The Honest Field Guide® (JinJa Birkenbeuel, Host, The Honest Field Guide)

Film Director and Writer Alex Lora and I sit down to discuss his latest film "The Masterpiece" which just hours earlier, won the Sundance Grand Jury Award. Alex was in shock and also battling a bad cold during our conversation. But nothing dampens his creative spirit and how fortunate I was to have stumbled across Alex to have this conversation! Enjoy! To find Alex Lora's other work, visit the following channels: http://www.alexlora.com IG: @alexloracercos X: @alexloracercos Facebook: @alexloracercos Reel 1: https://vimeo.com/alexlora/reel1 Reel 2: https://vimeo.com/46511611 Trailers: Unicorns https://vimeo.com/831659390 We Are Living Things https://vimeo.com/alexlora/trailerwalt The Fourth Kingdom https://vimeo.com/360916693 Thy Father's Chair https://vimeo.com/144912742 Our editing company: www.handfulfilms.com My imdb: www.imdb.me/alexlora The Honest Field Guide podcast, created by Birk Creative and hosted by our Chief Executive Officer JinJa Birkenbeuel, is for entrepreneurs and business owners to help you navigate the complexities of starting, running, sustaining, growing and then scaling a business. Conversations about business include some of the world’s most successful behind-the-scenes entrepreneurs. Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬. Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba. Music found on this episode is available on YouTube Music here https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCe7Qjt9aTYQ4gHmn1AyTYIA?feature=share or on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. #dyor Subscribe to the full podcast on Apple iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-honest-field-guide/id1406059045?mt=2. Credits Themesong "Sam's Ranch" provided courtesy Utah Carol. All content and creative @2018 Birk Creative. The Honest Field Guide is created and written by JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative. The Honest Field Guide podcast is recorded in the Midwest at Stomping Ground Studios and produced by Birk Creative, a creative brand strategy, media, technology and professional training company. Birk Creative has been advising global tech and retail giants, authors, celebrities and small business for over twenty years to find gaps, see beyond blindspots in order to help bring their brands to life and connect with the right customers. The opinions expressed on The Honest Field Guide are opinions only and only represent the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel.

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Kathy Cheng is an innovator in the sustainable and ethical fashion space in Canada. She is a worker's advocate for veteran and new talent in the fashion and textile industry. Her private company Redwood Classics is growing and leading the natural textile industry. Kathy's voice is tapped often because she places action on her calls for diverse hiring practices. Listen in and learn about Kathy's family odyssey from China to Canada and how she took her father's business from ten to a million. (Portrait art created by Chloe Bartlett, commissioned by Birk Creative.)

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New season concept: On our new season of the Honest Field Guide Podcast, we present some of the world's top entrepreneurs that are quietly and consistently creating their own masterpieces of success through their businesses and ideas. They are not famous and are not Instagram stars--yet. Rather, they are thriving in their creativity, diversity, authenticity and are in some way, creating social impact through entrepreneurship. We are going beyond celebrating and rather are peeking inside the minds of business owners that keep making money moves and bringing their processes of invention to the forefront. Often, we are so busy working in and on our businesses, we forget how amazing we are and even the small tactics we deploy to push beyond barriers should not be taken for granted. As an entrepreneur, always remember that our natural instincts can be honed and repackaged and used again and again to keep growing our businesses. Our conversations on The Honest Field Guide are a reminder of our extraordinary talents--despite the fact that we are diverse, unique and dare we say creatively divergent.

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Michelle Covey is here on my show today. She is the Vice President of Innovation at GS1US, where she overseas delivery of programs and services designed to support efficient and accurate GS1 standards implementation for companies of all sizes.

When you are a manufacturer or a retailer, you need an authentic way to identify your products if you want to sell them in stores or major online marketplaces. I'm here today to talk to Michelle a little bit about that.

Here are some GS1 Resources for you to learn more about the GS1 Standards:

• GEPIR (look up GTINs) - https://www.gs1us.org/tools/gs1-company-database-gepir
• Homepage: www.gs1us.org
• Small Business Hub: https://www.gs1us.org/small-business
• AI Whitepaper: https://www.gs1us.org/articles/generative-ai-in-the-supply-chain

Where can an entrepreneur find specific and easy step-by-step instructions on how to join GS 1?

https://www.gs1us.org/upcs-barcodes-prefixes/how-to-get-a-upc-barcode 
From GS1 standpoint, what is the primary benefit to opening my own GS1 account (as a small business owner) versus just buying one as needed, from an e-commerce entity (Amazon, Shopify, etc.), as I go?

GS1 identifiers (like GTINs) are globally-accepted identification numbers, and are different from the internal numbering systems that Shopify or Amazon use (Amazon’s is called an ASIN, for example, and can be confused with GTIN). Each are important to indexing a product and making sure it is able to be discovered on each platform. It benefits a small business owner to open a GS1 account because they can ensure they meet a variety of retailer requirements and sell globally.
Why GS1 US?

GS1 identifiers (like GTINs) are globally-accepted identification numbers, and are different from the internal numbering systems that Shopify or Amazon use (Amazon’s is called an ASIN, for example, and can be confused with GTIN). Each are important to indexing a product and making sure it is able to be discovered on each platform. It benefits a small business owner to open a GS1 account because they can ensure they meet a variety of retailer requirements and sell globally.
Why can't I just bypass barcodes and just use these new AI tools that give me an artistic and generative QR code?

Even though GS1 Standards are 100% voluntary to use, GS1 barcodes are recognized by the largest retailers in the world – so if you want to sell and be recognized in commerce in a legit fashion, you should use barcodes from GS1 US. Plus, those AI ones won’t be recognized when they’re scanned at POS/won’t be recognized in the global supply chain.
Where can I reach the GS1 small business liaison to help me started?

Start at our website gs1us.org, call us at 937.435.3870 or email us at info@gs1us.org.
What are some fresh and innovative ways to use GS1 as a small business?

If you want to sell and be looked at as a secure and safe operation, you should to leverage GS1 Standards. The standards are the backbone of commerce and responsible for tracking and tracing goods throughout the supply chain.

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Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. Mastering by Kris Zarnoch.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.

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Hello everyone! I've received messages and emails asking "Where ya been JinJa?" So, I wanted to share this quick message to let you know, I'm still here and have a line up with some amazing entrepreneurs coming up this month and next. :)

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Calling all curly, Afro'd and natural-haired people! You have got to check in!I am soo excited y'all! I have an incredible conversation with Cally Raduenzel, curly hair innovator and founder of Cally's Curls and Company in Chicago releasing tomorrow.Some of you may know, through my brand channel Birk Creative, and also my personal story that I released last year with Fast Company Magazine, where I describe my journey from straight processed hair to natural hair here https://www.fastcompany.com/90864887/im-a-black-business-owner-and-this-is-how-my-hair-shaped-my-professional-brand, I'm still coming to terms with my natural hair journey.One of the reasons I was able to make this journey to loving my hair, was in part because of the natural haircare training that I got at Cally's Curls, in Chicago.I love this conversation, and I love Cally. If you have curly hair, and you are in Chicago, or close enough to drive there, this may be the curly hair salon for you. It's an entire vibe!

Summary

In this episode of The Honest Field Guide Podcast, host JinJa Birkenbeuel discusses her personal journey with natural hair and the challenges faced by Black women in conforming to societal beauty standards. She shares her experience of transitioning from straight to natural hair and the struggles she encountered along the way. JinJa also introduces her guest, Cally Redunzel, the founder of Cally's Curls, a salon that specializes in curly hair. Cally shares her own journey with curly hair and the societal pressures she faced to conform to straight hair standards. The conversation highlights the importance of embracing natural hair and the need for more education and support for curly hair care. Cally shares her journey of opening a salon and becoming an expert in curly hair. She emphasizes the importance of self-love and embracing natural curls. Cally's mission is to empower her clients to feel confident and knowledgeable about their hair.

Takeaways

• The journey to embracing natural hair can be challenging and filled with societal pressures
• Curly hair care is often overlooked and requires specialized knowledge and products
• Representation of diverse hair types in media is important for promoting self-acceptance
• Education and support for curly hair care are essential for empowering individuals to embrace their natural hair Embrace your natural curls and practice self-love.
• Education and knowledge sharing are essential in the salon industry.

Chapters

00:00

Welcoming Cally to the Show!

10:29

Growing Up with Curly Hair and the Influence of Family

17:31

The Revelation and Acceptance of Curly Hair

20:21

The Pressure to Conform to Straight Hair Standards

22:36

The Impact of Media and Representation

24:08

The Stories of Curly Hair

26:18

Transitioning from Journalism to Hair

29:58

The Intersection of Music, Art, and Hair

32:01

The Journey to Opening a Salon

36:46

The Importance of Education and Knowledge Sharing

39:14

The Challenges of Embracing Natural Hair

43:17

Choosing the Right Products for Curly Hair

53:01

Feedback from Clients and the Power of Reviews

55:38

The Vibe and Culture of Cally's Curls

57:27

Playlist and Go-To Fashion

58:16

Lipstick or Lip Gloss

All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter
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Thank you for joining me today. You could be listening to any podcast in the world right now, but you are choosing to listen to mine. If you are a new listener to my show, please subscribe to my show on Apple or Spotify podcasts or search on Google “The Honest Field Guide Podcast” and look for Google Podcasts where you can listen to my show right from your browser on any device, no subscription required. Share my podcast with your friends too. The more people that hear my show the better for my guests! Can you leave a review of my show on Apple Podcasts so they pay more attention to the show?

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield.

So, doesn’t everyone have a cupcake story? I was working on site at my client Google, in Chicago. I was taking a snack break, and walked to one of their micro kitchens (filled with snacks like nuts, hard boiled eggs, drinks, chips, etc.). There was a box, open, with two dozen cupcakes. But what caught my eye was the dot on the top. A perfect circle sitting on top of another perfect circle, the smoothly swirled iced cap of the cupcake. Each colorful candy pin had a different design on top. I was astonished at these cupcakes, I had never seen a cupcake like this before. They were lined up, in rows, and it really appealed to my design aesthetic. I was offered one, and I obliged, of course.

It was THE MOST heavenly cupcake I had ever had in my life, it was soft, moist and super sweet. and I am not just saying that because today on my show,

I have Candace Nelson, the founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes. And she takes us on a journey from her layered life as a child that started in Indonesia which led her to her most incredible college experience and then her job as an investment banker turned the Ray Croc of Cupcakes.

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Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. Story editing of this episode by Kris Zarnoch. Production and mastering by Kris Zarnoch.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.

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Guiding question: How are you surviving being a business owner during the pandemic?  #### Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

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Hi welcome back to my show. A quick update: I will be at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival representing Full Spectrum Features as a newly appointed Director to their board, to participate in the premier of their first film "Desire Lines." I am also reporting in on the festival for WVON 1690 AM Chicago to discover the latest independent films created by Black filmmakers, actors, producers and directors. Follow my LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram and more to keep up to date on my journey to Sundance.

All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.

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They say small businesses are the backbone of America. But what no one understood until the pandemic, was how under resourced, unprepared, uninformed and unconnected most American small businesses were from America's global supply chain. 

What is a supply chain? As our guest Brittain Ladd, a supply chain expert shares, it's the process to grow cotton, the get the cotton to a mill for processing, to find the manufacturer, to get a distributer and to sell the t-shirt you just made. For us, it's a whole lot more. It's the marketing, the networks, the relationships with a bank and the availability of willing customers that want to shop with a small business versus a giant with cheaper products like Walmart. 

Small businesses thought 2020 was going to be "The Year of the Small Business Dragon." 2020 is turning out to be an exhausting failure on so many levels. Except for a few innovative small businesses that have take this moment to pivot, learn and drive to create 100% online operations, sales and direct to consumer JUST LIKE AMAZON.

Brittain explains how the pandemic exposed in full color the already broken supply chain. He shares insightful strategies designed for small businesses so they fight to survive into the future of retail.

Brittain has graciously offered to provide a complimentary thirty minute consulting call for any small local business that want ideas on how to stay open and prepared for the future post COVID-19 at https://brittainladd.com. Connect with Brittain on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittainladd.

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Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support.

Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit birkcreative.com. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, Birk Creative and its employees.

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Isn’t it time for a LinkedIn-tervention! JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and official Digital Coach for Google, Inc. and Esther Ikoro, Content Strategist and Digital Media Producer for Birk Creative are back sharing insights on how to use LinkedIn for small business. Esther, a millennial, is bored with LinkedIn. But listen to how JinJa, just shy of the millennial generation, gets Esther super excited by sharing powerful strategies and reasons why LinkedIn can help you drive sales and raise your stellar reputation everywhere online. The opinions expressed on The Honest Field Guide are opinions only and only represent the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel and Esther Ikoro. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

David Stephens, owner of Chicago's premier youth swim team CWAC Swimming (https://www.teamunify.com/Home.jsp?team=iscwac) saw a big gap in the Chicago youth sports market. Coming from one of the country's number one swim states, Georgia, the city of Chicago had no elite swim teams, and no one seemed to be thinking of starting one. Chicago IS known for its championship basketball, football, baseball and hockey teams. And as cold as it is in Chicago, there hasn't been a focus on teaching young people anything but "learn-to-swim." David shares his story about how he left his career as a successful lawyer and built a thriving family business around his love of swimming as sport. And, he describes how he is the first swim team in the State of Illinois that strategically focuses on diversity and inclusion in a global sport that has a history of extreme racism and discrimination. Guiding question: How are you surviving being a business owner during the pandemic?  #### Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

One of the biggest challenges we have as a professional services agency is trying to figure out how social media can be used to promote and advertise our services. Well, now there is an answer! Laywer? Check. Photographer? Check. Management consultant? Check. Listen up and learn how to use Instagram specifically for your Super Pro Services company and start growing your audience quickly. The opinions expressed on The Honest Field Guide are opinions only and only represent the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel and Esther Ikoro. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Robert Runcie, superintendent of Broward County Public Schools visits with us during this time of the astonishing and rapid breakdown (albeit temporarily) of society and the economy in the United States--in large part due to public schools being ordered to shut down across America. Parents are unable to work, families and children are unable to get food and computers that are needed for teachers to even attempt to migrate to online teaching are not available or dispersed equally to all families. And to make matters worse, teachers are not trained to be teaching online and many communities in the United States don't even have broadband or secure wifi access.

Incredible, right?

This global crisis caused by the virus that is killing people, has also killed public education in America as we have come to know it. 

Robert Runcie is at the forefront of change in education technology. Originally from the private sector technology industry, by way of Union-heavy Chicago, he knows first hand how almost impossible it is to innovate in and transform public educational processes and systems. But the biggest threat we are all facing is the too-slow transformation of our mindsets around not only on our awareness of the vitalness of quality public education for all, but also how we as social beings must evolve using technology in order to survive. 

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The Honest Field Guide is a production of multichannel brand strategy and visual identity agency Birk Creative at http://www.birkcreative.com. Episode song "Ruby" can be downloaded on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/album/ruby/212635734?i=212635749 and is written by Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis, from the band Utah Carol http://www.utahcarol.com.

Recorded at Stomping Ground Studios. Podcast editing by Birk Creative. Mastering by Chris Enns. 

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Do you love our show? Can you donate to support our podcast? We will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. 

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Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message .

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How do you stay driven, purposeful, focused and positive while being Black at work? Listen in as Dr. Jeffreen Hayes, Ph.D., founder of for the love of blk, https://www.fortheloveofblk.com, and Executive Director of Threewalls, https://three-walls.org, talks with The Honest Field Guide about how she stands her ground for Blackness during her magnificent and driven journeys through oceans of Whiteness in the art and cultural spaces of America.

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. 

Please donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! 

We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

Editing and mastering of this episode by Jason Marck. 

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. 

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬. 

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. 

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba. 

Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. Story editing of this episode by Kris Zarnoch. Production and mastering by Kris Zarnoch.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Doreen Lorenzo is a successful leader of global creative firms; as the former president of frog design and Quirky she has advised companies on design and innovation issues for decades. In 2016 she started the Center for Integrated Design at the University of Texas at Austin. The success of that program led her in 2017 to be appointed Assistant Dean of the new School of Design and Creative Technologies . It has since become the fastest growing school in the College of Fine Arts. She is a co-founder of mobile video insights firm Vidlet, as well as a board member and advisor to several other companies. Seven years ago she became a columnist for Fast Company Co.Design writing a monthly column called Designing Women. Doreen was honored that Texas Monthly profiled her as one of 15 Innovators Reshaping Texas.

Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. Mastering by Kris Zarnoch.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.

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When we think about pairings, we usually are considering liquor and food. But what if you could figure a way to pair great music and high quality liquor? What would that music sound like and how would it feel as you drink a dark amber tasting rum on ice? Jim Powers, the founder of Minty Fresh pivoted his music label career and founded a rum company PARCE Rum. With his eye still focused on maintaining the great talent on his still operational label Minty Fresh, his passion now lies in creating and distilling the most exquisite rum available in the world.

His journey from discovering The Cardigans to developing an app and finally landing on rum will inspire you to dig deep into finding your own expertise and then creating that expertise into a vital business.

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Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield.

We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. 

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Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message.

The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit birkcreative.com.

Theme song "Sam's Ranch" is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/album/sams-ranch/212635734?i=212635767 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

When the lightning rod of a powerful and scalable idea strikes you on your head as you are chilling in a hot tub in paradise with your super smart business colleagues, you'd better get out of the tub quick, gather your dollars, your family and friends, and launch. That's exactly what Steven Galanis, the co-founder of Cameo did by taking to market, the first ever video autographing app designed to celebrate and bring joy to fans and connect them to their favorite celebrities. 

But Steven's story of his transformation from being a company man to opening his own company will leave you breathless. Through Steven's stories, you will feel the power and energy and momentum of Cameo, that will leave you wanting to quit your own job and join their team (or either inspire you to finally launch your own idea)! Steven also shares deep insights into signal watching, networking, and how to give public credit for all of the previous interactions and learnings he soaked up from not only his successful creative family, but from the surprising generosity of his former boss and network at LinkedIn. So step right up and get your next helping of entrepreneurship lessons from Steven Galanis.

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The Honest Field Guide is a production of brand strategy agency Birk Creative at http://www.birkcreative.com.

Episode song "Silver Space Rocket" can be downloaded on Apple here https://music.apple.com/bs/album/silver-space-rocket/206188206?i=206188213 and is written by Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis, from the band Utah Carol http://www.utahcarol.com.

Podcast mastering by Chris Enns of Lemon Productions http://www.lemonproductions.ca.

Photo by John R. Boehm.

Episode artwork by Alexander Barrett http://www.alexanderbarrett.com.

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Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message

Do you love our show? We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support

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Welcome to The Honest Field Guide Season 3 kick-off.

For the first time, I have a podcast episode that requires a disclaimer: "Listener Discretion" advised. My guest Mary Nisi (Toast & Jam DJs) and I are 100% funny, and at times, are using strong language. Some topics in this episode may make some listeners cringe. But this IS the HONEST Field Guide Podcast.

This episode is a Part II of the conversation that Mary and I had from last year. That conversation took place after Brandon Johnson was elected as Mayor of Chicago. Chicago is having huge problems right now, especially because they are negatively impacting small business owners like Mary and I.

The city of Chicago STILL feels really awkward to me. It has not gotten better in the last 10 months since Mayor Johnson was elected. Fingers crossed he gets some honest and authentic help, fast.

I'm going to keep creating these little mini conversations specifically with Mary Nisi because Mary is someone I trust to tell it like she sees it. She is not afraid, and I love that about her.

Mary and I are going to keep this conversation going. Plus, we're heading into a political season, local and nationally. We're not going to focus on geopolitics, we aren't qualified for that. We're going to really keep this conversation local, because politics IS local!

Brand Chicago ain't selling too well right now. And it doesn't seem as if there is an end in sight to be honest.

I wish I would help, but the powers that be haven't called me for assistance in a long while. I'm always here to help Chicago, but I won't work for free.

All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to The Birk Creative Reset newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba

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Are you building your business to position it for sustainable wealth? How are you feeling about your personal brand and what it says to potential clients? What is required to move through mainstream business spaces so you feel safe and ready to take on the business world? We interview founder Angelina Darrisaw, CEO of C-Suite Coach give us strategies for success. Listen in as she discusses moving past perfectionism and creating diversity in large corporate spaces through her career coaching company. 

This series features the work of Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist, creative technologist, researcher, and futurist, @ariciano. 

The Honest Field Guide is produced and edited by Birk Creative | https://www.birkcreative.com. Engage on http://www.instagram.com/birkcreative. 

Song “In The Lake” provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP) | http://www.utahcarol.com. Download the song here https://music.apple.com/us/album/in-the-lake/212635734?i=212635821

Angelina Darrisaw is at https://www.csuitecoach.com.

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Jacob Adlington is a visual sound artist and photographer from New Zealand, based in Brisbane, Australia who has a deep belief in the power of music and sound to shape our physical and mental realities and beyond. I met Jacob after stumbling down the Instagram rabbit hole of wonder, and discovered his vibrant and gorgeous channel representing the circular sound of vibration through color and water and sand. I reached out to Jacob in 2018, to ask how was he expanding his reach with his meditative expression of sounds beyond Instagram. Post pandemic, Journey of Curiosity has exploded on multiple platforms as we humans seek comfort, connection and understanding of purpose. Our quiet discussion explores his transformation from a simple idea of how to bring order to visual sound and create unique meditative experiences with color and movement otherwise known as cymatics. Featuring visuals: Tashka Urban - Sacral Chakra - Ancient Future. Join us and then visit his platforms and learn more.

Meet Journey of Curiosity

Shop for prints https://journeyofcuriosity.net/collections/prints

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/journey.of.curiosity

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/JourneyofCuriosity

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield.  Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. Story editing of this episode by C.Peter Clough. Production and mastering by Chris Enns, Lemon Productions. Thanks fellas!

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Danny Wirtz, fourth generation owner of one of the most famous and successful hockey teams in US history, The Chicago Blackhawks and also the head of many of the Wirtz family private businesses. Including his work with his foundation, The Chicago Blackhawks Foundation, Danny has revolutionized they way his family engages with the community, uses technology for insights and growth and creates wealth for other small, family-owned businesses, that are all part of the Wirtz family of brands. Danny's is a natural with positive business acumen--someone that any multigenerational family would want to take the helm and go next level.

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The Honest Field Guide is a production of brand strategy and visual identity agency Birk Creative at http://www.birkcreative.com. Episode song "Mabel Custer" can be downloaded on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/album/mabel-custer/206143120?i=206143227 and is written by Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis, from the band Utah Carol http://www.utahcarol.com. Recorded at Stomping Ground Studios. Podcast mastering by Jason Marck. Episode artwork by Jen Hewett https://jenhewett.com.

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Do you love our show? We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support.

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Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message .

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You have a business. You are trying to create a brand. Not just for your business, but for your personality. You know that customers need to know who they are buying from. They want to feel a connection with the "brand" and you now understand from everything you've been reading, and the personalities you've been studying - YOU are the brand. Yikes. But you have to put yourself out there, expose yourself, let people know who you are. But how do you know how much to share? When you've crossed the line with your personality? What if you are uncomfortable with telling all? On this episode, you will gain insights about when too much information about yourself and your brand is actually perfect, and which brands to follow to get inspiration and ideas. This is The Honest Field Guide podcast, where you will get the unvarnished truth in a robust conversation from veteran business owner and serial entrepreneur JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and millennial entrepreneur and Birk Creative content strategist Esther Ikoro about the horrors of entrepreneurship. Music provided courtesy Utah Carol.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Money. Something that many entrepreneurs may have lots of, little of, or worse, not talk about at all. How to make money, how to track money, how to ask for what you are worth, and how to learn about what you worth as you fight through your entrepreneurship journey are topics we cover during this deep dive conversation about money. Francilia WIlkens Rahim discussing how she raised almost a billion dollars for other businesses. And how early on, she consistently undercharged for her expertise until she took a chance and tripled her rates and got the money she deserved. Listen and learn from Francilia on how to be brave and boss up your money.

The Honest Field Guide is produced and edited by Birk Creative | https://www.birkcreative.com. Engage on http://www.instagram.com/birkcreative.

Song “Mr. Rogers” provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP) | http://www.utahcarol.com. Download the song here https://music.apple.com/us/album/mr-rogers/206188206?i=206188376

Find Francilia and RFW Consultants here https://www.rfwconsultants.com.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Dayna Isom Johnson knew from when she was eight years old making and selling mud pies in rural Virginia, that she wanted to be in the creative fashion industry. Think about this: Eight years old, and you already have your career planned out and designed! Dayna speaks brightly about the clarity of her creative path unsupported by racial "mirrors," but powerfully guided by her working Aunt in corporate spaces who took her on a brisk and fast journey to NYC. 

Small town girl made good in NYC, Dayna now leads Etsy as their principal trend expert, guiding one of the country's most powerful and wealth-generating tech companies, to make decisions around colors, fashion and fun to make colorful style decisions based on her gut backed by data analytics. See Dayna's Etsy website of recommendations and style here https://www.etsy.com/people/daynaisom and watch her on NBC's makin' it https://www.nbc.com/making-it/credits/judge/dayna-isom-johnson.

Connect with Dayna on https://www.instagram.com/daynaisomjohnson.

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Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support.

Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit birkcreative.com. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Popcorn captivates the imagination. From baseball games, to the movies, to amusement parks. It's the best snack there is. But Berco's Popcorn on Chicago's Northside created a trademark flavor and blend named "Billion Dollar Popcorn, The World's Most Expensive Popcorn." Matt Bercovitz, the founder and creator will take you through his unlikely journey from his days bored as hell in college but guided by a brilliant mentor to becoming the purveyor of handcrafted and gourmet popcorn flavors, and winning in one of the most popcorn-competitive markets in the United States of America. Find Berco's at https://www.bercospopcorn.com.

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The Honest Field Guide is a production of brand strategy and visual identity agency Birk Creative at http://www.birkcreative.com. Episode song "Charmed Life" can be downloaded on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/album/charmed-life/206143120?i=206143135 and is written by Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis, from the band Utah Carol http://www.utahcarol.com. Recorded at Stomping Ground Studios. Podcast mastering by Chris Enns of Lemon Productions http://www.lemonproductions.ca. Episode artwork by Alexander Barrett http://www.alexanderbarrett.com.

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Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message Do you love our show? We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support Sponsorships: off for this episode

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Show notes coming shortly!

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Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. Mastering by Kris Zarnoch.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Loving the conversation because I ask Lisa how her home at the kitchen table experience with her family may have mirrored Jim Carrrey’s who frequently talks about his life at the dinner table with his father growing up as a young boy. This episode is sponsored by CPASS Foundation. CPASS (CREATING PATHWAYS AND ACCESS FOR STUDENT SUCCESS™) Foundation was created to attract, encourage, educate, guide and increase the number of promising, yet underrepresented Illinois students in STEM and STEAM-related professions. Hire Lisa Beasley at https://www.lisabexperience.com Laugh with Lisa at https://www.tiktok.com/@lisabevolving Learn with Lisa at https://www.instagram.com/lisabevolving Original Artwork by https://www.instagram.com/drawingzila Portrait photo by Aspen Cierra Evans. Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬. Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. Story editing of this episode by Kris Zarnoch. Production and mastering by Chris Enns, Lemon Productions. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.

Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. Story editing of this episode by Kris Zarnoch. Production and mastering by Kris Zarnoch.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Everybody thinks they are an artist. Every creative person believes they can make riches on the internet because it seems like every other creative is doing it. (Ever heard of photoshop, comping, prototyping and fake news?) I'll get my art on a wall mural at Coke! Nike will love my designs for their shoes, as soon as they see my instagram, I will be GOLD! I am a much better photographer than the one Beyoncé hired, how did THEY get that gig? I really hated that Super Bowl ad, I could have shot/photographed/filmed that much better!

Think so, right? Maybe, but mostly, no. In the commercial art world, unless you have professional representation, an agent, or have a vast and elite cultural network, the chances of you landing that A-List gig that actually PAYS is very unlikely. The only other potential path to riches, is if you game the social media game so intently and with intention, adding on extraordinary talent and networking skills, you ARE going to need help. Not just for the one job, but for the long game that will carry your creative a!# to sustainable income well past 40 years, 50 years and beyond.

Simone Friend, How To Successfully Represent and Protect Commercial Artists

Meet artist representative Simone Friend, of Friend & Johnson Artist Representative. Simone for over 30 years, has built the most immaculate reputation as a protector of creatives that ensure proper compensation AND protection of intellectual property rights. But most of all, Simone has built a standard process around artist education.

Are you an artist that would like to land a commercial gig like independent Google artist Heather Day, or international superstar photographer Geoff Kern and many more artists that have built a sustaining platform? You need to listen, now.

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The Honest Field Guide is a production of brand strategy and visual identity agency Birk Creative at http://www.birkcreative.com. Episode song "Can I Ride With U?" can be downloaded on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/album/can-i-ride-with-u/212635734?i=212635813 and is written by Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis, from the band Utah Carol http://www.utahcarol.com. Recorded at Stomping Ground Studios. Podcast editing and mastering by Jason Marck. Episode artwork by British artist Karolin Schnoor http://www.karolinschnoor.co.uk as represented by Friend & Johnson at http://www.friendandjohnson.com.

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Do you love our show? We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support.

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Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message .

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On this episode of The Honest Field Guide JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and official Digital Coach for Google, Inc. and Esther Ikoro, Junior Digital Media Producer for Birk Creative discuss how to use Instagram for small business. Get tips on building a profile, creating good content, strategic "liking" and commenting plus how to connect with the right community. The opinions expressed on The Honest Field Guide are opinions only and only represent the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel and Esther Ikoro. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

I am here for another of my Birk Creative interludes, to talk about my anxiety and hope around the candidacy and election day, November 5, 2024, as well as Vice President Harris' plans for entrepreneurs and small business owners as we try to elect the first woman President of the United States. Thanks for listening in. JinJa Birkenbeuel, Host

All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market.

Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to The Birk Creative Reset newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba

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How do you get people eat plant-based? Invent a restaurant with a super cool name, trendy menu item titles and above all, juicy, savory and topped with traditional ingredients burgers! Slutty Vegan restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia is America's first, Black- and women-owned vegan burger joint. Founded by serial entrepreneur Pinky Cole, it has become the country's most popular  and sought-after spot for plant-based burgers. But the only reason you've ever heard of Pinky Cole and Slutty Vegan, is because of the other Black woman behind her running the super-powered Instagram channel: Angel Barnwell. Join Angel's humble journey from life as a the expected Black-girl-in-corporate-America turned massive Instagram influencer for the most important restaurant to open in the USA in the last year. It's worth the 1.25 hour listen!
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The Honest Field Guide is a production of brand strategy and visual identity agency Birk Creative at http://www.birkcreative.com. Episode song "Angel" can be downloaded on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/album/angel/206188206?i=206188229 and is written by Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis, from the band Utah Carol http://www.utahcarol.com. Recorded at Stomping Ground Studios. Editing and final mastering by Jason Marck. Episode artwork by Alexander Barrett http://www.alexanderbarrett.com.
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Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message Do you love our show? We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support Sponsorships: off for this episode

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Burn-out is real. A year-end inspirational and hopeful reading "Practical advice on burnout—what works and what sucks—from someone who’s dealt with it" by JinJa Birkenbeuel. Happy new year everyone! *At the end I meant to say "See you in 2024!" Not 2022. 🤣🤣🤣

All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

After a long week, sometimes, it feels good to touch grass, or read a real book or think and then repeat it outloud. Today I do this by reading excerpts from "Taxi Driver Wisdom" written by Risa Mickenberg. This book has inspired me for years and years. Not only because it's about New York City, the greatest city in the world. But rather, by the mere fact that the author spoke with my favorite people, taxicab drivers. Many veteran drivers are so interesting and have so much wisdom to share. I am so grateful for this author to have tapped into something so amazing like this. A must read. It's published by Chronicle books.

Thank you for joining me today. You could be listening to any podcast in the world right now, but you are choosing to listen to mine. If you are a new listener to my show, please subscribe to my show on Apple or Spotify podcasts or search on Google “The Honest Field Guide Podcast” and look for Google Podcasts where you can listen to my show right from your browser on any device, no subscription required. Share my podcast with your friends too. The more people that hear my show the better for my guests! Can you leave a review of my show on Apple Podcasts so they pay more attention to the show?

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield.

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Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. Story editing of this episode by Kris Zarnoch. Production and mastering by Kris Zarnoch.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

When you are a small business or entrepreneur, what is it to be motivated? Who has motivation? Who needs it? And where can you find it in order to keep moving forward in your business? JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and Esther Ikoro, Content Strategist for Birk Creative try to find out between the two of them which is more motivated (LOL), how to create lists and even find external signals that can drive motivation when you don't have it inside yourself. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Welcome to season two of the Honest Field Guide Podcast!

Ep. 50 - The Oprah Winfrey of Plants: A Growing Conversation with Nika Vaughan, Founder of Plant Salon

We've missed you all! It's been a minute since we've released an episode. 2020 may have slowed us down, but it didn't take asunder! No sir!

Excited to present our first conversation of 2021 featuring serial entrepreneur Nika Vaughan of Chicago. You will enjoy Nika, who describes her seemingly instant pivot in a pandemic from being a local makeup artist for elite brides, to the owner of national wellness and self-care brand Plant Salon, founded to cultivate unique and highly coveted plants and natural products that provide meditative experiences to all.

Visit Plant Salon at http://www.PlantSalon.com and at the retail location at Plant Salon, 957 N. Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going!

We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. 

The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. 

Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba. 

Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

Story editing of this episode by C.Peter Clough. Production and mastering by Chris Enns, Lemon Productions. Thanks fellas!

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

In this episode of The Honest Field Guide Podcast, host JinJa Birkenbeuel engages in a deep conversation with Lenny Stern, a prominent figure in marketing and communications. They explore Lenny's journey from his upbringing in Queens, New York, to his impactful career in politics and business. The discussion touches on themes of diversity, resilience, and the importance of self-awareness in entrepreneurship. Lenny shares insights from his family history, his experiences in high school and college, and his passion for making a difference in the world through responsible leadership. In this engaging conversation, Lenny Stern shares his journey from grassroots political organizing to becoming a successful entrepreneur. He discusses the importance of understanding every aspect of a campaign, the characteristics that define successful entrepreneurs, and the innovative approach his company took in political consulting. Lenny reflects on his experience working with Barack Obama and emphasizes the significance of diversity and self-awareness in leadership roles. Key Takeaways - Lenny emphasizes the importance of self-awareness in entrepreneurship. - He believes in finding what you love and making a difference. - Diversity and different perspectives are crucial for growth. - Trauma can lead to resilience and understanding. - Political engagement can lead to meaningful change. - The lessons from politics are applicable in business. - Exploration and experimentation are key to personal growth. - Women play a vital role in supporting and uplifting others. - Listening to different viewpoints enriches understanding. - Success in life often comes from connections and relationships. - Understanding every step of the way is crucial for success. - Fearlessness and passion are key traits of entrepreneurs. - Political campaigns are like startups, requiring creativity and adaptability. - Finding the right partners can enhance entrepreneurial success. - Diversity in leadership brings different perspectives and strengths. - Self-awareness is essential for effective leadership. - Hiring for the future requires recognizing different lived experiences. - It's important to embrace change and not fear failure. - Building relationships with leaders who inspire is vital. - Engaging with diverse communities enriches business strategies. The Honest Field Guide podcast, created by Birk Creative and hosted by our Chief Executive Officer JinJa Birkenbeuel, is for entrepreneurs and business owners to help you navigate the complexities of starting, running, sustaining, growing and then scaling a business. Conversations about business include some of the world’s most successful behind-the-scenes entrepreneurs. Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba. Music found on this episode is available on YouTube Music here https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCe7Qjt9aTYQ4gHmn1AyTYIA?feature=share or on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. #dyor Credits Themesong "Sam's Ranch" provided courtesy Utah Carol. All content and creative @2018 Birk Creative. The Honest Field Guide is created and written by JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative. The opinions expressed on The Honest Field Guide are opinions only and only represent the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Before you quit your job, plunge into entrepreneurship or decide to start your own business, hear from co-hosts JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of brand strategy and management consulting agency Birk Creative and Esther Ikoro, the agency's content strategist, talk about pitfalls, share horror stories and then warn you about the potential liabilities of running a business. After you've listened to this episode, you may be motivated to get a lawyer, a certified public accountant and a good insurance agent before you start up!

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

JinJa Birkenbeuel reads her latest personal essay "I am mediocre. I am a non-playable character. And I am okay with it."

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All of our entrepreneur lives, we've been told "If you don't grow, you will shrink, and if you shrink you will go out of business." Or, "Always be closing." Or, 'Always be growing." As a result, we've battled and fought our way to at least make ourselves look like what Tom Hanks wanted: TO BE BIG. From paying high rent for corporate spaces, getting augmented staff for presentations and meetings, giant websites with pages upon pages of stuff, and stumbling over our words after we share the volume of work we complete for clients, and yet people keep asking us in disbelief, "How many employees do you have?" without understanding that Entrepreneurs Don't Sleep.

The struggle to fake it until you make it to become a "real" company is exhausting.

We learned about "The Company of One," by Paul Jarvis, from our friend and fellow entrepreneur Keila Hill-Trawick, owner of Little Fish Accounting. She told us about the book on an earlier podcast, episode 22, that the book changed her life and gave her the courage to quit and walk away from her comfortable, government day job. Lucky for us, our podcast mastering engineer Chris Enns, introduced us to Paul and then that's the beginning of our story with How We Learned To Love Being Small.

Reading "The Company Of One" written by Paul Jarvis inspired so much greatness in our thoughts about our agency business Birk Creative, the book helped us refocus on the type of hard work that is meaningful and drives real success. We had to find out more. So, we did what any crazy entrepreneur would do: We took a flight to British Columbia, Vancouver, then took a ferry to Victoria Island and hit the road and drove another two hours to meet our new hero in person to ask him face to face: "How Can Anyone Win In Business If They Are Only One and Done?"

Our intimate conversation with Paul Jarvis will absolutely surprise you, and motivate you to rethink *everything* you've ever been told and believed about the business of getting big.

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The Honest Field Guide is a production of brand strategy and visual identity agency Birk Creative at http://www.birkcreative.com. Episode song "Misfits" can be downloaded on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/album/misfits/206188206?i=206188212 and is written by Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis, from the band Utah Carol http://www.utahcarol.com. Recorded at Stomping Ground Studios. Podcast consultant: Chris Enns. Podcast Editing by Jason Marck. Custom episode artwork designed for this episode created by American printmaker and textile designer Jen Hewett https://jenhewett.com.

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Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬! Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message Do you love our show? We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

This is a great time to reintroduce our audiences to our founder JinJa Birkenbeuel's story, which was originally broadcast in 2018. Given the recent earned media interview of JinJa by legendary designer Doreen Lorenzo in Fast Company Magazine (https://www.fastcompany.com/90596177/want-to-succeed-in-design-and-business-support-women), we thought it would be a great time to do this. Enjoy JinJa's story! 

You have a dream or an opportunity for changing your career or business. Now what? Get insights and tips from JinJa Birkenbeuel, Chief Executive Officer of Birk Creative and founder of The Honest Field Guide Podcast in this episode while she shares her small business start-up story, successes and of course some of her failures and lessons learned along her journey.

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield.

Please donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going!

We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you out when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at (312) 445-0903 Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

In this episode of The Honest Field Guide podcast, host JinJa Birkenbeuel discusses the evolving landscape of entrepreneurship in the U.S. with Congressman Morgan McGarvey. They explore the significance of small businesses, the role of women in leadership, and the importance of HBCUs. McGarvey shares personal stories about his family background, his journey into politics, and his advocacy for education and small business support.

The conversation highlights the need for a nuanced understanding of entrepreneurship versus small business ownership, especially in the context of Vice President Harris's initiatives. In this engaging conversation, Rep. Morgan McGarvey discusses the multifaceted nature of entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of access to capital, mentorship, and policy support for small businesses. He highlights the barriers that many aspiring entrepreneurs face, including systemic issues and the need for visibility and opportunities.

The discussion also touches on the role of government contracts and the importance of inclusivity in fostering a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. McGarvey's optimistic outlook on bipartisanship and collaboration in addressing these challenges resonates throughout the dialogue, culminating in a light-hearted rapid-fire question segment that reveals his personal insights and experiences.

Top takeaways:

• The narrative around entrepreneurship is changing in the U.S.
• Women in leadership roles are essential for progress.
• Personal experiences shape political advocacy and policy-making.
• HBCUs play a crucial role in education and community development.
• Creativity in entrepreneurship can manifest in various forms.
• Small businesses are vital to the economy and community.
• Support for small businesses can lead to broader economic growth.
• Understanding the difference between entrepreneurs and small business owners is important.
• Advocacy for education and diversity in teaching is necessary.
• Political representation can influence the support for small businesses. Entrepreneurship is a pathway to the American dream.
• Access to capital is a significant barrier for many entrepreneurs.
• Not all small businesses require loans; some need contracts.
• Mentorship and training are crucial for aspiring business owners.
• Government contracts are underutilized by small businesses.
• Visibility for entrepreneurs can lead to greater opportunities.
• Bipartisanship is essential for effective policy-making.
• Inclusivity in business is vital for economic growth.
• Systemic barriers still exist for minority and women-owned businesses.
• Personal stories of entrepreneurs can inspire and drive change.

All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to The Birk Creative Reset newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba

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A story about how sensuality, beauty, creativity and unexpected delight can be brought to fruition for corporate and personal spaces typically not considered "brandable." Teri Johnson, founder of The Harlem Candle Company, shares her international journey from the babysitter of future astronauts to creator of custom candles filled with memories of a bygone era of art, music, storytelling and the experiences of Black Americans during the Harlem Renaissance. Teri's story of change from in-house corporate manager to the joys that comes with independent wealth building will leave you uplifted and inspired to launch your own business.

Shop Harlem Candle Company here https://www.harlemcandlecompany.com.

The Honest Field Guide is produced and edited by Birk Creative | https://www.birkcreative.com. Engage on http://www.instagram.com/birkcreative.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

So, are you starting out your business? Or perhaps you've been going at this entrepreneurship thing for a while now and something is just not quite right? You are searching for answers and solutions: Is it time for a mentor? And what IS a mentor anyway? How do you find one? What do you expect to gain from a mentor? Do you just need a little business boost or do you need 911 life support from a mentor? Maybe we should just trash the word "mentor" completely! JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and Esther Ikoro, Content Strategist for Birk Creative discuss the joy and pitfalls of mentors and mentorship and how it can make or maybe even break you. By the end of this podcast, you will KNOW what you need to do. Done and done. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Is the concept of “a woman’s intuition” a myth? Not according to Kate Leydon, entrepreneur and founder of Ruby Room, an experiential wellness and boutique retail shop and hotel in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Learn about Kate’s journey from a satisfying career working for one of the world’s top cosmetics brand to her eventual collapse from exhaustion to path of clarity through deprivation in Bali. What emerged were her multiple brands and companies designed to protect, enhance and make well women and men through meditation, rest, self care, natural products and authentic thinking. --- Follow our show on instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at twitter.com/thehonestfield.  

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The Honest Field Guide is a production of multichannel brand strategy and visual identity agency Birk Creative at http://www.birkcreative.com. Episode song "Ruby" can be downloaded on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/album/ruby/212635734?i=212635749 and is written by Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis, from the band Utah Carol http://www.utahcarol.com. 

Recorded at Stomping Ground Studios. Podcast editing and mastering by Jason Marck. Episode artwork by British artist Karolin Schnoor http://www.karolinschnoor.co.uk as represented by Friend & Johnson at http://www.friendandjohnson.com. 

 ---  Do you love our show? We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. --- Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message .

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Are you are a small business owner, freelancer or entrepreneur drowning in all of the digital choices that now seemed to be required to run your business online? Are you frozen with inertia because you don't know what you don't know and it seems like other businesses are winning the internet? Personal and business digital branding, Google Ads, YouTube, Google Analytics, content, search engine optimization, Facebook ads, website design, digital photography, online networking, intellectual property--it's just all too much! On this episode, discover how Google, Inc.'s worldwide technology awareness initiative, Accelerate With Google, is trying to fill the digital knowledge gap for small, underrepresented and marginalized business by providing free business and professional development workshops led by nine professional business leaders across the United States. One of the coaches is founder and co-host of this podcast, The Honest Field Guide, JinJa Birkenbeuel and also CEO of brand strategy and management consulting agency Birk Creative. She will share insights about the Google Digital Coaches Program and how it's helping communities across the United States and beyond win the internet for their businesses.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Ray Chew, a renowned music director, producer, and composer, shares his journey in the music industry. From being discovered at six years old to working with superstars, Chew's early beginnings and musical education shaped his career. He emphasizes the importance of talent, hard work, and opportunity in achieving success. Chew also discusses the tragic story of a talented musician he used to know who faced challenges in the industry. He highlights the role of support systems and the need for a multifaceted approach to navigate the music business.

Chew's story showcases the dedication and passion required to thrive in the industry. Ray Chew discusses his first big break and the importance of being open to new experiences. He emphasizes the need for young people to pay attention and not be distracted or blocked by their own biases. He also talks about the role of a music director and the importance of suppressing ego and having a servant leadership mindset.

Chew shares his experience in the New York session scene and the value of having access to opportunities. He also discusses the importance of owning intellectual property and the challenges and rewards of being an entrepreneur in the music industry. Chew talks about his companies, Chew Entertainment and RC Music, and the importance of diligent work and proper management. He also discusses his nonprofit organization, Power to Inspire, which aims to bridge the gap between potential and achievement.

Ray Chew provides insights on how to become a music director and navigate the music industry in New York. He emphasizes the importance of developing leadership qualities and gaining trust from both the musicians you lead and the artists you work with. Chew also highlights the opportunities in New York, such as clubs, open mics, and networking with people already in the industry. He mentions the church community as another avenue for aspiring musicians. Chew shares memorable experiences working with artists like Teddy Pendergrass and Anita Baker, as well as his involvement in historic events like Live Aid and the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

He discusses the use of AI tools in his creative process and the importance of humility and learning from mistakes. Chew expresses his passion for mentoring and supporting young musicians and encourages the replication of his success in the next generation.

Takeaways

• Talent is not enough; achievement requires hard work and opportunity.
• Support systems and mentors play a crucial role in a musician's journey.
• A multifaceted approach is necessary to navigate the music industry.
• Passion and dedication are essential for success in the industry. Be open to new experiences and pay attention to opportunities.
• Suppress ego and adopt a servant leadership mindset as a music director.
• Access to opportunities is crucial for success in the music industry.
• Owning intellectual property is important for artists and entrepreneurs.
• Proper management and diligent work are essential for running a successful business.
• Power to Inspire aims to bridge the gap between potential and achievement. Develop leadership qualities and gain the trust of both the musicians you lead and the artists you work with to become a music director.
• Explore opportunities in New York, such as clubs, open mics, and networking with industry professionals.
• Consider the church community as another avenue for aspiring musicians.
• Embrace AI tools as a support for creativity, but maintain control over your creative process.
• Learn from mistakes and approach challenges with humility.
• Mentor and support young musicians to replicate success in the next generation.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Launching your idea and making it a business, or remaking your existing business or leaving your job when you recognize it's time to strike out on your own can be considered a pivot. Listen to JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and official Digital Coach for Google, Inc. and Esther Ikoro, Content Strategist and Digital Media Producer for Birk Creative talk about their own honest experiences with pivoting, and how you too can find the courage to create a new business life on your own terms. The opinions expressed on The Honest Field Guide are opinions only and only represent the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel and Esther Ikoro. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Giovanna Sun, aka dubwoman, is a futurist, writer, a blockchain advisor, artist, curator and owner of several platforms that you can find on linktr.ee/dubwoman. Giovanna is also a specialist in creating original art and selling them as NFTs (non-fungible tokens). NFTs are controversial and complex and are now trending, for better or for worse, in the global art ecosystem. Our conversation revolves around her early beginnings and how she has transformed herself from student of finance to film major graduate, ad executive to the Queen of NFTs.

Find all the things related to Giovanalinktr.ee/dubwoman

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield.  Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬. Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. Story editing of this episode by C.Peter Clough. Production and mastering by Chris Enns, Lemon Productions. Thanks fellas!

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

We're back with more INSTAGRAM conversations, America's most favorite and fun social media channel! JinJa Birkenbeuel and Esther Ikoro have updated their "Episode 1, State of: Instagram" and are sharing more insights, strategies and inspiration with YOU. As always, a fun and lively conversation. We talk about monetizing on Instagram (no) and how Apple has been helping artists monetize (yes) free equipment, creative partner suppliers, paid appearances, ad campaigns), Google (yes) video monetizing, ads, suppliers, Adobe (have no idea). So many more features, fun and free stuff, it's really tough to keep up.  We will be sharing more Instagram conversations over the next several months, so stick with us!  --- Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. --- Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit birkcreative.com. Theme song "Sam's Ranch" is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/album/sams-ranch/212635734?i=212635767 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Get ready for a trigger topic! DIVERSITY! Listen in while hosts JinJa Birkenbeuel and Esther Ikoro debate the merits of supplier diversity programs in the United States. What is supplier diversity? What is a diverse supplier anyway? Are diversity initiatives working out for underrepresented businesses? Which companies are representing supplier diversity initiatives well? What is the Billion Dollar Roundtable? Are we #winning yet? Should we even be categorized as a "diverse supplier?" The opinions expressed on The Honest Field Guide are opinions only and only represent the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel and Esther Ikoro. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

How in the world does a young science student go on to earn her B.S. in Zoology to become an international fine artist, a cultural diplomat in Syria and Kuwait for the United States Department of State, and an entrepreneur all at the same time?  Armenian-American artist Jackie Kazarian shows us the way in this rich conversation around creativity, curiosity and cultural exchange.  Find Jackie's work here https://www.jackiekazarian.com/Jackie_Kazarian/home.html.  Follow Jackie on instagram https://www.instagram.com/jackiekazarian.  Visit Jackie at Art In Embassies here https://art.state.gov/personnel/jackie_kazarian.  

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Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit birkcreative.com. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

The Honest "Political" Guide - Part III, feat. JinJa Birkenbeuel x Mary Nisi, Two Vibrant Entrepreneurs From Chicago

I'm back with my little local politics conversations on my show with my fellow outspoken entrepreneur Mary Nisi, owner of Toast and Jams DJs. Mary and I are keeping this political conversation going.

So little time left to elect the next President of the United States. And it really needs to be Vice President Kamala Harris at this time in human history.

Mary and I break down the debate, and we talk about how Vice President Harris seems to have a propensity for small business owners (finally someone cares about us!!!). We also spend some time talking about Chicago's seeming disaster of a political space. It's just so awful! And I turned Mary on to a brand new search tool. Listen in to find out what it is!!!!

We have all these amazing digital tools now for leaders and entrepreneurs, I'm going to create little mini conversations specifically with Mary Nisi because Mary is someone I trust. She is also someone like me who tells things how she sees it, and she's honest, hence my show The Honest Field Guide. Mary speaks her truth and asks smart and sometimes really dumb questions just like me and I love that about her!

By the way, "Brand Chicago" is under attack. It's not only under attack from outside people that don't know anything about Chicago, but it's we're under attack from people that DO know about Chicago and it's almost like, is there something intentional happening here with the messaging? When did this negative message about Chicago start? Who started it? What's going on? We are going to keep finding the f out.

All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market.

Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Seemingly, Matt Burzec was born an entrepreneur. In the third grade, Matt made custom origami and sold them for a few dollars a piece and made $200 in under a month. He was almost expelled because he was making too much money. He then went on to create a new online company in the eighth grade, and sold it a year later. He self-taught himself about e-commerce by searching on Google. But that doesn't paint the complete picture of businessman Matt Burzec. Matt is curious, an artist and had big plans for his life after graduating from Whitney M. Young High School, the top ranked high school in Chicago. A varsity basketball player for the school, he'd already completed his required courses for graduation. He had summer plans to travel to Japan for the Olympics and then to Europe to celebrate and meet up with friends. Matt also thought there would be time to say goodbye to his friends. None of that is going to happen now. But for sure, Matt still kept his online custom sneaker business Kicks of Chicago popping. He keeps creating, and painting and just launched his YouTube channel, because as his 13-year-old brother told him "Let's get this YouTube ad revenue going!"

Matt is an inspiration. He is even, purposeful and works with intention. You will not want to miss this conversation with this focused and fierce high school senior. Youth is not wasted on this one.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGXp7jk85oSiKJg7MwDDC5w
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/kicks_of_chicago

Episode song "See The Sun" by Utah Carol can be downloaded on Apple here: https://music.apple.com/us/album/see-the-sun/206188206?i=206188218 and is written by Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis, from the band Utah Carol http://www.utahcarol.com.

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The Honest Field Guide is a production of multichannel brand strategy and visual identity agency Birk Creative at http://www.birkcreative.com. Recorded at Stomping Ground Studios. Podcast editing by Birk Creative. Mastering by Chris Enns.

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Do you love our show? Can you donate to support our podcast? We will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support.

---

Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message .

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

We speak with The World Economic Forum nominated and Forbes contributor Talal Rafi from Sri Lanka to hear his undertones of hope and promise of a better world for all entrepreneurs. Listen all the way to the end to find out what he would like from Apple for the future.

Find our more about Talal https://profiles.forbes.com/members/business/profile/Talal-Rafi-Founder-CEO-Sesame-Associates/64e6d58d-0639-470b-9d09-316ecfdea7d0.

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Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit birkcreative.com. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Reggie Jackson aka "Mr. October," Major League Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee, shares intimate stories for the very first time, during an in-person interview to JinJa Birkenbeuel, The Honest Field Guide, about his journey from childhood, to a New York Yankee, to becoming the first professional ball player turned entrepreneur while he was still playing ball, back in the 70s, during a tumultuous time of extreme racial hatred. Reggie, the businessman, passionately tells us how he is still fighting to ensure Black people and in particular Black and brown children, through his Mr. October Foundation, gain access to the millions of opportunities in technology fields in the USA.

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The Honest Field Guide is a production of brand strategy and visual identity agency Birk Creative at http://www.birkcreative.com. Episode song "Promised Land" and "When We're Apart" can be downloaded on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/album/when-were-apart/206188206?i=206188230 and here https://music.apple.com/us/album/promised-land/206188206?i=206188233 and is written by Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis, from the band Utah Carol http://www.utahcarol.com. Recorded at Stomping Ground Studios. Podcast mastering by Jason Marck. Episode artwork by Jen Hewett https://jenhewett.com.

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Do you love our show? We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support.

---

Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message .

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

What is Black political power and who does it benefit? How important is the availability of capital for Black business? Where is Silicon Valley and are there any Black people there? We are speaking with Dr. Eric Whitaker, co-founder of Zing Health, founder of CPASS Foundation and also an entrepreneur in the health equity space to unpack the narratives around Black business mindset, success and also decide if Chicago’s Black power is really a mirage or a Trojan horse. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Weed, reefer, blunts, dope, tea, pot, herb. All these terms were often used to hide what you were smoking because it was illegal. Until now. Marijuana is now legal in the United States, and everyone is going wild because of it. But our conversation today is about ownership, family business, self-determination and the irony of being one of the only American Black-owned farms in the US that bought back US land, in order to till the soil, to plant the seed, and build a sustainable home for which to harvest the leaf that makes the weed, to create the products that people use to heal and feel better.

Joy will share her unconventional journey from the WNBA to learning about the depth of her grandmother's excruciating pain and to her brother's insistence coming back home to build a legacy. A remarkable conversation filled with curiosity, hope beauty and resilience. 

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The Honest Field Guide is a production of brand strategy and visual identity agency Birk Creative at http://www.birkcreative.com. Episode song "Bluejay" can be downloaded on Apple here https://music.apple.com/bs/album/bluejay/206143120?i=206143160 and is written by Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis, from the band Utah Carol http://www.utahcarol.com. Recorded at Stomping Ground Studios. Podcast mastering by Jason Marck. Episode artwork by British artist Karolin Schnoor http://www.karolinschnoor.co.uk as represented by Friend & Johnson at http://www.friendandjohnson.com.

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Do you love our show? We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support.

---

Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message .

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Visit Erika Gerdes at https://erikagerdes.com. When superstar Madonna stepped off the mic and onto the big screen for “Desperately Seeking Susan,” she had no idea how it would transform her life and career and cement her as a timeless global icon. Meet Erika Gerdes, a business leader formerly from Google who turned herself from outward reflection to internal inspection and found an authentic woman, ready to leap from everything she had built in her career onto a path of independent discovery. A story of career courage not to be missed. Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield.  Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going!  We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.  Story editing for this episode by C.Peter Clough. Production and mastering by Chris Enns, Lemon Productions. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

How does it feel when you are on your own and you realize that you may not become the person you thought you were because you made one stupid mistake? The crazy thing is, entrepreneurship itself is all about dreams and hustle and stupid mistakes and backstabbers and cracking business (and sometimes race and gender) codes in order to survive and thrive. James E. McMillan, who works with artists while advocating for genius at his entertainment law practice, describes his astonishing odyssey as a very young vibrant man packed with knowledge of his greatness by his father, to a major misstep in a hotel room, then the re-opening of the door of hope by a mentor that took the time to help him become visible not only to himself but to his faded and distant dream. (Episode song “In The Lake” provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP) and available on iTunes here https://music.apple.com/us/album/in-the-lake/212635734?i=212635821)

The Honest Field Guide is produced and edited by Birk Creative | https://www.birkcreative.com. Engage on http://www.instagram.com/birkcreative.

Song “In The Lake” provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP) | http://www.utahcarol.com. Download the song here https://music.apple.com/us/album/rodeo-queen/212635734

Find James McMcMillian here http://jamesemcmillanpc.com.

Sponsorships: on for this episode

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Twitter can be tough to use effectively for business when you are a B2B company. The channel is newsy, political and highly entertaining, with trending topics seemingly irrelevant to B2B companies, and sometimes based on unfamiliar hashtag campaigns. So what is a professional services company to do? Well, help is on the way! Professional services companies should be using Twitter to create brand awareness, get customers and make money. But professional services are selling knowledge and strategy not products or widgets. So, the fundamental question for B2B and other professional services companies is: How to craft original content around concepts and ideas? What do we show? How do we tell a compelling story? Unless you are selling a product that you can touch, see, smell and hear, crafting content about how your company creates strategy and ideas and concepts can be more of a challenge. JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and Esther Ikoro, Birk Creative's content strategist, give specific tactics and an overview of how to use this powerful communication platform to drive your small professional services business to brand awareness, growth and have fun while you are doing it. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Rana Reeves, CEO of global ad agency RanaVerse, shares his unique and spidey-sense upbringing journey from London to NYC, the impact that the recent American #blm movement had on his continued transformation of self, as well as strategies on what leaders in advertising can do to nudge brands to change -- from the inside. 

Visit RanaVerse at https://www.ranaverse.com and on IG at https://www.instagram.com/theofficialrana.

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield.  Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going!  We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message.

The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market.

Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.

Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.  Story editing of this episode by C.Peter Clough. Production and mastering by Chris Enns, Lemon Productions. Thanks fellas!

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

We have a love/hate relationship with American supplier diversity programs. They don't work for everyone. But what are they really designed to do? And for who? Must businesses go through a "diverse" door to earn big business? Why was it invented anyway? Do we need have supplier diversity programs anymore in the age of social networking? Who is WE anyway? Let's break down the premise that the only way a "diverse" supplier can do business with a powerful company like Facebook is by checking a box. Really? Jason Trimiew, Facebook, Inc.'s Head of Supplier Diversity, has a blunt and honest conversation with us about how he is guiding Facebook to make game changing moves on what a supplier diversity program is designed to accomplish and how his childhood informed his decision to dedicate his professional life to diversity and inclusion work.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

The morning after... you just attended a super inspiring "I'm going to do it all!" training workshop. You left bouncing out of the room, slapping hands. Patting yourself on the back. You realize upon waking up in the harsh sunshine, you thought you were doing pretty good with your business. Making money. You got customers. Walking on sunshine, you know. But you've been so busy working *in* your business, that an entire boatload of new opportunities have sailed on by. And now you are stuck and don't know how to escape your rut. And you have no one around you that can help. This is The Honest Field Guide podcast, where you will get the unvarnished truth in a robust conversation from veteran business owner and serial entrepreneur JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and millennial entrepreneur and Birk Creative content strategist Esther Ikoro about the horrors of entrepreneurship. 

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

So you want to be an entrepreneur huh? You want to leave your job, or maybe not even take job at all. Quitting your day job to realize your dream takes an extraordinary feat of courage, resilience and support from your family and community. Yes, of course it looks glamorous, exciting, even sexy. The parties, the flashy backdrops, the events, speaking on stage, professional product photos, group shots of smiling faces, laughing at networking events. Maybe even the occasional photo that shows an owner that has become an influencer and is sponsoring products. And to top it off, people that are doing "entrepreneur" look like they are in full control of their lives and are no longer answering to the infamous "The Man." You want it too. But what does it really take? Keila Hill-Trawick, founder of Little Fish Accounting, will walk you through her harrowing escape from a comfortable, benefits rich, upwardly mobile job into the initially confusing and uncertain beginnings of self-determination and freedom. (Song “Whisper To Me Sweetly” provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP) and available on iTunes here https://music.apple.com/bz/album/whisper-to-me-sweetly/212635734?i=212635756)

The Honest Field Guide is produced and edited by Birk Creative | https://www.birkcreative.com. Engage on http://www.instagram.com/birkcreative.

Find Little Fish Accounting at https://www.littlefishaccounting.com

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

How do you create business opportunity when you are invisible and starting a new business? What does it take to be prepared for it when potential success arrives at your doorstep? How do you find the courage to turn down a "golden parachute" during an economic downturn? Learn from Grammy-award winning producer, songwriter, entrepreneur and author of "Southern Discomfort" Tena Clark as she talks with us about her journey to creative salvation and sustaining international success. This is The Honest Field Guide podcast, where you will get the unvarnished truth in a robust conversation from veteran business owner and serial entrepreneur JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and millennial entrepreneur and Birk Creative content strategist Esther Ikoro about the hope, horror and beauty of entrepreneurship. (Portrait art created by Chloe Bartlett, commissioned by Birk Creative.) -- New season concept: On our new season of the Honest Field Guide Podcast, we present some of the world's top entrepreneurs that are quietly and consistently creating their own masterpieces of success through their businesses and ideas. They are not famous and are not Instagram stars--yet. Rather, they are thriving in their creativity, diversity, authenticity and are in some way, creating social impact through entrepreneurship. We are going beyond celebrating and rather are peeking inside the minds of business owners that keep making money moves and bringing their processes of invention to the forefront. Often, we are so busy working in and on our businesses, we forget how amazing we are and even the small tactics we deploy to push beyond barriers should not be taken for granted. As an entrepreneur, always remember that our natural instincts can be honed and repackaged and used again and again to keep growing our businesses. Our conversations on The Honest Field Guide are a reminder of our extraordinary talents--despite the fact that we are diverse, unique and dare we say creatively divergent. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Take a ride and listen in on our rich and passionate conversation with Nicholas Whitaker, mindfulness and wellness coach and strategic partner lead for news at @google. The topic of health and wellness is so relevant for right now. Why? Because we, as entrepreneurs and small businesses in the United States, are all in what is turning out to be an infinite struggle of emotional and financial survival. How are you surviving being an entrepreneur during the pandemic? #### Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Happy new year! 2023 is going to be the Year of the Creator, Creativity and Entrepreneurship. You've been waiting for this opportunity your entire work life. I thought it would be helpful to share what entrepreneurship looks like from the lens of a Pulitzer prize winning author, who was raised by entrepreneurs that overcame extreme adversity. And instead of Viet deciding to become one himself, he became an entrepreneurial-minded author, who is raising a third generation of Nguyens to become creative entrepreneurs. His young son is also an author and a professional speaker. His son's book is "Chicken of the Sea."

This is our number one most downloaded and listened to podcast, "An American Narrative: A Conversation with Author Viet Thanh Nguyen Winner of The Pulitzer for Fiction" and is currently in production as a film series starring Robert Downey Jr., https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/hbo-the-sympathizer-cast-1235258808

Let me know what you think of this incredible conversation by sharing your thoughts with me on Instagram @honestfieldguide or leave a four star review on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-honest-field-guide/id1406059045.

The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-hguide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit birkcreative.com. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

#BlackLivesMatter #TheSympathizer #Pulitzer #Refugee #Vietnam

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support.

Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit birkcreative.com. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

A bonus track to share before I release my next episode. Also, my first video/audio track. Here I am discussing the release of my first story, that is published by Fast Company Magazine. It's a story about my professional brand crisis brought on by my decision to allow my hair to go natural.

All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

The city of Chicago right now is feeling really, really awkward to me. 

I don't know what's happening here or, what we need to do. But I want to talk about this awkwardness, so I decided to incorporate these little local politics conversations on my show with my fellow outspoken entrepreneur Mary Nisi, owner of Toast and Jams DJs.

Chicago: What the fuck is happening here? UGH. Everything right now seems so out of range from "normal" if that is even such a thing in Chicago, and seemingly so out of control.

So, because we have all these amazing digital tools now for leaders and entrepreneurs, I'm going to create little mini conversations specifically with Mary Nisi because Mary is someone I trust. She is also someone like me who tells things how she sees it, and she's honest, hence my show The Honest Field Guide. Mary speaks her truth and asks smart and sometimes really dumb questions just like me and I love that about her!

Mary and I are going to keep this conversation going. Plus, we're heading into a political season, local and nationally. We're not going to focus on geopolitics, we aren't qualified for that. We're going to really keep this conversation local, because politics IS local!

Brand Chicago is under attack. It's not only under attack from outside people that don't know anything about Chicago, but it's we're under attack from people that DO know about Chicago and it's almost like, is there something intentional happening here with the messaging? When did this negative message about Chicago start? Who started it? What's going on? I'm going to find the f out. Right now.

All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

The impact of entrepreneurship on the America dream is too often taken for granted. Consider Pulitzer Prize Winning Author Viet Thanh Nguyen, who escaped Vietnam as a refugee with most of his family in the 70s, almost immediately torn from his mother's arms when they hit the ground in America. Then a few years later, reunited with his brother and parents who started their own successful, yet back breaking grocery store business in San Jose, California. 

An observer, Viet learned how to be and not to be, absorbing the tenacity and fierceness of his entrepreneurial parents. His journey from boyhood to manhood in a country studded at every point with racism and hypocrisy manifests beautifully in his Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Sympathizer." 

Host JinJa Birkenbeuel interviews Viet on this special episode. Viet's story will surprise you, as he unpacks and deconstructs American-style racism through his own cultural lens. 

Follow Viet on Insta and Twitter @viet_t_nguyen. Purchase his books at http://www.bookshop.org. "The Sympathizer" is available here https://bookshop.org/books/the-sympathizer-a-novel-pulitzer-prize-for-fiction/9780802124944 and his collaboration with his son Ellison "Chicken Of The Sea" https://bookshop.org/books/chicken-of-the-sea/9781944211738.

#BlackLivesMatter #TheSympathizer #Pulitzer #Refugee #Vietnam

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. 

Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit birkcreative.com. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

In this episode, I share my experiences at the Sundance Film Festival and highlights an entrepreneur artist, writer, and poet named Chanel Murray. I continue to reconnect with people that I met at the festival and my conversations with Poet Chanel Murray are among the best ones. In this Creative Reset, I read from Chanel Murray's book of poetry, 'All Black Errythang,' which resonates with my own natural hair journey.

Attending the Sundance Film Festival provided opportunities for networking and connecting with individuals in the film industry. You should be planning now to attend the festival in 2025.

For my regular fans and recurring listeners, you may remember my personal journey with my natural hair and the impact it has had on my self-esteem and identity. Chanel's wonderful poem "My Hair Taught Me To Love Me" speaks to my experience.

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All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter jinja.myflodesk.com/thecreativereset.

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Ep. 57 - NFT Maven Michelle Reeves: The Hunter and Gatherer of the NFT Fashion Business

Michelle Reeves is an ecosystem of knowledge. As Cofounder & CEO of MAVION.world a fashion and NFT marketplace, her journey from growing up in Australia, the younger sister of a superstar athlete brother, born to military parents, she was already groomed for a path to greatness. After landing in NYC to create a new life, 9/11 changed her future. Undeterred, she crossed the country and went up against the big guys in the wine business to launch her own independent wine company David Family Wines. 

As successful as the company was, it closed this year, and her friend and mentor Gary Vaynerchuk agreed, she stayed hungry, still wanting to break down more barriers, for herself and by extension, other women in business. In comes her hard pivot to Web 3.0 where she combines her love of fashion with digital experiences to create an explosive and active community of hunters and gatherers of knowledge and beauty. Listen in and get in on the ground floor with Michelle Reeves, to find inspiration, courage, and tactics on how you can go slow and steady and still activate your own dreams.

MAVION.world is one of the first NFTs that connects physical and digital fashion assets. Michelle has spent the past 15 years as an investor, serial entrepreneur, and most recently became a founding member of BFF and founder of @wagmi.nft. Michelle is deeply passionate about educating and onboarding an all-inclusive community into Web3 with a particular focus on helping women learn about NFTs and highlighting vetted female-led missions.

Discover Mavion World at https://mavion.world

Get Michelle's Knowledge Base at https://mavion.world/pages/nft-crypto-knowledgebase

Join the discord https://discord.gg/tbpuwCpB

Follow Michelle at https://www.instagram.com/michellejreeves

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message.

The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.

Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. Story editing of this episode by Kris Zarnoch. Production and mastering by Chris Enns, Lemon Productions.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

You have a dream or an opportunity for changing your career or business. Now what? Get insights and tips from JinJa Birkenbeuel, Chief Executive Officer of Birk Creative and founder of The Honest Field Guide Podcast in this episode while she shares her small business start-up story, successes and of course some of her failures and lessons learned along her journey. The opinions expressed on The Honest Field Guide are opinions only and only represent the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel and Esther Ikoro. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Dr. Akilah Cadet, is founder and CEO Change Cadet, a global agency that prepares individuals and companies to be soldiers of change in the workforce so there can be more women and people of color at the top. Our vibrant and at times uncomfortable conversation will have you questioning your own internal narratives about race and will challenge you on language, thought and perceptions about white supremacy and your roles in keeping it alive, fresh and kicking. Akilah also provides creative strategies on how to keep a Black-owned business growing and thriving in the USA during one of the most seemingly endless, horrific, deadly, dangerous and selfish times in recent memory. Visit Dr. Akilah Cadet at https://www.changecadet.com/shop and on IG at https://www.instagram.com/changecadet. Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield.  Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going!  We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com. Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba. Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. Story editing of this episode by C.Peter Clough. Production and mastering by Chris Enns, Lemon Productions. Thanks fellas! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

There is a train of thought that you must be creative to be an entrepreneur in today's accelerated business environment. We believe this to be an absolute truth. Storytelling, creating designs, inventing names, logos, brand style and writing copy for social media and advertising are super skills that all entrepreneurs *must* have in order to start and launch a business and compete against giant brands that spend millions a minute to capture your attention. If you don't have these types of skills or the confidence to get them, you may go broke hiring trained and professionally educated brand strategists before you even make your own dime! In comes Quinn Bryant. Quinn is a serial creative first and an entrepreneur second.  She is the author of new book "WHAT WOULD JAY-Z DO?," a "bible" for entrepreneurs with daily affirmations based on the lyrics written by JAY-Z, designed to inspire the hustle and grind culture. This episode led by podcast creator JinJa Birkenbeuel and co-host Esther Ikoro is designed to reach vibrant entrepreneurs and start ups that appreciate the creative development process, music, strategy and the diverse business perspectives of hip hop artists that are now driving global culture. (Portrait art created by Chloe Bartlett, commissioned by Birk Creative.) -- New season concept: On our new season of the Honest Field Guide Podcast, we present some of the world's top entrepreneurs that are quietly and consistently creating their own masterpieces of success through their businesses and ideas. They are not famous and are not Instagram stars--yet. Rather, they are thriving in their creativity, diversity, authenticity and are in some way, creating social impact through entrepreneurship. We are going beyond celebrating and rather are peeking inside the minds of business owners that keep making money moves and bringing their processes of invention to the forefront. Often, we are so busy working in and on our businesses, we forget how amazing we are and even the small tactics we deploy to push beyond barriers should not be taken for granted. As an entrepreneur, always remember that our natural instincts can be honed and repackaged and used again and again to keep growing our businesses. Our conversations on The Honest Field Guide are a reminder of our extraordinary talents--despite the fact that we are diverse, unique and dare we say creatively divergent. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Join JinJa Birkenbeuel, host, and Dr. Dori Tunstall, Design Anthropologist, as they delve into the challenging conversation surrounding decolonizing design. Discover how outdated ideologies have hindered progress and learn how to create a more inclusive and just design space.

Learn more about Dori here https://dori3.typepad.com/my_weblog/%20(Blog

And find Dori's new book "Decolonizing Design" on https://bookshop.org/p/books/decolonizing-design-a-cultural-justice-guidebook-tunstall/18535912rg

#DecolonizingDesign #InclusiveDesign #CulturalJustice #DesignProgress #DiversityInDesign #CreativeInclusion #DesignSpace #ArtisticExpression #BreakingBarriers #DesignIdeologies

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Why do we entrepreneurs and small business have to network? Do we always need to be selling ourselves? What is networking and why now more than ever does it matter? You ask yourself: Do I *really* have to go to that event tonight? What will I gain? I'm really shy. I'm scared. Will I know anyone there? I need to take a friend so I won't be alone.

The challenge for all of us, is that the only way we can work well in networking is to realize that we have to be comfortable selling. "Always Be Selling" as the saying goes. This episode, we share ideas on how to work a room and how to change your mindset so you can free yourself from guilt and fear around self-promotion.

This is The Honest Field Guide podcast, where you will get the unvarnished truth in a robust conversation from veteran business owner and serial entrepreneur JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and millennial entrepreneur and Birk Creative content strategist Esther Ikoro about the horrors of entrepreneurship. Music provided courtesy Utah Carol.

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I interviewed Matt Burzec at the start of the pandemic. He was a senior in high school, and had so many plans that withered away. The one plan that didn't was his nascent dream of entrepreneurship. Little did he know, that my initial interview of him in mid 2020, would spark his long view entrepreneurship journey, one that would send him to University of Wisconsin for his undergraduate degree, while balancing out the launch of even move ventures, combined with hiring staff and formalizing his corporation. Gen Z needs to listen up and take some lessons, but then all entrepreneurs should learn from Matt!

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Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. Mastering by Kris Zarnoch.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.v

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

The NFT art space reminds me of THE WORST parts of high school. It’s *traumatizing* to be here! You have to be have the ability to SILENCE ALL CRITICS, including yourself. Otherwise, you will be destroyed (or self-destruct). In comes Matt Schapiro, owner of imnotart, an NFT gallery located in Chicago, to save us from the eve of destruction. In our conversation, we share a laugh and learn how to think about the future, by rejected cookie-cutter learning environments. Matt also shares how his world of internet gaming with strangers, taught him how to be more human while also preparing him to leap fearlessly into digital art. Find more about Matt’s metaverse here: website http://imnotart.com/ tw https://twitter.com/im_not_art discord - https://discord.gg/jGNr7Mj8xB Learn WTF Are NFTs https://twitter.com/im_not_art/status/1451926344246386697 Video recap from imnotart first exhibition https://twitter.com/im_not_art/status/1428491039380328458 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Being an owner, operator, chef, creator and manager in the restaurant business is really, really tough. The money is always tight, customer's tastes change, and rent always rises. In Chicago, the business is painfully competitive but most of all, the dining experience can be positively brutal for the owner but also for the customer. Not at Wishbone Restaurant, a Chicago staple in part put on the map by Oprah Winfrey and her fans back in the early 90s. 

Joel Nickson with his brothers, were able to exceed expectations for all, not only with their delicious southern comfort food, but with the welcoming vibe, the great service and  the culture that created ease and relaxation for after church Sunday brunch for Black Chicagoans, in a city with a violent history of racism, segregation and plantation-like politics--that still exists today. 

Joel shares how he built his family-owned business, Wishbone Restaurant, from his roots as the picky-eater and dyslexic son of a French immigrant artist mother, to working in the kitchens of New York, to his two brothers pulling him to Chicago to help create a new concept family-style restaurant that after two major transitions, and luckily ended up dead-smack in the path of the establishment of one of the most famous Black Americans in the world that gave her famous stamp of approval: Oprah Winfrey.

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The Honest Field Guide is a production of brand strategy and visual identity agency Birk Creative at http://www.birkcreative.com. Episode song "Golden West" can be downloaded on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/album/charmed-life/206143120?i=206143135https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-golden-west/212635734?i=212635810 and is written by Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis, from the band Utah Carol http://www.utahcarol.com. Recorded at Stomping Ground Studios. Podcast Editing by Jason Marck. Custom episode artwork designed for our podcast created by American printmaker and textile designer Jen Hewett https://jenhewett.com.

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Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message Do you love our show? We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

The 70s. The Golden Years of Chicago: When the streets were gritty, full of character, vibrant, and the politics were dirty. In walks William Marovitz, a successful private sector lawyer at a big Chicago law firm born from a legacy of family attorneys, with his future secured forever. But William, now known as Billy The Bull, was a creative at heart with a spirit of artistic wanderlust. At the right moment, one of the most famous and storied politicians in the United States comes for Billy: Richard J. Daley, asking him to change his career path and run for public office in Illinois. And believe it or not, that was the beginning of Bill's entrepreneurship journey. From lawyer, to progressive senator to one of the most successful real estate developers in the United States of America, and now owner and producer of a magnificent musical about the 2016 World Series Chicago Cubs "Miracle." This intimate conversation with the old school class of Mr. Marovitz led by the new school social media driven co-hosts JinJa Birkenbeuel and Esther Ikoro will leave you wishing the business world could level back up to a simpler time of handshakes, in-person relationships and good old fashioned "don't send nobody that nobody didn't send" Chicago politics. The Honest Field Guide is a production of brand strategy agency Birk Creative at http://www.birkcreative.com. Episode song "Wonderwheel" can be downloaded on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/album/wonderwheel/206143120 and is written by Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis, from the band Utah Carol http://www.utahcarol.com.  Podcast mastering by Chris Enns of Lemon Productions http://www.lemonproductions.ca.  Podcast artwork by Alexander Barrett http://www.alexanderbarrett.com.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

I cleansed my spirit by reading from a brand new bright orange book that just arrived in my mailbox 'No Idea Is Final" published by Phaidon Books. It's packed with thoughtful and grounding quotes by some of the most famous creators of all time. This book is a creative cleanse for anyone that thinks and creates, anything.

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Thank you for joining me today. You could be listening to any podcast in the world right now, but you are choosing to listen to mine. If you are a new listener to my show, please subscribe to my show on Apple or Spotify podcasts or search on Google “The Honest Field Guide Podcast” and look for Google Podcasts where you can listen to my show right from your browser on any device, no subscription required. Share my podcast with your friends too. The more people that hear my show the better for my guests! Can you leave a review of my show on Apple Podcasts so they pay more attention to the show?

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield.

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Music found on this episode is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/artist/utah-carol/137984081 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees. Story editing of this episode by Kris Zarnoch. Production and mastering by Kris Zarnoch.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

How to be who you are. An inspirational and hopeful reading from "1000+ Little Things Happy Successful People Do Differently" by Marc & Angel Chernoff

All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

Please subscribe and the donate to our show. We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬.

Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message. The podcast is recorded and produced by benefit corporation Birk Creative: A benefit corporation designing strategies and visual identities to help brands adapt with intelligence to the market. Visit http://www.birkcreative.com.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60662f4dc9533f4419aaa4ba.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support

Back in 2018, we had a conversation around the opportunities and possibilities for small businesses surrounding LinkedIn. Esther, was not convinced that LinkedIn was a good platform for her. JinJa was obsessed with LinkedIn and tried to convince Esther to give it another chance. It's been over a year, and Esther has come around to LinkedIn. Not as much as JinJa, but progress has been made. Check out their funny conversation about the greatness (and weirdness) of LinkedIn during this updated episode.

You can always access the original (and hilarious) episode 4 earlier in the podcasts playlist.

Follow our show on http://www.instagram.com/honestfieldguide or at http://www.twitter.com/thehonestfield.

We would love your dollars to keep going! We can take a donation to support our podcast here and we will shout you our when you do it on an upcoming podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/support. --- Text The Honest Field Guide at ‪(312) 445-0903‬ Send us a voice message and we will record it on an upcoming episode: https://anchor.fm/the-honest-field-guide/message.

The podcast is recorded and produced by Birk Creative: Designing visual identities and multichannel strategies to help brands establish, grow, scale, exit and keep up with the pace of change. Visit birkcreative.com.

Theme song "Sam's Ranch" is available on Apple here https://music.apple.com/us/album/sams-ranch/212635734?i=212635767 and provided courtesy Utah Carol (ASCAP). All content ©Birkdesign Inc. This podcast represents the personal views of JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative and its employees.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-field-guide/support