Catalyst Ranch’s
Creative Juice Blog
Esther Choy Leadership Story Lab What is your business & what makes it unique? We’re in the business of combining the science of persuasion and the art of storytelling to help our clients establish deeper and more meaningful connections with their audience. We believe you don’t have to be a superhero to tell great stories. But [...]
Tell us about Open Books and the organization’s history. Open Books is a nonprofit social venture that operates an extraordinary bookstore, provides community programs, and mobilizes passionate volunteers to promote literacy in Chicago. Every time you shop at Open Books in River North, proceeds are funneled toward our signature reading and writing programs, which transform the [...]
Freelancers and one-person businesses are a growing part of the workforce. And it’s just not just the journalist and artist we typically associate with freelancing. Educators, miners, construction workers, and cooks—they all have a growing ratio of contract work to full-time jobs. WBEZ’s Front and Center hosted a free event here at Catalyst Ranch, Making Your [...]
This month’s calendar, Evil Robot Pogo, was inspired by the super fun and quirky Robot Monster and Ghost Company. In honor of our February Pogo art, we took a moment to catch up with Mad Scientist and Creative Director, Kevin Scarbrough. Who is Bartholomew Finkerton IV and what does your company do? Bartholomew ("Roux" to his [...]
I had a great time interviewing Brendan Sullivan and Rick Kaempfer of THE LIVING WILLS before the holiday. In the video we originally posted, they shared the details of the book's plot and some insight into their collaboration. Posted here for you is an extended video on their particular collaborative process. Enjoy! THE LIVING WILLS will [...]
Interview with Brendan Sullivan and Rick Kaempfer on their new book, The Living Wills What prompted you to write the book as a collaborative novel? Rick: Actually, this book was Brendan’s idea. He called me up one day and asked me to lunch. He had read my previous novel and thought that we had similar [...]
Lauren Young Pour – Marketing Success Starts with the Right Ingredients What are some of the main themes of your book? I’m so excited to offer a low-cost option to share my expertise and marketing secrets with a variety of potential business owners. Pour was written to showcase the correct way to build a brand [...]
We are very lucky to meet some cool people at the Ranch and equally lucky that they let us profile them every now and again. You can check out some of those videos here. Often a lot of fun and humorous tidbits end up on the cutting room floor. Our new friends, Rick and Susan Riddering [...]
Madeleine VanHecke, Lisa Callahan & Brad Kolar "The Brain Advantage: Become a More Effective Business Leader Using the Latest Brain Research" What are some of the main themes of your book? An overarching theme of the book is that the interactions between our brains and our conscious selves is opposite of what many people believe. More often [...]
Stella Fayman, co-producer of Ignite Chicago shares some insights with us on ideation and what really sparks her interest in creativity! Ignite Chicago is next Wednesday the 23rd of March, and we can hardly wait! Get in on the discussion and RSVP for an evening of presentations aimed to inspire and spark discussion. Ignite Chicago is a high-energy evening of [...]