, okay, what's our end goal? What do we want to accomplish? What's our intention, right. And an intention is just simply a decision. Just a decision that no matter what this is, what you're focused on, make happen for this is what you truly desire for the outcome. And so I like to start with an intention. And then the other thing too, when it comes to things that you can do in your business, right now, when it comes to branding, another piece is actually updating your social media, okay. And so because we're truly in a social world, and so if you're in a business right now, where folks are able to, you know, purchase your products, or your services online, or social media, I would update that bio in your social media, okay. And so, I have a really good example of this, I'm not sure if I created this, or if I've got it from somebody else. But I've been using the same style for like, five or six years. And so it's pretty much like three or four lines about what I do. So when people go to my social media page, they can get a taste, right, a little quick synopsis of who I am as a person. And so that's something that I would do immediately. And you just start with the mediums that you're on. So a lot of people they're like, Oh, I have to be on Tik, Tok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, all these things? Well, yes, it'd be great if you can handle all of that on a daily basis. But I would just start with the one that you're primarily focused on. Right? Call
Paul Zelizer 37:04
it your featured marketing channel, and podcast, do one really well. And some others, you can be on them lightly. But bring your like full passion and skillfulness to one place that people can really see you at your best.
JBthaGreat 37:19
Yes, exactly, Paul. And so for me right now, that's Instagram, right. So I have fun on Instagram. A lot of my marketing is done on Facebook, though. And so that's where a lot of our clients are. And we're getting great results back from there. And so, yes, so you start with that featured one. And then from there, it's always pretty easy to shift the other platforms in a way that speaks to the audience there. And so that's another thing that I would do. The other thing too, is, for example, if you do have a website, definitely getting that updated, I think that can be really fun, and really exciting as well. This is something that people can do on their own, or they can, you know, pay someone else to do. And really, if you you know, take those new headshots and photos of yourself or even your products and services, like some people, their products just look like crap and photos, right? Like, there's something called product photo shoots. $50 100 bucks, right? There's these companies out here, you can Google it, where you can send them your product, and for like, 50 to 100 bucks. And I'm not gonna say any other companies, I don't want to seem like I'm promoting them. Because you can google this, but don't do a photo shoot of your products for you. Right, send you professional pictures, everything that people need, is out there. Right. And so I think that's really good. Because when your product looks good, or your service looks good, then people want that. Right. And we're just now living in a world that on social when things look great. You know, people want it more. And so that's another thing apart. I mean, anything else like I can keep? Yeah.
Paul Zelizer 39:13
No, no, that's totally cool. So one of the reasons people listen to this show, JB is is to get into the granularities of like, how successful entrepreneurs have grown their business. So it's like you started with the next level mastermind. Give us some details about that. How many people are in it? How long do you meet for what are like, how would you use branding when somebody comes into the next level mastermind to help them achieve their goals? Right,
JBthaGreat 39:41
so great question. I actually just relaunched next level mastermind this year, and so probably back in March, and I started with about 30. Folks, I wanted to keep it really small and intimate. And I was focused on helping them get results into For areas of their life, so their business and their health, and their wealth, right, and their spirituality. And so those four key things, and we succeeded really well, in that I started teaching them really cool cryptocurrency strategies. Now everybody calls me about cryptocurrency. And so I did that. And then we took a look at their business. And we would have mastermind talks on a weekly basis, with zooms, then we had our first live mastermind event. And we're going to talk next one, so we have four in person per year. And then everything else is pretty digital, because we have folks all over the world. So one of the things that you know I do is I take a look under the hood to see what areas that they need improvement in. And so we have some folks that run digital agency, some folks that are real estate investors, some folks that are salon or barbershop owners, right? I mean, just people from different backgrounds, and one of the things that I tell them first is go get some headshots. Right? update your social media, okay, if you have a website and you're open for business, let's take a look at how we can improve it, because it's normally little small touches that really kind of shift people. And then from there, too, we work on the message. I think that's very important for folks like what are you looking to accomplish here? Right, what are you looking to make happen. And then from there, once you have the message, it's so much easier for everybody else to really step into what they need to do to make the brand happen. So like, if you hire someone as a graphic designer, and you can relay or convey your message to them, write about your business and your brand, it's easy for them to create it. Right. It's the same for people that's on your team. Once they know your message, your vision, right, that message to the world about your product and your service, it's pretty simple for them to kind of pick up and really grow things and step into their work to help your business go to the next level. And so those are some of the areas that we focus on. And the other thing that I talked about that I just really big on is belief, the strategy of belief, because I think if people really got that hone down the fact that we all deal with times, where you know, we might be tired, we might want to give up and different things like that. But what we believe about ourselves, the conversation, again, going on the inside of our head, we can shift that we can shift our life, right? If we shift the store, we're telling ourselves, about our business about our brand, we start telling a story, right, that serves us, that starts changing. And that's the internal work when you do the internal work. Right. building your brand gets fun. And then you can do all the strategies and technicalities, right? And this is something that people can simply google like, No kidding. But when you do the inner work, the message to conversation for your brand, and you're specific about what you want to accomplish. I mean, you'll be the right people just show up. All right, you just everything you need to make it happen just appears
Paul Zelizer 43:29
here. You're talking about people feeling tired with the pandemic and think of the just the word zoom fatigue, right? We're leaders who are, you know, whether it's a bricks and mortar business, if you're running a barber shop, you know, the openings and closings, and are we supposed to wear masks they're not supposed to wear and the culture wars about masks. Business owners are leaders and leaders right now. It's hard. These are not the easiest time to be a leader. And we're all leaders of our own business, whatever the size of our team might be, our clients, our communities, people on I think, people on my email list, I care about all of them. And there's a lot of and I love them and we've been in I've been in business, it'll be 15 years in January. Some of them have been with me like 12 or 13 years, right? And I care about them and they've been struggling and their kids are struggling. There's just more that we're all managing, particularly for leaders. So somebody we know, anxiety rates are up but depression rates are up excetera, etc. What would you say to somebody who's doing the best they can in these post pandemic times and in all this uncertainty and feeling a little worn down feeling, maybe feeling anxious about where we are as a human family and some of the hard things we're working on? What would you say to somebody who's That spot to be?
JBthaGreat 45:02
Yes. So that's a real place to be in. And it's happen for and to a lot of people based on what's been going on. And one of the ways that I've been able to balance, and I've also shown other people how to balance is so crazy, because the one time, people, I remember when I worked, the job was like, man, if I can work from home, right? And then then you start working from home, and you want to go back to the job, right? Or you're like your entrepreneur, and you got to go into the office, he like, I wish I could just work from home, then you start working from home, and you're like, Man, I wish I can go back into the office, right? And really, it's because people aren't focused on their happiness. And that's a that's one of those things where it's kind of like in your face, and it's like, JB, what do you mean? Like, anytime you have anxiety, right? It's because you're anticipating things in the future. or anytime you like to press because you're looking at things in the past, right. And one of the easiest ways to get back grounded is to be in the present moment. And that comes from doing something fun, or doing something that you enjoy. And that got lost somewhere during a pandemic. Because it's not about watching Netflix all day, because then you're just the TV starts watching you. Right? It's not about Oh, I'm doing this and then No, no, it's about what truly brings you joy. And when that element is not in your life, right, then you get depressed. You have anxiety, right? Because you're focused on everything else, but the present moment. And so what I tell entrepreneurs now, I was just telling a friend, she was depressed. She's a millionaire, right? And I coach her, she was depressed. I said, What's going on? And I said, This call is really heavy. She said, JB, you know, there's a lot going on. And I said, Well, when was the last time you actually like, did something fun? She's like, I can't even remember. She's always working. She's sitting in the house. She thinks she's working. She's not working at all. I said, How about you go to the nail shop or something, you know, stuff that women do, right? Or like to do I go to the nail shop too, because I like, you know, pedicures and the defeat thing. I think that's a pedicure. Right? manicures, too. They're pretty cool, right? Because I used to bite my nails really bad. So the Medicare helps me. But I'd say hey, go get your nails done. I sit and go to your favorite restaurant. She said, You're right. I said step away from the business because you're not doing anyone any justice. What you have an anxiety and been depressed. And let me tell you, she's like, at the top of her field, like in the country, for what she does, right? Like she's created insane success. We were talking. And I said, go have some fun. So she texts me later that day, her family came by, they had a great time. And she went and actually did it. And she said it was the best thing ever. She didn't even remember while she was depressed. Right. And since then, I'm not kidding. Since then there's been a huge shift in her business because I say, look, even if you start feeling this way, again, try to find one thing per day that you do, that you can do that you enjoy that has absolutely nothing to do with the business making money or anything. Just something cool and fun, even if it's going to get your favorite snack. Right? That completely changed her life. And I have been teaching that to people for years. So if you're dealing with some stuff, right, shift the focus back to yourself, about what can bring you joy and happiness. And when you do that, right. When you feel good, you feel God, and you focus on feeling better. That's how you start creating just insane abundance and prosperity in your life. So Paul, I hope that
Paul Zelizer 49:12
that's really helpful. And I'm over here giggling because I'm a trail runner. So for me, I go out with my friends on the trails and destroy my toenails. But it's good. It's my toenails. But boy, am I happy. Oh, gosh.
JBthaGreat 49:32
Yeah. Because you're enjoying, you're enjoying something that makes you feel good, right. That's how you keep that balance. And so, you know, we have to do that, Paul, you know,
Paul Zelizer 49:44
maybe I could hang out with you all day. I wouldn't do that to you. And I won't do that to our listeners. If there was something you were hoping we were going to get to around this whole topic of helping your business grow in these very uncertain times through scuffle branding. Or there's something you want to leave people with. We'll we'll have all the things in the show notes, listeners, go check out the next level mastermind, go check out JB on Instagram, anything else you want me to share and links in the show notes JB. So we'll take care of all that. If you wanted to leave our listeners with something, or there's something you're like, before we go, it's really important we talk about blank, what would that be?
JBthaGreat 50:23
Yes. So, you know, we can talk about branding all day, right, and things that we can do. A my biggest thing is that I really believe that folks should think bigger, not small, big moves. Right. And not only that, but connecting and serving people, I tell people this all the time, you want to start creating, you know, over a million dollars a year, that's when it becomes about people. Not not some little Facebook tactic. Right? It becomes about people, it becomes about your vision, it becomes about thinking big, believing big, believing bigger. And so for anybody that's listening today, I just want you to know that whatever dream you do have, not only is it possible, but if it wasn't, you would have never had that dream, right? This deceit to make that vision that you have for your life. Even if it sounds crazy, even if you may feel it's a little strange, or you might be a little terrified about it. And some of you may have been putting some of the things you want to do on a back burner, or kind of making excuses. And using different things like the pandemic to say, Oh, well, I'll get to this song, let me tell you make your move forward, right, go out there and get it. And it starts with believing. That's it, if you can do the inner work, and just start showing up in your outer world. And so I'm excited just about the rest of the year, Paul, I'm really looking forward to connecting more with you and connecting more with incredible people. And I'm just feeling really amazing. And I am so grateful that you gave me the opportunity to come upon the podcast. And I've watched it from afar for some time. So it's pretty cool, how it's kind of like manifested in my life to really be here speaking with you, and just the incredible work that you've done. I'm grateful. And I'm just really looking forward to, like I said, connecting with you more and seeing more incredible work from you. You are definitely a jewel to our community of entrepreneurs. You're one of the what we call, I'm from Louisiana, we call it one of the real ones. And so I just appreciate you, brother so much. And thank you for everything.
Paul Zelizer 52:47
Tape. You're too kind. Thank you so much for being on the show today. I really appreciate it. Thank you, Paul. So that's all the time we have for today's show. Before we go Just one more thing. We love listener suggested topics and guests. So if you have an idea of something we should be talking about, that'd be helpful to listeners, like you are particular person is doing awesome work. Go to the aware printers website, go to our contact page. And we have three simple filters. We try to be super transparent about what we're looking for and who's the fit. So go check that out. If it feels like a fit. Please tell us we love when you do. For now I just want to say thank you so much for listening. Please take really good care in these intense times. And thank you for all the positive impact that you're working for.
53:37
And our work