Author Brittany Hodak had a life-changing appearance on Shark Tank, and on this week’s episode of the Six Degrees of Associations Podcast (presented by Big Red M), she talks with us about it at length. We also dig into her entrepreneurial pursuits and what she’s learned about writing the book “Creating Superfans” and actually creating superfans at your own association.Brittany has spoken at hundreds of events, including plenty of association gatherings, so she’s picked up a lot about the association industry by osmosis. She’s also learned plenty from serving on the board of directors of her own professional association. She also shares the lessons she learned working with the G.O.A.T., Dolly Parton, too! More about Big Red M: https://bigredm.com/ Learn more about Brittany: https://brittanyhodak.com/

Kate Coffey-Bacon, SVP of Marketing and Strategy for U.S. Transactions Corporation and host of the podcast “Coffey Talk,” joins Six Degrees of Associations with host Lucas McCann this week, as presented by Big Red M.

If you think you’re going through a random twist or turn in your career, the best advice we learned from Kate is to keep going, because something you are struggling to make sense of in the present may just serve you next-level dividends in a later chapter in life. That’s what happened for Kate, whose career arc took her from entrepreneurial wedding photographer to SVP serving associations in the transaction space and beyond.

Subscribe to “Coffey Talk”: https://www.coffeytalkpodcast.com/

Follow Kate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateecoffey/

Visit U.S. Transactions Corporation online: https://www.ustranscorp.com/

**Visit: https://www.thesignalgap.com/sixdegrees *** for a FREE copy of Chapter 1 of the Signal Gap book!**

Henna Pryor, CSP, a two-time author, Keynote Speaker, Writer, and Workplace Performance Expert, joins the Six Degrees of Associations Podcast, presented by Big Red M, this week to talk about her professional journey leading up to the 2023 release of "Good Awkward" and her forthcoming book, "The Signal Gap: How to Boost Believability and Influence in the Age of Doubt."

Her advice for associations navigating this skepticism: find ways to "dance with reality," and now is not the time to cut corners and be lazy about aspects like graphic design and faux authenticity. For example, a written testimonial used to carry weight; now it can be faked by AI in seconds. What's harder to fake, and therefore more valuable, is something like a video of a genuinely happy attendee with real background noise from the conference floor.

"Good Awkward" grew out of a simple observation: post-pandemic, people were feeling the discomfort of social interaction more acutely than ever, and no one had taken a close look at awkwardness itself as its own distinct emotion. Henna's thesis: awkwardness isn't a weakness to eliminate, it's a catalyst for personal and professional growth. The book sold over 10,000 copies, entirely on word of mouth, without a mailing list.

Her forthcoming book, "The Signal Gap," picks up where that leaves off. If "Good Awkward" is about finding the courage to take the risk and have the hard conversation, "The Signal Gap" asks whether that message actually lands.

Learn More:

About Big Red M: https://bigredm.com/

Henna on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hennapryor/

Henna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hennapryor/

Henna’s website: https://pryoritygroup.com/

TED Talks featuring Henna: https://www.ted.com/speakers/henna_pryor

Six Degrees of Associations Interview with Courtney Clark: https://youtu.be/6VbEQH9kfPE

**Visit: https://www.thesignalgap.com/sixdegrees *** for a FREE copy of Chapter 1 of the Signal Gap book!**