Minimum Viable Product strategies take center stage as hosts Kimberly Daniel and Steven Lewis explore business innovation through an unexpected lens: childhood play. Today's DO GOOD X podcast episode reveals how entrepreneurial beginners can test ideas without wasting precious time and money. Drawing from Catherine Finney's wisdom, Kimberly and Stephen emphasize building a minimum viable solution with available resources rather than perfectionism. Through candid storytelling about creative problem solving and imagination, listeners discover practical approaches to product development and market testing that honor both constraints and possibilities in purpose-driven business.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

✅ How to apply minimum viable product principles to launch your business idea without overspending on unproven concepts or services

✅ Why resource management and working within constraints can actually fuel business innovation rather than limit your entrepreneurial potential

✅ The power of playful experimentation and collaborative innovation to test assumptions and develop solutions that truly address customer needs

✅ Practical listening strategies for understanding what your market wants and refining your business strategy through honest feedback and iteration

Join the DO GOOD X Community to access resources, connect with purpose-driven entrepreneurs, and grow your impactful business with intention.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Defining minimum viable product and minimum viable solution for new entrepreneurs, and why market testing prevents wasting resources on unwanted products

03:57 Childhood playtime as a model for business innovation and experimentation, and using imagination and flexibility to address real customer needs with available resources

07:23 Getting out of your head into action through creative problem solving - thinking big and building small

09:07 Three steps toward innovation: identifying pain points, collaborating, and stretching possibilities

11:04 The art of listening to customers and intuition in product development

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

💎 A minimum viable solution means spending minimal time and money to test whether your market actually wants what you're building, emphasizing intentional growth over premature scaling

💎 Starting a business requires playful imagination to work creatively within constraints, transforming limitations into opportunities for authentic business planning and testing

💎 Success in entrepreneurship depends on listening deeply to both your customers' actual needs and your own intuition, allowing solutions to emerge through openness and collaboration

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

DO GOOD X - Website

DO GOOD X Start Up Accelerator

DO GOOD X - LinkedIn

Connect with Hosts:

Kimberly Daniel LinkedIn

Stephen Lewis LinkedIn

SEO KEYWORDS:

DO GOOD X, Kimberly Daniel, Stephen Lewis, Entrepreneurs, Purpose-Driven Business, Minimum Viable Product, Business Innovation, Entrepreneurial Journey, Minimum Viable Solution, Creative Problem Solving, Product Development, Market Testing, Resource Management, Collaborative Innovation, Customer Needs, Business Strategy, Entrepreneurship,...

Marketing strategy is more than social media campaigns—it's about solving real customer problems. In this episode of the DO GOOD X podcast, hosts Kimberly Daniel and Stephen Lewis welcome business consultant and cancer survivor Kyra Barker, who shares her expertise in marketing fundamentals and brand building. Kyra emphasizes that effective startup marketing begins with understanding the customer journey, conducting thorough situational analysis, and doing proper user research before launching products or services. She discusses how entrepreneurs can identify customer pain points, choose the appropriate marketing channels, and create marketing communications that resonate at each stage of the buyer's journey—from awareness to retention.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

✅ How to conduct a comprehensive situational analysis, including SWOT and PESTLE frameworks, to understand the business environment before launching your product development strategy.

✅ The importance of user research and identifying whether you're building a "vitamin" or "painkiller" that addresses genuine customer pain points in your target audience.

✅ How to align your content marketing with each stage of the customer journey—from information search and awareness through consideration, decision, and customer retention—rather than focusing solely on promotional content.

✅ When to hire a marketing consultant and what qualifications to look for, including expertise in the four Ps of marketing: product, place, price, and promotion, not just business growth tactics.

Join the DO GOOD X Community to access resources, connect with purpose-driven entrepreneurs, and grow your impactful business with intention.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro: Taking a holistic approach to a purpose-driven entrepreneurship

05:06 Essential marketing fundamentals, including situational analysis, SWOT, and PESTLE frameworks for startup marketing

07:33 Understanding customer pain points and the difference between building a "vitamin" versus a "painkiller" solution

10:44 How to stand out in content overload by aligning marketing communications with the customer journey stages

14:22 Choosing effective marketing channels by asking customers where they consume media and spend time

15:16 What to look for when hiring a marketing consultant and avoiding cookie-cutter strategies

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

💎 True marketing strategy starts with comprehensive marketing fundamentals—conducting a situational analysis (SWOT) and PESTLE analysis to understand political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors affecting your business environment before diving into campaigns.

💎 Successful brand building requires deep user research to determine if you're solving real customer pain points (a painkiller) versus creating a nice-to-have product (a vitamin), then matching your content marketing to each stage of the customer journey from awareness to customer retention.

💎 When selecting marketing channels and hiring a marketing consultant, focus on fundamentals over trends—choose platforms where your target audience actually spends time, and work with strategists who understand the four Ps of marketing (product, place, price, promotion) rather than just social media tactics.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Kyra Barker is a business strategist, cancer survivor, and advocate for achieving success without sacrificing well-being. With over 15 years of experience in marketing and business, she's a trusted advisor to corporate leaders and entrepreneurs. Her battle with stage 3 rectal cancer fuels her mission to promote holistic success through Work Well Blend, an approach emphasizing physical activity, nutrition, rest, and creativity. As...

Marketing strategy, storytelling, and small business growth take center stage as CEO Jacqui Jones shares proven ways entrepreneurs can build clarity and traction. In this powerful episode, hosts Kimberly Daniel and Stephen Lewis sit down with Jacqui Jones, CEO of One Degree Marketing, to unpack what most entrepreneurs get wrong about marketing and the simple, human-centered approach that actually works. Jacqui explains why understanding your audience, crafting a clear message, and building trust matter far more than chasing trends or posting nonstop. She shares the storytelling framework her team uses to help nonprofits, founders, and small businesses communicate their value with authenticity and confidence.

From branding clarity to emotional connection to long-term strategy, Jacqui gives listeners a practical roadmap for marketing that feels aligned, sustainable, and effective. Whether you’re a new entrepreneur or scaling your next chapter, this episode delivers game-changing insights you can implement right away.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How storytelling transforms your marketing strategy

✅ Why small businesses often miss the clarity needed to grow

✅ The role of trust, empathy, and emotional connection in marketing

✅ Practical steps for building a brand that resonates with the right audience

Join the DO GOOD X Community to access resources, connect with purpose-driven entrepreneurs, and grow your impactful business with intention.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction: Jacqui Jones’s journey into marketing and entrepreneurship

04:20 Discussion on common small business marketing challenges

07:50 Strategies for building a sustainable marketing approach

11:12 How to define and track marketing success for your business

15:45 Importance of aligning marketing with business goals

20:08 Using AI tools and platforms effectively for small businesses

24:32 Key metrics to measure engagement and brand awareness

28:10 Organizing business operations and systems (HubSpot, CRM)

30:28 Using free trials strategically and understanding tool usability

33:07 Defining goals and determining the right marketing metrics

36:00 Leveraging AI to support business decision-making

38:00 Recommended low-cost or free marketing tools (Later, Hootsuite, Canva)

43:00 Jacqui’s greatest lessons in entrepreneurship

50:00 Impact of entrepreneurial work on clients and communities (healing)

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

💎 Storytelling is the heart of effective marketing, not trends or algorithms.

💎 Clarity in your message drives customer trust and engagement.

💎 Emotional resonance and authenticity matter more than polished graphics.

💎 Marketing works best when it’s simple, strategic, and human-centered.

RESOURCES:

DO GOOD X - Website

DO GOOD X - Podcast

DO GOOD X - LinkedIn

DO GOOD X - YouTube

DO GOOD X - Spotify

DO GOOD X - Instagram

Connect with Hosts: