Adventures In Branding

The Triangle area in North Carolina includes Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Durham - Mary and I stopped at the beautiful Umstead Hotel & Spa in Raleigh to chat with the local lady residents. Mary-Ann Baldwin, Suzanne Miglucci and Jennifer Hoverstad gave us three different perspectives on life, politics, infertility, and business. We wondered why people ask “innocent questions” about younger women and their position on having children while some aren’t interested in having kids and others are struggling with infertility. We talked through getting into the political game locally and how each of these ladies got to the place they are in their careers We even got a chance to talk about knowing your value and learning how to choose the right mentor for you. Most of us have a hard time asking for help, saying what we mean, and then we end up inviting our frenemies over for dinner - why? Sometimes we have to listen for the pivotal moments and grab them when they show up. Listen in to hear their favorite books and di

Driving from DC through Virginia to the Carolinas, Mary and I had a LOT of time on our hands. Lots of discussions about the podcast, the women we were meeting, and the adventures we were having caused us to want to record ourselves talking. So, with the iPhone recording through the MINI speakers, we started sharing answers to the question: What would you tell your 18yo self? Thankfully, we have a kickass podcast producer Tony Porreco who knows how to edit. He took our 30 minute conversation down to a few bite-sized minutes of the two of us sharing our adult advice with our 18 year old self. Also, we went ziplining at GoApe (yes, we paid full-price and no, they didn’t sponsor us to say this) and had a blast! The lovely Cheney put together a video of the hilarity of our treetop adventures with Raleigh resident, Lisa Sullivan. Watch & laugh here: http://bit.ly/HERplaylist What would you tell YOUR 18-year-old self? We want to know!

Greenville, South Carolina is an underrated city with infinite possibilities. When Mary and I drove into this adorable downtown, we knew we were going to find too many things to do for our short stay. Exploring the downtown area with waterfalls and excellent restaurants, cycling on the Swamp Rabbit Trail thanks to PedalChic, and enjoying the local wine shop, we had the chance to chat with two sets of Greenville residents. They told us all about why they love the city but also gave us a look into their personal lives. First, we met Marion Crawford, Jennifer Sutton, and Robin Bylenga at a wine shop and discussed everything from entrepreneurship and business to marriage and why long walks with friends are the key to sanity. These three founders & CEO’s share about the intricate balance of relationships while also running successful businesses. The next day, after I spoke at the AAF Greenville meeting, Mary and I chatted with Sara Shumpert, Courtney Mitchell, Robyn Zimmerman, and Peyton Fish. We learned that

Fierce competitors become fiercely loyal coworkers. You don’t hear THAT every day - especially not when it’s a group of women. Mary and I made our way to Charlotte, NC where I spoke at the American Marketing Association marketing workshop. Three ladies sat down in the front row and quickly became super engaged in this workshop. Afterward, I asked for volunteers for the podcast and no one came up. When we walked out, these three ladies were so full of laughter, you could tell they had stories to tell. We were thrilled when they agreed to rock HERadventures with us and found out later they were competitors who had become coworkers through their employers’ recent acquisitions. When we sat down with Carrie-Ann Kulinski, Messina Truttman, and Rachelanne Hansen, we realized these three ladies weren’t just coworkers, but friends. At a roundtable in the back of a busy hotel conference center, we shared life, advice, and love with each other and the podcast. Discussing everything from fixing furnaces, raising large fa

Welcome to HERadventures: the women-focused side of Adventures in Branding! Earlier this year, I jumped in Roxie Jean, the Hotrod Machine with my good friend & photographer extraordinaire, Mary Gardella, and embarked on a weeklong adventure to Virginia and the Carolinas. Logging hundreds of miles, we interviewed 15 rockstar women about their own personal brands and professional journeys, examining just what it means to be a woman today, in life AND in the workplace. We even went ziplining! “Fear is invited to come along but Fear is not allowed to drive, choose the songs on the radio, select the snacks, or suggest detours.” - Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic In this inaugural episode of HERadventures, Mary and I got together to reminisce and rehash our epic road trip. We get to share our perspective and what we learned as a result of our crazy adventure, touching on everything from Jennifer Aniston’s recent Huffington Post article to the role fear plays in our lives. PODCAST EPISODE HERE Who was the most inf

Finding little celebrations in every day stuff This podcast started because the topic of purpose and personal branding had become a huge part of every day conversation. Over the last 10 weeks, we've been Finding things.  Finding You: Because hating yourself is so yesterday Finding Strength: Tell those little demons to fly off. Finding Space: To notice the little things. Finding Uncomfortable: There's comfort there. Finding Adulthood: What's the big deal anyway? Finding Magic: You already have what it takes to discover your own magic. Finding Dreams: Our biggest regrets will not be the things we did. Finding Alignment: Life changes. What's your reset button? Finding Confidence: It's time to trust yourself again. Finding Commitment: Stop Quitting. Start Committing. As we wrap up the Finding series, Cheney and I chat about how the series got started, what we learned from it, and how we celebrate the little things every day. We even wrap up the whole thing with our very own happy dances! What did you get out

Have you ever heard a speech about someone who had something horrible happen to them and it changed their life? Cancer, a car accident, an injury, a fight, a sickness, a relationship ending, being arrested. They get up on stage and start with how it all changed for them. My goal in this life is to never have to give that speech because I was in control of my life being amazing and nothing had to happen to me to change it. One of my other goals is to make sure others are living their lives in a way that they won’t have to either. Many people think about things they need to give up or quit or get rid of - those habits they want to be done with. But how many times do we say we're going to do it and then decide it's not really as big of a deal. So we keep doing that thing. We keep going back to it with guilt and the feeling that we really can't stop doing it because (insert excuse here).  Most of the time, these are just stories. Stories we tell ourselves because we're human. And that's where those speeches come

It's time to trust yourself. Quite a few people have told me recently that when they first meet me they're a little intimidated by me. But after chatting, I find out that it's because they want to show up as confident as I do. They say they can tell I don't care what others think of me.  Little secret: I do care what people think about me. Because I care about people. But showing up with confidence is not meant to be intimidating. A conference attendee recently confided that when I got on stage in my little black dress & heels (yes, I dress up sometimes) to deliver a speech she immediately hated me because of how "perfect" I seemed. And by the end of the talk, she wanted to be my friend. Because of how I was real and unafraid to be imperfect in front of an audience of really smart people. When I pressed her more about herself, I heard all of her insecurities, her hurts, and how much her past was affecting her future. But her past could be used as a motivator to get where she wants to go instead of a detra

  What happens when you have a well-defined brand, but it’s not really YOU anymore? Sometimes the brand that you started out with  —  the one that got you out there and paid  — looked like success. But if it’s not you anymore, you can feel trapped inside your own brand. And what’s worse is that you’re attracting people but they’re not YOUR people.   It’s hard to crawl back from misalignment. Life changes and so does your brand. Finding alignment means finding what floats your boat and then getting out there and doing that thing - whatever your thing is. If circumstances have changed, or you’ve evolved in other ways, finding alignment is all about your destiny in your own way. It takes guts to live “on brand.”  Struggling people (and businesses) in a brand crisis are in misalignment. And that can lead to mistrust. If this feels “too real,” stop the presses and boil everything down to what is really at the essence or the core of your brand. That’s the hard part. But it’s so worth it. When you know who you are,

Our biggest regrets will not be the things we did. Creating this podcast was not a dream of mine but I knew I had to do it. Getting it started was terrifying for me (and you know this if you listened to the first few) but if I wanted to accomplish everything I’ve been dreaming of, I had to do it. It was my little big step that will end up allowing me to get where I want to go. When we get to the end of our lives, our biggest regrets will not be the things we did, but the things we didn’t do. Inactions = huge regrets. One of our core values at Sisarina is Dream Bigger. It’s not because your dreams are too small - it’s because you’re meant to have big dreams. Your purpose is to live a big life - whatever that “big life” is for you. What is the thing that you can accomplish today that will get you where you want to be someday? This series, Finding, is all about you. It’s about finding your light - from the inside out. It’s about finding yourself, your joy, your strength, your purpose, your direction, and your

  It’s not what you do but what you seek out. Magic will keep showing up – if you let it. It’s not just about holding the door open. You’ve got to make space for it. Surround yourself with the people who want your heart to sing. Make real connections. Live human to human, not business card to business card.  The world is here to help you, not hurt you. When you stop looking at life as something that happens TO you, you get this awesome thing called agency. It gives you power. Power to show up and show off. Power to surround yourself with rockstar humans who help you create magic. We need other people for real balance. It takes a village. Truth. You can’t make magic happen without interacting with other people. Be real and let other people be real. Keep making the space for it, and magic WILL happen. Let down your guard. Keeping your walls up and people out only sells the world short of your awesomeness. This series, Finding, is all about you. It’s about finding your light - from the inside out. It’s about fin

If your 13-year-old self came to the current you, what would you have to say for yourself? Thinking about how our teenaged-selves would judge our modern-day selves gives us a lot to chew on. How many of our God-given talents have faded into the background and become something more like how we’re told we “should” do things? But how stoked would our tiny selves be with our families, careers, and friendships now? No schooling can fully prepare us for this insanity called Adulthood. The end of high school or college opens up a world of independence, whether we’re ready for it or not. We get our knees scraped & scarred in the time it takes to get from graduate to grown-up. Just because your grown-up report card isn’t all A’s doesn’t mean you haven’t done a great job. We’re all out there, trying to find our way – without a guidebook. Get the idea out of your head that our friends shouldn’t see (or hear) about our failures and wrecks. Check in with your inner child about how you’re doing with this thing called l

What if the only thing that you are missing is accountability? Risk-takers need a kick in the pants, too. Find comfort in being uncomfortable. It’s where growth happens. “This is the way that we’ve always done it” and “just in case” are some of the most dangerous phrases in the English language. If you’re feeling paralyzed to act, you’re in good company. It doesn’t feel great to be uncomfortable – but that’s not a club you want to belong to. Instead, seek out the people who make space for real, raw, honest feedback and brace yourself, ‘cause the changes are a comin.’ It’s for your own good. “Should-ing” on yourself is Bullsh*t, or BeigeSh*t, as we like to call it. If you aren’t doing things deliberately “on purpose” because you’re doing what other people think you should do, then you are most likely “stuck”. You’re trapped in a static, deceptively comfortable state of UNcomfort. Rocking the boat is a scary thought – but so is choosing to remain in pain. Change the story. Instead of being comfortable with the

What are we all missing because we aren't really here? A minute is SO long when you're doing nothing. A minute is SO short when you have everything to do. How many minutes are we not thoroughly being a part of because we're rushing through everything we need to do? How much are we really missing from life? Everything is asking for our attention these days. Everything wants us to look at it but nothing needs us more than space. Our phones are going off with loads of notifications. We have anxiety, worry, frustration, heartache, anger, fear - and so much of this can be dissipated by taking a deep breath and letting it pass you by. Taking that moment to realize it's going to be ok. This series, Finding, is all about you. It’s about finding your light - from the inside out. It’s about finding yourself, your joy, your strength, your purpose, your direction, and your freedom. This week is about Finding Space. I finished Rob Bell's book How To Be Here and realized how much I don't sit and enjoy the moment. So, I cha

Tell the demons to fly off. "Today, I realized that I need my own Melanie.” - last week's status update on my Facebook page. I had a sudden realization that I was empty. I had run out of inspiration and needed someone to inspire me. I needed someone to hug me, tell me that I’m amazing, and tell me to pick myself up off the floor and do the thing. (My mom lives too far away to do it, but she definitely tried.) I needed someone to tell me that the little voices flitting around inside my head weren’t telling the truth. “You’re going to fail. You’re not good enough. No one likes you. You are dumb. No one cares what you think. Don’t bother." But those little demons are BLEEP-holes. Loud ones. You’ve heard them before. We all have. The demons start telling us the things we don’t need to be hearing and we LISTEN to them. Then it becomes a loop. An endless loop that won’t leave our heads. WHY!? Why do we listen? Oh yeah, because we’re human. And this negative self-talk, these thoughts, these mini "Debbie Downers," th

You know what’s really hard to hear? “I hate myself.” SMASH. That’s not ok. No one should ever feel that way. When we were thinking of what this podcast should be about, I was perplexed. I had so many topics and wanted to find a way to generate more business for Sisarina. We thought about how we could teach people brand and strategy. We came up with ways to share marketing tips. We even thought it might be interesting to make it workshop-y. None of it fit. Until one day I had enough of people moping around talking about how much they hated their lives. Hated their bodies. Hated their jobs. Hated themselves. CRASH. As soon as people start talking about the things they hate about themselves, I fly into overdrive and want to do anything in my power to help put their ship back together and out to sea. Want to know why? I’m here to be a lighthouse. I don’t want anyone to smash on the shore. I want everyone on the ocean sailing exactly the way they’re supposed to be sailing. In whatever sized ship they’re meant to

Have you ever had a job you hated? Have you ever had to hire someone? The frustration of the process of getting a job is so similar to going to the DMV. It’s the same frustration level on both sides. We can’t fix the DMV but we CAN rock the hiring process. The Sisarina Crew gets together at the Bikram Podcasting Studio (ha!) at Sisarina HQ to share the horrible things they’ve seen at their own jobs, the insanity of the hiring process, and what they've had to do to pay rent. We talk about how culture = profitability, how to research to make sure you’re the right fit for the job, and also how to make sure employees are happy. In this episode, you’ll find out why the Sisarina Crew likes to hang out together and how that camaraderie changes the perspective you have on the normal weekday drudgery. We even leave you with our top tips for how to find the best possible job for you. Shoutout to Rob Bell and the RobCast at the very end.

You've been working on your purpose. You've figured out what you want to do with your life. But what happens next? How do you make sure your purpose flows through every part of you? Rebecca & I let you in on the secrets of discovering your calling, the touchpoints in your personal AND business brand, finding your ambition, and knowing what the heck to do with it all. We discuss people who are living on purpose, how Rebecca pushed me outside my comfort zone to think about my own purpose, her journey from fat-shaming herself to coming out, and both of us stepping fully into our own design. Rebecca even surprised me with how her mom forecasted what she was meant to do - and her mom was RIGHT! In this episode, you'll hear more about how you have to get off the couch and DO something. You can't skip to step 82, you have to start at step 1.

What if you could flip the script and interview The Boss? You learn all the things about the person with the vision. As the number onest number two, I (Rebecca) get the unique opportunity to sit down with Melanie Spring and ask the same questions that we ask of all potential crew members. Oh yeah, she’s hired! Melanie tells me how communication is the linchpin to working with her. She opens up about how she deals with people who tell her that she’s too much and how she reigns her big energy and puts it to good use. Find out what motivates the Queen of Inspiration and how she is learning from folks in unexpected ways. In this episode, you’ll get the inside scoop on what Melanie’s friends are saying about her, and how she makes her mom proud. Plus, you’ll hear firsthand just how awesome a Boss Lady can be -- especially when her name is Melanie Spring! -xoxo, Rebecca

Being Yourself, Staying Inspired, and Loving Every Minute What happens when you bring an ex-entrepreneur on as your second in command? You get sh*t done! Rebecca Gunter and I have known each other for YEARS. When she joined the Sisarina Crew in August 2015, we had no idea she would go from being a momentary fill-in to our Chief Coffee Officer rocking projects, front-line sales, and general rockstardom in branding. And I get to interview her on the podcast! Rebecca brings her full self to the microphone and tells us about her how her 8-year-old daughter Lucinda’s energy and her dad thriving with Dementia keeps her inspired. Lately, Rebecca is learning a ton about cultural things, #thingsmillennialsdo, and technology from the younger generation around her along with marketing, copywriting, and branding. Tony, our podcast producer, snuggles with her, she comes out of the closet & tells us how she's decided to love herself as she is, and explains how she knows what people need before they know themselves. In