Sarah Apgar burst into the Shark Tank and rode out on a tidal wave, earning nearly a million dollars in revenue during the month following her successful pitch. I was awed watching her gracefully throw her signature Steelhouse into the air while seamlessly delivering a two-minute opening pitch, in a fabulous red jumper to boot. Robert Herjavec captured my sentiments exactly, calling her “one of the most impressive human beings we’ve ever seen.”

Although it may seem like a lucky break, in this conversation Sarah shares how her years of organic product development, pivoting during the pandemic, and 30 days of diligent practice helped ensure she captured this “lightening in a bottle,” setting her up to become the billion-dollar brand that matches her biggest vision.

http://itsfreetime.com/episodes/011

John Lee Dumas (JLD) is the founder and host of the award-winning podcast, Entrepreneurs on Fire. Past guests include Tony Robbins, Barbara Corcoran, and Gary Vaynerchuk, with over 1 million monthly listens of his 3,000+ episodes, His new book is The Common Path to Uncommon Success: A Roadmap to Financial Freedom and Fulfillment.

For the first time this month after six years of podcasting, you may notice something new: ads. This week I’m sharing my behind-the-business logic on “going pro,” with ads as one piece of my strategy to turn this show into a primary source of income. That way I can dedicate more time and energy to it, creating the best possible content for all of you!

I share why I switched to Megaphone for hosting, and why I opted into their ads marketplace despite years of resisting ads in general (a big piece of that was not wanting to negatively impact your listening experience!). My thoughts on host-read ads haven’t changed: I must authentically love and use that product or service in order to talk about something with full integrity.

It’s the soap with unforgettable packaging: tiny print with big messages. That’s Dr. Bronner’s — a company that instantly captivated me with their 6 Cosmic Principles centered around the idea of “All-One.” Their “Cosmic Principles define our most important relationships, and guide us in everything we do, from soap-making to peacemaking.” Check out the Heal Soul label for just one recent example, on supporting psychedelic-assisted therapies. Join me in conversation with Dr. Gero Leson, VP of Special Operations and author of Honor Thy Label, on navigating the complexity of a global values-based business that truly walks its talk.

For so many of us, growth is not our driving metric. There are 30 million small business owners in the U.S. who have no full-time employees. We are deliberately keeping operations small to optimize instead for sanity, freedom, and abundance. Elaine has spent the last several years studying the “Olympic athletes of one-person million-dollar businesses,” people who tend to value their time more than money. In 2019, 40,000 “non-employer firms” brought in $1 million to $2.5 million. 585,000 non-employer firms brought in $250K to $500K in revenue, and 2 million non-employer firms earned at least six figures.

After splitting with his business partners of 11 years and hundreds of episodes, Jordan Harbinger needed to start over, from scratch, and stat. But there were many strengths he could take with him: his skills, whip smarts, interviewing experience, team members, and his hard-won systems for “going pro” with podcasting. I know you’ll love this conversation on how Jordan differentiates himself and adds unique value (so as not to be a commodity), why he doesn’t do much on social media, and how he learned to delegate increasingly more to free himself up to do what he — and only he — can do.

My friend Adam describes Emily Heyward as a “genius brand strategist and brilliant badass.” I agree! She is the co-founder and Chief Brand Officer at Red Antler, the leading brand company for startups and new ventures. In this conversation, Emily shares why “messaging rooted in mission means you're more under the microscope,” and why there’s not only room for joy right now, but a need for it. Emily shares why she believes brand has to be seen as an investment, not a cost — and when is the right time for even cash-strapped start-ups to invest in brand strategy.

Antonio’s energy is as contagious as his smile, matched only by his courage in sharing his story as a speaker, author, and father (of twins!). Through his new book, Stop Living On Autopilot, and today’s conversation, Antonio shares how he overcame fears of being too vulnerable (therefore “unhireable” by companies and speaking clients) by connecting to his deepest truth, right down to the clothes he wears onstage. We also get into how he structures his team, and “what happens when the spirit calls him to go deeper.”

"I never serve from my reserves" is just one of countless gems from one of my wisest friends, Christine Arylo. It is time for us to unhook from the over-culture operating system that produces burnout. Christine teaches us how to lead from the heart with a “pace of grace” by changing our relationship to time, energy, and flow (focus + fluidity).

“Stab the Hydra in the heart.” Cal Newport is not pulling any punches with his latest treatise on how we can combat Hyperactive Hive Mind with smarter systems for communication. Email has become a constant source of guilt and stress for so many of us — listen in for strategies to reclaim your peace and focus.

Gulp! Here we go — all-in on a new podcast (that will run in parallel to the Pivot podcast), and I’m thrilled to have you here for the kick-off! Welcome to Free Time: your new home for Heart-Based Business.

In this inaugural episode I’m sharing what inspired me to start this show, how I’m handling the Imposter Monster sitting right next to me, and what’s next for Jenny Blake Enterprises. A pivot for Pivot, if you will :)