Small-business branding from the conference table.
Behind The Brand is a brisk, conversational business show from the Moxie Creative orbit. It mixes marketing advice, client stories, and business interviews into usable talk about reviews, video, branding, leadership, real estate, and community work.
PRESS PLAY
Behind The Brand is a small-business show built around working conversations from the Moxie Creative world. It has the pace of an agency office after a client call. The topics are practical. Google reviews become a discussion about buying decisions, local search, response habits, keywords, location signals, and the awkward moment when a team realizes an old review went unanswered. Video marketing gets treated the same way. Tyler Schmitz helps explain why production takes planning, equipment, editing, and judgment, while the team compares current expectations with older agency pricing. The show is not only about marketing services. It often brings in people who help businesses through other turning points. Dr. Sherry Carlson's conversation about Synergy Chiropractic and Wellness covers leaving one structure, starting another, opening before everything feels perfect, and staying focused through a difficult separation process. Eric O'Brien's episode connects commercial real estate, business brokerage, leasing, buying, moving, and exit planning to the decisions owners eventually have to make. Kim Johnson's Return to Joy episode brings a more personal register, with trauma, grief, faith, coaching, formal training, and the challenge of turning a calling into a real business. John Schulte's visit shifts into community building through Project 37, B-Side Indie Music Cafe, Battle of the Bands, and safe sober all-ages music spaces in Central Minnesota. Internal episodes add another layer. Taylor Selma's Emerging Leader conversation gives the show room to talk about advertising, recognition, community, and what professional growth feels like from inside an agency. The one-year podcasting episode is looser and more self-aware, with Taylor, Kelly Kane, and Mackie reflecting on consistency, clunky starts, relationship building, and what the format has become for the team. The tone stays warm without becoming slick. Guests are treated like people with specific stories, not as abstract business lessons. The advice usually lands in plain language. The show suits owners, solopreneurs, and local operators who want marketing talk connected to real decisions: asking for reviews, budgeting for video, naming a brand, choosing a space, building a team, or finally launching the thing. Its strongest quality is proximity. Behind The Brand sounds close to the work, close to the clients, and close to the business community it keeps returning to.
Made for: Small business owners, solopreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, and local business supporters who want practical marketing conversations tied to real examples. It also suits listeners interested in Central Minnesota businesses, community projects, and agency life.
What sets it apart: Behind The Brand stands apart by blending agency shop talk with candid client and community interviews. Marketing advice is filtered through specific stories, from Google reviews and video production to wellness practices, real estate decisions, coaching brands, and music spaces.
Welcome to Behind the Brand, a podcast for small business owners, solopreneurs, and aspiring entrepreneurs who are ready to start strong, stand out, and stay bold. Hosted by the powerhouse marketers behind Moxie Creative, this podcast offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to build and grow a memorable brand. With over 30 years of experience helping businesses grow, we share bold moves, real-life client transformations, and actionable lessons you can apply to your own business. Hear directly from our clients as we peel back the layers of their brands to reveal the bold decisions that helped them overcome challenges...
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Concrete client stories connect branding choices to budgets, customer trust, lead generation, and the practical strain of running a small business.
Behind The Brand turns marketing decisions into practical business choices, with candid conversations among the team and interviews with owners navigating growth and change.
The clinic opened before the chairs arrived; your launch checklist can unclench.
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Google reviews can shape a buyer's decision before a business ever hears from them.
Google reviews are treated here as a decision point that can arrive before a business ever gets a call, form fill, or foot in the door. Taylor and Kelly argue that ratings often shape buying choices quietly but decisively, and they keep the focus on what small businesses can…
A practical look at ownership, partnership, and the realities of building a chiropractic practice.
Dr. Sherry Carlson's conversation on Behind the Brand traces her path into chiropractic care and the choices behind Synergy Chiropractic and Wellness.
A practical look at why video costs what it costs, and why it matters.
The episode treats video as a baseline marketing expense and keeps circling back to the work behind it. Tyler Schmitz gives a practical look at where video fits in a broader strategy, why even a short reel takes time, and how an idea becomes a finished cut.
A practical split between awareness and action, with geo targeting and monthly optimization at the center.
The episode draws a clean line between brand awareness and lead generation, treating them as different jobs rather than loose marketing synonyms.
A practical look at rebranding without losing the relationships that built it.
This episode treats rebranding as more than a fresh coat of paint, and that is the right frame for it. Jake New and the team walk through how a central Minnesota business grew over more than 20 years before shifting from a familiar franchise identity to Legacy Outfitters, with…
Rob Walling on bootstrapped SaaS growth, plateaus, and exits — with founders who lived them.
Abbey Ashley's playbook for turning your job skills into a virtual assistant business.
SaaS operators on scaling, pricing and AI, metrics included.
Alex Blumberg interviews guests like Megan Phelps-Roper and Shane McAnally about failure and reinvention.
On Behind The Brand, Taylor and Kelly Kane ask Nate Van Hevlin how high-functioning adults can spot burnout before relationships or work suffer.
Google reviews do quiet work.
Dr.
Moxie brings videographer Tyler Schmitz into the room to talk about why video has become such a big piece of marketing.
This episode features Eric O'Brien discussing commercial real estate strategies, including when businesses should lease, buy, or move, and broader business growth and transition decisions.
Taylor discusses winning the 2026 Emerging Leader award from the American Advertising Federation and what it means for her career in advertising and marketing.
This episode features an interview with Kim Johnson, founder of Return to Joy, discussing her journey from personal trauma healing to creating a Christ-centered coaching business that helps others find joy and transformation.
The hosts reflect on their first year of podcasting, discussing lessons learned about marketing, leadership, and brand building for small businesses.
This episode features an interview with John Schulte from Project 37 and B-Side Indie Music Cafe, discussing their mission to create safe, sober, all-ages music spaces and their upcoming Battle of the Bands fundraiser to support live music in Central Minnesota.
This episode explores how Visit Greater St.
Marketing splits into two jobs here.
Jake joins the show to talk about a business that has made it through more than two decades.
Abby, who produces Behind the Brand for the Moxie agency in St.
This episode explores authentic branding versus AI design trends for 2026 through a conversation with designers at Moxie Creative, focusing on what works for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
This episode features an interview with Mike Lardy, owner of Bravo Burritos in St.
This episode features an interview with Anna Bovitz about Project 37's mission to build inclusive creative spaces, focusing on the B-Side Indie Music Cafe and its branding with Moxie Co-op.
This episode explores strategies for effective networking that avoid feeling transactional, focusing on referral groups, community involvement, and online platforms to grow a business authentically.