Welcome to Forward Mastery! This is a new endeavor for me, and I’m so glad that you’re taking the time to listen or read the podcast below. I want to give you an introduction to what you will be learning on this podcast.
I created this blog called forwardmastery.com because I see so many businesses lacking in branding and a clear visual message. This is something that’s so important when it comes to your sales, when it comes to the way your business is perceived, gaining trust from your customers, and overall growth.
So many entrepreneurs don’t put enough emphasis on this when they’re building their business, when they’re already started their business, or when they want to grow their business. They don’t know what to do.
I’ve been in the advertising world for over two decades. It’s really not that hard to align your brand, but you have to know what steps you take. Because I’m in this on a daily basis, I see what my customers struggle with, I see the solutions we give them, and I want to share that with you.
A little background about me, I’m a founder of a digital marketing agency here in Dallas called Merge Forward. We work with many top brands in the industry creating strategies and campaigns.
I graduated in the 2000s ‑‑ I’m totally aging myself right now ‑‑ with a degree in design in college. I ended up working for some major agencies here in Dallas, and then I went into the corporate world where I worked big brands as an art director.
Now, I run my agency, Merge Forward, and I speak and give workshops on branding, and social media and marketing, and how to align your business, put it in front of customers and get your sales.
One of the biggest questions I get asked is not always about branding, it’s how do you run your business as a single mom?
Gosh, there’s so many topics on this one. The struggles, the growth, the wisdom gained. Let me give you some of my personal background.
I’ve worked with agencies, as I mentioned, with big brands as an art director. I also started an events company, a floral design company that I did at night and on the weekends.
I started a web design company with my ex‑husband that was going really well, very successful, had the opportunity to work with some major brands, and work on their creative, work on their website, their logo, their collateral, push their marketing, and bring a lot of insight, ideas, strategies, and at the end of the day, give them the opportunity to make a lot of money.
Everything was going awesome. We are young, making tons of money, running this amazing web design company, and all of a sudden, my entire life changed.
My marriage collapsed, I had no idea what was coming. I ended up becoming a single parent when my son was three months old and my daughter was four and a half years old.
I had an infant, I had a toddler. My job was with my ex‑husband, so that was gone. I was asked to move out of our home which was very nice, and I just had a baby, and that was my four months, completely turned unexpected. It was such a hard time in my life. It took me a long time to pick up the pieces.
Through that struggle, what I learned was perseverance, something that entrepreneurs can understand, somebody starting a business, taking that risk, and sometimes not even having the support that you need from your loved ones or your friends. I ended up getting my life together.
I ended up going back to work, just trying to take care of my kids and my family, but I really missed being an entrepreneur. I missed the growth, I missed the risk taking, and I missed being my own boss. I ended up freelancing at night. I was ready to make a jump. I remember everybody saying, “What are you thinking?”
As an entrepreneur, you can probably relate to this because a lot of times, you have these ideas, and most of the time people are like, “What are you thinking? Why are you doing this?” For me, it was even worse because I’m a single mom. I’ve got responsibilities now to take care of, so my risk was even higher.
I ended up making the jump and starting my agency called Merge Forward. We’re four years in and I haven’t looked back. It’s better off than I’ve ever thought. My life is flourishing. I want you to know that if you have that idea to start a business, or you are running a business and you’re struggling, that is OK.
Being an entrepreneur is sometimes is a little bit lonely, but what we’re creating and what we’re doing, most are too scared to do. I did this being over 40 when I didn’t have the luxury of sleeping on my mom’s couch. I had to provide food on the table. I’ll be sharing with you my journey of running a business, balancing a life, and how not to go crazy.
I also have stories and examples on these podcasts to share with you how I overcome daily obstacles, and that’s in personal or in business.
I work with entrepreneurs and their brands, and I notice a lot of common mistakes they make.
I’ve worked with big brands, startups, personal brands, nonprofits, and they all want to create a business that looks great, is trustworthy and professional, and it’s set up to bring business and more sales, but they also have very common struggles and they make very common mistakes.
That’s something that I want to talk about on these podcast, bring an expert that can give you even more advice, so these podcast are designed to bring you the best of two worlds, expert advice on building and branding your business, to make the process of starting your business and creating your marketing material much easier.
The other aspect is to inspire and to create momentum, so that way you can continue to persevere and take action.
If you’re thinking of starting a business or you already have, and you want to grow your business or you want to take your business to the next level, or just have a better balance in life as an entrepreneur, or just want to hear stories from another entrepreneur, you’ve come to the right place.
I want to give you tons of value on these podcasts. I’m dedicated to inspire and to make you not feel alone in this journey. I’m excited to share my content with you, really appreciate your time.
Please check out my blog, if you haven’t, at forwardmastery.com. Get on the list. Check in every week because they’ll be more information.
Any topics that you’d like to hear about on running a business, or building your brand, or you have a comment about you running a business, I’d love to hear it.
Remember that the time and energy you put into your brand determines the success of your business.
That’s so important, something that we always have to think of in the forefront.
It’s not just about the day‑to‑day, but it’s how your business looks and how it’s perceived, so keep rocking, dream big, and thank you so much for your time!
Kasia Johnson
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Can’t wait to listen, totally excited for you Kasia. Congratulations!