Headway by Catapult Lakeland

In episode 24 of Headway, I sit down with Tim Cox, the Expert in Residence here at Catapult. He was previously at Publix for 40 years as the Director of Creative Services.  Often times branding becomes an afterthought because entrepreneurs are wearing so many different hats, so Tim meets with the entrepreneurs at Catapult to give them mentorship advice. During our conversation, Tim discusses how branding needs to be thoughtful to help businesses accomplish their objectives.  A brand is who you are and branding is how you express who you are. We will be taking a summer break from Headway to prepare for our Grand Opening on August 23rd! RSVP here!

In episode 23 of Headway, Stayce Jones joins the podcast and discusses the importance of having consistent branding to make a great first impression on clients. Stacye originally went to school for fine arts, but soon realized she had a love for graphic designing as well. She began with just one client and eventually resigned from her job to run Simply Creative Designing full time. She has a mission of helping small businesses have branding that represents their business. During our conversation, Stacye discusses how even startups need branding that stands out and represents their product well. She highlights the mistakes she constantly sees when branding for start-ups and offers practical solutions. Discussed Resources:Super Soul Hosted by Oprah: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/super-soul/id1264843400Live by Sadie Robertson: https://www.amazon.com/Live-remain-specified-exciting-fulfillingMasterclass: https://www.masterclass.com/Connect with Stayce:designs@simplycreativedesigning.comwww.simplycreativedesigning.comwww.facebook.com/simplycreativedesigningwww.instagram.com/simplycreativedesigningStacye's Most Recent Catapult Collabs have been with Southern Babies, Richard Garzarelli founder of The Social Detox, Party Remarks, & Chocolate Covered. 

In episode 22 of Headway, Mona Cranor joins the podcast and discusses how to utilize social media to create brand awareness. Mona found she enjoyed promoting the core messages of the company she previously worked for through social platforms and found great success. Eventually, she founded Light Up Digital Marketing. She focuses on increasing your business's conversions online and building your brand. During our conversation, Mona discusses how important it is to have a strong social media presence, it can help businesses join the online conversation and also aids brand awareness. Mona highlights the importance of having a strategic plan and consistent branding throughout each platform. Discussed Resources:Amy Porterfield Podcast: https://www.amyporterfield.com/amy-porterfield-podcast/GaryVee: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCctXZhXmG-kf3tlIXgVZUlwDonald Miller: https://storybrand.com/Connect with Mona:lightupdigitalmarketing.commona@lightupdigitalmarketing.com

In episode 21 of Headway, Jeff Hogan joins the podcast. Jeff is the founder of Hogan Fine Jewelry, a retail jewelry store that specializes in high-quality certified diamonds and jewelry.Jeff has been working directly with customers for years and has learned a lot about offering value, connecting with clientele, and identifying the core competencies of his company.In my conversation with Jeff, we discussed his journey that led him into business, what the non-negotiables are in his company, and how to clearly and effectively define the core competencies of your company.Discussed Resources: Fortitude: https://amzn.to/3xKY838No Pain No Gains: https://amzn.to/3ehO2ixImpact Theory Podcast: https://impacttheory.com/episodes/Connect with Jeff:Email: jeff@hoganfinejewelry.comPhone: (863) 860-3500Website: hoganfinejewelry.com

It can be easy to overlook the importance of Cybersecurity in your small business, but protecting your small business from potential cyberattacks is not nearly as difficult as it seems.On this episode of Headway, we sit down with Joshua Citta, founder of Sittadel, a cybersecurity company that helps protect and fortify small businesses from cybersecurity attacks.Joshua offers some great insights about how cyberattacks occur, how they affect businesses, and how to prevent them.  He also details how you can improve your cybersecurity today, with a few simple, but effective tips.Connect with Joshua and Sittadel:Email: joshua@sittadel.comWebsite: https://www.sittadel.com/Sittadel Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sittadel-podcast/id1553765591Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesittadel/ Facebook: http://facebook.com/sittadel

While tax season may seem intimidating for some, it's important to have a thorough knowledge of your particular tax situation. On this episode of Headway, we sit down with Kyle Ashcraft, a certified public accountant and founder of Maxwell CPA Review, LLC. Kyle offers some great information about accounting & taxes and shares his knowledge to help you get through this tax season successfully.Discussed Resources:The Ride of a Lifetime: https://amzn.to/3bRTHuISocial Media Marketing Podcast: https://apple.co/2Q5VX93Connect with Kyle:Email: maxwellcpareview@gmail.comWebsite: https://www.maxwellcpareview.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/maxwellcpareview/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaxwellCPAReview

Now more than ever, it’s crucial for businesses to have an engaged online audience. Whatever industry your business is in, there are potential clients waiting to be reached online.On this episode of Headway, we sit down with Atenea Lara, founder of Inspiring Fitness. Inspiring Fitness is one of the most prominent fitness program companies in Latin America.In this conversation, Atenea speaks about leaving her job at Red Bull to pursue a career in the fitness industry, her experience in growing and cultivating an online community, and her future prospects for growth. Discussed Resources:What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: https://amzn.to/3uMvGwnThe Lean Startup: https://amzn.to/3uJOoolThe Millionaire Next Door: https://amzn.to/3kBbj0oThe Big Leap: https://amzn.to/3q8WIdNAll In Podcast: https://apple.co/2PuXt4xOnline Marketing Podcast: https://apple.co/3r49bARConnect with Atenea:Email: atenea.lara@yahoo.comWebsite: https://www.inspiringfitness.com.mx/mi-biografia/This podcast was created by the team at Catapult Lakeland, an entrepreneur center that exists to foster the growth of startups in Central Florida by providing education, community, resources, and space.

The entrepreneurial journey is never easy, but understanding the commonalities in pain-points between other entrepreneurs and how to address them is crucial to continue growing your brand.Who better to talk about these entrepreneurial pain-points than the Executive Director of Catapult Lakeland, Christina Graham?Christina joined the Headway podcast to talk about the history of Catapult Lakeland, her personal growth with Catapult, and the observations she has made about the entrepreneurial journey from years of being surrounded by innovators.Discussed Resources:How I Built This: https://apple.co/3pmf76JCraig Groeschel Leadership podcast: https://apple.co/2OAVkDGChop Wood Carry Water: https://amzn.to/37l09HUSay Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever: https://amzn.to/2NuEQMT

In this episode, we will be sitting down with Rut Patel, founder of Voyager Industries. Voyager Industries is a company that provides engineering inspection services to a variety of companies within the mid-Florida area.  In our conversation, Rut speaks about moving to America and pursuing his entrepreneurial dream, his creative tactics for acquiring clients, and his valuable insights on finding purpose in business, and growing your client base. So without further ado, here is my conversation with Rut Patel.Discussed Resources:How to think like Leonardo DiVinci: https://amzn.to/3pGYnYRThe Right Kind of Crazy: https://amzn.to/2LaYahmThe Book of Courage: https://amzn.to/36CK67RConnect with Rut:Email: rut@voyagerind.comWebsite: https://www.voyagerind.com/

Learn pricing strategies from the experts! From digital services, to brick and mortar, to eCommerce, our panelists have experience in a variety of areas and are ready to share how they strategize their pricing to sustain a profitable business while attracting their ideal clients.⦿ Stacey Jones | Simply Creative Designing⦿ Nikki Hunt | Scout & Tag ⦿ Matt and Candace Gross | YELLOWHISTLE

Digital marketing is quickly becoming one of the most prominent methods for growing businesses to reach potential customers. In entrepreneurship, generating leads and converting them into sales is crucial to successfully grow your business. But how can you generate leads effectively? And how do you turn those leads into paying customers?JD Arbuckle, founder of Helm, and lead digital marketing consultant at Smart Inbound Marketing joins the podcast to address all things inbound and digital marketing. JD discusses the five fundamentals of inbound marketing, and how you can create meaningful digital content to target your audience properly. Discussed Resources:Seth Godin’s Blog: https://seths.blog/Morning Brew Newsletter: https://www.morningbrew.com/Marketing Brew: https://www.morningbrew.com/marketingRobinhood Newsletter: https://snacks.robinhood.com/Exploding Topics: https://explodingtopics.com/Chartr: https://www.chartr.co/This podcast was created by the team at Catapult Lakeland, an entrepreneur center that exists to foster the growth of startups in Central Florida by providing education, community, resources, and space.

In episode 25 we go "live" to the Assembly Room at Catapult Lakeland!With the rapid evolution of technology, conversations surrounding currency and business tech are constantly evolving as well. New terms such as NFT, Crypto, and Blockchain have been introduced into our everyday vocabulary. To stay educate on the current conversation, the Catapult team hosted a Blockchain, NFT lunch and learn led by a panel of Catapult members working in that business space. The following is recorded live at Catapult Lakeland, in Lakeland Florida.Check us out at Catpultlakeland.com 

Generating leads is a common and frustrating roadblock for many entrepreneurs, and it can seem daunting the learn more about this intimidating topic.That is why this week, we are sharing the audio recorded from Catapult’s live event, ‘Generating Leads + Making Sales’. This event featured the panelists David Young (Drone Launch Academy), Jill Gable (Madden Branded Goods), and Ricardo Rivera (Dynamic Security).In this episode, the panelists offered advice learned from personal and professional experiences in generating leads and converting sales.Connect with the Panelists:David Young - Drone Launch Academy: https://dronelaunchacademy.com/Jill Gable - Madden Branded Goods: https://catalog.shopmadden.com/Ricardo Rivera - Dynamic Security: https://www.dynamicsec.com/

Even a mention from a local, regional or national news source can drastically change a startup's trajectory. Every organization has stories that are newsworthy, but how can you capture the attention of media outlets? That is why this week, we sat down to chat with the brother-duo, Chad and Joe McLeod, from McLeod Communications about how startups can start using PR strategies to make headway. In this episode, they share about how to connect with news sources, craft meaningful messages, and plan for the next crisis.

After spending the last decade working in events, Pablo Del Valle had the rug pulled out from under him when COVID hit. This sent him back to the drawing board, and he decided it was time to start his own company called Pinnacle Technologies, where he is able to provide high quality IT services for small businesses. For most entrepreneurs, IT can be an overwhelming topic. There are so many options of platforms and services that are available, so how do you know where to start? Pablo sat down with us to talk about the 4 systems ever business owner should have to ensure that their company is running safely and efficiently from the very beginning. To access the list of resourced discussed CLICK HERE. 

Chase Sellmeyer, the founder of Kanga Marketing, has always had an entrepreneurial spirit and drive start something of his own. From the time he was a kid, Chase loved making videos and telling stories, but the long-format ads that he started making over a decade ago don't cut it in the age of TikTok and instant gratification. Studies show that user-generated content (UGC) can launch your brand and drive sales since your customer is learning about you and your product or service from someone that they feel like they can trust, and the good news is that getting started with UGC can be extremely cost-effective. Additionally, in this conversation, Chase warns us about who to avoid when starting a business and other lessons he has learned throughout his career... watch out for those Tricky Tonys!To access the list of resourced discussed CLICK HERE. 

EP 9 is a continuation of our chat with Nathaniel Kendrick, the founder of The Kendrick Company, about 5 important e-commerce principles. Check out episode 8 to listen to Part I of this conversation, where Nate shares his story and spotlights the importance of knowing your customers and supply/demand.In the second half of our conversation, Nate explains how understanding the current economic trends and customer’s interpretation of value, can help business owners reevaluate and adjust their communication and distribution strategies. Currently, there are distribution channels being disrupted, supplier relationships have become more intense, and people are being more cautious about how they are spending money. Through examining those things, entrepreneurs can achieve a product-market fit and Nate gives guidance HOW.Resourced discussed click here.

E-commerce is booming right now, so we sat down with Nathaniel Kendrick and had a conversation about how entrepreneurs can plan for success online. Nate, the founder of The Kendrick Company, shared 5 important e-commerce principles that he learned through his experience as an entrepreneur, a marketer, and a business consultant.In the first part of our conversation, we discussed the importance of understanding the customers, market segments, and supply/demand. Identifying customer preferences, pain points, and demographics allow you to create niche products that speak to customers and solve their needs.Stay tuned for part II of our chat with Nathaniel which will be released in 2 weeks. We will touch on topics of timing, communication, and distribution. 

Take the first step to get yourself out of the chaos of day-to-day business by listening and learning from Robert Bohrer, founder of Stream Align. Running a business can be extremely overwhelming, but by creating processes that are both repeatable and reproducible, you can take a step back to focus on the ways you can add the most value to your business today while finding other people to help with the rest. 

Decisions you make as a business leader, don't just affect the bottom line, but the lives of those around you, whether it's your employees, customers, community members etc. This reality can bring stress and anxiety for many entrepreneurs. Dan Jarvis, Executive Directory of 22Zero, is on a mission to completely diminish veteran suicides in the U.S. each day from twenty-two to zero. Throughout his journey of healing and starting an organization to help others to find hope again, Dan has learned about the importance mental health, and has some steps that you can take to turn from fear-based decision making to rational decision making.