Sometimes being pushed in a different direction can turn out to be the biggest blessing of our lives and careers. That’s exactly what happened to Steven Carse, one of the brains behind King of Pops – the delicious popsicles. King of Pops all started as a conversation in Central America. Over the years, that conversation and dream turned into a reality.
Steven was laid off from his corporate job during the Great Recession so it was on to a new dream for him. A few months later, Steven’s brother left his job as a lawyer to join the family business. Now, not only does King of Pops want to provide good food, but Steven and his brother are relentless community supporters and strive to generate unexpected moments of happiness for everyone they encounter. Today Steven Carse joins us to talk about growing a business from the ground up.
The team at King of Pops developed a neighborhood partnership program this year in which out of state customers could sell popsicles in their local communities. Needless to say, we’ve all had to adapt in 2020, but what can we take from this time when it’s all over? Some of our changes may only work during a time like this, but some of our changes might be adaptable with our old business model. Always be looking for ways to learn and improve.
The King of Pops developed its brand using wholesome, gritty grassroots marketing. What can you learn from that approach? It’s easy to look at big brands like Apple and Starbucks and think you want to be that size one day. But, at the same time, people are craving for human connection, especially right now. They are looking for authenticity and genuineness. It’s okay if your brand doesn’t look and “feel” perfect. That’s relatable. None of us are perfect. Use your marketing to build connections and relationships by letting people know who you are and getting to know them.
We’re stealing this from The King of Pops because it’s so good. In other words, find special ways to make your customers smile, ways that they didn’t see coming. That might be a really big smile yourself, a special gift, or just simply going out of the way to do something they never expected you to do. Kindness goes a long way toward building brand loyalty.
Today on the podcast, we have a special episode courtesy of our friends at the Maxwell Leadership Podcast. BELAY CFO Lisa Zeeveld sat down with Mark Cole recently to co-host an episode of the Maxwell Leadership Podcast about how to get time back as a leader.
In this Bonus Next Step, Tricia and LZ share how to identify and prioritize your most important emails so they don’t get lost in the mix.
Communication is a critical part of leadership. But managing email can be tedious and frustrating for busy leaders. In this episode, Tricia and LZ will discuss their strategies for email management and reaching “inbox zero.” Leaders will get new ideas about how to manage email, how Tricia and LZ delegate to their virtual assistants, how they prioritize their emails, and a lot more!
