Mick Unplugged - Shawn Anthony | The Power of Branding and Personal Development

Episode Date: August 17, 2024

In this engaging episode, Mick Hunt converses with Shawn Anthony about the critical role of branding in personal and professional growth. Shawn delves into his early experiences in nightlife promotion and how they shaped his understanding of branding and marketing. He emphasizes the importance of a consistent and recognizable brand identity, sharing anecdotes from his journey, such as his experience with Target and the evolution of Pod Pro Max. Shawn also highlights the importance of knowing your "because," the driving force behind your actions, and how it can lead to greater success and fulfillment.Shawn Anthony's Background: Shawn shares his journey from nightlife promoter to a successful entrepreneur and podcasting expert. Defining Moments: Shawn discusses key moments in his career, including the development of Pod Pro Max and his impactful interviews with industry leaders. Discussion Topics:The evolution of branding and its significance in today's digital age.Shawn's strategies for creating impactful personal brands.The importance of understanding your "because" and how it drives personal and professional success.Key Quotes:"Without branding, nobody knows who you are.""Make a lasting impact with everything you do.""Your 'because' is your superpower. Go unleash it."Next Steps:Explore: Discover more about Sean Anthony's work and Pro Max by visiting podpromax.com.Reflect: Think about your "because" and how it fuels your personal and professional goals.Engage: Share how this discussion on branding and personal development impacts your views on social media and business practices using #MickUnplugged.Connect & Discover:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shawnranthonyInstagram: instagram.com/shawnranthony_Website: schoolsovernowwhat.comPodcast: Schools Over Now What ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you ready to change your habits, sculpt your destiny, and light up your path to greatness? Welcome to the epicenter of transformation. This is Mic Unplugged. We'll help you identify your because, so you can create a routine that's not just productive, but powerful. You'll embrace the art of evolution, adapt strategies to stay ahead of the game, and take a step toward the extraordinary. So let's unleash your potential. Now, here's Mick. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged, where we go deep into your because, the thing that really fuels you and drives you. And today,

I'm honored to have a very special guest, a dynamic entrepreneur, one of the founders of PodPo Pro Max, a platform dedicated to helping podcasters elevate their craft. But he's more than just that. He's an inspiration. He's a business person. You know, his career is marked with significant milestones, including launching this business, growing his audience, and just truly

caring about brand and brand development. Ladies and gentlemen, get ready to be motivated. Get ready to be moved. Get ready to be driven by my good friend, Mr. Sean Anthony. Sean, how are you doing today, brother? I'm excited to be here, man. I got to take you across the country, man, with an intro like that, man. They got to know before I get on stage that I'm about to come out. All we're missing is the music. let's go let's go we can definitely make that happen you know sean i've been a huge fan of yours we've connected we've collaborated you've sent some guests over here you and i've been talking offline about you know how you can even help me and my brand and so what i want to talk to you about today or the first thing i want to talk to you about today is your

story but particularly around brand and brand creation, because I feel like today in this new world that we're in, and if people don't believe we're in a new world, you're outdated. In this new world that we're in, branding, publicity, and promotion is what matters more than anything. So I love your feedback and comments on that, Sean. Yeah. I mean, without branding, nobody knows who you are, you know, and I think there's so many different unique ways that you can do this. You can become synonymous with the color, right? And when I think about certain brands, I think about colors being the association with

that brand. You know, I was a brand manager for a company by name that we all shopped at Target and you automatically brand associate them with the color of red, right? But there's other companies as well. So I think whatever you're doing in life, whether you are a hairdresser, whether you are a designer or even an actor, you got to find out different ways to stand out. And I think branding is key so that you can add those elements and truly stand out, especially in the space of AI technology and in the space of where the world is headed today.

Here's what's crazy and funny about that with Target. True story. It was about five years ago, pre-COVID. I'm in Target. And so now, because of the story, I pay attention to what I wear. I was in Target with a red polo and some khakis on. Oh, my God. Literally, seven people came up to me asking for things. And I was like, what is this? Oh, my God. that people talk about. It's funny. I was having a conversation yesterday with one of my best friends and we were just talking about, you know, he also has a podcast and just one of the things

that people associate now with is your brand. So like, if you can have the same templates with everything that you're doing, the same look, they know, oh, this is a Mick Unplugged podcast or Mick Unplugged video because all the branding looks the same. I don't even have to put my logo on it anymore because they know by the look that's a make unplugged deal. Absolutely, man. And I think, you know, the more people see that, a little sprinkles of that, you know, and there's another element of branding. You know, I come from a background where when I was younger and I was 14, you know, I was in nightlife. I was in parties. My brother became a big nightlife party promoter. So at 14, you know, I was in nightlife. I was in parties. My brother became a big nightlife party promoter. So at 14,

I was standing on couches with artists like Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, but I was understanding how to market myself. And I remember the first event I ever thrown was a high school graduation party. And I think about it now, imagine a 14-year-old telling a bunch of 18-year-olds, yo, y'all need to come out and celebrate with me. But that's what I did. And I made $6,000 my first time ever doing that. So a lot of the branding and marketing was birthed in my earlier stages of life. But while doing that, I understood even the branding and marketing in the music world. And there's a way of doing it in a way where it isn't colors, but it could be sounds. You think about certain ad libs, you think about artists like Lil Wayne, where I remember just hearing a lighter light up and you knew he was coming. In this space that we're playing in, I think everybody should find a way to stand out and

brand themselves. Yeah. And so you started talking about your origins a little bit, right? And on Mic Unplugged, I really like talking about because, right? Like that thing that really gets you going and gets you moving. Like, for example, when when i was younger my because was a promise that i made to my mom sister and brother and because i wanted to fulfill that promise i worked harder smarter than anyone that i knew because i had to fulfill a promise right then as i got older and had kids it was because i wanted to provide a legacy for my kids and i didn't want to let them down so everything that i do really is for that legacy right like we're all born with a name and that's the one thing that you can't take away. And it's what you do with that name that matters. And so my legacy with my kids is making sure they have

a good name and it's up to them to fulfill it. So Kyla, Jay came and it's up to you to fulfill this legacy, right? But that's my because now. So for Sean Anthony, man, like early on, what was your because? And then what's your because now? What's that thing now? Yeah, you know, that's a different question. You know, for me, the because is like I always had this feeling, man, at a very young age, understanding how people responded to me. Even way back, you know, as a kid and just speaking and how people would kind of pay attention to how I articulate words and how I put phrases together and how I can motivate a large amount of people to follow me, you know? And to me, the because was, I feel like I can see what they may not see and always understood on how to put the right people together and really

make something of that. You know, every stage of your life is a different because, as you mentioned, right? At 14, my because is I was just going after the bag. I was chasing money. I just realized I had a skill set that was really high. But when I was in the corporate world and I got into the corporate space because, you know, think about it. When I started podcasting in 2018 and I created a show called Schools Over Now What? It was because, Mick, it was because I had exceeded so much in this corporate space. I had took my skills from being a party promoter to now running companies. And I was promoted six times in four years. So the, because for me to even create the podcast is that I kind of felt a little guilty because none of my friends had

figured out life yet. You know, they were still asking themselves the question schools over now, what, right. And so that, because then changed to wanting to create something that could bring people together, but also get the people who had the real answers to just tell them to us. And I think now when I look at my because now, as I've expanded and grown, you know, even with PowerPro Max, the because now is understanding that everyone has a voice, everyone has a message, but it's up to you to figure out exactly how to utilize that. But I feel like it's up to me as well to kind of let you know, hey, these are the rooms and spaces you should be in. And I always think about a founder's story. There's a lot of people that are running businesses and operations, and a founder has no relatability to that story. If you're a podcaster listening to this or watching this, you know, I started just like you. I was in a living room with a white background with nothing but a Tupac poster.

But I utilize my voice to leave my nine to five job. And I think that is a huge because and I think a lot of people are listening to this right now that want to do that. I love it, man. And that's one of the things that I'm inspired from you personally is you took something that started as a side hustle, but you gave it full-time energy and future motivation, right? And I think a lot of people, whether it's podcasting or that thing that you want to do to be an entrepreneur or solopreneur, you think that everything is a side hustle and it should stay a side hustle, or it is your main source of income and you give it side hustle effort, right? Sean, you were the complete opposite, but you were the epitome of how do you

look at what you do really well and can take that and impact someone? Because to me, the true success is can you make a lasting impact, right? Like if you look at every successful person that you know, it's because they make an impact. I don't care if that's through entertainment, that's through business leadership, that's through political leadership, whatever it is, they make an impact. And so I would love for you to talk about, you know, the side hustle that you had. And then when you realize, oh, this can be the main thing. And if I keep the main thing, the main thing, I will make an impact. Yeah. I mean, the side hustle was literally podcasting that became a full-time thing. It became a six-figure side hustle in 2020. While I was podcasting, when I started in 2018, everyone started to ask, how are you getting these guests? How are you having these type of episodes? How are you going to start a podcast? What equipment are you using? Can you teach us? Can you show me? Can you coach me?

So I started to develop different products. I started to develop free starter kits. I developed eBooks. I developed pitch decks. I developed actual coaching opportunities where I would work with podcasters and development of their shows. You know, and as this was happening, I started to see the money come in. And I think a lot of times when you see the money come in, you can kind of get blinded by that and just quit your job immediately. But also you got to think about it from my perspective, I had already received and achieved a level of success that

a lot of people don't even achieve in their everyday work life. I was promoted six times in four years. I had reached at such a high level in corporate that they couldn't even give me any more money because legally you can only go up to a certain amount of money and a certain amount of time span. You know, you're promoted six times in four years. I was beating a lot of people by a month. So they had to have a lot of different conversations just to pull some of the stuff off. So I knew that if I achieved this success in this space, I needed to utilize that to get some of the things that everyone would want to get before they just leaped. And then at that point, I wouldn to utilize that to get some of the things that everyone would want to get before they just leaped. And then at that point, I wouldn't feel like my corporate background was a

waste of time, right? So I utilized that job. I made the side hustle a legitimate business and LLC'd it. But I noticed there was a big thing that I was missing. You know, one of the things that I was missing at the time is that I had yet to have bought me an actual physical home. And what I realized is that I did a bunch of tax records and looked a couple of things up. And in the state of North Carolina, you know this, being someone that's lived out here, you would need to have like two years of tax records in order to even go get a home. A home is a big deal purchase, you know. And at the time, I didn't want to wait and sit that long. So I utilized that corporate job to make that leap. And I utilized the corporate job to acquire those things that I wanted to acquire. But even though the stock hustle was

ready, I could have left a long time before that. And it made me feel really, really good about that decision because had I not done my research, I would have pigeonholed myself. I would have been waiting even longer. I would have missed out on like tax breaks, interest rates, you name it, right? So I think if you're listening to this, how can you utilize where you're at right now to your advantage? You might have a side hustle that you really, really like. You might be making way more money with that side hustle. But if you quit right now and went all on that side hustle, have you set that side hustle up enough to legitimately live your life? And I think that will shock a lot of people. Wow. That's awesome, brother. What are you most proud of? Like what's, what's a couple of accomplishments that you're most proud of in the journey that you've had this far,

which by the way, commending you is an amazing journey. I know the story is not even halfway written yet. So right now, what are some of the things that you've accomplished that you're proud of? Well, I think, you know, you know, putting myself out there and seeing certain opportunities and being bold enough to go all in on them, even when I didn't even see what was possible. So in episode 42, I was getting tagged a lot with a guy you may have heard of on Instagram. His name's Ed Milet. And if you're a podcaster, you definitely heard that name. And he kept tagging us together and they kept saying we were their top five favorite shows. So I had shared it and I shared it and Ed Milet slid in my DMs. He said, let's make it happen. Let's

make an interview happen. And he gave me all the information, told me to come to his house in Laguna. And at this time I was still working this job. I had, I did one, I think I had did one in-person interview a couple months prior in New York with a guy who's now a friend of mine. He had the number one song in the world called, This Is Why I'm Hot Memes. So I had already kind of started to see the vibe of in-person interviews. And so what I did was I, when I went to Laguna Beach and sat at his house and the conversations we had and the things he was just telling me about myself, it kind of fueled me to wanting to really go into that space. I think that's definitely something that if I hadn't had done that, I wouldn't have saw what was possible. I wouldn't have been on the West Coast.

I'm not sure if you've ever seen the waters in Laguna, but it just looked different. You know, I think sometimes you got to put yourself in different environments, but then there's also some other things I'm really, really proud of. You know, I'm proud of the fact that after that I was able to interview Matthew Knowles. We all know that's the father of arguably the most famous person on the planet living. Beyonce and Solange. And, you know, after interviewing him,

you know, he became a big mentor for me in my life and mentored me for years. And he became a client of mine earlier this year. So I think that that's some really exciting stuff. And then also developing Pod Pro Max, you know, when I left my job in 2021, Pod Pro Max was not created. When I left my job in 2021, you know, the goal behind it and the focus behind that was to continue to do what I was doing as a side hustle, which was coaching, which was teaching, which was courses, eBooks,

you know, all those different things, you know, but the moment I left my job, Mick, a lot of people who are on my show asked me to be their brand manager and work with them. So I went from brand managing companies to brand managing people like Terry Ijeoma, Rachel Rogers. And I did that whole overall process for almost two years. And that's when Pod Pro Max was developed. So I'm excited about that because that period of time allowed for me to really learn entrepreneurship full time, understand what was really moving the dial on a lot of these people's businesses to develop something that could impact more people. Wow.

That's amazing, brother. That's amazing. So let's talk to people that want to get into, I'm going to say the media space, right? Like, because now things are evolving more than just podcasts. And I would also tell you that if you are going into this space, you need to think more than just a podcast at this stage too. What's some advice you have for people that are wanting to get into this media space where there's digital, social, podcasts, whatever it is, like what's a couple of pieces of advice you'd give out? Well, I think you have to expand your horizon and you have to get near what you want to

see. And a lot of people say, oh, I want to do this. I want to do that. But have they really sat down and actually put themselves in that environment? You might find out you might not like none of it. And I think from a media perspective, I think networking the right way is networking around the room and not necessarily going directly to the target. You know, so many people, they'll listen to something and they'll watch something and they'll say, oh, I want to go speak on this show. Oh, I want to go. I want to do Tamra Hall or I want to go do Breakfast Club or I want to go do Angelina.

We've done all those things, but all those things have different approaches. I think at the same time, networking around that, you might need to take care of something else to qualify you to be on some of these other things. And at that point, you got to make enough noise. So have you made enough noise in your lane or your space to make it so that when you do make an ask for something, a huge opportunity, or you might take something that's a small opportunity, but the right person sees you and it becomes a bigger opportunity. You have to one, put yourself out there, but then two,

you have to make enough noise to make it where people see you as an authority and as someone that's credible in your space. Yep. And I love that you said that because even if you're not going into media, I tell the same thing to salespeople. So if you're a salesperson, if you're a business owner, those same principles matter, right? Because you've got to be seen in this era of life that we're in and this digital and social age that we're in best known is better than best. And so you've got to be able to put yourself out there. So you've got to get uncomfortable. And I literally just had this conversation with like 200 salespeople a few weeks ago, where if you're not on social, if you don't have a YouTube channel, and more importantly,

if you're not building a personal brand for yourself, you can still get to the goals that you want. It's just going to be a lot harder. And that's as simply as I can put it. And I'm not saying that there's an easy path, but Sean, what do you think about that? Again, forget the folks that are in the media space. Now, if you're a solopreneur, an entrepreneur or a salesperson, do you agree with that? That statement that you've got to now brand yourself, find ways to promote yourself and be as visible as possible. Oh, a hundred percent.

You know, I give the two thoughts I have on that. One, yes, absolutely. You gotta be seeing people have to see you. They have to know you're available. You know, there's a sweet spot that I'm learning though. So a hundred percent agree with that in the early stages. And I think what happens is if you put out enough content, so sometimes some people say, okay, you know, there's a lot of instagram creators that if you rewind maybe a year ago they would tell you post three times a day or post every day or whatever may have you first advice you can get by the way because you will get shadow banned and we'll talk about well you know they say that all posts is supposed to you know and i had a conversation with someone

of extremely influence that used to say this a lot. And we had a really deep conversation and we realized that it's really not about that. You know, what is it? What it's about is, but what you need in the very beginning is that you do need a sample size. You don't know what actually hits with your audience yet. You don't have probably the talking points yet. If you're in the very early stages of putting yourself out there. So you do need a good sample size, but once you get that good sample size, you should have enough data to understand, okay, what types of posts got shared the most, what types of posts got saved the most. Forget likes, people like stuff all day long. Well, what type of posts has gotten the most comments? And if you put out 12, 20 pieces of

content or even 60 pieces of content, if you identify the top three pieces of content or even 60 pieces of content if you identify the top three pieces of content all you have to do is keep making content just like that you know that gives off that same feeling that same vibe you no longer have to pop out all the time there's also this mystique and and not being popping out or posting as frequently there's a mystique behind that you know i used to post once a day and then i start posting once every other day. And then I'm like, no, I'm going to post whenever I feel like it. And then when I post, it's going to be something I'm extremely proud about. I think people listen to like posting, posting, posting. They're not even happy about what they put now.

No. And half of it is not even quality. And I'm glad that you said that, too, because, you know, people do mistake putting yourself out there to hearing people that aren't gurus say, oh, well, you've got to do. I think the popular thing now is you've got to post four times a day on every platform. Jesus Christ. Right. Well, number one, if you have a full time job, you don't have time to do that. Right.

You shouldn't have time to do that because depending on what stage you're in, there's a lot of editing that goes into that. Or if you're trying to be authentic. Right. You can't be authentic eight times a day on multiple platforms. And imagine, imagine this though, Nick, imagine, imagine posting to the frequency that you're talking about on all these platforms. You're at work posting on LinkedIn when you're at work. Do you know how fast that boss is going to be like, Hey man, you gotta be very cautious on. I even had one tell me one time, you gotta be very cautious on when you post. I'm like, man, it's my lunch break. I'm trying to get out of here.

You're exactly right. But I think that's the bad advice that people get because the people that are telling you to post three, four times a day, it's because they haven't found their groove. And so they have to do that because they don't know what's resonating. One of the things I love that you said, Sean, was this sometimes less is actually more like if you can have powerful content, that's what matters. If you can have engaging content, that's what matters. And so when I tell people to get uncomfortable and start making these posts or start this outreach, it's be dynamic first because yeah, you could post 10 times a day, but if it's poor quality and by quality, I mean the content that you're putting out there, the words,

the message that you're putting out there, it's not going to resonate. And then people are never going to see anything that you, or they're not going to want to see anything that you put out. If you can be engaging, like Sean saying, and now you go to once a week or once every other week or once a month, people are eagerly waiting for that content imagine if denzel washington once a month came out and did something he doesn't denzel doesn't have to post every day right you're going to want to hear what denzel has to say when sean comes out and does a post or a live i'm waiting for what sean has to say and that's the difference right

there 100 and i think there's other ways of still, you know, as I'm, you know, even playing around with this mystique value, who do you want to be? I think that's a question a lot of people should ask. Who do you want to be? You know, I saw this clip and it was Ryan Serhant. He was speaking, shout out to Ryan, because Ryan gave me one of the biggest breaks of all time. He was on episode seven of our show. And while on our show, if you don't know him, he was a star of New York Million Dollar Listing. He also has a new show on Netflix called Owning Manhattan. But Ryan made a comment on stage as he was doing a keynote. And he made a comment of he hated the words, fake it till you make it.

And he's a much bigger fan of I am the future me. And I think you have to ask yourself, who do you want to be? The people that I'm looking at in terms of the talent management aspect, in terms of placing people on the right shows, in terms of getting people deals done and negotiating done, they ain't even on Instagram like that. And when they are, it's a statement that they posted, you know, so they're doing the real work. And when you see them, it's like, Whoa, you know, it's not like ding, ding, ding, ding. It's not like I'm pointing around on a bunch of 15 second videos. Like they doing the work, you know? So the industry you're looking at and you want to be in, what are they doing? And I think it's important to kind of model yourself into those type of examples where you see the success and understand you don't have to duplicate it, but it's always good to kind of study it and see, oh, I don't need to do all those things. Amazing stuff, man. So what do you have coming up? Like what's new and going on in the world of Sean Anthony, bro? Cause you always have a million things going on. So I'm waiting to hear this, this nugget that you're about to give

me on what you're doing. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot that's happening. You know, uh, I think now the way the podcast is going, I don't think everyone needs to have a podcast. I think everyone needs to be speaking on podcasts. And I think everyone needs to find how can they tell their story or tell their message where they can be the authority. And the way you do that is by guesting on shows. So I'm a big believer in the podcast tour format, which we've seen exciting results for clients like Arlen Hamilton, Chrisette Michelle, Miss Skittles, The Polites. I mean, it's a long list of people that we've done these type of things with. And then also, too, I'm always looking at, OK, how can we all get better together collectively? You know, whether, you know, that will be working out in a network type of deal that would make sense. A lot of people have asked me about networks and me starting a network, which I would probably do something very, very big that I'm still working on. And it will be a collaboration with something that would immediately help so many people that are podcasters in terms of advertisement, media, and those things.

Where can people find you, follow you? I know one, just Google Sean Anthony's name. Like you're going to see everything. Where do you want to direct people to Sean? Yeah, absolutely. You can find me on all platforms at SeanRAnthony underscore or you can visit us at podpromax.com. And you can listen to the podcast,

School's Over Now What on all audio platforms. And it's one of my favorites. And you all know when I tell you one is my favorite, I really mean it because I don't say that all the time. This is one that I actually listen to. It's in my rotation. You're going to have everything from education to humor to facts. Like it's one of those that you can just listen to.

Right. And you're going to get some things out of it every episode. So, Sean, I truly appreciate you for that, that you're doing that. Man, thanks for having me on. I think you have an amazing show. You're constantly at the top of the charts and we love, you know, connecting talent with you. And we love what you're doing, man, and always going to be a huge supporter. And thanks for having us on.

I appreciate that more than, you know, and again, for all the listeners, remember, your because is your superpower. Go Unleash It. Thanks for listening to Mick Unplugged. We hope this episode helps you take the next step toward the extraordinary and launches a revolution in your life. Don't forget to rate and review the podcast and be sure to check us out on YouTube at Mick Unplugged. Remember, stay empowered, stay inspired,

and stay unplugged.