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Another course. Another challenge. Another “this is the only way to grow” post in your feed. If you’re a small business owner who keeps getting pulled in a dozen directions, this conversation is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT for you.

Brand and marketing strategist Heather Hildebrandt of Brightcraft Studios spent 15 years in corporate marketing and ran her own product-based business. Then she went out on her own and still got swept into the noise of the online business world... sound familiar? Then you're going to love this vulnerable, honest conversation between Heather and Rachael.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why shiny object syndrome hits even the most seasoned marketers
• The quick check to run before you buy another course
• Why one-size-fits-all marketing advice fails small business owners (and what to do instead)
• How knowing your why shapes the right marketing strategy for you
• Why local networking and referrals can beat chasing the algorithm
• When to hire help instead of trying to learn it all yourself

Connect with Heather
Website: brightcraftstudios.com
Instagram and Threads: @brightcraftstudios

Work with Rachael
Ready to find your voice and nail your message? Visit rj-creative.com.

Thanks so much for listening! Don't forget to subscribe do you don't miss any episodes.

Please, please please leave a review if you enjoy this podcast!

Work with Rachael:

• Brand Soundcheck — More Info
• Why You're Not Getting Clients Quiz — Takes 2 minutes
• Do What You Want Community (Free to Join) — Check It Out
• Browse Other Services
• Instagram: @rachaelrantsandraves

Subscribe to Rachael's bi-weekly(ish) newsletter: The Real Deal Digest

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Ever wanted to be a fly on the wall while a brand strategist and a copywriter figure out their next chapters, in real time?

My friend Leslie Silverman is back. (Yes, we've swapped mics since I was on episode one of her show, Category of One.)

Right now we're both in the messy middle of a pivot, and neither of us pretends to have it all figured out. And somewhere along the way of filming this episode, Leslie turns the tables and starts strategizing my business on air.

In this episode:

• Why I get squirmy when people say they showed up because of me
• Audacious authenticity, and why your VIBE is the real reason people hire you
• How AI gave us all one shared brain cell, and what that means for your brand voice
• Leslie's pivot: a big move, a partnership shifting, and trusting intuition over spreadsheets
• Chasing the money vs. following what lights you up
• Separating what you do from who you are
• The moment Leslie hands me my own positioning statement, haha

About Leslie: Brand strategist, web developer, and co-founder of Hive 180. She's also a fractional CMO and the host of A Category of One, where she has vulnerable conversations with entrepreneurs about showing up as their truest selves.

Connect with Leslie:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/
  https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/
  https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman
  https://www.youtube.com/@lesliesilvermanofficial

Thanks so much for listening! Don't forget to subscribe do you don't miss any episodes.

Please, please please leave a review if you enjoy this podcast!

Work with Rachael:

• Brand Soundcheck — More Info
• Why You're Not Getting Clients Quiz — Takes 2 minutes
• Do What You Want Community (Free to Join) — Check It Out
• Browse Other Services
• Instagram: @rachaelrantsandraves

Subscribe to Rachael's bi-weekly(ish) newsletter: The Real Deal Digest

Send us Fan Mail

It's easy to mistake what we want for what we actually need to run a successful business — especially when your feed is full of people who look like they're killing it.

This week I'm joined by Chanti Zak, creator of the Empathy Marketing Ecosystem and the Spill the Tea newsletter. Chanti is a quiz funnel strategist, email marketing master, and coach obsessed with psychology, interactive marketing, and getting brag-worthy results for her students and clients.

We talk about a LOT of topics in this episode! We get into borrowed trust, why picking one lane matters more than being everywhere, and what happens when you stop letting the algorithm set your schedule.

We talk about starting our newsletters, how AI is changing the landscape of online marketing fast, and how keeping up with technology is inevitable when you have a business, whether AI exists or not.

Also in this episode:

• What borrowed trust actually is — and the friend-of-a-friend analogy that makes it click
• How I found Chanti (a real-time example of borrowed trust doing its thing)
• Why an hour in someone's ears beats a post that disappears in 24 hours
• Chanti's blunt take on creatives who insist AI won't affect them
• Interactive marketing 2.0 — and what's suddenly easy that used to be really, really hard
• 
  

Find Chanti:

• Growth Type Quiz — 16 possible results, based on who you are and how you should market: www.chantizak.com/growthtype
• Spill the Tea newsletter: www.chantizak.com/signup
• The KNOWN Community (affiliate link)
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chantizak/

Thanks so much for listening! Don't forget to subscribe do you don't miss any episodes.

Please, please please leave a review if you enjoy this podcast!

Work with Rachael:

• Brand Soundcheck — More Info
• Why You're Not Getting Clients Quiz — Takes 2 minutes
• Do What You Want Community (Free to Join) — Check It Out
• Browse Other Services
• Instagram: @rachaelrantsandraves

Subscribe to Rachael's bi-weekly(ish) newsletter: The Real Deal Digest