Franklin Taggart's Unconventional Life Blog

  It's been easy to talk about the worst parts of the tech explosion, artificial intelligence, and social media experience. It's noisy, confusing, often unpleasant, and complicated. It's not easy to navigate. Algorithms think they know what you want, but they keep showing you stuff that you wouldn't choose for yourself if you had time to decide anything.  I was on YouTube this morning, looking at the hundreds of videos that were being promoted on my feed. The thumbnails all look the same so as to seem generic. While the once popular promise that the internet and social media were going to offer endless possibilities to be uniquely yourself, the movement seems to be more toward homogeneity. I don't have a lot of time to watch, but I need a better way to choose than endless scrolling and filtering. I've grown more weary of the online world, and I often wonder how useful it really is. There was a gracefulness about the card catalog at the library that made the expe...

  When I retired from performing in 2022, I wasn't sure how music was going to show up in my life. For a couple of months, I didn't pick up the guitar - the longest stretch without playing since I got my first guitar. Even during the years I struggled with tendinitis, I would still pick it up and play until the pain stopped me. In the months since I stopped performing, I've regained my love and appreciation just for the time I get to pick up my guitar and play. That is the essence of this interview. My long-time friend Margo set up this interview with Jake Douglass. His mission is exciting. It's driven by the desire to turn people on to the joy of playing music for music's sake. We cover every aspect of the role of music in my life, from my first piano lessons to my last gig and beyond. It was fun and at moments, touching, to remember specific moments when a random encounter started a new trajectory of my journey. Please listen, and if you enjoy what you hear, give ...

  Your Own Best Company podcast listeners heard me interview Michelle Nedelec back in May about the rebellious nature of entrepreneurship. Click here if you missed it! Since that episode, I've had more opportunities to talk with Michelle on two of her podcasts, The Business Ownership Podcast and The Little Blue Pill for Business Podcast. Michelle is a brilliant entrepreneur, a prolific podcaster(hosting and producing five shows at last count), a top-notch interviewer, and wickedly funny for the win.  I'll feature my interviews below, but in case you want to get in touch with her, Michelle can be found at https://michellenedelec.com , and on LinkedIn at  https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellenedelec/ . Our first conversation was for The Business Ownership Podcast on the topic of Creating a Creative Business We had a lot of fun talking about how creative people with little or no business experience can learn the ropes quickly and develop the business that allows them to cont...

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

  Lou Bortone on ▼▼▼ Watch and Listen Below! ▼▼▼ If you want to increase online visibility for your business, the universal advice is that you need to post videos. Everywhere, all the time, videos. Algorithms love videos, Kids love videos. Grandmas love videos. Videos, videos, videos! I was a slow starter when it came to posting videos for my music and my businesses. I've had a YouTube channel for a long time and it sat for years while I worked up the nerve and figured out how to use my camera. A few years ago, I heard about a class called 31 Flavors of video. In that class, I learned about 31 different kinds of online video I could make, I joined a Facebook group where I got daily feedback. And I gained some amazing tools and resources that helped me make good decisions about equipment, production, scripting, and more. In this episode, I'll introduce you to Lou Bortone, the creator of the 31 Flavors of Video, as well as programs like Fast Forward video mastermind, and the new ...

Thanks to my dear friend, Joanie Connell, Ph.D., for the invitation to a conversation about the AI tidal wave, the challenges and opportunities it brings, and the book I made. While the title might suggest an adversarial relationship, I hold out hope that our capabilities are about to expand in positive ways we've never dreamed of.  Reinventing Nerds has been a favorite podcast of mine since its launch, and I encourage you to listen, subscribe, share, and review! https://reinventingnerds.blubrry.net/2023/03/24/franklin-taggart-humans-vs-ai/ #ai #podcast #kdp #author #newbook #chatgpt  The book is HERE  

I was asked today how I make these videos and podcasts so quickly. The short answer is that I cut corners. I don't make unique thumbnail images, my editing is light at best, I don't care if I say um or stammer, and I use the same templates daily for videos, images, and descriptions. The tools I use are Camtasia video recording and editing software from Camtasia, Canva Pro templates for graphics, a simple framework for descriptions, and automated distribution through Anchor. My content ideas most often come from conversations I've had within a day or two before and are not scripted or structured. I record the video with Camtasia using a template I made just for the coffee break. The template has front and end graphics, a pre-formatted title and text overlay, and a placeholder where my video will go. Once the video is recorded, I place it in the template, change the title overlay, trim the beginning and end of the recording, and add fades between the video elements. Then I re...

▼Watch and Listen Below!▼ Back in February, I made a book recommendation video for a book I had just read called Quiet Marketing: A Calm, Minimal Approach to Business and Online Visibility for Highly Sensitive Solopreneurs (Amazon Associate link: https://amzn.to/3oMCxES ) This short book is packed with essential insights, principles, and practices for highly sensitive and intuitive people who have found their way into business ownership. I'm delighted today to introduce you to the author of Quiet Marketing, Danielle Gardner. In addition to being an author, Danielle is a business mentor and tiny course creator. Her work with clients is centered around taking a calm, minimal approach to business and online visibility that is especially suited to Highly Sensitive solopreneurs.   In today's conversation, we hear about: Dani's career evolution from leaving the perks and paychecks of the corporate world to pursuing work more aligned with her gifts. Creating your own definition of...

 ▼ Watch and Listen Below! ▼ For coaches, consultants, and other experts, reaching new audiences with your messages, experience, and offers is one of the biggest business challenges. You'll be given a litany of options that will include blogging, YouTube, social media strategy, public speaking, podcasting, and whatever marketing soup of the day everyone is raving about. Erica Holthausen has a better idea. Share your expertise with the masses by publishing articles in major publications like Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur, and professional journals. The digital realm has opened many doors for experts to share their writing that weren't available even a few years ago. Erica's coaching programs help professionals plan, write, pitch, and place their articles in publications that will expose thousands of new people to their work. From here, you'll want to join her for her free Q and A session, Pitched to Published here: https://www.catchlinecommunications.com/p2p.html While you...

  I enjoyed visiting with my friends, Daphne Jones and Roberta Ravella on their podcast, Grown Women Growing Wealth.  We covered a lot of ground - concerns about the economy, changing plans in the middle of crises, creating a business centered on creative gifts and talents, and much more. When you listen, be sure to take a few minutes to leave a review and let them know how you enjoy the show. Roberta and Daphne have both been recent guests on Your Own Best Company so if you'd like to hear their stories, here are the links: Daphne: https://www.franklintaggart.com/2022/07/money-smarts-daphne-jones.html Roberta: https://www.franklintaggart.com/2022/07/enjoying-marketing-and-selling-with.html To listen to the audio version, click here:  https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-68z5n-12770eb Thanks for watching!

▼Watch and Listen Below!▼ Some of the most challenging times for self-employed people are those when we both need to attend to personal crises and change while continuing to do what our businesses require. In this episode of Your Own Best Company, Audrey Holst returns and offers some keen insights into her own process and experience that will help us all navigate times like these. Audrey has been my guest a couple of times before, and I love the quality of our conversations. She's candid and articulate, and she openly shares the real stories that offer deep empathy and hopeful suggestions. You can find her work at https://fortitudeandflow.com . Some highlights: **Getting through times of grief and high emotion. **My insight about the distinction between gifts and talents. **Seeing our human limitations in a positive light and challenging the myth of limitlessness. **Understanding will, resistance, and commitment as almost magical human tools. Subscribers to this channel can easily ...

▼Watch and Listen Below!▼ Early in her mortgage business career, a co-worker suggested that Roberta Ravella was well suited for sales. Over the next twenty years, Roberta discovered ways of marketing and selling that were aligned with her own personality, skills, and values instead of the traditional methods that were being taught. In 2019, Roberta stepped into the role of coach and trainer, showing realtors how to discover their own distinct ways of marketing and selling that leverage their strengths and honor their values. For many, this offers a welcome alternative to techniques like cold calling and buying leads. She is also a co-host of the podcast, Grown Women Growing Wealth, interviewing compelling and knowledgeable guests who show women ways to become financially aware and independent. Learn more about the podcast here: https://www.grownwomengrowingwealth.com/ Roberta will be offering a referral generation workshop on July 14th to help realtors build their referral networks thr...

▼Watch and Listen Below!▼ Most solopreneurs and freelancers don't start businesses with the idea that they might one day sell them. They usually just want to build something they enjoy doing that generates the income they want. But Stephen Krausse suggests there may be value being created that will someday be worth passing on. Stephen Krausse helps entrepreneurs buy and sell businesses. In this visit with Your Own Bst Company, Stephen gives host Franklin Taggart a quick view of what makes a #business sellable, mistakes to avoid when buying and selling, and protecting intellectual property, and shares a simple way to know when a business might be ready for a buyer. Be sure to listen for his advice about writing down your "no-go" situation before starting your negotiations. For more information about Stephen and his business services, visit https://beyond50percent.com He is also on social media: @beyond50percent #buyingabusiness #sellingabusiness #entrepreneurship

▼Watch and Listen Below!▼ As an Executive Assistant and a Virtual Assistant, Linda Eskridge realized that much of her responsibility was finding unique and meaningful gifts for the people she worked for to give to prospects, customers, and clients. They wanted more of a personal touch than sending the common branded notepads, pens, and t-shirts. Through these experiences, she had the idea that offering her services as a gifting consultant might actually have a place and Couture Business Gifting was born. Linda is hired by busy entrepreneurs, executives, and yes, their assistants in the process of research, acquisition, packaging, and delivery of gifts that build strong relationships between her clients and their customers. In this episode, she lets us know: ** The importance of building good relationships with customers. ** Research to find the interests and passions of the gift recipients. ** Creating a progressive gifting strategy. ** Remembering to include the gatekeepers. And more....

▼▼▼Watch and Listen Below!▼▼▼   Personal development insights from season 1 guests of Your Own Best Company - a podcast for people who love to work alone. Eli Hans https://outoftheblueshow.com Full episode: https://youtu.be/i-tM_AMKqMs Yifat Cohen https://yifatcohen.com Full episode: https://youtu.be/lVPPbP5neUY Regan Espinosa https://thevisitbox.com Full episode: https://youtu.be/w169MuW_b7A Larry Kaul https://revenueclimber.com Full episode: https://youtu.be/GivtiK9il_M Karen Diffey https://ksdcoach.com Full episode: https://youtu.be/w-Ytd3O7aWI Joanie Connell, PhD https://flexibleworksolutions.com Full episode 1: https://youtu.be/SwtPHHp60iE Full episode 2: https://youtu.be/fcsMMxcNCRM Joseph Bennett https://artbybennett.com Full episode: https://youtu.be/jBP8PK8o6ZU Heather Chavin https://gogodone.com Full episode: https://youtu.be/ElcRR5Yhfy8 Alan Heymann https://peacefuldirection.com Full episode: https://youtu.be/roAUEMQZZe0 LeAndra Foster https://linktr.ee/elanlyfe Full epi...

▼▼▼ Watch and Listen Below!▼▼▼ Some of the best creativity-themed moments from season one of Your Own Best Company with Franklin Taggart. Cheryl Benedict https://thewisdomoftransition.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/7typuPJFogI Jillian Lee Antinora https://jillianleeantinoramusic.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/k7o7-xLvfU4 Cynthia Trevino https://shemarketsmentor.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/g3Yg2JcKh9M Breanna Gunn https://breannagunn.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/1piz0i-zHHE Johanna Walker https://johannawalker.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/DUEOoIH8tLg Diana Needham https://businessbookpartners.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/Tn-e1vOZYkQ Sheryl Plouffe https://sherylplouffe.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/EL0GdX9OCRA Cindy Skalicky https://onpoint-communications.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/KANyMLgZt7U Meridith Grundei https://grundeicoaching.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/o1rfkZhYRIA Dre Beltrami https://thesolopreneursociety.com Full Episode: h...

A recap of some of the best business moments from the first season of Your Own Best Company, featuring: Cat Stancik https://ActionIncubator.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/BIYdUP2ZNlw Danielle Lammon https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielleshannonagency/ Full Episode: https://youtu.be/H5oP6KYv5NI Craig Cannings https://FreelanceU.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/mEZ9clV30os Steven Hoffman https://FoundersSpace.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/i99WN7zTpUo Tracey Burnett https://TraceyBurnett.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/tyfnV-V9bRQ Jason Van Orden https://JasonVanOrden.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/uqnqBrxTjHY Dr. Jürgen Strauss https://InnovaBiz.com.au Full Episode: https://youtu.be/Qz9t7wQxzVc Brittney Murphy https://OneThingMarketing.net Full Episode: https://youtu.be/gOAlLkx3bcc Alison Proffit https://GetSoulfulSuccess.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/NGOE2NuaCTo Adil Amarsi https://GreatestCopywriterAlive.com Full Episode: https://youtu.be/HJbw8N67p04 Sophie Zollman...

▼▼▼Watch and Listen Below!▼▼▼ For the self-employed entrepreneur, a sabbatical might be the last thing you think about doing, and if you were to take one, it would probably have an agenda attached. We don't usually just decide to take time off for just being. After the launch of her book, Bursts of Brilliance for a Creative Life, author and publisher Teresa Funke was shown by her assistant that she was juggling the management of eighteen projects. Then when the Covid Pandemic started, her three streams of revenue all simultaneously ended. She tried to pivot just like everyone else was, but ultimately found that she was really ready for something else - but what? Finally, in June 2021 she landed on the idea that what was happening could be called a sabbatical, and it wasn't the kind of sabbatical we typically associate with that word. This wasn't going to be a time of focused production, it was going to be something else. Here on Your Own Best Company Teresa tells us the res...

▼▼▼Watch and Listen Below!▼▼▼ If you’ve been thinking about starting a podcast, you’ll get a lot from my guest today, Jürgen Strauss. Dr. Strauss is a podcaster, speaker, podcast strategist, marketing strategist and connector of Amazing Humans. His business, Innovabiz, partners with thought leaders to enable them to build sustainable visibility, professional credibility and a deep connection with their dream clients. Their philosophy is to make marketing human again!  As host of the InnovaBuzz Podcast, Jurgen has held meaningful conversations with over 500 outstanding entrepreneurs from all around the world, gaining insight into what makes them ‘tick’, what ‘lights them up’, why they do what they do and what inspiration and value they can add to the rest of the world. He also publishes the InnovaBuzz Newsletter and offers education and training resources for both podcast hosting and guesting. For more information and to receive your free copy of the InnovaBuzz Podcasting Flywheel a...

I heard Seth Godin talk about how he was able to maintain his one blog post a day routing. He described a very simple system. He keeps a folder on his computer of very short articles on every idea that occurs to him and he never runs out of things to publish. I have another friend who writes one blog post a week and while his posts tend to be longer than Seth Godin's, the system he's developed is pretty similar. He keeps a list of topic ideas and a simple folder system to keep track of his writing and any corresponding items so that when it's time to publish, he's ready to go. I'm working on this week's interview podcast episode and am going through the editing. I remember my early days in podcasting when I would dread the editing process because it was so tedious and took so long, but over time I've come to enjoy it. It also doesn't take nearly as long because I've done it enough to evolve a good system for the task. In this Coffee Break, I've g...