82: Decision-Making Strategies to Strengthen Your Personal Brand & Career with Beth Forester

In today’s episode, we dive into a topic that you must have if you want to step out of your comfort zone and grow your personal brand or career - strategies and mindsets you can cling to when emotions try to overwhelm you and derail your efforts and goals. 

Whether you want to build your platform, create more videos and speak publicly, make a significant career pivot, or overcome leadership challenges, you need to learn how to set aside fear and other emotions that can hold you back, and clearly identify and take the right steps forward at the right time. 

To discuss this critical topic, I am joined by Beth Forester, CEO of Animoto, an online video editing company. She shares her journey from running a successful photography business in West Virginia for 20 years to becoming the CEO of a tech company in New York City. 

We explore how Beth leveraged personal and professional experiences to make bold moves, the frameworks she used to guide her decision-making, and the mindsets that enabled her to pivot during times of uncertainty. Beth offers insights on business growth, navigating corporate leadership, and the importance of choosing courage over comfort.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 - Introduction and Beth Forester’s background: From entrepreneur to CEO

• 00:55 - Beth’s belief in the power of video storytelling

• 01:54 - Early entrepreneurial ventures: Selling items from yard sales

• 03:01 - Creating and managing a parking lot business at age 16

• 06:58 - Turning a photography hobby into a business

• 08:02 - The importance of goal-setting in business growth

• 12:13 - Challenges of running a creative business and maintaining profitability

• 15:36 - Beth’s advice on managing fear and navigating financial uncertainty

• 17:33 - Using frameworks to make logical decisions and minimize emotional reactions

• 20:55 - Beth’s decision to close her photography business and  join Animoto 

• 22:45 - Beth’s difficult decision to move from West Virginia to New York City

• 24:49 - Overcoming fear and taking a career leap, despite making less money initially

• 30:17 - Transitioning to CEO and the importance of setting clear goals and expectations

• 36:38 - The emotional challenges of becoming CEO and feeling isolated

• 38:10 - Animoto’s focus on solving problems in video creation

Key Takeaways for Business Leaders:

Leverage Your Past Experiences for Career Pivots: Beth’s journey from photography entrepreneur to video maker tech CEO showcases the value of drawing on previous skills, whether from a different industry or personal experiences. Business leaders should not be afraid to pivot based on past successes and adapt them to new opportunities.

Set Goals and Work Backwards: For any significant business or personal decision, Beth emphasizes setting clear goals and working backward to create a realistic action plan. Business leaders should define measurable outcomes and reverse-engineer their strategies to achieve them.
Whether running a photography business or leading a tech company, Beth emphasizes setting clear goals and working backwards to create a realistic action plan. 

Use Decision-Making Frameworks to Make Rational Decisions: When facing difficult decisions, Beth recommends relying on structured frameworks to assess risk, opportunities, and trade-offs. This approach helps remove emotional bias and leads to clearer, more rational decisions.

Courage Over Comfort: Beth’s philosophy of choosing "courage over comfort" is essential for leaders navigating uncertain times or making bold career moves. Pushing beyond the familiar can lead to greater personal and professional growth.    

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How to reach Beth Forester

https://animoto.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethforester

How to reach Christie Bilbrey

www.christiebilbrey.com

hello@christiebilbrey.com  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiebilbrey
Instagram: https://instagram.com/christiebilbrey 

Grow Your Business as a Podcast Guest: https://bit.ly/pod-guesting

Create Your Buyer Persona: https://bit.ly/3H4Q2Hw 

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