August 15, 2025 • 17 mins
Brady reveals how small business owners can identify the hidden gaps in their marketing efforts, avoid common pitfalls that lead to failure, and drive impactful results. Ideal for entrepreneurs looking to navigate the challenges of branding and marketing, this episode delivers actionable insights you can implement immediately for your business's growth.
Listen on Podbean:
https://brainworkframework.podbean.com/
Connect with Brady Dahmer:
Company Website: https://www.blindspotshandbook.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradydahmer/
Connect with Chris Troka:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-troka-3a093058/
Website: https://focused-biz.com/
Website: https://christroka.com/ #brainwork #framework #business #entrepreneur #marketing #blindspots #growth
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Do the research first.
(00:01):
Once you have all that research you canbuild and then test that creative against
some of those findings that you have,half of my job is really understanding
that first because that can give youexponential power and you can really fully
understand what to do and how you can fitinto the market in your own unique way.
Better gonna stand out andthat that's really key.
Unless what everybody's doing in anindustry and how they're standing out,
(00:23):
you're just wasting money if you'rejust sort of guessing at things.
So do do the research and find clientsthat are doing that research or will
do that research with you and help youunderstand the lay of the landscape.
Otherwise, you're spending money onsomething that is decoration, not
so much something that's gonna betactical and that's gonna be useful
for ultimately growing your business.
You are listening to Brainwork Framework,a Business and Marketing podcast,
(00:47):
brought to you by Focused-biz.com.
Today with us is Author of theBlind Spots Handbook, Brady Dahmer,
who is also the founder and CMOof the Central Branch in Tripoli.
So excited to have him on today.
Brady, how you doing today?
Awesome, Chris, how are you doing?
I'm doing wonderful.
Thanks for joining us.
We always like to ask ourentrepreneurs, what were you doing
before that kind of led you into thisnew journey that you're on today?
(01:09):
One of the key things is that actuallywithin a week, I had two of my friends
call me up with stressful situations.
I've been in the marketing and brandingindustry for many years, so a lot
of solopreneurs, entrepreneurs willcome to me and ask for opinions.
I love mentoring people and I'vealways been a big part of that
community but within a week I hadtwo people call me up and say, Hey,
we we're in some serious situationsand can you help us get outta them?
(01:30):
And I just realized in discussingthe situations that there was a
huge kind of knowledge gap withpeople starting down the marketing
or branding roads that they're on.
And we're working with creatives andanybody in that industry and how to work
with them better or the understandingor the assumptions that one makes when
working with people in that industry.
So I saw this gap and as I started tothink through more of maybe potential
(01:52):
problems that they would face going downand working, doing more marketing, doing
more branding projects in the future.
I started in the back of my mind creatinga small list and then I did the research.
I went out there and I looked formyself being like, Hey, is there
anything like this or there's gottabe something out there to bridge
this gap, this knowledge gap.
And I didn't find anything.
So I started off as manyentrepreneurs can understand, what
(02:12):
starts off as a small idea canexpand exponentially very quickly.
So it started off as a quick littlechecklist but there wasn't enough
depth, enough information to helpthem understand how to solve some
of these problems when it comes toworking with creatives and getting
the most outta their creative team.
And it kept on expanding and growing tothe point where what was a checklist is
now almost a over a hundred page book andframework on how to work with creatives
(02:33):
and how to save money and how to getthe most from them and from their team.
Definitely appreciate the resource becauseI feel a lot of solopreneurs, small
business owners, we usually have moretime than money, so we're looking for a
resource and trying to DIY things ourselfand then that first real investment
into marketing or branding or graphics.
It's a considerable amountthat we hold dear to ourselves.
So this first time working withcreatives, we wanna get the most
(02:56):
out of it as possible and avoid alot of these cost mistakes that way.
The agencies and spending hoursworking on something that we're not
gonna get a benefit from in the end.
And we all have these assumptionsand presumptions about
what things are or are not.
So we appreciate you putting thisresource out for people to understand.
So tell me more about some of theclients that you work with and some
of their struggles that now thehandbook is now helping them with.
(03:17):
Yeah.
Great.
Thank you.
Well, one of the things in working withcreatives, it's not like someone gives
you a suggestion or when we start out tooas solopreneurs and entrepreneurs, it's
sometimes our networks aren't that big.
So we ask who we know and sometimes we gowith someone's suggestion but it might not
be an educated or an educated suggestion.
We've always heard stories of someonewho's working with their neighbor's
cousin or their son or whatever else andwho's dabbled in X, Y, Z industry but
(03:41):
they're not really gonna get the results.
So to help people, askthe right questions.
It's more of from beginning to endchecklist of when you're working on these
projects, just what questions to ask.
So if someone suggests, theneighbor's son to build you a website.
You can ask them specificquestions on certain things.
They're not necessarily deep or technical.
I really wrote this at a very high level.
But it is really about asking questions atall the right stages so that you're better
(04:04):
informed and getting the most out of it.
One of the examples from the beginningof the conversation was, one of my
good friends called because theirdesigner had done some brochures
with them and of course they shotbeautiful photography and they had a
writer write this all of this stuff.
And when they called up their design teamto retrieve and do edits on this brochure
a year later they were informed by thedesign team that their files no longer
(04:26):
existed because their computer crashed.
Literally the months before andeverything was kind of gone.
So at which point myclient's, what do I do?
What are the repercussionsand everything else?
The first question I asked is,where's your copy of it all?
We don't think about that.
And that's why the book'scalled Blind Spots.
'cause those things we don't thinkabout or the assumptions that we make
and needs to say the design team,they didn't really need to put their
(04:47):
arms up and said, sorry, too bad.
Zero accountability and there's reallynothing legally you can do because
it is so small and everything else.
But there was tens of thousandsof dollars of creative assets and
writing and photography that wasnow lost for a small business.
That's a huge amount of money.
So it's written in mind becauseit is about every hour, every
dollar counts when you're tryingto start your small business.
And this book is meant toalleviate some of that stress and
(05:10):
help you make better decisions.
And it's also written in short,punchy, little sort of way so it
doesn't go too far in depth but itgives you the resources to do that.
So everything from a startup to smallbusiness, this is here to help you
make those informed decisions sothat you can experienced from someone
who's been in it 30 plus years andalso interviewing all my friends.
All the mistakes that they'vemade, all the money and time
(05:30):
that we've spent making mistakes.
It's a collection of thatand how not to do it.
So that's what blind spots is about.
A very valuable resource.
Where can people find out moreabout that or get a copy or
sign up to learn more about it?
Yeah, thank you.
Blind spots handbook.com is the website.
And there's a link on Amazon, so bothin Canada and in the US so you can have
it, you have it delivered to your housewithin days or your office within days.
(05:52):
And that's probably the best part,the sort of the best place to get it.
And I'll be developing in thenext six months to a year an
online course for people as well.
So the book is one thing butwe're also love to watch and
learn online and visually as well.
So I'll be creating that to givesome of those lessons and some of
these tips a little bit more depthand a little more insight to them.
Very nice.
That is excellent.
So it's gonna be this entireecosystem that is built off
(06:14):
the foundation of the book.
But again, some topics just needto be covered a little bit more
in depth or just a differentperspective that you can really
share through different assets here.
A hundred percent.
And something likedeveloping a creative brief.
The creative brief is kind oflike the Bible for us in the
agencies or in the design world.
It is sort of Bible of our directionof how we're going to help the client.
(06:35):
And sometimes those briefs arevery shallow not well researched.
So part of the book goes into that.
But giving them even more resourcesto help create more in depth
research and help them create abetter brief at which point they can
get exponentially more out of it.
And this is the firstversion of this book.
So I'm gonna start going out andinterviewing photographers, videographers,
web, social, all the other sort ofcreative industries to see where their
(06:57):
blind spots are in working with clientsand then bringing that in and creating
more additions and putting more contentout there so that when they're hiring
a videographer or writer, they canget the most outta that experience
and the most outta their budget andget more value out of the project.
Very nice.
And it'll be really interesting onceyou gain those insights from the
separate industries to find where thecommonalities lie and what things are
specific to either the entrepreneuror even the industry itself.
(07:20):
So I think it's gonna be a great resourceand really telling, once you gather that
information and the insights from them.
Yeah.
One of my photo friends sent me thisquote which says, with any project, your
blind spot isn't what you don't know.
It's what everybody else thinksyou already know and that valley
of misconception or assumptions inbetween the creative person and the
(07:40):
small business or entrepreneurs.
We've all watched the movies and TV andwe see how kind of play business works
or how things the creative worlds or howpeople interact when they do business.
And it's just not really how that works.
But sometimes in our mind we feellike it should have to does work that
way but there's a lot of steps aremistaken when we watch fake things
on TV or we see stuff like that.
This is bridging that gap.
That's excellent.
And it's funny you mentioned someof the assumptions that we make
(08:02):
from watching, play pretend on tv.
When I got into marketing, I thoughtI would immediately become Don
Draper and I would start smokingcigarettes and being really cool.
But that's not the case.
It's different but that's okay.
That's more of a fictitiouspretend, make believe.
Same for lawyers.
The courtroom doesn't work thesame way that we see on tv.
That it does not.
And that's helping people give thatunderstanding of how the real sort
(08:22):
of mechanics of a project works sothat they truly understand and see
where the potential lies but alsowhere the pitfalls lies as well.
So it's not all doom and gloom.
This is also about cranking upthe potential of your project,
the pot potential and outcomesof your project as well.
So it is really seeing where thingsare dodging and weaving and getting
further faster and that's whatit's ultimately kind of about.
(08:44):
Two words that perfectlydescribe entrepreneurship is
the dodging and the weaving.
It feels like we'realways on top of our toes.
We're always alert.
We're seeing what's happening.
But it's something we don't really learnuntil we either experience or we learn
from others and they share that insight.
Otherwise, we kind of go in blind.
And I think that leads intoeverything that the book goes into.
But one piece I wanted to ask about is,your approach to designing creatives.
(09:05):
How do you either like to workwith clients specifically or do
you have recommendations on thosesolopreneurs and entrepreneurs out
there who want to get a taste ofwhat creative and design should be?
Should they focus on one thingover another when it comes
to their branding strategy?
Great question.
So one of the things that we focuson that first and foremost, if you
are starting to hire a creative orbranding agent or anything else ask
(09:27):
them about how they approach a project,what research they're going to do, how
are they gonna understand you, yourclients, your industry as a whole.
Because that is one of the mostimportant things that is going to
be the mechanics, the structureof any great project and outcome.
Because if you don't understand whoyou're competing against and you don't
understand also your clientele without adeep understanding of that, any logo, any
(09:49):
marketing project, you're just spendingmoney on something that looks nice.
So that's a really quirky.
So for anybody wanting to hire someoneto do their identity or any kind of
marketing website, anything creativeor anything that you want to resonate
with your customer or drive businessand everything else, start asking the
questions and the mechanics of who areyou competing against, who your clients
are and all those important questions.
(10:10):
So do the research first and once youhave all that research, you can build
and then test that creative againstsome of those findings that you have.
Half of my job is really understandingthat first because that can give you
exponential power and you can really fullyunderstand what to do and how you can fit
into the market in your own unique way.
Better to stand out.
That's really key.
(10:30):
Unless what everybody's doing in theindustry and how they're standing out,
you're just wasting money if you'rejust sort of guessing at things.
So do the research or find clientsthat are doing that research or will
do that research with you and help youunderstand the lay of the landscape.
Otherwise, you're spending moneyon something that is decoration not
so much something that's gonna betactical and that's gonna be useful
for ultimately growing your business.
(10:52):
I completely agree.
It goes way beyond just having somethingthat looks pretty, it's really about
what does this say about me in thecompany and what does it communicate to
our current clients or ideal clients.
And there's so much insight that can befound from asking our current clients.
What do you think about this?
What are your thoughts?
What does this make you think and feel?
And through that insight, throughthat research, you can really get this
roadmap to, okay, this is gonna be ourfocus and our clarity because this is
(11:16):
what we're hearing from the audience.
This is how we need to build this.
So that gives you clarity anddirection throughout that research.
Yeah.
One of the things that people don'toften do and it's such a hugely
valuable insight is getting testimonialsor interviewing your past clients.
Like, why do you pick us?
What makes us stand out?
Why'd you pick us versus thecompetitor or all those things.
So just client testimonials orclient interviews is fantastic.
(11:38):
It gives you so much depth andinsight about who you're, why you're
being chosen for industry or productand what makes you different.
So it's such valuable insight 'causethen you can tweak that and leverage
that even more to get more businessand get more people through the door.
Absolutely.
I completely agree.
Now, for you, having all thisexperience building your own agency and
growing and working with others too.
Do you credit the successfor getting more clients?
(12:00):
Are you doing a lot of networking?
Are you focusing on outreach?
What's been a good strategy forbuilding your book of business here?
The book is an entirely new industryfor me, so I feel I'm dipping
my toe into something brand new.
I'm sitting on the other side of thedesk right now from everything else.
But for me, for the past 30 years ofgrowing my own business, I learned
from a mentor very early that, it'severything's about relationships and
(12:22):
creating them and taking care of them.
And it's not even just who youknow but it's how you're really
kind of being a part of theirlife and the community as a whole.
So that for me is probably one ofthe biggest things I've learned
in my entire life in running abusiness and starting a business.
It gets exponentially easier as you buildyour network, as you build your community,
the support is there and the resourcesare there and it's just you're able to
(12:45):
do more because now you have people evenbehind you supporting it and asking what
they can do and all the rest of that.
I'm doing more sales now becausebefore I was so used to word of mouth
and that was something where I wasbuilding those strong relationships
with my clients, with all my suppliersand and I'd network a lot, I'd go out
there, I'd be a part of the community.
(13:05):
I'd like doing things like interviewsand podcasts and dropping into a lot
of youth entrepreneurs mentorship.
Any way I could be a part of thecommunity and use my experience to help.
And that was a great way to meet people.
Another thing is, sitting on some boards.
I'm fortunate because I have a skilland something that a lot of fundraising
boards need, they always needmarketing and branding and they have
always events and things coming up.
So I was in a good position tooffer my services to those boards.
(13:29):
And it was a great way for me tomeet people and for them to see
how I worked without paying me.
It's one of those things that you'reworking on a big event and you're
doing all the branding and marketingand you're working with them.
But they're not paying you as a clientsupplier but they get to see how you work.
I got a lot of clients from thatbecause everybody on that board and
all the suppliers, you kind of putin a little more effort because you
want the outcome to be that muchgreater for the fundraising effort.
(13:50):
But you also know it's a showcase ofnot just your work but of how you work.
And I think with any entrepreneur,we continue working with people that
we like working with that make ourlives easier, make us look good.
And that's always been stampedin the back of my mind.
Just make it a great experiencefor everyone and it's easier
for them to work with you.
And that for me has been one of my staplesthat I've gone through the business.
But the book is another beastentirely 'cause now I'm gonna have
(14:13):
to change the gears in my brainto become more of a salesperson.
It is different.
I'm loving it because it is adifferent muscle that I'm having
to flex and it's humbling butit's exciting at the same time.
Very nice.
A lot of great practical advice and tipshere about building the book of business.
And I agree that building andnurturing relationships is
really the key to anything.
You really need to have some sort ofone-on-one connection with the business
or the person that you're working with.
(14:34):
And a lot of these examples are greatways to showcase your work and be a
helpful resource to the community.
And now you're just showcasingwho you are and how you help
people what you do and suddenlypeople start to take note of that.
Now, Brady, we only havea couple more minutes.
I wanted to mention that peoplecan connect with you on LinkedIn.
We'll have the link available down on theshow notes and the description along with
the blind spots handbook.com as well.
Wanted to ask Brady, if you had tostart over all again today, I know
(14:58):
you're starting on the book now, butif you had to start your business
over, what would you focus on firstto try and to get yourself out there?
Great question.
Again, it's community build.
Ask questions, talk to a lotof people, ask 'em what if they
were me, what would they need?
I started off with the bookas well is going out there
and saying how valuable is it?
So before I spent a lot of time, moneyand effort putting this together, I really
(15:20):
went out and talked to a lot of peopleand said I'm thinking about doing this.
How does that sound to you?
And getting people's feedback and beingreally open for a lot of feedback.
And that's probably oneof the biggest things.
It's really tough sometimes as anentrepreneur 'cause you think you
have this golden idea that's it'sgoing to be a success and profitable.
But for the most part, it's very untested.
So for me, just talk to a lot of peopleand just get their opinions on it.
(15:43):
Ask them different questions,see what their feedback is.
And also to join a lot ofnetworking groups and see how it
can be of value in the community.
Another big thing.
And that's something where I learnedvery early as well is, don't be
afraid to approach someone thatyou really want to talk to, who
can give you that valuable insight.
And that was something some of the peopleI'd never expect to be able to connect
with or I just asked that, Hey, would youhave 30 minutes to jump on a Zoom call?
(16:06):
Or a quick coffee with me?
I'll come meet you wherever.
And that was probably oneof the biggest lessons.
And even now, if someone pops in my brainlike, I'd love to talk to that person.
Totally unconnected, ultimatelymultiple levels above me and
what I'm doing currently.
But I just throw it out there and just agenuinely like, you wanna write a book?
Here's my experience.
I found that such a huge tool inmy toolbox to leverage or get ahead
and get the better ideas out andget rid of the bad ideas and keep on
(16:30):
working through those better ideas.
That is excellent and somethingwe don't wanna overlook.
And something specific you mentioned aboutthe product validation phase, we see a
lot of business owners, entrepreneursspend so much time building out something
that they think their client is going towant when in reality they don't want it
or they built it for the wrong industryor it's not really what they needed.
So you can get so much informationand insight from talking to
(16:50):
clients or potential clients justto ask 'em for their feedback.
And that can help propel you alot further than you would before.
Brady, we appreciate you sharingyour tips and tricks in your wisdom.
So excited to watch yourgrowth in your journey.
Very excited for the Blind Spotshandbook and that progress as it
creates this full ecosystem ofmarketing and entrepreneurship advice.
Brady, we appreciate yourtime and thank you so much.
Thanks Chris.
Much loved it on here andthanks for the invitation.
(17:12):
So I'll come back anytime.
Thank you.
Awesome.
Appreciate it.
Thank you.
Do the research first.
(00:01):
Once you have all that research you canbuild and then test that creative against
some of those findings that you have,half of my job is really understanding
that first because that can give youexponential power and you can really fully
understand what to do and how you can fitinto the market in your own unique way.
Better gonna stand out andthat that's really key.
Unless what everybody's doing in anindustry and how they're standing out,
(00:23):
you're just wasting money if you'rejust sort of guessing at things.
So do do the research and find clientsthat are doing that research or will
do that research with you and help youunderstand the lay of the landscape.
Otherwise, you're spending money onsomething that is decoration, not
so much something that's gonna betactical and that's gonna be useful
for ultimately growing your business.
You are listening to Brainwork Framework,a Business and Marketing podcast,
(00:47):
brought to you by Focused-biz.com.
Today with us is Author of theBlind Spots Handbook, Brady Dahmer,
who is also the founder and CMOof the Central Branch in Tripoli.
So excited to have him on today.
Brady, how you doing today?
Awesome, Chris, how are you doing?
I'm doing wonderful.
Thanks for joining us.
We always like to ask ourentrepreneurs, what were you doing
before that kind of led you into thisnew journey that you're on today?
(01:09):
One of the key things is that actuallywithin a week, I had two of my friends
call me up with stressful situations.
I've been in the marketing and brandingindustry for many years, so a lot
of solopreneurs, entrepreneurs willcome to me and ask for opinions.
I love mentoring people and I'vealways been a big part of that
community but within a week I hadtwo people call me up and say, Hey,
we we're in some serious situationsand can you help us get outta them?
(01:30):
And I just realized in discussingthe situations that there was a
huge kind of knowledge gap withpeople starting down the marketing
or branding roads that they're on.
And we're working with creatives andanybody in that industry and how to work
with them better or the understandingor the assumptions that one makes when
working with people in that industry.
So I saw this gap and as I started tothink through more of maybe potential
(01:52):
problems that they would face going downand working, doing more marketing, doing
more branding projects in the future.
I started in the back of my mind creatinga small list and then I did the research.
I went out there and I looked formyself being like, Hey, is there
anything like this or there's gottabe something out there to bridge
this gap, this knowledge gap.
And I didn't find anything.
So I started off as manyentrepreneurs can understand, what
(02:12):
starts off as a small idea canexpand exponentially very quickly.
So it started off as a quick littlechecklist but there wasn't enough
depth, enough information to helpthem understand how to solve some
of these problems when it comes toworking with creatives and getting
the most outta their creative team.
And it kept on expanding and growing tothe point where what was a checklist is
now almost a over a hundred page book andframework on how to work with creatives
(02:33):
and how to save money and how to getthe most from them and from their team.
Definitely appreciate the resource becauseI feel a lot of solopreneurs, small
business owners, we usually have moretime than money, so we're looking for a
resource and trying to DIY things ourselfand then that first real investment
into marketing or branding or graphics.
It's a considerable amountthat we hold dear to ourselves.
So this first time working withcreatives, we wanna get the most
(02:56):
out of it as possible and avoid alot of these cost mistakes that way.
The agencies and spending hoursworking on something that we're not
gonna get a benefit from in the end.
And we all have these assumptionsand presumptions about
what things are or are not.
So we appreciate you putting thisresource out for people to understand.
So tell me more about some of theclients that you work with and some
of their struggles that now thehandbook is now helping them with.
(03:17):
Yeah.
Great.
Thank you.
Well, one of the things in working withcreatives, it's not like someone gives
you a suggestion or when we start out tooas solopreneurs and entrepreneurs, it's
sometimes our networks aren't that big.
So we ask who we know and sometimes we gowith someone's suggestion but it might not
be an educated or an educated suggestion.
We've always heard stories of someonewho's working with their neighbor's
cousin or their son or whatever else andwho's dabbled in X, Y, Z industry but
(03:41):
they're not really gonna get the results.
So to help people, askthe right questions.
It's more of from beginning to endchecklist of when you're working on these
projects, just what questions to ask.
So if someone suggests, theneighbor's son to build you a website.
You can ask them specificquestions on certain things.
They're not necessarily deep or technical.
I really wrote this at a very high level.
But it is really about asking questions atall the right stages so that you're better
(04:04):
informed and getting the most out of it.
One of the examples from the beginningof the conversation was, one of my
good friends called because theirdesigner had done some brochures
with them and of course they shotbeautiful photography and they had a
writer write this all of this stuff.
And when they called up their design teamto retrieve and do edits on this brochure
a year later they were informed by thedesign team that their files no longer
(04:26):
existed because their computer crashed.
Literally the months before andeverything was kind of gone.
So at which point myclient's, what do I do?
What are the repercussionsand everything else?
The first question I asked is,where's your copy of it all?
We don't think about that.
And that's why the book'scalled Blind Spots.
'cause those things we don't thinkabout or the assumptions that we make
and needs to say the design team,they didn't really need to put their
(04:47):
arms up and said, sorry, too bad.
Zero accountability and there's reallynothing legally you can do because
it is so small and everything else.
But there was tens of thousandsof dollars of creative assets and
writing and photography that wasnow lost for a small business.
That's a huge amount of money.
So it's written in mind becauseit is about every hour, every
dollar counts when you're tryingto start your small business.
And this book is meant toalleviate some of that stress and
(05:10):
help you make better decisions.
And it's also written in short,punchy, little sort of way so it
doesn't go too far in depth but itgives you the resources to do that.
So everything from a startup to smallbusiness, this is here to help you
make those informed decisions sothat you can experienced from someone
who's been in it 30 plus years andalso interviewing all my friends.
All the mistakes that they'vemade, all the money and time
(05:30):
that we've spent making mistakes.
It's a collection of thatand how not to do it.
So that's what blind spots is about.
A very valuable resource.
Where can people find out moreabout that or get a copy or
sign up to learn more about it?
Yeah, thank you.
Blind spots handbook.com is the website.
And there's a link on Amazon, so bothin Canada and in the US so you can have
it, you have it delivered to your housewithin days or your office within days.
(05:52):
And that's probably the best part,the sort of the best place to get it.
And I'll be developing in thenext six months to a year an
online course for people as well.
So the book is one thing butwe're also love to watch and
learn online and visually as well.
So I'll be creating that to givesome of those lessons and some of
these tips a little bit more depthand a little more insight to them.
Very nice.
That is excellent.
So it's gonna be this entireecosystem that is built off
(06:14):
the foundation of the book.
But again, some topics just needto be covered a little bit more
in depth or just a differentperspective that you can really
share through different assets here.
A hundred percent.
And something likedeveloping a creative brief.
The creative brief is kind oflike the Bible for us in the
agencies or in the design world.
It is sort of Bible of our directionof how we're going to help the client.
(06:35):
And sometimes those briefs arevery shallow not well researched.
So part of the book goes into that.
But giving them even more resourcesto help create more in depth
research and help them create abetter brief at which point they can
get exponentially more out of it.
And this is the firstversion of this book.
So I'm gonna start going out andinterviewing photographers, videographers,
web, social, all the other sort ofcreative industries to see where their
(06:57):
blind spots are in working with clientsand then bringing that in and creating
more additions and putting more contentout there so that when they're hiring
a videographer or writer, they canget the most outta that experience
and the most outta their budget andget more value out of the project.
Very nice.
And it'll be really interesting onceyou gain those insights from the
separate industries to find where thecommonalities lie and what things are
specific to either the entrepreneuror even the industry itself.
(07:20):
So I think it's gonna be a great resourceand really telling, once you gather that
information and the insights from them.
Yeah.
One of my photo friends sent me thisquote which says, with any project, your
blind spot isn't what you don't know.
It's what everybody else thinksyou already know and that valley
of misconception or assumptions inbetween the creative person and the
(07:40):
small business or entrepreneurs.
We've all watched the movies and TV andwe see how kind of play business works
or how things the creative worlds or howpeople interact when they do business.
And it's just not really how that works.
But sometimes in our mind we feellike it should have to does work that
way but there's a lot of steps aremistaken when we watch fake things
on TV or we see stuff like that.
This is bridging that gap.
That's excellent.
And it's funny you mentioned someof the assumptions that we make
(08:02):
from watching, play pretend on tv.
When I got into marketing, I thoughtI would immediately become Don
Draper and I would start smokingcigarettes and being really cool.
But that's not the case.
It's different but that's okay.
That's more of a fictitiouspretend, make believe.
Same for lawyers.
The courtroom doesn't work thesame way that we see on tv.
That it does not.
And that's helping people give thatunderstanding of how the real sort
(08:22):
of mechanics of a project works sothat they truly understand and see
where the potential lies but alsowhere the pitfalls lies as well.
So it's not all doom and gloom.
This is also about cranking upthe potential of your project,
the pot potential and outcomesof your project as well.
So it is really seeing where thingsare dodging and weaving and getting
further faster and that's whatit's ultimately kind of about.
(08:44):
Two words that perfectlydescribe entrepreneurship is
the dodging and the weaving.
It feels like we'realways on top of our toes.
We're always alert.
We're seeing what's happening.
But it's something we don't really learnuntil we either experience or we learn
from others and they share that insight.
Otherwise, we kind of go in blind.
And I think that leads intoeverything that the book goes into.
But one piece I wanted to ask about is,your approach to designing creatives.
(09:05):
How do you either like to workwith clients specifically or do
you have recommendations on thosesolopreneurs and entrepreneurs out
there who want to get a taste ofwhat creative and design should be?
Should they focus on one thingover another when it comes
to their branding strategy?
Great question.
So one of the things that we focuson that first and foremost, if you
are starting to hire a creative orbranding agent or anything else ask
(09:27):
them about how they approach a project,what research they're going to do, how
are they gonna understand you, yourclients, your industry as a whole.
Because that is one of the mostimportant things that is going to
be the mechanics, the structureof any great project and outcome.
Because if you don't understand whoyou're competing against and you don't
understand also your clientele without adeep understanding of that, any logo, any
(09:49):
marketing project, you're just spendingmoney on something that looks nice.
So that's a really quirky.
So for anybody wanting to hire someoneto do their identity or any kind of
marketing website, anything creativeor anything that you want to resonate
with your customer or drive businessand everything else, start asking the
questions and the mechanics of who areyou competing against, who your clients
are and all those important questions.
(10:10):
So do the research first and once youhave all that research, you can build
and then test that creative againstsome of those findings that you have.
Half of my job is really understandingthat first because that can give you
exponential power and you can really fullyunderstand what to do and how you can fit
into the market in your own unique way.
Better to stand out.
That's really key.
(10:30):
Unless what everybody's doing in theindustry and how they're standing out,
you're just wasting money if you'rejust sort of guessing at things.
So do the research or find clientsthat are doing that research or will
do that research with you and help youunderstand the lay of the landscape.
Otherwise, you're spending moneyon something that is decoration not
so much something that's gonna betactical and that's gonna be useful
for ultimately growing your business.
(10:52):
I completely agree.
It goes way beyond just having somethingthat looks pretty, it's really about
what does this say about me in thecompany and what does it communicate to
our current clients or ideal clients.
And there's so much insight that can befound from asking our current clients.
What do you think about this?
What are your thoughts?
What does this make you think and feel?
And through that insight, throughthat research, you can really get this
roadmap to, okay, this is gonna be ourfocus and our clarity because this is
(11:16):
what we're hearing from the audience.
This is how we need to build this.
So that gives you clarity anddirection throughout that research.
Yeah.
One of the things that people don'toften do and it's such a hugely
valuable insight is getting testimonialsor interviewing your past clients.
Like, why do you pick us?
What makes us stand out?
Why'd you pick us versus thecompetitor or all those things.
So just client testimonials orclient interviews is fantastic.
(11:38):
It gives you so much depth andinsight about who you're, why you're
being chosen for industry or productand what makes you different.
So it's such valuable insight 'causethen you can tweak that and leverage
that even more to get more businessand get more people through the door.
Absolutely.
I completely agree.
Now, for you, having all thisexperience building your own agency and
growing and working with others too.
Do you credit the successfor getting more clients?
(12:00):
Are you doing a lot of networking?
Are you focusing on outreach?
What's been a good strategy forbuilding your book of business here?
The book is an entirely new industryfor me, so I feel I'm dipping
my toe into something brand new.
I'm sitting on the other side of thedesk right now from everything else.
But for me, for the past 30 years ofgrowing my own business, I learned
from a mentor very early that, it'severything's about relationships and
(12:22):
creating them and taking care of them.
And it's not even just who youknow but it's how you're really
kind of being a part of theirlife and the community as a whole.
So that for me is probably one ofthe biggest things I've learned
in my entire life in running abusiness and starting a business.
It gets exponentially easier as you buildyour network, as you build your community,
the support is there and the resourcesare there and it's just you're able to
(12:45):
do more because now you have people evenbehind you supporting it and asking what
they can do and all the rest of that.
I'm doing more sales now becausebefore I was so used to word of mouth
and that was something where I wasbuilding those strong relationships
with my clients, with all my suppliersand and I'd network a lot, I'd go out
there, I'd be a part of the community.
(13:05):
I'd like doing things like interviewsand podcasts and dropping into a lot
of youth entrepreneurs mentorship.
Any way I could be a part of thecommunity and use my experience to help.
And that was a great way to meet people.
Another thing is, sitting on some boards.
I'm fortunate because I have a skilland something that a lot of fundraising
boards need, they always needmarketing and branding and they have
always events and things coming up.
So I was in a good position tooffer my services to those boards.
(13:29):
And it was a great way for me tomeet people and for them to see
how I worked without paying me.
It's one of those things that you'reworking on a big event and you're
doing all the branding and marketingand you're working with them.
But they're not paying you as a clientsupplier but they get to see how you work.
I got a lot of clients from thatbecause everybody on that board and
all the suppliers, you kind of putin a little more effort because you
want the outcome to be that muchgreater for the fundraising effort.
(13:50):
But you also know it's a showcase ofnot just your work but of how you work.
And I think with any entrepreneur,we continue working with people that
we like working with that make ourlives easier, make us look good.
And that's always been stampedin the back of my mind.
Just make it a great experiencefor everyone and it's easier
for them to work with you.
And that for me has been one of my staplesthat I've gone through the business.
But the book is another beastentirely 'cause now I'm gonna have
(14:13):
to change the gears in my brainto become more of a salesperson.
It is different.
I'm loving it because it is adifferent muscle that I'm having
to flex and it's humbling butit's exciting at the same time.
Very nice.
A lot of great practical advice and tipshere about building the book of business.
And I agree that building andnurturing relationships is
really the key to anything.
You really need to have some sort ofone-on-one connection with the business
or the person that you're working with.
(14:34):
And a lot of these examples are greatways to showcase your work and be a
helpful resource to the community.
And now you're just showcasingwho you are and how you help
people what you do and suddenlypeople start to take note of that.
Now, Brady, we only havea couple more minutes.
I wanted to mention that peoplecan connect with you on LinkedIn.
We'll have the link available down on theshow notes and the description along with
the blind spots handbook.com as well.
Wanted to ask Brady, if you had tostart over all again today, I know
(14:58):
you're starting on the book now, butif you had to start your business
over, what would you focus on firstto try and to get yourself out there?
Great question.
Again, it's community build.
Ask questions, talk to a lotof people, ask 'em what if they
were me, what would they need?
I started off with the bookas well is going out there
and saying how valuable is it?
So before I spent a lot of time, moneyand effort putting this together, I really
(15:20):
went out and talked to a lot of peopleand said I'm thinking about doing this.
How does that sound to you?
And getting people's feedback and beingreally open for a lot of feedback.
And that's probably oneof the biggest things.
It's really tough sometimes as anentrepreneur 'cause you think you
have this golden idea that's it'sgoing to be a success and profitable.
But for the most part, it's very untested.
So for me, just talk to a lot of peopleand just get their opinions on it.
(15:43):
Ask them different questions,see what their feedback is.
And also to join a lot ofnetworking groups and see how it
can be of value in the community.
Another big thing.
And that's something where I learnedvery early as well is, don't be
afraid to approach someone thatyou really want to talk to, who
can give you that valuable insight.
And that was something some of the peopleI'd never expect to be able to connect
with or I just asked that, Hey, would youhave 30 minutes to jump on a Zoom call?
(16:06):
Or a quick coffee with me?
I'll come meet you wherever.
And that was probably oneof the biggest lessons.
And even now, if someone pops in my brainlike, I'd love to talk to that person.
Totally unconnected, ultimatelymultiple levels above me and
what I'm doing currently.
But I just throw it out there and just agenuinely like, you wanna write a book?
Here's my experience.
I found that such a huge tool inmy toolbox to leverage or get ahead
and get the better ideas out andget rid of the bad ideas and keep on
(16:30):
working through those better ideas.
That is excellent and somethingwe don't wanna overlook.
And something specific you mentioned aboutthe product validation phase, we see a
lot of business owners, entrepreneursspend so much time building out something
that they think their client is going towant when in reality they don't want it
or they built it for the wrong industryor it's not really what they needed.
So you can get so much informationand insight from talking to
(16:50):
clients or potential clients justto ask 'em for their feedback.
And that can help propel you alot further than you would before.
Brady, we appreciate you sharingyour tips and tricks in your wisdom.
So excited to watch yourgrowth in your journey.
Very excited for the Blind Spotshandbook and that progress as it
creates this full ecosystem ofmarketing and entrepreneurship advice.
Brady, we appreciate yourtime and thank you so much.
Thanks Chris.
Much loved it on here andthanks for the invitation.
(17:12):
So I'll come back anytime.
Thank you.
Awesome.
Appreciate it.
Thank you.
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