The world has fundamentally changed, and waiting for things to return to "normal" isn't a strategy - it's a trap. My guest Rick Yvanovitch, serial entrepreneur and author of "Business as Unusual: How to Thrive in the New Renaissance," learned this firsthand during COVID lockdowns in Vietnam. As experts and entrepreneurs building our personal brands, we need frameworks that help us thrive in this "business as unusual" world while maintaining balance across all areas of our lives.

🏰 The Castle Framework for Life Balance

Rick's powerful alternative to the Wheel of Life uses a castle metaphor where seven buildings represent different life aspects. Unlike the rigid wheel demanding perfect balance, your castle can be uniquely shaped with towers of different heights based on your priorities. The key insight: we all know when we're out of balance, even if we can't define perfect balance.

💪 Strengths vs. Weaknesses: The Strategic Approach

Instead of working on weaknesses, Rick advocates doubling down on strengths while solving for critical weaknesses that could derail you. Since you like your strengths and you're good at them, there's no resistance to improvement. His solution for people management as an introvert? Using psychometrics as a "mathematical formula for people."

🎯 Breaking Through Success Thermostats

We explored internal success limits - that psychological thermostat keeping us at certain levels. The solution involves coaching to identify blind spots and raise that internal bar. Like sports teams, sometimes you need different coaches for different growth stages.

📚 Read "The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olson - Rick calls this one of the most important books he's ever read, focusing on seven-step principles that have become his philosophy of life.

📧 Subscribe to Rick's Newsletter - "Business as Unusual TLDR" focuses on leadership challenges with simple acronyms and coaching-style exercises to help you practice solutions.

🤝 Connect and Ask - Rick encourages reaching out on LinkedIn. As he says, "If you want anything, if you need anything, just ask." Building relationships and seeking guidance is how we grow.

More from Rick : https://www.rickyvanovich.com/

Ricks Book : https://amzn.to/4pZkLvT

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It's the FREE roadmap to starting, scaling or just fixing your expert business.

www.amplifyme.agency/roadmap

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Building a personal brand isn't just about posting content - it's about creating genuine connections that drive referrals, opportunities, and business growth. Whether you're a consultant, coach, or executive, the stories you tell become the raw materials for how people remember and refer you.

In this conversation with brand storyteller Renee Frojo, we explore three critical areas that separate memorable personal brands from forgettable ones:

🎯 The Big Story Framework - Moving beyond the single "signature story" to develop your ownable premise. Renee walks through her process of identifying cultural tensions in your industry and finding the intersection with your unique approach. We practice this live, demonstrating how to dig deeper than surface-level professional achievements to uncover the real transformation stories that connect.

🔄 From Authenticity to Self-Awareness - Why "being authentic" has become problematic advice that leads to oversharing and trauma dumping. Instead, we discuss the concept of "becoming in public" - allowing your audience to witness your evolution and thought process without crossing into inappropriate territory. The goal shifts from showing everything to showing up with intentional self-awareness.

📚 The Daily Story Collection System - How to never run out of content by developing what Renee calls "narrative intuition." Everything becomes potential content when you learn to spot the moments of change, the shifts in perspective, and the connexions between daily experiences and bigger business lessons.

Three Actions You Can Take:

📖 Read "The Human Brand" by Susan Fisk - Learn the warmth + competence formula that creates instant credibility and trust in all your communications.

🎧 Listen to "How Stories Happen" podcast by Jay Akunzo - Study how excellent communicators break down their most effective stories and develop your own premise.

✍️ Start "Homework for Life" practice - Spend 5 minutes daily noting what made you feel something today. Ask: what was the moment of change? This becomes your endless database of story material.

https://www.reneelynnfrojo.com/

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Get your copy of my Personal Brand Business Blueprint

It's the FREE roadmap to starting, scaling or just fixing your expert business.

www.amplifyme.agency/roadmap

----

Subscribe to my Youtube!!

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If you're building an expert business, you already know that referrals are the lifeblood of sustainable growth. What you might not realize is that 60% of revenue in healthy consulting businesses comes from referrals - yet most of us are doing it wrong. We're either constantly asking (which feels needy) or hoping great work alone will generate referrals (it won't). This episode breaks down a systematic approach that transforms how you think about and generate referrals.

Three Key Areas We Explored

🎯 The Problem with Asking for Referrals Stacey explains why the traditional "just ask" approach creates two major problems. First, it puts you on a hamster wheel - you have to keep asking forever because the ask becomes the trigger. Second, it psychologically burdens the person you're asking by adding work to their already full plate and forcing them to manufacture something that doesn't naturally exist.

💡 The Five-Step Framework for Existing Referral Sources We dove into Stacey's proven system for getting more referrals from people who already refer you. The framework covers identifying your existing referral sources, creating a proper thank-you process, developing a 5-7 touchpoint plan over 12 months, using specific language that plants referral seeds, and systematizing the process so it actually happens consistently.

🔄 Creating a Referable Client Experience The conversation shifted to Stacey's new book focus - making sure you're actually referable before trying to generate referrals. She breaks down the client experience into three stages (new, active, alumni) and explains the formula: great work + relationship-building touchpoints = referable experience. The key insight? How your clients feel while working with you matters more than the results you deliver.

Three Actions You Can Take Right Now

📝 Map Your Current Client Journey Take out a piece of paper and map every touchpoint from when someone says yes to working with you until they're done. Mark each touchpoint with a "W" for work or "R" for relationship-building. Most businesses will find they have mostly W's and need to add more R's - aim for about 20% relationship touchpoints.

🔍 Identify Your Existing Referral Sources Go back through your last three years of clients and list where each one heard about you. Any name that appears is a referral source - this becomes your "list of gold." These people are usually closer to your next clients than you are, making them your lowest-hanging fruit for generating more referrals.

📚 Get the Books Start with "Generating Business Referrals Without Asking" to work with your existing referral sources, then move to "The Referable Client Experience" to systematize how you make clients feel. Both books include practical frameworks you can implement immediately rather than just theory.

Stacey's Website : https://staceybrownrandall.com/

Stacey's Book : https://amzn.to/4p75yrD

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Get your copy of my Personal Brand Business Blueprint

It's the FREE roadmap to starting, scaling or just fixing your expert business.

www.amplifyme.agency/roadmap

----

Subscribe to my Youtube!!

Follow on Instagram and Twitter @bobgentle

Join the Amplify Insiders Facebook Community : www.amplifyme.agency/insiders

Please take a second to rate this show in Apple Podcasts. ❤ It