At the 2021 Bassmaster Classic in Ft Worth, I was invited to a G Loomis event where I had the chance to sit down with Elite pro Jeff "Gussy" Gufstafson, who was fishing the biggest event in fishing but still took the time to talk.

We talked about how to keep your game face and avoid the distractions of the hype of the Classic and how to take advantage of the event from a business standpoint.

Gussy says he's "a regular guy" but I have to disagree with that....he's an extraordinary guy. The audio is not great on this episode but the content is!

CONNECT WITH GUSSY

https://www.facebook.com/gussyoutdoors

https://www.instagram.com/gussyoutdoors/

Subscribe to my YouTube channel here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ8kGwfaUSdjND1act7kZjA?

If you're starting out, don't forget how important it is to build you brand.  I can help you get started. 

Download my free resource "Developing Your Personal Brand" at

https://www.fishingbusinessschool.com/brandworkbook

CONNECT WITH...

 This week my friend Dena Vick joins me to talk about what to do when things go wrong.

Dena is a Public Relations executive who owns an agency called King Eider Communications and works with some of the top fishing brands in the country on their Public Relations.

We talk about quite a few things today such as:

- What to do when you've publicly made a mistake

- Why we might want to avoid talking about politics

- How to decide whether you should post something that might be considered a rant

- How to handle a situation when you've done well in a tournament but weren't using your sponsors products

- How to gain confidence with speaking to the media

- What to do if you misspeak on stage

- How to make up for not mentioning someone important in an interview

- How to handle sponsor mentions so that you're not reading a laundry list of brands

This conversation is full of really helpful, actionable advice from someone who gets paid to work with brands for this same insight. Listen to...

Rick Horrow is an expert in sports law, and in fact he pioneered the field. He also blazed a trail for public/private partnerships to fund development of stadiums, arenas, performing arts venues and other infrastructure. Then to top that off he developed the framework for selling naming rights to those structures.

He's done over 100 deals worth more than $20 billion in branding concepts that have enticed more than $4 billion in corporate funding to cities and development projects.

I tell you all this to say....Rick knows how to make a deal. Whether you are an aspiring pro angler or exploring a new job or role in the fishing industry, negotiating skills are important. Many times I hear people express fear over the negotiating process but if you take a little time to learn the basics of negotiation you will feel more confident when it's time to come to the table to make a deal.

I met Rick 12 years ago when I was one of the producers on his television show The Sports Take. That show...

Gary Morgenstern is an expert on content and how to figure out what kind of content your audience wants to consume.

He has worked in television programming for the entirety of his decades long career. I worked with him when he was director of programming for ESPN Outdoors and his current role is Senior Vice President of Programming for SportsNet New York.

In many ways our social media is like our own personal TV network. We make decisions every time we create content & those decisions are not unlike what TV network programming executives decide in their roles. Whether you are an aspiring pro angler, a brand or manufacturer or just an individual who cares about your reputation, you decide what content you share and how you express your (brand) voice.

So I thought it would be beneficial for all of us to hear how a highly successful television network programming executive made decisions about what content to program. With the cost of television airtime in the figures with many,...

Quick answer from a viewer question about one way to capture the attention of potential sponsors.

Renaissance Man is a term used to describe someone who is good at many things, and defines the notion that humans should embrace all knowledge and develop themselves as fully as possible. A Renaissance Man is usually multi-talented, well-rounded, self-taught, and a gentleman.

Ty Southerland is a modern Renaissance man. He’s a successful visual artist, a working musical artist and a singular talent when it comes fishing. His Youtube channel “Thirty Miles Out” has 50,000 subscribers and his videos get literally 300,000 views.

Ty has a mindset of abundance and that’s one of our main topics we dive into today. This cat is not like everybody else, y’all. He’s very unique and has a fresh point of view on so many things we all spend time thinking about.

Having a mindset of abundance means you focus on what you have and not what you don’t have. The opposite is having a mindset of scarcity and honestly there is a lot of scarcity mindset in fishing...

 Dave Ittner of Yamaha Marine talks about how to be better on stage.

I bet we all like to think we have a good plan laid out for the next 10, 20, or even 30 years or more. But sometimes things change. Happy, successful people know how to adjust their sails and ride the tide of changes. Our guest today is one of those people.

Sean Lawless is a career firefighter in Tulsa, OK who was living in this dream home with his wife after having successfully raised their kids. They both thought they would spend their next years working in Tulsa and then retire there. But a trip to Florida changed all that.

Sean and his wife realized they wouldn't really be truly happy unless they lived by the coast. Sean fell in love with fishing and started thinking about how he could earn income in retirement and still spend time on the water.

What happened the next 5 years is a story that might inspire you. Sean figured out how to start a Youtube channel on saltwater fishing while living in the heartland in landlocked Oklahoma. The Lawless Tide has led him to many new...

Here's a quick tip from Dena Vick of King Eider Media, a full service public relations agency. Dena shares insight on what makes her remember someone and want to call them back. Connect with Dena https://www.instagram.com/denajill/ https://www.facebook.com/KingEiderPR

It feels like Fishing Entrepreneur Month here on the Fishing Business Podcast.

Last week we talked about bringing a new product to market and focused on the patent process and marketing. This week we meet Resee & Blake Phillips who started what is commonly called a Mom & Pop business in the garage of their south Alabama home.

The company is called Eye Hole Jig and the product is a jig that holds scent niblets in the jig head. The couple are avid crappie anglers and the product has taken off in that sector but they have big goals for moving into developing tackle for other species as well.

It won't take you long to realize that Resee & Blake are just good folks - the kind of people you want to root for and who you want to see succeed. They are on the right track and working hard to reach their goals.

I think listening to them will inspire you to keep reaching for your goals and to keep trying new things. After all, you never know when your little idea might spark...