We all have a problem: We’re addicted to busyness. Busyness is a distraction that erodes our attention, drains our energy, and minimizes our effectiveness. Best-selling author and serial entrepreneur Jordan Raynor shares how we can overcome busyness and redeem our time.Jordan Raynor is a serial entrepreneur and national bestselling author who helps Christians do their most exceptional work for the glory of God and the good of others. Through his books, podcast, and weekly devotionals, Jordan has helped millions of Christians in every single country connect the gospel to their work.In addition to producing this content, Jordan serves as the executive chairman of Threshold 360, a venture-backed tech startup that has built the world’s most extensive library of 360° experiences of hotels, restaurants, and attractions.Time is the one resource we never seem to have enough of. Once it’s gone — it’s gone! We can earn more money, but we can never gain any more time. So who can show us how to make the most of our time?The gospels don’t show Jesus walking around with a to-do list or a calendar. But they do show him dealing with distractions at work, fighting for solitude, and seeking to be busy without being hurried. The  gospel biographies show Jesus facing many of the same challenges we face today as we seek to steward our limited time. And because he was infallible God, we can assume that Jesus managed his time perfectly, providing us with the ideal model to follow.In Jordan’s new book, Redeeming Your Time: 7 Biblical Principles for Being Purposeful, Present, and Wildly Productive, Jordan shows you 7 timeless time management principles from the life of Christ and 31 hyper-practical practices to help you live out those principles today. Listen for answers to the questions:If God’s grace is sufficient, why does it seem the amount of time we have to be insufficient?What’s the difference between being busy and being hurried?I don’t mind being purposefully busy, but I don’t want to be hurried. What principles and practice can you share with me to speak to that genuine tension I feel every day? Connect with Jordan Raynor:Order the best-selling book, Redeeming Your Time: 7 Biblical Principles for Being Purposeful, Present, and Wildly Productive on Amazon.Connect with Jordan at jordanraynor.com The Everybody Brands podcast is hosted by Brian Sooy, certified Brand Strategist and StoryBrand Guide.Everybody Brands gives you insight into branding and brand strategy that helps you focus on your customers and empowers you to outmaneuver your competition so you can achieve your company goals and grow your business.Find Brian Sooy’s books on Amazon.Book Brian to speak or help you grow your business at Aespire Brand Agency.

Everybody Brands with Brian Sooy

How to be Purposeful, Present, & Wildly Productive

Brand owners and marketers can learn a lot from... wait for it... recovering ministry professionals.Why are people drawn to brands that demonstrate credibility and trust? We might not have all the answers, but we talk about that question and more in this conversation between Jake Zufelt and Brand Strategist Brian Sooy.Jake is the founder of Weldwood Marketing, an agency that specializes in marketing for Realtors.  If you're a realty professional, you've got to hear what he has to say about how you market your business.It's not much different than what we say at Aespire.  If you're a frequent listener, you'll know what we say.  If not — listen now — for an insight that everybody who brands and markets their business needs to practice.We throw in the usual references to music, too.Find Jake at Weldwood Marketing.Get a poster of the 12 principles from the Aespire Brand Clarity Credo and a year’s worth of practices you can apply to your brand and business when you signup for the Clarity Credo at claritycredo.com

Building a Brand with Credibility and Trust

Not content to leave a pile of brand myths unkicked in the middle of the road, Andy Starr, Managing Partner of Level C, and Brian Sooy, Brand Strategist and Founder of Aespire Brands ask (and answer) questions about brand and branding.People don't understand why differentiation matters. What's the value? Why should someone who works in brand care about the brand being different? “What are the three questions every brand and business owner should ask?How do you know when an idea is innovative?This episode of the Everybody Brands podcast is Part Two of an extended conversation with Andy Starr, Managing Partner of Level C.Andy Starr is the managing partner of Level C, an education program teaching principles of modern brand to business professionals.  Andy co-founded Level C and with international brand expert and author Marty Neumeier.Andy calls himself a "provocateur-for-hire" at the intersection of education, business, and brand. He helps clients outmaneuver competition and conditions in their markets, and make marketing|advertising|PR|content work better, land stronger, and drive real results. Because he's a provocateur, you can understand why I invited Andy for a conversation about brand and business on the Everybody Brands podcast.  We mention Dune, Marty Neumeier, and make a connection between the practice of brandind and music that you don’t want to miss.Connect with Andy Starr atLevelC.orgAndy Starr on LinkedInBrian Sooy is the only dual-certified Level C Brand Strategist and StoryBrand Guide. He is the author of multiple books on brand, communications, and culture, and the agency principal of the Aespire Brands Agency.

How Can You Be Confident Your Idea is Innovative?

What is brand? What is branding? Why does it matter?This episode of the Everybody Brands podcast is Part One of an extended conversation with Andy Starr, Managing Partner of Level C.“We believe that the brand is defined by and owned by you. Branding is what we do what I as the owner of the business, it's what I do to influence you.”Andy Starr is the managing partner of Level C, an education program teaching principles of modern brand to business professionals.  Andy co-founded Level C and with international brand expert and author Marty Neumeier.Andy calls himself a "provocateur-for-hire" at the intersection of education, business, and brand. He helps clients outmaneuver competition and conditions in their markets, and make marketing|advertising|PR|content work better, land stronger, and drive real results. Because he's a provocateur, you can understand why I invited Andy for a conversation about brand and business on the Everybody Brands podcast.LevelC.orgAndy Starr on LinkedInBrian Sooy is the only dual-certified Level C Brand Strategist and StoryBrand Guide. He is the author of multiple books on brand, communications, and culture, and the agency principal of the Aespire Brands Agency.

You Own the Brand. I Own the Branding.

In this episode of the Everybody Brands podcast, we’re talking with Merrell Sheehan, the Vice President of Marketing, and Cole Godsey, Marketing Manager at Electronic Merchant Systems about how a B2B brand wins trust and earns customer loyalty through exemplary customer service and transparency (with a technique many businesses can do).EMSCorporate.comEMS on FacebookEMS on TwitterEMS on LinkedInEMS on YouTubeConnect with Merrell Sheehan or Cole Godsey on LinkedIn

How B2B Brands Win Trust and Earn Loyalty

Stephanie Owens is a Certified Brand Strategist and the founder of Gold Sheep Design, a collaborative branding and design studio based in Southern California that helps musicians and instrument makers grow crowds of super fans by cranking their brands to 11.In Part 2 of this two-part episode, we talk about how any business can crank their brand to 11..Stephanie is a self-described Introverted rocker helping musicians grow crowds of super fans by cranking their brands to 11.Get to know Stephanie atGold Sheep Designon LinkedInon InstagramBuild a brand that inspires your fans to listen, trust, and buy with Certified Brand Specialist and StoryBrand Certified Guide Brian Sooy from Aespire, the brand agency that helps family-lead business and ESOPs implement the StoryBrand framework. You can build a beloved brand that engages customers, reduce sales costs, and grow revenue when you work with Aespire.

Crank Your Brand to 11, Change People's Lives Part 2

Stephanie Owens is a Certified Brand Strategist and the founder of Gold Sheep Design, a collaborative branding and design studio based in Southern California that helps musicians and instrument makers grow crowds of super fans by cranking their brands to 11.In part one of this two-part episode, we talk about how businesses in the music world can crank their brand to 11.She's a self-described Introverted rocker helping musicians grow crowds of super fans by cranking their brands to 11.Get to know Stephanie atGold Sheep Designon LinkedInon InstagramBuild a brand that inspires your fans to listen, trust, and buy with Certified Brand Specialist and StoryBrand Certified Guide Brian Sooy from Aespire, the brand agency that helps people implement the StoryBrand framework and build beloved brands that engage customers, reduce sales costs, and grow revenue.

Crank Your Brand to 11, Change People's Lives

What is the difference between marketing and branding?It's ridiculous to argue about what's more important, branding or marketing. It's important to understand the difference between branding and marketing so you know how they work together to attract, inspire, and engage customers and create raving fans. In this episode, Brian discusses the definition of brand and marketing, and shows you how your brand can align with the principles from Donald Miller's book, Business Made Simple.Read this podcast episode at Aespire.com(I recommend listening to Chris Do discuss the merits of both marketing and branding with Melinda Livsey and Fabian Geyrhalter).

The Difference Between Branding and Marketing

In this special episode of the Everybody Brands podcast, Cleveland businessman and National Director of WEC, Intl., John Murtha and Brian Sooy have a conversation about faith-driven business, entrepreneurship, and why everybody who works is essential.This episode is different from most others on this podcast — you'll learn about Brian's background, his faith story, and his passion for helping entrepreneurs grow and experience the joy of their faith — whether they are the CEO or someone who pushes a broom.John and Brian dig deep into why work matters, how you can integrate your faith at work, and if Brian's forthcoming book, Essential: Finding Worth in your Work During Uncertain Times, a 30-day devotional, is prophetic for times like these.Enjoy a 5-day devotional sample when you subscribe to Essential: Finding Worth in your Work exclusively from Bible.com and the YouVersion app. 

Faith, Entrepreneurship, and Essential Work

In this episode of the Everybody Brands podcast, we have a conversation with Mind State Group founder Will Leach on how making fast emotional connections with people will help your brand win trust and resonate with people’s hearts and minds.Will knows what it what it's like and how it feels to hold your breath every time you launch advertising, and how crushing it is when the campaign you worked on so hard just crashes and burns. With over 25 years of experience in corporate America, Will has worked with some of the biggest brands in the world and conducted hundreds of research studies. His best-selling book, Marketing to Mindstates generated six figures in just six months of launching, (which makes me jealous). Marketing to Mindstates is one of the leading resources on behavioral and science-based marketing today.Connect with Will atMindstate GroupWill Leach on Twitter Will Leach on LinkedInConnect with Brian Sooy from Aespire atAespire.comon Marketing Made SimpleBrian Sooy on LinkedInBrian Sooy's books on Amazon

How Your Brand Can Build Trust and Make an Emotional Connection

Take two for the first international Everybody Brands episode with Eddie Biroun, a copywriter who happens to design. Eddie helps businesses attract more leads, create more customers and increase profits through brand building and sales messaging. Eddie has achieved results across 16 different markets, including financial insurance, real estate, automobile education, entertainment and fitness, and he's worked with brands like Sotheby's, Toyota, and Volvo. Eddie and host Brian Sooy are both passionate about brands and branding. We both approach brands and branding from similar and different directions, with a common mentor in one of the world's leading branding experts. Connect with Eddie onInstagramEddieBiroun.comMentioned in this episode:Marty NeumeierRaise Your Voice: A Cause Manifesto

How Brands Empower Consumers and Build Relationships

Purpose, mission, and vision statements can be confusing. It's rare to find two organizations that agree on common usage, definition and application of the words. It can be even more confusing to understand why each word is relevant, and how each component relates to one another. Some organizations tend to substitute their mission and vision for their purpose. If you want your audience to connect with your mission, you need to communicate with clarity about why, what, and how you are creating value and impact.In this companion podcast the popular article, The Difference Between Purpose, Mission, and Vision, Brian Sooy unpacks the difference between purpose and mission, the difference between mission, and vision, and why impact is ultimately what matters.A good mission statement and vision statement are best suited for internal organizational guidance. Purpose keeps you focused on why you exist, vision aligns you with your goal, and mission empowers how you will accomplish it. Done well, it will inspire and motivate you every day, and just might inspire your audience.

The Difference Between Purpose, Mission, and Vision

Purpose lifts us at the end of the day beyond the tasks we have accomplished and the goals we have achieved to the belief that we have not just added value, but we've achieved something of significance in pursuit of something greater. This is perfect episode for anybody who's in a leadership position. It's perfect right now for organizations who are finding the need to adapt what they're doing and align new things in an economic crisis and during COVID-19 with their purpose. Get clarity for your purpose, vision, and marketing message at Aespire.com/storybrandConnect with Brian Sooy on LinkedIn or Twitter

Three Dimensions of Purpose, Leadership, and Culture

In this episode of the Everybody Brands Podcast we have a conversation with Wes Gay about how we should define a brand and what a marketer or business owner focus on now, especially in uncertain times: branding or marketing. Wes Gay is the founder of Wayfinder and a StoryBrand Certified Guide & Copywriter. Wes’ experience as a former pastor gives him the empathy and credibility to help leaders create a clearer message for their companies using the StoryBrand Framework.Wes worked in churches and nonprofits for 10 years, including running a thrift store.  Wes began his journey to entrepreneurship the way many of us do: He had been unemployed for about six months and couldn't get anywhere after coming out of a difficult kind of church experience. Little did he know three and a half years later being a copywriter and marketing consultant would become his real job. While Wes and Brian approach their work from different backgrounds, both guide companies integrate and implement the StoryBrand framework, a storytelling and marketing model that is proven to help any business or brand to create clear messaging and grow through consistent implementation.Wes and Brian talk about how we should define a brand and the interplay between the disciplines of branding and marketing.“How we talk about ourselves in the verbal version of branding is something that a lot of smaller and big businesses struggle to figure out. Most branding agencies only focus on the visual stuff. How are you going to talk about yourself in a way where people care, and people understand either the problem you solve or the solution you provide?”Connect with Wes Gay atWesGay.comWes Gay on LinkedInThis episode is brought to you by Websites Made Simple.  Download a free ebook, 8 Things Every Website Needs to Engage Customers, to find out what simple changes you can make so your website helps you grow your business and make more money.

Uncertain Marketing in Uncertain Times: A Conversation with Wes Gay

David Lemley has had a creative and strategic hand in shaping some of the world’s most iconic brands including Starbucks, REI, Pampers, and Nintendo. As the Founder and Chief Strategist of Seattle-based Retail Voodoo, David is on a mission to help better-for-you brands win customer’s hearts, minds, and souls. He partners with marketers, investors, and founder-owners to unlock the power of their brand’s promise to engage consumers, spark innovation, identify opportunity, and drive exponential growth.This episode is brought to you by Aespire Websites Made Simple, the visual website builder that helps you build a professional site that grows with your business.David Lemley published his first book, Beloved and Dominant Brands: The Brand Ecosystem that Drives Better-for-you Brands from One of Many to Category Prominence, a highlight of the very first model David and Retail Voodoo uses in their brand strategy development process.Some of the questions David and Brian discuss include:In an age where people care more about “what's in it for me,” are you finding that consumers are still really tied in with the “Why?”Based on industry and a culture perspective, how do you define branding?What are some of the myths that you encounter around branding?What do you tell someone who doesn't believe their brand is a valuable business asset?How can a business and brand do a better job of using story to keep promises?As you listen, you’ll learn about a mutual colleague whom David counts as a major influence on his thinking and interviews in Beloved and Dominant Brands.Find David Lemley and his work at:Retail-voodoo.comBuy Beloved and Dominant Brands: The Brand Ecosystem that Drives Better-for-you Brands from One of Many to Category Prominence on Amazon.Find podcast host Brian Sooy at Aespire Branding and Marketing, LinkedIn, and Amazon.

Beloved and Dominant Brands: A Conversation with David Lemley

The Everybody Brands podcast helps you build a brand that inspires people to listen, trust, and act so your business grows. Brand Clarity for purpose, character, culture, and voice to help you create a beloved brand. Hosted by Brian Sooy — Brand Strategist, Author, and StoryBrand Certified Guide.