Shows
The Honest Field Guide®Ep 80 - Alfie Koetter - So You Want To Work In Hollywood? Here's how one architect did itJinJa Birkenbeuel explores the intersection of creativity, entrepreneurship, and design with guest Alfie Keotter, a designer and architect. They discuss the evolution of the Sundance Film Festival, the often-overlooked role of graphic designers in film, and the importance of storytelling in architecture. Alfie shares his journey from a creative childhood to his experiences in the film industry, emphasizing the significance of collaboration and curiosity in creative work. In this engaging conversation, the speakers explore the dynamics of creative partnerships, particularly in the context of working with a spouse. They discuss the design process behind the documentary "Sally," emphasizing the...2025-05-011h 17
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 79 - Tracey Panek, Levi's Historian on The Power of Listening and Creating Surprising Connections For Business GrowthIn this episode of The Honest Field Guide, host JinJa Birkenbeuel interviews Tracey Panek, the historian and director of archives at Levi Strauss & Co. They discuss the importance of curiosity, the role of an archivist in preserving history, and how fashion intersects with personal identity and culture. Tracey shares her journey from a curious child to a professional archivist, emphasizing the value of storytelling and historical context in the fashion industry. The conversation also touches on the significance of collaboration with designers and celebrities, showcasing how history can inspire modern innovation. In this engaging conversation, Tracey Panek discusses the...2025-04-021h 05
The Honest Field Guide®Ep 78 Lisou Brand - Creating Vibrant Beauty and Fashion with Textile Designer Rene MacdonaldIn this episode of The Honest Field Guide, host JinJa Birkenbeuel engages in a heartfelt conversation with Rene Moshi Macdonald, the founder of Lisou, a luxury women's wear brand based in London. They discuss the challenges of motherhood, particularly for Black mothers, and the importance of community support. Rene shares her journey from Tanzania to the UK, her upbringing in a family dedicated to service, and how her experiences shaped her creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. The conversation also delves into the complexities of identity, the perception of African fashion, and the joy that drives Rene's work. In this conversation...2025-03-191h 27
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 77 - How To Empower Yourself - Shana Stephenson, Chief Brand Officer, the WNBA's New York Liberty Shares Her Story - and She's Sticking To It!Host JinJa Birkenbeuel welcomes Shana Stephenson, Chief Brand Officer at the WNBA's New York Liberty, to discuss her journey in sports branding, the importance of storytelling, and the challenges of navigating a career in a male-dominated industry. Shana shares her experiences from her early days in fashion to her current role in sports, emphasizing the significance of representation and the entrepreneurial spirit. The conversation highlights the power of family support and the drive to create opportunities in the sports world. In this conversation, Shana discusses her journey from being a chemistry student to ESPN to becoming a prominent voice...2025-02-2758 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 76 - Who Is Joe Favorito, Author, Sports Broadcaster and Consultant to “Creed?” How To Become an Entrepreneur in SportsIn this episode of The Honest Field Guide podcast, host JinJa Birkenbeuel engages in a dynamic conversation with sports entrepreneur Joe Favorito. They explore the intersection of sports, family dynamics, and entrepreneurship, discussing how personal experiences shape perspectives on sports. The conversation delves into the importance of showing up in the business world, the evolving landscape of sports consumption among youth, and the critical role of crisis communications in sports management. Additionally, they touch on issues of diversity and representation in sports, particularly in light of recent discussions surrounding Title IX and its impact on funding for youth sports...2025-02-0450 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 74 - Darren McKoy, Creative Director of Dr. Martens - How Sunny Optimism, Mentoring and Team Strategy Can Build an A-List Fashion Career and Transform a Legacy Brand’s Design CultureIn this engaging conversation, JinJa Birkenbeuel interviews Darren McKoy https://www.instagram.com/d_dot_mckoy, the creative director of Dr. Martens. They explore themes of optimism rooted in upbringing, the influence of music and sport on creativity, and the journey through education and early career choices that led Darren to his current role. The discussion highlights the importance of understanding both creative and commercial aspects in the fashion industry, as well as the legacy and future vision of the Dr. Martens brand.
Darren discusses the evolution of Dr. Martens as a legacy brand, emphasizing the importance...2024-11-151h 15
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 73 : Lenny Stern, Co-Founder of SS+K, On The Transformative Power of Self-Awareness and Hiring Diverse LeadersIn 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...2024-11-0258 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 72: Kentucky Congressman Morgan McGarvey - How Entrepreneurs and Leading Women Fuel The Renewed American DreamIn 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...2024-10-2558 min
The Honest Field Guide®The Birk Creative Reset 9 - Entrepreneurship and Vice President Harris on The Honest Field GuideI 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 t...2024-10-2316 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 71 - The Honest "Political" Guide - Part III, feat. JinJa Birkenbeuel x Mary Nisi, Two Vibrant Entrepreneurs From ChicagoThe 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...2024-09-291h 18
The Honest Field Guide®Ep 69 How To Design and Create Conditions for Liberatory Joy and Not Oppression A Conversation with Dr Dori Tunstall, Author Decolonizing Design A Cultural Justice GuidebookJoin 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 #DesignIdeologies2024-06-131h 06The Honest Field Guide®I am a Non Playable Character by JinJa BirkenbeuelJinJa Birkenbeuel reads her latest personal essay "I am mediocre. I am a non-playable character. And I am okay with it."2024-05-1609 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 68: How To Build A Thought Leadership Business Using Professional PR. A Conversation with Judy Kalvin of Kalvin Public RelationsAll 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 p...2024-05-0248 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 67 - What Do Curls Have To Do With Love, Success, Transformation and Business? Lots! A Conversation with Curly Hair Innovator Cally Raduenzel from Cally's Curls, ChicagoCalling 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 a...2024-04-1658 minThe Honest Field Guide®The Birk Creative Reset 8: Review of "All Black Errythang" A Book of Poetry by Chanel MurrayIn 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...2024-03-1012 min
The Honest Field Guide®New Limited Edition Talk Show: Part II The Honest "Political" Guide, feat. Two Vibrant Entrepreneurs From Chicago [JinJa Birkenbeuel x Mary Nisi]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...2024-02-201h 04The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 66 - Live from 2024 Sundance Film Festival. A business conversation with Alex Lora Cercos, Director of the Sundance Grand Jury Award “The Masterpiece.”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...2024-01-2945 minThe Honest Field Guide®The Birk Creative Reset 7: Featuring the 2024 Sundance Film FestivalHi 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 o...2024-01-1807 minThe Honest Field Guide®The Creative Reset 6: 6 minutes of inspiration for burned-out entrepreneursBurn-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 wh...2023-12-2106 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep 65 - How A Small Business Owner Can Innovate With Their Own Mini Supply Chain with Michelle Covey, Vice President at GS1 USA.mp4Michelle 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:2023-11-111h 06The Honest Field Guide®New Limited Edition Talk Show: The Honest "Political" Guide - Part I., feat. Two Vibrant Entrepreneurs From Chicago [JinJa Birkenbeuel x Mary Nisi]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, b...2023-10-1951 minThe Honest Field Guide®The Creative Reset 5: 15 minutes of inspiration for entrepreneurs read by JinJa BirkenbeuelHow 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 G...2023-09-0209 min
Thrive In DesignS4, E3: Transforming Design Using AI with JinJa BirkenbeuelIn today's digital age, using AI is a game-changer for designers. AI tools like Chat GPT and Google’s BARD can help you develop amazing design ideas. These tools combine human imagination with AI's smarts to create groundbreaking inspiration. Whether new to design or a pro, AI lets you push the boundaries of creativity. Join this conversation with JinJa Birkenbeuel and learn how to unlock your imagination with the endless possibilities of AI.
JinJa Birkenbeuel is a highly accomplished serial entrepreneur and visionary leader, currently serving as CEO of Birk Creative. With over 20 years of exp...2023-07-2034 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 64 - Doreen Lorenzo on Why Attending College Still Matters for Creatives (and how to create a sustainable career as a woman in design)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 seve...2023-05-2553 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 63 Every Gen Z Entrepreneur Needs To Listen Up to Matt Burzec, Sneakerhead and Founder, Kicks of ChicagoI 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...2023-05-0655 min
All Up In My Lady BusinessAll Up In: Design, Diversity & Artificial Intelligence with JinJa BirkenbeuelToday, we are graced with the presence of the multi-faceted and highly creative, JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative. Together, we have a jam-packed conversation about her career journey, how she became an entrepreneur, the state of education, and so much more!Tune in to hear us discuss:JinJa’s passion for designing annual reports (seriously…)The alarming lack of diversity in high-end design spacesCoca-Cola’s partnership with Chat GPT for marketing campaignsWhat young people are up against in higher education in AmericaThe problems that gatekeeping can (and does) causeDon’t forget to smash...2023-05-021h 02The Honest Field Guide®The Creative Reset 4: 15 minutes of inspiration for entrepreneurs read by JinJa BirkenbeuelA 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 t...2023-04-2614 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 62 - Christie Hefner: An Intimate Conversation With The Powerhouse Behind The Playboy (That Saved One Of The Most Iconic Brands In The World)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://a...2023-03-281h 11The Honest Field Guide®The Creative Reset 3: 10 minutes of inspiration for entrepreneurs read by JinJa Birkenbeuel from "No Idea Is Final" Published by Phaidon BooksI 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...2023-03-0810 minThe Honest Field Guide®The Creative Reset 2: 5 minutes of inspiration for entrepreneurs read by JinJa Birkenbeuel from "Taxi Driver Wisdom" written by Risa MickenbergAfter 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...2023-02-2505 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 61 Candace Nelson, Sprinkles Cupcakes - How To Establish, Build, Grow and Scale a Business That You Can Sell--From Scratch!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 revi...2023-02-0957 minThe Honest Field Guide®Update from JinJa Birkenbeuel: The Creative ResetHello 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. :)2023-02-0818 min
The Honest Field Guide®Author Viet Thanh Nguyen Winner of The Pulitzer for FictionHappy 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...2022-12-301h 07
The Honest Field Guide®Ep 60 - Jenny Wood: How To Be Extraordinary While Navigating Your Career From Within (a whale)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 corp...2022-10-1853 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 59 - Bethanie Baynes: How To Navigate Your Life In America As A Bread-Winning WomanFollow 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 corpor...2022-09-2036 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 58 - Blackness On The Edge of Town with Lisa Beasley, Entrepreneur, Comedian and ActorLoving 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...2022-05-2750 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 57 - NFT Maven Michelle Reeves: The Hunter and Gatherer of the NFT Fashion BusinessEp. 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...2022-03-2359 min
NFT Heat#29: NFT Heat featuring JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk CreativeThis week we feature JinJa Birkenbeuel the CEO of Birk Creative, one of the country's premier multichannel brand strategy, digital transformation and visual identity agencies. She is also founder of The Honest Field Guide podcast, where she hosts discussions dedicated to winning in business with Pulitzer Award winners, Oprah’s favorite successful entrepreneurs, Stanley Cup sports-team owners, and inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Birk Creative’s current client roster includes Facebook, Google, Advocate Health Care, CPASS Foundation and various amazing and vibrant mid-market business owners.2022-02-0858 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 56 - The Story of the $200 Digital Sticker That Converted to Six Figures, with Matt SchapiroThe 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 pr...2021-11-1248 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 55 - Traveling Down the Rabbit Hole of NFT Wonder with Futurist Artist Giovanna Sun aka dubwomanGiovanna 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...2021-09-1751 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 54 - How To Create The Sound of Curiosity with Cymatics Innovator Jacob AdlingtonJacob 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...2021-08-1347 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 53 - Dr. Akilah Cadet on How To Be An Accomplice While Dismantling White SupremacyDr. 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...2021-06-251h 09
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 52 - Rana Reeves, CEO of RanaVerse - How To Create Equity in BusinessRana 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 wo...2021-06-1559 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 51 - Desperately Seeking Erika Gerdes, Founder, The Art of UndoingVisit 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/hone...2021-06-0546 min
CEOs You Should Know ARCHIVEDJinJa Birkenbeuel - CEO of Birk CreativeJinJa Birkenbeuel is an award-winning strategist and creative executive with over 20 years of experience, including enterprise brand strategy and creative development of mid to large size organizations, establishment of visual identity systems and research, development and execution of customer and talent acquisition strategies. She is credited as a collaborating architect of Google’s Digital Coaches Program, Google’s training initiative for underrepresented US-based business owners.The programs she has collaboratively designed for global technology companies have reached:- 10+ international companies have revamped their online platforms- 10+ international companies created new digital and social media strategies- 10...2021-05-1816 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 50 - The Oprah Winfrey of Plants: A Growing Conversation with Nika Vaughan, Founder of Plant SalonWelcome 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...2021-05-0159 min
PR 360Thriving in 2021 by Creating the Right Visual Identity for Your Brand with Birk Creative’s Jinja BirkenbeuelIn This Episode…We talk with Birk Creative’s Jinja Birkenbeuel about digital content, podcasts, hiring the right PR pro for your business, visual identity, digital transformation, 2021, video content, and multi-brand strategy.Show Notes· [04:41] Are you a coffee or tea drinker? · [06:17] What challenges did businesses face in 2020? · [10:19] Are we in a more exclusively digital world? · [12:38] Should businesses create guidelines for their visual identity? · [19:05] Has it changed where PR pros are creating all digital collateral?· [24:00] What do brands and PR pros miss from a multi-brand strategy?· [25:58] What do you look for when you’r...2021-03-0342 min
The Honest Field Guide®Repeat - Stories From The Frontlines Interview with JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO, Birk CreativeThis 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 s...2021-01-3049 min
Conversations With ChanConversation with JinJa BirkenbeuelIn this conversation I chat with JinJa Birkenbeuel a woman who wears many hats. Since 1997, JinJa has provided personal branding and representation for civic leaders and entrepreneurs in the public and private sectors, created marketing and advertising campaigns for NGOs, not for profit organizations and institutions, and collaborated with private and Fortune 500 companies like Google, Inc., SolarCity, Ericsson, AECOM and more. JinJa Birkenbeuel serves on the board of directors for the Jewish-Black Business Alliance and Young Chicago Authors. JinJa is also songwriter and publisher for Utah Carol, a musical group that composes songs for film, advertising and business...2020-12-0532 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 49 - Dr. Jeffreen Hayes: A Conversation on The Whiteness of Being, with a Capital WHow 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 w...2020-11-2449 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 48 - Forbes Contributor Cheryl Robinson: Pivoting On PurposeGuiding 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...2020-10-0751 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 47 Coach David Stephens On How To Keep a Swim Team Thriving During a PandemicDavid 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...2020-08-2543 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 46 Nicholas Whitaker The Accidental Entrepreneur's Journey To a Job at GoogleTake 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?
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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...2020-08-1250 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 45 - Talal Raf On The Promise of Global Entrepreneurship A Young Leader Brings Change In Sri LankaWe 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...2020-08-0330 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 44 - The Creative Spirit Never Dies a Conversation with Artist Jackie KazarianHow 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.
...2020-08-0243 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 43 - Finding Beauty a Conversation with Dayna Isom Johnson America's Top Trend Expert from NBC's Makin' It and EtsyDayna 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 o...2020-07-111h 06The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 42 - The Failure To Protect: A conversation with Brittain Ladd on small business, ecommerce and supply chain disruption,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 b...2020-07-0849 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 41 - An American Narrative: A Conversation with Author Viet Thanh Nguyen Winner of The Pulitzer for FictionThe 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 j...2020-06-261h 07The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 40 - Back with more! The State of: Instagram Part IIWe'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 t...2020-05-1245 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 39 - How To Be A Great Entrepreneur at Seventeen - A Conversation with Matt Burzec, Kicks of Chicago, Class of 2020Seemingly, 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...2020-04-2842 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 38 - How to Pair Quality Music with Exquisite Liquor. A conversation with Jim Powers of Minty Fresh and PARCE RumWhen 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...2020-04-1252 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 37 - Virtual Learning Strategies During Crisis with Robert Runcie Superintendent of Broward County Public SchoolsRobert 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...2020-04-0145 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 36 LinkedIn-tervention! Part Two - The State of: LinkedIn for Small BusinessBack 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.
...2020-03-2331 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 35 - Eric Whitaker Discusses True and False Narratives Around Black EntrepreneurshipWhat 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.2020-03-0851 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 34 - Kate Leydon, Ruby Room Chicago Talks About How She Used Her Intuition To Build Her BusinessIs 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...2020-02-2747 min
Jump Start Your Joy®Changing the Narrative for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs in Marketing with JinJa BirkenbeuelThis week on the podcast, I’m delighted to be talking about changing the narrative for small businesses and entrepreneurs in marketing with JinJa Birkenbeuel of Birk Creative and the Honest Field Guide podcast. JinJa and I had the pleasure of meeting at She Podcasts Live, and I truly enjoyed her sense of humor, realness, and her enthusiasm for podcasting. It’s a treat to have her on the show. In this episode, JinJa and I talk about: -Her early love of candy and the magic and freedom she felt going to the store to buy...2020-02-2537 minThe Honest Field Guide®The Honest Field Guide® (Trailer)2020-02-2200 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 33 - Simone Friend, How To Successfully Represent and Protect Commercial ArtistsEverybody 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!
2020-02-2152 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 32 - Cannabis Hollingsworth Farm with Joy HollingsworthWeed, 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...2020-02-0936 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 31 - Danny Wirtz, Chicago Blackhawks & Breakthru Beverage On How To Transform a Multigenerational Family BusinessesDanny 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...2020-02-0346 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 30 Reggie "Mr. October" Jackson, MLB Hall of Fame Inductee Talks About His Entrepreneurship BeginningsReggie 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...2020-01-2154 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 29 Paul Jarvis, Author, "Company of One" Making A Case for Staying SmallAll 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...2020-01-1452 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 28 Joel Nickson of Wishbone Restaurant Chicago On How To Build Company CultureBeing 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 f...2020-01-0435 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 27 Matt Bercovitz of Berco's Popcorn On How To Build A Fresh Brand In A Saturated Popcorn MarketPopcorn 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.2019-12-2158 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 26 Slutty Vegan Atlanta with Angel Barnwell On How To Take A Leap Into The Complete UnknownHow 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 a...2019-12-1938 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 25 Steven Galanis of Cameo On How To Grab A Lightning Fast Idea and Scale It Into a Business OvernightWhen 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 o...2019-12-011h 01
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 24 William "Billy The Bull" Marovitz of The Marovitz Group On How To Create Smash Hit Businesses By Seizing OpportunityThe 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...2019-11-261h 10
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 23 Angelina Darrisaw, CEO, C-Suite Coach, On How To Feel and Create Confidence At WorkAre 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.
...2019-11-0832 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 22 - Keila Hill-Trawick Little Fish Accounting, On How To Create A Brand Identity For FreeSo 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...2019-10-251h 08
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 21 - Francilia Wilkens Rahim On How To Qualify Business Leads as a Small BusinessMoney. 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...2019-10-151h 07
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 20 - James E. McMillan On How To Pivot and Transform From A Mistake And Still WinHow 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...2019-10-0742 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 19 - Teri Johnson Harlem Candle Company On How To Slow Down and Create Beauty In A Fast WorldA 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...2019-09-2642 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 18 - Facebook's Jason Trimiew on How Facebook Is Re-Socializing Supplier DiversityWe 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...2019-09-2048 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 17 - Quinn Bryant Of “What Would Jay-Z Do” On How To Train Your Inner CreativeThere 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...2019-09-021h 10
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 16 - Kathy Chang On How To Scale a Business EthicallyKathy 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 s...2019-08-2034 min
The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 15 - Tena Clark, Grammy Award Winner and Author of "Southern Discomfort" On How To Go With Your GutHow 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...2019-07-101h 05The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 14 - I Hate Networking - Stories From The FrontlineWhy 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...2019-05-1043 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 13 - Uh-Oh, so this just happened: Your Brand Personality, Process and Purpose on Social MediaYou 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...2019-04-1044 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 12 - You are STUCK! How To Disrupt Your MindsetThe 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...2019-03-2623 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 11 - Google Digital Coaching and MotivationAre 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...2019-02-021h 14The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 10 - Entrepreneurship Cautionary Tales (Part One)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!2019-01-011h 15The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 9 - Help yourself! The State of: MotivationWhen 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.2018-11-131h 09The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 8 - The State of: Twitter for Professional ServicesTwitter 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...2018-10-131h 17The Honest Field Guide®Ep. 7 - Tales From The Frontlines: Mentor MentalitySo, 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...2018-09-2957 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 6 - State of Diversity: For SuppliersGet 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.2018-09-0749 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 5 - Uh-oh, So This Just Happened!: The Art of the PivotLaunching 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...2018-09-0332 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 4 - LinkedIn-tervention! The State of: LinkedIn for Small BusinessIsn’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 th...2018-08-1150 minThe Honest Field Guide®Ep. 3 - State of: Instagram for Professional ServicesOne 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.2018-08-091h 03