Brand & Banter – Details, episodes & analysis

Most founders think growth comes from reaching more people. Amanda Reid built a sold-out retreat by doing the exact opposite.

Instead of creating an experience for everyone, she created one deeply tailored to a very specific type of creative entrepreneur. The result? A luxury calligrapher retreat that sold out in just three minutes.

Amanda is a modern calligrapher, live event engraver, and founder of Amanda Reid Designs, a luxury creative studio based in Austin, Texas. Her work has been featured at events for brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior, Google, Kendra Scott, and more.

But beyond the luxury brand partnerships, Amanda has also built something rare inside a niche creative industry: a retreat experience people are willing to travel across the country for.

In this episode, Amanda shares how she identified that gap and turned it into the Luxury Calligrapher Retreat, an immersive experience that now sells out in minutes. We unpack what actually creates demand for high-ticket events, why intimacy matters more than scale, and how thoughtful positioning can completely change how people perceive your business.

Amanda walks through the behind-the-scenes realities of planning retreats, from putting down thousands of dollars on venues before selling a single ticket to obsessing over tiny guest experience details most people never consciously notice. We also talk about the emotional side of building something new, including the fear of nobody showing up and the mindset shift required to move from service provider to industry leader.

Whether you are planning your first event or trying to position yourself as a leader in your industry, this episode is a masterclass in building experiences people want to talk about.

• Why niching down often creates more demand, not less

• The exact marketing strategy that helped her first retreat sell out in 25 minutes

• Why intimate experiences create deeper customer loyalty

• How luxury details elevate the attendee experience

• What most people underestimate about planning retreats and live events

• Why looking outside your industry can spark better ideas

• How retreats can open doors to sponsorships and brand partnerships

• The operational details that make guests feel cared for

• Why educating your industry can elevate your brand positioning

Amanda Reid Designs

Amanda Reid Designs Instagram

Luxury Calligrapher Retreat

Plannable

If you loved today's chat, please leave a review. It helps us to not only keep the banter going but bring even more incredible guests to the mic.

If you are ready to create a cult brand that turns heads and starts conversations, head over to carrylovedesigns.com/podcast to sign up for our email list. You will get fresh marketing insights, bold ideas, and maybe even a little sass delivered straight to your inbox.

Thanks for listening and remember, behind every bold brand is a story worth bantering about.

Substack → https://theamandashuman.substack.com/

Instagram → https://instagram.com/theamandashuman

What happens when your marketing stops working, but nothing about your business has actually changed?

For Tayler Cusick Hollman, founder of Enji, that moment showed up when things started to slow down. After steady growth, the numbers just weren't hitting the same way they used to. Fewer people were starting trials, results required more effort, and the small tweaks that used to make a difference weren't working anymore.

In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of what it looks like to navigate that moment in real time. Tayler walks through how she and her team realized this was not just a messaging issue or something that could be solved with another round of testing. Instead, it pointed to something deeper: people were not fully understanding what Enji was or why they needed it.

We break down the difference between tweaking and pivoting, and how to recognize when your business needs more than small adjustments. From identifying early warning signs in your data to rethinking your customer persona and redefining your positioning, this conversation highlights what it actually takes to make a meaningful shift instead of staying stuck in optimization mode.

This episode also explores the role of ego in keeping business owners stuck longer than they need to be. Tayler shares how easy it is to keep refining something that feels close instead of stepping back and admitting that a bigger change is required. We talk through what it looks like to approach your business with more honesty, how to experiment in a way that gives you clarity, and why a pivot is not a sign of failure, but often the reason a business continues to grow.

• How to recognize when tweaking your marketing is no longer enough

• The difference between a marketing problem and a positioning problem

• What early signs show that something deeper needs to change

• Why clarity in your messaging impacts every part of your business

• How redefining your customer persona can unlock growth

• The role ego plays in keeping business owners stuck

• Why pivoting is often the key to continued momentum

• Enji

• Enji Instagram

• Plannable

If you loved today's chat, please leave a review. It helps us to not only keep the banter going but bring even more incredible guests to the mic.

If you are ready to create a cult brand that turns heads and starts conversations, head over to carrylovedesigns.com/podcast to sign up for our email list. You will get fresh marketing insights, bold ideas, and maybe even a little sass delivered straight to your inbox.

Thanks for listening and remember, behind every bold brand is a story worth bantering about.

Substack → https://theamandashuman.substack.com/
Instagram → https://instagram.com/theamandashuman

What does a $2 stock price, a brand crisis, and the auto parts industry have to do with brilliant branding? Everything.

In this episode of Brand & Banter, Jamie Schwartzman, founder of Flux Branding, unpacks how a rebrand of Motorcar Parts of America (MPA) took them from rock bottom to a $38/share comeback. We go beyond logos and color palettes to talk about the strategy behind brand perception, the power of subtle shifts, and how storytelling (yes, even in the automotive world) can change everything.

🔗 Learn more about Jamie's work at fluxbranding.com
🧪 Try the free Brand Decoder tool: https://fluxbranding.com/brand-personality-quiz/
💌 Want a 1:1 Brand Blueprint? Email jamie@fluxbranding.com and mention Brand & Banter.

In this week's bite-sized bonus episode, we're breaking down a fast food launch that looked a lot like an Apple event—and racked up tens of millions of views in the process. Plus, what brands like Will Smith (yes, the actor) are doing with creators that you need to steal.

If you're looking for smarter ways to launch, partner, and create buzz without a mega budget, this one's for you.

📅 Want our team to help bring that idea to life? Book a free consultation at carrylovedesigns.com/contact. Let's build your next brand moment.

In this episode, Chloe Makhani of Casaléna dishes out how she transformed a space into an immersive, character-driven experience that guests want to return to again and again. We talk about experiential hospitality, evolving your marketing with your brand, and why storytelling isn't just a vibe—it's a revenue driver. From streetwear-level fandom to lavender cocktails and personalized postcards, Chloe proves that every detail matters when you're building something magnetic. This one's for the founders blending soul with strategy.

Follow along:
Instagram & TikTok – @casaelena.la
Learn more about Avondale Equities – avondaleequities.com

What does it take to build a brand that people don't just buy into but rep like a lifestyle? Lan Ho, founder of Fat Miilk, joins Brand & Banter to break down exactly how she turned a coffee startup into a cultural movement. From guerrilla marketing and pop-ups to launching a rebrand that changed everything, Lan shares the lessons (and hard truths) of scaling a business while staying true to your roots.

In this episode, we cover:
☕ How Fat Miilk made Vietnamese Robusta coffee mainstream
🎨 Why branding is more than aesthetics
🛍 The smart way to price a premium product while keeping it accessible
⚡ The secret to turning first-time customers into brand superfans

Whether you're a founder, brand builder, or coffee lover, this episode is packed with insights you won't want to miss.

🔗 Links mentioned in the episode:

• Fat Miilk's Website
• Follow Fat Miilk on Instagram
• Truffl Agency (Fat Miilk's Branding Team)
• Last Crumb Episode (Mentioned for branding inspiration)

Today, we're talking about Diet Coke's comeback—how the once-iconic brand is shaking off outdated perceptions, doubling down on marketing dollars, and making waves with a fresh campaign. And of course, I'll share some takeaways for brands of all sizes, including what you can steal from their strategy.

Pick Your Poison:

☠️ DM your thoughts @theamandashuman

☠️ Subscribe to get notified when new episodes drop

☠️ Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcast

Diet Coke Commercials

In this episode of Brand & Banter, I sit down with Ellen Yin, founder of Cubicle to CEO, to talk about the art of revenue stacking—aka, how to get paid multiple times for the same work. She shares her strategy for turning one revenue stream into three, why licensing your expertise is an untapped goldmine, and how she's leveraged brand partnerships to build a media empire.

If you've ever felt stuck on the hamster wheel of constantly selling, launching, and marketing just to stay afloat, Ellen's approach will change the way you look at monetization.

If you love tactical, real-talk money conversations, this one's for you.

Links Mentioned:
🔗 Cubicle to CEO Podcast: https://www.cubicletoceo.co/podcast
🔗 Amanda's Episode on Cubicle to CEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfVs2jlASFw
🔗 Paid to Create Program: https://ellenyin.com/paidtocreate
🔗 Follow Ellen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missellenyin
🔗 Book Your Free CLD Mini-Audit: https://carrylovedesigns.com/

In this episode of The Marketing Brief, we're breaking down why Nike tapped SKIMS, what this says about shifting consumer behaviors.

From stock market reactions to the rise of performance-meets-lifestyle branding, this isn't just about selling more leggings—it's about redefining the entire athleisure space.

Join the conversation on Instagram (@theamandashuman) and let me know your take!

Ready to level up your own brand strategy? Sign up for a free Mini-Audit and get expert insights on how to make your marketing work smarter, not harder. Head to carrylovedesigns.com to claim yours.

What do you do when one of the biggest chocolate companies in the world sends you a cease and desist? If you're Mid-Day Squares, you don't just fight back—you drop a diss track.

In this episode, co-founder Nick Saltarelli takes us behind the scenes of Mid-Day Squares' radically transparent, no-BS approach to building a cult-favorite brand in a category dominated by legacy giants. From breaking Costco's decade-old sales record (55,000 bars in six days!) to treating their business like a rock band, Mid-Day Squares has rewritten every rule in the book.