Royally Unhinged THE Podcast

This episode starts with Ludacris.

Naturally, it somehow ends up at lutefisk, lefse, NSYNC, cereal boxes, franchise marketing, and the very serious question of whether every region should just get its own weird little version of everything.

We get into commercials, local references, nostalgia, and those tiny details that make people go, “Okay, this was definitely made for us.”

Somewhere along the way, we also revisit Tarah...

AI can make a flyer in seconds… but should it look like AI made it?

It is the rise of AI-generated flyers, and why so many of them are starting to look the same, and what happens when you cram way too much information onto one graphic and call it marketing.

We’re not anti-AI. In fact, we’re all for using tools that make marketing more accessible if that’s your thing — especially if hiring a designer or ...

Sometimes the biggest marketing wins come from the smallest moments.

It’s travel stories, first-class flying, and some seriously great customer experience moments from Paula’s recent trip to Canada.

From simple questions and thoughtful acknowledgements to those tiny personal touches that make someone feel genuinely seen, we get into why people remember how a business made them feel long after the transaction is over.

Becau...

Why do we keep doing things the same way just because that’s how they’ve always been done?

Let’s start with a book that literally runs backwards — highest page number to lowest — and somehow turn that into a much bigger conversation about doing things differently on purpose.

We also get into the Dungeon Crawler Carl book series, unconventional design choices, fandom, branding, marketing, events, speaking...

Influencer culture has changed a LOT — and we have questions.

Are influencers are actually losing their influence… or if people are just getting tired of the perfectly curated posts, constant selling, fake authenticity, and “you NEED this” energy.

We get into what even makes someone an influencer anymore, why audiences are getting more skeptical, and whether people are starting to trust real recommendations, ...

Your website says one thing. Google says another. Facebook has hours from six months ago. LinkedIn still has an employee who left in 2024.

Very demure? Not quite.

What is the importance of keeping your business information accurate and consistent everywhere people might find you online?

From your website and Google Business Profile to Facebook, LinkedIn, Bing, social media, staff bios, photos, store hours, contact information, and eve...

Featuring Bill Murray…

Well… kind of.

🚨 Spoiler Alert! 🚨

When Tarah saw that Bill Murray was listed in the cast of Zombieland: Double Tap, she naturally assumed he’d be back in a big (and probably hilarious) way. Considering what happened in the first movie, we couldn’t wait to see how they’d pull it off.

Instead? Let’s just say it sparked a much bigger conversation.

When does mentioning someone&r...

YOU do not have to follow the same business playbook as everyone else.

You are allowed to be different. You are allowed to build your business in a way that actually fits you. And you definitely do not have to do something just because everyone in your industry says you should.

We get into the pressure business owners, speakers, and professionals feel to follow the “right” path, whether that means writing a book, offering...

Part 2 Tattoo is here… because apparently everyone had thoughts.

After our first episode about tattoos in the workplace, the comments, texts, emails, and real-life conversations kept coming. So naturally, we had to come back for round two — this time with Tarah’s finished tattoo, more opinions, and even more questions about whether visible ink belongs in professional settings.

We talk about the meaning behind Tarah...

NETWORKING. But not in the usual “how many leads did you get?” kind of way.

Because if the only reason you’re networking is to get referrals, sales, or business cards, you might be missing one of the biggest benefits: being in a room with people who actually get it.

We get into how networking can be a place for problem-solving, support, and real conversations with other business owners who’ve been through it b...

We’re asking a question that somehow feels simple and complicated at the same time: what actually is an influencer?

With construction taking over the studio, we ended up recording from Paula’s Pantry, which honestly felt like the perfect setting for a conversation like this.

We get into what counts as an influencer, who gets to define that label, and whether being an influencer is about followers, impact, content creatio...

Once upon a time in 1969…in a little place called Durango, Colorado, there was an entrepreneur that seriously understood the assignment and started: Bar D Chuckwagon.

Tarah and her family were on vacation recently and what she thought was just going to be dinner turned into a full-on experience, chuckwagon supper, live music, kids activities, great customer service, and even a performer with an American Idol connection. It wa...

We’re talking tattoos!! Tattoos in the workplace, visible tattoos at work, and why body art still gets treated like a controversy in some industries.

With Tarah heading in for a tattoo, the conversation quickly turned into a bigger discussion about professionalism, hiring bias, company image, and whether employers should care if someone has visible ink.

Let’s get into questions like: should tattoos be covered at work, ar...

It’s the social media disease… known as posting things that absolutely did not need to be posted.

It all started with that insurance commercial where a guy’s basement is literally flooding, and instead of just handling the situation, he’s trying to come up with the perfect caption for social media. One of the agents finally says what we were all thinking: “Or you could just not post it.” And hone...

You use TikTok for what?!What started as a conversation about how businesses get found online turned into a bigger talk about where people are actually searching these days. Are people still using Google first? Are they jumping to TikTok for places to eat, travel ideas, and things to do? And how much does that change the way businesses need to think about getting found?In this episode, we get into how search habits are shifting, th...

Beets. Bears. Battlestar Galactica.If you know, you know.In this episode of Royally Unhinged, we’re taking a trip to Scranton and asking a question nobody expected: Was Michael Scott actually right?As it turns out, behind the awkward gift baskets, questionable decisions, and chaotic management style was a surprisingly valuable lesson about relationships, customer loyalty, and standing out in a world obsessed with automation.A...

Your business space can either whisper “welcome” or scream “we gave up in 2017.”

If you have a brick-and-mortar business, office, studio, or any place customers physically come to, your environment is saying something about your brand — whether you meant it to or not. We get into how your space shapes perception, creates experience, and becomes part of the story people tell about your business.

Because b...

One of the least flashy but most important parts of marketing: consistency.More specifically, we get into consistency on social media, why it matters, why so many businesses struggle with it, and why showing up over and over again usually matters more than chasing perfection or waiting for the “right” moment.And because this is us, the conversation also takes a turn into babushkas and all the things, because apparently ...

The worst looks in business?? Badmouthing your competition.

From subtle jabs to full-on public shade, we get into why tearing other businesses down is not a strategy, why social media makes people way too bold, and how online bullies seem to think the comment section is a personality trait. We talk about the damage this kind of behavior can do, how it reflects on your brand, and why some people are so focused on dragging others inst...