Startup & Small Business - Page 8

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!

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. 

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!

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!

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. 

2. 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!

Before getting into the finer details of how to record the demo that could get you or your band noticed, it is worth clarifying that people record demos for all kinds of reasons. It could be that you want something to give away or sell at gigs, you might want to send a voice recording demo in the hope of a career in oration or voiceovers. Or, you or your band could be hoping to record a high quality, professional demo to send to record labels across the country in the hope of a label contract. While this article will be skewed towards the latter, there are many universal rules that anyone recording a demo of any kind would do well to follow.

Preparation is key

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of preparation when it comes to the task of recording a demo that best reflects the passion, skill and creativity behind your music. By being well prepared for your session, whether it be in a professional recording studio, a mate’s garage or a borrowed school hall, the same mantra applies – be prepared. By making sure you’ve practiced the material, fired yourself up, ensure everyone turns up on time and have all your gear ready you will maximise costly time in the studio or if going DIY get yourself in the correct mind-set to do your very best. There should be no guitar left un-tuned, no strings needing replacing, no pedals forgotten and heaven forbid you should turn up without the relevant cables. If you are in a studio call in advance (well in advance) to establish what they provide and what you need to bring yourself. If you are using an engineer make sure that he has listened to your material and understands the desired result. Having everyone pulling in the same direction is vital.

If you are a band that plays live, it would be a great idea to try recording as you play on a phone or tablet so that you can sit down and listen through before you go into a studio. You can never understand your strengths and weaknesses nor those of your songs until you do this. While you are playing, the adrenaline can give material an added boost, but remember this is not felt by the listener or the record label executive! You might feel that some added layers or dimensions could beef up the material for recording purposes.

Wear your passion on your sleeves

Believe me the record label bosses will receive countless demos that are proficient, professional and well recorded, but ultimately bland. The way to stand out is by having interesting, unusual and unique material on top of all of those previously mentioned traits and also by conveying a sense of almost primal passion to the listener. You’ve written songs about heartache? Make the listener cry as if it were their own heart being torn apart. You’ve written death metal songs? You want the listener to feel the grime of crawling through a swamp full of cadavers. Whichever end of the spectrum you are you simply have to convey a strong emotional connection to the material.

Write down or hum interesting riffs

There is no substitute for those ephemeral ideas that sneak ninja-like into our conscious minds only to leave, unnoticed through the back door in a flash should we not grab them and somehow capture their essence. The best way to do this is to hum the genius riff into the mic of your phone on record or if it is a lyric scribble it down before it escapes your mind, never to return. Jamming these ideas and allowing for time to do so can make the difference between humdrum and incendiary.

Even if you’re going DIY on recording, don’t be cheap or lazy!

It would not have been in the too distant past that should you submit a phone-recorded demo to a record company you’d have been ridiculed. Nowadays things are very different thanks to the combination of powerful smartphones and incredible apps. The problem is that the inbuilt mic on all phones is pretty terrible, but apps like Spire can really help. Powered by iZotope Spire is a free 4-track recorder that will help add some va-va-voom to your recordings. Even if you are planning to go to a studio, such a set-up is great for spirit of the moment recording sessions.

Go to the studio, at least for the mixing!

Entering the studio is probably to be recommended to achieve both the recording and mixing of your demo. But at the very least you should aim for the latter, should the budget not allow for the former. A serious recording studio will benefit from a passionate, experienced and knowledgeable engineer who specializes in professional mixing – a field that can make all the difference between a passable demo and an exceptional listening experience. You should benefit from pitch correction and alignment of vocals, re-triggering of drums where necessary and the individual appraisal of each track for EQ, dynamics, compression and the addition of any effects.

All of these factors come together to give you the best possible chance of getting a great demo recorded. However, the first and most important step is to practice and find an identity you can really and passionately get behind. In a crowded field those that stand out are those who can convey their feelings via their chosen medium.

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!