Everyone knows running a business is hard. But no one talks about how it makes you feel.

The reality is that entrepreneurs are often stressed, or frustrated.

I’m Darren Moffat, your host. I’ve founded two companies, and as a director at Webbuzz the growth marketing agency I’ve worked with hundreds of business owners.

This podcast has a simple vision: to make entrepreneurs happier!

We do it by finding answers to the key challenges all businesses must overcome. Each episode is a piece in the puzzle to help you ‘crack the code’ to growth.

It’s an epic mission. I knew from the start we’d need help. But WHO could reveal the answers?

And then it came to me.

You can count on a nerd to solve the problem. So I went looking for nerds, and it turns out they’re everywhere!

Like this founder of a $250 mill internet business...

"“I always start with the marketing first. Even before I build the product. And a lot of people go, oh, we should think about marketing later. Before we build the product, we need to form this up. Amazon does this great. You want to build a new product, you have to write a press release - a one-page press release before you even begin. I was just at Amazon's office in New York.”

And this former venture capitalist who’s now the CEO of a public company...

“Well no, we got up well over a billion-dollar market cap, you know, through that education and storytelling. We got Australian investors to understand these type of technology businesses by looking at the growth of your top line rather than the profit and loss of your bottom line.”

I talk to experts who nerd out with technical solutions…

“The key thing for brand identity is fix and flex. Is that 'nerdy' thing? That's nerdy, that's very nerdy. We're into the 'brand nerd' territory here.”

And we have fun with segments like this...

"The 'Nerdometer'. A rating out of ten, how nerdy are you? I say I'm probably up there, maybe eleven. Eleven! Oh my god, you've broken the Nerdometer. There you go, you've some applause."

You’ll hear amazing insights. You’ll feel inspired. And you’ll learn actionable strategies to power the growth of your own business.

So join me, fortnightly on Tuesdays. Subscribe to Nerds of Business, FREE where ever you get your podcasts.

Season 1: 'The Branding Series' / Episode # 1

Building your brand all starts with the brand identity. Branding experts and top entrepreneurs reveal what it takes to get it right, why it's so important, and the key opportunities you're probably missing in your own brand identity.

“In the context of branding it’s really important to reflect on the fact that we didn’t set out to call this Vinomofo. We didn’t set out to say ‘hey, let’s be ‘wine motherf_____s’.” - Andre Eikmeier, co-founder of Vinomofo

Guest Bios:

Fred Schebesta (https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredschebesta/)is co-founder of $250 million comparison site Finder (Finder.com.au) He is listed #22 on AFR's young rich list.

Andre Eikmeier (https://twitter.com/andre_eikmeier) is cofounder of $100 million online wine retailer, Vinomofo (https://vinomofo.com.au) Also founder of The Good Empire and Year of the Planet.

Victoria Coster (https://www.linkedin.com/in/creditfixsolutionscreditrepair/) is a Telstra Business Person of the Year finalist 2019, & founder of Credit Fix Solutions (https://creditfixsolutions.com.au)

Ben Carew (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencarew/) is director of SEO & Analytics at Webbuzz- The Growth Marketing Agency (https://webbuzz.com.au)

Rachel Bevans (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelbevans/) is branding expert & director of The Healthy Brand Company (https://www.thehealthybrandcompany.com/)

Jon Michail (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmichail-imageconsultant-personalbrandingcoach/)– brand expert and and image consultant, director at the Image Group (https://www.imagegroup.com.au/)       

What to listen out for:

3.01: ‘Sneak peek’ of feature story

4.04: the historical origin of branding

5.02: branding expert reveals what ‘brand’ really means today 

6.39: branding expert on why branding is so important

7.39: how branding complements ‘direct response’ marketing

9.47: Entrepreneur Fred Schebesta's journey from 'branding sceptic' to 'branding convert' at Finder.com.au

10.41: Fred Schebesta on branding as a ‘defensive moat’  

12.26: Branding expert reveals the four key theoretical elements to brand identity

14.21: Ben Carew on why logo design is so important for online marketing conversion of web traffic to lead or sale

19.28: Branding expert reveals the technical process for creating a brand identity

20.58: Branding expert explains what ‘category codes’ are 

23.45: Feature story - Andre Eikmeier of Vinomofo and how a one letter change in the brand name was a key inflection point to achieving a $100 million valuation

30.50: Fred Schebesta on being in a ‘constant state of beta’

31.10: Fred Schebesta on creating a 'phoenix company', not a 'unicorn'

31.59: Branding expert reveals the single most important aspect for a...

Season 1: 'The Branding Series' / Episode # 2

Feature Story: The CEO of a $1 BILLION company shares, Rob Newman of Nearmap, shares his story on how brand positioning helped them scale in the North American market.

“Actually, what you need to do is focus, focus, focus. Who is the one customer who you can win with, and be the world's best at for that one customer? Once you've got them, you'll get two and then you’ll get four and then eight. Then eventually you’re going to have market domination”. – Dr Rob Newman, CEO of Nearmap.

Guest Bios:

Fred Schebesta (https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredschebesta/)is co-founder of $250 million comparison site Finder (Finder.com.au) He is listed #22 on AFR's young rich list.

Dr Rob Newman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-newman-007757/) is CEO of ASX 200 online mapping technology provider, Nearmap. (https://nearmap.com.au).

Pic Picot (https://twitter.com/pics_uk) is the founder international food brand, Pic’s Peanut Butter (https://www.picspeanutbutter.com/)

Rachel Bevans (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelbevans/) is branding expert & director of The Healthy Brand Company (https://www.thehealthybrandcompany.com/)

Jon Michail (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmichail-imageconsultant-personalbrandingcoach/)– brand expert and and image consultant, director at the Image Group (https://www.imagegroup.com.au/)      

What to listen out for:

0.45: Mystery brand recognition game for listeners

2.19: Brand positioning example using the (mystery) globally recognised brand

4.07: How does brand positing work from a technical perspective

7.06: The 4 to 7 P’s of branding

10.42: The importance of clarity in mission statements to define what you stand for

12.49: Rob Newman on the ‘weird schizophrenia’ required to be an effective CEO

17.16: Entrepreneur tip: ‘tell me the colour of the eyes of your first customer’

18.00: How to use exclusions and negatives to define your brand position

22.00: Why metaphors and irony don’t work in advertising

23.42: How Pic’s Peanut Butter came to ‘own their brand category’

26.44: The importance of delegation in scaling a business

31.10: What is brand alignment and why is it so important

33.58: How even marketing departments of big brands make mistakes with branding

35.57: NERD SUPERPOWER - recurring segment - featuring Fred Schebesta

39.07: NERD UNDER PRESSURE – recurring segment featuring Rob Newman

Resources & links:

Donald Trump speech transcription https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-phoenix-arizona-rally-transcript

‘The Wayback Machine’: https://archive.org/web/

Coca Cola brand fail https://www.marketing91.com/coca-cola-brand-failure/

*****

Enjoyed this podcast? >>>> Please SHARE via text or social media ((!))

Get in touch with us here: https://nerdsofbusiness.com/contact/

You can follow Nerds of Business on socials:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/business_nerds

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nerdsbusiness/

Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nerds-of-business/

Season 1: 'The Branding Series' / Episode # 3

Feature Story: The founder of iconic food brand Pic’s Peanut Butter, Pic Picot, shares the story of why - and how - he launched ‘Peanut Butter World’ to take his brand to the next level.

“And so we had 5,000 people [to the launch], I imagine the entire population of Nelson came by looking to get in here. It was phenomenal. It was just so warming. You know, we had the kids, we had the school, they’d even written a song and sang a song with a brass band.” – Pic Picot, CEO of Pics Peanut Butter .

Guest Bios:

Pic Picot (https://twitter.com/pics_uk) is the founder international food brand, Pic’s Peanut Butter (https://www.picspeanutbutter.com/)

Andre Eikmeier – cofounder of $100 million online wine retailer, (https://Vinomofo.com.au) Also founder of The Good Empire and Year of the Planet.

Rachel Bevans (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelbevans/) is branding expert & director of The Healthy Brand Company (https://www.thehealthybrandcompany.com/)

Jon Michail (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmichail-imageconsultant-personalbrandingcoach/)– brand expert and and image consultant, director at the Image Group (https://www.imagegroup.com.au/)      

What to listen out for:

0.45: Hunter S. Thompson quote on the nature of the music industry.

1.20: The story of how AC/DC launched their album Highway to Hell in 1976.

5.59: Brand expert reveals when is the right time to launch a brand.

8.14: Brand expert on the role of key influencers.

11.25: Why brand launches are so important.

12.40: Invite your bank manager to the brand launch, it might help you get a loan more easily in future.

16.42: It’s your networks that bring you back from failure.

18.07: The three phases of brand launches – 'pre', 'during' & 'post'.

19.12: The importance of follow up.

19.55: How to work with media to get free publicity for your business.

21.41: The role ‘community’ plays in a successful launch.

24.05: The story of Peanut Butter World, and how that was launched successfully.

29.30: ‘Brands’ are a nonsense, it’s the people behind companies that make it real.

33.10: NERD UNDER PRESSURE – recurring segment featuring Jon Michail

Resources & links:

AC/DC album sales for Highway to Hell https://chartmasters.org/2018/02/cspc-ac-dc-popularity-analysis/47/

The city of Nelson, New Zealand, population 40,000 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson,_New_Zealand

On average It takes two to three years for a new business to become profitable https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-long-does-it-take-business-to-be-profitable

Liverpool team song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWfmR_XgZxw

What is a goodie bag? https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/goody-bag

Enjoyed this podcast? >>>> Please SHARE via text or social media ((!))

Get in touch with us here: https://nerdsofbusiness.com/contact/

You can follow Nerds

Season 1: 'The Branding Series' / Episode # 4

Feature Story: The COO of a Australia's best known real estate company, LJ Hooker, Ruth Trewhella, shares the story of their recent brand refresh and why they dumped the iconic tagline 'Nobody does it better' after nearly 40 years.

“When we reflected on 'nobody does it better' and 'LJ hooker, you're the best' it very much spoke to us and not necessarily to the customer. And we firmly believe that the customer is at the centre of everything we do. And so that was the turning point for the rebranding.” – Ruth Trewhella, COO of LJ Hooker

Guest Bios:

Fred Schebesta (https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredschebesta/)is co-founder of $250 million comparison site Finder (Finder.com.au) He is listed #22 on AFR's young rich list.

Ruth Trewhella (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthtrewhella/) is COO of LJ Hooker Real Estate, with 700 offices and 8,000 staff. (https://ljhooker.com.au).

Rachel Bevans (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelbevans/) is branding expert & director of The Healthy Brand Company (https://www.thehealthybrandcompany.com/)

Jon Michail (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmichail-imageconsultant-personalbrandingcoach/)– brand expert and and image consultant, director at the Image Group (https://www.imagegroup.com.au/)      

What to listen out for:

0.30: Nerds of Business has been featured by Apple podcasts. Leave your feedback here: https://nerdsofbusiness.com/contact/

2.22: Rebranding example using of Coca Cola vs Pepsi

5.11: What a rebrand is supposed to achieve

7.52: Warning signs it's time to rebrand

9.10: How often do businesses need to rebrand?

11.28: The practical steps to make rebranding work for all stakeholders

12.51: The benefits SME's can expect from rebranding

14.42: How scandal and crisis can drive the need for rebranding

16.17: Thoughts on Harvey Weinstein scandal

19.48: How Finder used a jingle/rap song to consolidate their rebrand with staff

22.14: The iconic LJ Hooker jingle and tagline from the 1980's

24.39: The process LJ Hooker used to develop the new tagline 'when you know, you know'

29.42: Why rebranding and refreshing is so important for real estate brands

30.29: What plans does LJ Hooker have to roll this brand refresh out across the business

35.26: NERD UNDER PRESSURE - recurring segment - featuring Ruth Trewhella

Resources & links:

Coca Cola brand fail https://www.marketing91.com/coca-cola-brand-failure/

Pepsi taste test challenge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepsi_Challenge

Peps vs Coke brand value https://hbr.org/2000/01/the-brand-report-card

LJ Hooker TV ad with jingle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAAZujc00A4

Finder.com.au rap song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENkWI3cQEW8

*****

Enjoyed this podcast? >>>> Please SHARE via text or social media ((!))

Get in touch with us here: https://nerdsofbusiness.com/contact/

You can follow Nerds of Business on socials:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/business_nerds

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nerdsbusiness/

Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nerds-of-business/

Season 1: 'The Branding Series' / Episode # 5

Guest Bios:

Neil Luo (https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-luo/)is the Global Head of Growth at Airwallex (https://www.airwallex.com ), a $1 BILLION fintech start up.

Dr Rob Newman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-newman-007757/) is CEO of ASX 200 online mapping technology provider, Nearmap. (https://nearmap.com.au).

Pic Picot (https://twitter.com/pics_uk) is the founder international food brand, Pic’s Peanut Butter (https://www.picspeanutbutter.com/)

Victoria Coster (https://www.linkedin.com/in/creditfixsolutionscreditrepair/) is a Telstra Business Person of the Year finalist 2019, & founder of Credit Fix Solutions (https://creditfixsolutions.com.au)

Ben Carew (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencarew/) is director of SEO & Analytics at Webbuzz- The Growth Marketing Agency (https://webbuzz.com.au)

Rachel Bevans (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelbevans/) is branding expert & director of The Healthy Brand Company (https://www.thehealthybrandcompany.com/)

Jon Michail (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmichail-imageconsultant-personalbrandingcoach/)– brand expert and and image consultant, director at the Image Group (https://www.imagegroup.com.au/)       

What to listen out for:

1.41 The true branding story of Shoostov & Sons vodka from 1863

3.54 Rap stars, Instagram and cognac brand ambassadors

7.37 The two types of brand awareness

10.30 Online apps & tools to monitor your brand

13.10 The value of Facebook groups in growing brand awareness

14.55 NERD-O-METER segment with Neil Luo of Airwallex

17.23 Nearmap use their tech for the common good & get priceless free PR

18.29 How Nearmap grew brand awareness in North America by 'narrowcasting' in one vertical

20.48: Pic's Peanut Butter founder uses word of mouth via taxi drivers to spread brand awareness

24.49: Victoria Coster on how to use Linked In to grow brand awareness for a small business

26.45: The power of SEO for brand awareness for B2C offers

28.51: How to create an online 'brand wall' via remarketing

33.45: The branding opportunity of club or school sponsorships

35.20: The importance of Google analytics for measuring brand engagement

39.15: NERD UNDER PRESSURE segment featuring Rob Newman, Nearmap.

Resources & links:

1.Shustov & Sons vodka 1863 brand awareness campaign https://investory-video.com/shustov

2.Rappers, booze and Instagram influencer marketing https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2018/12/diageo-under-fire-for-deceptive-ciroc-vodka-influencer-advertising-on-instagram/

3.Nearmap used their mapping technology to help residents in the 2011 Brisbane floods https://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/qld-floods/

4.'Mention' is a social media and online app that allows businesses to monitor their brand https://mention.com/en/

*****

Enjoyed this podcast? >>>> Please SHARE via text or social media ((!))

Get in touch with us here: https://nerdsofbusiness.com/contact/

You can follow Nerds of Business on socials:

Twitter:

Season 1: 'The Branding Series' / Episode # 6

Guest Bios:

Neil Luo (https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-luo/)is the Global Head of Growth at Airwallex (https://www.airwallex.com ), a $1 BILLION fintech start up.

Fred Schebesta (https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredschebesta/)is co-founder of $250 million comparison site Finder (Finder.com.au) He is listed #22 on AFR's young rich list.

Andre Eikmeier (https://twitter.com/andre_eikmeier) is cofounder of $100 million online wine retailer, Vinomofo (https://vinomofo.com.au) Also founder of The Good Empire and Year of the Planet.

Rachel Bevans (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelbevans/) is branding expert & director of The Healthy Brand Company (https://www.thehealthybrandcompany.com/)

What to listen out for:

0.39 Jeff Bezos quote on brands

1.23 Walter Landor quote on branding

2.53 Is Jeff Bezos & Amazon the 'Sith Lord' of modern day commerce

5.41 Technical explanation of what brand equity is

8.19 Why brand equity is important and the opportunities it creates

12.47 Fred Schebesta from Finder.com.au on how they grew brand equity

18.25 Technical explanation of how a business can grow brand equity

21.36 Andre Eikmeier on how Vinomofo grew their brand equity

26.07 NERD SUPERPOWER regular segment Andre Eikmeier

27.43 FEATURE STORY: interview with Neil Luo of Airwallex

38.05 NERD UNDER PRESSURE regular segment with Fred Schebesta of Finder

Resources & links:

1.Jeff Bezos quote on brand marketing https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2016/09/06/the-most-damaging-myth-about-branding/#7f44412e5c4f

2.Amazon overtakes Apple to become worlds biggest brand valued at $315 billion https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/amazon-dethrones-google-as-top-global-brand-survey-119061100304_1.html

3.Walter Landor the brand designer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Landor

4.'The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google' by Scott Galloway https://books.google.com.au/books/about/The_Four.html

*****

Enjoyed this podcast? >>>> Please SHARE via text or social media ((!))

Get in touch with us here: https://nerdsofbusiness.com/contact/

You can follow Nerds of Business on socials:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/business_nerds

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nerdsbusiness/

Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nerds-of-business/

Season 1: 'The Branding Series' / Episode # 7

Guest Bios:

Dr Rob Newman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-newman-007757/) is CEO of ASX 200 online mapping technology provider, Nearmap. (https://nearmap.com.au).

Pic Picot (https://twitter.com/pics_uk) is the founder international food brand, Pic’s Peanut Butter (https://www.picspeanutbutter.com/)

Victoria Coster (https://www.linkedin.com/in/creditfixsolutionscreditrepair/) is a Telstra Business Person of the Year finalist 2019, & founder of Credit Fix Solutions (https://creditfixsolutions.com.au)

Rachel Bevans (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelbevans/) is branding expert & director of The Healthy Brand Company (https://www.thehealthybrandcompany.com/)

What to listen out for:

1.14 WIN a t-shirt! Enter the Nerds of Business t shirt competition to celebrate 10,000 podcast downloads here https://nerdsofbusiness.com/contact/

2.53 Harley Davidson goes to India brand story

5.02 Benign cults and the power of brand loyalty

8.56 The steps customers have to go through before they can become 'brand loyal'

10.31 The role 'customer delight' plays in brand loyalty

11.19 Brand advocacy and how it relates to loyalty

14.43 NERD-O-METER regular segment

22.08 The importance of database management for brand loyalty

27.05 How brand loyalty works for tech, Saas, and online models

34.46 NERD UNDER PRESSURE - regular segment

Resources & links:

1.Harley Davidson brand expands to India in 2009 https://www.financialexpress.com/auto/bike-news/harley-davidson-10-years-in-india-25000-sales-harley-davidson-street-750-cheapest-harley-used-harley/1855295/

2.Benign cults https://cultbranding.com/ceo/benign-cults-vs-negative-cults/

3.Heyyou app for cafes https://heyyou.com.au/

4.What is a 'Saas' business model? https://www.profitwell.com/blog/saas-business-model

*****

Enjoyed this podcast? >>>> Please SHARE via text or social media ((!))

Get in touch with us here: https://nerdsofbusiness.com/contact/

You can follow Nerds of Business on socials:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/business_nerds

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nerdsbusiness/

Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nerds-of-business/