In this episode of the optYOUmize podcast, host Brett Ingram welcomes Wendy Brookhouse, a renowned Financial Advisor, Money Coach, and Founder of Black Star Wealth. Together, they delve into the essential aspects of financial management and wealth creation, offering valuable insights for entrepreneurs striving to build their dream businesses and lives.

In this episode of the optYOUmize podcast, host Brett Ingram speaks with Hannah Tackett, a former tech leader turned burnout coach for women. Hannah shares her personal story of experiencing severe burnout and how she overcame it by prioritizing authenticity and balancing her professional and personal life. They discuss signs of unhealthy stress, the importance of boundaries, and actionable steps to prevent burnout. Hannah also introduces her PEACE method and offers a free cheat sheet on reducing work hours without compromising performance. The conversation is packed with valuable insights for entrepreneurs struggling with stress and seeking a healthier, more balanced life.

Brett Ingram delves into the critical pitfalls that startups and entrepreneurs often encounter with branding. Emphasizing the newfound importance of branding for small businesses in the digital age, Brett outlines 11 key mistakes, from inconsistency across branding elements and disregarding guidelines across channels, to underestimating the value of strong brand identity and overcomplicating the brand message. He also discusses the significance of understanding the target audience, avoiding excessive focus on trends, choosing an engaging name, and the power of storytelling over mere features. Brett concludes by stressing the necessity of customer feedback in refining and strengthening one's brand for long-term success.

In this episode, Brett Ingram, an entrepreneur and award-winning product creator, outlines the 11 most important skills for entrepreneurs to succeed. Brett discusses the necessity of being versatile and wearing multiple hats, especially in the early phases of entrepreneurship. He details crucial skills including financial management, communication and listening, critical and creative thinking, strategic planning, leadership, time management, networking, branding and marketing, risk tolerance, continuous learning, and data analytics. Brett emphasizes that while entrepreneurs might not master every skill, awareness and competence in these areas are essential for building a successful business and personal life. Join Brett to explore how to cultivate these skills and set a solid foundation for success.

In this episode, Brett Ingram explores the comprehensive strategy to find and leverage micro influencers for effective and budget-conscious brand promotion. He outlines six key steps to identify, evaluate, and engage with micro influencers to boost your product and service visibility. Brett provides actionable tips on using influencer discovery tools, evaluating engagement rates, and developing a robust campaign strategy. Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of authentic storytelling and tracking results to optimize future campaigns. Ideal for small business owners seeking powerful marketing solutions without breaking the bank, this episode offers a clear roadmap to harness the potential of micro-influencers.

Host Brett Ingram delves into the common pitfalls that small businesses encounter when using paid traffic for marketing. He outlines the misconceptions about the ease and quick rewards of paid ads, emphasizing the complexities and competitive nature of this advertising method. Brett discusses eight critical mistakes: improper targeting, non-optimized websites, focusing on likes/followers instead of conversions, ineffective funnels, neglecting lifetime customer value, poor checkout experiences, weak lead nurture processes, and lack of performance tracking. With detailed insights, he provides actionable advice to help entrepreneurs deploy profitable and scalable paid ad campaigns.