One of the best compliments anyone ever paid to me actually had to do with this podcast. I was walking down the street in New York with my girlfriend at the time, and we were talking about the origins of how I started this show. I was recanting about the things I had gone through, pitching the idea to Wired, setting everything up on the technical side, designing the website, and lining up people to interview and topics to talk about. Now that it is up and running a weekly routine, sometimes I forget how much effort went into the initial setup.
We stopped for a moment and she looked over at me and said,
“You never once thought about what would happen if it failed, did you?”
It was an interesting question… one that caught me by surprise and made me stop and really think about the answer, transporting myself back through time to put myself in that place when I was just starting out. I thought long and hard, did an honest assessment, and then gave her my answer:
Some people spend their entire careers building toward that one, life-fulfilling, amazing job.
Others will look back as they retire and be able to point to some good jobs, some great jobs, and a few missteps.
But in looking at the career path that 27-year-old Soraya Darabi has already taken so far, it could serve as a blueprint for “How to develop a well-rounded social media resume in the digital age.”
In fact, it is interesting enough that going through her career progression was all that was needed in terms of structure for this interview. As time ran out on us, I knew I wouldn’t get to address a topic that she explores often — the challenges women face as entrepreneurs and the advantages of being a woman in business.
Thus, we didn’t get to delve into what it was like being featured as one of the young rising female stars on the cover of a prominent business/technology magazine, but hey, I’d already been down that road before.
Ironically, we glossed over her first job where we briefly worked together, when she was a Communications Coordinator at CondeNet (now Conde Nast Digital).
And while no job is perfect, here is why Conde Nast is such a great place to work… you get exposure to so many aspects of a business that you can’t leave here without furthering your career.
The overarching mothership has its roots in the publishing industry for sure (making it great for writers, editors, designers, and fashionistas), but their drive into the digital space has been prominent (and in some cases, dominant), giving Generation Y a playground for web designers, writers, and engineers, not to mention iPhone, iPad, and social media platforms. For someone looking to work in PR/Communications, the strength of Conde’s brands goes a long way.
When it comes to resolutions, everyone makes a big deal around New Years Day.
But what about the six month mark? The halfway point? 188 days in as I post this.
How many people revisit their goals and take a look at where they are heading?
So this week is going to be a bit different. Sure, it could be because we’re coming off a long weekend (4th of July) and I’m heading into a long weekend (Friday day off).
And it could be because I often read blogs that step back every few posts and talk about real life.
So today I’m going to bypass social media, interviews, and marketing speak, and get back to basics.
Because if you don’t take a step back and evaluate things once in awhile, you’re not going to perform at peak output when it’s time to tackle that next project. I was going to call this “14 key words for entrepreneurs,” but I think it is true for everyone. So whether you are burnt out at your job, have social media fatigue, or are thrilled to be starting a new project, check out:
14 Words to Live By (In groups of two)
(Listen to the podcast for my full discussion on each topic)
Eat Right
If you picture your body as a finely-tuned car, then you need to put the right fuel in to perform. This isn’t about going on a diet. It’s about taking the extra step and making healthy choices. If you can avoid super-sizing and choose the salad over fries once in awhile, it will add up.
I also urge you to get out of new habits and try new foods, and make time to plan long meals with friends and truly savor good food, instead of plopping down in front of the TV and wolfing down a Hot Pocket.
Let’s face it. We all have PLENTY of ways to meet other people ONLINE.
What we really need are more ways to meet people socially — in real life.
- Studies show that up to 80% of jobs are found through networking.
- Salespeople have long known that face-to-face meetings are crucial. People like to buy from people they like and people they’ve met.
- While online dating has exploded and the chances of meeting your soulmate in a bar after 2am dwindle, the sweet spot of putting yourself in social situations with people you have things in common with is a pretty good option.
- And finally, if we all don’t stop spending 12 hours a day staring at some kind of screen, a little bit of our soul gets lost.
That’s what makes GrubWith.Us, a new service that is using the power of the web and social media to get people interacting over great meals, so interesting.
Jim interviews Byron Bennett, owner of a NYC chocolate shop about how a small business uses Facebook, Twitter, QR codes, Websites, and his experience with Groupon.
It’s one thing for media companies to be on social media, but lately I’ve been fascinated with how small businesses are doing this. I met with Byron Bennett, the owner of The Chocolate Library, a small-business in Manhattan’s East Village and we discuss the challenges he faces.
Besides, he just happened to bring along some of his amazing inventory of chocolates from around the world. He tells me that 97% of people enjoy chocolate.
Count me in as one of them.
Summary of Topics covered:
BACKGROUND
- Byron’s background at a wine store before he started this business
- Why wine stores and supermarkets need a kiosk to help shoppers
- The similarities between wine and chocolate
- The effect of luxury goods during a recession
- The story behind the “library” classification in his store, and how he ended up on The New York Times.
Jim interviews Michelle Ward, aka The When I Grow Up Coach, who explains exactly what a life coach is, and how she helps creatives going through career transitions.
What the heck is a “Life Coach” and why would I need one? Well, this week Jim interviews certified life coach Michelle Ward, also known as The When I Grow Up Coach, to find out her journey and answer those questions.
Summary of Topics covered:
- Michelle’s lifelong passion for theater and entertainment, leading to a cameo on Saturday Night Live and (off, off) Broadway
- Her transition away from the arts and into a “grown up” job
- The intense, unmistakable moment that she knew she could not work at her full-time job another day
- Her transition and training as a certified life coach, leading to helping more than 100 creative people devise the career they think they can’t have
- How she has expanded her business from 1:1 coaching to group sessions and workshops
- The development of “Operation Creative Career Cheer,” a 50-page illustrated rhyming career change workbook
- Yes, a rhyming career change workbook. I told you she was in theater, right?
We also discuss
- How she uses social media and referrals to get clients
- Who should go to a life coach, and how they will benefit
- Macro trends of people overwhelmed at work and wanting to get out of the cubicle
- How are millennials approaching their career differently than others
- How do they measure the ROI of a lifecoach
- Examples of success stories, from Israel to Japan to Minnesota
Today I interview Michael Margolis, and he tells us how to tap into your superhero origins to create the most important page on your website – your About Me page.
- Download the podcast via iTunes
- Download the podcast to your computer (Right click, Save As) - Play it below:
Podcast Transcript: 5/10/2011
Hi, this is Jim Hopkinson; I’m your Marketing Guy, bringing you the marketing trends that matter. Welcome!
Today I interview Michael Margolis, and he tells us how to tap into your “superhero origins” to create the most important page on your website, your “About Me” page.
Jim Hopkinson: Hey everybody, this is Jim, welcome to the podcast. Today I have a fantastic guest, Michael Margolis, who is the dean of Story University and the creator of a new program called, “The New About Me.” So, welcome, Michael.
Michael Margolis: Hey, what’s happening, Jim?
JH: So, you’re kind of out on a personal mission to help people reinvent their bio as a story. So, talk about that for a second.
MM: Yeah, you know, I think part of it for me is; I sort of think about this as personal branding minus the icky stuff. I started realizing my own journey over the last few years; I went through a lot of reinvention in my career, and I’d always been a story teller. But part of what was missing for me is I think personal branding, in many ways, it’s sort of has made a lot of us kind of feel kind of gross. Or sort of like, “Ahhh, do I have to be that obnoxious person who’s like, look at me, look at me, aren’t I cool?” Jim, I don’t know if you realize how much of a big deal I really am.
JH: [Laughter] Yeah, do you have a podcast, do you have like an icon with your photo on it, like I do? “Look at me, right?”
MM: Well, unfortunately, actually, I do like, I’ve got T-shirts and I’ve got mugs and I’ve got a manifesto and a blog, and I’ve got all sorts of stuff. But, it’s less about having the stuff and it’s more about your persona and how do you share more about who you are in a way that people can actually connect with you and relate to you.
JH: Yeah, cause it’s really hard right now, a lot of people have used social media to do this, right? It’s a great thing – you can have your own podcast, your own blog, you can have a Tumblr account and do videos, and it’s a great thing and you want to share this, but, you don’t want to be “that guy”, right?
Jim gives his take from the Wired Business Conference
- Download the podcast via iTunes
- Download the podcast to your computer (Right click, Save As) - Play it below:
On Tuesday May 3 I had the privilege of attending the third annual Wired Business Conference in New York City, “live tweeting” from the @WiredBiz Twitter account.
A lot went on and there were some impressive speakers with fantastic insights.
In the podcast, I look at 6 take-aways from some of the world’s best thought-leaders:
Speaker: Bill Gates
Takeaway: Money+Brains = a good thing
I came away very impressed with Mr. Gates. He said that the amount of IQ being spent thinking about energy now vs 20 years ago is night and day. I’m glad that he is one of the brains thinking about this.
Jim gives his observations from the NY Auto Show. Is the industry advancing, or is it all just marketing bling?
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
Episode #150! Thanks to everyone that has read the blog and listened to the podcast over the years.
It seems things have come full circle… In Episode #1 of the Hopkinson Report podcast, I compared the iPhone to a Porsche, and asked, “Has the iPhone reached ‘no substitute’ status?”
Well, the iPhone is still going strong, with Apple on track to make $100 billion dollars in 2011. It sold 18.65 million iPhones in the quarter, an eye-popping 113 percent increase over last year, destroying Wall Street’s consensus estimate of 16.6 million units.
As for Porsche, I get to them a little later.
When I talk about marketing cars, I think the interesting thing is that companies have to market them all the time. A user might buy a car only once every 3, 5, or even 10 years, so car companies have to be building this brand and trust constantly.
This week I interview entrepreneur John Murch and his motto, JFDI.
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
John Murch is a good friend and well, a lot like me. He’s a geek at heart, a fellow Computer Science major, and his interests include SEO, entrepreneurship, Tim Ferriss, cars, the iPad, SXSW, and helping others with their projects.
We co-founded a meetup group called NYC Masterminds to bring together people in the world of design, social media, internet marketing, programming, and app development, and well, if we could just find some more time away from working on our projects, we’d host more meetings.
The intention of our meetup group was to help people find and develop side projects and get them off the ground.
For me, it was my salary negotiation class, which eventually became an eBook, and then was picked up by a mainstream publisher (Salary Tutor goes live on Amazon on April 1, 2011!).
John has a very different and unique product: uBlanket, a site that allows you to take your old favorite t-shirts and convert them into the ultimate curl-up-on-your-couch-and-watch-The-Dark-Night blanket.
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