Freshcut Radio - A Small Business Community

Megan reflects on the last couple of months of her work life, juggling multiple businesses, event planning, and in store events. She works 6-9 months in advance on planning and preparation for any given one day pop up market event. Megan talks you through a step-by-step planning process for their latest market at Whirling Tiger for Halloween weekend. There are so many little details to juggle, so you will quickly realize how important thinking ahead, time management, and detailed calendar planning is to the success of each event. Megan discusses all of the important marketing and PR aspects that bring awareness to your event. In addition to tackling the basics of event creation, it is so important to bring an experience that is on brand for your customer. Key take aways from the process include: Time management, organization, financial planning and budgeting to help cover the costs. Taking care of your network with proper communication and follow up is so essential to success as well.

I sat down with Miranda Deaton, the owner and creative behind Velvet Outlaw. This is an episode you need to listen to the end! As we both can relate to being new small business owners, we get deep and vulnerable from the very beginning. Miranda candidly filled me in on her story, which began by growing up in Michigan, moving to Kentucky for college, and how she has stayed, making Louisville her home. Her grit, perseverance, and stubbornness embodies the motto: "No doesn't mean never. It just means not right now." We both share a similar history of going through the life motions of going to college, chased unfulfilling careers, and then leaving those jobs in the last year to start our own businesses. We touch on tough topics, like the *real* hard work behind starting and running your own business. Miranda shares her toolkit and tricks for maintaining sanity on a daily basis. We talk about how being queer has become an instrumental part of the Velvet Outlaw brand and products that get produced by Miranda. Through our conversation, she realizes what projects have made her feel like a successful business owner that has “made it.” Give this episode a listen to get to know Miranda better.

Check Miranda and Velvet Outlaw out on Instagram.

Click here to visit the Velvet Outlaw website.

Email her at howdy@velvetoutlaw.com

FRESHCUT COMMUNITY INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/freshcut.community/

FRESHCUT COMMUNITY WEBSITE: https://www.freshcutcommunity.com/

Being a human can be messy and emotional. That can sometimes get in the way of finding success in business. Megan gets vulnerable about imposter syndrome, fears of failure, and other hurdles that she faces as a business owner. She navigates money mindset, budgeting, and tips on how to stay focused on profit. Listen to the end to see how she survives the human mental roller coaster. 

Reach out to megan via email (megan.freshcut@gmail.com).

Follow her on Instagram @freshcut.community

Click for additional information and to schedule one-on-one mentoring with Megan. 

With a unique education and career history, Ellie Puckett shares the story of how she got to where she is today. Beginning in the tech start up universe, she learned about raising angel and venture capital for new businesses, and transitioned into consulting as an entrepreneurial support for multiple companies. Ellie learned what it takes to start and sustain a business profitably. She made it through multiple rocky startup company layoffs. When she watched her first acquisition take place, Ellie realized she wanted to be her own boss, which lead her to her current role of business brokering.

We spend some time chatting about what a small business owner can do to become “healthy” and more appealing, in order to buy or sell their business.  “Having your ducks in a row makes you a very sellable asset.” A successful business starts with organized operations with processes and team members in place that allow the business to run smoothly without the business owner present. Having financials and books are up to date will also be beneficial. On top of those things, making sure your business is profitable will ensure that you are operating in an ideal way.

In addition, Ellie spells out the primary goal of starting a business. Goal Number 1: PAY YOURSELF! You started a business to make money! We also talk small business loans; she answers these questions. “What are the financial aid options and what is the best way to spend it, as a small business owner?”

Please listen to the end! There are soooo many juicy nuggets as we start to unfold some of the financial jargon and concepts that live within and surrounds the small business universe. Last, but not least, Ellie digs into the idea of buying a business as a sound investment strategy that you can live and retire off of!

Follow Ellie Puckett on social media @renegade.biz + @renegade.ellie

Listen to her on the Renegade Ventures Podcast here.

Email her with any questions at ellie@renegade.biz

Louisville Small Business Development Center offers FREE educational aid and support for small business owners. Click HERE for those resources.

Megan catches you up on what has been going on in her life over the last few weeks. Her fiancé got covid, her friend lost a son, and she was consumed with work, work, work. Megan talks through what her work schedule has looked like while starting a new business while maintaining another one.  She chats about hosting her first networking event. The main focus is on community and what that has meant to her in the last week. Megan attended Louisville Start Up Week and Show Up Summit, two very different kinds of networking events. Both sessions truly taught Megan the importance of authentic connections and community in life and in business. Listen along to hear more!

Learn more about Louisville Startup Week+ explore Show Up Summit 2023 ran by Show Up Movement.

Maddie McNabb joins Megan this week, to chat all things MAC (Maddie About Cake). She speaks about what her morning was like, getting up early to be the star of our local Louisville news station. Maddie got her start in higher education, but has currently left her corporate job, to launch her own boutique micro-bakery. What started as a pandemic hobby, as a way to connect with people, has evolved into a beautiful fulltime gig. She tells her success story about when she took the leap and what it felt like to turn her side hustle into a full-time job. Maddie shares her secrets on how she connects with her customers to grow her business. She opens up about some of the tougher hurdles as a small business owner.

Check out Maddie McNabb on Linkedin

IG @maddieaboutcake

Order your own macarons today - www.maddieaboutcake.com

Megan sits down with Jen Hartmann, CEO and founder of Neat, the Agency, a boutique PR and Marketing firm based out of Louisville, KY. They chat candidly about how their friendship started and what business books they love. Megan asks Jen the tough questions about what mistakes she made in the first year of starting her business and when she felt like she was officially “successful”. Jen gets vulnerable, as she shares the ups and downs of why she left her corporate job and started her own business, what its like to fire an employee, and the emotions around having a team that reports to her. Amid all of the joking and laughing, she shares lots of free tips and tricks on how to get started and navigate tough topics as an entrepreneur.

Check out JEN HARTMANN on Linkedin

Instagram @neat_theagency

www.neattheagency.com                    

LISTEN TO HER POD: Served Neat

FRESHCUT COMMUNITY IG: https://www.instagram.com/freshcut.community

FRESHCUT COMMUNITY website: https://www.freshcutcommunity.com

Are you having a hard time starting your day off on the right foot? Do you feel overwhelmed with your TO DO list? Sit down with Megan, as she talks you through her morning routine.

Here are her five tips and tricks for getting your head on straight as soon as you wake up!

1.       Take in your liquids: both coffee and water.

2.       Journaling about your current physical and mental situation PLUS thought-provoking steps on how to turn both of these into positives. Talk to yourself like you are talking to your best friend, giving the most loving advice.

3.       Fostering a mindset of gratuity. Write down 5 things you are thankful for right now. Just do it.

4.       Prioritize your to do list and create goals for your day. Try tackling large time-sucking items by working on that task for just 1 hour at a time.

5.       Before you start your work, get on the floor and do some yoga and meditation.

These day-starting tasks will get you ready to make the most of your day. 

If you would like to read the book that I mentioned, please make a secondhand purchase.

Link to THE ARTIST'S WAY by Julia Cameron: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-artists-way-a-spiritual-path-to-higher-creativity

FRESHCUT COMMUNITY IG: https://www.instagram.com/freshcut.community

FRESHCUT COMMUNITY website: https://www.freshcutcommunity.com

Holy Cow! What a WILD ride! Entrepreneur and Founder of Freshcut Community, Megan Widmer, introduces herself to all small business owners, solopreneurs, and creative individuals out there! Just listen to that intro - Megan has been busy in the last 36 months! 

Throughout this episode, our podcast host takes us on the overview of her life and business journey over the last three years. A lot has changed in that time! Megan quit her corporate retail job, started 3 businesses from scratch, opened a retail boutique, and travelled abroad in Europe for 90 days. She shares a few tips and tricks along the way.

By the end of the episode, the story begins to unfold of how Freshcut Community and Freshcut Radio came into existence. Megan also as eludes to her future plans for the podcast. 

If you would like to read the book that I mentioned, please make a secondhand purchase.

Link to THE ARTIST'S WAY by Julia Cameron: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-artists-way-a-spiritual-path-to-higher-creativity

FRESHCUT COMMUNITY IG: https://www.instagram.com/freshcut.community

FRESHCUT COMMUNITY website: https://www.freshcutcommunity.com