What’s with the name “Bricks or Sticks?”
If you’ve read the story of the “Three Little Pigs,” you know that one pig built its house from straw, another with sticks and the third with bricks.
The first two houses were blown down by the big bad wolf.
The brick house withstood the wolf’s attempts and that pig went on to build an empire (or at least that’s what we heard). When your business is built on a shaky foundation, small missteps might have consequences that are tough to recover from.
When your foundation is solid, you might get knocked down, but you won’t get knocked out.
We’ll help you examine your foundation and rebuild it with bricks.
Why we created Bricks or Sticks
Bricks or Sticks started with a catch-up conversation between us (Brian and Jocelyn) where we just started talking about projects we’d been working on and clients we’ve helped.
A theme emerged–over the past two decades, we’ve helped businesses build and repair their FOUNDATIONS vs. implementing strategies and tactics to produce a desired outcome (3x revenues, 20% cost savings, 50% increase in followers).
Most business problems aren’t up top, they’re buried in the basement.
Even if you can get short-term results by following a prescribed roadmap, we guarantee that those cracks in the foundation will show up another way.
If you shore up the foundation, you can build platforms and get sustainable results. We’ve seen it happen.
This was going to be an episode on one of Brian’s podcast, but we realized there was a whole lot more than a 45-minute conversation could contain. We also love teaching and coaching, so we mapped out a program for you.
While distilling down the four pillars, we were test-driving the content. When one of us wanted to flake, the other one coached the reluctant one into showing up. We built our own GPS plan and spend time in the weeds and the clouds. We have a board of advisors and we built the Bricks or Sticks brand.
Now we have:
Playbook a bi-weekly newsletter that we call the Playbook best tips and insights you can implement in your business. Click here to sign up.
Podcast guests join us to discuss their favorite children’s book and how the lessons apply to business in the 21st century. Browse episodes now.
Events we host webinars where we teach the Bricks or Sticks principles and save time for your Q&A. We also speak at events and on other podcasts. Stay updated on upcoming events by signing up for our Playbook.
Workshops you can join us for ne of our four-week Bricks or Sticks workshops where you learn our four pillars, get coached and meet other like-minded business owners. Stay updated on upcoming workshops and receive subscriber discounts by signing up for our Playbook.
Meet your guides
Jocelyn Ring
Jocelyn is the Founder of The Ring Effect and a brand strategist and leadership coach. She helps small and medium-sized businesses “look as good on the outside as they do on the inside” by transforming and clarifying their business strategy and brand so they can achieve their next level of growth. She has consulted with organizations in consumer products, technology, healthcare, hospitality, professional services, manufacturing and retail. Prior her career in brand strategy, she worked at on Wall Street in Corporate Finance and Equity Research where she covered multi-industrial companies. She has an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business and in very right-brain/left-brain fashion has a BA in Economics and Art History from Hamilton College. Fun fact: Jocelyn’s clients have referred to her as a “Horse Whisperer for Businesses” which is fitting since she has two horses for co-workers. Ollie and Boo co-facilitate some of her leadership development programs.
Brian Moran
Brian is the Founder & CEO of Brian Moran & Associates, as well as Small Business Edge. Brian is dedicated to helping business owners overcome obstacles and realize their dreams. He helps them run better, more efficient companies by building a “GPS plan,” assembling a board of advisors, and developing and accountability strategy. Prior to joining the world of entrepreneurship, Brian spent 22 years in publishing, with senior roles at the Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine and Success Magazine. He was President of Veracle Media and Moran Media group that published three national magazines for the small-to-midsize business market. Brian is a board member on several small business organizations and is a strategic advisor to business owners and entrepreneurs around the globe. He has a degree in Journalism from Marquette University. Fun Fact: Brian survived being chased by a bull and struck by lightning. He believes in Karma and plays the lottery every week for $2.