28 MAY 2015 · Being a specialist doesn’t mean you have to limit your skills to a niched industry or job function. Just ask Jason Swenk. Jason helps digital agency owners get to the next level in their business, abd his ability to generate leads for his clients has lead to work across a number of industries. Instead of delivering a set-in-stone sales funnel, he works with marketing milestones involving stop and go points throughout a conversation with a prospective customer. Jason started out as a programmer, but he quickly lost interest and found himself building websites. As the digital space expanded, so did Jason’s skills and successes, ultimately launching his own digital agency. He eventually sold it twelve years later in 2011 to share his insight with others. In this episode, he discusses how he maintained industry awareness, the importance of specialization, how to target a broad audience as a specialist and why this is especially effective, and breaking up a marketing strategy into milestones instead of the funnel approach. For the show notes, check out skilledup.com/jasonswenk. 

21 MAY 2015 · Most journalists start on a much smaller stage before landing an opportunity at one of the biggest names in broadcast news. Nick Valencia is one of the exceptions. After he graduated from University of Southern California, Nick caught the attention of CNN after he self-funded a journalistic adventure to Uganda. He was first hired as a teleprompter operator but quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the few home-grown broadcasters in the CNN organization. Nick has served as the National and International Desk editor and the head of the CNN Spanish Desk. He is now a national correspondent and is among the first on the ground for the biggest and latest breaking news stories across the United States. In this episode, Nick discusses how he decided to pursue journalism over sports broadcasting, the different X factors of broadcast journalists, climbing through the ranks from entry level assistant to national correspondent, continuing your extraordinary work to demonstrate longevity and consistency, and his vision for the future of journalism for hyper-local stories. For the show notes, check out skilledup.com/nickvalencia. 

14 MAY 2015 · With the rise of social media and the internet, marketing departments have seen their mission shift drastically. Up through the end of the 20th century, most of what marketing did was focused on sales. As consumer’s demand for and access to content has grown, businesses have begun to shift their focus to creating branded content in order to draw an audience to their services. Joe Pulizzi has been working in content marketing since the very beginning. He began in publishing, and watched the demand for content creators skyrocket in the last decade. Joe is the founder of Content Marketing Institute and author of Epic Content Marketing. In this episode, Joe discusses the best practices for preparing to get a job in content marketing, how the field of content marketing developed from the publishing industry, the ballooning demand for content creators outside of traditional media institutions, and what the future holds for content marketing. For the show notes, head to skilledup.com/joepulizzi. 

7 MAY 2015 · Beyond paid advertising, sponsorships, and other traditional marketing, more and more companies have placed storytelling and content marketing with much greater emphasis in their marketing departments. However, the stories that grip their respective audiences may not always be easy to find. That’s where marketer and story teller Matthew Turner comes in. Matthew eventually found his calling while developing a set of journals into a novel. He then combined his newfound passion with his degree in marketing, and has been doing brand storytelling ever since. In this episode, Matthew discusses how he came to realize that storytelling is his passion, the way that others’ definition of success can hold us back, the importance of finding your passion and your purpose and marrying the two, what brand storytelling is, and how companies can do a better job of it. For the show notes, checking out skilledup.com/matthewturner.  

30 APR 2015 · Learning a second or third language is always an advantage as a professional. For some, however, being multi-lingual is the pathway to a career. Jill Dougherty studied Russian in high school and college, and when the offer came to be a broadcaster for Voice of America in Russia she grabbed it, even though she had no formal broadcast training. Her career has been all about seizing opportunities as they come. She eventually moved to TV and CNN, where she spent thirty years including time as the Moscow Bureau Chief. Jill is now one of the foremost experts on Russia in America, and a professor at the Woodrow Wilson Center. In this episode, Jill discusses how her high school focus helped define the rest of her careers, the importance of taking on challenges, and learning new skills on the job, her experiences as a foreign correspondent in Russia, what skills she thinks are absolutely necessary for journalistic success. For the show notes, you can check out skilledup.com/jilldougherty.

23 APR 2015 · Who thought a college engineering major would end up creating a monumental career in sports broadcasting media that included some of the biggest names in the business? In this era of modern technology and on-demand content, we can watch our favorite sports teams on dedicated TV channels, on the Internet--even on our mobile phones. Back when Mike started in the sports broadcasting industry, this wasn’t the case. There were only three networks, and a limited number of sporting events were even aired. As the accessibility of TV entertainment across sports developed, Mike had a courtside view of the biggest changes in the industry. He started as a television sales manager, became a sports marketing expert and was eventually named Vice President of NBC Sports. He now runs his own private consulting firm in Greenwich, Connecticut. In this episode, Mike discusses, how he moved from an electrical engineer to owning his own sports marketing firm, his experience helping organize the 1984 Winter Olympics, trends in the sports marketing and advertising business, building business relationships, and using what you know to help you do things that make you happy. For the show notes, check out skilledup.com/miketrager. 

16 APR 2015 ·   Did you know that it’s possible to multiply your time and increase the value of every minute of every day? Working in the modern world can be overwhelming. As we complete one assignment, or write one email, another two pop up. What are the strategies that the best workers use to create more time for important things? That’s the question that Rory Vaden sets out to answer in his new book “Procrastinate on Purpose.” Rory  is a hard worker. The son of a single mother, he sold education books door to door over the summers during college and managed to make a quarter of a million dollars. He went on to start his own sales consulting firm and become a best selling author. In this episode, Rory discusses the inspiration for his new book “Procrastinate on Purpose,” the downsides of common productivity strategies, giving yourself permission to take the time to create more time, why it’s important to invest time and/or money in gaining skills, generating a high ROTI, or “return on time invested.” For the show notes, check out skilledup.com/roryvaden.

9 APR 2015 ·   In addition to traditional marketing and finance, behind the scenes of every single concert and every single band is a massive team of promoters and security professionals who had no choice but to work their way to success. There is no college for making it in music management. We've all been to shows and seen people working security up front. Both Jason Browning and Ed Baker were once two of those guys. Although they began in different eras, their stories followed similar paths. By taking on more responsibilities and seizing opportunities when they could, they rose through the ranks. Eventually, they found themselves being asked to manage tours for major recording artists, and after joining as business partners, they began to manage bands as well. In this episode, Ed and Jason discuss how they transitioned from the security industry into band and tour management, dealing with setbacks, their experiences working with artists such as Jessica Simpson, Hansen, and Linkin Park, the ability to anticipate and think ahead, and the way the music industry has changed and continues to evolve. For the show notes, you can check out skilledup.com/browninggroup.

24 MAR 2015 · New technologies are constantly wiggling their way into the workforce, and they’re changing the way we define literacy. It is no longer enough to get a quality education in fundamentals such as reading and writing alone to prepare for a career. You have to be able to use those skills in some form online. Digital literacy was a hot topic at SXSWedu with all the attendees having a unique and fresh perspective. This is the fourth episode of a four part series of Fearless Careers from SXSWedu2015. 

20 MAR 2015 · Over the course of the last two decades, the Internet has become a fixture of everyday life. And, as our digital lives expand, so do the number of jobs available for programmers and web developers. In light of this, coding — and how best to learn it — was a hot topic of conversation at SXSW Edu this year. The conference, held every March in Austin, Texas, regularly draws a crowd of teachers, administrators and innovators seeking the best new ideas in the field of education. In and outside of sessions, conference attendees discussed strategies for equipping learners with the skills they need to be successful programmers. This is the third episode in a four part series from Fearless Careers at SXSWedu 2015.