Help Wanted

Today, we have two people calling the Help Line: Nicole and Jason. They are negotiating business deals with people they know personally, and are totally stumped. How do you protect the friendship, and still get what you want? So, Nicole and Jason phone-a-friend: Chip Massey, former FBI Special Agent and expert negotiator. Chip shares his proven strategy for effective dialogue, and Nicole and Jason put it to the test in a mock negotiation.

The boom of online courses, coaching and consulting has opened up a new revenue stream for anyone with a teachable skill. This is all fun and games, until you get to the little detail of pricing. How do you set a price on… yourself? That’s the question that made listener Kelsey call the Help Line. To give her the cheat code on pricing strategy, Nicole and Jason phone a friend who knows the courses landscape inside and out: Matt Gartland, CEO at Smart Passive Income Media. For more Matt, check out all things SPI: https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/

Listener Ela is calling the Help Line because she gets overwhelmed by guilt and anxiety whenever clients ask for her project rate. That ends today! Nicole gives Ela her favorite pro tips and a practice negotiation session that will help her get what she deserves once and for all.

Do you have the entrepreneurial itch? That impulse to quit your nine-to-five and start your own thing— any thing? That’s the situation today's caller Laura found herself in when she called the help line. To help Laura take her next steps, Jason shares the framework for a low-risk trial run anyone can try out when the entrepreneurial itch takes hold.

Happy 4th of July! To celebrate, here's one of our favorite episodes from earlier this year. Sooner or later, you're going to need to ask for a favor that will advance your career. We all do… but we don't all do it well. Jason and Nicole show you what works and what doesn't with real-life examples, including a pitch that led them to hire someone, and a whackadoodle pitch that definitely DIDN'T earn someone a job, and how Jason scored a favor from the one and only Michelle Pfeiffer

You've probably gotten the career advice, "go big or go home." But taking that approach 100% of the time just sets you up to fail. Through unpacking their own missteps and wins, Nicole and Jason explain why— and when— you should actually go medium.

So you want to (or have to) bootstrap your business. Nicole is self-funding the business that makes this very podcast, and she will tell you: it is not easy. To share best-practices around protecting your bottom line and mental health, Nicole and Jason are joined by Christina Stembel, who has self-funded her business Farmgirl Flowers. Learn more about Christina and her biz here: https://farmgirlflowers.com/about

Say you're working on something that could be really great, but you need help to get it there. This happened to Jason recently; and the person he needed to call for help? Jimmy Fallon. So Jason had to ask himself: is this worth it? To find his answer, Jason came up with a four-part checklist to help you decide if the thing you want to do is worth asking for.

Nicole had a great appearance on Good Morning America… until she made one tiny mistake that she can’t stop thinking about. Jason and Nicole dig up their most embarrassing moments and workplace missteps, and decide on a benchmark for when to call out your mistakes, and when to keep them to yourself.

With Father’s Day coming up, Jason got to wondering how much parents can set their kids up for career satisfaction — so Jason called his dad to deconstruct his childhood.

When giving advice to loved ones, the temptation is to just tell them what they want to hear. But that's not useful. The key is telling them what they need to hear, in the way they want to hear it. But how do you do that? Nicole thinks it comes down to love languages. To test this theory, Jason and Nicole chat with the person dearest to Jason: his wife, Jen Miller. Find more of Jen's work, including her fantastic new book Rising Class, here: http://www.byjennifermiller.com/#/rising-class/ For the sketch video Nicole mentioned, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4EDhdAHrOg

Imagine you're the CEO and co-founder of a startup that's struggling to grow. Then, someone gives you a PowerPoint presentation on why you should step down. Oof. That's exactly what happened to Netflix's co-founder Marc Randolph. But you know what? It was the best thing that could have happened to him. Jason uses Marc's story, plus a few personal tales, to give a three-step plan for identifying what you're best at and doing more of it.

You've probably heard business leaders attribute their success to "never taking no for an answer." But, plot twist: sometimes you should. Jason recounts a recent cringey experience where someone really should have just taken no for an answer. Then, Nicole and Jason help make sure you don't make the same mistake. Plus, what this all has to do with pudding.

Today's caller was just promoted and is now managing people she used to work with side-by-side. And it's awkward! She's worried that her new direct reports aren't going to take her seriously. Jason's answer? Become the boss your team needs— and wants. In this episode, Jason gives you three actionable steps to accomplish that.

Today's caller had been asking to take on more responsibility at her work for about a decade - and she finally got it! Now, she wants to leverage those new responsibilities to negotiate a raise and a senior job title. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, plot-twist! Jason and Nicole point out why this ask is not as straightforward as it seems, and give their do's and don'ts around how to navigate this delicate conversation.

Today, Jason walks you through how to feel like your work is important. Because it is. And he'll prove it.

Today's guest Lauren told herself that she needed to be doing more— until a medical diagnosis gave her "a slap in the face." Burnout has commanded the workplace zeitgeist over the last few years… but even though we’re talking about burnout more often, workplace culture hasn't made a lot of progress. But Lauren has. Jason was inspired by Lauren's story and wanted to share it on the pod, but first, we'll need to take a step back: because how Jason and Lauren got to talking in the first place, starts with a really bizarre coincidence. Drool over Lauren's bagels here: https://www.instagram.com/cloudnine_bagels/

Okay, so insults don't always *feel* awesome, but you can use them to your advantage. Jason shows you how.

Today's listener has a small Instagram following— and it cost her a job opportunity. In our current work culture, is a social media following a nice to have, or a need to have? It's a big question, but Jason has the answer. Plus, if you want to grow your social media audience, Jason shares the strategies that have worked for him.

Picture this: you come face-to-face with someone who really wronged you... what do you do? Jason and Nicole have both been there, and yet they handled it very differently (today's episode title is a big hint). Despite their different approaches, Jason and Nicole agree on the best mechanism to achieve closure after someone hurts you. Today, they pass it on to you.

Getting a crummy evaluation from your boss is no fun; but giving a crummy evaluation is nearly as difficult. Today's listener is a new manager up against her first round of performance reviews. She has to have an honest conversation with one employee who has been trouble for the rest of the team— and her anxiety is through the roof. Jason shares his winning formula for having a tough conversation.

In today's episode, Nicole and Jason are joined by a founder Nicole critiqued on this very podcast. Tea! This conversation could have gone one of two ways, but how this founder responds is *chef's kiss* perfection. This conversation will leave you with a script you can use next time you get some tough feedback. Find the most excellent Kim Kaupe here: https://kimkaupe.com/

You have a hard decision to make. In front of you are two choices. Both are scary. Neither is perfect. So you’re frozen between the two. Which do you pick? Today, Jason gives you a way to decide.

According to a study by The Harris Poll last year, fifty percent of Americans want to make a career change. But knowing you want to make a change is the easy part. The hard part is figuring out what change you want to make. That's the challenge today's caller is facing. Nicole and Jason give him— and you— the road map to set out in a new career direction.

Everyone wants a mentor, but what if the relationship goes sour? That’s the question stumping today’s listener. Jason gives his guidance on how to fix the situation—and his advice is the polar opposite of what this listener expected.

In Nicole's experience, networking and building relationships has been the single most valuable resource for her career. But let's be honest: networking is hard, and not always fun. That's where Jon Levy comes in. Jon is a behavioral scientist specializing in connection, and today he tells Nicole science-backed hacks for successful relationship-building.

Today's listener works at a big law firm, but is tempted by success stories of entrepreneurial friends who have started their own businesses. She's wondering: is it better to have the security of working at a big company? Or, is being your own boss everything it's cracked up to be? Jason gives us the tools to answer this question for ourselves.

This episode turns into a Sliding Doors special; today's helpline caller worked with Jason at a local newspaper over two decades ago. Since then, his career hasn't had the linear upward trajectory he hoped for— which has left him making about half the salary he wants. Today, Jason and Nicole break down how to play catch-up.

Today's caller wants to apply for a particular job, but he doesn't have all of the qualifications required. Should he even bother applying? Jason's answer: absolutely! Jason hands over the cheat code for making the argument that you're right for a job— even if, on paper, you're not.

Today, Nicole rings the helpline to get Jason's advice: she's struggling with overwhelming stress around making sales calls for the very podcast you're listening to right now. Even though you won't find "sales" in Nicole's job title, it's still a part of her work. This is true for all of us; even if your job doesn't involve convincing someone to buy something, no matter your role, you will need to convince others to buy into your ideas. Jason shares how a "soft sales" approach and a particular mental framework can help Nicole, and you, with the next sales pitch.

Running a business with friends can be a whole lot of fun.... until it's not. Today's caller wants to know: how can you protect against business hurting a friendship? To learn more about Word on the Block, check 'em out: https://www.wordontheblock.biz/

Nicole gives you three steps to take your woodworking/travel blog/macrame empire from part-time to big-time.

Can you live “happily ever after” if you and your partner have completely different definitions of work-life balance? That’s the listener question Jason tackles head-on in today’s episode. If you’re feeling like you have to choose between being a good romantic partner and a good business partner, Jason has some tips for you.

No one likes to think about getting laid off, but the worst-case scenario is that you get laid off and it takes you completely by surprise. A better scenario (although still a sucky one), is to get laid off, but be prepared to chase your next opportunity. Today, Nicole shares six signs that your company might be announcing layoffs.

Today’s guest sent Jason a cold DM over LinkedIn pitching himself for a writing gig. There was just one little problem with his initial message. Jason takes the guest through a masterclass in cold outreach and gives you hacks you can use to write emails that people actually respond to.

What if all of your money vanished overnight? That's the reality for founders who banked with Silicon Valley Bank, a popular institution for startups, that crashed late last week. Today, Nicole talks to a founder who is in the trenches trying to get her money back from SVB. This conversation is a masterclass in how to deal with a crisis at work, rally help from unlikely sources, and communicate the hard sh*t. To hear the full backstory of SVB's rise and fall, click here: https://link.chtbl.com/LGNLVGjv To read more about obé Fitness, click here: https://obefitness.com/

Thousands of employees have been laid off so far in 2023. If you're one of them, Jason has actionable steps you can take to keep moving your career ahead. Plus, Jason sits down with Jonathan Salant (on his last day of work!), after being recently laid off from his post as the sole journalist in Washington reporting on New Jersey politics. Jason and Jonathan describe the bigger picture of what's at stake during the most recent wave of layoffs— and how you can be impacted by layoffs even if you're happily employed.

Today’s caller gets overwhelmed by guilt and anxiety whenever clients ask for her project rate… so she often lowballs herself. That ends today! Nicole talks her through a strategy that you can use when negotiating for the pay you deserve.

Turns out, you can build relationships with industry leaders by sliding into their DMs. Today, a special guest deconstructs how he successfully used social media to build his network. Plus, you'll learn exactly what to say when trying this at home.

From The Beatles, to Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin, to any high school group project: there are endless examples of partnerships gone wrong. Today, Jason and Nicole share a foolproof blueprint for a productive relationship, whether you’re working with a business partner, or a romantic partner.

Have you ever dreamed of creating a product? What if you launch it... and nobody cares? That's the problem facing today's listener, who asks Jason for advice. Then they discover a shocker: Her problem isn't at all what she thought!

Jason and Nicole discover a shared secret: neither of them feel like they've "made it." As it turns out, this is super normal. We all have moments of insecurity around our work; but today, Jason and Nicole give you the antidote.

Do you feel like you "have a book in you?" If so, you should: 1) Probably get that checked out and 2) Listen here for Jason's five tips on writing a successful book— and maybe even getting your book cover on a billboard in Times Square.

Believe it or not, it is possible to oversell yourself when networking. Jason calls it "story inflation"— and you don't want to do it. But at the same time, you don't want to deflate yourself either. You want to represent yourself Goldilocks style: in a way that's juuuuust right. Nicole and Jason share their do's and don'ts that will help you nail your next intro.

There aren't enough hours in the day... unless you make some more. Jason shows you how to pull this off with four savvy strategies.

Jason and Nicole give their do's and don'ts of taking feedback gracefully. And, they walk their producer through crafting an email reply to some feedback that is a little close to home. Per my last email, you won't want to miss this!

Research shows that most people experience anxiety around public speaking... but Jason has your back! He gives you four strategies that will help you ace your next presentation.

Jason and Nicole respond to an email from a reporter who wants to pursue higher-paid opportunities outside of his local gig. But, he is worried that people will think he's selling out. Jason and Nicole's take? This reporter is thinking about his situation all wrong. Jason and Nicole give their advice, and teach you how to sell out for the greater good.

Have you ever had high hopes for your work, only to have those hopes... crushed? It's the worst feeling. But, it truly happens to the best of us— and Jason will prove it. He shares surprising examples of successful folks that trudged through flops, and gives two strategies you can use to feel better when faced with disappointment. To read more about Chelsea Banning, the author referenced in today's episode, click here: https://www.chelseabanning.com/

Want to know how to leverage a new opportunity and make more money? Listen and learn! Jason and Nicole call up a listener who needs help rehearsing an imminent life-changing conversation. Then, Jason and Nicole reveal a job perk you may have never considered. You're leaving a big opportunity on the table if you don't ask for this! Do you need help? Email your work question to: [email protected] for the chance to have your question answered on the show.