Gamify Business Tavern Tales
Welcome to Gamify Business Tavern Tales, where Paul Pape, accomplished artist, 'Santa for Nerds" and your friendly neighborhood barkeep and author of “The Creative Player’s Handbook to Business,” creates a cozy space for authentic conversations about the entrepreneurial journey.
In this intimate tavern setting, Paul sits down with creative entrepreneurs to explore the roads less traveled - the unconventional paths, bold decisions, and unique approaches that led them to business success. Rather than following traditional playbooks, these guests share stories of how they forged their own way, overcame unexpected challenges, and built thriving enterprises while staying true to their creative vision.
Each interview reveals the personal systems, creative problem-solving techniques, and innovative strategies these entrepreneurs developed along their journeys. You’ll hear about the pivotal moments, the calculated risks, and the creative solutions that made all the difference in their adventures.
Solo episodes feature Paul sharing insights, exploring business concepts through his gamified lens, and offering practical wisdom for creative minds navigating the entrepreneurial landscape. These monologues dive deep into specific challenges and opportunities, always with the goal of making business feel more accessible and less intimidating.
Whether you’re just starting your creative business quest or looking to level up an existing venture, these conversations offer inspiration and actionable insights from entrepreneurs who dared to play by their own rules.
Pull up a chair, order your favorite drink, and discover the stories behind the success.
Episodes
40 episodes
Russell Nohelty- Why Grinding Isn't the Price of Creative Success
Why do so many creative entrepreneurs believe joy is the reward waiting at the end of success instead of the foundation it should be built on? Russell Nohelty watched talented creatives make all the right moves by conventional standards and fee...
Megan Dougherty- Why Most Business Podcasts Never Bring in Clients
Why do so many business podcasts run consistently, sound polished, and still bring in zero clients? Megan Dougherty has the data on it: nearly half of the top 100 business podcasts disappear within a single year, not because the hosts stopped s...
Diann Wingert- Why ADHD Entrepreneurs Have Too Many Ideas to Finish One
Why is having too many ideas actually more frustrating for ADHD entrepreneurs than not having enough? Diann Wingert spent 20 years as a licensed psychotherapist before becoming a business coach, and she's not just working with ADHD entrepreneur...
Holly B. Gutwillinger- Why It's Not Too Late to Start Your Second Act
What if the thing you keep trying to fix was never broken in the first place? Holly B. Gutwillinger spent years mending her rescue dogs' anxieties and polishing her writing voice into something more commercial, certain that one more repair woul...
Christian Helms- What an Undiagnosed Illness Taught Him About Brand
What happens when the tools you use to build brands for Jack Daniel's and Hershey are the same tools that end up rebuilding your own life? Christian Helms spent 15 years helping companies discover who they really are, until an undiagnosed illne...
Steven Cowan- How Dyslexia Became His Creative Advantage
Can dyslexia actually become a creative advantage instead of a barrier? Steven Cowan was told writing wasn't for him, that the words would always fight back, and he built a 40-book horror universe anyway.In this episode of Gamify Busines...
Billy Sammons- Why Cold Outreach Doesn't Work for Creatives
Why does cold outreach feel so exhausting, and why does it rarely bring in the clients creative entrepreneurs actually need? Billy Sammons tried the hustle-harder approach, chasing leads and grinding through cold emails, until one small act of ...
Aaron Crippen- Why Waiting for Safety Is Costing You Your Business
Why does waiting for the "right time" to launch, pitch, or raise your prices actually cost creative entrepreneurs more than the risk they're avoiding? Aaron Crippen has spent his entire life going first, on motocross tracks, in combat zones, an...
Chelsey Albert- Why Creative Entrepreneurs Stay Busy But Broke
Why do so many creative entrepreneurs feel like they're working constantly and still going broke? Chelsey Albert built a game to answer that question, and it starts with a monster that has quietly ended more creative businesses than any dragon ...
Richard Lowe- Why Creative Entrepreneurs Undercharge Without Knowing It
Why do so many creative entrepreneurs undercharge for work a client would gladly pay double for? Richard Lowe spent 33 years running the invisible systems behind one of America's most beloved grocery chains before walking away to build a publis...
Mark L. Vincent- How Solopreneurs Build a Business That Outlives Them
How do you build a creative business that has future value instead of one that owns you? For 40 years, Mark L. Vincent has helped leaders escape a trap that convinces even the most talented solopreneurs that they can never step back.In t...
Gamify Business Tavern Tales- Jeff Revilla- The Arena Architect
Most podcasters are playing a game they can never win. Chase the downloads. Feed the algorithm. Post consistently and hope the platform eventually pays you back.It doesn't. And Jeff Revilla figured that out before most people were willi...
Gamify Business Tavern Tales- Chip Scholz- The Forcing Cut
Most creative entrepreneurs know the feeling. You push harder. You take on more. You underprice to get the work, overdeliver to keep it, and tell yourself it's just paying dues. You force the cut.On a lathe, forcing the cut destroys the...
Gamify Business Tavern Tales- Tiffany Smith - The Blending Curse
Most creatives hear it early. "Be practical." "Pick one thing." "That won't pay the bills." It doesn't arrive as an attack — it settles in quietly, layer by layer, until the parts of you that don't fit the expected lane start feeling like flaws...
Gamify Business Tavern Tales Episode 24- Chris Dattoli- The Voice Mage
Gamify Business Tavern Tales Episode 24- Chris Dattoli- The Voice Mage and the Misinformation HydraTonight we have a mage at the Tavern — but not the kind who slings fireballs or summons lightning. This one wields something far mo...
Gamify Business Tavern Tales Episode 23- Nancy Norbeck- The Muse Whisperer
GB Tavern Tales Episode 23- Nancy Norbeck- The Muse Whisperer and the Performance ParasiteTonight we have a healer at the Tavern — but not the kind who mends broken bones or restores hit points. This one works with something far m...
Gamify Business Tavern Tales Episode 22-Drewbie Wilson- The Inner Saboteur
GB Tavern Tales Episode 22- Drewbie Wilson- Slaying the Inner Saboteur: Discipline, Systems, and Self-WorthTonight's guest battled a monster that most adventurers never even realize is hunting them — because it doesn't live in a d...
Gamify Business Tavern Tales- Billy Sammons- The Village Bard
Some adventurers hunt. They chase leads through frozen territory, sending cold emails into the void, hoping something sticks. Billy Sammons builds fires instead — and lets the warmth draw people in.Billy discovered something powerful by ...
Gamify Business Tavern Tales Episode 21- Mark Stern- The Artifact Crafter
GB Tavern Tales Episode 21- Mark Stern- The Artifact Crafter: The Magic Pixels Can't ReplicateWhen was the last time you remembered a Dropbox link? A WeTransfer notification? A PDF invoice?These digital moments vanish into ...
Gamify Business Tavern Tales Episode 20- Jerry Brazie- Survivor of the Blighted Lands
GB Tavern Tales- Jerry Brazie- Survivor of the Blighted LandsSome adventurers come from kingdoms with resources, mentors, and maps. Tonight's guest came from the Blighted Lands — a place where survival itself was the first boss f...
Gamify Business Tavern Tales Episode 19- Marnie Wills- The Cursed Weapon
GB Tavern Tales- Marnie Wills- The Cursed Weapon and the Tool That Wasn'tMost adventurers have walked past a weapon they were certain was cursed. "That's not for people like me," they tell themselves. "I'm not a tech person." "I'm not a...
Gamify Business Tavern Tales Episode 18- Russell Van Brocklen- The Niche Slayer
GB Tavern Tales- Russell Van Brocklen- The Niche Slayer's Path to Premium PricingWhat if the secret to building a premium creative business isn't serving everyone — but solving one impossible problem for one specific person?<...
Gamify Business Tavern Tales Episode 17- Enel Soesen- The Guild Navigator
GB Tavern Tales Episode 17 - The Guild Navigator: Enel Soeson on Finding Better Quests, Not MoreMost solo adventurers spend their entire career staring at the tavern quest board — grinding one-off jobs, saying yes to everything, ...
Gamify Business Tavern Tales Episode 16 - Patrick Williams - The Phantom of Lost Wonder
The Phantom of Lost Wonder is a shapeshifting specter that afflicts nearly every adventurer who enters adulthood. As children, we wield creativity effortlessly — it's our natural magic, our birthright. But somewhere along the journey, this dark...
Gamify Business Tavern Tales Episode 15 - Christian Brim and the Story Your Numbers Tell
The Bankruptor is a shapeshifting demon that doesn't just steal your gold — it steals your security, your dignity, and your future. One day you're riding in style, the next you're bumming rides from strangers. One day it's the latest and greate...