The journey into entrepreneurship begins with “answering the call”. Once you answer the call, you cross the threshold away from a traditional career (and a “traditional life”), to face new challenges, doubts and even battle your deepest fears. Not for the faint of heart, the Entrepreneurial Journey teaches you about yourself and strengthens you personally and professionally every step of the way. Based on the Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell, this talk by seasoned entrepreneur and business/brand strategist Murphy Funkhouser, overviews the phases of the Entrepreneur’s Journey; the highs, the lows and the lessons learned along the way. Helpful tips blended with personal stories, this talk will inspire and invoke thought in those considering setting out on their own entrepreneurial path.

The average American attention span is just 6-seconds. This means- in order to capture the attention of your intended audience, whether as a business owner, a sales person or a company leader, you must tell a compelling story. This interactive workshop overviews the purpose of story in branding and marketing, the structure of a compelling story and invites the audience to write and share their own. This workshop will provide attendees with thinking time, writing time and practice time so they can confidently present their brand and captivate their audience in their very next pitch!

No amount of marketing is going to correct a bad experience. In this day and age of high consumer expectation, experience is everything. Using examples from the famous business book, E-Myth, as well as stories from her own clients and other nationally recognized brands, business and brand strategist Murphy Funkhouser will discuss the importance of delivering a world class experience when it comes to establishing trust, increasing sales and achieving sustainability in your business.  In this workshop, participants will learn how to deliver a world class experience and have the opportunity to create a plan to “wow” the very next customer that walks through their door! 

Not all paths to success are straight-lines. In this inspirational, personal talk, business and brand strategist Murphy Funkhouser shares her own journey to success from bartender to bar trainer to radio sales girl to business owner to well-respected business and brand strategist and teacher. The intention of this talk is to give permission to the audience to go off course, to play and to explore in their professional careers. It also provides sociological data about hiring trends and how employers prefer and often benefit from employees and leaders who have diversified experience. The audience will spend time thinking about their own career paths, personal skill sets and talents and how they could be applied in new and unique ways in the workplace or….in their very own business.

This talk closely mirrors the Entrepreneur’s Journey above but weaves in personal journeys and how they align with our professional paths.

Many of us find ourselves (in middle age) wondering……”how did I get here?” Or, even….”where am I??” This talk helps audience members understand the importance of having a personal mission, how to identify your purpose and how to pivot or redesign a life or career that aligns with that purpose or your personal “why.” The audience will be inspired by personal stories shared by brand/business strategist Murphy Funkhouser, receive tools for identifying their purpose/why and have time to brainstorm and share their newly discovered purpose with each other. The goal of this workshop is to inspire, teach and  to provide direction to those who feel their professional or personal lives are lacking meaning or intention.