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This interview wth John Gerzema, author of “The Brand Bubble: The Looming Crisis in Brand Value & How to Avoid It”, was another intriguing one.  John was an easy guest to converse with, and his advice on increasing the power of your brand through Vision, Invention & Dynamism was fascinating.

Personally, I made an internal shift starting with this interview.  It was a shift to try and pay more attention to my natural curiosity within the conversation, rather than the scripts and technology in front of me. In previous shows, a combination of trying to pay attention to my own notes, text questions coming in from the audience and watching the call queue, all made it hard for me stay genuine and engaged in the conversation. I really don’t like that. Needless to say, while there was still some distractions, I was able to ‘enjoy’ this conversation and remain engaged more than previous Biznik Live shows.

Listen to this show and you’ll find out:

• Why there is a general societal trend to trust brands less and less.
• Which companies are actually increasing recognition and trust in their brand, and why.
• What you can do to help increase the power of your brand.

 

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Transcript of Interview with John Gerzema (after jump)

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To you faithful Biznik blog readers, sorry I’ve been behind on my Biznik Live updates.  If you didn’t get a chance to listen to the Van Jones Biznik Live show, I’d suggest you do it now or download it to iTunes for later.  This interview is full of helpful suggestions about how to both green your business as well as how to increase your business during these economically rocky times.

After a short discussion with Seattle Greendrinks founder Gabriel Scheer about an exciting upcoming project (Re-Vision Lab -site just barely up) aimed at gathering and supporting local green entrepreneurs, we jump into issues like:

• How Van’s amazing grass roots social marketing campaign launched his book to #12 in the NY Times. How can we do the same?
• A summary of his book ’The Green Collar Economy‘ 
• What are the upcoming green entrepreneurial opportunities?
• What can you do to speed up sustainability policies in your local gov. and schools?
• Much more…

 

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TRANSCRIPT OF SHOW (after leap)

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I had a great time interviewing this fellow Dane (though I speak not a word of Danish and have not yet made it to Denmark myself!).  Martin is a dynamic and passionate speaker who shared with us the results of the largest neuromarketing research ever -$7 million dollars and 2000 volunteers from all over the world who let Martin’s research team peer into their brains as they were exposed to various brand-related images and words.  Curious what they found out?

In this Biznik Live, we touch on:

• Some of Martin’s core findings in the neuromarketing study
• The role of fear in our decision processes
• Key advantages to being a small business (easier to take big risks, innovate!)
• The story of the pizza company on a low-budget that dominated the market in his area in a really unique way…
• Does your website have a jingle, your biz card a smell, why not?
• Hottest tips for indie biz agents during the current economic conditions
• Much more…

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 Standard Podcast [30:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hello Bizniks.  Well, I’m finally catching up from traveling to two excellent conferences this past couple of weeks (AIN & NASAGA).  During the past two and half weeks we’ve conducted three more Biznik Live shows focused on “Surviving & Thriving Amidst Economic Uncertainty”. In this and the next few blog posts, I’m going to share a little about each show. I hope the following summaries tempt you into listening if you haven’t already!  The audio in this 2nd show was somewhat poor, but there was some great content -enjoy!

What did Tim & our audience cover in this second Biznik Live show?

• A summary of the Four Hour Work Week DEAL (Define->Eliminate->Automate->Liberate)
• Clarification on the somewhat controversial chapter on Automation
• The importance of testing, testing, testing (before investing $, time, effort)
• Should you hold onto your assets during the current economic uncertainty?
• Taking advantage of the likely drop in offline marketing prices during this recession (Radio & TV spots)
• Ruthlessly applying the 80/20 Pareto Principle to your business
• Learning how to say “No”, and facing the ‘difficult conversations’
• Which businesses are likely to do well during a recession?
• Clarification and advice on outsourcing

 

 Biznik Live Interview with Timothy Ferriss [29:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Transcription of show:

(Times are not 100% accurate as final show underwent some edits) 

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Today we concluded the first show in our new Biznik Live series Surviving & Thriving During Economic Uncertainty.  Though there were a few minor technical glitches, our interview with author Michelle Goodman went great overall. You can see the topics covered in the summary below.  

We have some exciting upcoming authors, including Van Jones -author of The Green Collar Economy and Timothy Ferris -of The Four Hour Workweek.  

Thanks to all who participated, we hope you enjoyed it, and please feel free to offer any feedback to hep us improve future Biznik Live shows.

• Download and listen to the archived mp3 of the show
• Listen to this streamed version over the web at BlogTalkRadio 
• Subscribe in iTunes or other podcast player

Show Overview

After hearing some basic introductions about the show, Michelle, and her upcoming book, we talked about:

• Is it wise to be a ‘free agent’ during these economically uncertain times?
• What key steps can be taken to maximize success during these times?
• What are some low-cost marketing ideas?
• What kind of balance to strike between traditional employment and self-employment?
• How to connect compassionately with clients during these times?
• What kinds of personality qualities make for a successful free agent?

Enjoy!

Transcription of Show…

(NOTE: We’ve been advised that the below transcription is far from accurate.  Add that fact to this being my first show, and there are quite a few confusing lines below.  We’ll edit this as soon as time allows.  Thanks!)

Leif Hansen: Hello and welcome to Biznik Live broadcasting from Seattle, Washington. Biznik Live connects you with nationally recognized authors whose powerful ideas will help make successful choices for your business. In just a minute we’re going to be talking with author Michelle Goodman in getting some great suggestions on how you can weather up with current economic storm.

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 Standard Podcast [30:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download