Startup & Small Business - Page 8

Check out our latest entrepreneurial-driven content geared toward helping startups and small businesses grow their brands.

How to Overcome Perceived Self-Limiting Beliefs

During my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve learned several lessons, sometimes twice, about the importance of overcoming self-limiting beliefs. It’s easy to forget the personal growth and small victories obtained along the way. We simply don’t give ourselves credit for being enough and going at our own pace. Today, we’re taking a few ways to overcome self-limiting beliefs that are keeping us from achieving our goals.

“We don’t celebrate our talents and abilities as we should – not realizing that if we did, we’re bound to access our true potential.”

Failed attempts at reaching a goal or overcoming an obstacle can be discouraging. What’s important is that you don’t lose sight of your vision and keep making forward progress. It’s easier said than done though — this is why you have to make the conscious decision to move your mind beyond any doubts or any self-limiting beliefs you hold about yourself.

3 Tips for Overcoming Self-Limiting Beliefs

Moving Beyond Self-Limiting Beliefs takes desire, commitment, and practice. In this Morning Minutes chat, I go over three tips for moving beyond self-limiting beliefs that often lead to self-sabotage and defeat. 

1. Cut the Negative Dialogue – Be mindful of the things you say about yourself – to yourself and others, watch your thoughts, and closely monitor your words. Words create reality. The words we use can very well be the primary source of personal defeat. 

2. Say NO to Negative People – We don’t have to look hard to find someone full of negativity. We may have close family members or friends who have a natural tendency to bring the room down with their negative energy — make it a habit of staying away from those types of people. Plain and simple.

3. Try Something Different/New – Venturing into new territory puts us in a different state of mind; We are forced out of our comfort zones and eventually break the monotonous cycle of routine habits. 

Check out the video and please be sure to tune in, subscribe to the channel, and drop a LIKE or Comment.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

How to Record a Podcast Remotely And Get It Right The First Time

Remote interviews are a fact of life for every podcaster, and in today’s era of social distancing, more so than ever. Since you rarely get the chance at an interview do-over, nailing down your remote recording workflow is essential. We’ll show you how to prepare for and record a remote interview, so you get it right the first time — with some additional tips along the way to make sure all your bases are covered. 

Choose the right remote recording setup for your podcast

The first step is to determine the remote recording setup that best suits the format and content of your podcast and your production and editing workflow.

In most cases, your best solution will involve recording remote interviews on Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, or a similar online conferencing service. This low-friction setup makes it easy for guests or co-hosts to contribute, but you’ll need to make sure you have the right software to record these interviews.

It’s also wise to make sure you can record phone calls. Phone interviews don’t offer great audio fidelity, but they make a great backup option in case of technical problems or schedule changes. Phone interviews probably won’t be your first choice, but it’s a good idea to be able to record a phone call just in case you need to. 

If you’re recording with the same remote co-host on each episode of your podcast, consider a double-ender setup, in which you and your co-host record your own audio tracks locally and combine them in post-production. For most podcasters, this isn’t the most convenient solution, but it does translate into the highest audio fidelity for you and your co-host.

The best way to record an interview is to prepare for it

When it comes to interviewing — especially remote interviewing — a little preparation goes a long way.

Do some research into your guest’s background, expertise, and projects. Who are they? Why is their work notable? What do you (and in turn, your audience) hope to learn from them?

Putting together a rough outline of the questions you’d like to ask will come in very handy. Write down a handful of specific questions and key points, but keep your outline broad and high-level. That’ll allow you to more easily adapt to the flow of conversation.

Maintaining that conversational flow remotely can be substantially trickier than doing so person-to-person. Prime yourself to listen more than you speak — in particular, try not to interrupt your guest. Editing out awkward silences between speakers is much easier than dealing with too much crosstalk!

When it’s time to record the interview, take a couple final preparatory steps to ensure a clean recording. Close all unnecessary software and set your computer to “Do Not Disturb” mode to make sure unwanted distractions don’t pop up (or worse: end up in the recording).

How to record a Skype call, Zoom interview, or Google Hangout

For most remote recording situations, Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts are your platforms of choice. All three are easy to set up, simple for guests to use, and feature audio fidelity good enough for most podcasts. 

Both Zoom and Skype offer built-in call recording functionality, but Google Hangouts currently limits this offering to enterprise users. There’s an additional caveat: the file format (.MP4 or .M4A) that each platform outputs may not be what you want, depending on your podcast production and editing workflow.

For maximum control over your final product, you’re better off using third-party apps to record computer system audio directly into the recording software of your choice rather than relying on their recording functionality.

If you’re on a Mac, BlackHole is a great open-source tool that allows you to route audio between apps, which means you can record the audio output from Zoom (or Skype, or Google Hangouts) directly into your preferred recording software. On Windows, Virtual Audio Cable offers similar functionality. 

If you’re already using Descript to record, you won’t need to use additional audio routing software (currently limited to Mac users only, but coming soon for Windows). When recording audio into Descript, open the Record panel, choose Add a Track, select your input, and choose “Computer audio.” Click the Record button whenever you’re ready, and audio from Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts will be piped into Descript. 

No matter which remote recording setup you use, make sure you test it — and test it again — with a friend or colleague before you’re actually recording your podcast. Troubleshooting when you should be interviewing ranks near the top of everyone’s Least Favorite Things To Deal With, so make sure everything is in order before your guest is on the line.

How to record a phone interview with Google Voice

Social distancing means nearly everyone has gotten used to handling calls and meetings on Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts. But maybe your podcast guest is really old-school, or their computer is on the fritz, or maybe they’re simply only able to access a phone during your scheduled call time. It’s likely phone interviews will never be your first choice, but being able to record an old-fashioned phone call will come in handy.

Recording phone calls can be tricky, but using Google Voice to make an outgoing phone call from your computer means you can use the same remote recording setup detailed above to record the call.

Follow Google’s instructions to set up Google Voice and then learn how to make an outgoing call. Once everything’s set up, you’ll be able to record phone calls with Google Voice just like you’d record an interview on Zoom or Skype. 

Again, make sure to test with a friend and then test again before your interview. 

If lossless audio quality is a must, record a “double-ender”

For most remote recording situations, Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts are your platforms of choice. All three are easy to set up, simple for guests to use, and feature audio fidelity good enough for most podcasts. 

But if you have a remote co-host that regularly appears on your podcast, and you want to maximize the quality of your audio, a “double-ender” is the way to go: Each host or guest records themselves locally, and audio tracks are combined in post-production. For an additional cost, you can use third-party recording platforms that simulate double-enders without each speaker managing their own recording software.

A traditional double-ender sees each speaker recording their own audio track using their recording software of choice (Descript, Audacity, Quicktime, etc.), and then the host or editor combines each speaker’s recording into a finished product. Each speaker should have a decent microphone — if they’re using a laptop microphone to record, you probably won’t hear a substantial advantage with a double-ender over a Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts recording.

Alternatively, you can simulate a double-ender by using a platform like SquadCastZencastr, or Cleanfeed. These services record lossless audio from each speaker, upload each track to the cloud, and combine them automatically. These platforms cost money, but they’re a great alternative to a double-ender when guests or co-hosts don’t have the time or wherewithal to fiddle with recording themselves locally. Again, make sure each speaker has a decent microphone — otherwise you won’t reap the full benefits of lossless audio.

Make remote recording hassles a thing of the past

Recording your podcast remotely isn’t painless, but once you get the hang of it — and nail down your workflow — it’ll become second nature.

In the meantime, download Descript and give it a try. Not only will it streamline your remote recordings, but it might just change the way you think about podcasting and audio editing altogether. Give it a shot and see for yourself!

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

How Can Rappers Fulfill Their Dream of Producing Great Rap Music?

Producing great rap music that captures the imagination of the masses is great for every budding rapper. Dreaming is great until the reality sets in. Your dream of producing great music cannot be achieved by merely visiting a recording studio, recording an album, releasing it on social media platforms, and waiting for a potential breakthrough. There is a lot more that you need to do if you want to outsmart others and be the star rapper. Here are a few things that will help you fulfill your dream of producing great rap music.

  • Know who your target audience is

You cannot compose a song if you don’t have a specific target audience. Know your target audience, whether it is youths or older adults, men or women, and create great rap music that they will resonate with. Composing songs that emotionally connect with your fans would be a great choice too. You should identify something that you have in common with your audience or a similar problem that you share with them and try to provide them with a solution through your lyrics.

  • Choose the right musical instrumentals

The rap beats of the song are the first thing that impresses the listeners. The beats and the message portrayed in the song determine whether it turns out to be a flop or a big hit. If you aspire to be a successful rapper, you must invest in quality beats and instrumentals. There are many websites online where you can buy beats and instrumentals produced by other rappers. Better instrumentals will lead to better music. So make sure you set aside a budget for instrumentals as it’ll pay off in the long run.

  • Create a social media presence

As a musician, creating a social media presence is something that you must prioritize. If you’re not utilizing social media, you are definitely missing out. Social media will allow you to connect with your loyal fans and have a better relationship with them, you can even ask them for ideas if they want to hear songs about something specific. Also, it is very easy to go viral on social media. If you can come up with the perfect rap songs, chances are you will find yourself trending worldwide.

  • Don’t underestimate the importance of lyrics

If there is one thing that separates great rappers from good rappers, then it is surely lyrics. Rappers who produced songs with great lyrics are considered great because their music stood the test of time while others who only concentrated on the beats fizzled out. You should aim at influencing your fans through your words and come up with masterpieces that will keep you relevant in the music industry for long.

  • Creativity is key

If you want to be a great rapper, being creative is key. You should be creative enough to outthink and outperform other rappers. You must come up with creative ideas that make you seem different than the rest. Think outside the box, be bold, and create suspense so that listeners pay more attention to the lyrics.

Introducing Gemtracks

Gemtracks is a marketplace started by singer, songwriter and producer, Jesse Neo. Jesse has been releasing music for several years and have even worked as a composer for several big YouTube channels. The aim of Gemtracks is to allow producers and artists to buy and sell beats, offer their services and book recording studios.

“Gemtracks has been going very well, lately!” Jesse told us. “Today, we have a lot of producers that have worked with big labels selling beats. These producers include Beowulf, IYFFE and Taylor Carroll.”

With Gemtracks, rappers can easily access cheap resources to make their musical career dreams come true. A frequently updated blog filled with informative tutorials is available on the website.

Connect and follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gemtracks

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Music Streaming Just Got More Interesting with Beammob

When self-taught mobile and web developer Randell Escoth left a promising career in the financial sector before jumping into software development, he had no idea that he’d go from making beats and producing music to creating a game-changing platform. The creator of the new music streaming platform and community Beammob, Randell was driven to create an interactive hub for artists and fans to enjoy and engage with music without having to worry about tricky streaming functionalities, unfair pricing & compensation models, or messy music distribution concerns.

Beammob is the premiere playlist interaction platform that allows music creators and artists to interact directly with their audience of fans. What’s even more exciting is Beammob not only allows fans to create playlists of their favorite artists’ songs but they can also customize them or simply get paid just for being a fan. 

“The major big draw for fans is the ability to customize their favorite artists’ songs on the fly and by doing so gain self-recognition and get a piece of some of the profits if you take up the role as the number one fan/owner.”

In essence, Beammob works like this It gives fans the power to be instant DJs by creating simple sound drops in realtime and offers payout incentives for both artists and fans. 

Beammob is unlike any other music streaming platform. While joining the Beammob community as a fan is free, music creators and artists are by invite only. Music creators and artists interested in having their music added to Beammob can request an invite at beammob.com.

I asked Randell his thoughts on the evolution of entrepreneurship and what he enjoys most about his journey:

“Straight up, I stopped trying to save the world. The majority of my past products that were semi-successful centered around me trying to make the world a better place first and then seeing how I can profit from that. This product, much like my early iOS apps, focused on me having fun, challenging myself, and letting profit and other perks be the byproduct of that. I now frequently ask myself “what is it I really want,” “what is the true result that I’m looking for” and I start there.”

I know exactly where he’s coming from. Entrepreneurship certainly has its ebbs and flows. However, there’s always something magical going on in the creation process that balances out and things just flow. I asked his favorite part of the creation process:

“Definitely learning more about programming and libraries were my favorite parts. I often worked on Beammob after I finished all my other tasks for the day. There was a reason for that. Even eating had to be prioritized because once I sat down with Beammob the day was done. I wasn’t getting up to do anything even to use the restroom.”

During the creation of Beammob Randell faced several challenges such as knowledge gaps in the programming language, figuring out the math behind the payouts, contracting honest developers, and overall product functionality but things eventually panned out. 

On the flip side of those challenges, he wound up with the finished product. Thankfully, he didn’t waiver and now, we can all “listen different” with Beammob. In the spirit of entrepreneurship he offers these words to those headed down the entrepreneurial path:

“If you are an aspiring entrepreneur seeking encouragement I bet you have already found your inspiration on YT, IG, or another social platform just like I did. From there you can borrow my personal mantra which is, “Give God Something To Work With.” Don’t stand there with your cup empty and arms stretched out. You can, at very least, pour yourself some water. And as you know, he turns water into wine.”

Music lovers can signup to the new platform at www.beammob.com  Connect on social: Twitter, IG and Facebook.

 

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

How Entrepreneurs Achieve Success – 3 Key Points

Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs – Within the past two years, we have witnessed a significant increase in the number of entrepreneurs pursuing business goals and working to create a life of freedom. Now, aspiring entrepreneurs have the time to execute plans and launch business ideas as the pandemic has forced many people into unemployment. This moment in time could be a grand opportunity for those who want to take a leap of faith; An opportunity to gain experience, learn, build and enjoy yourself along the way in addition to setting your own salary. Venturing into the entrepreneurial space has its rewards and its pitfalls but the beauty of it all lies in the journey.

Creating a business that you love and one that you’re proud of takes time and effort. Here are 3 tips I’ve found to be the most effective when it comes to achieving success and accomplishing tasks.

How to Achieve Entrepreneurial Success

1. Take Action

The first step to reach achieving any goal, whether it be as an entrepreneur or in your personal life starts with you taking action. You make things happen if you never get started. As my entrepreneurial journey continues, I know firsthand that choosing to take action is the most important lesson to learn. Getting into a habit of doing even when you don’t necessarily feel like writing that article, or calling a prospect, or posting on social media, choosing not to do it may potentially cause you to lose out on an opportunity. Even worse, not taking action when you know you should decrease momentum and kills productivity. In order to realize the success you want, get into the habit of getting things done, one step at a time. 

Discovering your purpose will also encourage you to Act. Here’s why Purpose is important.

2. Staying Persistent

Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs – Persistence was and sometimes still is one of my biggest struggles as an entrepreneur. But, one of the advantages of me recognizing this as one of my weaknesses is I’ve been able to pinpoint what triggers me not to be persistent. It’s not that I get bored with being an entrepreneur. The issue is I sometimes get overwhelmed. I’ve learned in order to be successful it’s best not to overextend yourself. Breaking down your to-do lists and focusing on one task at a time will get you further along. Now, instead of multitasking, I focus on assignments and projects without feeling rushed and worried. Stay fresh and avoid burnout – this way, you will accomplish a day’s work without getting into a mental fog, this is the key to persistence.

3. Knowledge & Learning

Continued Education whether it be listening to podcasts on productivity or digital marketing, reading an expert opinion-based business article, or taking a Udemy course, entrepreneurs can find tremendous benefits in today’s online learning. One of the biggest advantages of keeping your mind sharp and open to new ideas will revitalize the way you view building or scaling your business. Great strategies are often found in looking at the way someone else has achieved entrepreneurial success and using their example as a resource to reach your goals. We have the awesome advantage of learning from others with the simple swipe or click of our iPhone or Android.

How Will You Achieve Entrepreneurial Success?

It depends on how you evaluate and monitor your progress. Let these three tips be a guideline for achieving your goals as an entrepreneur. Taking action, staying persistent, and continuing to learn as you grow are guaranteed paths to success. Although you may have mentors, coaches, or other people you look to for guidance along the way, your entrepreneurial path should be unique to you.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

The Importance of Brainstorming your Ideas on Paper

Problems are inevitable, that’s why we always tend to seek the right solution in every problem. To that, creatively brainstorming your ideas and thoughts will prove to be a great help in resolving any issue. 

Brainstorming is an effective and creative way to come up with ideas you may have never thought about. Brainstorming is frequently used throughout the duration of a project. These exercises give us a variety of information and resources to consider. Also, these sessions give us the means to bring several people and their ideas together to create a variety of ideas.

Through brainstorming, we’re able to put together concepts and plans that can serve as guidance and structure when we’re looking to reach a goal or reach a resolution. To achieve a successful outcome during a brainstorming session focus on sharing ideas without judging them.

As a writer, it can sometimes be difficult to organize the thoughts and ideas that lead me to the result I’m looking to achieve. That’s why in writing, brainstorming is important. You have to write your ideas that you’ve brainstormed on a paper so you don’t forget it. So, in preparing to brainstorm, you should have your pen and a piece of paper right in front of you. At the top of the paper, write your objectives. Next, start listing down ideas of how you will achieve all of it. 

The importance of brainstorming your ideas on paper  includes the following:


In Planning

Sometimes, it’s frustrating when you are writing something then you’ve realized that you have no idea what to write next. Doing brainstorming prior to writing will give you a solid plan on what to write and what to omit.

Also, in teaching, teachers were challenged to construct their lesson plans that include activities for their learners. Through brainstorming, they can come up with ideas of activities and engagements that will make their learners learn and enjoy at the same time.


Organized Ideas

Since you have already planned everything, brainstorming will help you to organize your thoughts and ideas. Just write everything that comes in your mind. Then, organize it. Try to put a check to the good ideas and omit the bad ideas. Until you have come up with the best idea that you could never imagine.

Sometimes, writers tend to forget that coherence is necessary for writing. Like in lesson planning, teachers must not forget the flow of their lessons. If the lesson is not logically prepared, teachers might not be able to deliver it to learners properly.


Uniqueness

Through brainstorming, you will be able to come up with many ideas on your own. Having unique ideas is great, it can make you succeed. Just like how geniuses, philosophers, and inventors made and discovered things uniquely, they had brainstormed a lot. 

You don’t have to be terrified of thinking about unique ideas, it doesn’t mean you’re different from the others, it only means that you have a great mind with a unique great ideas, and that’s what makes you great!


Creativeness

The human mind is so powerful. It can take you anywhere you want, you just have to think creatively. With the help of great brainstorming, many people came up with creative ideas that made great things. They wrote their ideas that they’ve brainstormed because details are important. Like how fashion designers make unexceptional dresses, architects design new buildings, teachers taught new activities, and scientists develop an effective cure for diseases. 

But you know, creativity doesn’t mean that you need to find or make new things entirely. Creativity is when you find something and you make something new from it.


Tips:

Let your ideas flow first and deal with grammar, punctuations, and other technicalities later. Also, schedule your writing so that you have time to do some drafts of revisions later. Once you have your draft, don’t be troubled to change things for the better. Start writing and be confident.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

3 Fun Ways to Transform your Self-Image for Success

Nearly everyone is familiar with or has at least heard of the concept of self-improvement. Especially when it comes to setting goals for personal development and achieving success.  Sometimes it takes a bit more than reading tons of self-help books and about other people’s journeys.
While using the information from books, Youtube videos, and others can be a great starting point for transforming into that version of yourself you’ve longed to become you won’t get there until you commit yourself to actually doing the work.

Here, we’ll delve into 3 fun ways you can work on transforming your self-image and become the person you truly are. It doesn’t take a lengthy course or months and months of work to get started. You can start right where you are today. Small, fun, and action-oriented steps will help you achieve true self-transformation. 

  1. Create your Alter Ego. 

You may be familiar with the popular book “The Alter Ego Effect” by bestselling author Todd Herman. It’s a great read that really goes into how we can create positive changes from within by accessing our true potential. By creating an alter-ego, we can easily tap into a hidden reserve of possibilities when we access our super character to take over and get things done. 

Create an alter-ego that has special characteristics you personally wish to embody. Decide which superpowers/traits this super character will display so you can summons your character to act in those situations where you normally wouldn’t. There are no limits to creating your character. 

  1. Scripting: Star in Your Own Movie.

Why co-star in someone else’s film will you can create your own. It’s great to lend your support to others here and there but if you ever want to achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself then you have to be the one who shows up for you. What does that mean? It means taking the initiative to map out exactly what you want for your life and to make your goals a priority. How do you see yourself? What new characteristics do you embody? Visualize it. When you do you’re twice as likely to act accordingly. 

Create and act in your own movie. Since you’re the writer, director, and the main actor, you can script whatever your heart desires. It basically sums up to setting your scenery, your intentions, you write your script. Decide on how you will act and interact. Writing things on paper will make the process of a renewed self-image easier to accomplish.

3. Do the Unexpected.

How many times are you going to cast aside an invite from a friend to attend a party or some other social event? I know I’m guilty. It may take a few tries but you really need to get over your self. It may seem scary stepping outside your comfort zone but it’s a great start to a better future. What if there’s a new opportunity awaiting your arrival? But you’ll never know if you don’t go. Matter of fact, you’ll never have a shot at anything if you don’t take chances.

Personally, like most people, I don’t enjoy being uncomfortable but I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone more times than I can count for an opportunity at something new. Sometimes you have to take the shot. Do the unexpected. Intentionally stepping out of your comfort zone and into new territory opens new doors to an improved and better self. 


If you know of other fun ways to change your self-image feel free to drop us a line in the comments!

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Why I Wrote “Courage Is A Muscle”

When I begin writing the manuscript for what is now Courage Is A Muscle: Using Heart to Power Your Entrepreneurial Dreams, I didn’t have any specific intentions of what I wanted to do with the material once it was completed. I imagined the book would be largely about entrepreneurship but it ended up being more than that. Check out the introduction here.


Getting Started

I consider myself a writer and I write frequently, most of the time using pen and pad. I’ve always sketched, written short stories and poems along with all the creative journaling you can imagine. Since I was a child, I just enjoy the process. But, this particular project ended up being more than just another writing exercise, doodle, or creative blog. This time, the project and the process was completely different. And, the COURAGE journey is still unfolding. Needless to say, it’s been extremely insightful and far from anything I could have ever scripted in my imagination!

It started with an impulse. I just felt the nudge to write several months if not weeks leading up to me finally opening up my laptop and writing the first sentence. It’s funny because I kept getting the nudge to write and would often mention to family members and friends that I wanted to write but never truly got started. I knew I wanted to write something. For whatever reason, I stalled to get started until I begin to remember the inner conversations I had with myself, about my grandma. Within this manuscript, lies several lessons on courage, faith, and the importance of trusting yourself, and also building yourself.

In the Writing

When I started writing I looked forward to rereading all the material I wrote and thinking about why specific information came to mind. As I continued writing, I noticed how the different memories were given new life as I thought of them. I also found myself laughing aloud when I wrote a specific sentence or thought about the episodic adventures of my entrepreneurial journey. 

It’s funny how it’s always later on that we realize the significance of those memorable moments in our lives, whether it be something like a birth of a child, a wedding, or a funeral – how oftentimes these moments serve as reference points for starting over (aka getting our shit together), starting something new, or at least coming to terms where you are in your life – whether you like where you are or not. Writing helped me to rethink and to revisit the different steps of my entrepreneurial journey.

As I looked back on where I started to where I am now I realize that each step was important because it gave me the time and space I needed to grow. In the same way, we grow as we reach the many milestones of life. Now, with this information, I can see my way forward. Recalibrate. Do things differently or don’t do certain things at all. This particular piece of writing is what Courage Is A Muscle ended up being for me.


What I’ve Learned

Even though I didn’t start with a clear intention – other than to share entrepreneurial nuggets with my audience – Courage Is A Muscle also ended up being a bit of a memoir.  In hindsight, I realize how much I had to step outside my own comfort zone to share my experience with others. A bit more exposed and vulnerable; I ended up being okay with that. In the process, I also realized that the vulnerability of sharing much of ourselves with others isn’t as scary as our inner critics make it out to be.

Yes, people judge and criticize but I’ve learned that it’s really none of my business how another person runs their race. I may not like it or agree with it and I don’t have to – I do my best to stay in my lane. I found the more I laid it all out in my writing, the freer I became. It’s like I was able to tap into that encouragement my grandma offered years before — we can do anything we put our minds to.


To Sum It Up

At the end of the day, it takes courage. This book has allowed me to take a huge step in the right direction — outside of my own head. There’s much more I could add to this but I’ll let it here for now. I hope that you’ll enjoy Courage Is A Muscle as much as I enjoyed writing it. 

Courage Is A Muscle: Using Heart To Power Your Entrepreneurial Dreams is now available in Kindle & Paperback on Amazon.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

3 Netflix Gems That’ll Inspire the Genius In You

Since most of us are stuck indoors it’s without a doubt that we’ll soon find ourselves bored out of our minds after the first handful of days. Considering we’ve completed any work that needs to be done – if you’re now working from home and tending to the kids (since they’re learning from home), finding ways to entertain can become scarce, real quick. But it doesn’t have to be.

There’s family-time entertainment – typically consisting of cards, video & board games and an hour or two spent in the backyard. Then, there are other times where you want to indulge in watching some TV. Or, Netflix. Luckily, I’ve stumbled upon several gems that are not only entertaining and but they’ve also helped spark a bit of creativity and willpower.


Check out some of my Nexflix favs below. At the very least these three films will give you a much-needed mental break from all the worldly chit chat that’s dominating our globe right now. Enjoy!

Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker

This was one hell of a story. Inspired by the life of Madam C.J. Walker, this film, featuring Octavia Spencer, Tiffany Haddish, Carmen Ejogo, and Blair Underwood is sprinkled with several comical and light-hearted moments depicting the ups and downs of its main character. 



Determined to rise above her circumstances and life of poverty as a washerwoman, Octavia Spencer’s character shines as she prevails at becoming a successful entrepreneur in the black haircare business. The first female self-made millionaire, Madam C.J Walker pretty much established the blueprint for self-made success which was driven by willpower and an unwillingness to give up. 


A Fortunate Man 

This film is a great demonstration of how we can use our talents, interest, and abilities to propel us forward in life. Whether it is a career goal, personal goal or some other goal that is driving us, A Fortunate Man tells the story of how a bright engineer student shows great promise in his ability to be successful. However, this is one thing that stands in the way of him getting to the next level. His pride. 



While he could be deemed a genius, especially considering his level of knowledge at such a young age (this drama takes place in the late 19th century), the main character sometimes fails to realize that even geniuses never stop learning and growing. A Fortunate Man was written by Danish Nobel Prize-winning author Henrik Pontoppidan and is based upon the eight-volume novel which was translated into English as Lucky Per. 



The King
An action-packed historical drama based in the 15th century, Young Henry V aka “Hal” is elevated to the role of King of England following his brother’s untimely death. Hal truly wants what’s best for his country, unlike his father who reigned before him. In a time where governing politics and those in position have established a history of manipulating its people for personal gain, Hal tries his best to rule with peace and optimism until his plans are met with lies and treachery.



Although he didn’t realize the deceit at the time, Hal is forced to protect England through means of war with France. After it’s all said and done Hal never abandoned his quest for peace even though the unforeseen obstacles of war, deceit, assassination threats, and manipulation had to be confronted. Throughout it all, Hal survived.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Epi 93: Tech, Programming & App Development with Creator of Beammob

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Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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