Former Minnesota Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo has translated what he learned in the NFL into a successful brain health supplement business BrainTree Nutrition. For anyone who follows football, you know the risks of head injuries faced by players, so this seems like the perfect transition. We unpack how it all happened and what Andrew has learned a…

Today on the podcast I have author, speaker, and sales coach Simon Severino. Simon is a TEDx speaker, podcast host, Forbes writer, and founder of Strategy Sprints. He has worked with recognizable brands like Amgen, Google, Abbvie and more. He has a wealth of knowledge to share with us on how to quickly add revenue to our business. Connect with Dian…

Entrepreneur Peter Schroeder is a DJ with over 20 platinum records, 40 gold records, and a triple nomination for the Danish DJ Awards. He has played in front of audiences as large as 180,000 people. On top of that, Peter has over 20 years of experience working in leading-edge technologies for companies like Facebook, Samsung, and Airbnb. He is now …

On this episode Diane interviews CEO and entrepreneur, Frederick Cary. Fred is a senior executive, strategic consultant, attorney, and investment banker. He has been featured in Forbes, USA Today, Digital Journal, and a variety of other publications. He has built high-growth businesses in finance, technology and media, has led numerous mergers and …

Dr. Margie Oleson has designed, delivered, and facilitated learning and development programs from academia to nonprofit organizations and corporate America, working with such notable brands as Target, Cargill, and Lockheed Martin. She focuses on building top teams for lasting change. Reach her at https://www.oleson-consulting.com/ Connect with Dian…

Chad Price is an entrepreneur who translated his lessons from college football into a multi-million dollar exit from a Fortune 5000 sports startup, and is now coaching other startups on the keys to overcoming life's challenges, unlocking your full potential, and building a successful business brand. In this interview we dive into inspiration from t…

Joe Rare is living the entrepreneurial dream. He spends most of his time enjoying outdoor sports with his family, all while founding and owning several 6 and 7-figure businesses that run themselves. In this episode, we'll unpack the secrets of his success and how you can do the same. Reach Joe at https://www.level9virtual.com/ Connect with Diane at…

In this episode Diane shares the Cliff Notes version of how to build a scalable business, including 3 key “must reads” to get you started. Connect with Diane at https://alchemyfirm.com/ or on LinkedIn If you found this helpful, please share it with your friends. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel for more informative content on marketing and l…

A great and buzzworthy product is at least half of your marketing game. In this episode, Diane discusses how to position your product or service as a not-so-secret weapon in your marketing strategy. Connect with Diane at https://alchemyfirm.com/ or on LinkedIn. If you found this helpful, please share it with your friends. Don't forget to subscribe …

This podcast is a live recording of a marketing AMA at a small business event. Diane answers questions on everything from SEO to social media and what’s happening with AI. Connect with Diane at https://alchemyfirm.com/ or LinkedIn. If you found this helpful, please share it with your friends. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel for more informa…

This episode is a recorded presentation to a group of businesswomen as an introduction to everything Web3. Diane unpacks everything from how to buy crypto and NFTs, a trip into the metaverse, the networking happening in Discord servers, and multiple use cases for Web3 in healthcare, real estate, law, and more. It's a great jumping-off point for any…

Welcome to today's exciting podcast episode! We're shaking things up and bringing you a special conversation with not just one, but two talented artists and savvy Web3 marketers. You're about to hear Web3 explained! If you're curious about the world of Web3 and how it can take your business to the next level, this is an episode you won't want to mi…

In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Ferol Vernon, Co-Founder and COO of Written Word Media, a tech-enabled platform that helps readers find their next book and authors find more readers. He's spent much of his career working with ventures that democratize writing and music, including ReverbNation and BandLab. Connect with Ferol on…

The State of Mississippi has recently legalized medical marijuana, opening the door to relief from pain and discomfort from chronic diseases for millions of residents. Pain physician Dr. Kinard discusses what it will take to safely and responsibly roll out medical cannabis in the state and his vision for attentive care from his new statewide clinic…

In this interview, Steve shares insights on how profit and doing good can be aligned within a business. Steve is a leader deeply invested in his community and committed to removing the barriers that will allow all members to thrive. This mission has focused his business and philanthropic interests into affordable housing, demonstrating to businesse…

Sonia Martinez immigrated here from Venezuela as a trained pharmacist ready to do what it takes to build a business. She started as a pharmacy cashier and worked her way up while taking the necessary U.S. license exams. Through sheer determination and vision, she and her partner Ivette Suarez built up Marco Drugs to serve and revitalize the communi…

Thinking about selling your business or at least want to someday? In this episode, Michelle Seiler Tucker, author & expert on buying & selling businesses shares the lessons that allow her to achieve a 20-40% premium on businesses she sells. Connect with Diane at https://alchemyfirm.com/ or on LinkedIn If you found this helpful, please share it with…

Lucas Root is an author and consultant who began his career on Wall Street but now advises small business owners on startup fundraising and optimizing their strategy for growth. In this episode, we discuss how to be more investible, how women can win a greater share of the VC pie, and lessons from tech startups like Pokemon. We also talk about chan…

Fanny Hanono is CEO of GFX Corp. She is such a powerful example of what women can accomplish in a male-dominated field like automotive, while still being an attentive mom. Fanny's entrepreneurial family runs Perry Ellis brands and in this special episode she shares what it was like to grow up with such a strong influence, and how she has personally…

If you’re like most entrepreneurs I know, you’d like to be more efficient. You know that if you’re able to free up more of your time you’ll be able to grow your business, find ways to reduce cost, and increase your sales. Heck, you might even get to see your family now and again! In this episode, I'll share specific tips for using a CRM tool that w…

Getting your business networking groove back consists of 3 simple things you must do each and every week to grow your business. Connect with Diane at https://alchemyfirm.com/ or on LinkedIn If you found this helpful, please share it with your friends. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel for more informative content on marketing and leadership.…

With the increasing availability of vaccines, I think we're all starting to see a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, it will soon be possible to once again connect with people in person. Hopefully, that will mean a return to more social happy hours with colleagues. But after working virtually for all this time, we'll likely end up with a hybri…

We just celebrated the 4th of July which is about our country’s independence and freedom. As entrepreneurs, we celebrate freedom every day. I know we tend to feel stressed and overworked a lot so it’s important to remember and appreciate why we chose this path. Today I’d like to reflect on the many freedoms of an entrepreneur. Connect with Diane at…

One of my favorite animated movies is “Up”. The distracted dog cracks me up! OK, the story is sweet too but I love the dog. He reminds me of shiny object syndrome, that entrepreneurial killer weakness of unfocused distraction from the core goal that can kill a business. As I speak with other entrepreneurs, especially since the pandemic and every on…

In our personal lives, many of us may have created vision boards by pasting torn-out magazine images onto a piece of cardboard representing our goals. A picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes, and by seeing these images regularly, our hope is that they create a sort of program in our brains that will predispose us to adjusting our co…

Three years ago, Tom Goodwin wrote an interesting book titled, “Digital Darwinism: Survival of the Fittest in the Age of Business Disruption”. A student of the digital impact across industries, Tom coined the now-famous quote, “Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no conte…

The emergence of COVID-19 required many in-person teams to go remote. Going virtual means implementing new technologies and virtual processes, which comes with a large adjustment that can take time to fully streamline. If you have successfully transitioned your team to a virtual model, you might find that the next big challenge to tackle is employe…

Shawn Cole, MD has worked in multiple clinical settings, has become a leader in the virtual healthcare revolution, and even spent some time behind the scenes in New York when the pandemic first broke out. In this interview, he discusses how he uses this experience, together with athletics, to coach other physicians on growing their practices while …

My grandmother and an aunt I was quite close to were born in the early 1900s. When they were growing up, it was only ok for women to work until they got married, after which time they quit to take care of their husbands and ultimately raise a family. I remember my aunt telling me that a working woman back then was viewed as taking a job away from a…

There are a lot of lakes around where I grew up in Ontario. I had friends with family cottages on lakes, and one summer I worked as a camp counselor on a lake. One thing I loved to do back in those days was swim the length of the lake. Naturally, since by now you know I’m a fan of metaphors, this made me think about parallels to running a successfu…

You probably know who your best clients are, and you certainly know the ones you’re not as fond of. So how do you clone your best clients and grow your business around people more like them? Connect with Diane at https://alchemyfirm.com/ or on LinkedIn If you found this helpful, please share it with your friends. Don't forget to subscribe to my cha…

Just for fun, or perhaps to torture myself with the freedom of our past, I decided to listen to my old podcast episode from the first week of January, 2020. In retrospect, it felt like the age of innocence, before all Hell broke loose. I remember the excitement of a new decade, and how cool it felt to write the year 2020, as though anything could h…

For 26 years I worked in corporate consulting, helping Fortune 500 companies with customer segmentation, customer treatment strategies for marketing & operations, and how to improve their long term customer relationships. What I learned is as applicable for the single entrepreneur as it is for the corporation seeking to improve its stock price. I r…

so I thought today I’d talk about a feelgood topic, and that is the subject of human connections. As a marketer, I’m keenly aware of how much more we’re able to get through our day without making any human connections. Over 20 years ago, when my husband and I were first dating and he lived in Brazil, we used to laugh about how Brazilians never need…

While we may be getting into more of a rhythm, for many of us it’s becoming a lot. While the introverts among us are having the time of their lives getting to focus on their computers without anyone bugging them, those of us who are extroverts could really use a good happy hour with actual crowd noise in the background and finger foods to share. Or…

Today is part 3 of our 3-part series on using psychology to improve your marketing. In part one, I talked about how to use psychology to get attention and make a good first impression. One component of getting attention is having a tagline that both catches attention and makes it clear what you do. Today we’ll zero in on creating a killer message. …

I’m old enough to remember working before Microsoft Windows, before the Internet became popular, and before social media. When I was a teenager and wanted to talk to my friends, I had to pick up the phone and call them. Likely one of their parents would answer and would either bring them to the phone or I’d have to leave a message. Fast forward to …

I was scrolling through some TED talks the other day and came across a few interesting videos that covered various aspects of the science behind how we make decisions. Since we all rely upon prospects making decisions to select our business over their other choices, I thought you might find this interesting. Connect with Diane at https://alchemyfir…

Our city is slowly starting to re-open, but life as we know it will be far from normal. Reopening is somewhat disturbing since our infection curve is still high and according to the Yale School of Medicine, we are likely to see a rebound in cases the more social distancing measures are lifted. It kind of goes without saying but you can’t live throu…

You may have noticed more emails in your inbox lately. But unlike pre-COVID days when you spent half your day fighting traffic, and you actually had a social life, if you’re like most people, you may have also noticed that you’re opening more emails lately. A couple of months ago, while procrastinating about something that had been on my to-do list…

Fast forward to the year 2040. My grandchildren are sitting at my feet, begging me to tell them a story of the "olden days." I remember doing the same with my grandparents as they obliged me with stories of what it was like to live through the Great Depression. It was fascinating yet utterly unrelatable as we sat in our comfortable surroundings wit…

OK, I'll admit it. I took the online test, and I'm a Gryffindor. At Hogwarts, Gryffindors value courage, bravery, competitiveness, and nerve, which, when you think about it, are pretty much what it takes to be an entrepreneur these days. Inspired by none other than Harry Potter. Here are some magical lessons to grow your business. I know that many …

When our face-to-face networking events became Zoom calls, several networking organizations coached members to reach out across geographic boundaries to join meetings they wouldn’t normally attend, and connect with people they wouldn’t normally meet. But our new virtual world has also unleashed an army of networking spammers. Connect with Diane at …

his week one of my favorite authors, Simon Sinek posted a quote on LinkedIn that really caught my attention. “True strength is the courage to ask for help.” It’s an interesting statement that got me thinking, so I decided to do a little digging. Not being the type of person who typically asks for help until I’m absolutely drowning, I thought I’d se…

This weekend, while enjoying our two-hour time slot at our condo pool, I listened to a podcast hosted by Stephen J. Dubner. In case you don’t remember Stephen, he’s the co-author of one of my favorite books, Freakonomics. Dubner and his co-author Steven Levitt managed to make economics cool. They did so by making interesting connections we may not …

I shared some tips on improving your LinkedIn personal page, but as a business owner, you also need a LinkedIn business page, so let’s talk about that today. I’ll preface this by saying that the entire LinkedIn platform is built around the idea of professionals connecting with other professionals, so your personal page will always be your number on…

At some point when selling your services, you will likely be asked to deliver a formal or informal presentation, whether in person or on Zoom. Perhaps you will be invited to speak at a conference as an expert, or more informally at your local networking group as an introduction. This naturally raises the question, “should I use visual aids?”. Have …

There are several fun idioms we use to express the passing of time. When it’s passing quickly, we say that time flies. When we get something done just before the deadline, we say that it was at the eleventh hour. Today I’d like to add a new expression to our list. COVID time. COVID time doesn’t have anything to do with actual time of course, rather…

A little over a month ago, I provided you with an overview of the latest marketing trends, including what people are searching for on Google. But with this crazy COVID rollercoaster ride we’re on when one week we’re getting ready to open everything up, and the next week we’re shutting down with no idea when we’ll be able to get within 6 feet of ano…

I was cleaning out some old files over the weekend and came across a spiral-bound notebook that triggered a bit of PTSD. So why did I hang onto a notebook that, to this day, gives me flashbacks? Because that class provided some of the best advice and training on public speaking that I have had in my career. The fundamental principle of being in fro…