Who are you, and what do you do?
I am Kelli Maxwell, Founder of Ember Marketing Group, Podcast Host at Campfire Hour and CEO of Campfire Blend Coffee Co. and Marketing Director of TEDxBillings.
What is one habit of yours that helps you be productive?
I always make sure I get at least 8 hours of sleep. I am a morning person and I’m at my best at 5am, which means bedtime is by 9pm. This is a hard boundary for me and necessary for my mood and productivity.
What is your morning routine and how does it help you get the most out of your day?
I am an early bird so I check things off my to do list first thing in the morning. Up at 5am, pot of coffee on, I catch up on emails, schedule out social media posts, edit videos and whatever else needs to be done. Then the rest of my day is free and clear for what is on the calendar!
In the last few years, what lifestyle, habit or behavior change has had the biggest positive impact on your life?
I started crossfit two years ago, at the same time I quit my full time job to start my marketing agency. The community of people is incredible, they are non-judgmental, supportive and kind. It’s proven to me that I can do hard things, mentally and physically. The gym is a great place to work out frustration and also celebrate, and I attribute a lot of my current success to having that community to consistently fall back on when I need to.
When you feel unfocused, what do you do?
The majority of what I do is content creation for my brands and my client’s. It can get exhausting and overwhelming knowing that if I’m not constantly coming up with fresh, new, engaging content, we can quickly become irrelevant. So I take what I call “brain breaks.” When I’m feeling overwhelmed or discouraged, I watch some nonsense on Netflix (Shows produced in Spain are DRAMA- my favorite) or get lost in a fictional book. Anything that can remove me from reality for an afternoon or evening. Then I’m ready to start fresh and motivated in the morning.
What is one piece of software or a web service that you get immense value out of? How do you use it?
I use Filmora by Wondershare for all of my audio and video edits. I found a hard learning curve using Adobe products and was searching for something more simple. This software is a huge time saver, incredibly easy to learn to use and has some amazing video features for editing, I highly recommend it to anyone who is trying to produce video content or podcasts/audio.
What is the one book you recommend most often and why?
Someone gave me the book “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson when I was 22 years old. I had read several other “self help” books before that but I still didn’t fully understand the difference between who I was and who I wanted to be and why I couldn’t get there. This book broke down why some people are successful and others aren’t and what you need to do daily to become the person you aspire to be. This book was the catalyst for my career as an entrepreneur and set the foundation for the principals I live by almost ten years later.
What advice would you give a smart and ambitious recent college graduate? What advice should they ignore?
I would encourage them to put out great content, especially on their LinkedIn. A lot of companies and younger CEO’s are shifting from hiring for qualifications to hiring for culture. Clearly showing your brand on your platform would attract a potential employer and vice versa. It would lay the groundwork for one to find their dream job, or get connected to who they need to should they start their own business. Good branding is always a win, whether it’s on a personal or professional level.
What is your favorite quote, one you aim to live by?
Something I say every day, that is the foundation of everything I do, is “Collaboration > Competition”. I believe there is plenty of business and money to go around and it’s much more fun to collaborate with others and create a win-win scenario for everyone involved, rather than losing sleep over what the “competition” is doing. We stay in our own lane, create our own content and attract our audience and customers. Because of this philosophy, others now approach us to work together and it has opened doors and made us dollars that we otherwise wouldn’t have. That model has worked incredibly well for us thus far.