Mark It 2 Me: Podcasting about the Business of Creative Work

28: Why Design Influencers Get It Wrong | Francisco Reyes Jr. aka Never Made Part 1

Francisco Reyes Jr. aka Never Made has a problem with design influencers and it is that the shortcut skips the part where you build a point of view. He would know what t

27: Getting Unstuck: Why Mindset Isn’t Enough | Ryan Roghaar

Most business books tell you to fix your head. Guest Ryan Roghaar printed out a revenue goal, stuck it on his office wall, and read it every morning for a year. He ended

26: McLaren’s New Logo and Why Rebrand Outrage Rarely Matters

McLaren changed its logo and the internet reacted like the company was going under. The criticism is fair — but a new logo almost never hurts a brand, unless it erases th

25: What Running a Brand for 19 Years Actually Costs | Matthew Johnson

Matthew Johnson has run Seventh.Ink by himself for nineteen years. Four years ago he moved his inventory into a warehouse. This spring he moved it back out. He breaks dow

24: Branding vs. Marketing: Why Brand Clarity Comes First

Most companies think they have a marketing problem. What they actually have is a brand clarity problem — and it shows up as fragmented messaging, shifting visuals, and ca

23: Why Other Creatives Are the Wrong Audience with Jimmy Bryant of Atomicchild

Jimmy Bryant spent years trying to earn the approval of other designers before he figured out they were never going to be his customers. Now Atomicchild is in hundreds of

22: How to Tell Your Brand Story (Without Making It Up)

Long summary A ginger ale label sent Joe down a rabbit hole. Hal’s New York names a real person on the front of every bottle — and then describes him with five adjective

21: Beating Imposter Syndrome as a Creative Entrepreneur

The voice asking “what if this goes wrong” isn’t protecting you — it’s rehearsing failure, and it ends up in the work you ship. In this solo episode, Joe Baron traces the

20: What Should a Founder Post on Social Media? 10 Prompts That Work

Founder-led content is the cheapest brand asset in the building, and most owners either flinch on it or borrow a format they never thought through. In this solo episode,

19: Why AI will NEVER be better than average with Rocky Roark Part 2

Key TakeawaysAI has a ceiling, & it is not a temporary one. Rocky's argument is that a system trained on existing work returns the average of existing work. Better models

18: The WORST advice any designer can receive with Rocky Roark Part 1

Rocky Roark is the founder and design director of Blue Cyclops, an Atlanta-based brand studio named after the imaginary friend he created when he was a kid. He is a brand

17: Why Overproduced Content Doesn't Perform: The Perfectionism Trap

Overview Polish is overrated. In this solo, Joe unpacks the moment every creative knows and never admits — the work is done at version three, but you keep grinding to ve

16: How Free Content Turns Into Brand Deals | Anderson Bluu

Anderson Bluu returns to Mark It 2 Me for a conversation that covers more ground than most guests manage in a first appearance. We get into the creator economy in real, o

15: Do You Need a Rebrand or Refresh? The Brand Gut-Check

Most people rebrand because they're bored — the worst reason there is. In this solo episode, Joe gives you the gut-check he runs before touching anyone's brand: six signs

14: Why Isn't My Social Media Working? Build a Content Strategy Instead | Mariah MacInnes

Mariah MacInnes journalist turned content strategist, host of 300+ episodes, came on to talk about what most businesses get wrong before they ever hit post. The conversat

13: Landing Brand Clients Like the Cleveland Guardians | Lisa Quine

Host Joe Baron sits down with Cleveland muralist and illustrator Lisa Quine for a conversation about how she built a mural business that actually works and what she's doi

12: Leadership Lessons Learned for Creative Business Owners from Jalen Brunson's Championship Run

 In this episode, Joe Baron speaks directly to the listener and breaks down eight lessons gathered from Jalen Brunson's postseason, covering how confidence is built, what

11: Is a Design Degree Worth It? What Actually Gets You Hired | Jason Frostholm

Jason Frostholm is a graphic designer, educator, and former podcast host based in Mobile, Alabama. He did his undergrad at the University of South Alabama, went back for

10: How Do You Build a Career in Hand Lettering? | Jason Carne

OverviewJason Carne has been doing lettering professionally for two decades. His client list reads like a mashup of a record store, a sports bar, and a spirits cabinet —

9: How Do You Start a Clothing Brand People Actually Care About? | Deli Fresh Threads

Anthony “Biggie” Bencomo — Owner and CSO (Chief Sandwich Officer) of Deli Fresh Threads — joins Mark It 2 Me to talk about building a concept-driven apparel brand rooted