Smashing the Plateau

How to Build Your Brand with LinkedIn Live Strategy Featuring Nina Froriep

Nina is a LinkedIn™️ Brand Builder and Content and Engagement Strategist for Creators, Coaches, and Consultants. She works with service-based entrepreneurs and visual artists to develop strategies and create digital content that helps them grow their businesses organically on LinkedIn.Nina is a "recovering" film producer and documentary filmmaker. She has worked on Emmy award-winning documentaries, including one she produced, Abraham's Children.Nina is a visual artist and loves spending time in her native Switzerland with her owner, Tigger, an 11-pound Dachshund mix who has her well-trained.In today's episode of Smashing the Plateau, you will learn how to use LinkedIn Live to build your brand and grow your business without the weekly commitment of a podcast.Nina and I discuss:What is LinkedIn Live [04:04]The technical setup process for LinkedIn Live [05:47]What format to use for your LinkedIn Live shows [08:37]What doesn't work as a LinkedIn Live strategy [10:00]The differences between LinkedIn Live and podcasts [13:18]Strategies for interacting with your audience [17:21]How to foster community interaction during LinkedIn Live [20:15]Repurposing LinkedIn Live content into conversation highlights [22:04]Learn more about Nina at https://clockwiseproductions.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/nina-froriep/.______________________________________________________________About Smashing the PlateauSmashing the Plateau shares stories and strategies from corporate refugees: mid-career professionals who’ve left corporate life to build something of their own.Each episode features a candid conversation with someone who has walked this path or supports those who do. Guests offer real strategies to help you build a sustainable, fulfilling business on your terms, with practical insights on positioning, growth, marketing, decision-making, and mindset.Woven throughout are powerful reminders of how community can accelerate your success.______________________________________________________________Take the Next Step• Experience the power of community.Join a live guest session and connect with peers who understand the journey:https://smashingtheplateau.com/guest• Not ready to join live yet? Stay connected.Get practical strategies, stories, and invitations delivered to your inbox:https://smashingtheplateau.com/news

How to Overcome the Limiting Beliefs Holding You Back Featuring Curtis McCullom

Curtis McCullom helps CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs eliminate the blind spots that have silently held them back since childhood—unlocking greater income, confidence, and personal freedom. Through his LGET Mindset™ framework (Learn, Grow, Expand, Transform) and powerful modalities like NLP, Mental Emotional Release® (MER), and Hypnotherapy, he facilitates reprogramming subconscious blocks for deep, lasting transformation.In today's episode of Smashing the Plateau, you will learn how to break through invisible ceilings by reprogramming subconscious blocks for deep, lasting transformation.Curtis and I discuss:Curtis's career journey from financial services to mindset coaching [02:22]What triggered his transition from financial services [04:02]Why executive coaching wasn't enough [05:09]The difference between conscious and subconscious behavior [05:20]How the LGET framework was created [06:55]Curtis's ideal client and invisible ceilings [08:26]An example of breaking through relationship blocks [09:15]How to acknowledge problems without identifying with them [11:00]The importance of diaphragmatic breathing [12:20]The one-day mindset reset process [14:00]The mindset shift from employee to entrepreneur [15:22]Why undervaluing your worth is common [17:25]The biggest blocks people face [18:44]Curtis's personal story about sabotaging success [19:36]How peers and community help overcome blocks [22:30]Curtis would love to offer your audience two powerful resources at a special rate:From Anxious to Aligned: The Anxiety Reframe Kit — normally $297, but available to your listeners for just $27. This proven system helps flip anxiety into clarity, confidence, and focus in minutes. Bespokehpcanxietyreframe.bespokehpc.com/homeDiscover & Align: 60-Minute Breakthrough Session — normally $500, but available to your listeners for only $97. In this personalized session, Curtis helps uncover core values, reveal hidden blind spots, and realign mindset so you can move forward with clarity and confidence. Bespokehpcvaluesdiscovery.bespokehpc.com/home______________________________________________________________About Smashing the PlateauSmashing the Plateau shares stories and strategies from corporate refugees: mid-career professionals who’ve left corporate life to build something of their own.Each episode features a candid conversation with someone who has walked this path or supports those who do. Guests offer real strategies to help you build a sustainable, fulfilling business on your terms, with practical insights on positioning, growth, marketing, decision-making, and mindset.Woven throughout are powerful reminders of how community can accelerate your success.______________________________________________________________Take the Next Step• Experience the power of community.Join a live guest session and connect with peers who understand the journey:https://smashingtheplateau.com/guest• Not ready to join live yet? Stay connected.Get practical strategies, stories, and invitations delivered to your inbox:https://smashingtheplateau.com/news

How to Reach Financial Sustainability Within Your First Business Year Featuring Madeleine Niebauer

Madeleine Niebauer is a seasoned executive with two decades of experience across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Madeleine spent five years as a Chief of Staff at Teach For America. She loved the fast-paced, ever-changing nature of the work and the ability to truly leverage a leader's time so they could be more productive and successful. She knew many leaders could benefit from this service on a part-time basis, which inspired her to launch VChief.Prior to joining TFA, Madeleine was a strategy consultant for foundations and nonprofit organizations at The Bridgespan Group. Earlier in her career, Madeleine managed a tutoring center with SCORE! Educational Centers and served in the Peace Corps in Ivory Coast.Madeleine earned a BA with honors from Stanford University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her three children, who all share her love of globetrotting, camping, and family fun.In today's episode of Smashing the Plateau, you will learn how to build a scalable service business that doesn't depend on you doing all the work.Madeleine and I discuss:Madeleine's career journey and what prompted her to start VChief [02:28]How she experienced product market fit in real time [03:57]The decision to not take on more clients herself [05:01]Shifting from technician to CEO [06:41]When she decided to build a company instead of being a solopreneur [09:02]How long it took to reach financial sustainability [10:23]Her approach to marketing beyond her network [11:27]The support she brought on along the way [13:29]Hiring fractional and part-time help strategically [14:25]The trigger for rapid growth after COVID [18:46]Her experience with community and peer groups [20:19]How to stop being the bottleneck in your business [23:32]Learn more about Madeleine at https://www.vchiefs.com______________________________________________________________About Smashing the PlateauSmashing the Plateau shares stories and strategies from corporate refugees: mid-career professionals who’ve left corporate life to build something of their own.Each episode features a candid conversation with someone who has walked this path or supports those who do. Guests offer real strategies to help you build a sustainable, fulfilling business on your terms, with practical insights on positioning, growth, marketing, decision-making, and mindset.Woven throughout are powerful reminders of how community can accelerate your success.______________________________________________________________Take the Next Step• Experience the power of community.Join a live guest session and connect with peers who understand the journey:https://smashingtheplateau.com/guest• Not ready to join live yet? Stay connected.Get practical strategies, stories, and invitations delivered to your inbox:https://smashingtheplateau.com/news

How to Turn LinkedIn Connections Into Loyal Long-Term Business Relationships Featuring Janice Porter

Janice began her career as a teacher, was a corporate trainer for many years, and have now found her niche in coaching business owners to network at a world-class level. For the past several years, she has owned her own business. She is committed to showing others how to grow their businesses and training them to build and sustain solid relationships with past, present, and future customers to lead to more sales and more referrals.In today's episode of Smashing the Plateau, you will learn how to build authentic business relationships through sustainable daily habits and strategic LinkedIn networking.Janice and I discuss:The power of long-term relationships in business [02:54]How to overcome overwhelm when balancing client work and business development [04:04]The importance of finding your rhythm with relationship building [06:17]Creating sustainable habits for LinkedIn engagement [06:46]Using greeting cards and gifts to nurture relationships [07:09]Daily practices that transform networking results [08:21]How to evaluate and accept LinkedIn connection requests [10:17]Strategies for meaningful LinkedIn outreach [14:44]Starting conversations without jumping to the sales pitch [16:29]Using creative conversation starters to build rapport [17:04]Why loyalty is at the heart of community and relationships [20:02]How to be sincere and avoid the numbers game on LinkedIn [23:04]Learn more about Janice at https://www.janiceporter.com and linkedin.com/in/janiceporter______________________________________________________________About Smashing the PlateauSmashing the Plateau shares stories and strategies from corporate refugees: mid-career professionals who’ve left corporate life to build something of their own.Each episode features a candid conversation with someone who has walked this path or supports those who do. Guests offer real strategies to help you build a sustainable, fulfilling business on your terms, with practical insights on positioning, growth, marketing, decision-making, and mindset.Woven throughout are powerful reminders of how community can accelerate your success.______________________________________________________________Take the Next Step• Experience the power of community.Join a live guest session and connect with peers who understand the journey:https://smashingtheplateau.com/guest • Not ready to join live yet? Stay connected.Get practical strategies, stories, and invitations delivered to your inbox:https://smashingtheplateau.com/news

From Expertise to Endurance: Helping Organizations Practice a Growth Mindset Featuring Jane Hyun

Jane Hyun is the leading authority for leveraging culture and differences to drive innovation. Often called an "interpreter," she has been a trusted coach for over 20 years to thousands of leaders at Fortune 500 companies including PepsiCo, Clorox, Merck, and USGA, as well as schools and nonprofits, guiding their growth by building their cross-cultural capability. She is the pioneering author of Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Leadership Toolkit for Asians and the co-author of Flex: The New Playbook for Managing Across Differences. Through her Cultural Fluency in Leadership Project, Jane enjoys helping leaders forge stronger teams by closing the gaps that get in the way of growth and collaboration.She has been featured on CNN, CNBC, and NPR and has written for Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Fast Company, and The Wall Street Journal on the topics of culture, career development, and onboarding. As a sought-after speaker, Jane has keynoted at Microsoft, ESPN, the International Coaches Federation (ICF), and the Conferences for Women. Recently, Jane received the Marshall Goldsmith 50 Leading Global Coaches Award as the #1 Coach for Cultural Fluency and the NAAAP Vision 100 Award.Her life's calling is to help others flourish in their workplaces and in their communities.In today's episode of Smashing the Plateau, you will learn how to build a meaningful, sustainable consulting practice by leveraging cultural fluency and staying true to your values.Jane and I discuss:Jane's career journey from corporate to consulting [03:02]How Jane developed her cultural fluency specialty [05:27]Assessing and improving cultural fluency in leaders [08:32]How Jane's business has evolved over 20 years [12:31]The importance of saying no to the wrong clients [14:45]The role of community and peer support in business growth [17:42]Integrating personal and professional life as an entrepreneur [19:35]The strategic importance of rest and self-care [22:11]Seeing growth as an iterative process [24:00]Learn more about Jane at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-hyun/, https://www.instagram.com/janehyun_author/, and https://substack.com/@janehyun429198.______________________________________________________________About Smashing the PlateauSmashing the Plateau shares stories and strategies from corporate refugees: mid-career professionals who’ve left corporate life to build something of their own.Each episode features a candid conversation with someone who has walked this path or supports those who do. Guests offer real strategies to help you build a sustainable, fulfilling business on your terms, with practical insights on positioning, growth, marketing, decision-making, and mindset.Woven throughout are powerful reminders of how community can accelerate your success.______________________________________________________________Take the Next Step• Experience the power of community.Join a live guest session and connect with peers who understand the journey:https://smashingtheplateau.com/guest• Not ready to join live yet? Stay connected.Get practical strategies, stories, and invitations delivered to your inbox:https://smashingtheplateau.com/news