Dave Lukas, The Misfit Entrepreneur_Breakthrough Entrepreneurship

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This weeks Misfit Entrepreneur is Garrett Gunderson. Garrett Gunderson is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of 10 books, including the number one bestseller Killing Sacred Cows. He grew up in a coal mining town in Utah and went on to build an eight-figure financial firm that made the Inc. 500. A financial advocate for entrepreneurs, Garrett has personally interviewed 23 billionaires and spent his career teaching business owners how to make, keep, and grow wealth without deferring life. He is the founder of Multiplier Family Office.

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After interviewing 450+ founders, CEOs, and operators, one thing became clear: the people who win don't follow the traditional playbook — they operate by a different set of rules.

Here is what you will learn in The Misfit Code: ✔ The patterns that show up over and over — no matter the industry ✔ The execution behaviors that separate builders from talkers ✔ How top performers make decisions when certainty doesn't exist ✔ The truth about momentum, discipline, and follow-through ✔ Why most advice sounds good — but fails in the real world

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Entrepreneurs, what if there was a way to know you were hiring the best salespeople to drive your business? How much would that help your success? Well, with SalesDrive's DriveTest, you can! Drive is composed of three non-teachable traits shared by all top producers: Need for Achievement, Competitiveness, and Optimism. You can get a FREE DriveTest assessment to help you in your hiring efforts at www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com/SalesDrive

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Nigel Tunnacliffe. Nigel is the Co-Founder and CEO of Coastline Academy — the nation's largest driving school and, according to Inc., the 6th fastest-growing education company in America. Now, when most entrepreneurs are chasing the hot, crowded spaces, Nigel did something genuinely misfit: he looked at the fragmented, fading, mom-and-pop world of driving schools and saw a massive opportunity hiding in plain sight. By acquiring and modernizing local schools, Coastline helps retiring owners exit gracefully, keeps jobs local, and raises safety standards for students — all while building something that scales.

The results speak for themselves. Coastline has taken a sleepy, overlooked industry and turned it into a tech-enabled operation teaching over 250,000 students across 500+ cities in 9 states. And here's what makes it even more compelling — there's a real mission underneath it. At a time when Gen Z is more anxious about driving than any generation before them, Nigel's company isn't just teaching a skill, it's selling confidence. So today we're going to dig into how you spot opportunity in industries everyone else has written off, how to grow fast but sustainably through acquisition, and how to build a business that's both purpose-driven and genuinely profitable.

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Will Steel.

Will is one of the world's most highly regarded transformational leaders — but his path there is anything but typical. He graduated from the Royal Air Force College Cranwell with the Leadership Trophy, flew as a military pilot for 10 years in high-stakes operations around the globe, then flew commercially before making a radical career pivot into personal and professional development. He went on to spend 21 years leading one of the world's top transformational training programs, delivering programs to over 90,000 people across 26 countries in more than 18 different languages — coaching everyone from CEOs and entrepreneurs to rocket scientists, world champion athletes, and even Tibetan monks.

Here's what makes Will different: he believes we're all prisoners of our own minds — that the unidentified decisions you made in your past are quietly limiting what's possible for you today. And his gift is the ability to listen not just to what you're saying, but to what you're not saying — the background conversation that's actually shaping how you see the world. I asked Will to come on and show us how to identify the invisible blocks holding us back, how to break free from the limiting beliefs we don't even know we have, and what it really takes to produce breakthrough results in business and life.

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Happy Independence Day, Misfit Nation. In this solo episode, I'm stepping back from the usual playbook to reflect on something bigger — the "5,000-Year Leap." For nearly all of human history, ordinary life barely changed. Then, 250 years ago, in one young nation, everything exploded. That leap wasn't luck or geography — it was a set of principles. And they're the same principles that build a great company, a great career, and a great life. I walk through four of them — personal responsibility, gratitude over grievance, delayed gratification, and E Pluribus Unum — and show how each one applies directly to us as entrepreneurs and builders. It's part reflection, part gratitude, and part challenge. Grab a coffee and let's think about something bigger than our inboxes this 4th of July.

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What if the reason you haven't hit your biggest goal isn't your work ethic, your strategy, or your market — but the fact that you're unconsciously arguing with yourself?

In this solo episode, I break down a framework built on the ideas of Carl Jung that's been going viral online, and I translate it into pure entrepreneur terms. One part of you wants the dream. Another part fears the cost. And across the 450+ interviews I've done with world-class entrepreneurs, I've watched the same thing play out again and again: the subconscious always follows the stronger part — which is why so many founders end up in constant motion but never in direction.

I'll walk you through the 3-step, 10-day practice for ending that internal tug-of-war: how to name what you actually want (the un-negotiated version), why your unconscious responds to identity rather than desire, and the two-minute morning rehearsal that rewires how your brain filters reality. I tie it back to lessons from building companies over 20+ years, training for Ironman, and engineering rule-based systems — and I close with a 10-day challenge you can start today.

If your goals keep stalling for reasons you can't quite name, this is the missing piece. Pull up a notepad — this one's a working session.

Credit to @TheElevatngMind on X for the original thread that inspired this episode.

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Alan Versteeg.

Alan is an engineer who took one look at the sales world, was deeply skeptical of it — and then proceeded to dominate it. He took everything he knew about cause and effect from engineering and applied it to sales and sales management, and the results spoke for themselves. That journey led him to co-found Growth Matters International, where he and his team have now developed over 2,000 sales managers across more than 45 countries and some of the most demanding industries in the world.

Here's what makes Alan different: while everyone else is focused on training salespeople, Alan figured out years ago that the real leverage point is the sales manager. Get that right, and the whole team performs. Get it wrong, and no amount of skills training will save you. Today, Alan is going to share the uncomfortable truths about why sales coaching is broken, why pipeline drought is an epidemic, and what the best sales organizations in the world actually do differently. Whether you lead a sales team, you're building one, or you're a founder who sells — this conversation is going to shift how you think.

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Krystal Popov. Krystal spent years climbing the corporate ladder in engineering before making the bold decision to walk away and bet on herself. Since then, she's built four businesses, including a seven-figure coworking and flex retail space in Tucson, Arizona. As a mother of three, she knows firsthand what it takes to balance building a business with building a family — and she's done both at an elite level.

But what really sets Krystal apart is what she's doing for the next generation. She founded Futurepreneur to fill a massive gap in education — teaching kids and teens the real skills that actually matter in life: creativity, financial planning, marketing, leadership, and sales — through hands-on Business Startup Challenges. At a time when youth depression is rising, college debt is out of control, and screen addiction is stealing our kids' potential, Krystal is on a mission to replace the employee mindset with an entrepreneurial one — one kid at a time.

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After interviewing 450+ founders, CEOs, and operators, one thing became clear: the people who win don't follow the traditional playbook — they operate by a different set of rules.

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In this episode, I want to talk to you about a concept that, once you understand it, you genuinely cannot unsee. It changes how you look at successful people. It changes how you look at your own life. And it gives you a framework for making decisions that I wish someone had handed me when I was your age. It's called The Four Burner Theory.

The idea originally comes from the writer David Sedaris, who wrote about it in a piece in The New Yorker back in 2009. He had heard it from a woman in Australia, who had heard it at a management seminar. It was later popularized by an author named James Clear, who you'll probably read someday — he wrote a book called Atomic Habits. And from there, it has quietly haunted high performers for years.

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After interviewing 450+ founders, CEOs, and operators, one thing became clear: the people who win don't follow the traditional playbook — they operate by a different set of rules.

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Rome Madison. Rome is a dynamic speaker, author, and sales leadership expert who has spent over 20 years helping individuals and organizations build confidence, navigate uncertainty, and achieve bold, ambitious goals. He's worked at the forefront of the precision medicine industry, leading high-growth teams, scaling startups, and navigating everything from massive success to corporate collapse and restructuring.

What makes Rome's story so powerful is not just what he's accomplished—but what he's overcome. From facing adversity early in life to becoming a leader in business and a voice for confidence and resilience, he's built a philosophy around what he calls becoming an "Everyday Superstar."

Rome focuses on helping people increase confidence, embrace chaos, and rise and win—a message he's delivered on global stages like CES and across major media platforms.

I'm excited to dig in with him on how confidence is engineered, how to use adversity as fuel, how to think like a media company to grow your brand, and what it really takes to win in business and life—especially when things get hard.

romemadison.com/

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GET YOUR FREE COPY OF THE MISFIT CODE - 21 UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS FROM 450+ WORLD CLASS ENTREPRENEURS!

After interviewing 450+ founders, CEOs, and operators, one thing became clear: the people who win don't follow the traditional playbook — they operate by a different set of rules.

Here is what you will learn in The Misfit Code:

✔ The patterns that show up over and over — no matter the industry

✔ The execution behaviors that separate builders from talkers

✔ How top performers make decisions when certainty doesn't exist

✔ The truth about momentum, discipline, and follow-through

✔ Why most advice sounds good — but fails in the real world

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Rod Khleif. Rod is a multiple serial entrepreneur, real estate expert, peak performance strategist and philanthropist who has built over 27 businesses across a 44 year career, several worth tens of millions of dollars. But what makes Rod's story really, truly stand out isn't just the success, it's the resilience. After building massive wealth and he lost 50 million plus during the 2008 crash only to rebuild again and come back even stronger. So from humble beginnings as a impoverished Dutch immigrant to becoming one of the country's top voices in business, mindset and real estate.

Rod has lived through both extraordinary wins and what he calls his seminars, which we're going to talk a lot about today, is termed really for failures that teach the biggest lessons. And so today, he's passionate about helping others develop the mindset, the psychology, the systems needed to thrive in business and life. And he's impacted millions through his podcast training and his philanthropic work with the Tiny Hands Foundation. I'm really excited for Rod to share his journey, how he rebuilt after losing it all, how to lead and thrive through crisis, the right mindset to take to your life, your business, and what it really takes to create lasting success and fulfillment.

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After interviewing 450+ founders, CEOs, and operators, one thing became clear: the people who win don't follow the traditional playbook — they operate by a different set of rules.

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Frank Sell. Frank is the founder of Get Sh*t Done Coffee and the driving force behind Home of the Hustle, a platform and community built around discipline, personal responsibility, and taking action to create the life you want.

While most people followed the traditional path of school, college, and a "safe" career, Frank knew early on that route wasn't for him. With just $100, a VHS tape, and no mentors or handouts, he bet on himself, hit the streets, and learned through relentless hustle and real-world experience.

He's since built multiple six-figure businesses and a brand centered around action, accountability, and rejecting the victim mindset. His message is simple but powerful—the American Dream is still alive for those willing to take ownership and do the work.

I'm excited to discuss how he built from nothing, and what it really takes to create your own path

homeofthehustle.com/

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After interviewing 450+ founders, CEOs, and operators, one thing became clear: the people who win don't follow the traditional playbook — they operate by a different set of rules.

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Chris Miles. Chris is known as the Cash Flow Expert and the "Anti-Financial Advisor." He's built a reputation challenging traditional financial advice and showing entrepreneurs how to get their money working for them today, not decades down the road.

Chris has an incredible story. Not once, but twice, he achieved financial independence where his passive income exceeded his expenses. But his journey hasn't been without setbacks. After the last recession, he found himself with over $1 million in debt—and instead of declaring bankruptcy, he rebuilt his financial life using the same principles he now teaches others.

Today, through his company Money Ripples, Chris helps entrepreneurs and professionals create cash flow and build passive income streams. Over the past 12 years, his clients have increased their cash flow by nearly $300 million.

I'm excited to speak with about why much of the mainstream financial advice doesn't work for entrepreneurs, how to uncover hidden cash in your business and life, and the types of investments that can actually generate cash flow now.

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Today, I want to talk about something that's been circulating on X called The Dog Theory. And when I saw it, it hit me immediately because it connects directly to something I've believed and taught for years.

Here's the idea: Dogs wake up every day excited to see the same people, eat the same food, and walk the same route.

And somehow… they're happier than most humans. Think about that. Same bowl. Same house. Same walk. Same humans. And pure joy.

Meanwhile, we as entrepreneurs are constantly chasing the next upgrade. Bigger deal. Better city. Better house. Better tech stack. Better everything.

But what if happiness doesn't come from "more"? What if it comes from "enough"?

And what if our urge to constantly change things — what I call the chaos switch — is actually sabotaging us?

Let's break this down.

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Vick Tipnes. Vick is a self-made entrepreneur, investor, author, and mentor best known as the founder and CEO of Blackstone Medical Services, one of the largest providers of home sleep testing in the United States and a company that has made the Inc. 5000 list five years in a row. What makes Vick's story especially compelling is where it began. At one point, he had just $78 in his bank account and was facing enormous personal challenges. From those beginnings, he rebuilt his life and went on to build multiple companies, including Tipnes Capital and Tipnes Health, growing his businesses into organizations with hundreds of employees and millions in revenue.

Along the way, he's become known for his philosophy of building what he calls the "Maximum Life"—success not just in business, but in relationships, personal growth, and impact.

www.vicktipnes.com/

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What if most of your frustration isn't caused by other people… but by the story you're telling yourself?

In this solo episode, Dave explores a powerful concept from the Chinese sage Zhuangzi known as The Empty Boat Theory — and why it may be one of the most important emotional mastery lessons an entrepreneur can learn.

As leaders, we constantly interpret events: a missed email, a lost deal, a short reply, a delayed response. But are those boats actually steered at you — or are they empty?

Learning the difference can transform how you lead, react, and perform under pressure.

In this episode, you'll learn:

-Why high performers often confuse impact with intent

-How personalization drains energy and weakens leadership

-The simple question that can prevent years of resentment

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is William Milliken. Let me ask you something. What if scooping dog poop could make you a millionaire? That's not a joke—it's exactly what William Milliken has done as the founder and president of Swoop Scoop, one of the fastest-growing professional dog waste removal companies in the country. But he didn't stop there. William also created Poop Scoop Millionaire, a top-ranked online community that has helped thousands of entrepreneurs start and grow their own service businesses, many with less than $1,000.

Ranked #6 on the Inc. 5000 list for fastest-growing consumer service companies, and featured by influencers like Codie Sanchez, Alex Hormozi, and Iman Gadzhi, William is a true Misfit Entrepreneur. He turned a "dirty job" into a multi-million-dollar empire—while building one of the most engaged communities on the Skool platform.

In this episode, we're going to dig into: How he built a 7-figure business from almost nothing What it takes to scale in a service industry Why undervalued niches hold massive potential And what it means to lead a purpose-driven company in a market few take seriously

Get ready to rethink what opportunity looks like.

swoopscoop.com/

Poop Scoop Millionaire Skool

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Bob Bush Jr. As a senior investment executive with over $30 billion in global transactions under his belt, Bob has done business around the world—from New York to Nairobi, from Beijing to the Middle East.

But what makes him truly special is how he's brought his Wall Street expertise into the world of impact-driven entrepreneurship as the co-founder of Mutombo Coffee. Partnering with Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, Bob is building more than a coffee company—he's creating a global movement around ethical sourcing, circular economies, and sustainable investing.

I'm excited to dig into how values and profit can go hand in hand, what it takes to scale a business across continents, and why risk might be your best teacher.

www.mutombocoffee.com/

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Hello Misfit Entrepreneurs! Welcome to another edition of "Lessons for Hannah!"

Many years ago, I introduced a new format that alongside our regular episodes called "Lessons for Hannah." Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life….even after I am gone. If you haven't listened to the first episode of "Lessons for Hannah," I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.

Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I'm going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don't hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We'd love to share it.

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Nate Woodbury—CEO of Be the Hero Studios, YouTube strategist to over 60 successful channels, and the genius behind one of the most practical and scalable YouTube lead generation systems out there.

Nate has mastered the science of turning YouTube search into a pipeline of high-quality leads for coaches, consultants, and speakers. But he doesn't just talk strategy—he implements it through a done-for-you system backed by a team of 35 experts. Whether you're trying to build a personal brand, become a thought leader in your niche, or simply want to grow predictable income from your content, Nate's Leaf Strategy and SEO framework can help you dominate search—on YouTube, Google, and even AI platforms like ChatGPT.

And I want to squeeze every piece of advice from him and break down how YouTube can be your #1 lead source, why search beats viral strategies for most businesses, and what it takes to become the go-to expert in your niche in as little as four months.

TheLeafStrategy.com BeTheHeroStudios.com

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Nicky Billou. Nicky is a powerhouse of entrepreneurial energy—a best-selling author, thought leadership coach, and host of The Thought Leader Revolution, the #1 podcast in the world on thought leadership – of which I've been fortunate to be a guest. As the Co-founder, President, and CEO of eCircle Academy, Nicky has helped countless coaches, consultants, and service professionals position themselves as recognized authorities in their fields—often adding six and even seven figures to their annual income.

But what makes Nicky truly special isn't just his ability to scale businesses—it's his mission to unleash greatness in others. His programs combine deep business growth strategy with a belief that the greatest untapped resource in the world is the human spirit. He's the author of several powerful books, including Finish Line Thinking, The Thought Leader's Journey, and The Power of Connecting, and has built a reputation as one of the most inspiring mentors for entrepreneurs who want to make a real impact.

ecircleacademy.com/appointment

Nicky invites anyone needing belief or direction to reach out. "I like being bothered," he says—so don't hesitate.

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Doug C. Brown. Doug is the CEO of CEO Sales Strategies and the creator of the Double Your Sales Methodology—a proven, math-based model that helps entrepreneurs, business professionals, and companies grow predictable and reliable sales revenue.

Doug's career spans over four decades, beginning with 12 years in the U.S. military, followed by explosive results as President of Sales and Training for Tony Robbins and Chet Holmes, where he grew sales by over 4000% in just six months. Since then, he's built or advised over 35 businesses, generated over $960 million in revenue for clients, and helped companies like Intuit, CBS Television, and Procter & Gamble become sales powerhouses. Doug is also the founder of Vibitno, a cutting-edge sales automation platform that supercharges follow-up, boosts retention, and drives productivity. He's a top podcast guest, award-winning sales leader, and one of the most sought-after minds in building high-performance, scalable sales systems.

If you've ever struggled with creating a consistent sales process, motivating your team, or scaling beyond your current revenue ceiling, this episode is your blueprint.

ceosalesstrategies.com/

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This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is John Garrett—a keynote speaker, award winning author, consultant, and the creator of the powerful concept known as "What's Your And?" If you're looking for the X factor in how to build a culture where people actually perform at their best, feel connected, and bring their whole selves to work… John is the guy you need to hear from. John started his career as a CPA before breaking the mold—quite literally—by becoming a nationally touring comedian. And that's what sparked his groundbreaking discovery: people are more than their job titles, and organizations that embrace their employees' outside-of-work passions—what he calls their "Ands"—build stronger cultures, retain talent longer, and unlock levels of performance and engagement most leaders never tap into. He's worked with companies like PwC, AstraZeneca, and Microsoft, and written the bestseller What's Your And? His message is simple but transformative: We perform better when we bring all of who we are to what we do. And for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to build thriving, winning cultures—John's frameworks are pure gold. I've personally spent time with John and seen him present his concepts live. His insights land. His stories resonate. And the applications for leaders are immediate.

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Many years ago, I introduced a new format that alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life….even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of "Lessons for Hannah," I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.

Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Charles Byrd. If you’ve ever wanted to scale your business without spending a fortune on ads—and do it while building powerful, lasting relationships—Charles is the guy you want to learn from.

Charles started his career in Silicon Valley as a director at a billion-dollar software company, where he earned the nickname “The Chaos Killer” for his ability to simplify and streamline complex projects. But despite his success, he felt the pull to do something more impactful—and live life on his own terms.

So he walked away and launched his own productivity course. The twist? He didn’t just build a course—he built a system for marketing and scaling it through joint ventures. In fact, Charles became so effective at booking JV promotions—2 to 6 per week consistently—that entrepreneurs and companies began hiring him to teach them his signature approach.

Today, Charles is one of the most sought-after experts on joint venture partnerships and referral marketing, helping business owners grow faster, create leveraged income, and build rock-solid systems to scale.

charlesbyrd.com/

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Skye Waterson. If you’ve ever struggled with traditional productivity systems or felt like your brain just doesn’t fit the mold, Skye’s story and work will be a game-changer. She’s the founder of Unconventional Organisation, an ADHD support and coaching service designed to help entrepreneurs and executives build focused, sustainable success—without burnout.

Diagnosed with ADHD while completing her PhD, Skye realized that the usual productivity advice wasn’t built for minds like hers. So she created her own framework—one that now powers the systems used by over 82,000 professionals who follow her work. Her podcast The ADHD Skills Lab has over 200,000 downloads, and her web articles have reached more than a quarter million readers. Skye’s belief is that ADHD isn’t a flaw to overcome—it’s a different operating system that, when properly supported, can be a massive asset. And through her work with founders, executives, and creatives, she’s helping people rewire their approach to focus, consistency, and scale.

www.unconventionalorganisation.com/

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Hello Misfit Entrepreneurs! This is Dave Lukas and Welcome to a very special Independence Day edition of The Misfit Entrepreneur Podcast.

Today, we pause to honor a radical, world-changing idea—an idea that birthed a nation unlike any other in history.

On July 4th, 1776, fifty-six men signed a document that would forever alter the course of humanity. They didn’t just declare independence from a king—they declared independence for the individual. They declared that your rights didn’t come from government, but from God. That liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness were not privileges, but birthrights.

In doing so, they ignited a revolution—not just of nations, but of minds, markets, and human potential.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Marc Nudelberg. Marc is a TEDx speaker, bestselling author, award-winning leadership and sales coach, and the president of On the Ball, a family-owned coaching agency that’s been helping businesses grow for over 25 years.

Marc’s journey began on the sidelines—as an NCAA Division I football coach—where he learned the power of discipline, culture, and performance under pressure. But he didn’t stop there. Recognizing that leadership fundamentals transcend the game, he transitioned from coaching athletes to coaching entrepreneurs, executives, and high-performing teams across industries.

Under Marc’s leadership, On the Ball has become a nationally recognized brand, working with organizations like Aflac, City Furniture, Amerant Bank, and UKG. His unique blend of sports discipline and business savvy has fueled explosive growth, earning the firm a spot as a Seminole 100 honoree for the fastest-growing companies led by FSU alumni.

On thing that caught my attention with Marc is his belief in getting 1% better every day—and little successes added up to huge wins. I totally agree with this philosophy and had to have him on to discuss this and more.

Website: ontheball.co Instagram: @coachnoodle

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Russ Morgan. If you’ve ever wanted to achieve financial freedom without being shackled to the ups and downs of Wall Street, Russ is someone you need to hear from. He’s the Co-Founder of Wealth Without Wall Street, a movement and platform dedicated to helping individuals take control of their financial futures through passive income and unconventional wealth strategies.

Nicknamed “The Idea Guy,” Russ started out in the traditional world of financial advising back in 2004, but soon realized the system he was a part of was fundamentally broken. That realization led him on a journey of reinvention—one that culminated in the creation of Wealth Without Wall Street in 2015. Through their podcast, online community, and educational resources, Russ and his team have helped thousands of people break free from the limiting beliefs and systems of traditional finance.

What stood out to me is Russ’s fearless mindset—his motto is “Just try!” And in today’s world where many are overwhelmed with financial stress, he’s proving there’s another path—one built on simplicity, control, and true freedom.

www.wealthwithoutwallstreet.com/

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Dr. Tracy Gapin. If you’ve ever wondered how to truly optimize your health, performance, and longevity as a high-achieving entrepreneur, executive, or athlete—Tracy is the doctor you want to know.

He’s a board-certified urologist with over 25 years of experience who made a bold pivot from traditional medicine to founding the Gapin Institute—a premier performance health facility helping elite performers achieve more by mastering their biology.

Dr. Gapin is a trailblazer in the field of men’s health optimization, combining cutting-edge diagnostics, epigenetics, hormone therapy, and wearable tech to deliver personalized, measurable results. He’s the bestselling author of Male 2.0 and Codes of Longevity, a frequent speaker at top biohacking events like Dave Asprey’s Biohacking Conference, and has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine and on NBC.

Tracy’s mission is to redefine what’s possible for men’s health—not just to live longer, but to live better, sharper, and more fulfilled at every stage of life. After going through my recent experience, I learned about how to further optimize my health and feel it’s very important to help you do the same and Tracy is the guy to do it

www.GapinInstitute/Launch

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Hello Misfit Nation! Welcome to another episode of The Misfit Entrepreneur. Before I jump in, if your new to this watching the show on YouTube, hit the subscribe button below, give this video a like and comment as well; we do our best to respond to all comments as timely as possible.

Yes, I’m back. It’s been a couple of weeks since I released a new episode, and today’s show is a little different—but maybe one of the most important I’ve ever done.

Why? Because over the last five weeks, I’ve been on a journey—a journey of healing, of physical and mental challenge, of patience, and of rediscovery. And I want to share some of the incredible lessons I’ve learned along the way.

You may or may not know, I had a pretty major setback with my back. A disc extrusion at L3-L4 compressed a nerve and literally made it so I couldn’t stand, walk, or sleep without pain. I went from top-tier Ironman athlete—training 15 to 20 hours a week—to someone who couldn’t even put on socks without pain shooting down my leg.

And I want to be honest—it was humbling. It shook me.

But in that experience, I found a deeper level of discipline, resilience, and focus than I’ve ever tapped into before. And that’s what I want to talk about today. Because the lessons I’ve learned in healing my body translate perfectly to building a business, growing a team, and leading in life.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Josiah "JJ" Hartling. If you’ve ever wanted to understand the mindset and strategy behind sustained high performance, JJ is the guy to learn from. He is the author of Stride and the founder of Compel Global, where he helps leaders and organizations harness their full potential through intentional action and discipline.

But what really caught my attention is JJ’s philosophy on the power of relentless momentum. In Stride, he talks about how small, consistent actions—taken daily—are what separate the extraordinary from the average. He shares how elite performers don’t just wait for inspiration; they create it through habits and systems that keep them moving forward, no matter the obstacles. As he puts it, “Success isn’t about speed—it’s about stride. The right rhythm, maintained over time, beats raw talent every time.”

That quote alone got me fired up to have him on the show.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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Welcome to another solo edition of the Misfit Entrepreneur!

I want to talk about something that I’ve mentioned a number of times on the show, but most people overlook—and that’s sitting down to ask themselves, “What do I truly want?” I’ve had more people reaching out asking me for my thoughts on how they better design their life and find true meaning and purpose.

I think people are starting to realize that too often, we chase results without really knowing our own core values. And if you’re not clear on what you believe in, you’re not going to get what you want.

So, in this episode, we are going to dive deep into how building your very own “personal operating system” can change your life. We’ll look at why knowing your core principles matters, how I built mine, and I’ll give you a simple five-step process to do this for yourself.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Dave Rosenberg. If you have ever wanted know what it means to be radically accountable, Dave is the guy to learn from. He is a former F-14 naval officer (think Top Gun) who founded Locked On Leadership, a premier leadership development firm who has worked with well over 100 organizations helping them to learn what it means to lead and build high performing teams. If that is not enough, he is also a multiple black belt across several martial art disciplines.

One thing that really cause my attention was that during his time in the military, Dave had a lot of leadership roles, but in one role he spent over 100 days leading a team of sailors during preparations for Desert Storm. As he says, “That was one of the most intense leadership experiences of my life. Morale was a constant challenge, and I quickly learned that motivation wears off, but inspiration lasts. The right words at the right time made all the difference in keeping my team focused, engaged, and mission-ready.”

It was this quote that really peaked my interest to have him on the show.

www.LockedOnLeadership.com

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It was this quote that really peaked my interest to have him on the show.

www.LockedOnLeadership.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Mo Ahmed. Mo is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years in AI and Cloud Computing experience. He has built and sold multiple successful companies for multiples of 10x plus and has helped founders secure over $30M in funding.

Mo is also the author of Inside-Out Entrepreneurship which goes deep into the mental resilience and endurance of the entrepreneur journey.

With AI moving incredible fast and opportunities everywhere, I thought it would be great to have Mo on to get his take and have him share the best lessons from his journey.

boundlessfounder.co/

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is MC Laubscher. MC is the founder of Producers Wealth, a firm helping business owners in all 50 states in the United States implement and execute advanced alternative wealth strategies. He is also the creator & host of the top-rated business and investing podcasts Cashflow Ninja, Cashflow Investing Secrets, and Cashflow Ninja Banking which have been downloaded millions of times and listened to in over 180 countries.

M.C. is a best-selling author and has written The 21 Best Cashflow Niches™, The 21 Most Unique Cashflow Niches™, The 21 Best Cash Growth Niches™, The 21 Next Level Cashflow Niches™and Get Wealthy for Sure™. And if that is not enough, he is a member of the Forbes Finance Council and The Million Dollar Round Table, a peer group for the top 1% of financial professionals worldwide.

What I like about MC is that he is an entrepreneur who chose to do business in the financial space and I’m excited for him to share what he’s learned along his journey!

producerswealth.com/misfit/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneurs are Robert and Kay Lee Fukui. Robert and Kay are former fortune 500 standouts, who saw an opportunity to help married entrepreneurs and business owners create harmony between the rigorous demands of building a business and maintaining a healthy, happy thriving marriage.

Their company, Couples by Design teaches entrepreneurs and business owners and their spouses how have it all – a thriving business and marriage by helping them better understand themselves, each other, and how to support each other in business and at home.

We all know the challenges of being responsible for a business and working to maintain a good environment at home, but the stats don’t lie. Some estimates suggest that up to 48% entrepreneurs get divorced. That is way too high and a big problem, because speaking from experience, it is a lot easier to succeed as an entrepreneur, when you have good support at home from your spouse. So I had to have Robert and Kay on the show to share how you can thrive in this area of your life.

marriedentrepreneur.co/misfit

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Matt McLean. Matt is the founder of Uncle Matt’s Organic, which he founded in 1999 with three acres in his Dad’s backyard. Uncle Matt’s is now the largest organic orange juice brand and the number one selling OJ and grapefruit juice in the U.S. with a full line of organic beverages sold nationwide in over 20,000+ stores. And it’s darn good because I drink it just about every day!

Starting aa brand from the ground up and growing it to be the largest in it’s space is no easy feat, so I’ve asked Matt to come on and share the story of how he did it and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

www.unclematts.com/

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jason Yarusi. Jason is a Private fund manager of over $300 million dollars in commercial real estate. Since 2017 his company Yarusi Holdings has amassed over 3000 apartment and commercial real estate units. Jason has built and exited multiple companies: construction, restaurants, a brewery and multiple large apartment communities.

He is also the host of the Live 100 Podcast and runs the 7 Figure Multifamily Mastermind.

Needless to say, Jason is one well-rounded entrepreneur and I love his Live 100 concept, so I had to have him on.

www.jasonyarusi.com/

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ted Pryor. Ted has had one heck of a Misfit Entrepreneur journey. From 1982 to 1987, Ted was the middleweight kickboxing champion of the world. But behind the scenes, he was a key player in the biggest marijuana trafficking operation in American history. After a stint in prison, he re-emerged and became wildly successful in business, eventually founding Children of America, a company dedicated to providing high-quality childcare and education with more than 60 locations across 15 states.

In addition to that, Ted is an actor, producer, and just released his latest books, Three-Time World Champ: The Death-Defying True Story of a Kickboxer Turned Drug Smuggler . . . Turned Business Icon.

I excited for Ted to share his story and lessons learned from his entrepreneur journey.

tedpryor.com/

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This year, I am going to do something a little different. I’ve just returned from spending almost a month overseas and competing in New Zealand in the Ironman World Championships. I promised my family that I would take that time with them and just unplug. That meant no podcasts or anything during that time and I stuck to it. It was an amazing trip and such a wonderful experience. For all my Kiwi listeners, your country is truly incredible. I hope everyone watching and listening gets a chance to visit it someday.

I started out saying that this end of year episode is going to be a little different. Where usually, I do a recap of all the episodes throughout the year and share wisdom from them, instead, I am going to share my Top 5 lessons I am taking away from 2024 and my best advice going into 2025. I had a lot of time to think on these things while I traveled and thought it would be great to share them with you.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is David Brier. When CEO Magazine published its article, “Words of Wisdom from the World’s Greatest Branding Experts,” it grabbed quotes from Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Gary Vaynerchuk, Seth Godin, Richard Branson, and other brilliant business leaders. But leading the list was David Brier. Grant Cardon calls David, “The Branding Genius.” He has received over 330 international industry recognitions for his work in branding and brand strategy. He’s generated over $7 Billion in revenue for his clients which are many of the top brands in the world.

He's the author of the massive best-seller, Brand Intervention, 33 Steps to Transform the Brand You Have into the Brand Need, with a Foreword written by Daymond John of Shark Tank. And this week he is releasing the follow up, Rich Brand, Poor Brand How to unleash your David in a world of Goliaths.

Needless to say, David is THE man when it comes to branding and positioning and I’m excited for him to share his best secrets and principles to help you stand out in your business!

www.risingabovethenoise.com/

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is David Steele. David is the founder and CEO of One Wealth Advisors, an independent RIA firm with over $1B in assets. He is also restaurateur owning 6 difference restaurants, a yoga studio owner, philanthropist and more. Needless to say, he’s a Misfit Entrepreneur to the core.

One of the hardest things for any entrepreneur to do is build and scale multiple businesses simultaneously and be successful, let alone juggle that with all the other areas of life. I’ve asked David to come on share how he’s done this so successfully and to share his best advice for building a great business.

davidsteele.xyz/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Dre Baldwin. Dre is an interesting entrepreneur who owns the brand, Work on Your Game. He is a former pro-basketball player playing in 8 countries during this career. But, he wasn’t a superstar from the start. He had to work harder than anyone and walk on at a division 3 school to get his shot. And he made the most of it succeeding and turning pro.

He was an early adopter of YouTube and has a massive following and since leaving pro basketball, he has authored 35 books, created over 400 products, given 4 Ted Talks on Discipline, Confidence, Mental Toughness, and Personal Initiative. His daily Work on Your Game Masterclass has been downloaded over 7.5 million times!

Hearing all of that, you can see why I asked him to be on the show and I love his no-nonsense straightforward approach to success because it’s a lot like mine.

www.WorkonYourGame.com

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This is another special episode and I got the idea of it from a recent service at our church, Worthington Christian Church here in Ohio. Now before you turn this off or stop watching, I am not going to be teaching a sermon to you and pushing the Bible down your throat, but as I listened to this message which was about the 10 Principles learned from the Story of Joseph in Genesis, I could not help but think about how much the 10 principles not only are useful in life, but incredibly important for success in entrepreneurship.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Dominic Rubino. Dominic is an interesting Misfit. He is a serial entrepreneur who’s had businesses in Construction Trades, Contracting, Mail Order, Pharmaceuticals, Real Estate, & Business Coaching. But It took a long time for Dominic to feel like he could call himself an entrepreneur and the turning point came AFTER he took his business from zero to over 120 million in sales (with, as he says, some serious internal dysfunctions!).

You may have heard of him, not so much from what I I’ve shared, but as the host of two very popular podcasts, “Profit Tool Belt” and “Cabinet Maker Profit System.” He’s also the author of the book Construction Millionaire Secrets.

Domini is a true misfit and Swiss army knife of entrepreneurship, so we’re going to hit on all kinds of topics in this episode.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Deb Feder. Deb is the CEO of Feder Development, a business development and practice management strategist and coach with a special focus on effective communication. Her work focuses on helping professionals bring in consistent clients through curious, confident conversations. Over the last decade, Deb has committed herself to changing the way people think about communication, building healthy careers, and tackling high-stakes work, allowing for big careers while enjoying our free time.

She is the author of After Hello: How to Build a Book of Business, One Conversation at a Time and Tell Me More: Building Trusted Client Relationships through Everyday Interactions.

She is also a contributing author to the best-selling anthology #Networked.

Effective communication is probably one of, if not, the most important skill for entrepreneurs, so I asked Deb on to give us her best thoughts, practices, and strategies to communicate at our best in our businesses and with our customers.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ed Hajjim. Ed is a long-time Wall Street executive and entrepreneur with over 50 years of experience. Most people that hear his origin story are amazed that he ended up where he has. But, in reality, Ed has one of the best stories that is the truest testament to the American Dream and what is possible that I have ever heard. And I’m excited for him to share it today. But first, I mentioned 50 years’ experience. Here is a little bit of Ed’s pedigree…

Ed has held senior management positions with the Capital Group, E.F. Hutton and Lehman Brothers before becoming chairman and CEO of Furman Selz. He was the co-chairman of ING Barings, Americas Region; chairman and CEO of ING Aeltus Group and ING Furman Selz Asset Management; and chairman and CEO of MLH Capital. Presently, he is chairman of High Vista, a Boston-based money management company. In 2008, after 20 years as a trustee of the University of Rochester, he began an eight-year tenure as chairman of the university’s board. Upon assuming that office, he gave the school $30 million—the largest single donation in its history—to support scholarships and endow the Edmund A. Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Through his Family Foundation, he has made generous donations to organizations that promote education, health care, arts, culture and conservation.

Ed is the author of several books including, the Road Less Traveled: An Unlikely Journey from the Orphanage to the Boardroom. And I’m excited to squeeze as much wisdom as I can from him in our time together in this episode.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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In this episode, Jeremy Ryan Slate interviews me on the complexities of inflation, and the economic landscape. We talk about the insidious nature of debt and inflation, the role of entrepreneurship in driving the economy, economic freedom, and the impact of government spending and inflationary policies. We also discuss what business owner's should be focusing on in their business to thrive into the future.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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In this episode, I share insights from my experiences in racing Ironman and how they parallel to the journey of entrepreneurship. Key concepts discussed are the importance of viewing business as a long game, the mental challenges faced, the significance of small details, and the necessity of discipline, consistency, and persistence in achieving success.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Dane Espegard. This conversation today holds a special place for me as Dane is division leader for Vector Marketing. Some of you may know Vector or even worked for them as they are the company behind Cutco knives. I have talked about this before, but I initially cut my teeth in selling and paid for my college selling Cutco. Everyone that works for them is a contractor building their own business, whether a salesperson, district, division manager and so on. To get to running a division means you are one of the best at developing people, especially young people. And over 2 decades, Dane has built a division that has sold over $51 million in cutlery! A $50+ million-dollar business selling knives primarily through high schoolers and young adults. If you can do that, you are doing something right. So, you can understand why I’ve invited Dane on the show to share his secrets for building a great business and organization.

It's great timing too as he has released the book, The Dream Machine: A Leader's Guide to Creating Teams of High Performers Who Achieve Extraordinary Outcomes.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Talia Boone. Talia is the founder of Postal Petals, a floral industry startup that is changing the entire industry. Now, here’s the interesting thing, Talia founded the company in the middle of the pandemic and lockdowns. If you remember, businesses like that were shut down and for many, the last thing on their mind was getting some flowers. But Talia bucked the trend and created a new model that thrived during that time and continues to today.

How did she do it and go on to build such a great company re-inventing the way flowers are bought? Well, it’s those lessons and principles that I want to dig in with her in this episode.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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I am changing things up this week. I had an episode ready to go, but was on a long run yesterday, a 15-miler getting ready for next Ironman and as I like to do, I listen to podcasts or audiobooks. I popped on Steve Siebold’s book How Rich People Think and I have to say, I forget how great this little gem of a book is.

This book is a treasure trove of insights into the mindset of the wealthy. There over 25 of them and I was running, I thought, I’ve got to share some of this with the Misfit Audience! So, I’ve gone through it and picked out the top 10 lessons I believe are crucial for anyone looking to elevate their financial success and build wealth. But as I mentioned—these 10 lessons are just scratching the surface. Siebold packs this book with so much more. I highly recommend reading it in full because there’s no substitute for learning straight from the source.

So, what’s this book all about? It’s about the difference in thinking between the rich and the average person. It’s about breaking down limiting beliefs, taking control of your financial destiny, and reprogramming your mind to think like the wealthy.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Michael Stone. Mike is the President and CEO of CertaPro Painters, a billion-dollar company with over 370 franchise owners in over 500 territories across the US and Canada. You’ve no doubt heard of them.

Mike joined the company in 1999 as a sale associate and worked his way up to President and CEO. His story is one of the best examples of what can happen if you play the long game in your business. And that is one of the reasons I’ve him on – to not only share what he has learned along the journey, but to talk about how to build a long-term lasting company.

certapro.com/

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Damion Lupo. It’s rare that we have repeat guests on this show, but Damion is one of those whose message is very important to come back. He was first on the show all the way back in 2020 and his story is pretty incredible.

At age 30, Damion was facing the loss of a $20 million portfolio, grappling with homelessness, and utter despair. But, he fought his way through and back rebuilding his wealth to more that $200 million. Now, I bet you can see why I’ve asked back on the show because you need to hear from him how he did it, what he learned along the way, and how he has continued to grow and thrive since.

He has built over 70 companies with Frametech and and the eQRP system/Turnkey Retirement being most notable. This is on episode, you are going to want listen or watch all the way through

turnkeyretirement.com/

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This week’s episode is a special one. As many of you know, I have owned an investing education business for almost 20 years. I was recently interviewed by Jeremy Ryan Slate on the state of the economy, where things are headed, and what to make of the recent market turmoil.

I should it would be great to share it with you as we are entrepreneurs always need to be preparing and working to stay ahead of what is coming so we can succeed and thrive no matter what happens.

If you are interested in learning more about the investing education we provide, go to www.12MinuteTrading.com.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This episode discusses stock markets, economics, and investments. Neither Jeremy Ryan Slate or Dave Lukas are registered financial advisors. Please consult with a competent financial advisor prior to making your own financial decisions

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Michael Tucker. Michael is the CEO and founder of Funnel Pros, a full-fledged marketing and growth agency specializing in virtual events. They are unique in that they provide all the man-power, strategy, & resources that clients need to maximize the success of a virtual event. Over just the last few years, the company has helped clients generate over $40 million in online sales.

As more and more selling is done online, one of the best ways to grow your business is through online events and I’ve been looking for an expert to come on the show and share the best practices on how to put on a great event.

www.thefunnelpros.com/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Britt Lefkoe. Britt is a business and leadership development coach, who specializes in coaching entrepreneurs and executives specifically following in the footsteps of her father, Morty Lefkoe, taking a belief-based, neuroscientific approach to business and personal development. She has spent 20 years helping people, especially entrepreneurs, identify blind spots and create unwavering confidence.

Britt is highly sought after by everyone from the largest Fortune 10 companies like Facebook and Google to companies going to IPO and high achieving entrepreneurs and organizations that understand mindset is the key to success.

I am excited for her to share he unique insights and methodology to help you reach your true potential.

www.brittlefkoe.com/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Christy Whitman. Christy is a New York Times bestselling author, transformational leader, and CEO and founder of the Quantum Success Coaching Academy, a 12-month Law of Attraction coaching certification program. Christy has helped thousands of people worldwide to achieve their goals through her empowerment seminars, speeches, and coaching sessions, and products. She reaches 125,000 a month with her messages and her work has been promoted and featured with everyone from Wayne Dyer to Brian Tracy.

Her latest book is called the Desire Factor. The book is a guide on how to harness the force of desire and turn your dreams into reality.

I have talked many times about the role desire plays in success. And I could not think of a better person to come on and help you learn to unleash this power in your life and entrepreneur journey.

www.watchyourwords.com/

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jhana Li. Jhana is the founder of Spyglass Ops, a firm with a special focus on operations to scale small and mid-sized businesses. Jhana ran her first company while living out of a van traveling through North and South America. She has consulted with over forty 7 and 8 figure businesses and has coached over 500 founders on how to scale their operations and grow.

One of the biggest hurdles in building a great business is going through the challenge of building scalable operating systems and processes. But, if you can get this right, your business can grow exponentially. An I could think of no better expert to give us the playbook to do so than Jhana.

spyglassops.com/

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Kayla Logue. Kayla went from divorced with $900 to her name at 25 to millionaire in just a few years. How did she do it? By taking radical responsibility for herself and owning her life. She found a niche in the real estate space joining a business selling land. From there, she built out the business to where she was top producer in 4 states.

Her new book is called, “Always Squeezing Lemons: Taking Responsibility to Define Your Own Success. The book is a guide to help readers define real success, what it means to them, and how to get it.

One thing I have always taken to heart and something that is consistent among the most successful entrepreneurs we have on this show is taking full responsibility for themselves, their lives, businesses, actions, and so on. I’m excited for Kayla to share her journey of how she took responsibility and created the life she’d always want and how you can too.

www.kaylalogue.com/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jeremy Ryan Slate. I’ve known Jeremy for almost a decade. We started our podcasts about the same time and have shared the stage together at a number of events over the years. If you don’t know Jeremy, he is the host of the Jeremy Ryan Slate show, which studies the highest performers in the world and dives deep into world events. He studied literature at Oxford University, as well as holds a Master’s in the study of the Early Roman Empire from Seton Hall University. His podcast was named the #1 Podcast to Listen to by INC Magazine, as well as Top 40 Under 40 by Podcast Magazine.

He also owns the Command Your Brand public relations agency with his wife Brielle.

Many of you that have listened to me for a while, know that I love studying history, especially world and economic history. Part of that is because I love the topic, but the other part is because I have run a financial education business and small investment fund for years, so I have to keep up on this stuff. I have been wanting to do a show for a while on where things are going with the US economy and where we fit into the history of the rise and decline of empires because there are some striking parallels going on right now – especially to Rome. As a business owner or entrepreneur, where we are going affects you – not just the inflation we are seeing, but the dollar being challenged as a reserve currency and other happenings. And who better to discuss this with than Jeremy!

commandyourbrand.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Julie Roy. Julie is a multi-millionaire entrepreneur that was born into an Italian immigrant family and raised in Windsor, Ontario. She started working when she was just nine and did all kinds of odd jobs, including digging graves. From a very young age, she decided not to let her personal or financial mindset be one of scarcity. Right out of college she went into business for herself starting a private Montessori preschool, in her mom’s basement.

She continued to build businesses and today, she is an entrepreneur, investor, speaker, author, podcaster, coach and world traveler who has visited all seven continents with her husband and four kids…and is financially free. Her latest book is called The Multi-Million Dollar Mompreneur: Your guide to business mastery, uncommon freedom and legacy wealth.

Julie’s set out to design the exact life she envisioned all the way back when she was a kid and made it happen. I’m excited for her to share her best wisdom on how you can do the same!

thejulieroy.com/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Rupal Patel. Rupal’s career has taken her from CIA officer in military briefing rooms in jungles and war zones to becoming a serial entrepreneur in corporate boardrooms and international stages. She took her CIA experience and for over a decade has been building businesses and providing mentorship as a consultant and advisor to founders and leaders throughout the world.

Here latest book is called “From CIA to CEO: Unconventional Life Lessons for Thinking Bigger, Leading Better, and Being Bolder” shares the lessons, tactics, and strategies for succeed in life and entrepreneurship.

I can’t wait to dig into her experience, lessons learned, and to get her best advice on how to succeed as an entrepreneur. www.rupalypatel.com/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Chelsea Husum. Chelsea is a true Misfit Entrepreneur. She is a standout in the male dominated construction industry building a massive business, American GPR & Coring in Denver, CO which provides core drilling and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) services.

Chelsea has been features everything from FOX to ABC and CBS and is the author of Real Vibes Only: Unapologetic Confessions of a Hot Mess Mompreneuer. After hearing that title, I bet you can understand why I had to have her on the show.

I’m excited to discuss breaking through barriers, her experience building her business, and the lessons she’s learned on how to consistently succeed as a mom and entrepreneur.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Amber De La Garza. Amber is a coach, trainer, speaker, writer, and host of the Small Business Straight Talk Podcast. Her focus is helping small business owners maximize profits, reduce stress, and make time for what matters most by improving their time management and elevating their productivity.

Amber’s work has been featured everywhere from Fast Company to the Huffington Post. She’s worked with companies such as Pepsi, Cartier, and MGM Resorts.

As entrepreneurs, the most precious thing we have is our time and we need to do our best to maximize it and get the most out of it. I’ve asked Amber on to share her best advice, strategies, and actionable tips on how to be your most productive.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

amberdelagarza.com/

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneurs are John and Mark Cronin. They are the father-son team that created John’s Crazy Socks, a social enterprise with a mission to spread happiness. They bootstrapped their business into the world’s largest sock store with multi-million dollar revenues and have been named EY’s Entrepreneurs of the Year as well as multiple 30 under 30 awards.

John is not only a business owner, but he has Down syndrome. John and Mark show what people with differing abilities can do – more than half of their colleagues have differing abilities. They have testified twice before the U.S. Congress and spoken at the United Nations. They are sought after keynote speakers, have recorded two TEDx Talks and are frequent guests on network television including appearances on CBS Evening News, Good Morning America, the Today Show, Fox and Friends, CNBC, PBS, the BBC and others. And they show their gratitude through their Giving Back program that has raised over $650,000 for their charity partners.

John and Mark show us that anything is possible if you if you are determined enough and I’m excited to discuss their journey of building a 7-figure company along with the many other lessons we can learn from them.

johnscrazysocks.com/

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Brian Biro. Where to start with Brian. He is ranked as one of the top motivational speakers in the world and Top 10 interactive speakers in the US. He has delivered over 1900 presentations around the world over the last 34 years and is a best-selling author of 16 books. If that’s not enough, he has been featured everywhere from Good Morning America to CNN and is a former professional swimming coach building teams ranked in the top 10 in nation.

His latest book is called Lessons from Legends which brings forth the championship formula for success from arguably two of the greatest coaches in history, John Wooden and Pat Summit. The book provides a fresh perspective on leadership, team building, and excellence and how to take the lessons from the locker room to the board room.

I’m excited dig into all this with Brian and share his wisdom from a 30+ year entrepreneur career.

www.brianbiro.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jothy Rosenberg. Jothy is a two-time cancer-surviving amputee, book author, and serial entrepreneur. Over the course of his 35-year career, Jothy has built 9 startup companies in fields as diverse as supercomputing and cybersecurity and even a TV production company. With two exits of over $100M, Jothy has shown how anyone can use their personal struggles to help them succeed at the highest levels.

His latest book, Think Like a Tech Founder: Anecdotes of an Incorrigible Entrepreneur,” shares hard-won wisdom, from over an 35 year + entrepreneurial journey distilled into essential lessons for founders and CEOs.

Jothy’s story of overcoming adversity to achieve great success is not just inspiring—it’s a roadmap for anyone who wants to reach their true potential and I’m excited to dig on everything with him.

www.jothyrosenberg.com/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Bill Potter. Bill is a serial entrepreneur and investor with a career spanning over 30 years – including selling building and selling companies in excess of $250 million. He is the founder of and CEO of Thrive Investors, a firm that helps SAAS and startup companies overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of success.

Bill’s unique genius is taking startups to a successful exit strategy. He excels at helping companies get over the plateau’s that can make them stagnant or hold them back from reaching their potential. And it is these common areas where businesses struggle that I’m excited for Bill to share his wisdom on how to breakthrough and reach new heights as a business.

https://www.thriveadvisors.com/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Dr. Patrick Kilcar. Dr. Kilcar has been the Director of Georgetown University’s Center for Personal Development since 1999. His research studies the intersection of risk-taking behavior and emotional intelligence. He is a master trainer in emotional intelligence, certifying professionals to use the EQ-i2.0 (the most valid and reliable self-assessment of emotional intelligence) to assess and evaluate the social and emotional competencies of individuals in a variety of professional venues.

Dr. Kilcar’s work has been instrumental in helping people achieve higher success by understanding and tapping into the power of increasing their EQ. His latest book is called “Leading an Emotionally Intelligence Life: Expanding Your EI to Make Courageous Decisions and Transform Your Life” and I could not think of a better, more important topic to help entrepreneurs than improving in the area of emotional intelligence, so I’m excited to get into it.

theeilife.com/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Kelsi Sheren. Kelsi is an entrepreneur, author, podcast, host, coach and speaker. Even more importantly Kelsi is a decorated veteran who served on the front lines in Afghanistan.

She founded Brass and Unity, a boutique jewelry and apparel brand that incorporates elements of brass from weaponry into its products. The company donates 20% of net profits to help rehabilitate and soldiers and first responders. Kelsi’s story and companies have been featured everywhere from ELLE, Fashion Magazine, Forbes, GMA, the Today Show, Fox, CNN, and even ELLEN.

Kelsi’s story is inspiring not just to those who learn of it, but for her as overcoming her own challenges after years of war gave her the strength and mission to help veterans overcome the side effect of war such as PTSD, homelessness, and preventing suicide. And she is fierce in her efforts.

I asked her to come on to share her journey, entrepreneur lessons learned, and how to overcome the biggest challenges that life brings your way.

www.kelsisheren.com/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Chris Wright. We’ve had multiple guests on the show talking about the growth of AI and the benefits of it, but what about the potential downsides? In a world where AI can create videos and deep fakes of anyone in seconds or access individual’s data from social platforms and other sources and use it: how do you protect yourself and keep control of your data, personal information, and other valuable online assets? Those are exactly the questions I had been asking myself when I was introduced to Chris Wright.

Chris is a former US Army attack helicopter pilot, entrepreneur, and founder of the AI Trust Council. The AITC is building a pro-human social networking platform that helps users distinguish real from fake online. Its goal is to give users control of their meta data to create passive income and provide a mechanism to help steer the direction of A.I.

The council aims to ensure humans are empowered with the tools necessary to establish trust to build a pro human future. I think this is one of the most important topics for entrepreneurs to understand and find opportunity in over the next decade and Chris is on the bleeding edge, so I asked him on the discuss how we can not only protect ourselves, but also maximize our potential in the age of AI.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Mark Wills. Mark is a very interesting entrepreneur and like my daughter, Hannah, an adoptee. But his journey was not as easy – something I look forward to him sharing and us talking about today. Mark is the founder of a unique business called the Loan Signing System that has become a top 1% online course in America teaching people how to not only become a notary, but how to succeed in making it a side hustle or full-time career.

He is a best-selling author and has been featured everywhere from CNBC to Entrepreneur, and Forbes - even the Today Show.

I admit, the first time I heard about a guy who created a business in the notary space, I wasn’t that excited, but then I met Mark and realized how genius it was for him to create a massive business in this niche. Mark has not only created a 7-figure business, but is helping countless others build 6 and 7 figure businesses in the much looked over niche of notarization.

www.loansigningsystem.com/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is John St. Pierre. John is a 25+ year entrepreneur veteran who scaled 2 companies to over $50M in global revenues. John started while still in college as a franchisee for College Pro Painters and went on to co-found Legacy Global Sports, BrandPoint Services, and Rhombus Group.

Legacy Global Sports rapidly reached $50M+ in global revenues and BrandPoint Services is now a $100M+ enterprise, His role as the majority owner and chairperson of Rhombus Group, a holding company comprising several small businesses, has allowed him to inspire other entrepreneurs and help them achieve their goals. He is the author of "The $100M Journey," where he shares the 7 key principles for entrepreneurial success.

But it wasn’t all sunshine and lollipops as most entrepreneur journeys aren’t. In fact, John was fired from a company he spent over 15 years building. And then had to start from square one. He learned a lot of lessons along the way which partly inspired his book and it’s those lessons learned over his 25+ year career that I am excited for him to share with you today.

100MJourney.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneurs are Jim Sherman and Catalina Daniels. Jim and Catalina, studied entrepreneurship as classmates at Harvard Business School. Years later, after successfully founding and exiting several companies, and as angel investors in start-ups, they were surprised to realize that their experiences greatly differed from what they had been taught in school. Harvard provided a world-class education in the basics. But there was so much they learned the hard way—working in the trenches—that, looking back, they wished they’d known before starting up.

So, they decided to help entrepreneurs on their journey by giving them to real world wisdom and advice needed to succeed in their best-selling book, “Smart Startups.” In the book they interview 18 Harvard graduates and entrepreneurs about their experiences founding companies such as Blue Apron, Rent the Runway, Gilt, and AdoreMe, learning what they discovered along the way and what they wish they had known beforehand.

And because of their work and the way it has helped entrepreneurs, they have been featured in Fast Company, CNBC, Forbes, Bloomberg, Morning Brew, Entrepreneur Magazine just to name a few.

Jim and Catalina, alone have an incredible amount of wisdom and experience in entrepreneurship to share, but with everything they learned in writing this book, I think I’m going to be pressed for time in getting all of the incredible information out of them in just one episode

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Pete Reese. Pete is the President of Reelvest Properties, a land development and investment company. With nearly two decades of real estate experience as a broker and investor, Pete has successfully purchased and sold hundreds of pieces of real estate for a profit over the years for himself and on behalf of his clients. He did $3.5 Million in Revenue in 2022 with his land flipping and development business, and did over $10 Million in 2023.

When I learned about what Pete was doing, I had to have him on. He has found a niche in “land flipping.” It is a fascinating way to create income and earn a living that Pete has been teaching others to do for years. I wanted to have him on to explain the concept and how it works compared to other types of real estate investing.

Land Conquest Community: landconquest.com/

Social Media: @partnerwithpete

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Cortney McDermott. Cortney went from a struggling temp secretary to a bestselling author, TEDxspeaker, and mind-body expert, with a Master of Science from the London School of Economics. Cortney's career includes being an executive at Vanity Fair, Vice President at Sustainability Partners Inc., and running her own businesses, with clients ranging from Google, to Universal Music Group, Nike, and Virgin Unite. Her work in the field of self-development and business strategy has been featured in Inc., Women’s Health, SUCCESS, The Huffington Post, Fox News, and many other mainstream business and lifestyle media.

She is the author of two best-sellers including “Change Starts Within You: Unlock Confidence to Lead with Intuition” and “Give Yourself Permission: Be Confident. Be Happy. Be You”

I’m excited to go deep into all she has learned on her journey to help you maximize yourself in your life.

www.cortneymcdermott.com/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Fred Cary. Fred is a Swiss army knife of entrepreneurship. He’s an internationally known entrepreneur, business thought leader, strategic consultant, attorney, and investment banker focused on building global companies from startup stage through exit and IPO or M&A.

He is the CEO of IdeaPros where he has overseen the development of over 250 startups in everything from finance to software, mobile technology to retail and more. At IdeaPros, Fred has created a unique model where they help fund and guide of the growth of businesses and take a minority stake in them.

I’m excited to talk with him about this model, but also his experience as an entrepreneur and how to succeed in your business.

Follow Fred on Instagram

www.ideapros.com/

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Mark Shekter. Mark is a former internationally acclaimed producer, writer, and composer. Throughout his incredible career, he has collaborated with legendary figures including Jim Carrey, Steve Martin, Elton John, Diana Ross, Ella Fitzgerald, and Ray Charles. Mark’s talents have earned him prestigious accolades, including Emmys, New York Film Critics awards, and US Parents Choice Awards.

But, with all that success, he found a bigger calling and left to fulfill his mission of helping people and businesses learn to innovate and tap into their creativity through his firm, Think8. Mark has pioneered an entirely new system of creative thinking to empower companies, entrepreneurs and organizations to succeed beyond their expectations.

He has trained thousands globally, and helped created billions for his clients, And his latest book, titled "Think8: 8 Steps to Ignite Your Creative Genius in Business, Career, & Life” is sharing his philosophy and system – and I’m excited to dig into it with him in this episode.

think8globalinstitute.com/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Robb Reinhold. Robb is the founder of Maverick Trading, a unique firm that provides capital to traders to help them succeed essentially staking them.

Robb has been trading the markets since 1997 and has devoted the last 15 years to the intricate fields of psychology, neuroscience, and behavior modification. He knows what it takes to succeed in one of the toughest games in the world.

Many of you know that I have owned a trading education business, 12 Minute Trading for almost 20 years and there is no doubt learning how to be a disciplined trader in the markets has helped me as an entrepreneur. And it all begins between your ears. I’ve asked Robb on today, not just to talk about building his trading business, but to share the lessons learned from trading that translate directly to entrepreneurial success.

www.MaverickTrading.com

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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Misfit Nation! Welcome to the Misfit Entrepreneur 2023 year in review where each year I attempt to boil down all of the incredible, useful information, strategies, and tips that our guests have given on the show into less than one hour for you…with a few surprises thrown in. Now, it’s impossible for me to go over every single best piece of advice and that is why I urge you to take some time and go through the Misfit Archives to see which episodes resonate most with you, but in doing this episode, my goal is to spur ideas – to give you a lightning strike that propels you down a path of action to better improve yourself, your life, and your business or career in 2024!

That’s why I do this show – to not only provide a treasure trove of some of the best information to succeed in life and business for my daughter, Hannah, for when she grows up, but to give you a place where you know you can come each and every week to get inspired and find real, tried and tested tips, secrets, and strategies to succeed in all areas of life, and to share different perspectives from some of the highest performing entrepreneurs in the world with you – their Misfit side. I truly believe that one great episode can change someone’s life and that’s what we set out to do each and every week.

I’m going to do something a little bit different this year. I decided that I would go through each episode and pick the top 3 most important lessons from each of our Misfit Entrepreneurs, so as I go through them today, I will list each one and then expand on them.

But, before I begin I want to tell you something. I want to say “Thank YOU.” Thank you for listening and watching. Thank you for your support of the show and thank you for sharing our message. Without you and the amazing feedback members of this audience give me every week, it would not be half of what it is. Because of you, this show has now reached over a million people in over 100+ countries. I am truly humbled and in awe at what we’ve done together and I am excited about having an even bigger impact with your help in 2024. So, from the bottom of my heart, Thank you, thank you, thank you!

To see the full show notes for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Kevin Surace. Where to start with Kevin? He is a Silicon Valley innovator, serial entrepreneur, CEO, keynote speaker and futurist. He has been named INC Magazines’ Entrepreneur of the Year, a CNBC top Innovator of the Decade, Chair of Silicon Valley Forum, Planet Forward Innovator of the Year nominee, just to name a few.

If that is not enough, he holds 94 worldwide patents lead pioneering work on the first cellular data smart phone and has contributed immensely to the growth in AI.

Kevin’s experience in tech and AI spans decades and I asked him to come on and talk to us about what is coming in the future and how we can maximize our future success in an AI driven world.

www.KevinSurace.com

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Adam House. Adam is a highly success entrepreneur and former professional athlete. Adam has started and built multiple entities to 7-figures and has had several 7-figure exits. He also is co-owner of a team.

Through his company, House of Bricks, Adam advises businesses and provides strategic direction where he blends his experience as an entrepreneur with his experience as a pro-athlete to help clients succeed.

And it’s this blend of experience that I really want to dig in on with him in this episode.

www.adamhousesr.com/

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jon Ostenson. Jon is the nation’s #1 national franchise broker, #1! He is also an author, investor, and international speaker specializing in an area he has called “Non-food franchising” – which incidentally is the name of his best-selling book. His business is called Franbridge Consulting and he has helped thousands of entrepreneurs and investors succeed in franchise ownership.

Jon served as president of an Inc 500 franchise system and is a multi-brand franchise owner, so he walks the walk and understands what it’s like to be an entrepreneur building a business.

If you are interested in either owning a franchise or starting your entrepreneur journey as a franchisee, I cannot think of a better person to learn from.

franbridgeconsulting.com/

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Robb Green. Robb is an interesting entrepreneur. He was a successful executive, that gave up that career to create the life he wanted for him and his family. He found his niche in building brands on Amazon. In fact, he’s created, built, and owned 17 brands, doing hundreds of millions in revenue.

Robb has been featured in the New York Times and many other publications and is the host of the popular I’m the One Podcast providing practical guidance on building wealth, maintain healthy relationships, and achieving well-being.

If you’ve wanted to learn how to build your own brand and monetize it online, Robb is one the best teachers you could find. And I’m excited for him to share how to do it

www.Imtheone.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Preston Brown. Preston is a multiple 8 figure entrepreneur specializing in disruptive innovation & profitably scaling companies. He started his first company in college and was soon making more than his professors which prompted him to drop out of college and never look back creating 18 successful business with revenues over $180 million.

Preston has cracked to code on how to systemize, grow, and scale a business, as well as a few other entrepreneur secrets that I’m excited for him to share with you.

www.theprestonbrown.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Heidi Schalk. Heidi is a business strategy and leadership coach, author, speaker and host of the Be S.H.E. Podcast (Be Seen. Be Heard. Be Empowered) who has been featured everywhere from FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS and The Daily Herald just to name a few. She is also a former top finalist in body-building and fitness competition.

Heidi works with female entrepreneurs, giving them simple tools and strategies to confidently build successful, online businesses, on their own terms, so they can create their dream life for themselves and loved ones.

One of the unique things about Heidi is that her process is designed to help her clients reach 6-figures in 6 months. So, I asked her to come up and share her process as well as her wisdom gained from year of experience helping people succeed in business.

www.HeidiSchalk.com

Facebook/Instagram as HeidiSchalkCoaching

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Alex Concepcion. Alex has a very interesting story, but let’s just say that fate helped him find his way and part of that fate was never working for someone. As he’ll share, it took him a while to find his way, but he did so in starting a niche high-end apartment location business called Taco Street Locating based out of Austin, Texas.

Alex went from broke to having a business that pays him multiple 6-figures a year allowing to work when, where, and how he wants to and is he author of the forthcoming book, The Rebel Entrepreneur’s Guide to Risk, riches, and Immortality – hearing that title, you can probably guess why I asked him to come in the show to share his journey and lessons learned.

www.Survivalfirstbook.com

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Mark Willis. Mark is a man on mission to help people think differently about money. He is the founder of Lake Growth Financial Services, a three-time #1 Best-Selling Author, and host of the Not Your Average Financial Podcast.

After graduating with six figures of student loan debt and discovering a way to turn his debt into real wealth as he watched many people lose their retirement savings and home equity in 2008, Mark set out to help his clients take back control of their financial future and build their businesses with proven, tax-efficient financial solutions unknown to most financial gurus. As a result, he has become known as “Not Your Average Financial Planner!” and helped hundreds of clients and entrepreneurs radically change their wealth path for the better.

I’m excited for him to share his methods and ways to maximize your income and become debt free.

www.KickstartWithMark.com

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Joel Gandara. Born in Havana, Cuba, Joel emigrated to the United States as a child. He was poor and from a very early age had a hunger for success, leading him to become an entrepreneur. In fact, he started out selling trading cards and candy bars. He went on to create a multi-million-dollar business that allowed him to semi-retire before age 40.

Nowadays, he has devoted his life to helping men transform into better individuals and is the author of the best-selling book, 31 Days to Become a Better Man.”

Joel is a true rags to riches story fulfilling the American dream and I’ve excited for him to share his lessons learned along the way.

www.JoelGandara.com

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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Nowadays, he has devoted his life to helping men transform into better individuals and is the author of the best-selling book, 31 Days to Become a Better Man.”

Joel is a true rags to riches story fulfilling the American dream and I’ve excited for him to share his lessons learned along the way.

www.JoelGandara.com

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Tom Jackobs. Tom has an incredible entrepreneurial story and that’s fitting because he’s devoted his life to helping entrepreneurs and business create more opportunity and sales through story-telling.

Tom quit his job to buy a personal training franchise and was broke in 6 months. It was in the moment of just about losing it all that he realized his biggest flaw was he didn’t know how to sell, so he devoted himself to becoming a great salesperson and brought the business back from the brink going on to create millions of dollars in sales in his future businesses and programs. Tom realized that the key to effective selling was that it was process, but telling the right story was the main component. He now operates Impact Pilot, a firm that helps entrepreneurs generate more income through better sales strategy and using stories to sell.

I’ve always believed that selling through story is the best way and I’ve asked Tom to come on share how we can make the most of it in our businesses.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Pavel Stuchlik. Pavel, also known as NOA|AON, is a professional cyclist turned serial 7-figure entrepreneur and investor. As an entrepreneur, Pavel made his first million before the age of 21 and successfully launched, scaled, and exited many brands, including Orange Theory Fitness. On top of that, Pavel is also an internationally conscious DJ and producer who heals others by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

Pavel’s mission is to bring people back to their center in union with others through his movement, #noamovement. This movement was born after spending long 10 days in complete darkness in south-east Asia which was one of the most difficult and transformative moments Pavel has experienced.

Needless to say, Pavel has led a very interesting life both as an entrepreneur and spiritually and thought was the perfect Misfit to come on discuss how to blend the two and achieve your trust potential.

See the show notes page for the FREE resources from Pavel

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Orrin Klopper. Orrin is the CEO of Netsurit, a company he co-founded 24 years ago during the lead-up to Y2K that provides managed IT services. In that time, he has grown the business to over $40 million in revenue through acquisitions and organic growth.

He is also very active in the EO and YPO organizations and has a master’s in Entrepreneurship from MIT which is interesting considered he was expelled from 3 schools as a kid.

Orrin has built an incredible enterprise and played the long-game in doing so and those are just some of the topics I want to cover with him in this episode.

Connect with Orrin Klopper on LinkedIn

To see the full show note and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Shawn Dimartile. Shawn is the founder of Takeoff Capital, a private real estate equity firm with over $50M in assets under management spread across over 300 units. He is also the co-host of The Real Estate Takeoff podcast and author of California Gold, Unlocking SoCal’s Most Profitable Real Investment Strategy Over the Next Decade.

The thing I love about Shawn is he didn’t start out with a silver spoon in his mouth. In fact, he’s a veteran that went to work as a traffic controller. In his spare time, he dedicated himself to creating financial freedom with a focus on real estate and figured it out reaching his goal in just 3 years.

I’ve always loved real estate as a way to build wealth and I’m excited for Shawn to share his story of how he figured it out and you can too.

Follow Shawn on Instagram @Shawn_DiMartile

To see the full show notes and Misfit for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jeff Lerner. Jeff went from being a broke jazz musician to making over 100 million Dollars in online sales. After a decade of building multiple online businesses to over 8 figures and landing on the Inc. 5000 four times, Jeff turned his focus to educating entrepreneurs about the power of digital business through his Entre Institute which to date has helped over 250,000 students.

And if that is not enough, Jeff wrote the Wall Street Journal best-seller, Unlock Your Potential: The Ultimate Guide to Create Your Dream Life in the Modern World.

I’m excited for him to share his best strategies to grow and succeed as an entrepreneur in this episode.

To see the full show notes and Misfit for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneurs are Elliot and Dom Chapman. Elliot and Dom are brothers and Co-Founders of Chapman Capital. Through growth and strategic acquisitions, they have built a group of successful agencies across the UK and the US, including Speak On Podcasts, which is well known in the podcast world.

Elliot has been running businesses since the age of 20 creating, building and growing a number of ventures and Dom’s entrepreneurial journey began when he became head of innovation at Specsavers at the age of 19. Since 2019, Dominic has been involved in Chapman Capital, Social Chaps, Speak on Podcasts, FKC London, Low & Behold, and Agencyfinance.io.

Elliot and Dom are building a thriving business empire spanning multiple continents and I thought it would be great to have them on to tell us how they are doing it.

www.Chapman.capital

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Kash Hasworth. Kash went from prison at 16 to scaling a single mall kiosk to a 28-location franchise that was eventually acquired in a takeover deal worth $640 million. Nowadays, Kash is the CEO of Solar Ignite, a best-selling author, and a leading broker in the solar space making seven figures a month.

One area that Kash has focused intently on over the years is sales and specifically how modern-day sales is done wrong. He wrote the best-selling book; Selling Keeps You Broke: A Holistic Approach to Disruptive Sales Performance to Earn Big.

I’m excited for him to share his experience and how you can transform your business through improving the way you sell.

www.KashHasworth.com

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Brian Beers. Brian is an entrepreneur, investor, and host of the Business with Beers podcast. Brian grew his small family single-franchised auto repair business into an enterprise with over 30 locations, and last year they generated over $40M of revenue.

Brian’s passion is teaching people how to create freedom & build wealth by owning franchises and secrets to running them successfully.

What I like about Brian is that the principles he has used in building his family business from one location to over 30 in the auto-repair vertical can be used for any business – and I’ve excited to get into them with him.

www.BrianBeers.com

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneurs are Anthony Faso and Cameron Christiansen, founders of Infinite Wealth Consultants. Anthony is a self-described “recovering CPA” who worked at the world’s largest accounting firm and served as CFO of a chain of restaurants. After the 2008 recession, he realized that the solution to financial freedom would never be found in the latest Wall Street-created financial product. He discovered his path to financial independence and began to teach and coach individuals and business owners about money and investing.

Cameron was a small business owner who was frustrated with investment solutions proposed by traditional financial advisors. This frustration led him to discover infinite banking and real estate investing. After advising others for over a decade, Cameron shares his expertise in passive income generation and cash flow analysis in his partnership with Anthony.

Together Anthony and Cameron have figured out how to create financial independence while minimizing risk, in some cases to almost none, so I asked them on to share their secrets and how entrepreneurs can better build their wealth.

www.infinitewealthconsultants.com

Free course ($500 Value!) www.inifinitewealthconsultants.com/Misfits

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Joe Rare. Joe Rare is an “underground” serial entrepreneur, investor, outsourcing expert, father and husband. He has built multiple 7-figure companies and currently owns four digital companies, five wedding venues, and real estate investment properties.

And here’s the kicker. All of his companies are fully being run by his virtual assistants.

Joe has proven that you can build and fully outsource a business that succeeds while enjoying life on your terms and that is what I want to dig in on with him in this episode.

www.Level9Virtual.com

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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Hey Misfit Entrepreneurs!

Welcome to this special episode of the Misfit Entrepreneur. I recently took some time off and did an Ironman race in Hawaii as well as spent time there with family to recharge and get some R&R. I promised myself that I would set aside work as much as I could while I was there and focus in on having a good time and digging into a number of books I’ve had on my stack. But rest assured, we’ll be caught up on episodes over the next few weeks.

I spent a lot of time reading some of my favorite fiction spy novels by others like Jack Slater, James Rollins, and Saul Herzog. But I also spent a good amount of time digging in on 2 books on health and how to optimize all areas of yourself to increase your quality of life. Those 2 books are Life Force by Tony Robbins and Why We Sleep by Mathew Walker and I want share some of the best health hacks I took for maximizing your potential and success in this episode.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Melanie Deziel. Melanie is the founder of Storyfuel. She is a keynote speaker, author, and award-winning branded content creator, Melanie has spent her career developing the skills to think differently and discover new ways to engage audiences through content.

She was the first-ever editor of branded content at The New York Times, a founding member of HuffPost’s brand storytelling team, and Director of Creative Strategy for Time Inc's 35 US magazines.

She’s the author of multiple bestsellers including her latest, Prove it: Exactly How Modern Markets earn trust. Building trust is one of the most critical aspects to building a great business and brand in today’s world and Melanie has proven time and time again to be the go-to learn how to do so.

www.StoryFuel.co

www.CreatorKitchen.com

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Doug Sandler. You may have heard of Doug before as he is the co-host of the Nice Guys on Business podcast which has over 1400 episodes and 5M+ downloads. Doug and I actually go back a ways having shared the stage at several different events over the years. He has an awesome story and is a consummate entrepreneur with over 30 years’ experience.

In addition to being a best-selling author, Doug has built a number of different businesses across a variety of verticals. And one of the things that has allowed him to do that is a concrete set of principles that he has used over and over again to succeed no matter what type of business he’s focused on. So, I’ve asked him on to discuss them and share them with you as well as talk all things entrepreneurship!

www.TurnkeyPodcast.com/money

To see the full show notes page and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is James Wetrich. For over 40 years, Jim has built companies and led teams across 3 continents and has consulted with over 100 companies. Jim built a team at Molnlycke Health Care that grew revenue over 7 times and EBITDA over 20 times creating over $1BN growth in enterprise value and taking the US business from number 5 to number 1 in the market with an employee satisfaction index over 95%.

Jim is a noted expert in leadership and founder of the Wetrich Group of companies where he focuses on coaching, mentorship, and spreading his leadership lessons to help individuals and organizations foster and implement better leadership. Jim is also a best-selling author and his latest book is called Stifled: Where Good Leaders Go Wrong.

Jim has had storied career and his wisdom and lessons learned in building and leading businesses can help any entrepreneur succeed at higher levels, so my goal is to squeeze every bit I can out of him in our time together.

www.JimWetrich.com

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Joseph Gissy. Joseph is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Tactive and Gissy Ventures. Tactive is a wealthtech platform that automates investments for investors and connects them with financial advisors across the US. It also helps financial advisors grow and scale their practice through branding, marketing and lead generation. The company was valued at over $50M in just 12 months and ranked a Top 100 company in Wealthtech 3 years in a row in addition to receiving a number of other rewards.

Joseph has had an interesting entrepreneur journey and is still in the early stages of it. When we first spoke, we discussed the successes and challenges of growing his businesses and it reminded me of my journey in a number of ways, so I wanted to have him on as he is a young entrepreneur in the thick of building a fast-growing company and the lessons he can share can help everyone in their own journey.

www.JosephyGissy.com

To see the full show notes page and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ruben Dua. Ruben is the Founder and CEO of Dubb, a popular video sales platform that helps businesses grow sales exponentially using video. He is also the host of Connection Loop, a show that focuses on the stories of leaders, innovators, and friends They work with over 65,000 businesses, including well-known organizations like Keller Williams, Grant Cardone, Fannie Mae, and eXp Realty, whose sales teams use the platform to produce personalized video messages that boost connections, conversions, and revenues. Ruben has 20+ years of marketing experience and is also the author of the best-sellers, Click Record: How Overcoming Fear, Storytelling, and Video Marketing Can Change Your Life and Just Dubb it. Communication and connecting is critical to success in business and one of the most important ways to do that in today’s world is through video, so I asked Ruben on to give us his best advice on how to maximize the use of video to grow and connect. www.Dubb.com

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Meg Casebolt. Meg is the founder of Love at First Search, a unique firm focused on search marketing.

Meg started out as a marketing director for an architecture firm. It didn’t take her long to realize the low pay combined with the unrealistically high expectations was not the life she wanted. She started doing web design and SEO on the side and was able to leave starting her own business. But, as she took maternity leave for the birth of one of her children, she found herself stressed trying to keep up with the marketing and social media promotion for her own business. She took time off to re-evaluate, but much to her surprise, leads continued rolling in.

It was at this point that Meg realized how she could set up her business to market for her and cut her time in half while still producing 6-figures plus.

When I learned this about her, I had to ask her on the show. I mean who wouldn’t want to implement strategies that drive new business to their business allowing them to cut their time down and focus on serving clients? I’m excited for Meg to share how businesses can do just this!

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this episode, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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Hello Misfit Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Lessons for Hannah!" Many years ago, I introduced a new format that alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life….even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of "Lessons for Hannah," I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives. Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

To see the full show notes and Misfit 3 for this lesson, go to www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Kaila O’Connor. Kaila has had an interesting journey. Kaila was a shining star climbing the ranks in the PR space – her dream career until it wasn’t. After a decade in the business, she found herself getting burned out and unfulfilled. She left her career and focused on herself to discover what her true path should be. She found Human Design and immersed herself in the topic, even becoming certified. Once she had alignment, she founded KMO Consulting because she recognized a niche in affiliate marketing. In less than two years, KMO generated $5+ million for its clients in affiliate revenue, secured over 1,500 top-tier media placements for its clients, trained 100+ PR professionals in Affiliate PR, and trained the entire Condé Nast editorial team (80+ editors) in affiliate marketing. By using Human Design to find alignment and focusing on a niche, Kaila found massive success and I’m excited to discuss all of it with her in this episode. www.KailaOconnor.com

Kaila grew up in the Midwest and both of her parents were music teachers. A big goal of hers was to expand her perspective. She went to college to follow in her parents’ footsteps but quickly found she did not want to teach music, so she decided to perform. She transferred to a music conservatory, but transferred late and needed a minor. The only thing available was PR101. She quickly realized how PR was like performing and gravitated to it. For the first 10 years, she was in the B2B corporate space. She learned about the culture and metrics around how things were done in the PR space, but measuring ROI was always hard or not possible. After 10 years, Kaila was burned out. It was then she discovered Human Design which taught her how to use her energy effectively. It was at this time, that she was recruited to an agency in LA that had a focus on affiliate. She had a knack for it. Talk to us about getting burned out and finding human design…

How we feel when do something matters.
Our energy and how use it matters.
Human Design has 5 energy types.
At the 9 min mark, Kaila discusses the ins and outs of Human Design, so it’s best to listen.

How can entrepreneurs incorporate human design to start or better run their business?

The areas where it is applicable are in the areas of scheduling and environment.
Additionally, aligning how the brain functions for it’s peak times is important.
Some people work in blocks, others work more free flowing. Knowing how you best operate is critical to create the environment and schedule to allow you to be most successful.

To find out more about Human Design, you need a few things.

In some ways, it is similar to astrology.
Birth date
Location
Birth time
Go to www.MyHumanDesign.com

What are the key elements of a great PR strategy?

The strategy that is most important is the authentic message for the entrepreneur and for the business.
You must also serve who you are meant to serve and reaching them.
PR is 3rd party validation to the customer.
It takes the work and research along with testing to figure it out.

Talk to us about combining affiliate marketing into their PR…

Start by joining an affiliate network:
- Shareasale
- Impact
- Rakuten
- PepperJam
Once you join, onboard Skimlinks
Expect to set your commission rate at 20% unless your product is $500 or above. Then your commission rate can be lower.
You should combine SEO with affiliate programs.
Trending content and keywords is important. This shows intent for their search and buying signals.
Focus on products always in stock and that are ones people use over and over.
Influencers can help. Quality over quantity. Consumers are being more considerate with how they are spending.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned to help you succeed as an entrepreneur?

Never be afraid of change.
Trust that you have the right answer within. Trust your intuition.

Best Quote: Trust that you have the right answer within. Trust your intuition.

Kaila's Misfit 3:

The opposite of victim is creativity. When you feel agitated or irritated, either wait it out – outwait it. Or use creativity to change your brains pattern.
Get to know your feelings. There are 27 types of emotions to learn, understand, and identify.
Trust in yourself. Don’t be afraid to pave your own path.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Richard Newman. Richard is the Founder and CEO of Body Talk, the global leader in evidence-based training on the psychology of communication.. Since 2000, Richard and his team have trained over 120,000 people worldwide, with clients ranging from CEOs, Vice-Presidents and leadership teams across many industries, including Virgin, Expedia, NYU, Microsoft and 3M in 46 countries. Richard is an award-winning author and in-demand speaker with expertise in leadership communication, storytelling, mindset, and personal impact. His latest book is called Lift Your Impact: Transform Your Mindset, Influence, and Future to Elevate Your Work, Team, and Life, reveals. The book details the small communication changes that can create a massive difference in the way you are perceived by those around you. Effective communication is one of the most, if not the most important skills in life and business and Richard can teach us a lot about how to be our best in this area along with how to better tell our stories and improve our presence. www.UKBodyTalk.com www.Liftyourimpact.com

From a very young age, Richard realized he was not great at communication. He was called a shy child and was introverted. Many years later, he also found out that he was slightly autistic. When he was 18, he decided he wanted to something more meaningful and adventurous that did some good. He got the opportunity to go to a monastery with Tibetan monks and help teach them English. He thought they would already have some proficiency in English. He was wrong. At 18, he flew to Delhi by himself, then had a 2 day train journey to get to the monastery. He found himself in a little town and the monastery they took him to ended up being the wrong one. There was actually 7 monasteries in this small town. It took 5 different monasteries to get to the right one. But, to his surprise, they did not speak any English and Richard did not speak Nepalese and Indian. After sitting with them for a little while, they started to communicate through body language. He realized that he had to make sure his body language and tone of voice matched, and he could communicate. By the time his 6 months was up, he had learned some of their language and had gotten them to where they were pretty proficient in English. He came back to the UK fascinated with communication and studied acting for 3 years. He took what he learned and started teaching effective communication as a hobby in local community. He started to get referrals and this is how his business was born. Were they any other unexpected life and/or business lessons that you learned from spending time with monks at 18?

It was an amazing opportunity.
Because he was sort of on his own, he found himself spending much more time in thought.
He would go on the roof of the monastery where he would go and think. It gave him the opportunity to think about his true place in the universe.
First, he spent a great deal of time thinking through his values. He decided what kind of human he wanted to be.
He also decided what life he wanted to live – an extraordinary future. His true north.
He decided that by the age of 30, he wanted to be running his own acting skill to teach others how act and express themselves empowering them.
And by 30, he was doing it, but instead teaching adults how to use skills of acting to better communicate.
He credits his success to the time he spent on that roof thinking through who he truly is and wanted to be.

What are the pillars of great communication?

It’s not about others, it is about you.
You need to work on you and your behavior when it comes to communication so you can work best with others.
You have to look at your body language, voice, and words.
Always think about what you target is. Think of how you want people to feel after leaving the meeting or conversation with you. Don’t focus on how you feel – focus on how they will feel.
Think of what the win-win would be for them.
At the 17 min mark, Richard gives some great examples. Your tone of voice and body language need to work in tandem.
You must also ask effective questions to engage appropriately. You want to listen through multi-levels. Not just what they say, but how they say it, tone, and their body language as they do.
You must use the structure of story-telling that resonates with every human being.

You say most people in business are telling their story wrong. How do we tell a better story? At the 25 min market, Richard does a great job explaining this, so it is best to listen.

The science of story-telling tells us that there is a certain way the human mind wants to receive information.
There is a structure to it.
The key thing to know is “who is the hero of the story.” It’s the same every time. The Hero of every story is the persona you are speaking to. That is how people view the world placing themselves at the center of a story.
Every human being has challenges and every human being has goals. They go on a journey to overcome challenges and reach goals.
When speaking to someone, they care about their challenges and goals – not yours.

Tell us more about how to have better presence when speaking or leading others…

Before you walk into a room, take time to get a present state of mind.
The first thing you need to work on is to be thoroughly present in your mindset – you have control over this.
Remind yourself of what your values are to prime yourself to be the best version of you.
Don’t seek validation from others or fall prey to this.
You also must have gravitas. Don’t ship your weight from one hip to another. Don’t put yourself in a place of being off balance. You want to be centered and grounded in how you stand.

Anything else surrounding mindset that you feel is important for us to know?

Ask, who do I need to be and show up as in life.
Beware labeling who you are and limiting your potential.
What you have been is not what you have to be going forward in the future.
Richard uses an example of how changing a clients way of communicating to present like he is presenting to his daughter, shifted everything and energized his team where they became more engaged.
There are also story-telling architypes – we can all tap into them. A few are common.
Example: The sovereign is akin to the king or queen – it’s the part of you that you access when you need to make big decisions and be decisive. The opposite is the sprite – which is the playful, less serious type. Again, what part of you needs to show up to go where you need to go?

Talk about how you almost lost your business, but brought it back to be even more successful…

Pre-pandemic, 70% of Richard’s business was done through face to face events, sessions, and meetings.
When the pandemic hit, everything stopped abruptly, and the revenue was gone.
Every source of income was gone. The conversations were around how to handle bankruptcy.
He looked at all kinds of things from not paying taxes to taking big Govt loans.
If that wasn’t enough, he had a group hack his systems and start to try and steal his business, so there was big lawsuit.
There was even a time he got to a dark place and had suicidal thoughts.
He went back to mindset and his north star.
At 6am every morning, he would meditate and visualize for 45 mins on how we could change his business to succeed. He would then exercise.
He took decisive action every day pivoting the business.
As a result, the business came out having it’s best year ever and being even better, providing even better service.
Mindset first was the key…

Best Quote: We don’t get very long on this planet. Commit to doing something that feels worthwhile to you.

Richard's Misfit 3:

We don’t get very long on this planet. Commit to doing something that feels worthwhile to you. Take time to figure this out for yourself. The most worthwhile things tend to be the things you do for others that have a lasting impact.
Eat a plant-based diet. It helps your health and the planet.
Remember to tell people that you love them. Let people know how much they matter to you.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Wylie McGraw. Wylie is a former professional baseball player, competitive bull rider, 3-tour combat veteran, founder of Radical Performance Acceleration, and host of the hit podcast Wise Words & Whiskey. Wylie works with the world’s highest caliber founders and leaders from Fortune 500 CEO’s to Pro Athletes helping them breakthrough and remove their inner demons to help them find deeper meaning, true motivation, and make their impact. Wylie brings a no-nonsense, navy seal style approach that gets results and then some and I’ve excited to have him on to talk everything entrepreneurship and how his methods work. www.WylieMcGraw.com Podcast: Wise Words and Whisky

Wylie grew up in a household of athletes and high performance. He grew up around pro-athletes and California Angels pitching staff because of his dad and was recognized at a young age for having a great arm. They started to cultivate him, and his focus became sport. He loved it. As he got older, he started put the pieces together of how much of a business the sport was and the stressed brought on by it – he started to rebel and push away. He sought other outlets and different friends to challenge himself. As he got into high school, he became friends with a group of rodeo cowboys. He jumped in feet first and found he really connected with it and loved it. It unleashed the wild side that he had and how to conquer fear and use it as a catalyst for higher performance. The next evolution for Wylie was the US military. It was an environment to continue pushing his limits. His time in the military helped to understand what it takes to push people and help them find their true self. You say “leaders call you when they want their life back.” Explain that.

Wylie realized that we have transition moments and periods in our lives.
In those moments of change and discomfort that Wylie realized he had gift. He was the one that people came to expose the darker sides of their lives and would leave him and the discussion being better off.
After he came out of the military, he knew that he could use this to help people in a much bigger way.
He could push people, but give them to love, care, and find their path to being truly fulfilled.
He started with combat veterans and through world of mouth was introduced to others that needed support and help.
He found that many people that had done a lot of work on themselves still were not where they wanted to be.
Many people insulate their stress and pain, but don’t eradicate it. This is why people call him.

With all the work you have done, what have you found is typically the biggest obstacle to people reaching their potential and why?

Human beings are good at masking what is truly happening internally for them.
Our mind is the biggest liar that we face, but our bodies – we at the core know the truth.
Our minds lie to us about the truth and we tell ourselves the lie over and over compounding.
And when we get to a point later in life, where we have had success and done great things, we personally feel unsatisfied and unfulfilled. We chalk that to the cost of being human and that’s the way it is – that’s BS.
Because of this many are disconnected from their own truth.
We do things we know we shouldn’t be doing anyway – why? The people at the top are the biggest culprits of that because they have the means to do so. And as such, they need the most help live their truly best life.

What is the process you take people through on how to overcome this?

It starts with the moment they meet Wylie.
We are dynamic beings with many different facets.
When we try to approach growth and personal development, we do compartmentalized – trying to find a “step by step” process and that simply doesn’t work since everyone is drastically different.
The real magic is in the nuance of working specifically on themselves through not hiding the truth inside them. This is Wylie’s gift to see this and pull it out of people.
The real breakthroughs happen through an intimate understanding that is addressed head on.
Once this happens, then an individual has to recalibrate and do the work.
Fear is part of the transformation and is needed as part of the development.

3 tours in war zones, talk to us about your experience as a soldier and leader. What did you learn about to overcome immense challenges and limits?

Combat will stretch you. The only other thing close is the wars we fight within ourselves.
Every man in Wylie’s family served, so it was a time honored tradition, but Wylie was after the structure, discipline, and time honored commitment to excellence.
You are pushed mentally, physically, and spiritually to the absolute brink and break you down. You are then built back up and are better for it. You can keep calm in chaos naturally.
Kosovo taught him how to be still, focused, and grounded. It was the first place he got shot at and experienced combat.
He came back and was in the process of going to Ranger school when 9/11 happened and he was one of the first groups to go into Afghanistan.
He then went into Iraq which was a different type of combat being in close quarter and in cities.
All of this helped him in seeing his limits and go through them and overcome fear after fear and break free from any chains that had bound him. It helped him create a real, intimate relationship with himself, shed his demons and live truthfully with himself.

At the 30 min mark, Wylie talks about confronting ourselves.

We don’t want to face ourselves which is why many times top athletes and high performers essentially hire “yes men” and surround themselves insulating the lie.
People are scared of what they need to face in themselves and get exposed.
Instead of just admitting it and going to work, we make excuses to stay where we are and feed their demons.
This gets reinforced by society.

What are your top lessons from your leadership experience, you feel can help entrepreneurs the most?

Being a leader is about service outside of yourself.
You first have to lead yourself to lead others.
It is about standards, value, and habits, but it goes beyond that to do the work to master who you are.
Admit that you have been lying to yourself about a number of things and decide to confront these things head on – you’ll be amazed at how fast things will change if you do. Lead yourself first.

What are lessons you learned from your baseball and rodeo days that translate well to entrepreneurship?

We are always going to experience moments where we are not motivated and hit our limitations.
This is where we need to become more self-aware and realize you are struggling and being stretched. This is good and if you push through these times, you will get to a new level.
You have to learn how surrender your rigid thinking – you have the capacity and the ability. Don’t let your mind limit your body.
In bull riding, you cannot fight the bull, you need to relax and literally become one with the bull and it’s movement.
When something is really uncomfortable on your path to personal growth, surrender because that is what you really need.

Wise Words and Whisky, what’s your favorite label?

Balvenie and Doublewood neat.

Best Quote: Human beings are good at masking what is truly happening internally for them. Our mind is the biggest liar that we face.

Wylie's Misfit 3:

You have to be willing to admit to yourself the biggest lie you have been telling yourself and confront it. Find your truth.
It is time to welcome necessary suffering. Suffering is important for growth.
Find comfort in the ambiguity of live and in fear. It is an ally for your personal growth and development.

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Hello Misfit Nation! This is Dave Lukas and welcome to another episode of the Misfit Entrepreneur, where it is our job to help you unleash your inner misfit and breakthrough to higher levels of success, wealth, and fulfillment by bringing you the best insight and information from the world’s top entrepreneurs….. with a specific focus on their misfit side…the specific traits, habits, and secrets that have allowed them to thrive and succeed.

This is another one of those special episodes where it is just me and you. I’ve had a number of emails lately asking my about my thoughts on the current situation in the financial sector and how it might play out as well as how it will affect entrepreneurs.

First, I think it is important to note that no matter what happens, there are always opportunities for entrepreneurs. Some of the largest companies you know today such as Allstate Insurance and Hewlett-Packard were started in the midst of the Great Depression.

Speaking of history, in order to understand where things are today with financial markets and our money and where things might go, we have to take go a little bit back in time.

Before I do, I want to say that I am in no way a financial advisor or am giving you financial advice. You should consult with a competent financial professional for your own personal decisions. You accept that you are responsible for your own financial choices and actions.

Listen to the episode as the notes are too long to enter here...

Best Quote: Be on the lookout for the opportunities you can take advantage of and don’t hesitate to act when they do. Steel your mind and be prepared. And never, ever quit.

Misfit 3:

Understanding money and how it works and what it truly is, is critical to success in life and business.

Focus on what you can control, not what you cannot.

Mmoney is called currency because to work, it must be moving, otherwise, it is losing value. One of the best places I believe to keep your money moving is investing in and owning businesses.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, It is fitting that this Lessons for Hannah comes after my last one in which I shared how reality always wins. In that episode, I talked about some controversial topics and how no matter what people say, there are certain laws of the universe that will always prove true and win out over time. For example, people can tell you that you are a bird and can fly as much as they want, but if you jump off a bridge and try to fly, the law of gravity will win, and you will not fly. Well, just like reality, the truth wins out as well. In this episode, I want to revisit some things from the last few years as the truth is now winning out. Some of these things I predicted previously, but it is important that we recognize the truth and reality. For example, it has now come out from multiple departments in the US Government including the FBI that the Covid virus was in fact leaked from the lab in Wuhan, China. For several years, people were excoriated and made pariahs for saying this was a possibility. People were even called racists. It turns out they were right. One thing I have learned over time is that yes, reality always wins, but so does truth. But it can take a lot longer than you think it should for this to happen. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “The wheels of justice move slowly” in reference to righting wrongs. Sometimes, it can be many years before justice is found in certain crimes or situations. The truth can take a long time to get out as well. Another example from the Covid timeframe is that many of the things people were told to do such as lockdowns in their homes, mask wearing, and even getting vaccines and boosters over and over again did not make the impact or difference that people were told they would. In February 2023, it was reported in the Lancet and many prominent news outlets such as NBC, that natural immunity from getting Covid and getting over it is as protective as vaccination against severe illness and death. In fact, the study proved that natural immunity may be even better than the vaccine. Again, this was considered crazy just a year ago. People were called dangerous for stating the fact that throughout history, natural immunity has been the biggest factor in limiting the spread and effects of a virus and stopping pandemics. But, again, while it took some time, the truth wins again. Here’s another controversial example of the truth winning. For the last 20+ years, I have heard prediction after prediction that the world is going to end and everyone is going to die from people, usually politicians or those with an agenda, due to climate change. The truth is people have been saying this forever. In the 1970’s, the world was going to end from global cooling and a new ice age. Then it was global warming in the 80’s and 90’s. When none of that stuff happened, the name of the “crisis” was changed to climate change – which was smart because the climate is always changing, so now no matter what happens, it can be used as a fear and panic inducing excuse that the world is going to end in some way. Well, guess what, the world has not ended. In fact, the current poster child for the movement, Greta Thunberg, just had to delete a tweet from a few years ago where she said the world would end due to climate change in 2023. Former Vice President, Al Gore in the late 90’s said we only had 10 years left and that Florida would be underwater due to rising oceans. Well guess what, Florida is not underwater and is booming with a lot of Al Gore’s friends living right on the ocean. Over and over again, the truth wins when it comes to this topic. The actual science shows the temperature of the earth has barely moved in the last 100 years. Yet, every year, we only have 10 years left. Let me put this in perspective because this topic is one that is thrust on your generation by many people with agendas. The earth has been around for 4.5 billion years. 4.5 BILLION. It has gone through complete ice ages to complete scorched earth with volcanoes spewing toxic gases everywhere to meteors and comets directly hitting it and everything in between. Many species have come and gone like Dinosaurs and others. We humans have been on earth a measly 200,000 years. That is not even 1/10 of 1% of the time the earth has existed, yet we are so arrogant that we think we can destroy in our short existence. We think we are more powerful than the sun which science has proven has more power than we could even hope for when it comes to what happens in our climate. Or the moon which directly controls our tides and ocean movement as well as our climate. The truth continues to show that the predictions of these charlatans and hustlers proclaiming a crisis that never ends and constantly having to move their goal posts are not just wrong, but laughable. Don’t get me wrong, we should do everything we can to be good stewards of our environment and take care of things, but we should do so working from truth and reality. In fact, just us breathing gives plants food through carbon dioxide and then they give us oxygen through photosynthesis is a process that helps the environment. We support each other to live. And the earth is greener now than in the past, contrary to what is promoted by these people whose real goal is their own personal gain and power – that is my opinion, but I think the truth will bear this out as time goes on as well. Hannah, seek the truth and live in it. Know that there is only one real truth – not your truth or someone else’s. The real truth will always prevail, not matter what you tell yourself, so it is best to seek it and not fool yourself. I hope you take this lesson to heart and use it help separate truth from fiction in your life and stay firm in your principles in all areas, personal and business. I love you, Dad

Best Quote: Know that there is only one real truth – not your truth or someone else’s. The real truth will always prevail, not matter what you tell yourself, so it is best to seek it and not fool yourself.

Misfit 3:

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “The wheels of justice move slowly” in reference to righting wrongs. Sometimes, it can be many years before justice is found in certain crimes or situations. The truth can take a long time to get out as well.
Seek the truth and live in it.
Separate truth from fiction in your life and stay firm in your principles

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Tanis Jorge. Tanis is a serial, tech entrepreneur and a leading advisor to startup founders on entrepreneurship and building successful cofounder partnerships. During her career has spanning the last 20+ years, she has cofounded, scaled, and successfully exited multiple data-driven businesses. This culminated with her most recent venture, Trulioo, which she co-founded in 2011 with my long-term business partner. In 2021, Trulioo reached unicorn status with an over $1.65B valuation solidifying its place as the world’s leading identity verification company and Tanis’s track record for founding successful businesses. Trulioo’s success also made her one of only three Canadian female “Unicorn” founders. Tanis has a wealth of knowledge in starting and building businesses, but I’m not if you caught something with what I just shared that has a been a constant for her and a big part of her success – all of her biggest and most successful ventures have been with another great co-founder and it has been their partnership that made it go. In fact, Tanis recently wrote the best-selling book, the Cofounder’s Handbook detailing how she does this and that is exactly what I want to speak with her about today as one of the best way to succeed is by having a great partnership in your business. I know this from experience. www.TheCoFoundersHub.com

Tanis met her co-founder in High School starting in grade 8. They were locker buddies and their time in high school and getting to know each other laid the groundwork for their future success. Right after High School, he partner approached her to be the first to do online credit reports in Canada. It was their first business and gave them a ton of learning experience. They found their roles and ultimately exited after 3 years. They then did that 2 more times over the next 10 years. After that, Tanis took a break to focus on family and her partner went to Silicon Valley to pitch an idea they had had previous. The idea was well received and she was pulled back in. A year and half into it, they raised their first seed round and it that helped them to get to a valuation over $1.5 billion. Talk to us about the magic of co-founding partnerships. Why and how can they work so well?

They are either the greatest asset or greatest liability in your business.
65% of business fail because of issues between the founders.
Every business with a partnership will either make or break on that partnership.
When Tanis talked to people with bad partnerships, she noticed it came down to values that did not align.
A great partnership that is aligned can take businesses to levels not possible with just a single founder.

Elements of great partnerships?

Shared values
Intentionality. Great partners are focused on their partnership.
A partnership is not “set it and forget it.”
They help hold each other up on the rollercoaster of building a business.

Did you ever have times where you got sick of each other in your partnership? How did you get things back on track and keep the partnership strong?

Your mentality going into the partnership is important. In the end, you are all striving for the same goal.
Honest mistakes happen – very seldom are they malicious.
Realize that you are in it together.
Don’t get in your own way when you don’t have to.
It is like a marriage, but it is not. Marriage is focusing on keeping each other happy. In business, the business is the focus. The founders need to focus there and make that the priority.
Ask what is the best for the business….

At the 20 min mark, Tanis talks about the dynamics of partnerships… There is a customization to a good partnership. Look at yourself first. Look at your model and determine what you need in a partner. Tanis developed a self-assessment for this. What is the best way to find a business partner?

The first and most important thing is to do a self-assessment. You can do this at https://thecofoundershub.com/
It is worth the time and money to invest in the process of figuring things out.
Your network is a great place to start and ask, “Who do you know?”
There are Meet-ups in different markets that give opportunities as well.
You also want to think through all the major points of the partnership ahead of time and have the conversations in discovery sessions with potential partners.
You will also want to look at the legal documents needed to create a great business partnership.

What have your learned on how to build and scale companies?

Tanis loves the early stage of a business.
Build your business like you will own it forever, but have the long-term vision to build it to be sold.
Play chess. Every month, take time to whiteboard and stay steps ahead. Game plan and plan intensively the moves in your business.

What have you learned about how to sell a business?

It is stressful and like having a second job.
It always take longer.
It always costs more than you think.
You need to prepare ahead of time and know it will not be easy.
You must plan for it and ensure you are ready.
Know your number. You will not get as much as you want, but you can get more than what you would settle for.

What is something you wish you have known earlier in your entrepreneur career?

Tanis was very young when she started and green to the business world.
It took a couple of businesses to realize that regardless of age, she knew her business the best and to have confidence in herself.
Don’t be afraid to take charge and step out in your business.

Best Quote: Co-founder partnerships can be the greatest asset or greatest liability in your business.

Tanis's Misfit 3:

Choose the key people in your life carefully and invest in them.
Question everything! Always look at both sides. Be curious.
Enjoy the journey.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Dean Guida. Dean has a storied history. Dean launched his first company Infragistics in 1989. Being a startup with just 10 people, he went head to head against Microsoft for a $300k deal with Philadelphia Conrail—and won. From there, he never looked back. The company has grown to 250 employees across 6 countries, without ever accepting outside funding. Today, the company boasts a client roster that includes 100% of the S&P 500, including Intuit, Exxon and Morgan Stanley.

One of the things Dean saw as he built his own business and observed teams at hundreds of others is the struggle they have to bring the right tools together to drive decisions and effectively use data. He started his latest company Slingshot to help solve this challenge.

Dean has a wealth of experience and knowledge, but one of the things I most want to speak with him about is how you can better use data in your business to grow and thrive.

www.Slingshotapp.io

When Dean was 15, he was saving up to buy a car, but bought an IBM PC instead. He fell in love with computers and taught himself how to program. He’d always been an entrepreneur at heart. As he grew up, he brought these two passions together and 35 years ago, started Infragistics bootstrapping it while freelance consulting for IBM on Wall Street. He would work during the day and code at night. They worked out of their apartment building their first product. After a year, they got a small office.

He learned quickly that “Sales solves all problems” and taught himself to sell to drive the company forward.

You’ve been in business 35 years. What do you credit as the biggest reasons for that?

· You need to create a learning organization where people grow, solve problems, and take initiative.
· Putting processes in place and a culture where people are excited to collaborate and ask for help, share ideas, etc.
· Be careful not to higher everyone like you. Get diversity of thinking.
· Use data to make decisions and collaborate around it. It is more than growth hacking. It is using the scientific method to drive real business outcomes.
· You need to do experiments based on the data and hypothesis. You will learn and get better and better with each iteration.

At the 12:30 mark, I asked Dean how he went head to head with Microsoft in a true David vs. Goliath scenario and won….

· It was early in the company.
· People were just starting to move from mainframes to PCs.
· It was with a big railroad company.
· Dean had to compete against Microsoft Visual Basic with their tool that allowed coders to use C++ and make it visual. That was their edge over Microsoft because C++ was better for coding, but harder, so Infragistics made it easy like Microsoft VB.
· Being small and new, the client also needed to trust that the company would be around, so Dean spent a lot of time showing them how they would be and built the trust with a better product to win.

Talk to us about the entrepreneur mindset – what have you learned about the mental game of entrepreneurship?

· The entrepreneur journey is similar in a lot of respects across entrepreneurs.
· First, you must have the courage to get started and start.
· Second, you must be and stay curious.
· It’s a commitment to grit. The long-term focus and putting your effort into the things you have control over working toward to goal.
· Be present and open to opportunity. Be visible as a company and leader.
· Practice outside-in thinking….

Using data to drive a business. What should entrepreneurs know about making the best use of the data that they have?

· Data by itself leads to more questions.

· You need to start with the fundamentals: Sales data, marketing data, click through rates, targeting/segmenting your target market.

· If you target well early on, you will be so much better off. Industry, title, the group of people with the most pain that your solution solves.

· With data, you need to keep asking why. Data will tell you what is happening, but you need to ask why and dig into to get the answers to improve outcomes.

Best advice on how to get target market right and how do you use the scientific method with data to drive outcomes?

· Before you start the company or build the product, you have a hypothesis of the problem you want to solve based on intuition and research.
· A product can appeal to a large audience, but there is a segment of that audience that is the “best buyer.”
· You can get to the right segment through testing, surveys, talking to customers. You are looking for the segment with the biggest need that your product solves that seems to be unmet.
· The whole process can use the scientific method. Question, make predictions, assumptions, gather data, analyze data, draw conclusions…

At the 27 min mark, Dean shares more about Slingshot and how it connects data points.

Any trends or data points you are seeing your work with Slingshot that businesses should be focused on to up their game?

· People expect good digital tools, with great UI and data. The customer is smarter than you think.
· If a company is not focused on their digital skills and using their data to best level they can, they will find it hard to survive.
· A company needs to implement processes around data throughout the organization to use it daily.

How does AI and tools like Chat GPT fit into data and technology and business into the future?

· ChatGPT raised the bar for what you expect a natural language processor to be. We are in a new game now.
· We are going to be looking at AI services like we see databases today.
· Businesses will incorporate these tools into their solutions as part of everyday features.
· These AI’s will become just new services to use and will integrate into most things we do.
· It will cause the pace of things to move faster than they do even now.

Anything else around data or these topics that people should know?

· We always overpredict innovation in the short term, but in the long term, we underpredict it.
· Get alignment of execution with data. Use OKRs – key results for objectives in using data.
· Know your objective and execute on it. Defining your core objectives is data!

Best Quote: "Sales solves all problems..."

Dean's Misfit 3:

What creates a happy life and long life is your social connections with people. Figure out the amount you need.
Stay curious and keep learning.
In order to perform well, you need to recover. Pros train hard, but then take breaks to recover. You need to set aside time to recover both mentally and physically.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Lubo Smid. Where to start with Lubo? He is a tech entrepreneur with a passion for cutting-edge technology and an adventurous lifestyle. He is the co-Founder & CEO of STRV, software design & engineering team with over 200 people based in Prague and Los Angeles. The company’s worked with everyone from prominent startups like the Ahtletic to Microsoft. Lubo’s been recognized as Forbes 30 Under 30, a Deloitte Tech Fast 50, and the Financial Times 1000. He’s built STRV to $20 million in revenue and spends his free time incubating new products und erthe STRV labs brand as well doing adventure sports. I asked him on not only to discuss what he’s learned on his entrepreneur journey, but to discuss where technology is taking us, especially with AI. www.LuboSmid.com www.STRV.com

Lubo’s passion for technology started when he was a kid, and both his parents were entrepreneurs. He would take apart and figure out how every toy he got worked. This led him to building computers. He later started exploring the software side of things. During high school, he grew his knowledge and was going deeper into programming and expanding his capabilities. All of this prepared him for what he’s help do at STRV. How has pushing yourself in extreme sports helped you to be a better entrepreneur?

There is a type of person who when they are good at something, they want to be good at other things.
Lubo wants to bring a high bar to all aspects of his life and maintain his competitive spirit to push himself.
It also pushes you in physically and your fitness.
Working out and staying shape is a great stress buster and an important part of a daily routine.
Staying in shape also gives you energy and motivation.

Have you seen a benefit in your mental game and stamina from playing at higher levels?

Yes and as an entrepreneur you need a lot of mental toughness.
Whether you are jumping off a cliff or having to make a major decision as a CEO, you must build up your mental toughness to handle the pressure and think clearly.
It is stress resilience and also learning to release the release the stress in life.

Any other lessons you’ve learned to consistently perform at peak levels?

It is the internal dedication you must develop in all areas of life.
It is also taking the time to recover both physically and mentally.
Writing down your daily goals.
Also taking the time at the end of the day to review your actions.
Reflect what you have done at the end of the day and rate it. What could you do better? Learn from it and apply it to the next day so you can get incrementally better.
Fid accountability partners to help you and you them.

You bootstrapped STRV to $20 million, what are some of the principles and critical actions you used to make that happen?

Building a company is not an easy journey and requires a lot of persistence.
To build something great, you have to go through a roller-coaster ride.
As a CEO, it seems like you’re are constantly somewhere between bankruptcy and having a billion dollar company.
At the 20 min mark, Lubo talks about losing half his clients overnight and being close to the edge, but working through it to power through.
You will need to seek out and surround yourself with the right people. You will go through different people to find the right ones and build a great leadership team.

Best advice on how to lead as an entrepreneur?

Be present.
Lead by example.
Give freedom but set high expectation.
Stay hands off when thinks are working well.
When things go bad, be prepared to get in the trenches.
When you are in the tough times, great things can happen. They force you to get creative and consider decisions that carry more risk. These can lead to great opportunities and meaningful changes.
You can’t aim for perfection…it slows things down. Nothing will be perfect, but you should pick the battles of where you focus your time in your business.

Where do you think we end up in the next 2-5 years with AI?

ChatGPT is the fasting growing product of all time.
AI can help with a lot of things, and we are at the very beginning of that journey.
The whole approach to work will change as many things we do today can be replaced by AI. It doesn’t mean there will be no work, but the type of work will change.
Lubo is obsessed with using Superhuman with email and what it can do to help automate and make things efficient. Imagine that combined with the power of Chat GPT.

Other trends we should be following?

Augmented and virtual reality will become even bigger in our lives.
Virtual displays will become more of everyday life as well.
WEB3 and blockchain are also important to keep watch on.
Blockchain is a powerful technology and bigger and better use cases will be found.
The whole area of tracking your body and health and using the data to improve is also a passion.

At the 46 min mark, Lubo shares his advice in building technology and products.

Best Quote: As a CEO, it seems like you’re are constantly somewhere between bankruptcy and having a billion dollar company.

Lubo's Misfit 3:

If you have big goals – make sure you are passionate about your journey and prepared to play the long game.
Set up your daily routine to better help you succeed with planning, reflection, and spending your time on the right things.
Have fun along the way. You need to have fun to stay in it for the long haul.

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Scott took a different path. He grew up with parents that were big in education. But Scott didn’t get along with education. He left college in the middle of his sophomore year of college and asked to borrow $20k to start a pizza shop. Needless to say, it didn’t happen and he ended up in Washington DC working in the news business and the Reagan administration. But, he was just not an employee and wanted something more. He left DC and started some businesses in printing, restaurant, home services, and some others. He got involved in a restaurant fast casual chain and had a lot of success brining him into the franchising space. After about 10 years, left to start his consulting business to help people in their journey of entrepreneurship. You left corporate America to pursue entrepreneurship. What is your advice to people wanting to go out on their own and make the leap?

You must be prepared for the risk/reward.
In anything you do, there is a risk/reward with it.
You need to plan it out and involved your family in the process.
You do not want to “buy a job.” You must understand why you want to open or own a business.

At the 8 min mark, Scott talks about the 2 types of entrepreneurs, the Visionary and Process entrepreneur. Let’s talk about franchising. Why does franchising make sense and why doesn’t it for people?

The best analogy is if you loved food and always wanted your own restaurant. If you bought a franchise, you have to serve the food they tell you to and do it their way. As an independent, you get to choose what you serve in your restaurant.
What are you really good at? Delegating to people to run the systems of a franchise or are you good at building the systems and have things done in your own way.

Take us through your process and steps to help people understand what they want…

First, Scott wants to make sure the client has put themselves in a position where they want to learn and educate themselves.
There is a lot more to franchising than the “golden arches.”
Step 2 is knowing why you want to leave what you are doing and build the business – because you do have to build. Understanding your why is the most important pieces.
Step 3 is understanding the financials and returns on investment to see what is possible and makes sense for you.

How do you help people to best understand their why?

The first question is “If we were to flash forward 5 years from now and in those 5 years you were a business owner, how would life be different?
What are the differences/changes you would see?
People want to get out of the “complacent optimist” position they are in and act, but need help to do so.
Understanding the endgame and what it looks like is great way to back into the why.

“Franchises aren’t sold, they are awarded,” explain that….

Just because you can afford it doesn’t mean you will get.
Franchisors are kind of like pro sports scouts.
As you are vetting them, they are vetting you for their team and making sure you are the best fit for them.
Franchisors care most about if you can follow the process and systems.

Which verticals of franchises are trending the best right now and why?

People thought that home services would fall apart during the pandemic, but it is the opposite, the vertical is doing very well.
Businesses that are need, not a want that have recurring revenue do well. Things like the beauty industry like haircuts, nails, etc.
The pet industry is doing well, especially for dogs.
Automobile franchises are doing well.
The recession resistant brands that people need are always good.

What is the benefit of using a franchise consultant like you vs. working directly with the franchisor?

Scott’s job is to educate on what the expectations are in the process and questions you should be asking of the franchisor.
He helps streamline the process helping to focus on what is important to them and aligning that with the brands that fit.
He is an advisor to help ensure the best outcome possible.

Can people negotiate with franchises?

Yes, but it is on certain things.
If you are buying multiple territories or units, you can negotiate on some items.
Royalties and fees are not negotiable.

Anything else we should know?

The royalty structure is how the franchisor earns their income,
Things like marketing fees should not be money making for the franchisor, so it is something you want to watch.
Franchising is highly regulated by the govt, which helps to ensure people are treated fairly.

What are some of the most important lessons and principles you’ve learned in your entrepreneur journey?

It’s pretty easy to fail. It takes a lot of hard work to be successful.
You must be self-disciplined.
People that think they know more than the franchisor or know better, typically fail.
It is nice having a support system from the parent of a franchise.
Being an entrepreneur allows you to get into multiple different things.

Anything you’ve learned on how to build support systems as a solopreneur?

You cannot be afraid to ask for help.
Do not let ego get in the way.
Seek out people you can lean on and be honest and open with.
You have to constantly be learning and growing.

Best advice for an entrepreneur just starting out?

For someone who just invested in a franchise, rely on the support levels the franchisor offers.
Get involved and meet other franchisors and learn from them.
Ask, ask, ask. Don’t let questions go.
Get to know your people and listen to your employees.

Best Quote: :Franchises aren’t sold, they are awarded..."

Scott's Misfit 3:

Having strong values is very important to be successful in life and business.

Be true to yourself and do not let ego get in the way.

Have fun. Life is short and goes by fast. Enjoy it!

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, This Lessons for Hannah will not be a long one, but it is very important for the times we are in and for your future. There is something that I have found that holds true time and time again. Sometimes it takes a little while for it to take hold or sink it, but in the end, it holds true. And that is, Reality always wins. Let me explain. There are certain things that will hold true and be consistent no matter what. No matter what people say. No matter what experts say. No matter how much they are said not to be true – they will win out. Reality always wins. For example, gravity will always be gravity. No matter what anyone says, you are not a bird and cannot fly. If you jump off a building, gravity will win and you will not. A more controversial topic these days is gender. There are two genders in the laws of nature, male and female. It is reality. People can claim there are 100 different ones, but people are either born male or female in nature and that is reality. Now, do I support their right given to them by the Constitution to say they are a gender other than male or female? Absolutely. It doesn’t make it true, but they have the right to say these things and believe them about themselves. Other examples include the laws of economics – supply and demand. If something is in short supply and has demand, the price for it will go up. If something is oversupplied and everyone has it, the demand will be less and it will come down in price. Many times, the laws of economics get out of balance due to manipulation or short-term anomalies, but in the end, the laws win out. We saw this during the pandemic with a number of goods and services. Masks came into high demand and initially got expensive until more supply came on the market and then prices came down. Now masks are super everywhere and super cheap because there is a ton of supply and not as much demand. In the end, reality always wins out. There are universal laws of nature, nature’s God, economics, physics, and host of other things that cannot be broken. Many people do not want to face reality because they may not like what they find. They will have to face things that are true, that they may not want to admit are true about themselves, their life, and/or deal with. But one of the biggest secrets to success and life is to face reality head on and accept it for what it is. Respect it. Learn to understand it and use it to your advantage. Once you accept that there are some things that are bound by the laws of this world and universe and reality will win out, you will find some amazing things happen for you. For example, I have been trading markets for over 20 years and I used to think I could beat reality in the markets and the laws of economics would not always hold true. For example, markets may have a big run higher, and when they do, people will think they can just keep going up and sometimes it seems like they will never stop, but they do, and they fall back down. Ask anyone who thought Bitcoin would never stop going higher in 2021. Conversely, when markets fall a decent way, they typically turn around and go higher. They can only go so far until they have gone too far. I have made it a habit to work hard to understand this so that I can use it to my advantage, but I had to learn some heard lessons losing money over the years before it truly understood and now I use the lessons learned to help me make money every month in the markets. I faced reality and decided to use it to my advantage. Hannah, you will face a lot of different realties in your lifetime, don’t try and deny them or shy away from them. Instead embrace them and look for how you can use them to build wisdom and help you in your life. I love you, Dad

Best Quote: There are certain things that will hold true and be consistent no matter what. No matter what people say. No matter what experts say. No matter how much they are said not to be true – they will win out. Reality always wins.

Misfit 3:

Reality always wins out over time.
There are universal laws of nature, nature’s God, economics, physics, and host of other things that cannot be broken.
One of the biggest secrets to success and life is to face reality head on and accept it for what it is. Respect it. Learn to understand it and use it to your advantage.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Deepak Ohri. Deepak grew up in a modest, a one-room flat in a lower middle-class area of New Delhi. Most would not have thought that he would grow up to be one of the most successful innovators in the luxury hotel industry founding Lebua Hotels and Resorts, creating Luxury Atelier Maison Happiness and the president of the World Foundation of Happiness.

Along his journey, he has been recognized as the Top 100 Most Powerful People in global hospitality, been sought after for his thought leadership by everyone from Bloomberg to CNBC and Forbes as well as regularly being a featured speaker at Harvard Business School, MIT, and Columbia to name a few.

But through it all, he never forgot his humble roots and recently penned the best-selling book, A Bridge Not too Far, Where Creativity Meets Innovation, which shares his best principles and lessons for success and wisdom he has learned on his journey.

www.DeepakOhri.com

Deepak did not know where he would end up. He grew up in a lower middle class neighborhood and got a glimpse of what the upper class had. He asked his parents what he needed to do to get where those people where. He started dreaming with “his eyes open” and never forgot his roots. He took his challenges as a way to learn and grow.

Luxury to him was a Coca Cola and since the first time he had it, it put him on the path to find the luxuries and enjoy life and be happy.

How did you get into the hospitality space?

By default. He was not going to go the doctor or engineer route, so entrepreneurship was the way for him. What is happiness?
It is very individual.
The most important thing is to know yourself.
We seem to know everyone in today’s world but ourselves.
We need to not mistake joy for happiness.

At the 11 min mark, Deepak shares a few important things.

He does not have FOPO, fear of people’s opinions.
Instead, he has ROPO, respect of people’s opinions.
Sharing knowledge is important to life and success.
Rules are rules, but they are meant to be broken and challenged.
But you should only break rules if you are following your principles.

What is the true meaning of luxury?

It is an experience.
Deepak shares the story of the first time people around him could afford toothpaste as an example.
Luxury is expressive and an experience.
So, each person needs to ask themselves what luxury is for them. What experiences truly enrich you.
Happiness is used correctly, can actually increase the top and bottom line of any business.
Deepak shares examples from Labua on how they do customer service and use happiness.

At the 17 min mark, Deepak talks about luxury marketing and what it is.

Employees must be engaged and be able to tell the story.
How you tell your story is more important than the story itself.
To tell a great story you must be honest. You must understand who your listener and how you narrate the story to them to get their attention.
Design and craft your story to resonate with your audience.

At the 21 min mark, Deepak tells the story of how he got one of his restaurants to be a main part of the movie, The Hangover 2.

You wrote “A Bridge Not Too Far.” Why did you name it that?

There is a famous movie called a “Bridge too Far.”
But, the bridge is not too far. You dream is not too far and you can cross your bridge.
For Deepak, crossing the road from the lower middle-class side to the upper class side was crossing a bridge.
It is also a metaphor for his life.

You state that all of your successes are built on failure, explain that.

Deepak did not go to good schools and did not have an expertise/profession.
He learned through uncovering his shortcomings and overcoming them. He did not blame them on anyone.
He knew he did not know everything and admitted it.
He then looked at his failures and realized that the difference between a failure and a success is a step or steps you have missed.
If there is step you missed, you can figure it out and go from there.

What are the key principles that you live by in life and business?

Look at things from others point of view, especially the customer.
Use logic. Think logically.
Treat everyone fairly, no matter who they are.
Trust your employees and take great care of them.
Make your employees part of the bigger vision…and your customers.

How do you ensure a business can succeed?

First, look at the behavior pattern of the area where the business will be based.
Second, study deeply the customers
Third, figure out what you can give the customer that is different and creates an incredible experience.

What has surprised you most on your entrepreneur journey?

People
Deepak gives several examples of people reaching their potential and surprising.
What can happen when you give someone a chance and/or get a chance yourself.

Time is more powerful than God? Explain that.

A time well spent is a time well earned.
Time keeps going. Even God cannot bring back time once it is lost.
We have to learn to respect time and know the essence of it.

Best Quote: A time well spent is a time well earned.

Deepak's Misfit 3:

Know your roots and where you came from.
Just dream. God has gifted you with a mind that cane dream and create. Use it.
Never have FOPO, fear of people’s opinions. Have respect of their opinions instead

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Sharon Grossman. Sharon Grossman is a psychologist, success coach, and keynote speaker who’s an expert in Emotional Intelligence. She’s also the author of the best-selling book, the 7E Solution to Burnout and hosts the podcast, Decode Your Burnout.

She’s helped hundreds of high performing entrepreneurs learn to be more product and avoid or even recover from burnout. Through her simple and effective methodology she teaches how to have a competitive advantage that wins in business, minimizes stress, and helps you experience life on your terms because winning is non-negotiable.

Burnout and taking on too much affects most entrepreneurs at some point in their journey and I’ve been looking for an expert to come on and help us in learning to recognize it, better manage it, and if possible avoid while still making it happen for our businesses – so I was excited to get Sharon on.

www.DrSharonGrossman.com

Sharon is a clinically trained psychologist who practiced therapy for 20 years. She noticed a common theme with clients being highly stressed and started to do more research on burnout which is chronic stress. She listened to her clients with a different ear recognizing burnout. And in sharing this with them, it would create “aha moments” helping them to understand their challenges.

When we understand what we are experienced in life, it helps to diagnose it to help us solve challenges in front of us.

At the 6 min mark, Sharon tells a story about when she was grad student and hearing a speaker talking about solo practitioners burning out in the field. When she go into her own business, she remembered the talk and vowed not to be a statistic, so she set up her business around the life she wanted to have.

“You have to think about what you need in order to sustain yourself.” It is about mindset and believing it is important enough to make it happen when it comes to stopping burnout.

How does someone psychologically break out of their bad habits and “comfort” with the state of burnout that they live in?

James Clear said, “We build habits to solve the repeated problems we have in life. And what do you think the odds are that the solutions we come up with are the optimal ones?” It’s unlikely.
We get into patterns and so much of what we do in the world is on auto-pilot from our subconscious, but it comes back to our fundamental believes.
These believes are shaped by our early life experiences and influences.
If you find yourself in a loop or stuck, you really have to get under the hod, understanding what you believe and making meaningful changes to it to help yourself.
You then have to start showing up and aligning with the identity you want to have. Even if it is just a little bit a day.
You must state who you are. If you want to exercise more – you need to state that “I am a person who exercises for 30 mins daily.” And let’s say you have a day where you don’t want to do or you don’t have 30 mins – you still do 10 mins if that is all you have because “you are someone who exercises daily.”
When you keep showing up day after day, you are reinforcing the identity.

At the 15 min market, Sharon and I have a discussion on our conditioning and subconscious.

A lot of people like clarity and don’t know what they want.
Many don’t know who they are.
It starts with defining who you want to be and building the identity and habits that support that.

What should we know about burnout? What are the signs?

Burnout is chronic stress.
The main thing is mental and emotional exhaustion.
It is distinct from depression. When you are burned out, if you take time away from the source burning you out – you won’t be exhausted anymore. This versus being depressed is that when depressed, the change doesn’t make the difference.
People who experience burnout not only feel it at work, but at home. It can compound between running a business, family, household, etc.
Initially, you will notice exhaustion and less motivation. Productivity can then go down and then this can affect your confidence. It can be a snowball effect.
If it goes on long enough, the body can start to break down as well.
You must listen to the signs when your body is talking to you.

3 Different Burnout Profiles. What are they? (Sharon give great detail, so it is good to listen)

Burnout shows up for different reasons.
The first type is the thinker. These are people who are very much in their heads and tend to overthink things. Their brain tends to worry.
The second type are the feelers. These are people that tend to be people pleasers, have a hard time setting boundaries and even experience guilt because their underlying belief is that they need to serve other people and it is selfish to focus on themselves. They give away too much and then become resentful that they aren’t getting enough back in return.
The third type are the do’ers. The type A, workaholic, super over-achievers. They don’t have much time for themselves and are very driven with a strong work ethic. They overload themselves both at work and at home.
People can be more than one of these, or even all 3 in some instances.

Once we realize which of the types we are, what do we do about it?

Once you understand your type, create customized solutions to help you.
As an example, Thinkers might need to focus on letting go of the need to control and the fear of failure. They also need to increase their self-compassion and trust their instincts to make decisions.
Self-compassion is where we are kind to ourselves instead of beating ourselves up. It is treating ourselves better…like we treat others.
For all types, it is good to level set and ground themselves.
Feelers have to be careful to create more boundaries and learn to shift their believe about their own importance. Additionally, learning to managing their emotions
Do’ers equate their value with their productivity. They will work until they physically can’t because of burnout. They need to slow down, take time off, and tuning into themselves to understand when they are going too far.

In the end, you must change what you believe to truly make meaningful changes to help yourself. You wrote the 7-E Solution to Burnout. What are the 7 E’s?

Emotional Intelligence. This is the most important one. You must take one step back and learn to manage your mind. There is a link between your thoughts and emotions.
Empowerment. This is about your personal power and controlling your energy drains. It is becoming aware on what you need to empower yourself.
Engagement. Engagement goes down when we are burned out. This can also create brain fog and less productivity. You get dis-engaged. People can also be burned out due to boredom and not being challenged.
Self-Efficacy. Your belief in your ability to do your work. It’s how you respond the results you get. When you get results you want, it boosts self-efficacy, but if we get over-confident or don’t get the results we want or expect, it can build up and cause issue.
Energy. Learning to recharge and removing the stress. Getting the mental obstacles to self-care out of the way. We know what to do and need to action doing it.
Effort. This is about working smarter not harder and making the most of your efforts.
Enlightenment. Lightening your load by looking at your mindset, getting our of your own way, and using practices to help you center your mind to be your best.

Best Quote: You must change what you believe to truly make meaningful changes to help yourself.

Misfit 3:

For thinkers. Trust yourself. Our minds can derail us.
For feelers. Self-care is not selfish. You must take care of yourself to be your best for those you want to serve.
Emotional intelligence is the #1 skill people must focus if they have negativity in their mind, stress, and burnout. Learn to navigate your thoughts and build better habits.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jay Haleem Washington. Jay went from working for $8.00 an hour at the Hampton Inn to earning 6 figures as a Commercial Photographer in just a few years. He was able to accomplish all this while being a convicted felon. While working for $8.00 an hour he developed his mantra #IWon’tStarve, which was the catalyst for him to leave his job after only one year. he has become pardoned, and now is a best-selling author 4 times over and motivational speaker.

Over his career, he’s been able to work with the following international brands, Nike, Save The Children Foundation, NFL, Amtrak, and The WNBA. He focuses on strategic development of public sector business, management and administration of client contracts, and client protection via compliance oversight, resulting in growth through government contracting.

But, it’s not so much what Jay does that was the reason I asked him to come on the show as much as it was his message of “I won’t Starve” and how he persisted through to success.

www.Iwontstarve.com

www.JHaleem.com

Jay says it was a long journey. He was raised in a crazy home in New Jersey with people on drugs, etc. He was raised by his grandmother and was on the streets early on in life. He got into a lot of trouble but was also a great student. He was smart but using it for the wrong things. He graduated with honors from college, but also committed a white-collar crime that was felony trying to make money in college. After graduating, he was unable to get a job because of his record, so entrepreneurship was the answer.

He started a successful cleaning business and did well, but during the 2008 recession, his wife lost her job on Capitol Hill, and he sold the business moving back down south to focus on raising their kids. He took an $8 job to have something, but new he could do much better and less than a year later started his commercial photography business. An in a short time the business climbed into 6-figures and then grew tremendously as he got into doing government contract work. He then started helping other minority businesses get approved for contracts and has now helped/consulted for over 600 helping them get contracts. He then went on to write his books, start speaking, etc.

What are some of the success principles you’ve learned to succeed in business?

Early on, it is all about heart and having the guts to do what needs to be done.
You must personally develop. You can learn to do anything, and you must constantly learn.
You must learn about the different types of people and how to work with them. You have to take your skill set and match it with others to create a beautiful picture.
Perseverance. Building a business requires flexibility, endurance, and going through the challenges, learning curve, and progression of building a business.

Talk to us about being persistent and what you learned about keeping going to succeed…

Jay has seen a lot of people quit and decided it would not be him.
Knowing he had good skillsets that no one could take away from him, that he could learn, and he was willing to hustle and do what was needed to succeed kept him going.
Having children gave him the why he needed to continue driving forward.
He also had seen what happened to people when they gave up and did not want that.

Tell us about I Won’t Starve. What does it mean?

It came about from spending a lot of time being judged.
Having to pay back 6-figures for his felony and the other costs made him have to hustle and find a way.
When he made the decision to leave the $8/hr job, he basically said, “Screw it. I won’t starve.”
He embodied and started preaching it to anyone who would listen and it resonated.
“The platform you leap from is more important that the platform you land on.”
If you build the right platform, you won’t starve!

You have a workshop called UWon’t Starve based on 5 principles, take us through them…

1: Hustle while you work. Strive to constantly learn from all those around and look for what you can use to help you succeed. Develop your skills. This works well if you are building a business on the side while working a job.
2: Market research. People jump into businesses all the time without understanding the market and how to succeed in it. Who needs your service? Where are they? How often are they buying? And so on. Take the time to have a decent understanding of the market before you leap. Start where you are, but be smart about it.
3: Be the one selling the cheese. This is metaphor. If you go to a wine festival, you will see some people like white wine and buy that, others buy only read, but both customers like to have cheese with their wine. Be the one selling the cheese, because then you get both customers instead of just one. Is your solution, the cheese?
4 and #5: Use strategic partnerships and JV’s to grow. Partnerships are a great way to grow because you can create scenarios where 1 + 1 = 3. You both can benefit in a larger way that just on your own.

Talk to us more about how to create great partnerships…

We have to watch our egos are they can stop us from creating great partnerships.
We can only get so far on our own.
What does your business do that can complement other business’s needs? What are you willing to do that other businesses are not? How can you help others become more successful?
The more you help others get what they want, you will find you will get what you want and more.
Partnerships are a business strategy and should be treated and planned for as such.

What are some of the most consistent challenges you see entrepreneurs have and how do you help them overcome them?

In the government contract space, it is paperwork and time. There is a lot of hoops to jump through and they don’t move fast.
You have to find your way into their system and once you get in, you are in good shape. But, you have to break through that barrier to get your first contract.
It is networking and getting in front of the right people.
Additionally, you need to build the right systems and teams in your business, so you can focus on the bigger picture and work on the business – not in it.
Businesses are like a baby. At some point most people have to get a babysitter or day care of their baby so they can go to work. That is what it is like when you build systems and a team – they are the babysitter for your business, so you can truly go to work on it.

Any other advice from your journey?

Partner and teaming is the name of the game.
Entrepreneurship is tough, so find others going through the same type of journey and network with them. Help each other.
If it makes to have a partner in your business, do it.

Best Quote: The platform you leap from is more important that the platform you land on...

Jay's Misfit 3:

You don’t have as much time as you think, so go hard early going after what you want.
Find people that will support you whole-heartedly. People with support systems go so much further in life than those that don’t. Get your Amen Corner!
Be unapologetically authentic. It hurts being someone else. Be you.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jess Stewart. Jess was raised by a marine corps pilot on a cattle ranch where she learned the keys to running an entrepreneurial company; grit, hard work, and no complaining. Using her experience, years later, she grew up to create a massive medical billing company from her kitchen table that grew internationally. She sold the company for a 20x multiple allowing her to secure her financial freedom.

She now devotes her time to sharing what she’s learned with other entrepreneur and coaching companies to success. She was recently highlighted in Kevin Harrington’s book, Cracking the Rich Code.

I’ve asked her on to share how with no experience she built her company and to share how others can follow her footsteps as well her biggest lessons learned during her journey.

www.Jess-Stewart.com

Jess was raised on a cattle ranch and left when she was 18 to play Volleyball in college. She graduated and became a schoolteacher. But when she moved to a new town with her husband, she found there were no open teaching positions. So, she decided to start a business – a medical billing company out of her house. She didn’t know anything about medical billing, but she was good at solving problems, so she went to work learning. She grew for the first few years in her house, then opened her first office and things took off over the next 10 years growing nationally, then internationally until she sold the business.

At the 5 min minute mark, Jess explains why she chose to go into the medical billing space.

Jess wanted to find a way to work from home and be with her family.
She started the company with a few friends that were already going down the path. Ironically, 6 months in her partners could no longer continue and she was left to build it by herself.

What are some of the best lessons you learned growing up on a cattle ranch that helped you succeed as an entrepreneur?

She had great parents and a great childhood.
From the time she could walk, she worked on the ranch and was expected to pull her weight.
The first lesson was grit. It’s not about how many times you fall, it’s about how you get back up and keep going.
If were going to do the job it had to be done right. If it was not done right, it had to be redone until it was right.
“Don’t just get it done, get it done right.”

Take us through the journey of how you took your business from your kitchen table to international and ultimately a 20x exit.

It came down to differentiation. Medical billing is a red ocean. Fierce competition.
She realized early on that there was more to offer the client because of the industry being antiquated. There was a lot of opportunity for technology.
She decided that her company would offer a total solution instead of parts of the solution.
The niche was to offer and host the full practice management solution. (Cloud didn’t exist at the time).
She pioneered getting medical offices off of doing things on paper to using practice management software and doing things electronically.
She borrowed $75k from her parents to buy servers and build the network to work point to point with medical offices.
In doing this, she was able to offer a solution that no one else was doing and be a first to market.

At the 16 min mark, Jess talks about how she got to a point where she was tapped out and how to build a team and what she went through to do so.

She learned a great lesson in that even though great talent may be making more elsewhere, they may not have what they want. This is how she got her first and most important employee. He left a job pay 3x more than she could offer because he was looking to build something and find true meaning in his work.
As an entrepreneur, learn to ask for what you want and who you want on your team, then find/figure out a way to make it happen – because it can!
Jess also shares how she created an advisory and got the help she needed to develop as a leader.

At the 28 min mark, Jess talks about how being ahead of the times put them in perfect position to be the solution when government mandates to go electronic came along.

Jess shares how the growth was a blessing and a challenge, because things broke down and they had to figure out how to keep up and build their processes and systems to accommodate client needs and growth.
She shares how she saw a new niche to help in and flew to Nashville to knock on hospital doors. She thought they would be excited about it, but was told no by every company, but one and they were skeptical.
She left Nashville with no takers and later she got a call from the “one” who gave them a shot in a rural hospital. Jess did it basically for free and proved to be such a success, that she overwhelmed them.
That company was the one that eventually came knocking on the door to buy her business at 22x!

At the 40 min mark, Jess and I discuss what it takes for entrepreneurs to endure and make things happen and how Jess how to deal with burnout and find an operating system for the business.

Best Quote: Don’t just get it done, get it done right.

Jess's Misfit 3:

Walk your own path and enjoy the journey.

Don’t hesitate. Follow your gut.

Never stop seeking mastery in education. Stay humble.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah,

It’s fitting that I start out the New Year with a Lessons for Hannah episode. It truly is amazing how fast time flies. You’ll be turning 11 years old in 2023 and heading off the 5th grade in the fall. It has been incredible to watch you grow and become the amazing daughter that you are. In this episode, I wanted to give you some of what I call “Dadisms.” These are little nuggets of life wisdom that I hope you remember and put to work for you throughout your life. You’ve heard me say some of these many, many times and hopefully they have stuck with you.

In this episode, I want to share 11 of my favorite “Dadisms” with you. Here they are.

How you do anything is how you do everything.

This one has become more and more important to me as I have aged. Your habits and ways of doing things affect all areas of your life. When you don’t give your best effort in one area, it affects other areas. And many times when you do something at a level that isn’t your best, you end up having to do it again or multiple times. I am not talking about pride with this as much as I talking about the discipline to do things well in all aspects of your life. In committing to do so, you will find yourself playing at a higher level.

The most important time to do something is when you don’t want to do it.

This one goes with the last in that the times when we are most at risk for sacrifice doing our best, are those times when we don’t want to something. Maybe we are tired, worn out, emotionally drained, etc. We know we need to do something but find an excuse not to or put it off. These are the times we need to push though and do it. A great example since we are at the beginning of the year, is when someone wants to lose weight. They get all excited and for a short time, maybe a couple weeks, they go to the gym. But anyone who has worked out for a while knows, that after the first few weeks in January, many of those new people at the gym are no longer there. Why? Because when they didn’t see results after just a couple weeks, they got discouraged, and even though they knew they needed to keep at it to see real results, they found excuses not to keep going and nothing changes for them. You see, for those people, the most important time to keep going is when they hit that first wall after a few weeks. If they can push through that and keep at it, they will more than likely stick with it and see real results and also build the habit that sticks.

The best things require great effort and time to achieve because they are meaningful.

This one builds on the last two. The things really worth doing and that have meaning in life take great effort and time to achieve. For example, building a habit of taking care of your health and regular exercise. All the work you did for several years to get your blackbelt was worth it and you now have skills you will use the rest of your life.

No dead raccoons.

And while we are talking about doing things right and taking the time, etc. I will remind of you of my no dead raccoons story. The moral of the story is that when you see something that needs done, don’t wait, do it and take care of it. Otherwise, it could end up messy for you.

What you focus on expands in your life and what you believe becomes your reality.

This is one of my favorites because it is wisdom that has literally been passed down throughout human history even from the bible where it states “What you gaze upon you become.” It is very simple what you put your time into will become dominant in your life and what you believe about yourself and your reality will be just that. If you are negative about yourself and think only bad things happen to you, guess what will happen – bad things because that is what you are focused on and what you believe. Conversely if believe you can overcome adversity and are focused on doing great, meaningful things, guess what will happen? You will find and achieve them. (Car example)

God, family, country in that order.

This one is straight forward. Your chances of being alive at 1 in 4 trillion, praise God for this gift daily. Your family will always be there for you through everything, treat them with respect, love, and never take them for granted. And lastly, country. You are fortunate to live in the greatest country in the history of the world because it was the first to put freedom ahead of power. Learn it’s history and understand the fundamental principles that created it and embody them as you go through life.

Cherish every day. This life is a gift and goes by fast. Give thanks every day when you wake up.

We never know when we will be gone. Life is a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things. Every day is a gift to cherish and make the most of. Don’t waste your days.

Choose your friends carefully. You will have many friends in your life, but only few real ones.

This is important because friends can have a great impact on your life. You will have many friends at different times in your life, but only a few will truly last and only a few will truly be there for you and you for them through the ups and downs of life. Choose them carefully.

Be careful not to prejudge others.

Along with choosing your friends carefully, also be careful not to prejudge others. I’ve learned this the hard way in life in that when I was younger I used to make a judgement about someone without really knowing them. Many times, I was proven wrong and finally got the message. Seek to know and understand others before forming an opinion on them. Keep an open mind.

Speak the truth and don’t be afraid.

In today’s world, speaking the truth is harder than it used to be. People are scorned, mocked, even physically threatened for speaking and sticking to the truth. And there is only one truth when it comes to things – not your truth or someone else’s. The truth is an absolute, so it is important to be sure you can back it up with evidence when you state it. If you can do that, then do not be afraid to speak it and stand by it.

Choose right over easy.

In today’s world where people to have everything instantly, it is hard not to take the easy way on many things. But taking the easy way does not mean it is the right way. Choose to do things the right way. This probably goes with the first Dadism of how you do anything is how you do everything, but it is a choice to do things right. Every day we go through a series of choices in our lives, do your best to chose wisely and choose right over easy.

Hannah, you know I could probably put a hundred of these in this episode and in future episodes I will give more, but it’s best not to eat the elephant all at once, but one bite at a time (ha, there’s another one). I hope you can learn from these and use them in your life to have them help guide you.

I love you,

Dad

Best Quote: I hope you can learn from these "Dadisms" and use them in your life to have them help guide you.

Misfit 3:

Use the "Dadisms" to help you in your life.

Do your best to learn from those around you and gain wisdom, instead of learning the "hard way."

Remember, you have a 1 in 4 Trillion chance of being alive. Cherish this gift every day.

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Misfit Nation! Welcome to the Misfit Entrepreneur 2022 year in review where each year I attempt to boil down all of the incredible, useful information, strategies, and tips that our guests have given on the show into less than one hour for you…with a few surprises thrown in. Now, it’s impossible for me to go over every single best piece of advice and that is why I urge you to take some time and go through the Misfit Archives to see which episodes resonate most with you, but in doing this episode, my goal is to spur ideas – to give you a lightning strike that propels you down a path of action to better improve yourself, your life, and your business or career in 2023!

That’s why I do this show – to not only provide a treasure trove of some of the best information to succeed in life and business for my daughter, Hannah, for when she grows up, but to give you a place where you know you can come each and every week to get inspired and find real, tried and tested tips, secrets, and strategies to succeed in all areas of life, and to share different perspectives from some of the highest performing entrepreneurs in the world with you. I truly believe that one great episode can change someone’s life and that’s what we set out to do each and every week.

But, before I begin I want to tell you something. I want to say “Thank YOU.” Thank you for listening. Thank you for your support of the show and thank you for sharing our message. Without you and the amazing feedback members of this audience give me every week, it would not be half of what it is. Because of you, this show has reached hundreds of thousands of people in over 150 countries. I am truly humbled and in awe at what we’ve done together and I am excited about having an even bigger impact with your help in 2023. So, from the bottom of my heart, Thank you, thank you, thank you!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, and I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did creating it for you! Show Sponsors

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jordan Schindler. Jordan is changing the game and leading and inventing a whole new category of clothing, Healthware. He is the founder and CEO of Nufabrix, the #1 fastest growing company in the region as named by Charlotte Business Journal, the Deloitte Fast 500 #2 Fastest Growing Pharmaceutical Company in North America, and INC. 5000 #50 Fastest Growing Company in America. If that’s not enough, Jordan was also a 2021 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist.

I love seeing entrepreneurs break through and create entirely new markets, true blue oceans and that is what Jordan is doing with Healthware. I’m excited for him to share his journey and lessons he’s learned on how to build a whole new market and succeed.

www.Nufabrix.com

Jordan has been an entrepreneur since he was a kid doing all kinds of things in Tucson, Arizona. He took a trip with his parents to China where he came across an MP3 player market and convinced his parents to let him buy 10 and bring them back to sell on eBay. This turned into a passion project in early High School.

He went to school in Seattle and after working around the area moved to North Carolina founding Nufabrix.

Tell us about the product and what you are doing with it and how you are creating new markets…

He started Nufabrix to solve a personal problem. He had bad acne in college and learned about the link between your pillow case and bad skin where as you sleep dirt and oil builds up clogging pores.
The dermatologist recommended to wash his pillow case 2-3 times per week which seemed a little ridiculous.
It got him thinking about how it may be possible to deliver medication through fabrics with their skin touchpoint. With this, the idea for Nufabrix was born.
The idea that instead of having to take a pill or put on a patch, what if you just had to get dressed in the morning and your clothing delivered a controlled release of medication or nutritional supplements, was intriguing and possible.
At 7-minute market, Jordan talks more about the product line and its possibilities.

How do you get medication or supplements into the fabrics?

It is like a transdermal patch.
They took an active ingredient and invented a way to embed it into yarn.
It can last through a number of washes and then the fabrics can be recycled.

You grew tremendously during the pandemic, what happened to cause this grow and how have you kept it going?

They found a niche to help with PPE and facemasks in the pandemic. They converted one of their machines to make facemasks and had the facility to test and meet requirements onsite.
They were one of the only suppliers that could meet demand on the timelines needed. In fact, the US Govt sent 3 Blackhawk helicopters to their facility to pick up 250,000 masks.
They ended up being one of top 5 biggest producers of masks in the country with 6 employees!

What lessons did you take from the experience?

“Next man up.” You never know when you can fill a need and your ability to meet a need quickly is where you can outcompete.
The power of being willing to innovate.
It was also a great lesson in making a decision and then taking action when an opportunity presents itself.
It was also finding a way to help that leads to opportunity.

At the 17 min mark, we have a discussion about how we found ways to succeed in our businesses during the pandemic.

What’s your advice to go from idea to action and execution?

Swim to the next buoy. Even if you take one small action, it can make a big difference.
You do this enough and the world looks a lot different.
There is something to be said about having some ignorance going into an idea. If you don’t know how hard it is, you are more likely to give it a shot and succeed.
Focus on the things that are really going to make the most difference. What are the 1-2 or 3 things that if you just did those make the most difference in moving the needle.

At the 29 min mark, we talk about Stoicism and focusing on only what we can control.

Talk to us about raising money and what is like to keep up with the growth…

They have taken a few rounds.
A decent investment came from the Department of Defense.
They went out and found the right individuals to help accelerate growth like family offices, angels, etc. in areas like pro-sports teams and former Walmart execs, etc. that had the knowledge and experience and can help them.
It is important to stay true to what matters and build a business that can scale. If you need to take on investment to do so, do it, but do it smart and in a calculated way.

Anything you learned from securing investors that others should know?

Treat an investor like a customer.
Investors are consumers like anyone else and if they can themselves consuming your product, they are more likely to invest.
Open communication is also very important. Don’t be afraid to overcommunicate.

Best advice for an entrepreneur just starting out?

Learn and don’t re-invent the wheel.
Get a mentor or advisor.
Most everything you want to do or the challenges you have are not new and others have gone through them. Learn from them.
Groups like Entrepreneur’s Organization are helpful as well.

Best Quote: “Next man up.” You never know when you can fill a need and your ability to meet a need quickly is where you can outcompete.

Jordan's Misfit 3:

Think of business like a conveyor belt of problems, challenges, and opportunities that keep coming at you. Pick up each challenge or problem or opportunity and put it on the conveyor belt. Each time you do this, you make progress.
All you can control is your reaction and your response. Don’t focus on things you cannot change or have an impact on.
As your company grows, you role must change, so take time regularly to assess what your role should be to ensure the company is on the right path.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Derek Lidow. Derek has had a unique entrepreneurial journey in that he was CEO of a large publicly traded semiconductor company, a founder and CEO of an innovative and valuable startup, and now as a teacher and scholar of entrepreneurship and innovation. Derek is a professor of the practice at the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education at Princeton University. He’s literally lived 3 very different entrepreneurial lives.

On top of all that he is the author multiple best-sellers including Startup Leadership: How Savvy Entrepreneurs Turn Their Ideas Into Successful Enterprises, Building on Bedrock: What Sam Walton, Walt Disney, and Other Great Self-Made Entrepreneurs Can Teach Us About Building Valuable Companies, and THE ENTREPRENEURS: The Relentless Quest for Value.

Derek is one of those guys, I could talk about every side of entrepreneurship with and we do just that.

www.DerekLidow.com

Derek thought he was going to be a scientist. During graduate school he found that it wasn’t for him. He finished his PhD, but then shocked everyone and went into the business world. He found success as a semi-conductor executive during the golden age of the industry. He contributed a lot to the industry and ultimately proved how to create great solutions saving the world billions in gigawatts in the power space. He was ultimately made CEO of a large global company and led it to be the leader in it’s vertical. After 5 years, he got the itch to start his own company. He retired from the corporate world and started a company from scratch. He built a data aggregation and visualization solution for the supply chain and with his previous experience was able to create a massive enterprise. The company kept finding success until a another company came along and had to buy them paying top dollar. Two weeks later he later he was recruited by Princeton to help create their entrepreneurial curriculum and teach.

For the last 10 years he has taught and immersed himself into studying entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is more of innate state for human beings, but so many stray from embracing it – why do you think that is?

Derek has studied the origins of entrepreneurship and how it started and took hold.
He realized he was under-appreciating the value of entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurs are responsible for virtually everything.
We should understand better what they do and how they do that.

At the 14 min mark, Derek and I have a good discussion of whether everyone is meant to be an entrepreneur or not.

Entrepreneurs are self-directed.
They decide which rules to follow and which to not follow.
Entrepreneurs typically have a skill that those around them covet and want them for.
Entrepreneurs entice others to give them something in return for their skill. They are not afraid to ask for a sale.

We further discuss how everyone is selling something, but don’t see it like selling unless it is in a business context. But, everyone is in sales of some kind.

We also discuss the real challenge for people tapping into the entrepreneurial gene is the willingness to take risk.

You’ve said that we are focused on the wrong aspect of helping and regulating entrepreneurs. What does that mean?

It is impossible for Govts to create effective regulations that allow entrepreneurs to innovate and create without causing entrepreneurs to go outside the rules and cause problems.
Regulations have not been very effective as a whole as entrepreneurs find ways to maneuver around them if they are harmful.
Entrepreneurs themselves are far more effective at regulating other entrepreneurs.

At the 24 min mark, we talk about the FTX scandal and how entrepreneurs would be better to manage it than Govt.

Derek uses an example of Vanderbilt to illustrate how entrepreneurs are better at keeping things in check with each other.

From your study or entrepreneurs and the history of entrepreneurship, what are some of the lessons you’ve taken that people should know and understand?

Great entrepreneurs are great at enticing people to want things that we may not really need.
People need to get educated from a consumer standpoint on how they are persuaded. This will help entrepreneurs better create products and services that are more valuable.

What is your most important message from your latest book, the Relentless Quest for Value?

Pay more attention to entrepreneurs and respect them but help them by giving them better feedback to create more effective solutions.
Support smaller businesses and their entrepreneur journey.
Understand that entrepreneurs are best equipped to solve the world’s biggest challenges.

You dedicated the book to Arel and Tiel. Who are they?

Derek’s sons that are both entrepreneurs.
One son is in Silicon Valley, the other growing slow and steady in his business.
They are modeling creating great businesses with integrity.

2-3 of the best lessons you personally learned on your own entrepreneur journey?

Know yourself so you can understand what you are capable of and where to ask for help.
You must put yourself in the shoes of your customers and dedicate yourself to their happiness.
Be selfishly selfless. It is ok, to be selfish to be selfless with those around you.

Best Quote: Know yourself so you can understand what you are capable of and where to ask for help.

Derek's Misfit 3:

Feel good about asking for help.
Empathize with others.
It is ok to be selfish to be selfless in helping others around you.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jonathan Jay. Jonathan is a serial entrepreneur. He dropped out of college at 19 to start his first business and since then he has built and sold businesses in everything from publishing and digital marketing to education. During the pandemic, he made 48 business acquisitions alone.

Jonathan is a prolific deal maker who has a passion for teaching others how to buy and sell businesses. Through his company, Dealmakers, he and his team have helped over 12,000 clients from beginner to seasoned entrepreneur succeed in finding, acquiring, and/or selling businesses. He is also the author of the best-seller, Business Buying Strategies. In the book he shares some of his best secrets on how to buy a business with no money and that is one of the many topics I want to focus on with him in this episode.

https://dealmakers.co.uk/

Jonathan dropped out of college at 19 to start a business. He spent several years bouncing around surviving as an entrepreneur. A few years later he had a publishing business that was doing OK when someone came along and offered to buy it and he realized that he would make money selling it than owning and operating it. This was an “aha” moment for him.

“In business, so many people are business operators who work every day to operate the business, where the real freedom and real money comes from selling businesses.”

Jonathan says that It is much easier to sell businesses that you have bought vs. built from scratch. Over the last 20+ years, he has sold companies and bought them. During the pandemic, he bought 48 businesses and has turned around distressed business making all the mistakes possible in his journey.

For the last 6 years, he has been teaching others how to buy their first while limiting the risk in doing so.

Why should someone consider buying a business vs. starting one?

Jonathan has done both.
It is very exciting but hard work to start a business from scratch and most fail as well as take a lot of capital.
Buying a business is also very exciting that has been in business for a least 5 years is an easier way to go because it has everything and has proven it can sustain itself.
Buying a business with cashflow makes money from day one instead of going through the struggle to get cashflow.

How do you find a business to buy?

You are not finding a business as much as you are an owner.
Owners are who you work with on a deal.
Most go to a business broker which is like a realtor for a business.
At the 8:15 mark, Jonathan does a good job going through the challenges with working with a business broker.
Jonathan does not recommend going through a business broker.
Jonathan teaches his clients to look for businesses that are not listed with brokers.
You want to find a motivated seller who is looking to get out of the business.
If a seller is motivated, does that mean it is a bad business? It can, but you would not buy a business that is failing.
People have all kinds of reasons for selling a business. It could be retirement, or a health issue, or maybe a divorce. There are all kinds of reasons for sellers to be motivated.

Where do you find motivated sellers?

We don’t know who they are.
You must cast a wide net and go to a number of business owners, but need to do it smart.
The approach that Jonathan teaches is to write and send them a letter. It is very scalable because you can send out a 1000 letters to businesses types you are interested in buying.
The people call you from the letter that may need the solution you are offering.

What happens when you find a business owner that seems like a good fit?

You will look at lots of businesses.
Ideal you want a business that is B2B, that has good assets and is not dependent on the owner.
Your first acquisition should be a $1 million on more business.
Why? It is harder to buy small businesses than large ones as larger business are more stable and have a better management structure. They have systems and processes in place and good financial reporting.
You then need to negotiate price, and this is the tricky part.

At the 16 min mark, Jonathan walks through his negotiating technique.

Instead of making an offer, ask the seller, “How much do you need?” Not what they want.
No one gets what they want these days but tell me what you need.
They will give you a number and whatever number they say, you shake your head (flinch) and give a look of “this is not going to work.”
You let them drop the price and keep shaking your head until you get to a price that is reasonable and fair.

How do you negotiate buying the business without putting all your own money on the line?

You must work out what the business is worth to you. What do you want the business to make?
You will need to look at a lot of variables such as hiring a CEO to run the business in place of the former owner.
What are you prepared to pay for a business based on return from the profit it produces. This is typically between 2-4 years. So, you would pay a multiple based on that.
If you cannot finance the acquisition, then you cannot buy it. You can use this in your negotiation with the buyer. If we cannot finance at that price, we cannot buy it.
You then work together to make it work – maybe it is buying out of cashflow or small amount up front that you can do with a loan and then payments over time, etc.
You can also get a loan against the accounts receivable for the business and use that to help fund the sale or even asset financing based on what the business owns.

Talk to us about the mistakes you made and what you’ve learned…

Jonathan has made them all.
An element of vendor finance should be part of every deal. Be wary if the owner is not wanting to put any skin in the game.
The deals that have gone the worst are when Jonathan has just written the check for the business.
Agreeing to pay the number a business owner needs without negotiating is not a good idea. Everything is negotiable. No is the most powerful word in negotiation. Every time Jonathan had not negotiated, he has lost money.
Be careful not to underestimate how difficult integrating multiple businesses is to do.
Make sure you are ready for what happens after the deal is closed and prepared to own the business.
Do not become emotionally involved in the deal be the emotional buyer. The solution to this is deal flow. Having a number of businesses in your pipeline that you can make deals with solves the problem. Having options gives you power.

What are 2 of the best lessons you’ve learned to succeed as an entrepreneur?

Jonathan has never had a job but would not change his journey at all.
Jonathan is positive and believes the best is always ahead. It is hard to be in business and be negative.
The most successful deal makers are the people that hang out with other people doing the same thing.

Tips to scale and grow a business?

The ideal situation is you buy a business you don’t have to do anything with and just keeps on making the profit you are looking for.
The reality is that we want to be involved. But, we need to be careful in the way we “tinker” with things.
But, there is always opportunity to gain economy of scale or increase profit through cost reduction or find an easy way to increase revenue per customer, etc.
Find someone who lives and breathes modern marketing and social media and hire them to be focused on internet marketing.
One technique that does not involve using the internet is a joint venture with a complimentary solution that has clients that would want your product or service.

Best Quote: In business, so many people are business operators who work every day to operate the business, where the real freedom and real money comes from selling businesses.

Jonathan's Misfit 3:

Build your self- belief and self-confidence to be independent.
Save money. Cash is king. If you have cash you have a buffer or can weather a storm or take advantage of an opportunity.
Buy property. It is true asset and place to borrow against in the future.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

Hannah, Recently, I was reminded of two very important lessons in life. In fact, a lot of people around the world were. The first lesson is that you have to earn the right to reach high levels of success in anything you do. Nothing good comes easily if it is destined to last. The second thing is that there is one exception to that rule. Let’s start with the first lesson. You have to earn the right to reach high levels of lasting success. Recently, the world was reminded of this lesson in a big way. A major investment firm for cryptocurrency called FTX went bankrupt in the span of just a couple days losing billions of dollars of investors’ and clients’ money almost overnight. FTX was once considered a darling of the financial world with top financial pundits calling its founder and CEO, Sam Binkman-Fried, the next Jamie Dimon who is the famous and very well -respected CEO of Chase. FTX rose to prominence very quickly on a slick marketing strategy paying out millions to celebrities to hype it and also by donating a significant amount to politicians’ campaigns. As such, everything looked great, and the company bought itself some pull in Washington DC because of its donations. In fact, Sam Binkman-Fried, at just 30 years old, was the 2nd largest donor behind George Soros to the Democratic party. He also donated to Republicans.

Why am I telling you this? Because no one really got below the surface on FTX. All the major investors and even clients saw the celebrity endorsements and the support from politicians and just fell emotionally in love with the company’s story eloquently told by Sam Binkman-Friend when in reality, the company was a scam and in shambles. In fact, now as regulators are beginning to review the internals of the company and its entire setup, they are aghast at what they are finding and calling it maybe the worst they’ve ever seen. And now so many people who invested into the company and clients who put their trust in it have lost everything, It’s very sad. No one looked deeply under the hood on the company and when they finally did, those who saw how bad it was, quickly took everything out causing the collapse to accelerate. And it looks like Sam was taking funds of clients and funneling them to himself and other companies he owned without clients knowing. And incredibly, still to this day, no one, not even Sam, has been arrested.

The FTX scandal is a great example of not earning the right. While Sam Bankman-Fried found success for a short period of time, the house of cards everything was built on came crumbling down. There was no real foundation other than a great story, celebrity endorsements, and essentially buying off politicians to look the other way. Sadly, this happens a lot in all areas of life. People try to take the shortcut or fake their way to high levels of success. Sometimes they get there, but it doesn’t last because as they become more successful and get on a bigger stage, more people take notice, and eventually someone who is smart and has earned the right to their levels of successful figures it out and brings the truth to light.

Hannah, in anything you want to be great at. You must put in the work, the study, gain the experience, and earn the right to each level of success. And you must be willing to play the long game reaching those levels over time. As I noted earlier, this is true for everything worth doing in life except one thing – Getting into heaven. Wait, what? Stay with me for a few minutes…

The Apostle Paul once wrote: “It is by grace that you have been saved.”

What did he mean, by “grace.” He meant that you are saved by the grace of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. You see, not matter what you do, you can’t be good enough to get into heaven. You cannot get there through good works. Essentially, you cannot earn your way into heaven. Jesus spoke to this in the story of the rich man where he said it is easier for a rich man to go through the eye of a needle than to get into heaven. The rich man had kept asking Jesus what he could “do” or how he could “earn” his way to heaven. What the man did not realize, and Jesus was trying to tell him was that he couldn’t, no matter what he did. Remember, this was prior to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. And it was true. Prior to Jesus’ sacrifice, very few if anyone could get into heaven. That was the point of Jesus coming and for his sacrifice – that through him, by believing in him and accepting him as one’s savior, he became the vehicle, the vessel in which one could get into heaven.

Now, I realize that it is a big shift to go from a failed crypto exchange to the lord and savior, but I really wanted to give you a big contrast with which to understand this lesson. And to sum it up. First, realize that you cannot earn your way into heaven without truly accepting Christ as your savior. Yes, you still should do good works and follow God’s message and commandments, but without Jesus, heaven is not possible. In fact, without Jesus many things are not possible. At the same time, in your earthly pursuits, while you are here, you will do well to earn the right to your success and not try to fake it or look for the easy way which is sometimes the unethical way. Keep your principles, work hard and smart, and put in the time necessary to become great and you will be.

I love you,

Dad

Best Quote: You have to earn the right to reach high levels of success in anything you do. Nothing good comes easily if it is destined to last.

Misfit 3:

You have to earn the right to reach high levels of lasting success.
Earning the right is is true for everything worth doing in life except one thing – Getting into heaven.
You cannot earn your way into heaven without truly accepting Christ as your savior.

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Hello Misfit Nation! This is a special Thanksgiving episode where it is just me and you. Let me first start off by saying how Thankful I am for all of you and for all of your support of the show. It truly is incredible how much we’ve done together and the impact you’ve helped have on people lives.

I get a lot of emails from listeners of the show. Some are to suggest topics or guests, others give me thoughts from listeners on episodes, and I get a lot messages with questions about business and entrepreneurship.

As I thought about coming up on our 8th year doing this podcast, it occurred to me that I’ve never done an episode, where I just answer questions from the audience – and what better time to do that than at Thanksgiving, so that is what we are going to do today in this episode.

I’ve selected 10 of the top, most asked questions I get asked from you and am going to endeavor to give my best answers to help you.

Best Quote: What is the #1 trait of the most successful entrepreneurs? They believe in themselves and that no matter what happens, they will be ok.

Misfit 3:

When you feeling like giving up, tell yourself, "I'll do it one more day."
Keep pushing. Keep taking a step forward toward your dream and potential. Keep challenging yourself and overcoming your self-limitations
You have more than you realize to give to this world and those around you

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Eliot Marshall. Eliot is a former Brazilian Jujitsu title holder and UFC fighter turned entrepreneur. After retiring from UFC in 2011, he co-founded the Easton Training Center, a globally renowned martial arts school specializing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai kickboxing.

Easton has expanded to 7 locations across Colorado. It currently employs over 150 employees and does over $6 million a year in revenue.

Additionally, Eliot is also the host of the Gospel of Fire Podcast, sought after public speaker, and best-selling author of The Gospel of Fire: Strategies for Facing Your Fears, Confronting Your Demons, and Finding Your Purpose. And it’s these things in addition to the lessons learned in building his business that I want to dig into with him today.

www.EliotMarshall.com

Eliot says that he was very lucky. It started with being born to 2 amazing parents in the USA. From there, it was a lot of failure. He first wanted to be a pro- basketball player and he failed. The he wanted to be the Brazilian Jujitsu world champion and failed. He then wanted to be an MMA champion and failed there. But, he has succeeded at staying in the game and using his failures to get himself to success.

Talk to us about why you think you are so lucky?

He walked into a mall in 1998 and met a man starting a new Brazilian Jujitsu school and started training with him.
He got hurt and quit after a month and this led to his meeting his first girlfriend.
A year later he came back and wanted to train with no money to pay offering to clean and help around the gym and the guy just so happened to need his first help and hired him.
He lost his last fight in MMA and because he had downtime as he wasn’t a winner and on to the next step, he has down time and found his first building for Easton training and got it. That kicked off the business.
Other things have happened, but the story of Eliot is that every time something seemed to go wrong, it was the next step needed in his path to get where he has come.

You have a chapter in your book called “Why the F$%k vs. What the F$%K,” explain what that means…

A lot of people wake up and ask,, “What am going to do today?”
That is the wrong question. The right question is “Why am going to what I am going to do today?”
Once you are clear on why you are doing things. Why your day will look a certain way. Why your life will be a certain way. Then you can really design the life you want to live.
Your why will enable you to have meaning and purpose.
Everything starts with why. Once you know your why, you get can get through just about any how.

How does someone find their power?

It starts with passion. Your power exists in your passion.
Putting all his energy into his passion for martial arts, Eliot not only created a massively successful business, but also found his power and that is teaching people that they can do anything if they put their mind to it. They can accomplish.
But, he had to convince himself that he could accomplish first, and he did.
Find your power and go share it with the world.

You went through some mental health challenges. What did you learn to overcome them and how did you do it?

He grew up in a bi-racial family and there was a lot challenge. His mom was Jewish, and dad was black.
His house was vandalized often and even had swastikas painted on it.
It was a rough childhood around him. His family was great. All he had was karate because it was based on results.
But he grew up with a feeling that he was not safe.
As he grew up and started to win in martial arts he started to equate people liking them with being able to beat them up.
He felt a lot of pressure to perform and always win.
It was 100% self-imposed. He wrapped his whole identity up into fighting and not being safe.

When did you have your breakthrough and choose to change?

Eliot had to break down first.
He literally had a mental breakdown.
It happened over a month having panicking attacks, not being able to sleep, having friends talk him off a ledge.
At one point, he couldn’t sleep for 2 nights and his wife said to him, “Why don’t you do your day as if you had a good night’s sleep. Just pretend.”
At the 22 min mark, Eliot tells the story of what happened next. It’s best to listen.
He learned to focus on now and not worry about the past or the future.
He learned to put little routines in place that made him better.

Talk to us about the habits you have developed that help you succeed.

Eliot meditates every day. You can find guided meditation on YouTube for free.
Eliot uses mala beads as a trigger to help calm himself in time of stress.
Eliot also has a gratitude practice that he does after meditation.
He then goes through his pillars of who he is every day. He is and always will be a husband and father. He is a teacher. He is also a student. He is a fighter. He is a survivor. He reminds himself of this every day. “There is only 1 thing all of us have never failed at. And that is making it through your very worst day.”

Talk to us about breaking through your mental limits….

Having a teacher or coach to help you is critical to help with breakthroughs. At least to accelerate them to happen faster.
Eliot relates a story of one of his teachers and climbing sand dunes at 10,000 feet and carrying another up it.
He had another time with a coach climbing a mountain and carrying a partner up the side of the mountain.
The challenges were to get the guys to accept their death because it is possible in the cage in MMA.
It was in these times of great risk that he learned he could do more.
He learned that the biggest competition is with himself and it is being better tomorrow than you are today.

Lessons learned from competing in MMA that have helped you in life and business?

You have to walk into the arena of your life.
You are going to get knocked down and going to lose. Fighters no this and accept it as part of the path forward.
No matter what happens, you must get back up and walk into the arena of your life.

You built a very large multi-7 figure business that is based in a close contact sport. How did you make it through the pandemic and what principles have you use to build it?

The business is better because of the pandemic.
It made them figure out how to really make it happen and not only succeed but thrive.
They had to close their schools.
They brought together their team and started doing trying and failing until they got it right.
Their systems and communication got better.
Eliot and his partners took pay cuts to ensure everyone made the same or better and could stay in employed.

“You can be a victim or you can be a victor. Things either happen to you or happen for you.”

They established clear core values that everyone knew.
They had a clear hierarchy and communication structure for getting things done.
They had a clear vision for what they would do and how they would execute.

Best Quote: You can be a victim or you can be a victor. Things either happen to you or happen for you.

Eliot's Misfit 3:

Get a morning routine that starts your day with success.
Create your pillars. Who are you? What is unbreakable and cannot be shifted.
Only compete with you. Don’t care what the world things. Become the best.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Peter Vekselman. Peter is known as a real estate legend. He has been a leader in the real estate industry for over 30 years and has done over 3600 deals.

Today, Peter leads a team of real estate professional doing deals all over the country through his company Partner Driven. The company is unique in that Peter provides the system and even the capital for his partners on the ground in the markets where they do deals. Partner Driven does all the support and works with partners through every stage from identifying the right real estate opportunities all the way through to sale.

But I did not invite Peter on just to talk about this unique model and real estate, I had to have him on the pick his brain on everything he’s learned in such a successful entrepreneurial career.

www.PeterVekselman.com

www.partnerdriven.com

Peter is an immigrant. His family escaped the USSR during the cold war. He was young and did not know he even coming to the US until he was on the plane. His parents taught him that he had to make it happen for himself. He grew up pretty normal, but had a lot of trouble in school. He did go to college, but couldn’t get a job. He turned the only thing he could do, his own thing. He got into the vending business, then network marketing industry. He had his first big success in merchant services. This is where he really started to understand entrepreneurship. He felt like kind of an imposter, as he didn’t know much about the industry. He just hit things at the right time with the right people. He sold his shares of the business to cash out and then go into real estate investing.

He learned the lesson of making sure to understand the industry and initially got started in mobile homes and did well. He became the larges mobile home broker in Georgia until the bottom fell out and financing dried up. He then pivoted to investing in real estate. He thought he understood it because of his experience in mobile homes, but he didn’t and within about 6 months, he had lost everything and was living out of the back of his car.

That is when he met his first real mentor. Two years from that point, he made his first million dollars. Over that period her learned the value of alignment and the ins and outs of real estate investing. Now 22 years later, he has succeeded doing over 3600 deals.

What was the catalyst that took you in two years from living in your car to having a million in the bank? What did the mentor teach you?

He learned his most important shortcut to success – the value of alignment.
The key to learn, grow, prosper, make money, etc. is in alignment.
It is not just up to you. We all have certain skill sets and abilities. We must align those with complementary skill sets and abilities with others.
Creating win-win synergies for those involved that have complementary skills that align is the secret.

Take us through your business model and how you create alignment…

Real estate has an awful success rate. About 3-5%.
The industry is very dislocated and disorganized. Things are all siloed and all over the place so it Is hard to pull everything together to even do a deal.
With Partner Driven, Peter brings everything under one roof.
They train their partners, spend money generating leads in their cities, become their back office handling all the closings, rehab, realtors, etc., and they provide the capital for the deals.
They split the profit 50/50.
Peter financially backs the partners putting up all the money to do the deals.
Peter’s problem that he solved is how to do more deals, by empowering others with a system that he funds and then takes a share of.

What are the risks in the model?

The risk in real estate investing are time and money…people run out of both.
Peter eliminates the money risk by providing the money.
If a loss happens, Peter absorbs the loss.
By having the capital for his partners, it buys them time.
The only real risk is if the partner sticks with it to become successful or not.

What do you look for in a partner?

They go through a process.
They ensure alignment.
They look for those that are hungry and willing to put he time and effort in to succeed.
If someone isn’t motivated, they are not a good fit.

Thoughts about the real estate market in general? Where are things going?

We are entering one of the best markets ever for investors.
It is becoming a time to buy low again.
Things are falling off a cliff pricewise.
No one wants a crash, but it is happening and this is the time get incredible deals.
There is a lot of false motivation. People who are scared because of what they hear out there and are liquidating.
If you know how to position yourself, there are great opportunities everywhere.
At the 29 min mark, Peter shares the story of a deal happening right now in the middle of a crash that is profiting 6-figures.

Talk a little about perseverance and what you can teach us from your experience.

There is no journey that happens without misfires, dead-ends, massive challenges, etc.

Peter just came to grips with this and accepted it early on.
He also speaks to the fact that coming from a place like the USSR, it is much easier to appreciate the opportunity that exists vs. taking it for granted.
He didn’t know anything better. Hard was what he knew.
The best thing that ever happened was doing bad in school because it forced him to have to find a way.
His biggest negatives turned into his positives and what he needed to fuel his success.
Even in his darkest moments, he never blamed the tracks of success. When he was failing, he never blamed it on outside factors. And because of this, there was always light at the end of the tunnel.
You also need to understand how to evaluate progress. In the beginning, it’s never pretty. In the beginning, you evaluate on your activity, your growth in knowledge and understanding. If you evaluate just on “making money” you will fool yourself.

Best and most important habits that you have developed that help keep you successful?

Create time. You can create time out of thin air.
Get in the habit of waking up 1 hour earlier.
You are not going to sleep your way to success. By giving yourself an extra hour per day, and invest that one hour into you in some area. A true investment into you. What happens in a year with 365 more hours invested into yourself? Pretty big advantage.
Ensure alignment in all areas. C
ompetition. There are two ways to compete. One is head-to-head and be better than your competition. The other is to compete by creating your own playing field. Learn to do things that are unique and that your competition is not doing.

Any advice for entrepreneurs just starting out?

Start out! Don’t be a “wannabe.” Don’t overthink or overanalyze. Get going. Potential means nothing unless you act on tapping it.
It won’t be easy. Embrace it. Embrace the challenges. Congratulate yourself because you are not “thinking about it,” you are doing it.
It is absolutely worth it.

Best Quote: Creating win-win synergies for those involved that have complementary skills that align is the secret to succeed.

Peter's Misfit 3:

Pursue something that you love.
Identify skill sets. Position yourself to capitalize on yours.
If you are not where you want to be or happy with where you are – do something. Take action and get going.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jeff Johnson. Jeff is a wealth adviser with Buckingham Strategic Wealth and the author of One Decade to Make Millions, A Strategy to Maximize the Power of Your Twenties.

When I heard the title of the book, I knew I had to talk to Jeff to learn what he was teaching people in their youth to do to retire wealthy, but I also was interested in what people who maybe didn’t get off to as a good of a start in their early years building wealth, can do now to make a difference in their years to come.

Needless to say, Jeff’s practical advice and easy to understand actions can help anyone looking to improve their wealth make a difference for themselves. And I’ve asked him on to share all that he can to help you do so.

www.JeffCJohnson.com

Book: One Decade to Make Millions

Jeff has been on the financial services world for over 40 years. He has learned from the clients he worked with over the past 4 decades and noticed traits of those that were most successful. Much of this is what he wrote about in his book. One of the biggest things they did was maximize their 20’s.

Jeff became passionate about helping young people when he taught a personal finance class Nebraska.

Share the story about the bookkeeper and the surgeon…

It’s a true story.
The bookkeeper was a client who started saving with Jeff in 1983. They didn’t make a lot of money but were thrifty.
The bookkeeper retired with significant wealth in his early 60’s.
The surgeon came to Jeff about the time he was ready to retire.
The surgeon had some money saved, but not nearly enough. He was making a million dollars a year but spent most of it and didn’t or set themselves up to succeed in wealth.

Why do you think we don’t teach financial education and wealth building in our school system?

I don’t know, but it is something that should be taught at home.
The bookkeeper’s children were good with money and the surgeon’s were not good with money – teaching your children at home is critical to their financial success.

What is someone’s 20s so critical to financial success?

It allows for the miracle of compounding to occur. 30-40 year of compounding is such a huge advantage over even 20 years of compounding.
Compounding doesn’t just pertain to monetary growth, but effort and productivity. If you work very hard and set aside money to compound and continue to add to it in you 20’s, it almost becomes like snowball rolling down a hill gaining momentum.
The story of the doctor and the nurse. The story shares how clients of Jeff’s that were identical twins did in their wealth.
One became a nurse and saved diligently in their 20’s til about 30 and then let it compound until they were 70.
The other went to medical school and became a doctor and stopped saving early one, but then started saving from age 30 to age 70.
So, the nurse saved only for 10 years, from age 20 to 30 and the doctor saved from 30-40.
Guess who had the most money? The nurse did because they got started so much earlier.
Now imagine if you started saving in your 20’s and continued to your 60’s/70’s.

5 steps to take control of your financial future?

They are called the 5 Financial Foundations.
They are the 5 keys to successful wealth building from working with the wealthy.
1: They always save money. Even when they were young.
2: They always have and keep a cash reserve.
3: Almost all working people have their biggest pool of money in some sort of retirement plan.
4: They own the right size home. They live comfortably, but not extravagantly.
5: They do not have bad debt. They borrow on things that can increase in value like homes or businesses.

You say, “money is not important.” Explain that….

Money itself is not important.
Just keep track of money doesn’t bring happiness.
Money is important because it allows you to do the things you want to do and provide a better life. So, it’s not the money. It’s what it allows you to do that matters. That is where the value is.
There are people that are very wealthy, but not happy.

Actions people can take right now to start putting these principles into practice?

Get started. Save some amount of money. Anything to get going and learning how to accumulate money.
Next, become familiar with what your investment decisions are. Read books by John Bogle and others. Self-educate.
Once you have $10-20k saved, you can then really start making it work.
Even something like the compounding power of dollar-cost averaging over time can make the difference.
If you are starting later in life in life, you have to do things differently. You may have cut down on a lifestyle to get out of debt or downsize so you can save money.

Let’s talk more about people later in life. Say someone is “late to the party in their 30’s and 40’s,” what can they do to make a difference?

Go through everything you spend on. Get a very good idea of what your real bills and expenses are. Cut out the fat.
Use the money you were spending on the fat and start putting that toward paying down debt to get rid of it.
You will have to cut back and change your lifestyle.
The challenge is people will notice, so if you really care what other people think – it will be tough for you.

At the 33 min mark, we have a great discussion about “expanding your means.”

Anything else that you think is important?

Get intentional about your life and what you want – forget about what other people think and it will be much easier to save and grow wealth.

Lessons from your entrepreneur journey?

Jeff was a stockbroker for 20 years and then started his own financial services firm.
He ended up merging his firm with the firm he is in now.
He made a lot of mistakes, but he took the time to learn from them and figuring out what worked and what didn’t.
He was intentional about what he wanted and how he would do it.
He loves his work and that fueled him to work harder at it and get better.
Have a business plan as an outline and a basis for what you want to do – but it won’t work out as planned.

Best Quote: Money itself is not important. It allows you to do the things you want to do and provide a better life. So, it’s not the money. It’s what it allows you to do that matters. That is where the value is.

Jeff's Misfit 3:

Be intentional. Have a specific plan and know what is important to you.
Once you know what it is you want and why – get started as soon as possible. Execution is more important than creating the plan. Have fun but live in a state of gratitude.
Gratitude squeezes out all the other bad emotions.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This Week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, In this episode, I want to give you 5 simple pieces of everyday wisdom. I have a lot more than 5 but will continue to create episodes like this into the future giving you them a few at a time.

After doing these episodes for so many years, I’m amazed at how much there is still to teach and share with you. It seems like it never ends and that is the thing, I don’t think it really does. There will always be something for me to share and give to you and I hope that you can take as much as you can from these episodes to help you in your life.

With that said, here are 5 pieces of everyday wisdom you can use…

#1: How You Do Anything is How You Do Everything

You’ve heard me say this to you before but let me explain it a little more here. In life, you want to do things to the best of your ability. You want to put your best foot forward in everything you do. That is the essence of How You Do Anything is How You Do Everything. It is taking pride in all you do and doing it at your best. Whether it is cleaning your room or the work that you or the interactions you have with others, do not short-change yourself or your abilities. If you start to lower your standards in one area it will bleed into others. Make it a mission to be your best in all things.

#2: What Feels Most Uncomfortable is Probably What You Need to Do

You will find in life that many times when it feels most uncomfortable to do something, that is most likely the best time to do it. For example, in trading, some of the most uncomfortable trades I have made over the years have been the biggest winners. In racing Ironman, when my body wants to quit the most is when I have my biggest breakthroughs as I keep going. In business and life, standing up for the right thing in face of everyone else shying away from it, is uncomfortable, but what needs done. That brings me to my next piece of wisdom.

#3: Most of the Time, the Simplest Answer is the Right One.

We make things a lot more complicated than they have to be. Einstein said, “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.” The best path is usually the simplest and most straightforward one. We have to cut out all the noise and see it for what it is. In short, go with gut. Keep it simple.

#4: Beware Following the Herd

When I talk about the “herd,” I’m really talking about groupthink. When everyone thinks the same thing and will not allow any dissent, discussion or questioning of that way of thinking – they are probably wrong. Thomas Jefferson once said, “Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear.” Don’t fall prey to blind-folded fear and follow the herd over the cliff. Instead work from a place of reason andlogic and thing things through. Don’t let emotion alone drive your actions or decisions, especially the big ones.

#5: There are Few Things Guaranteed in Life, but the Ones That are – the Love of Your Family, The Love of God, and a Few Lasting Friendships, are worth every ounce of time and energy you invest in them.

I think that pretty much says it. You have a family that loves you, a God that loves you, and in life will have a few lasting friendships. Cherish them and invest your time into them. Don’t neglect them.

Hannah, and everyone else listening, these are 5 simple, but powerful lessons that will serve you well in life. Live them and embody them and put them to work for you.

I love you,

Dad

Best Quote: There are Few Things Guaranteed in Life, but the Ones That are – the Love of Your Family, The Love of God, and a Few Lasting Friendships, are worth every ounce of time and energy you invest in them.

Misfit 3:

Put these 5 pieces of wisdom to work for yourself.
Don’t fall prey to blind-folded fear and follow the herd over the cliff.
Keep things simple and listen to your gut.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Casey Cavell. Casey is a serial entrepreneur that started his first business at 21 and then went on to start, buy, or invest in over two dozen businesses over the last 15 years, worth over $17 million.

Because of his success and selling some of his businesses, he followed his passion to help other entrepreneurs by creating Legacy 4:12 an entrepreneurial team of advisors, mentors, investors, and experts who are called to serve the growth-minded entrepreneur.

If that is not enough, Casey has been an investor, advisor, and influential figure in the NFT community, assisting project founders and community leaders. Casey is a member of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, VeeFriends, Gutter Cat Gang, and several other high-profile NFT communities.

This is one of those interviews where we can cover the whole realm of the entrepreneur spectrum and I look forward to doing just that.

www.Legacy412.com (Free workshop)

Casey grew up with an entrepreneur father seeing the freedom that his dada had. But, he also saw the ups and downs. He knew he could learn from his dad’s experience, so he studied them and got the entrepreneur bug. Casey went to college to play baseball, but got hurt and decided to play and compete in Texas Hold’Em. He studied the game and starting out lost his money. But, realized that the game is really about longevity and the longer you can stay in, the easier it is to win. You are not playing against the casino, you are playing against other players, so your odds are better.

It's the same in business. If you develop a good strategy and surround yourself with the right people, you can succeed. He went to do very well playing Hold’Em and became the youngest player in the World Series of Poker. But he realized he didn’t want to work for money – he wanted his money to work for him. So, he started investing in businesses. As Casey says, he is a “turnaround guy.” He takes businesses that need to improve their systems and processes and works with them. He did that heavily for about a 10 year period and in 2011, he was able to exit one of his businesses and follow a passion to own a sport business. He bought a franchise called DBat in Atlanta, Ga. He did it buy simplifying the business model, taking care of his customers and taking care of his employees.

But he got burned out. He was doing everything and needed to remove himself from the day to day. It was at this time that he learned about the EOS Model and found an integrator to partner and help him run the business. This allowed them really scale and spend less time in the business.

At the 7:30 mark, we talk about the EOS model and the importance of the Visionary/Integrator duo. How were you able to start, buy, build and run 20 businesses over 15 years?

He learned from others.
He knew what he wanted and found others that had it asking them how to they did and putting the information into action.
He is gifted at simplifying a business and used that to his advantage.
He paid people for advice as well.

Any type of business that you gravitate to more than others?

He did really good with his baseball and softball academies because he took what was complex and simplified them.
Find out what you are the best at and how it relates to making money.
The businesses he works with a hypergrowth minded. They want to be the best at what they do.
They have a business model built, but they need help in optimizing it and Casey brings that expertise.

How do you find your businesses that you buy or invest in?

Find those that access to the people you are looking for and network with them.
Casey uses an example of someone who wanted to buy a plumbing business and was talking to individual plumbing companies. Casey advised them to go to the head of local trade group/association for plumbers and talk to them letting them know that they are looking to buy.

Once you have invested in or bought a business, besides the EOS framework, are there any other processes or systems you have found that are important to implement?

EOS gives you about 30% of what you need. The foundation.
Is very important to build a great culture. There is a company out there called Giant Worldwide that does a lot of culture building activities and Casey has taken some things from them like the 5 Voices.
He also uses Kolbe assessments.
Businesses are about people. And the better you understand yourself and who you are, the better you are going to be to understand others and relate and communicate.
Get a coach that mentors you to be a better you.

What is the reason most businesses fail?

They run out of money, or they burn out and give up.
Sometimes people are not ready and try to do it on their own. The pros have coaches.
Everyone needs somebody to help them in becoming better.

Thoughts on the long game?

People are either spending their time working on things that they are good at, but don’t like doing of like doing but not good at.
The key to succeed as an entrepreneur is to get out of doings you don’t like, even if you are good at it. If you don’t you will burn out.
70/30 is the balance. 70% of your time doing the things you are good at and like doing. 30% on what you don’t like. At some point you will need to hire the complementary person.

Building a team is one of the most important things you can do. Talk to us about what we should know?

A lot of entrepreneurs put the keys to a business in the hands of those that are not ready to drive it.
Think about if you had a million-dollar business…now imagine, it is a million dollar car. Would you hand the keys to a new driver and let them take it? No. You would want someone with proven experience.
If they don’t have the experience, they don’t know and can be reckless, etc.
Hire people with different skills set s that compliment yours.
EOS has 2 key roles, the Visionary and the Integrator. The visionary dreams big and set the big milestones. The integrator builds the systems to help them get there and keeps things on track. Which one are you?
You want people thinking as owners or that have some bit of ownership at least at your leadership level, but preferably all levels.

Step by step process to position a business to stand out?

Get your niche that you will be the best in the world at.
Simplify that offering to be able to deliver and scale.
Simple scales, complex fails.
Know you target market. Who are you serving? Don’t go wide, go deep.

How does a business create the unique offer that gets people in the door?

Who do you help? Do what? So, that what?
If you can answer those questions and dial them in, you will find the offer presents itself.

How does an entrepreneur remove themselves from a business?

Every quarter write 2-3 things you are currently that you do not want to by the end of the quarter.
Then look at who in the business it makes more sense for them to do or outsource to. Or does a hire need to be made and needs done to put the hire in place.
Look at things in terms of your time and money. What are you worth per hour and can you deploy yourself to focus more on the highest price per hour duties. If so, taking the lower cost duties off your plate and giving to someone else so you can focus will generate the revenue to easily pay for giving up the other duties.

What other lessons can share from your entrepreneur journey?

Learn to hire well and put in a good process.
People are your biggest asset.
Make sure your roles and responsibilities are clear.
Track your data. Have KPIs that help track your performance to your goals that are tracked weekly.

What surprised you the most on your journey to this point?

Casey has made a lot good decisions and a lot of poor decisions.
There are a lot of woulda, coulda, shoulda’s, in life. It’s ok. You are where you are in life because that is where you are supposed to be.
Take to self-reflect and learn.

What is your best advice for entrepreneurs just starting out?

Ask those that have succeeded what they have done. How did you do it?
Then learn and put that into action for yourself.

Best Quote: People are either spending their time working on things that they are good at, but don’t like doing, or like doing but not good at. The key to succeed as an entrepreneur is to get out of doings you don’t like, even if you are good at it. If you don’t you will burn out.

Casey's Misfit 3:

Have a written vision for your life. Share it with others.
Have a written vision for your family. Share it with your family.
Have a written vision for your business. Share it with business partners and team members.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Chris Croner. Chris is an entrepreneur and sales psychologist with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. He is the founder of SalesDrive which has helped over 1400 companies select and develop high-performance salespeople using their methods and assessment technology.

Chris is also the co-author of the best-selling book, Never Hire a Bad Salesperson Again.

I am excited to have Chris on because sales and selling is one of the topics I am very passionate about. Sales are the lifeblood of a business and great salespeople who are devoted to the success of their companies are diamonds in the rough that every entrepreneur should be seeking. Chris has developed the methodology to find and hire them.

www.SalesDrive.info (complimentary assessment)

Chris’s background was in clinical psychology, and he specialized in providing consulting to businesses management. He started at a firm called Whitmer and Associates which specialized in executive assessment. When companies wanted to hire key leaders or new CEO’s, they would hire firms like Whitmer with people Chris that would evaluate them. During this time, he worked to design something as rigorous as the evaluation for executives for salespeople because they are such integral role to the success of a business.

In October of 2002, he began doing that work and then in 2005, he went out on his own and founded SalesDrive and published the first edition of Never Hire a Bad Salesperson Again in 2006.

For over 20 years, he has been obsessed with studying what makes a great salesperson.

What makes a great salesperson?

They are hunters who focus on new account acquisition. This is the #1 position companies have a challenge filling.
They have all the things you would expect relationships skills, good communication skills, etc.
But there are 3 non-teachable characteristics that are far more important to look for to find a great salesperson.
1: The Need for Achievement. They want to do well for the sake of doing well. The naturally want to set the bar high and continue to beat it. They are focused on producing excellence. This is also needed for successful entrepreneurs.
2: Competitiveness. They want to be the best. They also want to win the prospect or client over to their point of view.
3: They have great optimism and resilience that they will succeed and keep going until they do.
Those 3 characteristics are what Chris calls Sales “Drive.”

Any other uncommon traits you have found that entrepreneurs should looking for when hiring?

Thick skin. Can take the rejection.
It is good if they have 2-3 years of relevant experience at a similar sized company and role. They’ve gone through “Sales 101.”

At the 10 min mark, we talk about how athletes many times lend themselves to the role. But, it is important to look at how they succeeded as athletes and their work ethic compared to their peers as an athlete.

What does it mean to be Driven?

They must have the 3 elements: Need for achievements, competitiveness, and optimism.
The one that is most important of the 3 is the Need for Achievement.
They must have the passion to get every day competing in a incredible tough and hard game in business
. Research shows that Drive is the easiest thing to fake in an interview, so you must be careful now you interview for it.

Talk to us about personalities. What personality types or combinations work out best?

DISC is a good general test.
Chris created the Drive Test specifically for sales.
Chris shares details about how they setup the Drive Test and it is best to just listen.

I’ve heard you say that resumes lie, and salespeople can do their job in the interview process, tell us more about that and what we should be looking for in the interview process…

Many people present themselves well but are not a great hunter-salesperson.
The key is to improve the interview process so that you can discern the difference between what they are telling you that you want to hear vs. who they really are.
One question you can use when reviewing a resume is the “Magic Wand” question, especially when you seem to get guarded answers. For example, “If you could wave a magic wand and change 3 things about your prior job so that you would have never wanted to leave, what would those be? This opens up to truths you can dig in on.
You are looking for reliability and consistency through their past.
The best predictor of future behavior is previous behavior.
You also want to maintain control of the interview, so come into the interview with your questions written down and then direct the interview.
It is also your job to be well-prepared. Hiring people is one of the most critical elements to success – don’t wing it. And the cost of a bad hire is tremendous.

Is there a framework that you can share to run a better interview process?

3 P’s
Plan the interview effective and be prepared with questions.
Probe the past to understand deeply what the candidate has done previously. 2nd, 3rd, 4th level questions. Dig in.
Patterns. Look for patterns in the interview. Are they responding as well in the beginning of the interview as the end. Are there conflicts/contradictions in their answers.
Be a little like a prosecutor but ask for their help. “Help me understand….”
Chris provides a guide with scoring in his book.

Where are the best places to find great salespeople?

Passive candidates are many times better than active candidates – people that are not looking for a job.
Make sure they are not a job-hopper.
Make sure they can show metrics of their success and what they have done.
They can come from a variety of backgrounds, but are many times attracted entrepreneurial type roles.
Networking to find them and sharing with others what you are looking for is a great avenue.
You should always be recruiting and looking.

What about hiring a sales leader or manager? What should an entrepreneur look for there?

Be careful hiring or rewarding a top performer from an existing team.
It is different to be successful because of the efforts of others than by your own efforts.
It is a different type of mindset and focus, because it is not about the leader. It is about the team which a huge shift.
You will want to hire someone who knows it is not about them, but about helping each individual salesperson succeed and that is their passion.

What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned on your own entrepreneur journey?

The biggest challenge was getting comfort with ambiguity. You have to be comfortable with uncertainty.
Chris started taking classes at Second City for improve to help him become comfortable with uncertainty and having to deal with the curveballs as they came up and learned to roll with the punches. He used this to help him in his business.
He learned that market will dictate what it wants, and you must be able to adapt, even if the markets wants something other than you think it does.

Any advice for the entrepreneur when it comes to them selling personally?

You are the hunter, especially in the beginning.
Look at it like a process, system.
You have to not only be a good salesperson but evangelist.
Focus on the process instead of the goal. Be great at each step.

Best Quote: There are 3 non-teachable characteristics that are far more important to look for to find a great salesperson - the need for achievement, competitiveness, and great optimism.

Chris's Misfit 3:

You become what you think about. What you spend your time thinking about day to day is what becomes your life.
Whatever you want in life, work your tail off at it and you will get it. Do whatever it takes and find a way.
Man’s Search For Meaning: The one freedom no one can take away from you is the ability to control your attitude and the way you respond to things.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Judy Wilkins-Smith. Judy is a world-renowned Systemic Work and Constellations Expert, Fortune 500 Executive Coach, and Author of Decoding Your Emotional Blueprint: A Powerful Guide to Transformation through Disentangling Multigenerational Patterns.

Basically, Judy can teach you how to decode your programming and look at the patterns from your ancestors to see if you have the DNA of an Entrepreneur and more importantly how you can learn to become a better entrepreneur.

Wouldn’t you want to know what your past generations can tell you about your future as an entrepreneur? I do and find this topic fascinating, so I asked Judy to come on and help us better understand the impact of our ancestors on our lives.

www.JudyWilkins-Smith.com

Judy was born and raised in South African and moved over to the US with her family for the opportunity. Her father was killed shortly after they arrived. She started to study and decided to write books and stumbled onto the topic of understanding what is past down in behavior from ancestors. She met a mentor who helped her to better understand the topic and as she says, “Never looked back.”

She started working with and helping individuals and companies came to her asking if she could help their companies and executives in the area of pattern recognition and performance improvement.

We all know about ancestry.com and other companies like that, but that is just scratching the surface. What can entrepreneurs learn from their ancestors about their entrepreneurial DNA?

Judy works with “ancestry 2.0” which answers the question, “Why does it matter?” What does it matter what region your family is from or events that happened in your family history?
These things create thoughts, feelings, actions that become patterns or emotional DNA that is passed down through generations and impact people.
The big “aha” is that with emotional DNA, you can change it. You can change the patterns or re-write them.
Entrepreneurs tap into the chapter that only they can write is primed by their ancestors.

How can an ancestor, from say the 1300s, have an impact on me now?

That ancestor passed on behaviors and patterns down through generations and shapes how people rise up or subside.
With epigenetics, if an event is substantial enough, it can create an imprint on DNA.
The Dutch study of a town who were surrounded by Nazis and thus had little to no food and were consistently in a malnourished state.
When the children and grandchildren of these people were studied, they all had the markers in their DNA of elevated cortisol and malnutrition.
So, our ancestors have a real impact on us.

Explain epigenetics in more detail. How does it affect things like our attitude and world view?

When you watch your mom and dad, you pick up things, patterns/behaviors.
You will learn things but have a choice. If there is something you don’t like or behavior you feel is not good, you can choose to go a different way.
This library of responses is what we use day to day to respond to situations in life.

How do we identify programming that may be holding us back? And how do we change it to what we want?

There are always patterns that you want to start and stop.
You need to focus on them and write how you truly feel about it and the meaning you give it.
If you look at it and look for others in your family that have similar patterns. Are you following their lead? Do you want to follow in that pattern?
If not, you must decide to change the pattern and path so you don’t do things “just like mom, dad, grandma, etc.”
When you say “I wish I could…” or “I would really like to.” These are signs that you have a pattern to change.
At the 14 min mark, Judy explains this process in detail. It’s best to listen.

“99% of the time, you, the entrepreneur are not an imposter. You are a pioneer. So, don’t feel like you are ever an imposter” You don’t have the answers, but you are willing to go look for them and figure it out. Pioneer.

At the 17 min mark, Judy talks about “systemic work.”

It’s the need to “belong” that keeps people stuck and from breaking out.
You’ve got to build the weight for the want that is stronger than the subsidence into the system.

Is there a set of steps that someone can follow when they feel they are pulled back into the comfort area?

Get 2 pieces of paper: One for where you are going and one for where you are.
On one piece, write down all the reasons why it is good idea not to move from the status quo and on the other write down everything that will happen for you if you do.
Keep them and when you have these moments where you feel like you are falling backward, look at these two pieces of paper.
Will you decide to quit and go back to old ways or keep going to reach the things that will happen if you do.
It’s literally working it through logically in our heads.

Talk to us about Desire…

The mind has to tell the body a story it can believe.
If your body believe what the mind tells it, that is your new reality.
Deep burning desire drives this.

How does someone use systemic work to help them on their entrepreneur journey and reach their potential?

It is constantly being mindful about “What am I thinking?” “What is it telling me?” And “what meaning am I giving it?”
Most importantly, what is my mind telling my body that my body believes?
What do you believe and where did it come from and what do you choose to believe?
One of the most important things to be aware of is the opportunity to pivot and grow. How do you teach yourself to see life?
Thoughts, feelings, actions….
It’s not hard work. People tell themselves terrible things all day long and believe them. That’s not hard work. Flipping it the other way isn’t either. It’s just a reorientation.

What are constellations and why are they so effective?

Constellations are the breakthrough piece.
They are a 3D process.
It works best if do it with a live picture in front of you of the challenge or way of thinking.
Judy uses an example of money. Maybe you have the same views on money as one or both of your parents. Do you realize that this is their view and doesn’t necessarily need to be yours?
These limiting patterns can be found quickly. Then you can find the limitation, the issue, its’ origins, its effects, and how it has really affected you and then what a different possibility may be like.
You can then re-wire the brain and the body.
Doing this work can unlock things that have held us hostage for years.

Other advice?

There is no such thing as a trainwreck, there is just another possibility.
Ask “what more is possible?” It will lead you to new ideas and possibilities.
Remove negative self-talk.
Have a very clear awareness that life is not just life, but an adventure that is yours to shape.
Don’t play the role of the victim. Take back your power.
Show up. Show up. Show up.

Thoughts on victimhood/victimology?

The reason we have so many issues in the world is that we have been taught to be victims.
If you want to transform, you have to find the areas where you feel you are a victim and go beyond it.
Victimhood is a comfortable way to fail. Don’t short-change yourself.
Victimhood and Victimhood industry is the big lie.
Never let someone else tell you what you are capable of or what your value is.

Best Quote: You, the entrepreneur are not an imposter. You are a pioneer. You may not have the answers, but you are willing to go look for them and figure it out. Pioneer.

Judy's Misfit 3:

When building your business. Inspire, don’t drive. Empower others to drive.

You are not broken. No one is. You may be breaking through, but you are not broken.

As an entrepreneur, you have a very big responsibility. You have the potential to change the emotional DNA of the world. You get to write the story. Don’t forget to take your own full place.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ken Burke. Ken is a serial entrepreneur who built a massive enterprise software company and sold it for over $100 million. He then went on to create Entrepreneur NOW, a company that provides over 160 eLearning courses designed for entrepreneurs to help them start, grow and run their business. EntrepreneurNOW courses are also distributed all over the world on over 40 major eLearning sites. Ken has been featured on the INC 500, been named Entrepreneur of the Year, and has authored multiple books, most recently the best-seller, Prosper, 5 Steps to Thriving in Business and Life.

Needless to say, Ken has a wealth of experience and knowledge on how to succeed as an entrepreneur, and I’ve brought him to squeeze every bit I can out of him.

www.EntrepreneurNow.com

www.KenBurke.com

Entrepreneurship is in Ken’s blood. It’s all he knows. It started 25 years ago when he started MarketLive and rode the E-commerce wave. It took 4-5 years before it took off, but they became one of the major players in enterprise e-commerce software. Ken learned a lot through the experience and honed his skills. As things grew, he had to go through the ups and downs of growing and scaling a large business. Sequoia Capital was their large investor and at one point, Ken had his “Steve Jobs” moment where he was replaced as CEO. He was moved to the chairman role and the new “more experienced” CEO was brought in. It was a miserable failure. Ken came back in after 4 years and built things back up and made it very successful selling on a high to a large software conglomerate.

He then started EntrepreneurNOW and is at it again and as he says, it having to learn a lot of things all over again. It’s never the same path.

At the 8 min mark, we talk about how it is different the second time around and just because he was successful once doesn’t mean the same things will work in the next venture.

Talk to us about the state of entrepreneurship as you see it…

The latest batch of entrepreneurs has experienced another crash.
Entrepreneurs have had to get a healthy dose of persistence and are learning that the notion of having a startup that maxes value in 3-4 years and the founders cash out is not a reality.
The VC/Equity money is drying up.
The cost of capital is much higher, and inflation is causing a lot of issues across the board.

At the 13 min mark, we discuss persistence and Ken’s thoughts.

“You have to be in the game the win the game.” A lot of entrepreneurs take themselves off the field because they are not willing to persist through the major barriers they encounter.
Don’t expect things to always go as planned.

Thoughts on the entrepreneur mindset?

Ken wrote Prosper to help entrepreneurs in this area.
It is impossible to fail because we are here to learn, grow, and develop.
Challenges are part of the growth process.
There is a lot of “You” in the business, so you must build a structure in the business that allows others to come up and help build the business and learn, grow, and develop. Do not let your ego get in the way.
Be careful not to hamper the ability for your business to grow by injecting yourself too much in the business or letting limiting beliefs stop progress.

Prosper: 5 Steps to Thriving in Business and Life. Can you take us through the 5 steps?

You take you wherever you go. All your baggage comes with you into business or personal life.
The healthier you are as a person, the better you are in business and life.
Step 1: You must accept yourself. Don’t self-sabotage.
Step 2: Manage your ego. Your identity is not things, money, success, etc., it is internal.
Step 3: Clarity. You need to know exactly where you are going and have a clear vision.
Step 4: Take action. It comes down to consistent action. Fear is usually the #1 roadblock.
Step 5: Gratitude. Serve and live with gratitude for all those around you and part of your journey.
You must practice these things daily.

What should entrepreneurs know about how to prepare themselves and their business for a sale and what did you learn through your process?

It starts at the very beginning.
Covet thy equity. Protect every ounce of equity that you have.
Never give more than you have to give up when it comes to equity. Stair-step your investment. Take a little bit more at each step to bring your business 18 months into the future at a time.
Be prepared for a “down round.”
Manage your board and investor as if they are employees otherwise, they will manage you.
They must know you are the leader and are in charge.
Do not have a “parent-child” relationship with your board or investors.
In the end, you are 100% accountable for everything in your business.
When going to sell, you must prepare at least 1 year in advance.
Think about how to maximize every aspect of value.
Try to find a strategy investor and partner with them ahead of time.

Anything you have seen that has worked for you consistently in building businesses?

The bigger the problem, the more successful you can be. Start with the problem and find the solution.
Finances. 3-5 year financial forecast and reviewing it each quarter keeps you on pace and helps to ensure you are on the right path.
5 clear, key initiatives per year that you are working toward that everyone knows in the business.
Focus is widely important. Land and expand. Own a niche first and expand from there.

Best advice for an entrepreneur just starting out?

Focus. Focus. Focus.
Master, then move on.
Take action. Action creates momentum.

Best Quote: You have to be in the game the win the game. A lot of entrepreneurs take themselves off the field because they are not willing to persist through the major barriers they encounter.

Ken's Misfit 3:

Practice the idea of fulfillment, joy, and happiness on a daily basis.
Leave your ego at the door. Avoid the judgement of yourself and those around you.
Know that it is impossible to fail. Growth is at the center of what you do.

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p>Hello Misfit Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Lessons for Hannah!" Many years ago, I introduced a new format that alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life….even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of "Lessons for Hannah," I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.

Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I want to talk to you about the Bible. It is truly an amazing book – not just because it is God’s word and the story of our Christian faith, but because it offers such incredible wisdom for living your life in the best ways possible. I am particularly a big fan of proverbs as each proverb offers wonderful, practical wisdom for living from health to relationships to money, and much more.

A lot of people don’t realize how much the bible has an impact on our lives. In fact, many everyday sayings that people use, whether they are religious or not, originated in the Bible.

Here are just a few examples.

Let there be light
Forbidden fruit
By the sweat of your brow
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
Fire and brimstone
Land of milk and honey
Of biblical proportions
An eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth
Golden calf
Scapegoat
Apple of my eye
A man after my own heart
How the mighty have fallen
Put words in one’s mouth
Be a man
Put your house in order
Nothing but skin and bones
By the skin of your teeth
The root of the matter
Broken heart
Bite the dust
Wits’ end
Spare the rod, spoil the child
Pride comes before a fall
There’s nothing new under the sun
Eat, drink, and be merry
Fly in the ointment
A little birdie told me
Four corners of the earth
Drop in a bucket
See eye to eye
No rest for the wicked
Rise and shine
Like a lamb led to the slaughter
Sour grapes
Writing is on the wall
Salt of the earth
Go the extra mile
The love of money is the root of all evil
Fight the good fight

I could have gone on and on, but I think you get the point. The Bible has much more of an impact on you, your life, culture, and the world on a daily basis than most people realize.

Now, imagine if you actually read the Bible and took the time to learn from it? What if you read a little bit every day? How much could you learn? How much wisdom could you gain from centuries of human experience? I know that it would be a lot. I take just a few minutes to read each day and I learn something every time I do.

Hannah, make the Bible part of your life, if not on a daily, on a weekly basis and take time to learn from it. One great place to start is with Proverbs. They are short, easy to read and understand, and will help you become a better, more rounded person. I can promise you, if you do, you will find that incorporating reading the Bible into your life will make a huge difference in your life and your success.

I love you,

Dad

Best Quote: Imagine if you actually read the Bible and took the time to learn from it? What if you read a little bit every day? How much could you learn? How much wisdom could you gain from centuries of human experience?

Misfit 3:

Whether you are religious our not, the Bible can teach you and help you gain wisdom.
Proverbs is a great place to state for every day practical wisdom from the Bible.
Reading the Bible every day will make a big difference in your life an success.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Tracy Lamourie. Tracy is a high-profile international award-winning publicist and the Founder and Managing Director of Lamourie Media Inc. Tracy has been Featured in Rolling Stone Magazine, The Hollywood Times, NBC TV, and other major media. She works across borders and across industries from major entertainment projects to small businesses.

There is a big difference between marketing and PR. And most people don’t understand it. So, I’ve asked Tracy to come on share the secrets of successful PR and how to maximize PR and marketing together.

https://www.lamouriemedia.com/

Tracey wrote her first PR release when she was 28. It was for activist work to help an innocent man get off death row. That kicked off her career and a 20-year journey resulting in the release of the man after his conviction was overturned. During this time, she saw that she could use her skills in gaining press and attention to help businesses grow. She helps to make sure business are telling their stories in the best way and in the right places to help them stay ahead of their competition. She strategically uses media on a global scale and has never purchased an ad.

What is the difference between marketing and PR?

Here’s an analogy: “If a young man how amazing he is, successful, and handsome he is – that is advertising. If he tells her how beautiful and intelligent she is - that is marketing. If someone else tells that man’s date how amazing, successful, and handsome he is – that is PR.”
Everyone can create a beautiful deck and say great things about themselves, but where things really matter is when someone goes and searches a business or person, do they find a lot of what others say about them, where they are quoted, etc.
Public relations fills the component to get you the earned media that you cannot buy.
PR builds the 3rd party credibility necessary for validation and success.

What are the elements of a successful PR strategy?

It elevates and celebrates the business or person.
It positions the business or person as an expert.
It provides 3rd party validation.
It uses media to bring a business or person to a bigger stage.

Most effective mediums for PR?

It varies based on the business or person.
Tracey starts with traditional media. Radio, TV, Magazines, Podcast, etc.
Tracey figures out the best places to showcase the client’s expertise.

Tips for gaining attention?

Use podcast matchmaker services for podcasts.
The #1 key is to understand the pitch. It is not your bio or ad for your company. It is your compelling story that grabs attention.
At the 16 min mark, Tracey gives a good example of a compelling pitch she uses to gain attention.
Think in terms of what will help them with a good story or angle.
Use HARO (Help a Reporter Out) to get your pitch out to reporters looking for stories.
A PR specialist will search and find all the best opportunities for their clients and pitch them.

What are the elements of a great pitch?

Step 1 is to find resources at places like HARO.
Whenever you reach out to an editor, remember they are not in the business of giving you free advertising – you are someone who give them great information for their audience.
At the 25 min, Tracey gives an example of what not to do when pitching reporter/editor.
You will need to tailor your pitch for each pitch you do so that is resonates with the reporter/editor you are sending it to.

How can an entrepreneur ensure they are maximizing their marketing and PR together?

Don’t be afraid to go big or wide.
Go beyond typical marketing/PR and go for rewards or speaking engagements.
Look for local awards and publications to help get some visibility to start. They are easier.
Anything you can bring your knowledge to and present yourself as a thought-leader/expert you should pitch to.

At the 32 min mark Tracey talks about the campaign to free a man from death row and lessons learned from their success.

When Tracey met her husband, he had a radio show that focused on local issues and needs.
They decided to get on the internet and start publishing links to what they were interested in (it was the early days of the internet).
While searching for stories and links that interested them, they learned about the case of a man named Jimmy Dennis who claimed he was wrongly accused and was innocent.
Jimmy had paid for a listing online that asked people to help find justice.
They reached out and asked to learn more and Jimmy responded with 28 pages of details and court documents that showed he did not commit the crime and there were issues with his trial.
They decided to take up the cause and share it on their site in 1998.
2 years later, a law firm saw what they had put out and got involved and over 18 years worked for free to help Jimmy get his freedom.

Anything else we should know about PR/Marketing?

Authenticity – make sure you are authentic and show as you are. Do it.
Don’t be afraid to get out there.

Best Quote: Don’t dream it. Be it. Don’t leave regrets. Give it a shot

Tracy's Misfit 3:

Learn to better manage your time between your business and personal life. We all have the same amount of time. It is critical make sure we use it in the best ways.
Don’t dream it. Be it. Don’t leave regrets. Give it a shot.
We didn’t get this far to only get this far. Don’t quit. Keep pushing to your next level.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Chris Heller. Chris is the former CEO of Keller Williams Realty International. Chris has been a driving force and innovator in the real estate industry for over 3 decades and personally has sold over 3400 homes and ranked top 10 in the USA year after year. He’s currently the Chief Real Estate Officer of OJO Labs, where he is shaping partner strategies, creating a cohesive structure and adoption between real estate professionals, consumers, and OJO.

But I didn’t ask Chris on to talk about how to sell homes, although we may get into some topics around that. No, I asked him to come on to discuss how he built his incredible businesses and to discuss his best-selling book, Dominant Thoughts – Things Grow Where Our Minds Go.

https://chrisheller.co/

When Chris was a sophomore in college, his dad called him up and told he was going to get his real estate license and work selling time shares in Lake Tahoe for the summer. He was super introverted. He was thrown into the deep end, but he quickly became very good at it. He then moved to San Diego where he bought his first real estate. He got burned out going to school part-time working 7 days a week selling time-shares. He then got into working in marketing. Eventually, he started a company with his roommate. Within 6 months, he had 40 employees. They were growing fast and moved into an office space. Within 6 months of that, they were out of business? His roommate/business partner had gotten into drugs and became an addict. It was dysfunctional and Chris had to get out. He did. It was 1989 and a real-estate broker whom he had met previously reached out to see if he wanted to sell homes. He took to gig and ended up being rookie of the year and never looked back. He went on to become one of Top 10 agents in the country out of 30,000+. He then went to Keller Williams and became a top agent there. He moved into leadership building out their international business. He didn’t know what he was doing but figured it out and made it successful. They then asked him to be CEO of the company, which he did. He left in 2017.

He met another self-made billionaire, the founder of Loan Depot and after meeting with him multiple times, he was asked to be the CEO of a new company funded by Loan Depot. He started on the board at OJO Labs and eventually moved over to be CEO.

You recently published Dominant Thoughts. Talk to us about our conditioning and the way we think determining our results…

90% of what it takes to be successful is how we think, how we approach things, and how we react to things.
The strength of your mind is critical to succeed in life.

Rules for Winning and Rules for Life – can you give us some of those?

Under promise and over deliver. When you do this, you set yourself and the client up for success.
Do the RIGHT thing. In all areas of life, even when it is painful, hard, or not what everyone else is doing.
Find the joy in everything you do.
Do not worry what others think. Do not let what others think take you off your path or keep you from doing the right thing.

Best advice on how to train the brain and develop thought patterns to handle adversity?

Chris used affirmations and visualizations to train his mind.
“I’m never down. I’m either up or getting up.”
Nothing forges steel like fire. Adversity and getting through prepares you and helps you to handle more of it.
We all have fear. The issue is whether we let it control us or not. Move through your fear very fast. Acknowledge it, feel, but then move through it to the other side.
The stronger the mindset, the better we are.
How do you develop a strong mindset? Minimize negative inputs and maximize positive inputs.
Don’t spend time with people who are negative or sap energy from you. Spend as much time as possible with those that challenge you and make you better and fill you with energy.
Strong body, strong mind. When we are physically in a good place, we are better equipped to deal with adversity.
Be proud to earn your stripes.

You talk about the one thing you can control to make the biggest difference in success, what is it?

The honest answer is that there is more than one thing, but it is most important to show up mentally and emotionally prepared to take on the things you need to take on.
Being present and not letting your mind be run by fears or insecurities.
You also must develop discipline. Discipline is a muscle to be built. Your ability to follow a schedule and be disciplined day in and out helps to achieve mastery.
The more discipline we are in area of life, the better that are of life.

Principles for making decisions. What should people consider?

2 pieces.
The first is why are we making the decision?
The second is what are we getting out of it?
You have to think through what the best outcome is for all involved.
It is also importantly how quickly we can learn to make good decisions.
Learning to make quick decisions and deal with potential consequences, is important. There typically never a “perfect decision.”

What are some of the principles you’ve used to build great businesses?

Lead by example.
Being authentic and true to yourself.
People appreciate the truth – whether is good or bad news.
Help your people and don’t be afraid to stretch them to help develop them. Empower them – even when they don’t think they are capable.

Where do you see the real estate market going over the next 2 years and what opportunities do you see that people should look for?

Markets always go through cycles.
The next cycle is a downward trend after a 10-year uptrend with the last 2 years being almost turbocharged.
In the next stage, there be more inventory, the velocity of sales will slow and there will be price pressure to go down. This creates opportunities for buyers and sellers. But where we have been in a seller’s market, things will shift.
Things are relative. If a seller is selling their house for less, then they are buying a new house for less, etc.
No one knows how much things will adjust, but we must be prepared for things to change and look for opportunities.

Best Quote: 90% of what it takes to be successful is how we think, how we approach things, and how we react to things...

Chris's Misfit 3:

Don't be emotionally attached to the outcome. Be committed.
Tell the truth. Simple, but important for all areas of life. There is never a good reason not to do it. Keep your integrity.
Always be working on your “2 E’s,” your effectiveness and efficiency. Where can you be more effective and more efficient.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Rob Cressy. You have probably heard of Rob, either from his top-rated podcast, Best Year Ever, or maybe have even seen him speak. Rob is an entrepreneur, prolific creator, and mastery coach. He is known as the happiest person earth. For over a decade, Rob has helped millions of people through his messages, businesses, podcasts, and content.

He is one of the best in helping people learn self-mastery and unlocking the next level of possibility for themselves in their lives and business.

If you listened to this show for a little while, you know how much I love to talk about the topics of mindset, reaching our true potential, and breaking the limits of our own human performance - so I’m excited to get into all of this in this episode.

www.RobCressy.com

Rob was deliberate in his path and designed where he wanted to go, but that is not how it started. When he graduated college, his dream was to work in ad agency in marketing, but found himself unemployed for 18 months, dead-broke living off credit cards. He finally got a job 5/3 Bank in a call center selling home equity loans making $10/hr. It was the complete opposite of where he wanted to go or be. For the next 10 years, he was in inside sales and was good at it, but not happy. He looked at his life and did not want the next 10 years to be at all like the last 10 – so he gave his dreams a shot. He went all in on himself as a creator and coach.

Two things happened. He became self-aware and he adopted a growth mindset. He realized that every day is an opportunity to make that day better than yesterday and that he was in control of his thoughts to his actions.

Let’s start with the foundation. You have 8 core values. Take us through them.

Core values are the epitome of who you are.
Without them, how can you know how to live your life?
Rob’s 8 core values:
- Radiate positivity
- Always learning
- Extreme ownership
- Yes, and…
- Live in action
- Be relentless
- Do what’s right
- Talk with candor

This tells people how Rob will show up. How did you narrow down these 8?

He decided what he wanted live into.
Each value is something he lives every day.
You have to brainstorm what is foundational to who you are? What is really important? This is how you find them.
Core Values are DNA – you shouldn’t have to think about them. They are who you are.

Explain what it means to create the right mindset and how people can become their best…

It is a “get to” not a “have to.”
We all get to control the story that we tell ourselves.
When we wake up in the morning, what do we tell ourselves? What are we thinking?
We live in a world that is designed to put other people’s thoughts and actions in your mind.
Email, News, TV, Netflix, Social Media, etc. are all someone else’s agenda. This is default.
But we must live by design, not by default.
Every day, you get to show up as the best version of yourself.
To do it you must have your core values and then you must decide the story you are going to tell yourself from the moment you wake up every day.

At the 11 min mark, Rob gives an analogy of booting up a computer as it relates to your mindset.

Every single day, you can boot up to your best version.
The story you tell yourself will create your actions and your actions will create your results.
It is the discipline to do this every day.

What do you personally do to boot yourself up each day?

You must be intentional.
1 action is better than taking 0 actions.
Change can happen one moment at a time.
The way you start your day sets the tone for how the rest will go.
Rob starts out by speaking “Today is going to be a great day.”
While Rob brushes his teeth (trigger), he thinks of 3 things he is grateful thankful for.
Next he reads for 30 mins first thing in the morning. For Rob this is game changing, and he has done it for over a decade.
The average CEO reads 60 books a year. Success leaves clues – follow them.

Self-talk how do we use it to persist and power through…

“I am that I never get tired.” Speak what you are into existence.
Control your thoughts and mind.
Rob has a document of what he is that speaks out loud every day.
Examples include “I am infinite love.” “I am fearless…” “I am a champion for everyone”
Self-limiting beliefs, fears, etc. will happen, but is our job through our routine and habits to prepare ourselves to overcome them through designing who we are.

Explain what it means to turn desires/judgement into gold…

So many have self-limiting beliefs, and it is inevitable that there will be obstacles.
We must design ourselves to be a person that overcomes adversity.
Turn your fears, judgement, or obstacles into gold through using them as an opportunity to become better.
Doing this becomes part of your story.
It comes from being self-ware to recognize when these things are happening and change our self-talk to be what we are and who we are to overcome the obstacle, fear, judgment, etc.

At the 27 min mark, Rob talks about doing what you love and why it is a secret ingredient.

We have the ability to create in our lives, but very few tap into this power.
Remember, “No means yes.”
When your mind is telling you no and you meet resistance internally, that is the time to push through and say yes.

What does it mean to be a prolific creator?

Every single day, the second thing Rob states is “I am constant creation of who I am.”
It is internal and external.
You create who you want to be on the inside and then have the vision to create what you are and what you want externally.

Why are habits and routines so important and what are some of the most important one’s people should have to level up?

If you are going to design your life and success, you must be consistent.
Showing up as your best self every day requires a set of routines done day in and day out.
4 must have routines:
- Morning routine: Be in control of how you start your day.
- Evening routine: Tomorrow’s success starts today. Write down your wins for the day and visualize your success. Planning your day ahead is also a key element.
- Reading routine: 30 mins a day
- Shower routine: Things you do every day that can be a trigger to design growth. A shower is one of those. Brushing your teeth, etc. What can you do during these everyday routines to help yourself?

Bachelor party sponsored by Nascar?

Rob got married when he was in his early 30’s and wanted to be creative for his bachelor party.
At the time, he was in the sports business and had a contact a Nascar.
He thought it would be great to do his bachelor party with Nascar and he pitched it as idea to show how fun and accessible Nascar is to the average sports fan. They loved it. Rob and 15 guys went to the Coca Cola 600 with VIP treatment.
He documented everything as the day went and it was a great experience for him and Nascar.

Best Quote: We all get to control the story that we tell ourselves. You must decide the story you are going to tell yourself from the moment you wake up every day.

Rob's Misfit 3:

What is the first thought you have that you design every day? The first thing you say every day helps determine your day.
What is something new you are adding to your life? Newness is where life comes from.
Ask yourself, what is your default relationship to time story? Most people think about time and come from a place of “lack of time.” Create a new story of relationship to time.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Yuri Elkaim. Yuri built Healthpreneur to over $200 million from scratch. No following, no pre-existing client base. Totally from scratch. Over the last 6 years, Yuri and his team have helped more than 1,200 health professionals get more clients and scale their coaching businesses online with a very simple business model that eliminates overwhelm and produces 5-7 years of business growth in just 12 months. And the best part is that the process can be applied to most businesses.

If that is not enough, Yuri is a former pro-athlete, had been featured everywhere from Entrepreneur to Forbes and CNBC, and is New York Time best-selling author multiple times over. He’s even been highlighted on Dr. Oz. Needless to say, Yuri has a wealth of entrepreneur experience and lessons that he can teach you and I’m excited for him to do so.

www.YuriElkaim.com

Yuri grew up as a competitive athlete. He was very fit, but he wasn’t healthy. In fact, he lost all his hair to an autoimmune disease at 17 years old. Within about 6 weeks, he lost all the hair on his body. This prompted him to get more immersed into studying health and start to study nutrition. He ended up playing professional soccer for a few years, but as he learned more about nutrition, he put it into practice changed his health – even growing back his hair.

One of the things he realized going through nutrition school was that there so much he just didn’t know. And he knows that if he didn’t know these things, so many others didn’t either, so it lit a fire under him to share the message of clean eating with as many people as possible.

He did find that working one on one with clients was burning him out, so in 2005, he launched his first products online. As he says, he didn’t know what he was doing. No one found his stuff and basically lived at the poverty level for 3 years. In 2010, he hired his first coach, and everything changed. He built his first business and then sold it. Along the way, he had a lot of people come to him and ask what he they were doing to be so successful in his companies and it was realizing that there was a gap that needed filled for people that spawned Healthpreneur.

What was the difference in getting a coach that put you on the trajectory to success?

We don’t know what we don’t know.
If you haven’t done what you want to do – how do you expect to get there?
To be a great goalkeeper in soccer – Yuri had a number of coaches that he worked with every day. He realized he needed to do this in business.
Getting a business coach helped give him direction and focus and opened his eyes to many things he did not understand about business systems, client acquisition, etc.
Yuri was somewhat delusional thinking he knew everything to make a business succeed without any experience and a lot of entrepreneurs fall into that trap.

Simple business model that eliminates overwhelm and created a successful business in 12 months – what is the model?

Yuri has done just about every business model online that you can imagine.
In creating Healthpreneur, he wanted to simplify and focus on the best model that works most consistently.
Webinars proved to be the best model.
Evergreen webinar that you record once, and it runs over and over online as the main education and conversion tool.
Organic growth is very hard. Yuri and his team focus on paid traffic on Facebook. They teach their clients Facebook ads and how to do them masterfully.
They then have clients fill out an application for a phone call meeting.
4 Steps: Facebook ad to webinar to application to phone meeting.
The phone call is “coach to close.” It is about assessing fit and making sure you can help the client. If there is a fit, then you discuss next steps and move forward.
This model is more focused on higher ticket items.

Does this model scale down to lower ticket items?

Yes, it can. You would just take out the application to phone call. It changes to giving the client the offer after the webinar.
The model does work best with high ticket coaching or programs.
With lower ticket items, you have to know your items very well because of the costs to drive traffic.

Is there a formula or structure that works best for getting webinars to convert?

Think of a webinar as a documentary.
The purpose of a webinar is the share your point of view or philosophy to introduce a new way of thinking around a topic.
It is either going to challenge beliefs or confirm suspicions.
The additional purpose of the webinar is not to give the “how to” but to give clarity to the prospect.
It must be centered around the perfect client. You have to know them better than they know themselves.
Everything must be backed up with logic and proof. Think of yourself like a lawyer making a case in court with evidence.

What holds back or constrains businesses the most?

They don’t understand what their #1 constraint is.
It is like a kink in a hose. No matter what you do, until that kink is unwound, no water is coming out of the hose.
So, what is the #1 constraint that opens the floodgates for your business?
This is an area where a coach can help in a big way.

At the 34-minute mark, Yuri talks about where he sees constraints the most.

Two important, but overlooked decisions that can make or break a business?

Who are you serving? Who is your target market?
Delivery of product/business model.
If you serve a single target market with focus, it is easy to deliver.
If you serve a bunch of markets, then it becomes a lot harder.

Four unpopular mindsets entrepreneurs need to succeed.

Delusional optimism. You have to believe you can come back and succeed.
Balance of setting intentions for things to be easy but expecting them to be hard.
Greatness has help. You will need to collaborate with others and build a team to succeed.
Be willing to pay to play.

What is important for entrepreneurs to perform at their best in health?

The biggest bottleneck for any business is the entrepreneur and their health.
Your health directly impacts your physical capacity. The energy, stamina, and focus needed to succeed are directly tied to your health.
If we take care of ourselves, we can take care of others and have a better business.

Best Quote: Greatness has help. You will need to collaborate with others and build a team to succeed.

Yuri's Misfit 3:

Take 100% responsibility for everything that happens to you and for you in your life.
Never compromise your health for success.
Never do anything that will tarnish your reputation. Make decisions with a long-term perspective.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

Hannah,

I want to share some lessons from Nature. As I write this, we are traveling through Alaska, and I am sitting in the café of the Grande Denali Hotel looking out over the amazing expanse of land and snow-covered mountains. It’s a beautiful sunny day with a chill in the air. The temp is about 30 degrees, but the crisp mountain air feels wonderful. It truly a breathtaking sight that I hope you remember vividly for the rest of your life.

As I sit here, I cannot help but think of the great lessons that nature teaches us. We have been in the state for about a week after my Ironman even in Juneau and have been traveling up north with another few days of excursions and taking in the beautiful country of Alaska. Along the way I have been taking note of things and wanted to share some of them with you.

The first lesson is that nature, or really God, arranges things to operate in perfect harmony so that all life can function. It is amazing to see the salmon run to their eventual death, climbing rivers, waterfalls, etc. But, out of their death comes life in the new eggs that they lay. And even more important is how critical it is for them to go through this cycle for the eco-system to survive. While they live fairly short lives and ultimately die after spawning, they provide an indispensable food source for much of the wildlife that keeps the whole system going. Without them, many animals would die off. If you stop and think about it, everything in the universe has to work in perfect order for you to be sitting here right now. One little change in the course of history and you may not even exist. It truly is a spectacular, amazing, awe-inspiring orchestration that makes everything work at every level from the cells in our bodies to sun heating our planet and keeping us alive. Cherish every moment you have in this life.

The second lesson is the nature does not discriminate. As I hit the 80th mile on my 112-mile bike in the Ironman, the rain had intensified to a miserable driving downpour (it rained the whole race, but this stretch was particularly bad), I won’t lie, I cursed it a few times. But, in that moment, it occurred to me that all of us competing had to go through the same conditions and even more so, every living thing in nature has to live through those conditions every day and fight for survival. Nature doesn’t treat any creature different from another – everyone is on the same boat. And some creatures are food for others, like the salmon making the eco-system go, and still others are like a beetle that we were told about actually kill off trees that then die and allow for the forest growth to continue and new trees to grow. As I noted earlier, everything works in a beautiful harmony. But, nature treats everyone and everything the same and that is a great lesson for life. You should do the same – treat everyone with the same love and respect and not discriminate against others for any reason.

The third lesson is the nature is an entrepreneur and fosters entrepreneurship. I mentioned at the start of this lesson that I am sitting in café of the Grande Denali lodge that offers a breathtaking 360-degree view of the entire range. The hotel sits on the top of a plateau that is literally just big enough to fit the hotel. The edge of the hotel is on the edge of the cliff. Nature created the conditions to make this happen. It created the incredible mountain range and countryside that fills this area which drew humans to it for its beauty and everything the land offers. And at some point, someone took a look at the plateau the Grande now sits on from a thousand or so feet below and said, “That would be a great place to put a hotel for the best views in this area.” They then proceeded to make it a reality, cutting the curving winding road up the mountain, figuring out how to make the land work to accommodate a large lodge and hotel, and then everything needed to create the business and make it go. But it all started with nature creating the pull for people to explore and come here. Nature may be the ultimate entrepreneur for the reasons I have already stated, but also for the abundance of opportunity it creates. And the big lesson from nature is that there is opportunity all around you all the time. Once you learn to see it, it is abundant.

Hannah, nature offers so many lessons, I could go on for hours, but if you can take the time to understand the few that I’ve shared and keep them forefront in your life – they will help you live well. If you cherish every day, respect the world around you, and see the abundance of opportunity that exists for you; you will enjoy a great life and help others to do the same. And if you ever need a reminder, just look at a few pictures of your trip through Alaska!

I love you,

Dad

Best Quote: If you cherish every day, respect the world around you, and see the abundance of opportunity that exists for you; you will enjoy a great life and help others to do the same

Misfit 3:

Nature, or really God, arranges things to operate in perfect harmony so that all life can function.

Nature does not discriminate. You should follow it's example. Treat everyone with the same love and respect and not discriminate against others for any reason.

Nature is the ultimate entrepreneur and creates an abundance of opportunities all around us.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ryan Goral. Ryan is the Founder of G-Spire Group, a company focused on helping entrepreneurs, executives and small business owners acquire companies. Ryan has over 15 years of experience focused on working with small businesses. In addition to providing creative financing solutions, Ryan’s expertise is centered in adding value to entrepreneurs and executives with all aspects of executing their organization’s growth and mergers and acquisitions strategies. Ryan has an MBA in Entrepreneurship and is credentialed with just about all the top M&A organizations out there.

I asked him to come on the show because of his unique expertise in helping companies BUY other businesses. Many times, we talk about selling your business, but some of the best opportunities to grow your business or further its success come in the form of acquiring and it requires a different skillset and understanding to do it right – and that’s where Ryan can really help.

www.GspireGroup.com

Ryan grew up in Colorado and played division 1 basketball at University of Denver. When he graduated, all he knew is he liked business and went through a few roles. He gravitated toward sales. He had a real interest in the buying and selling of businesses after seeing how things went when his dad sold his business. He wanted to find a way to help companies grow and build sustainable businesses to sell. He went into investment banking lending into mergers and acquisitions to get a good base. He got his MBA and then launched his first business, but it failed. He went back into M&A, and it became very clear that there was huge gap in smaller to lower middle cap businesses that have great operators needing the expertise of what the large businesses could afford. Ryan decided he would become a fractional M&A advisory to small and mid-sized businesses.

Why should business owners consider buying other businesses to help them scale and grow?

It’s not right for every company.
There is a process to understand when buying is a fit.
For companies that would benefit from an acquisition, there are a couple things in play:
- Some companies need more or specific types of labor.
- Some may want to open a new market and buy there.
- Some may want to add on a synergistic product.
- The other thing is the lifestyle decision. For operators that have a business that can produce enough cashflow, they can hire an operator to run the business and create a better lifestyle.

What does a good candidate to buy look like?

It does depend on the buyer.
The buyer must be ready and have their organization ready to manage and successfully complete and acquisition.
At the 13 min mark, Ryan gives some examples of readiness and what makes a company attractive to buyers.
Typically, clients are looking to enhance cashflow, add strategic management, grow their customer base, growth potential that is untapped, and products that compliment theirs.

At the 15 min mark, we talk about the up-front work prior to doing an acquisition.

What should a business do to make sure they are in the best position to succeed in completing and after an acquisition?

The things people miss the most is preparing operations of the business to integrate and take on the additional demand.
You need to make sure all your systems and processes are tested and in good working orders.
Buyers overestimate the capacity that their team has and need to mindful of what their current teams can actually take on.
It is very important to assess your team/human resource capacity as you strategize and plan for an acquisition.

Talk to us about what is most important in setting up a deal and the structure for an acquisition…

Structure may be more important than price.
There are ways to structure a deal that addresses certain risks in a transaction.
Ryan gives examples of scenarios and different structures.
It is more about risk management than max leverage.

What are some of the risks? Where are the mistakes made?

Human resource capacity assumptions vs. reality.
Leaving room for error/cushion in bringing more equity vs. leverage (debt).
Buyers need to create a scenario where they have cash on hand just in case things don’t go as planned.
Make sure you understand the why and that it is good one – not just because you want to buy a business. Buyers must check their ego.
If your why isn’t aligned with the acquisition, then do not do it.
Change is hard for both sides, so you have to be prepared for change management.

Where do deals breakdown?

If things are going right, deals breakdown before they become a deal.
One in LOI, deals will breakdown toward the end because of diligence or not finding common ground on the purchase agreement.
Things that are not expected by either side blow up deals.
Not having your team or employees in a good place can derail a deal if a key employee threatens to leave, etc.

At the 31 min mark, Ryan shares some other insights and tips. Entrepreneurs should strive to become an owner vs. an operator.

Big lessons from your entrepreneur journey?

Not having a focused, crystal-clear vision is something that derails entrepreneurs.
There is a time and place to buy and sell a business. Timing is key.

Any big lessons from playing sports at a high level that you’ve used in your entrepreneur journey?

Ryan wasn’t the most gifted athlete but had to work really hard.
He expects it to be hard and is prepared for it.
Business and sports parallel each other. In sports, you need to execute role well to help the team be successful. Business is the same.
Great organizations become great when everyone is working together and executing their role at the highest level.
Finding ways to work together and communicate are critical as well.

Best Quote: Entrepreneurs should strive to become an owner vs. an operator.

Ryan's Misfit 3:

Growth and adapting are a necessary part of life.
Growth requires courage. Pursuing excellence takes time and focus. It doesn’t come easy.
Don’t take yourself too seriously. Enjoy the journey.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Maat Petrova. Maat has an incredible story. She went from having nothing and being on welfare to creating a multi-million-dollar business in just a few years. The business is called FemMagic and is a luxury feminine hygiene company. As she has grown the company, she has expanded to teaching and empowering women to accomplish their true potential.

Now, I am not someone who can sit back and discuss feminine hygiene products. That’s definitely not my area, but I can spot a unique entrepreneur that’s harnessed their misfit side and made the most of it. And that’s why I’ve asked Maat to come on today – to tell her story and share the lessons she learned going from essentially poverty to millions in a short few years.

www.Femmagic.com

Maat started off in New York as a single mom with 3 daughters who could barely pay her rent. She moved to Georgia after completing her graduate degree. What she thought would work in Georgia as services for holistic health, did not. So, she pivoted and went online in 2015. She started with online course she had worked on I grad school for self-care. A year later, she launched her first feminine hygiene product. In the span of just a few years, she went from making nothing to millions selling and making products from her kitchen table.

What was the catalyst that turned things for you and put you on the path to success?

It was the moment when she moved to Atlanta thinking she would have support and didn’t have any.
She had to put things on credit card to make things works.
She had to make it work. She went back to NYC and hammered out a marketing campaign for her first program with the help of a few friends.
She was charging $500/mo and just wanted 5 people.
10 people ended up signing up, so in one month she went from not being able to pay her rent to being able to pay rent and take care of her kids.

Talk to us about mindset. How did you learn to think differently and not give up?

It started with her first acknowledging her negative mindset, her darkness and traits that were counter to her desire.
Most people find it hard to accept or look at their dark mindset and negative character traits. Their counter-productive mindset.
When Maat was in grad school and working 2 jobs, she chose to use the last bit of her time to take a self-improvement course.
The first question she was asked was “Are you happy?” She broke down in tears. She was not happy. She had not had a moment to stop and think in her life with everything she was doing and responsible for.
Maat was angry. As the weeks went on, she learned about being proactive instead of reactive. How to harness her mind to stop emotional reactions.

At the 13 min mark, she shares a story of how this came to use one day when she was running late with her kids, etc.

At the 14 min mark, we have a discussion on changing mindset.

You went through a big change in your teens that really changed you. Can you tell us about it?

She grew up in an abusive household.
This continued into her teen years.
She created a identity for herself in her teens that was negative.
She was 235 lbs., overweight, dressed baggy name-brand clothes which really couldn’t afford, and was in the party scene.
She had a step father who started having her watch positive videos and messages.
It didn’t have an immediate effect as she would watch a video and then go run the streets drinking and doing drugs with friends.
She had no self-worth. The videos and audios seeped into her mind to a point where she started seeking those types of things our on her own.
This led her to changing her life in high school to eating healthy, exercising, dressing who she was and being her true self.
This helped to prepare her for the success she had years later.

You’ve built your brand organically to multi-millions in just a few years. How did you do it?

The way she started her business stemmed from her change in high school.
The first product was an all-natural PH balancer for feminine hygiene to help women get in balance. She had the problem when she was pregnant with her first child and the same solution worked for her. So, she thought others could benefit.
She shared it online without even having a website. Women started asking if they could buy it – so she started taking orders manually through PayPal. She had created a presence online with her showing herself being healthy and focusing on her well-being and that initial following was who began buying from her.
She started the business at home. They still are to this day and are hand-made. She does use a fulfillment center where she sends the products for distribution.
She has multiple employees, and her children are involved.

Talk about how you market and drive traffic….

Maat started off with Facebook.
She then created a business page. She wasn’t sure it would work.
She grew the business page to over 40k in just a few months.
She then moved to Instagram, and this became the hub for her business, both for her personal and the brand.
She kept the business page private and promoted it on her personal page. People had to ask her to be a follower.
She was truly authentic and herself online.

Best tips to sell online?

Testimonials and reviews are critical to success online.
Having honest 3rd party proof that your offerings are good is a huge different maker.
The honest opinion and feedback also helps you to improve your offerings.
As far as social media, make sure pics are clear and crisp. Imagery is cheap, do it well.
Make sure to have your brand colors as part of your imagery. Color in general is good.

Best Quote: Most people find it hard to accept or look at their dark mindset and negative character traits. Their counter-productive mindset.

Maat's Misfit 3:

Testimonials are key to success and validation of your business making you and your products more trustworthy. Make sure you have a strategy to collect them.
Have a great product that meets a real need that is consistently needed. Find something that people need no matter what.
Create an easy streamline process for customers. Give them an easy straightforward way to purchase from you.
Bonus: Build an audience with the 80/20 rule. Maat gave a free service for an hour for 5 months and then charged for it. She had a waiting client base and instantly had a large business.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Mike Smerklo. Mike is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Next Coast Ventures, a unique venture capital firm that focuses on emerging companies heling them in the critical stage to hyper growth. After working in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, Mike was then recruited by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz to one of their new startups. In 2003, Mike purchased ServiceSource, a 30-person tech services startup and over the next 12 years grew it to a 3000 person publicly traded company with over $300 million in revenue and a market value of $1 billion.

After exiting the company, he founded Next Coast, investing in over 40 startups to date and recently wrote the best-seller, Mr. Monkey and Me.

Needless to say, Mike has a wealth of experience as an owner/operator and investor, and I am excited for him to share it with you.

www.MikeSmerklo.com

Mike grew in a rough part of Toledo, Ohio. He was raised by a single mom and had a simple goal which was to just get out. His mom focused him on education as no one had to gone to college in the family. He listened and ended up going to Miami of Ohio. After college, he went to E&Y as an auditor and found quickly he hated it. He then went to Lehman Brothers in investment banking. It sucked the life out of him, but he learned a lot before going to business school and then eventually out to Silicon Valley. He worked for Andreessen Horowitz, bought and ran ServiceSource until he sold it and the “retired” to Austin, Texas. Retirement didn’t last long before he started Next Coast.

What makes a great business?

The short answer is “Do you do something for your customer that is a differentiating approach?”
Do you bring a different and unique experience to the customer that they are willing to pay for once or multiple times?
We overcomplicate things in our lives, especially business.

You wrote Mr. Monkey and Me as a story of your journey with ServiceSource and lessons learned. Take us through the different lessons you learned.

The goal was to write a book that got to the mental aspect of entrepreneurship.
He not only drew on his experience, but also interviewed top entrepreneurs.
The “monkey” is the voice in entrepreneur’s heads that holds them back,
The core of the book is the SHAPE formula.
- Self-Awareness
- Help
- Authenticity
- Persistence
- Expectations

Take us through each element of the shape formula and define them.

Self-Awareness: The ability to understand strengths and weaknesses and what the entrepreneur should focus energy on to improve.
Help: Seeking mentors and coaching to help improve, but also finding those that are better in areas to help in the business.
Authenticity: Finding your inner voice. How do you show up as the leader that you want to be and is natural?
Persistence: Playing the long game and having the will to continue.
Expectations: Thinking about the beginning, middle, and end of the journey and the different expectations needed at each stage.

At the 14 min mark, we talk more about SHAPE and persistence more in depth.

Lessons from working with Andreessen Horowitz that have really helped in your success?

Each of them taught him different things. It was also early in their days in 1999.
It felt a little like chaos.
From Mark, Mike learned the power of thinking big and not taking half-measures.
Ben taught Mike a lot about management.
The best “how to be a manager book” is Management by Objectives by Andy Grove.
Ben also shared that the first 25 employees hired in a company is all that matters. If you get those right, the culture, ethos, etc. will be set by those first 25.

40+ investments at Next Coast. Talk to us about your model and what you look for when investing a company.

Market size is a factor.
Does the solution differentiate and are customers willing to pay for it? Will they see real value?
What do the economics look like and do they make sense?
But 90% of it comes down to the entrepreneur.
They use a term called “glass-eater.” Which is asking “Is the entrepreneur willing to do anything and everything, legally and ethically, to make the business a success building a real business – and do they know what it takes to do it?”
Next Coast looks at over 1000 companies a year to find just a few.
Things that get overlooked are that entrepreneurs have to be able to sell and have to be good at telling the story.
“Great entrepreneurs can’t imagine the world without their solution.”
At the same time, entrepreneurs have to be willing to take feedback and advice.
Entrepreneurs also overlook substitutes and inertia as competition.Things that are not direct competitors but are taking customers attention.

What are market trends and things that are upcoming that entrepreneurs should be focused on?

Each year, Next Coast does a lot of work to understand where the world is going.
Future of work is still a strong theme. Work continues to be redefined.
There is a still a lot of opportunity in the changing game of retail.
Software is another good place.
Healthcare hacking is big. Consumers taking more control over their health.
Education is another place that is at the start of a big shift.

Where do you see the future of work and the changes that will happen?

Figuring out what a physical presence looks like.
Great talent is everywhere and not having to have a complete physical presence makes it easier to get it.
Challenges are managing in a hybrid work environment.
Creating a cohesive culture in this new environment.
Things are being reshaped.

Another big trend is monetizing data.

What is software 3.0 and how it is changing growth models…

It is still very early for software.
It has gotten much easier to write software.
Software 3.0 is no code, APIs, businesses that have software becoming a much bigger part of it.
Enterprise is more saturated but using software in all aspects of life is just beginning.
Next Coast invested in Everlywell which is healthcare hacking software which allows you to take a test a home on over 30 different things and then get results through software online.

What do you think is most important for entrepreneurs to focus on in their business?

The customer – they are everything.
The entrepreneur must focus on their health – mental and physical.

Best advice for entrepreneurs just starting out?

Self-awareness is the cornerstone. Understand what you are good and not good at.
It is better to play to your strengths than correct your weaknesses.

Best Quote: Great entrepreneurs can’t imagine the world without their solution.

Mike's Misfit 3:

Be nice. The world needs it now more than ever.
Comparison is the thief of joy. Envy wastes emotion and drains you.
It is easy to live a hard life. It is hard to live an easy life.

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After exiting the company, he founded Next Coast, investing in over 40 startups to date and recently wrote the best-seller, Mr. Monkey and Me.

Needless to say, Mike has a wealth of experience as an owner/operator and investor, and I am excited for him to share it with you.

www.MikeSmerklo.com

What makes a great business?

The short answer is “Do you do something for your customer that is a differentiating approach?”
Do you bring a different and unique experience to the customer that they are willing to pay for once or multiple times?
We overcomplicate things in our lives, especially business.

You wrote Mr. Monkey and Me as a story of your journey with ServiceSource and lessons learned. Take us through the different lessons you learned.

The goal was to write a book that got to the mental aspect of entrepreneurship.
He not only drew on his experience, but also interviewed top entrepreneurs.
The “monkey” is the voice in entrepreneur’s heads that holds them back,
The core of the book is the SHAPE formula.
- Self-Awareness
- Help
- Authenticity
- Persistence
- Expectations

Take us through each element of the shape formula and define them.

Self-Awareness: The ability to understand strengths and weaknesses and what the entrepreneur should focus energy on to improve.
Help: Seeking mentors and coaching to help improve, but also finding those that are better in areas to help in the business.
Authenticity: Finding your inner voice. How do you show up as the leader that you want to be and is natural?
Persistence: Playing the long game and having the will to continue.
Expectations: Thinking about the beginning, middle, and end of the journey and the different expectations needed at each stage.

At the 14 min mark, we talk more about SHAPE and persistence more in depth.

Lessons from working with Andreessen Horowitz that have really helped in your success?

Each of them taught him different things. It was also early in their days in 1999.
It felt a little like chaos.
From Mark, Mike learned the power of thinking big and not taking half-measures.
Ben taught Mike a lot about management.
The best “how to be a manager book” is Management by Objectives by Andy Grove.
Ben also shared that the first 25 employees hired in a company is all that matters. If you get those right, the culture, ethos, etc. will be set by those first 25.

40+ investments at Next Coast. Talk to us about your model and what you look for when investing a company.

Market size is a factor.
Does the solution differentiate and are customers willing to pay for it? Will they see real value?
What do the economics look like and do they make sense?
But 90% of it comes down to the entrepreneur.
They use a term called “glass-eater.” Which is asking “Is the entrepreneur willing to do anything and everything, legally and ethically, to make the business a success building a real business – and do they know what it takes to do it?”
Next Coast looks at over 1000 companies a year to find just a few.
Things that get overlooked are that entrepreneurs have to be able to sell and have to be good at telling the story.
“Great entrepreneurs can’t imagine the world without their solution.”
At the same time, entrepreneurs have to be willing to take feedback and advice.
Entrepreneurs also overlook substitutes and inertia as competition.Things that are not direct competitors but are taking customers attention.

What are market trends and things that are upcoming that entrepreneurs should be focused on?

Each year, Next Coast does a lot of work to understand where the world is going.
Future of work is still a strong theme. Work continues to be redefined.
There is a still a lot of opportunity in the changing game of retail.
Software is another good place.
Healthcare hacking is big. Consumers taking more control over their health.
Education is another place that is at the start of a big shift.

Where do you see the future of work and the changes that will happen?

Figuring out what a physical presence looks like.
Great talent is everywhere and not having to have a complete physical presence makes it easier to get it.
Challenges are managing in a hybrid work environment.
Creating a cohesive culture in this new environment.
Things are being reshaped.

Another big trend is monetizing data.

What is software 3.0 and how it is changing growth models…

It is still very early for software.
It has gotten much easier to write software.
Software 3.0 is no code, APIs, businesses that have software becoming a much bigger part of it.
Enterprise is more saturated but using software in all aspects of life is just beginning.
Next Coast invested in Everlywell which is healthcare hacking software which allows you to take a test a home on over 30 different things and then get results through software online.

What do you think is most important for entrepreneurs to focus on in their business?

The customer – they are everything.
The entrepreneur must focus on their health – mental and physical.

Best advice for entrepreneurs just starting out?

Self-awareness is the cornerstone. Understand what you are good and not good at.
It is better to play to your strengths than correct your weaknesses.

Best Quote: Great entrepreneurs can’t imagine the world without their solution.

Mike's Misfit 3:

Be nice. The world needs it now more than ever.
Comparison is the thief of joy. Envy wastes emotion and drains you.
It is easy to live a hard life. It is hard to live an easy life.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is David Garofalo. David has 30 years of experience in the creation and growth of over 15 multi-billion-dollar sustainable mining businesses across multiple continents and has led the largest merger in gold mining history valued at $32 billion dollars. That’s a heck of a track record. If that is not enough, David is still at it. He now serves as CEO and Chairman of Gold Royalty Corp, a precious metals-focused royalty and streaming company. The Company acquires royalties, streams and similar interests at varying stages of the mine life cycle to build a balanced portfolio offering near, medium and longer-term attractive returns for our investors.

David has won just about every award in the mining industry possible as well as awards such as Canada’s CFO of the year. While we have had guests come on to discuss the gold and precious metals markets before, the thing that interested me most about David was the way he put his new company together and the wealth of experience he has gained in building not one, but over 15 billion-dollar companies, and I can’t wait for him to share all he’s learned on his journey!

www.GoldRoyalty.com

Ticker Symbol: GROY

David started out as a CPA in the 80’s with Deloitte and cut his teeth there. He was in the mining sector and learned the business from the ground up. Over the course of his career, he has been involved in the construction of 15 mines across the world with the majority of his time in the C-Suite.

What is your secret for continued success?

It’s going back to the same people over and over again.
David has assembled a great team that he brings with him into each endeavor.
David brings the strategic vision, and they help execute.
It is about people at the end of the day.

Is there a formula or set of principles that you’ve used consistently to build your companies?

For mining, it starts with geology. You must have a sound geological model, sound exploration principles and sound mine development principles are foundational to success.
It comes down to having the right foundations and principles.

At the 8 min mark, David talks more about the mining business and minimizing risk and lessons on how to manage it.

Thoughts on dealing with the stress and risk of running a business. How do you handle that?

Having a great team makes a big difference.
Recognize you are not a master of everything and that you have to delegate or find others to fill the gap.
It cannot be all on your shoulders.

Talk to us about your latest company.

It is different than what he’s done in traditional mining in that it helps to provide capital for explorers and developers.
In return, they get a royalty on the mines and projects.
The get a percentage of revenue off the top.
Everything David has done to this point has prepared him to build the company.
The company is publicly traded under the ticker GROY.

State of the state in the mining industry? What are some of the keys to successfully investing in it?

It’s never been a better time for gold as an asset class because of being in the inflationary cycle we are in now. The highest since the 70’s.
There are a lot of parallels.
Inflation adjusted; gold could go to $3000/oz if things play out like the 70’s.

At the 24 min mark, David and I have a great conversation on rates and the FED and the differences between now and the past. Especially with the debt the US has now compared the past. It’s great to just listen.

Thoughts on how businesses can thrive in an environment of prolonged inflation and higher costs?

If you are in an industry that has pricing power, you can take advantage.
In David’s case, cost inflation plays into the royalty business and avoids inflation risk.

One thing to note is that in a bull market for precious metals, silver performs better than gold. So, it has potential for a lot of upside.

Prediction for when precious metals go parabolic?

Later in 2022.

When capital gets reallocated, it doesn’t go in a steady methodical way.
There is typically a catalyst and then a stampede. It happens quickly.
All the ingredients are there.

Best advice on M&A and selling/acquiring business?

David tells the story of his $32 Billion merger with Newmont.

Recognizing the timing is very important.
If there are great synergies and economies of scale, then it makes sense to bring companies together.
You have to do a lot of work on making sure the fit is there and that the cultures can align when brought together.
You have to make sacrifices in the best interest of the company and shareholders. In David’s case, he had to give up his job.
Most deals don’t have because of social issues – ego, who get’s what job, etc.

You talked about you built your core team. How have you created a culture for the team to want to come together again and again?

We’ve made it fun and enjoyable.
Surround yourself with people you like and respect.
Make sure they have the right skillset and values that align with the team.
If you do it right, it is like catching lightening in a bottle.

Any specific traits you feel are most important to succeed in today’s world?

You must have resilience.
You must have respect for those around you and show it.
Treating people extremely well is very important.

Any other important leadership lessons people should know?

Don’t give up.
It’s ok to be a bit stubborn in realizing your vision.

Best advice for an entrepreneur just starting out?

Choose your friends well.
Surround yourself with people that have integrity, the right attitude, and right skillsets needed to help you build your business.

Best Quote: Surround yourself with people that have integrity, the right attitude, and right skillsets needed to help you build your business.

David's Misfit 3:

Show up.
Be loyal.
Stay healthy.

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Hello Misfit Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Lessons for Hannah!"

Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This Week's Lesson for Hannah

Hannah,

Sometimes I come across things that are just too good not to share. As you know I spend a lot of time on these lessons thinking them through to give you the best advice I can. Every now and then I find a resource where it’s been done for me. I recently saw a post on Twitter from handle named LegacyBuilder_. The post was titled, “Every father should teach his daughter these 20 lessons.”

After reading the title, I could not help but check it out. As I read through them, I felt they were spot on, so I want to share them with you.

Here they are.

The world will try to steal your joy. The world doesn’t like when a person is walking around with joy and happiness. Be ready for trial, drama, and full attacks in your way of life. Meet them with grace and an attitude that you will persevere. You create your own joy.
Your children will learn a lot from you, act accordingly. They learn how to love from you and pick up the worst parts of you as well. Don’t be fake and try to act like a perfect person. Instead, be real with your kids and show them what life is like when you laugh and love.
People can change. People will show you their best and worst sides as you grow up. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the world is all good or all bad. Have the wisdom to know that no matter what people are going through there is always the power for them to change.
Your mother loves you. You will argue. You will laugh. You will cry. Remember that no matter how mad she makes you, she loves you. Your mom sees endless possibilities when looking at you and wants you to succeed.
If it feels wrong, it is. Nothing should be forced in this life. If you ever find yourself in a situation that feels off, remove yourself. Trust your gut always and stand up for what you believe in.
Don’t worry about the future. Take it from your dad. Worrying about tomorrow only steals joy from the day. All the deadlines, boys, and arguments will work themselves out. Focus on being in the moment and the future will take care of itself.
Your last name matters. Our last name is special because it comes with a lot of history. Not all of it is glamorous, but you are living proof that generational curses can be broken. Take pride in where you come from and keep working to make our last name grow in legacy.
The world is bigger than your hometown. You will think that your hometown is the entire world until the day you leave those city limits. Travel, experience, and learn about different cultures around the world. Open your eyes to all that life has to offer. It’s a big world.
You don’t have to go to college. Maybe you will, maybe you won’t. A college degree doesn’t promise you anything (except maybe debt). The real way to win is by being a lifelong learner and pursuing your dreams with drive and determination. Never stop learning.
Start investing at 20. Learn what compound interest is and put 25% of your earnings into a mutual fund monthly and never touch it. You can live off the other 75% despite what anyone else tells you. As you start to earn more keep the percentages the same.
Sports can teach you a lifetime of values. Sports taught me and your mother what it feels like to give it out all and still lose. It taught us that everything great in life has an ending and it taught us to be competitive in our life but with grace. Play a sport. Grit is learned through experience.
Grit is defined as strength of character in moments of uncertainty. You can read books or watch as many movies as you want but you can’t learn grit until you go through tough times yourself. Don’t shy away from difficult, you will grow.
You aren’t defined by your losses. I’ve seen so many people that have never overcome losses in their life. They are constantly defeated and eventually stop trying. Losses are learning opportunities that will develop true character. It’s okay to lose, but not to be a loser.
Winning isn’t the goal, growing is. Winning is amazing. There is no better feeling than winning after putting in the hard work it takes to win. Remember that if you become addicted to winning you will never be satisfied. Winning is part of growing not the only goal.
If you feel like you aren’t enough, remember you are. You don’t see it but sometimes I don’t feel like I’m being the best dad. Then I’m reminded that every day I get to love you and our family. Never think you are not enough. A day where you move an inch is still progress.
Choose your husband wisely. This is the man that will be with you on your greatest and worst days. Choose a man that will see you for who you are, love your children, and loves the Lord with all his heart. Your marriage will rise and fall with your dependence on God.
Don’t tell everyone what you’re doing. People will use information against you to push their own agenda. Working in silence is a superpower. Let them see what you have been doing when you are standing on the mountaintop.
Take care of your body. You will be unstoppable if you develop healthy habits early and keep them for the rest of your life. Love the gym and maintaining a body that is happy and healthy. You don’t have to be the fittest person in the world, but don’t ever stop.
Your strength comes from above. There is only so far you can go on your own. God has a plan for your life. There will be times where you search for meaning of life. Remember this: Your purpose is to show others the love of the Lord and honor him in all you do. And I might add, one of my favorite passages from Philippians: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Dad will always love you. No matter what you do or where you go. No matter how you act or what you say. I promise to be the person that gives you the tough love you need and provides a place where you always feel safe. Always and forever. That’s a promise.

Hannah, I really could not have said those any better and hope you use them in your life.

I love you,

Dad

Best Quote: Dad will always love you. No matter what you do or where you go. No matter how you act or what you say. I promise to be the person that gives you the tough love you need and provides a place where you always feel safe. Always and forever. That’s a promise.

Misfit 3:

Read the list of 20 lessons and commit them to memory.
Remember, above all else, your strength comes from above. God has a plan for your life.
Never stop learning and growing.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jason White. Jason knows how to create a niche. He is the founder of The Federal Code, a business that teaches the secrets of winning federal government contracts with no certification, no business history, using minimal startup cost, and using subcontractors to support new contracts — the same way he does it. Jason currently manages over 40 Federal Government Contracts worth over $37 million. And the students he’s taught have successfully won over $30 million in contracts. J

ason is a great example of how to find a unique need, create a niche, maximize it, and then teach others to do it and help them find their financial freedom. I’ve asked him on today to share how he does it and what he’s learned along the way.

www.TheFederalCode.com

@IamJasonWhite_ on Instagram

Jason never set out to do what he does. In fact, he was not a good path to success at the time. The opportunity literally fell into his lap. He was working at a gas station in 2008 and his friend came in to get something and told him that he was about to get a federal contract in trucking. Instead, the guy was arrested that night and went to prison. But, the idea stuck in Jason’s head. He decided to see if he could get a contract and started going down the rabbit hole. It took him 3 years before he got his first contract.

Talk to us about Federal contracts. How does your business work?

Federal Government contracting is simpler than you think.
In its simplest form, it is the Federal Government look to procure a product or service from the private sector.
Jason didn’t have any money, a network, resources, or credit – he figured out that he could outsource the work and be the middleman between the Govt and the product/service provider.
The Federal Govt is the largest purchaser in the world and provides a steady stream of opportunities for contracting.

How do you find a contract? How do you get started?

he main requirement you must have at least an LLC. It is also good to have a DUN’S number.
You then register that with SAM.Gov. Y
ou will look for opportunities in SAM.Gov.
There are 96,000 contract opportunities on average every day in SAM.
Jason looks for service-based solicitations that continue for more than 1 year. This created residual income.

Are there some types of contracts that are better than others? How do you distinguish?

As newbie, you will consider things easier to understand than others. For example, a lawn care contract is easier to understand than say an IT contract.
But, the mindset needs to be not so much, can you understand or manage the contract, but more of can you manage the company you outsource to that is fulfilling the work.
The expectations will come from the contract – your job is to manage the expectations.
Jason stays away from construction contracts.

How do you win a contract?

The Federal Govt is an endless supply of opportunity.
You are bidding, so your quotes must be competitive.
The only way to do that is to compare and get quotes from multiple companies to find the best price and then your fee goes on top of it.
It’s a numbers game. Don’t worry so much about winning as much as consistently creating competitive bids.

How many bids/submissions do you typically do before winning?

Jason has found that he wins about 30% of the time for him at this point.
For someone starting out, this ratio will be lower.
Jason strives to submit at least 10 bids every month.

What is the typical profit margin on a contract?

It is all over the place.
This happens because the bids are all different and for different types of services, so they have different margins.
Jason has created a formula he uses for this process.
He price compares with 3-4 companies for every bid.
He looks for a middle ground and then adds his fee.
He knows based on the companies’ prices where to be to not be the cheapest nor the most expensive.

How you find the companies/resources to fulfill your contracts?

Google! He Googles service providers in the area for the contract and interviews them.
Remember, you are not looking at opportunities just where you live, you are looking at contracts for the entire nation. It comes down to your ability to manage and hold service providers accountable that matters most.

What causes people to fail in Federal contracting?

When you are essentially subcontracting, you are hinging your company’s name on their work. They are working on your behalf, but you are ultimately responsible.
One of the biggest pitfalls is not setting expectations appropriately. It is very important that you understand and communicate the expectations of the contract and have a way to measure that they are being followed.
You may have companies that find out the job is more expensive or don’t appropriate the right amount of resources.
The Federal Govt wants to help small businesses out and understand that mistakes get made and challenges come up, but you must make sure to not make the same mistakes over and over again.

How do you handle working with these subcontractors?

You will need to have a service agreement that is legally binding.
You can do this through an attorney or through LegalZoom or LawDepot, etc.
Try to keep it simple and make it easy for both parties.

At the 27 min mark, Jason walks through an example of a recent contract and how he got it and managed it.

Anything else we should know about Federal contracting?

One of the biggest secrets is that you must be consistent.
Jason recommends bidding on a minimum of 10 contracts per month.
Most people quit because they don’t maintain a high level of activity.
Learning to communicate well is critical.

Talk to us about your entrepreneur journey – what made you go from gas station attendant to committing to this and figuring it out?

Jason barely graduated high school, but he learned common sense on the streets.
Jason kept asking how.
When his buddy told him what he was doing, he was surprised the guy was trying to go straight. He was just too late for himself.
It was the vessel, the messenger that made the difference.

Talk to us about playing to long game. You didn’t get your first contract for 3 years.

Success leaves clues.
Someone has to be the pioneer to leave the clues.
Jason just kept telling himself he wanted to see it through.
He wanted to prove that a guy like him could finish and succeed.
He learned a lot about himself and what he was capable of in his journey.
He stopped being motivated and started being driven because when you are driven, motivation can care less. When you are driven, you don’t care what gets in the way, if you get sick, whatever, you push through.

At the 38 min mark, we have a great conversation on being driven.

Best Quote: Stop being motivated and started being driven. When you are driven, you don’t care what gets in the way, if you get sick, whatever, you push through.

Jason's Misfit 3:

Be patient. It’s rare to know how long it will take. Keep going.
Have a high level of communication. Build this skill set.
Do not look to your left or to your right. Focus on you.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Craig Swanson. Craig Swanson is an entrepreneur, business coach, and co-founder of the online learning platform CreativeLive. Creative live went from a $100 startup to raising over $50 Million in VC funding becoming a massive success. After leaving CreativeLive, Craig has become the secret weapon behind course creators and business owners such as Sue Bryce, Susan Stripling, and Kaisa Keranen by helping them into the multi-million-dollar mark and even acquisition! Craig is also the board chair of the Seattle Entrepreneurs Organization Accelerator.

I’ve always loved digital assets as a business model. An entrepreneur can take their expertise in an area and have the ultimately scalability with a digital product, course, etc. And Craig has perfected the model. I am excited to get into all of this with him and to share all of his wisdom and experience from his incredible entrepreneur journey.

www.CraigSwanson.org

Follow Craig on LinkedIn

Craig started his first business after dropping out of college providing IT services to graphic design companies in Seattle. He did this for 25 years. And then he spun off an internal project which was Creative Live and built it up to massive success. He left there in 2016 and started what he does now - a small investment and incubator company with a fund that invests in and partners with a select few online creators per year to build niche platforms. He also serves his role in EO and is part of their accelerator program.

Talk to us about building a digital business. What should we know?

People hold their ideas so precious that they don’t get them out in the market.
What drives the success of a digital product is the market that has area need that your solution addresses.
It’s not about how good you look or how well you present it. It’s about the market first.

How does someone identify the market and see if there is a fit? How do you test the market?

Create a digital version of something that someone is teaching in person to groups of 10-200+ and has a track record of success.
If it works for small groups of people, then you can create a digital version to scale.

At the 9 min mark, Craig gives an example of how they test a market with a client. It’s best to just listen.

Which type of product makes the best digital business?

It is something that you create once and can continue to sell.
A recorded video training program is the classic digital good and a good product.
Additionally, digital downloads specific to industries, etc.

What is the process you go through to build the business around the product?

The first step is a prototype with a core test audience. (1-10 people that will buy)
With your first batch, you are relying on your existing relationships/contacts.
After success with the protype, you then build a strategy to get your first 100 sales using success stories from you first group and partnering to get in front of other audiences.
Once you serve more than 100 people and prove the product, then you can get to paid advertising and scale.
Craig will give out free content to get people into the funnel and fold.

What are the best ways to market and sell a digital business?

It is different for each product and different for different stages.
Mediums will vary and you probably already have a medium where you get the most engagement and community.
If you are starting from scratch, it is tougher.
You must create an awareness and some sort of following before creating a digital product.

What are some ways to build an audience from scratch?

A niche email newsletter that goes out as broadly as possible.

How do you grow an email list?

Find a small community that you can really serve.
Once you get some subscribers, ask for them to share it.
Go where your market is (Facebook groups, communities, etc. that you can serve and help).
Stick to a narrow niche.

How do you build a personal brand the right way?

The first step is to become clear who you are servicing and audience and speak to that audience.
Don’t approach your brand from a self-centric stance.
The purpose of a personal brand is to connect with and draw in your ideal audience.
Building a brand telling the stories and highlighting what those in your audience are doing to succeed is a great way to build it.
There are 2 fundamental ways to build a brand: Either a student or an expert.
You can position yourself as an expert learner and share what you are learning as you grow in the topic. People can follow and gain from your experience.
As an expert, you can focus on delivering expertise to a community.

4 elements to scale any business?

Scaling a business is when it starts to grow exponentially and can sustain that growth.
The first step is to take something that is already successful with an audience and finding out why it has been so successful.
Then you use the stories of success and their words to share why something is working.
Next is to create a 2-step purchase process in which you have an entry level product from $10-$99 that covers the cost to acquire customers.
The 4th step is to convert the customers into the larger more expensive product.

Any tips on how to create the value ladder?

A lot of work goes into finding the right combination of offering and price that will scale.

At the 36 min mark, Craig gives an example of how they do this…

“A lot of people in business become so fixated on the thing they have built that they want to sell that they stop listening to what the market is telling them that the market really wants.”
You need an awareness to this.

What are the traits of good, high performing businesses vs. those that underperform?

The difference is in the way they think.
A lot of less seasoned businesses entirely fixated on how to make the existing business model more profitable. They are looking for the magic secret that lets them grow.
More mature businesses have found that they have to let go of their original offering or change it to make it the best to grow and scale per what the market wants.
Smaller businesses “swell” their business instead of scaling their business.
Scaling businesses tend to be simpler with a clear focus on just 1-2 products/solutions and build the machine around them to infinitely scale.

At the 42 min mark, Craig and I talk about how businesses are much like life as they grow and gain experience.

Don’t be afraid to kill ideas and let go of legacy things in your business.

From your journey, what do you feel are you most important and impactful lessons you’ve learned?

Letting go of control and learning to trust partners.
Build partnerships that work and commit to them to make them go.
Have a clear mission.
Co-build and co-create.

Best Quote: A lot of people in business become so fixated on the thing they have built that they want to sell that they stop listening to what the market is telling them that the market really wants

Craig's Misfit 3:

Be clear on what is negotiable and non-negotiable about your brand. L
et go of negotiable elements and stand firm on non-negotiable.
If something is worth doing, it is worth doing poorly. You get better as you go. Fail sooner and learn faster.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Mariusz Skonieczny. Mariusz is the founder of MicroCap Explosions and the author of 11 books on the subject of investing. Mariusz has carved out a unique niche investing in microcap companies where the institutions don’t play, and the retail investors don’t focus. And it’s very lucrative. Over the course of a decade Mariusz personally turned $10k into over $7 million investing in Microcaps and now he teaches others to do what he does. I’ve always loved exploring unique niches with the entrepreneurs that find and maximize them, and I’m excited for Mariusz to share his journey and more about the Microcap niche with you in this episode. Mariusz Skonieczny on YouTube Mariusz philosophy is to go where others can’t go or don’t want to go. You have to be very picky about where you are going to be competitive and look for the best place where you can have an edge. Mariusz was born in Poland and grew up there focused on sports. He came to the US in his late teens and wanted to play basketball. He was not good enough and it broke his heart. He was not competitive enough…not to mention he could hardly speak English. This experience led him to discover and look for unique niches that don’t have a lot of competition. He gravitated toward investing. At first, he did what most people do and invested in blue chip stocks. As he found, if you do what everyone else does, it doesn’t pay that well. He then heard an interview with Warren Buffett where Warren talked about how investors need to look for unique opportunities that other investors don’t or won’t invest in and that set him on the path to do what he does now in the microcap space. What is a microcap investment? Companies that have market capitalization of less than $200 million. These are companies in which all the shares outstanding multiplied by the price are less than $200 million. Most of the time, these companies’ stocks trade less than $5. Some of them get a negative connotation of being “penny stocks.” What matters is the business behind them and that is the key – if there is a good business behind that has a path to grow, then it can offer a good opportunity. These companies are publicly traded, but usually on secondary exchanges such as Toronto or OTC. There is less competition there as well. A lot of the companies “grow up” on these exchanges and then move over to the larger ones like the Nasdaq, etc. How do you find a microcap opportunity? You can find them on stock screeners, but Mariusz goes to an exchange like the Canadian Stock exchange that has 700 companies and spends the time to evaluate each one to find the best. 80-90% are not great companies. He will whittle it down to the top 50 or so, then find the top 10% out of those and then do full diligence to decide the best one. He’s willing to do the work where others don’t. What are the criteria you look for in a microcap? Don’t invest in trash companies! Find the diamond with high quality revenue. Recurring revenue is critical. The business model offering should have high switching costs meaning it is hard for a client to drop the offering. The business should have high margin revenues with gross profit margins above 50%. The business should also have a long runway and growth trajectory. How do you predict the success and growth rate of an opportunity? Each business will be different. An example is Voxster which focuses on the real estate industry. At the 17 min mark, Mariusz discussed Voxster’s business model and how he evaluated the company to invest in it. How do you manage risk? The best thing you can do to manage risk is to invest quality companies with proven business models and profitability. You must also not overpay for them. Most companies are too expensive. You must have patience and be selective. How do you determine value, so you don’t overpay? You can look at multiples of revenue or income. With smaller companies, net income is not the best way because they grow faster and sacrifice profitability by investing it back into the company for the growth. 1-3x revenue is a good rule of thumb when it comes to the stock price and how it is trading. How do you stay in an investment? Years – typically 5-6 If you are a businessperson or entrepreneur, you know it takes time to grow. Play the long game. Anything else we should know about microcaps? You must have patience. You must have tolerance for volatility. You can get homeruns if you don’t overpay. What other lessons have you learned on your entrepreneur journey? If you see a problem, don’t wait for others to solve – see if you can be the one to do it. Or look for companies that solve problems and become part of the journey by investing in them. Best Quote: If you see a problem, don’t wait for others to solve it – see if you can be the one to do it. Mariusz's Misfit 3: Think independently. You don’t need others’ approval to do what it is you want to do in business or investing. Do not worry about what others think.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Bryan Clayton. Bryan created the “Uber of Lawncare,” GreenPal. It is a company that makes it easy to connect homeowners with lawn care professionals with the touch of a button. Bryan and his team built the company from scratch to over $20 million in revenue, serving 300,000+ customers in just a few years and their story has been featured everywhere from entrepreneur magazine to INC and Harvard Business Review. Prior to GreenPal, Bryan founded Peachtree Inc, and grew it to $10 million before it was acquired.

For anyone out there who has had a good idea for a business, but didn’t act on it because they weren’t sure how to make it a reality or didn’t have the experience needed to do it, Bryan is proof that it is absolutely possible. In fact, it is probably easier than you think. And that is why I brought Bryan on – to share how it is possible and what he learned in making GreenPal a reality.

www.GreenPal.com

@BryanMClayton on Instagram

Bryan wants you to know that if he can do it, you can do it. He’s spent 22 years as an entrepreneur in one industry, lawn care. He started a lawnmowing business in high school and continued to build it through college and then over the period of 15 years built it to over $10 million in revenue. He sold it in 2013.

He took some time off and after a while started to look at what to do next. He thought there should be an app to make it easier for people find lawn care professionals. He didn’t know what he didn’t know and over the last 10 years has built GreenPal.

Talk to us about how you did it and figure things out…

Startups and entrepreneurship are less like chess and more like poker. Chess is more of a logical series of moves that lead to a result vs. a smart bet and playing risk vs. reward in poker.
In the early days, they tried to outsource the coding and it failed. They had spent almost $200k getting the company going and had nothing to show for it, so they bit the bullet and decided to learn to code themselves.
They went to a coding bootcamp and learned the basics which helped them create the second version.

Biggest lessons from building your businesses?

Startups fail, but entrepreneurs don’t.
As a founder, you will need to have flexible persistence going from one failure to the next without a loss of enthusiasm.
Think of it like an old school video game where you have to figure how to get through one level at a time. It’s the same in business.
Small incremental wins add up over time to a big business.

What did you do to help you grow in your business that other could use?

First time founders worry about product and second time founders worry about distribution.
The most important strategy is how to get people in the door.
He learned quickly with GreenPal that if you build it, they will NOT come.
He had to create a customer acquisition and development strategy.
First, he went old school like he did in his previous business putting flyers on doors.
This got them a couple hundred users.
Second, you have to get out of the building and go talk to your users. Delight them.
They went on a mission to meet people at coffee shops, etc. and ask them how they find lawn care services. Google search was most prevalent, so that is where they put their efforts to gain visibility.
They had to learn SEO and organic search and put the bulk of their resources into it. It started to work, and signups began to grow.

Talk to us about how you did your SEO and organic search strategy vs. buying ads…

Google AdWords and Google Search get conflated. They are different.
It is one thing to pay, another for Google to rank you as #1 organically.
It is tough.
There is competition everywhere. You have to build it from the bottom up. Start small.
They focused on local communities and ranking #1 in those areas – the small little towns that were suburbs around the main city and eventually, they began to be ranked for the larger city itself.
Launching a market is launching all the little towns around it.

What did you do that got you noticed?

SEO 101:

On page (content). They created guides on the best lawn care services in each township. The best content possible.
Technical: Page load and URL structure, key words, indexable, etc.
Backlinks: Who talking about this website or page? They would reach out to local reporters of the small-town magazines and give them stories as they launched in their area. Test, then invest. You need to do it yourself before you build out the processes and teach others.

How do you start a business with no money?

Even with no money, you have asset and resources you can put to work. Many times, they are in your mind.
As you start to get money into the business, the key is to be a good capital allocator to invest back into the business.
The least you can live on, the greater your options in a startup gutting it out with no outside capital.
You are your business as a founder and the business needs to come first when it comes to money.
The first couple of years will be tough.

Talk to us about playing the long game?

Genius gets mistaken for consistency.
There are very, very few overnight successes.
People don’t see all of the work that happened, many time for years, before the success is known.
Success is a cumulation of work over years.

Thoughts from your experience selling and exiting a business?

It’s the dream and it’s hard to do well.
Work a 5-year exit strategy plan.
Things like EBITA growth and systems are key to selling.
Read the book Built to Sell.
Many times, the time business owners try to sell are when they or the business is in its worst shape.
Face and fix the things you don’t want to deal with.
You want to sell when things are at their best and you’ve optimized. Sell your business when you are in love with and would hate to see it go.

What should people know about the lawn and landscape industry?

You can learn so much running a small service-based business in a couple years than in a year of classes.
It is also a great place to get your first exit under your belt. You can start a little service business, built it up to $500k or $1 mil and sell it.
At the 40 min mark, Bryan shares his message to people who think they can’t do it…

Best Quote: Genius gets mistaken for consistency. There are very, very few overnight successes.

Bryan's Misfit 3:

Spend less time on things that don’t matter.
Know when to delegate and when not to delegate. Delegate from a standpoint of stewardship.
Are you going to be a fox or a hedgehog from Good to Great? The fox is flashier in style and the hedgehog just keeps it head down and works one to two things really well. Pick which one you are.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, In this episode, I want to speak to you about choice. Not a lot of thought is put into choice in our lives, yet every day we make many choices. In fact, our lives consist of making choices over and over again. Most of the time, these choices are automatic. We don’t think about them. Our subconscious mind just reacts with the stored programming it has built up over the years. I’ve talked many times about our conditioning and how the subconscious mind is the most powerful part of our brain that runs us without us even knowing, or at least thinking about it.

It is important to understand how the subconscious works and how it is programmed because it directly affects our choices. Everyone is born with a clean slate when it comes to their minds. It is the influences and experiences we have in our lives, as well as some primal instinct, that shape how we think and act – effectively conditioning our minds. Sources of this conditioning come from all different areas: Parents, family, friends, culture, school, media, and many of the life experiences we have. For example, the first time you touch a hot stove and get burned, your subconscious registers that and the next time you are near a hot stove, you know not to touch it. Think about things you say or your thoughts – where do they come from? Have you ever noticed yourself saying things that your parents said to you repeatedly as child? Chance are you do. It is an automatic conditioned response, and your subconscious has them for pretty much everything in your life.

Most of the conditioning we get is positive, but we can pick up some things along the way that can hold us back or keep us from reaching out true potential. That is where choice comes in, in a big way. The biggest realization that changed my life and set me on path to reach potential people previously thought was impossible for me was when I learned that I could choose my thoughts. That I had a choice. I did not have to be run by programming built up over the years. And just as important was the understanding that the choices Imake every day, directly affect my path in all areas of my life. We are the sum of the choices we make.

First, I had to learn to recognize my programming and the responses (choices) that I was making throughout each day and start to ask myself if I truly agreed with those responses. Were those something I put in my mind or were they put there by another influence or experience I have had? I then had to ask myself if that was something I wanted to keep or get rid of. And, if I wanted to get rid of it, what was most important to replace it with. I admit this is not easy to do and is absolutely a lifelong commitment and journey. If you commit to it, it will be very awkward at first because you literally have to learn to do what I call “Stop, Ask, and Choose. You have to stop yourself when you recognize a thought or reaction that doesn’t seem to be in line with what you believe or what you want for yourself. You then have to ask yourself if you want to keep it as part of your life or not. And then, you have to choose whether to keep it or what you will replace it with. The first few times you do this, it will be very awkward stopping mid-sentence or mid-thought to ask these things of yourself, but the subconscious picks up things fast. After a few times, it will start to happen quickly and soon be just as normal as brushing your teeth or throwing a ball.

Once you understand how to live from true choice in your life, then the fun begins. Each day, you get to control your choices. Remember, you are the sum of the choices you make. You gain the ability to be intentional in the choices you make and find almost a hidden superpower inside of yourself. In fact, in some ways, it is not fair to those that haven’t figured this secret in their lives. Gaining control over your choices essentially allows you to level up any time you want. After all, it is a choice to do so. Of course, you have to do the work alongside the commitment you have made with the choice, but if you were not aware to the fact you even could choose this for yourself, it would not be possible.

Hannah, I hope you can see how important this lesson is for all areas of your life. And I hope that you can also see how growing yourself in the ability to control and choose your thoughts can give you such an advantage in your life. Like I said, the choice is the first step – you still have to do the work, but that is the exciting part as you make your way to your next level. Here’s to living from true choice in our lives.

I love you,

Dad

Best Quote: Gaining control over your choices essentially allows you to level up any time you want.

Misfit 3:

We are the sum of the choices we make.
It is important to understand how the subconscious works and how it is programmed because it directly affects our choices.
The ability to choose and be intentional in the choices you make ais almost a hidden superpower inside of yourself.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Andrew Lee Miller. Andrew is a startup expert; in fact, he’s known as @AndrewStartups around the world and has been bootstrapping companies for over 15 years. He is a marketing expert and founder of the award-winning marketing agency, Growth Expertz. He has driven growth for 3 VC backed startup exits to the tune of $450 million and dozens of other funded startups, including raising over $25 million in seed rounds in the last 5 years.

Andrew speaks and trains entrepreneurs throughout the world on paid advertising, growth hacking, public relations, search marketing and more. He is also the author of the best-selling book, The Startup Growth Book.

What I love most about Andrew is that he is scrappy and finds a way to make it happen no matter thecircumstances and I’ve brought him on to share his best with you in this episode.

www.AndrewStartups.com

Andrew was born and raised outside Columbus, Ohio. His whole family were entrepreneurs, but he never grew up wanting to be one. He ended up having his own business at 16 detailing cars and had a problem with authority which made him want to stay independent. He went to college for general business and switched to international business. He started a virtual resume startup in his senior year. He and his partner got investment and the business took off – it actually scared him because he didn’t want to be stuck in this one business through his 20’s, so he decided to travel.

He moved the Mexico when he was 21, then after a few years moved to Dubai. Dubai was much different and didn’t have much of a startup culture. He joined a company that was a sort of Craig’s List type service as head of marketing. He growth hacked the company from 800k page view a month to over 25 million and the company was acquired for a large amount. Andrew realized there was a niche in growth hacking. He had a few more successful projects in Dubai and then went to Silicon Valley and had another successful exit. He then started coaching people and became a digital nomad helping startups and traveling to over 40 countries.

You mentioned a formula for growth hacking that you put into practice and now teach others, take us through it.

First, when he starts with companies, the product is never ready to be marketed. Are people sharing or referring the product? If not, then a focus is put there to better market it. Product optimization.
Once you’ve optimized the product, then you are ready to grow. Do not rush to paid advertising.
It’s never too early to start marketing. Marketing is different than advertising. Advertising is something you do to scale up your marketing. Marketing can happen at any time.
You can start building a list, basic SEO, organic social media marketing/following, etc.
You can then launch with a waiting set of customers and some recognition in the marketplace.

What is the difference between advertising and marketing?

You do not have to do paid advertising to succeed.
Paid advertising isn’t necessary for every business.
We are shown ads that you need to run ads to grow your business, and that is just not true.
Marketing is the actions you take to grow your visibility, your brand, and awareness for who you are.
Advertising is paid ads and spots to drive traffic to your business.
Focus on organic channels for the first 12 mos in your business. Talk a little more about organic.

What do you advise? What’s the best place to get traction?

List building and e-mail marketing is the best thing to do.
Next is social media and off-channel marketing such as Reddit or Facebook groups.
Using incentives for first adopters is a great strategy whether it is free services/product or a very low cost, etc.
For B2C focusing on long-term things such as app store automation for apps, social media, and off page.
B2C is harder than B2B. There are a lot more moving pieces to create an eye-catching brand.

What are your thoughts on social media? Where should people be to get the most bang for the buck?

B2B – the place to spend money is Google Search because the intent is so high.
You also have a higher conversion rate on Google Search if you are using the right key words.
For B2C – it depends on the product and service. Google’s UAC campaigns are good for things like apps.
TikTok needs really good video creatives to do well, but there is less competition there.
In the end, it all about the content on social media and video is the most important.
YouTube ads are another inexpensive way to drive traffic and revenue.

At the 22 min mark, Andrew talks about using influencers and micro-influencers to help grow your brand and visibility.

Other PR hacks entrepreneurs can use?

Local PR in your local markets is a great place to get visibility and media.
Getting on podcasts is a great way to refine your pitch and gain visibility/credibility.
You should do PR from early stages of your business.
3 Things:
- Craft the story – your title is important and having a unique angle
- Building a list of those that might be interested in telling your story (Podcast hosts, reporters/writers, etc. found on Google Alerts)
- Distribute your story and your PR effectively to the sources.

At the 30 min mark, Andrew talks SEO…

Andrew is big on doing “on-page” SEO correctly.
Use Link Building.
You can use Free SEO audit tools online. Google Free SEO Audit.
You can even do Craig’s List and University Job boards as SEO hacks.

Thoughts on raising money and exiting companies?

We are sold that we need to raise money and that is wrong. You can bootstrap and do great.
Fundraising is a second job and will take almost 100% of your time over 6-12 months taking you away from your business.
You need to really think through and decide if you need to raise money and you need to have the business in the best position to do so.

What is it that you think most entrepreneurs miss that holds them back the most?

They go too much with their gut and hunch instead of compiling and working from the data.

Any other lessons from your entrepreneur journey that have made a huge difference?

Let passion drive you – not making money.

Best Quote: It’s never too early to start marketing. Marketing is different than advertising. Advertising is something you do to scale up your marketing. Marketing can happen at any time.

Andrew's Misfit 3:

Just go. Stop finding reasons not to do things and do them. Don’t be afraid to break stuff.
Don’t succumb to worry and overthinking.
If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Todd Randall. Todd is a serial entrepreneur. He is an 8-time CEO and business coach from rural Florida who has built businesses in in everything from gyms and spas, to construction and wholesaling. Todd still owns 4 businesses running all of them remotely doing over $6 million a year in revenue.

He is the founder of Beachview Coaching and uses his experience to train business owners how to create sustainable businesses. His specialty is helping small business owners create the lifestyle they desire from the success of their business instead of creating a 100 hour/week job for themselves. Oh, if that is not enough, Todd owns a horse farm in Florida and flies around the world playing polo in different countries.

It's rare to find an entrepreneur with the diverse experience of Todd and I’m excited for him to share his lessons with you.

www.Beachview.biz

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Todd is a classic example of an entrepreneur who didn’t fit the mold. He started out as a pharmacist and worked for 10 years at McKesson throughout the world. But, after a decade he wanted to have a bigger impact and ended up buying a franchise. He used his hobbies as an excuse to create his lifestyle. He’s a grinder and has worked himself into his diversity of businesses, but has kept his focus on having the lifestyle he wants.

Talk to us about your businesses. What are they?

He started with massage therapy franchises.
He then branched into gym franchises.
He owns a wholesale business for construction supplies – it came out of left field that he acquired because he enjoys home projects.
He also has a fence business.
He’s sold several businesses, one for about $8 million.

How does someone build their business to support their lifestyle instead of being beholden to their business?

Making sure you want to have a business is the first thing.
You must understand the skill sets needed to run each business and hire and promote high performers to run the day to day.
It is like being a conductor in an orchestra. But, you have think that way from the beginning.
Know the lifestyle you want ahead of building the business to create it.

Do you have any businesses where you’ve outsources to VA’s?

The coaching business because it is virtual.
It is harder to do with brick and mortar.
Todd uses tools like Upwork, Freelance and others.

Any best practices on scaling and running a business a well?

Scaling is all about delegation.
Coming from being an employee, you are trained to work employee hours and many entrepreneurs that come from being an employee just work like that as an entrepreneur.
An entrepreneur needs to learn to empower and get out of the way. Don’t be a bottleneck for decisions.
One example Todd gives is when he had an employee come to him frustrated because the employee was always waiting on Todd for decisions. When they talked, Todd found that the employee was capable of making the decisions – maybe even better ones that Todd, so they put together a process to allow the employee to do so.
You don’t need to make all the decisions in your business – in fact, you cannot scale if you have to. Find great people and let them be their best.

At the 12 min mark, Todd talks about his 5 pts for empowerment.

Trust - It is important to spend a lot of time interviews selecting for character and trust (good judgement)
Patience – You must set reasonable expectations and allow time for people to grow. Use mistakes to teach.
Escalation Pathways – List out the situations or events that trigger the owner to be involved.
Transfer to Coach – You must foster a culture of learning and growth through imperfection.
Build Redundancies – You must do everything possible not to be a bottleneck. Processes and systems must be created. You also need to have trained backups for key positions.

What challenges come up with multiple businesses? What have you learned to do that well?

Running a business is a set of skills that can be learned like playing a sport or other things.
Necessity is the mother of invention – as a business owner, you will learn by trial and error and needs that must be fulfilled.
Dive in and tackle your biggest challenges, but you must delegate to have the bandwidth to do this.
Businesses have to be run with heart – at their core, businesses are people. Help people thrive. And don’t worry if you suck at those skills! Most entrepreneurs do to start!
Get help earlier and often.

Advice for those that want to follow a path like yours in leadership?

Lead with compassion.
It all comes down to people.

At the 29 min mark, Todd talks about how he had imposter syndrome when it came to entrepreneurship because he prefers to do it for having the lifestyle he wants vs. striving for more in some cases. His business is exactly the right size for what he wants to do.

How did you come to know exactly what you wanted?

Todd can think of a couple instances.
The first was when he was still at corporate working overseas.
It was right before the collapse in 2008. He has worked on a billion-dollar business plan with a company in an engagement that he led. When done, his company wanted him to come back home. He decided to take a month off and hang in the south of France.
It was one of the best months he ever had in his life and it didn’t cost a lot to do it. It made him realize how easily he could have a great life and changed his direction.
The second was 5 years into his businesses when he had 3 locations. He had an opportunity for adding a 4th. He invested in the 4th business and got caught. It had issues and ended costing him most of his money and cashflow at the time.
He decided he was going to make it out – and it took getting rid of his fancy beachfront condo and nice car. He sold it all and rented a trailer. He figured out what was important and focused there.
This helped get out of being capital constrained and get out of trouble and after about a year, things were back to normal and thriving for all 4 businesses. He then sold two taking some money off the table.

Best advice on how to exit a business?

Some cliches hold up.
Think about and prepare for it years before you are ready.
Plan in advance. Plan, plan, plan.
Know your business value and when it is at its best.

What has traveling around the world playing polo taught you about how to succeed and run a better business?

It really accentuates that business is a set of skills.
People come from extremely different walks of life and figure out how to do it. It’s the same as entrepreneurship.
People everywhere are curious by nature and they dig in and figure things out and create opportunities. You can too.

Best Quote: Running a business is a set of skills that can be learned like playing a sport or other things.

Todd's Misfit 3:

Nobody cares what your goals are in comparison to them. Make your goals yours. Take time to sit down and be very honest about what is important to you.
The world is full of people. Study them and appreciate them. The minute you release yourself from being the center of the universe, the more you will learn and grow.
Exercise your body and mind. Physically tax yourself each and every day. It is great for your mindset.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Michelle Seiler Tucker. Michelle is the founder of Seiler Tucker Incorporated, a pre-imminent company for fixing, growing, buying, and selling businesses. Over 20 years, Michelle and her team have assisted in the buying and selling of over a thousand businesses. She is also a venture capitalist and two-time #1 best-selling author, speaker, TV, and radio host. Her latest book is called, Exit Rich and it’s being hailed by everyone from Steve Forbes to Brian Tracy, Les Brown, Jack Canfield, and many others.

Michelle has been featured everywhere from INC to Forbes to Entrepreneur and holds just about every certification possible in the M&A space. It’s safe to say she is an expert in how to grow, sell, and buy businesses. And I’ve asked her to come on the show to go in depth in all those areas.

www.SeilerTucker.com

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Michelle has always been an entrepreneur going back to when she was a kid. She did work at Xerox and climbed the ranks quickly, but she could not stay and had to pursue her entrepreneurial spirit. She went into franchise space. She had a lot of buyers that would ask to buy existing businesses instead of starting from scratch. She saw an opportunity and began providing these services. Nowadays, her firm specializes in selling, buying, fixing, and growing businesses. She also invests in businesses and helps guide them to maximize their value.

What are the characteristics of a great business?

It is an actual business and not a job.
80% of businesses will never sell – Steve Forbes.
Most business owners don’t build the proper infrastructure that allows the business to grow and scale without them.
A great business maximizes the 6 P’s: People, Processes, Product, Proprietary, Patrons, and Profits.
A business is sellable when it has a sustainable, scalable, and predictable structure in place.

Go in depth on the 6 P’s. What do we need to know?

80% of businesses will never sell.
Most business owners don’t build their business to be sold and most are emotionally attached to it having created a glorified job for themselves.
The business must work for the owner, not the owner for the business.
The #1 reason businesses don’t sell is because the business is completely dependent on the owner.
People: You build people and people build the business. The right people in the right seats. As the who question? Who does what? What are the characteristics of that person?
Product: Your product, industry, and service. A business must always innovate and market. You must constantly ask, “I am on the way up or the way out?” A business must have multiple revenue streams.
- What is your business best at?
- What business should you be in?
Processes: This is where most businesses fail. You have to identify your processes, but most business owners do this wrong. They design their business processes around their own agenda – it needs to be around the customer agenda. Michelle gives a great example of this with medical clinics. Your process must be concrete and tested and wow your customers.
Proprietary: This is the highest value P. Business that are under $1 million in EBITA will trade between 1-3x EBITA. If the EBITA is over $1 million, it starts at 5x and up. Proprietary is a number of things. Part of this is branding – the more value your brand has, the more your company is worth. Trademarks are valuable as well. They need to be registered Federally, not just in the state of the business. Trademark your products as well. Patents are important as well. Contracts are another value driver. Data is valuable.
Patrons: Your customers. Customer concentration is something that does happen, but a business must be careful not to have the bulk of the revenue highly concentrated in a small number of clients. It is a risk. Diversify your client base and offerings to grow clients.
Profits: Most companies are not making a profit. Lack of profits are not the problem, it is a symptom of not having the rest of the 6 P’s.

How does an entrepreneur plan their exit strategy from day 1?

The worst time to sell your business is during a catastrophe or risk event.
You want to sell your business at its height.
You must have a realistic value of what your business is worth – not what you think it is worth.
Follow the GPS exit model: Start with the end in mind. Plan your exit from the beginning. Know the destination before you begin the journey. (what is the goal to exit or sell the business for)
Know where you are starting from. (what is the business worth today)
Know who your buyers are.
Build the company to sell from the beginning.

What are the big mistakes entrepreneurs make in the sales process?

Not hiring the right professionals to help you or trying to sell the business on your own.
Get an experienced M&A advisor.
Get the proper disclosures signed.
Be careful selling to customers or employees.
Go back to the 6 P’s to maximize value.
Make sure contracts, employee contracts/non-competes all buttoned up.
Beware telling your employees and clients you are in a process.
Don’t negotiate outside of your M&A advisor.

Anything else we should know?

Don’t ever divulge your customer list.
Make sure you have a non-compete if a competitor is buying you.
It’s not what you know that gets you into trouble, its what you don’t know.
Many deals fall apart because of taxes. You have to pay taxes – don’t not sell your business because of taxes. There are ways you can defer capital gains.

Best Quote: 80% of businesses will never sell. The #1 reason businesses don’t sell is because the business is completely dependent on the owner.

Michelle's Misfit 3:

Build your exit from the beginning. Use the 6 P’s. People, Processes, Product, Proprietary, Patrons, and Profits
It is hard to read the label from the inside of the bottle. You need an outsider’s perspective. Get a mentor who has been down the road you want to travel.
Do your best to have a balanced life of God, family, and work. Keep a 30-day journal and document things. 3 buckets. Bucket A are the things only you can do. Bucket B are the things that you are good at but should be delegated. Bucket C are the things you can outsource entirely.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Yaro Starak. Yaro has an awesome entrepreneur story. From growing up sleeping in an old van parked in the backyard of his small home in Australia to working multiple jobs trying to make ends meet, putting himself through college – Yaro learned he wasn’t an employee. His first breakthrough came in the form a website where he gained following and traction making money with banner ads.

I won’t spoil his story, as I want him to tell it, but he went on to create more online businesses, especially in the blogging space making millions, and created his financial independence. Today he invests in companies – making over 30+ investments to date, continues to build others and coach entrepreneurs. He’s been featured everything from Forbes to Entrepreneur and Business Insider. His latest project is called Inbox Done, an email management company.

I asked him to come on the show to share what he’s learned on his journey and how you can use it in your life.

www.Yaro.blog

www.InboxDone.com

Yaro shares his story and his experience during this time having business and property in Ukraine. His father was born in Ukraine and escaped after WWII and immigrated to Australia where Yaro was born. When Yaro turned 18, it was 1998 during the Dotcom boom. He started a card game business, a media site where it had commentary, e-commerce store, and he sold advertising. When he went to college, he started an essay editing business to offer editing/proofreading that became a full-time business. In 2005, he got into blogging and found a lot of success and still does it today. He was an early adopter. He sold off the essay company and card business and focused on blogging full time. He turned the blogging into creating courses, e-books, a membership site, etc. It was the first business that did over a million dollars. He traveled the world living in over 26 cities running the business. He did it up until 5 years ago. He then started his current company Inbox Done to help provide outsourced professional assistants.

What are some of the principles you have applied to your different businesses that have allowed you to be consistently successful?

Compounding a skill set. For example, with the card business, content helped build a community, this gave an audience that could be monetized.
Content was used to drive sales in the essay company through SEO.
Content is also a driver for Inbox Done.
Using the written/spoken word to build an audience and build trust has been the common principle used to build the businesses.

Best advice on how to write good content and sell with it?

First is the delivery mechanism. It is all about technology and it is constantly changing.
Email has been tried and true alongside a blog/website.
What you put into the content will follow the same strategy.
Look at what kind of content you will produce and how it relates to your goal of building the business.
Storytelling is powerful which is intimate and grows trust.
Step 1 is always telling a story. But, your story telling must turn into the strategic goal you have for the business. Each business will require different content and stories focused for it.
What does your business do and what are the rejection points from people purchasing – use story to discuss these and show why people should buy.
Email newsletters are most important. Email is the only true platform you have 100% control of, so building your list is critical.

Can you layout the components of your business models that you have duplicated?

It is different depending on the product or service.
It starts with what you are excited about building what need you can meet in the marketplace.
Next, you must understand the right business model to capitalize on the need that must be met.
Then it is all about execution.

If you choose one model to work with, which one is best?

Yaro at different times in his life would answer this differently.
Blogging was very simple, but it required consistency and constant creation of content – you’re on a treadmill. It is harder to scale.
A business that is more SAAS or marketplace oriented, it can scale easier.
If he had to choose, it would be to build a company that can scale without him.

Talk to us about blogging. How does someone create a million-dollar business blogging?

It’s changed a lot.
Things are way more crowded and there are way more platforms.
Niching down is important for blogging today.
Story telling about real results will always work. How content and stories are important.
Stay specialized and differentiate yourself in every way you can to help you stand out. Double down on everything that is different. The content will help you stand out in search engines.
At the 28 min, Yaro gives an example.
When you go narrow, you still have a large enough audience in today’s world to have a really good audience.

Thoughts on driving traffic?

It continues to be very dynamic.
Google ads and SEO can work well for niche.
Podcasts are a great medium.
A solid referral program for clients to refer.
Branding to drive a sense of awareness in your niche – what is the message you need to state that stands out and makes you different?
Build an email list!
Get published – go in front of audiences that are interested in what you are doing. Whatever platforms those are – get in front of people on them.
Things do not work straightaway or at all sometimes, so you must be ready to pivot and try others. Keep trying and testing mediums.

How do you keep up with everything and stay successful across your businesses?

Genuine interest and passion for what he does which drives intent.
Intent drives focus. Researching and learning to stay on top and be a leader in his space.
Most important is to make sure you structure your life and business for the free time you need and the time you need to keep on top of things.
80/20 Rule. Focus on the most important things and delegate or eliminate the rest.
It’s not so much about “working hard and the time you put in,” its about working hard on the right things that move the needle and it’s ok if takes just a few hours a day. Focus on getting the results.
Use technological automation. Build teams by hiring or outsourcing.

Best Quote: It’s not so much about “working hard and the time you put in.” It's about working hard on the right things that move the needle and it’s ok if takes just a few hours a day. Focus on getting the results.

Yaro's Misfit 3:

There will be ups and downs, but neither will last forever.
Rest is the foundation for performance.
Focus on where your creativity can add value for others.

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Many years ago, I introduced a new format that alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life…. even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of Lessons for Hannah, I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.

Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

Ok, so here goes…this week’s Lesson for Hannah.

Hannah, In this episode, we celebrate the 300th episode of the Misfit Entrepreneur. And it’s only fitting that it should be a Lessons for Hannah episode. Wow, 300 episodes – that is almost 6 years’ worth of interviews from the top entrepreneur and minds in their areas of expertise. First, I want to give my sincerest thanks to all of you that support and listen to the show. You are the best audience anyone could ever ask for. Second, I can honestly say at this point that you can find an expert on pretty much any topic in business and entrepreneurship amongst the Misfit Entrepreneurs. And I would put the content produced by this show and these entrepreneurs up against any MBA program in the world. In fact, if I can be so bold, I would say that if someone listens to the Misfit Entrepreneur for 1 year and puts the wisdom and guidance shared by these amazing entrepreneurs into practice in their lives, they will be light years ahead of most MBA programs.

Why do I say that and why is it important? Because it is part of the lesson I want to teach you today. As I write this, the world is in turmoil. Not that there isn’t always something going in the world, but particularly this time in history, I think, will end up being significant. Why? Because when history looks back at this time period, it will have a lot to keep up with. We just came out of a pandemic after 2 years where unprecedented measures were taken – in many cases to unimaginable extremes. Coming out of the pandemic, the US and the world has had to contend with a generational economic upheaval that is still in progress and will be for some time. On top of that, we have a major war in Europe in which one side, Russia, more and more, is talking about the use of nuclear weapons. We are seeing supply shortages of many things, but especially food and energy throughout the world. And if that is not enough, we have had governments create massive amounts of debt printing money to no end and injecting it into economies alongside the supply shocks, causing Inflation to reach 40-year highs.

So, what is the lesson I want you to learn in the midst of all of this. First, those that can understand, but separate themselves from all that is happening in the world, and see the “forest through the trees” will find massive opportunities. To do that, they will need to self-educate and take lessons from history. For example, we have been in this situation with inflation before from 1972-1983. If you study this period, it will give you some great insight into what to expect during these times and where opportunities are hidden.

Second, you must think independently and not follow the herd. I amazed at how many things are upside down from even just a few years ago. People scream things like “follow the science” only to change what “the science” is 2 days later. We cannot even agree on how many genders there are anymore. The number seems to change by the week. We are told that down is up and up is down and that things we know to be true are no longer true – things that have held up since time has been recorded in some cases. This where history comes in again. Throughout our human history there have been many times where we did ridiculous things, and the herd, the majority went along with it. There was a time when the consensus of the world was that it was flat and anyone who said it wasn’t, was shunned. We used to burn people at the stake because the herd somehow in a perverted way of thinking claimed them to be witches. In more recent times, we were told that wearing a mask from the time we enter a restaurant to the time we sat down, was needed to prevent getting a virus, but once sitting, we could take it off and breath openly, and everything would be fine – but we would have to put it back on again to leave the restaurant. Regardless of your view on masking, there is no science behind that – its just the herd mentality at work.

The major point I want to make in this lesson is that there are going to be times of turmoil in your life where it seems like the world is on fire and the herd is going in a direction that defies the reality that we know to be true and that has proven to be true. Hannah, it is during these times that the most successful keep their wits about them and stay grounded finding amazing opportunities. But you must be prepared and that comes from self-education and independently thinking things through – not just going along with the herd. Be curious and don’t be afraid to ask questions and challenge the herd mentality. In fact, one of my favorite quotes is from Thomas Jefferson where he said, “Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear.” This quote sums it up. Question things with boldness for the truth will hold up in the end vs. following the herd out of fear and going along with things that are not true. Hannah, this may be one of the most important lessons I can ever give you and I hope that you take it to heart and use it throughout your life. This lesson has served me very well in life and in business, and as I think through over 300 episodes of speaking to some of the greatest minds of our time, I find that that they embody this mentality as well.

Hannah, there are so many other lessons to share you and many new ones for me to learn and I look forward to sharing them over the next 300 episodes!

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: If I can be so bold, I would say that if someone listens to the Misfit Entrepreneur for 1 year and puts the wisdom and guidance shared by these amazing entrepreneurs into practice in their lives, they will be light years ahead of most MBA programs.

Misfit 3:

You must learn to think independently of the herd and logically make decisions.

There are going to be times of turmoil in your life where it seems like the world is on fire and the herd is going in a direction that defies the reality that we know to be true and that has proven to be true. It is during these times that the most successful keep their wits about them and stay grounded finding amazing opportunities.

Question things with boldness for the truth will hold up in the end vs. following the herd out of fear and going along with things that are not true.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Molly Rose Speed. Molly has a great story. She is a military spouse who had enough of being a corporate accountant cubicle dweller and decided to create a business to help military spouses and others reach their own dreams through entrepreneurship. In fact, she was named 1st Special Operations Group Spouse of the Year.

She is the creator of Virtual Assistant Academy which provides trusted Virtual Assistant solutions and flawless tech execution to busy entrepreneurs and business owners. Molly has become the go-to professional for some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the speaker/author and content creator industry. Even the former president of Chicken Soup of the Soul is her client. Molly has created the life she dreamed of and is helping others do the same. And I’ve asked her on the share her story and how to completely outsource your business.

www.VirtualAssistantManagement.com

Molly was a young, focused executive hustling in corporate America. She woke up one day and realized that there was more to life than just moving up the corporate ladder. Her husband was being deployed at a rapid speed. And when he was home, she was working and they hardly could see each other. So, she quit. Her husband came home to find out she did not have a job and said, “OK, you’ve got 4 months to figure this out.” She started doing freelance work and had success. It evolved into more clients and success in the personal development space. She was creating the life she wanted and other military spouses kept asking her how she did it. She saw an opportunity to help other military spouses do what she was doing in the virtual assistant space. Virtual Assistant Management was born.

How did being a military spouse help prepare you for entrepreneurship?

You’re given this huge responsibility of running the ship when your spouse is gone. The house, the family, the finances, all the little things that couples would do, but on your own.
There is a level independence that being a military spouse teaches you which helps to transfer to entrepreneurship
. It also teaches you to be resilient and adaptable.

What there a catalyst that spurred you to quit? And what is your advice for someone who is in the same place you were and wants to make the leap to entrepreneurship?

She went to a conference for high-potential young professionals.
The term entrepreneur, the ability to use your skills and talents to create and sell services was introduced to her.
Learning this gave her the lightbulb moment that there was another way.
She was getting completely drained every day in the corporate world and was in tears a lot of days.
She had to trust in herself and created a plan and took action on it. She had the choice and the power – it just needed her to take action. She did.

Talk about having a plan and taking action. How do you advise people in this area?

First, you must figure out what you actually want.
Define what you want your work to be. For example, Molly defined hers as a position that she can do virtually, on her own time, that pays her at least 75% of what she was making in the corporate space.
When you envision what you want, the universe will open it up to you.
But it takes an action plan.
You should know what you are going to do every day.
You should reach to others and let them know what you are doing. Your Power 100 list – the most influential people and those close to you that should know as they may be able to help you.
“By doing nothing, you are not going to get anywhere.”

Other lessons that you feel are most important from your journey?

Being present in the interactions with people you are with every day.

How you spend your day is how you spend your day – and it is your choice how to spend it.
It is amazing how fast you can build a network.
Pay attention to the people that show up and the opportunities – they can come out of nowhere and are so important. Be open to them.

Talk to us about utilizing virtual assistants, the dos and don’ts, etc.

Entrepreneurs have a passion for the solution they are providing, but as they grow, they find that they wear a lot of hats and have created a number of jobs for themselves.
There is a big difference between running a company and creating a job for yourself.
Entrepreneurs need a plan to outsource from the beginning.
When it comes to hiring a virtual assistant, it should be the first person an entrepreneur hires as they can where several hats and take a number of things off the entrepreneur’s plate.
They give you leverage at a lower cost.

If you were coaching someone on how to hire their first VA, what would you have them do?

First, recognizing all the things that are on your plate and then start cherry picking all of the things you want to offload. This serves as your initial job description.
Start with 5 hours a week.
Each week should have a weekly meeting with the VA and an action plan with roles and responsibility.
You can use a project management tool like Monday to help.
Communication throughout the week is important. VAs where a lot of hats and have a number of ways to communicate – pick the medium that works best for you.
Make them part of the team, share your goals and how they can make a bigger impact.
By knowing the bigger picture, VAs can find opportunities to make things even better.
Clarity is very important for everyone in the process to maximize productivity and success.

Tell us about hiring an outsourced, COO…

This is the goal of a tenured VA in their career.
They are the right-hand person for a business owner.
They take your vision and run with the strategy, the how, and run and delegate a team to help execute the vision.
A level below that is an OBM – outsourced business manager.
This can be done at a fractional level, and you don’t need a 40 hour/week employee. They can execute their duties in 10-20 hours per week.

What are the major duties Outsourced COOs do and how can they do it in less than 40 hours per week?

Technology and automation is a big part of things.
Outsourced COOs are very good at building systems.
They are good at taking projects and mapping everything out, hiring the needed contractors to help to do it.
They can do payroll and book-keeping and interface with others in the business and even clients.
They are the gate-keeper for the entrepreneur.
Costs for COOs range from retainers of $5000 to paying a commission or a mix of both.

Talk about automation and its importance…

If you are doing any task that is repetitive, you need to automate it and automate it all the way down to things like email templates.
Online schedulers are very important to maximize productivity.
Your sales funnels, how you sell, and after-sales engagement, etc. should be automated.
Every area of a business, if broken down, can have a lot of it automated.

Other best practices to free time and be productive?

Take some time and look at your calendar for the last couple weeks. How did you spend your time? Did you enjoy it? How many things would have made sense to avoid or eliminate?

Pay attention to what you are saying “yes” to and decide if you should be saying “yes” to these things.
Working in sprints of say 90 mins at a time and then having a little break is good to help.
You can also work in 45-minute sprints with a short break to maximize productivity.
You must be intentionally with your scheduling and plans.
You must also create days off.
Automation is very important to help make this a reality.

Any other advice for managing and hiring VAs?

There is a big difference between overseas and local VAs.
It takes more work for overseas, but there are great people.
For overseas, you must be very specific and be willing to work across the different time zones. In fact, local VAs can even help hire and manage overseas VAs.
There is a place both types in a business.

Best Quote: By doing nothing, you are not going to get anywhere.

Molly Rose Misfit 3:

Time freedom – wherever you can create this in your life, look for it and enjoy it.

There is great importance in human connection. Those your surround yourself with greatly affect all areas of your life. Choose wisely in your connections.

We are here to support and engage with one-another. Give and have gratitude. In the end, it is about the impact and experience you had on this earth.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ari Galper. Ari is the world’s #1 authority on trust-based selling. He’s the best-selling author of “Unlock the Sales Game,” a must read by the way, and “The One Call Sale.” He’s been featured everywhere from Forbes to INC and CNN and is sought after by business owners, entrepreneurs, and major corporations like Citibank and GE to help them improve their sales organizations.

But the thing I am most excited for Air to share is the journey he took to become who he is. In some ways, it parallels my own journey with the Misfit Entrepreneur as we both have a very special why. Of course, we are going to talk all things sales and selling too.

www.UnlocktheGame.com for a copy of Ari’s book and other free resources.

Ari met his wife over 20 years ago. She was from Sydney, Australia. He came to meet her family and fell in love with the country. They lived in LA for a while and moved to Australia after the birth of their son. He was in professional sales in tech and other industries prior to going out on his own.

At the 6:30 mark, Ari tells the story of a major sale that would double the size of the tech company he was working. He did the demo and got awesome feedback. It went so well, he thought it was a done deal – until it wasn’t. This was where he learned how important it was to use trust-based selling to succeed.

Somewhere along the way, it has become socially acceptable not to tell the truth to people who sell.
Instead, we hear things like “sounds good,” “Send me information,” “Send me a proposal,” etc. without the buyer having any intention to buy at all.

Ari asked himself, “Why are people afraid to tell me the truth?”

He realized that there is an invisible river of pressure that flows under every sales conversation, and you need to learn how to remove it, so you don’t play the sales game.

You must shift your mindset away from the goal of the sale and instead build deep trust with people where they feel vulnerable and comfortable enough to open up and tell you the truth.

You credit learning to be your son’s dad as a breakthrough for Trust-Based selling – what was the breakthrough?

Toby has down syndrome which means he’s open and honest, kind, and a joy to be around.
He has no hidden agenda with people.
He is honest and open and doesn’t carry a shield.
He lives in his authenticity and integrity.
This is how it should be with a sale between the buyer and seller.
We must detox from the old ways and behaviors of selling to a new way. A trust-based way.

So, what is it that companies and salespeople doing wrong in selling?

Most people live in myths such as “sales is a numbers game”
It’s not about that. It’s about at how deep you go in each conversation.
The sale is not lost at the end of the process but lost at the beginning of the process.
Most sales calls are over at “Hello.”
The other myth is that sales rejection is part of the game when in fact, it is triggered by old habits and ways of thinking.

Define Trust-Based Selling…

The redefinition of selling as you know it.

It’s not about making the sale for you. It’s not focusing on your goal but focusing on their goal.
100% authentic going deep underneath their problem to a level where they feel you truly get them.
Trust-Based selling is making the process all about them and not you.

Take us through the process. How does an entrepreneur or salesperson get to the point where a prospect believes that they truly get them and understand them?

Trust-Based language: Changing your words and language to show you are different.
For example, always be diffusing pressure.
Ari gives an example of a sales phone call at the 17 min mark and the moving forward conversation and how it should go. Instead of telling what they next steps are, ask “Where do you think we should go from here?”
When you people feel you truly care about them and show it and back it up – it sets you apart.

Why is the sale lost at “hello?” And what do people need to do differently in the beginning?

We have been conditioned to start the relationship at hello, to build rapport.
Relationship building and trust-building are mutually exclusive.
The mistake is made where salespeople try to get people to like and know them.
Buyers don’t have to like you.
Think of a doctor and patient. A doctor doesn’t have the luxury of being liked as much as they are responsible for diagnosing solving a problem with a patient whether the patient likes them or not.
Build relationships after the sale – not before the sale, so it’s not fake at “hello.”
Instead as entrepreneur or salesperson, you be the doctor. Peel back their issues and go to the place they don’t even know about and help understand the real challenge to solve.

At the 25 min mark, Ari gives examples of what to say on an initial call.

It includes things like “asking for help” or asking if they “would be open” to a problem that you help clients solve.

How is unlocking the sales game comparable to the Japanese art of Aikido?

Aikido is all about no resistance.
You deflect and diverge energy in Aikido.
When you sense pressure or tension in the sales process, you are conditioned to two responses – fight or flight.
Instead, don’t try to fight resistance, but diffuse it and don’t go to “fight the battle.”
Diffuse and re-engage.
For example, if someone tells you that your “fees are too high,” the natural response is to fight the battle for them. Instead, say something like, “You are absolutely right, it can be perceived as high if you haven’t had a chance to actually the product or service to get the result you are looking for, to justify making this happen. Would you be open to looking at this from a different perspective to see how we can build a business case for this?”
This is redirecting to a different path of thinking about things.

How does someone develop themselves to be able to practice Trust-Based Selling?

It is about unlearning.
People typically put on sales armor, get ready for battle, and react in the moment because we are not centering ourselves.
People have a pattern of moving things forward and the minute that is broken, we freak out and get defensive, we over-educate, give stuff away – we lose ourselves and the ability to be the “doctor.”
We must be 100% present in the other person’s world.
It requires practice and coaching, a shift in mindset.
Remove this phrase from your vocabulary – never ever again use the phrase “follow up.” Not in email or phone call, etc.
The only profession in the world that uses that phrase is selling and sales.
Stop being a “salesperson.”
Get rid of the old language.
Stop using “check in” or “touch base.” Instead use “I’m giving you call to see if you have any feedback from our last discussion or from our meeting.”
Change you thinking and language and people will tell you the truth.

Talk to us about the “One Call Sale.” Explain your philosophy.

It is Ari’s lifework in a book.
It is a refined model that removes resistance at “hello.”
It teaches you to be a “doctor” and have the right bedside manner to peel back the onion – like a therapist and patient.
At the 37 min mark, Ari walks through some of the thought process.
It is all about digging deeper and deeper below the iceberg.
You job is not to move prospects forward, but to move them down the iceberg to where they say, “How can you help me?”

Final thoughts?

Let go of the idea that your job is to educate prospects of and in your sales process. They don’t want work to do.
They are not asking whether they want to buy a solution, but instead – is this person the one I can trust to solve my problem?

Best Quote: There is an invisible river of pressure that flows under every sales conversation, and you need to learn how to remove it, so you don’t play the sales game.

Ari's Misfit 3:

Stop selling. Build trust instead.
Be the doctor and diagnose problems.
Be present with people in their world so you don’t slip out into your world.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Carson Tate. Carson is the best-selling author of Work Simply: Embracing the Power of Your Personal Productivity and founder of the business with the same name which helps clients amplify team performance, better engage their workforce, and increase productivity.

Carson and the principles of Working Simply have been featured everywhere from Fast Company to Forbes to the Harvard Business Review. And Working Simply has helped some of the largest organization including FEDEX, J&J, Chick-Fil-A, and Lowes, just to name a few, improve their performance.

I bet you can guess why I asked her on the show. What entrepreneur wouldn’t want to improve team performance, better engage, and increase productivity?

www.WorkingSimply.com

https://www.workingsimply.com/work-style-assessment/

Carson started her career in corporate America in HR/Training. She then went into outside sales for Big Pharma and that is where the light bulb went off for her and where she realized she wanted to be an entrepreneur. It was like having her own business, until they changed her compensation which require her and her team to change how they did things. They had to become more productive, so Carson developed a system that got great results to a point where it became a model for the company. Carson saw that there was a good opportunity for a business to help companies in this area, so she left and launched her business.

What does it mean to work simply? What are the principles?

Can you re-orient from output to impact and results only work?

What are the principles?

It starts with identifying what is not working well
Where are team members burned out?
Do you have a communication or meeting issue?
Depending on the root cause, that is where you go to work.
For example, if there are too many meetings and they are ineffective – then the focus would be on optimizing meetings for results and time.
You also have to look at how they team gets work done most effectively and make sure everyone understands it.

Where do you see challenges in productivity consistently?

Execution is one area that is consistent.
It is also looking at conflicts between individuals and teams. People need to learn how their personal dynamics can work better together.
Meetings and email management are two other areas where a lot of productivity and time are lost.

Explain why email management is so important?

It’s the primary communication tool in most businesses.
Most people don’t know how to use platforms like Outlook most effectively.
People are also connected to it 24/7 which means it makes it easier to get burned out.

At the 14 min mark, Carson and I have a great conversation on being productive in training people to be respectful of your time.

Thoughts on running a team to be most productive?

Dedicate time to each of your direct reports to ask questions and get updates.
A leader’s focus should be on coaching and development during focused time.
Leaders should stack 1 on 1’s and do them in the same day if possible. This will help with focusing on the same activities which helps you to be more productive.

The data on multi-tasking proves it does not work. Multi-tasking is an illusion and goes against your biological design of voluntary vs. involuntary focus. You are much less productive when you multi-task.

Any other productivity tips that people should know about?

The most important practice is the recognition that people don’t think and process information the same way, so there is not a one-size fits all solution to productivity.
Many companies think everyone can function the same way in the same structure for productivity. Some will do well, others will not.
Ultimate productivity comes when you are able to personalize productivity based on work style.
Carson developed an assessment to help people understand how they process information and how to maximize productivity around it.
Just go to https://www.workingsimply.com/work-style-assessment/

What do you see as the most important thing a leader can do each day to help their team’s success?

Coach!
Transform from manager to coach.
A coach invites the individual team member to co-create and problem solve.
It is asking questions vs. telling.

What have you learned along your journey about how to consistently perform and succeed?

It starts with you.
Exercise, rest, and meditation are essential for your ability to navigate entrepreneurship thoughtfully and intentionally.
Self-care is essential.

Best advice to an entrepreneur just starting out?

Radical self-awareness is needed to succeed.
Get clarity around why and what your best way to contribute is.
Once you start building a team – the self-awareness allows you to know where it is best for you to focus and work with your team.

There is a difference between being a leader and a CEO. What are your thoughts on how to maximize your success as a CEO?

Having an information and eventually more formal advisory board with diversity is helpful.
It is important for leaders to engage an executive coach at different stages to help them.

Your thoughts on how to select the right coaches?

First, there are credentials for coached.
There are processes, methods, etc. that coaches can be certified in.
Another important thing is if they have experience in the area you are looking for help in.
Above all, it needs to be a good fit. You have to be able to trust them and be open with them.

Anything else you feel is important for us to understand for success?

Engagement and engaging your team.
You must create and engaging environment for your team and your clients.

Best Quote: The most important practice is the recognition that people don’t think and process information the same way, so there is not a one-size fits all solution to productivity

Carson's Misfit 3:

Know thyself...
Take care of thyself...
Serve others...

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Alisa Cohn. Where to start with Alisa. She has been named the top startup coach in the world and has been coaching startup founders to help them grow into world class CEOs for almost 20 years. She is also an angel investor and advisor and has worked to help everyone from Venmo to Etsy to Draftkings in their sucess. She has coached CEOs and C-Suite Executives at many of the largest Fortune 500s such as IBM, Google, and Microsoft.

And if that is not enough, she is a top leadership speaker and guest lecturer at Harvard, Cornell, and even the Naval War College. Alisa is the author of the best-seller, From Start Up to Grown Up and I’ve asked her to come on the show to talk everything startup and leadership.

www.AlisaCohn.com

Alisa was in the non-profit world and had a moment of truth when she was working at a university. A provost told her that “you could not manage faculty because the have tenure.” She thought that it could not be. She went to business school at Cornell and ended up focusing on finance and accounting. She ended up working at Price Waterhouse Coopers. She was fast-tracked. After working for some time, she knew it was not what she wanted to do. One Sunday she woke and thought to herself that she hoped to get the flu, so she didn’t have to go to work the next day. 18 hours later, she was rushed to the emergency room with the flu!

She was out for 2 weeks and during that time really thought about what she wanted. She went to a conference and there was speaker and coach. They were amazing. The next day, she followed the coach and watched her speak – she loved it and decided that she wanted to go that route. She took jobs during the dotcom boom and went through coach training. When the dotcom bubble burst, she decided it was time to go on her own and she’s been doing it ever since.

Define Leadership…

A leader is like a conductor. They bring people together in service of something bigger and better, coordinated together – and then empowers the people to do the best work of their lives.
It’s knowing where you want to go and having the vision and then finding the people and unlocking their potential to help in fulfilling it.

Qualities of great leaders?

Great leaders come in all shapes and sizes.
The greatest leaders care about people genuinely.
They do what it takes to move the organization toward the mission.
They make the hard the calls. They make sure everyone is on the same page.
Sometimes it means getting in the trenches.
Great leaders have situational awareness and do what it takes in the moment to be effective and powerful.

How do you teach people to gain better situational awareness?

It’s first checking in with yourself.
Second, it is recognizing that all others have their own bundle of emotions, priorities, dynamics, etc.
Get curious and super observant as a leader and strive to understand these things in people in the context of what you are feeling.

Leaders have blind spots. What are the ones you see most prevalent in leaders?

Leaders do have very similar blind spots.
The first one is that leaders sometimes forget they are the leader – the boss. Your suggestions are orders. As a leader, you have authority and need to remember that.
Leaders don’t realize how much they need to communicate. They need to repeat themselves over and over to make sure everyone has heard them and is aligned on the strategy and vision.

Most important aspect for a startup leader to get right from the beginning? Most important aspect for a leader in a mature company?

Starting up, leaders how to figure out who to even higher and need to be charismatic enough to get people on board and raise money, etc. It’s working a miracle in some ways.
Startup leaders must be adaptable and willing to persist against all odds.
As a company matures, the leader has to be willing and able to rapidly grow.
Alisa’s book “From Startup to Grown Up,” deals with this.
All leaders must have emotional self-control and be able to weather the ups and downs.
Leaders in mature companies must be consistent and be excellent at delegating and making sure everyone is on mission.

Talk to us about dealing with the internal politics of business….

Any time you have more than one person, you have politics.
People have different opinions, agendas, ways of looking at things, etc.
In large companies, status and power is part of politics and politics in companies is reality.
Leaders need to have organizational awareness and be savvy to navigate for good and not for ill.
Leaders need to build relationships and network with those have power and align in the right ways with the people making decisions.
If you want good things for the company, you need to be savvy enough that your voice is being taken into account when decisions are made.
For startups, it’s about creating a great culture and hiring the right people aligned with it.
For startups, it is also about being transparent and doing things in the light of day.

Power and Influence – what role do they play in the development of a leader and what should leaders understand about them?

You must gain power and influence as you get more senior, or you will be sidelined.
This means you must be networking with and savvy with those that make decisions and the key stakeholders.
You have to look and see what is being rewarded in the company and make sure that you participate in it.
Observe your surroundings and the power/influence dynamic in the organization and what drives it.

How does a leader and organization developer their guidepost and values?

Spend a lot of time thinking through what you want the company and culture to be. It’s worth it to slow down and get it as close to right as you can.
Sit down and ask what things your really value? What kind of company do you want to work at? What culture do you want to ensure lasts?

Key elements of a successful startup?

You have to have a lot of magic.
You have to have a strong view of what you can create and why it is significant in the market.
You have to get the feedback and take the negative comments and keep going.
You then must find the right team who are aligned and committed to the mission.
As you grow, you will need to bring in more senior people who know how to grow a bigger organization – maybe even replacing yourself.

Personal mastery – how does someone learn to live and work at their peak?

You spend a lifetime doing it.
It starts with intention.
How are you going to be better tomorrow than today?
It’s about learning from the masters and what world class experts do to achieve peak performance.
It’s also figuring out which things make sense for you to take on and do with discipline and diligence that make the most difference.

What have you learned that is most important for success as an entrepreneur?

Resilience, resilience, resilience
The longer you can stay in the game, the better chance of success.
Keep putting one foot in front of the other and do the next right thing.

What is the most unexpected thing you found on your journey?

A pivotal moment was in 2006 when she reached out to Marshall Goldsmith.
She met with him personally and he took her under her wing and helped her get her start.
She dared to say yes to working with him and it has made all the difference.

Best Quote: The longer you can stay in the game, the better chance of success.

Alisa's Misfit 3:

Get out of your comfort zone and take more risk.
Build your network early and often.
Be someone who is known for helping other people and the rest will take care of itself. Believe in yourself.

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Many years ago, I introduced a new format that alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.”

Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life…. even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of Lessons for Hannah, I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.

Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This Week's Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I am excited to speak to you about one of my favorite topics, mental toughness. There are many takes on this subject and tons of books written on it. It seems there is a new book out on the subject every week. And I can understand why, achieving true mental toughness is personal to each person. How you find yours will be personal to you. I can only speak from my experience and how I have achieved my levels of mental toughness in my life – and I hope it inspires you to level up in yours.

First, what does it mean to be mentally tough? To me it is the ability to respond rather than react to hard circumstances in our lives. Notice I said respond. Most people react emotionally and let fear drive them when hard times come. They cede control of thought to the basic animal side of humanity and react in ways that are typically detrimental to themselves and their potential.

Being mentally tough is being prepared for the hard times because they will inevitably come, and then having the fortitude to say no to the emotional reaction and instead think logically and work through the challenge to reach the best outcome. Being mentally tough is keeping perspective as hard times come, and they go, and life goes on. You must never lose faith in yourself, but you must see reality for what it is.

To be mentally tough is to be able to endure and outlast. One of my favorite movie trilogies is the Batman Trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan. I like it for a lot of reasons. The series is a great set of lessons on good, evil, how fragile societies can be and of course, mental toughness. In one scene in the Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne and Alfred are talking about how in order to stop the Joker, he will have to turn himself in as the Joker has demanded it in order to stop his anarchy and crime spree. This was a moment of mental weakness for Bruce Wayne as he knew deep down that turning himself in would not stop the Joker and Batman was the only way. He asks Alfred what he should do, and Alfred says, “Endure, Master Wayne. Take it. They'll hate you for it, but that's the point of Batman, he can be the outcast. He can make the choice that no one else can make, the right choice.”

I’ve learned that mental toughness is making the right choice even when it is the hardest choice, even when it may bring pain. It is making the right choice knowing others may not understand why at the time or be angry at you for it. It is enduring through all the things, including your own thoughts, that tell you to stop or quit, or give in because you know what is on the other side. You know the ultimate prize is waiting.

I have found my mental toughness through sports and entrepreneurship. I played football from grade school through college and then after college started endurance racing and ultimately Ironman. Sports provide one of the ultimate battle fields for mental toughness. You will go through highs and lows. You will stretch yourself physically and mentally. You will experience fatigue, not just from the work you must do to compete, but also in the form of doing something for a long period of time. I played football for almost 15 years and there were times where I just got tired of it – after all, I had been doing it for so long.

But something I realized is that I spent all this time getting to where I could be my best at the sport and to quit would be to waste all of that hard work and effort. It is the same with Ironman racing. There are a lot of days where my training plan calls for me to train for 5, 6, 7, hours or more. This means, I need to be starting at 4 or 5am in the morning to get everything in alongside all the other things I do and commitments to our family. I would be lying if I didn’t state that there are days where I get up and just am not feeling it and don’t want to do it. I question why I am even doing it – after all I don’t have to…it is an elective sport for me at this point in my life. Those are all emotional reactions, and I have learned to respond logically. It is in these moments that I think of all the benefits of what I am doing and move forward. For example, I have done all the work to get into the best shape physically and mentally of my life and the training is the practice to keep it. After all, it is a lot easier to stay in shape than to get in shape. I also know that it helps me in my health and my ability to be able to do all the things I do with you and your mom. I also know that it helps me as an entrepreneur and in my life as it keeps me disciplined. It keeps me in a good routine and structure. Lastly, I am being rewarded for the work as I am now Top 10% for my age in the world in the sport. And I also know that I have not reached my full potential yet. So, this keeps me going.

Entrepreneurship is similar to sports in that you have to take a long-term view and have the endurance to keep going through the challenges that present themselves on almost a daily basis. I have learned that the more problems you can handle and the bigger ones that you can handle, the larger your business can grow. And this capability allows you to develop others and help them reach their potential, because you can show them through your experience that they are capable of so much more. And ultimately, as an entrepreneur, you want to develop your systems and people so that the business can continue to grow and thrive without you having to be there for it to do so. The only way you can get there is by being mentally tough and sticking it out until it happens.

Hannah, developing your mental toughness and learning to respond rather than react when challenges and hard times come is a lifelong journey. It is worth it. It is worth to push and stretch yourself. It is worth to live into your true potential and capabilities. It is worth it to endure and develop the fortitude needed to see things through. I’ll leave you with a secret and probably the most important advice I will give you on this topic. You don’t have to do it alone. In fact, you are not alone. While you can rely on others, like your mom and I, to help in tough times, there is something else that is always there for you and by your side and that is God. Knowing God and Jesus are walking with you on your journey will keep you going. In fact, one of the most important phrases I use late in Ironman races after swimming over 2 miles, biking over a hundred, and getting deep into my marathon is “God is with me.” When I am feeling like my muscles don’t want to move any more or that I am too tired physically and mentally to go on, I just say that to myself, “God is with me. God will help me finish.”

And it is in these moments that I truly understand what it means to be mentally tough and keep going, because that is what Jesus did for us. He endured more than any human being every could to sacrifice himself and take on the burdens of this world, and knowing this, knowing I have him by my side means I can see anything through. He is the greatest example of mental toughness there is. Hannah, develop your mental toughness and you will be amazed at how you can see anything through.

I love you,

Dad

Best Quote: Being mentally tough is being prepared for the hard times because they will inevitably come, and then having the fortitude to say no to the emotional reaction and instead think logically and work through the challenge to reach the best outcome.

Misfit 3

What does it mean to be mentally tough? To me it is the ability to respond rather than react to hard circumstances in our lives. To be mentally tough is to be able to endure and outlast.
I’ve learned that mental toughness is making the right choice even when it is the hardest choice, even when it may bring pain.
Knowing God and Jesus are walking with you on your journey will keep you going. Jesus is the greatest example of mental toughness there is.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Alex Weber. Alex is a former American Ninja Warrior, Award-Winning Entertainer for NBC, and international keynote speaker on leadership and peak performance. If that is not enough, he’s also a world record holder and best-selling author of Fail Proof, Become the Unstoppable You.

Alex has proven that you can learn to consistently operate in a peak state and accomplish more than anyone thinks is possible. So, I’ve asked him on the show to teach you how to do it in your life and business.

www.ImAlexWeber.com

Alex was a bullied, insecure, awkward kid until a leader came into his life. It was a high school lacrosse coach. He told Alex he could be good at the sport. This small vote of confidence spurred Alex to work as hard as he could and commit to it. The more he poured himself into it, the more he grew. He gained, friends, confidence, respect, etc. Alex learned that when find an outlet to be successful, it can make all the difference in your life. He went on to play in college and started every game as a freshman, but then got benched every game as a sophomore. This affected him negatively – so he worked hard and came back and was a player his junior and senior year, but he never forgot the way he felt and was affected when he was sidelined. His path was like many other at U of Penn – get a business degree and go to Wall Street. It wasn’t the path for him, but he followed the path “he was supposed to go down.” On evening, he was sitting around with friends talking and he asked the question, “What do you want for your moments on earth? He wrote down his answer. The next morning, he read what he wrote and started doing action and theatre. He did it quietly, but new it was right for him.

“People don’t see it until they see it.” Once those around him, saw him have success and be in commercials, etc. they can around and understood his path was to go that way.

He moved to Los Angeles for his career and start acting and doing comedy. In fact, he’s done stand up for many years.

During this time, he was also coaching Lacrosse for a prestigious High School. Right before the season started, the head coach quit and he was names interim head coach, so he gave it everything he had. He fell in love with it. The team had never won a playoff game and in that year, they won the LA championship and Alex was named Lacrosse coach of the year.

You have to notice when it is time for new chapters in your life. You have to move to next chapter with courage and grace. He wanted to fulfill his acting career and ended up getting hired as a host of American Ninja Warrior. Part of his job was also trying everything on the show, and he failed at it. But, after the end of the first season, his bosses said that he was crushing it at failing, but as a former athlete, he could be really good.

They gave him the opportunity to be an athlete again. He ended up winning an award for hosting, but also pursued being a contestant on the show. He also pursued his speaking career by blending his experience as a host, pro-athlete, coach, and comedian.

Define unstoppable…

It’s not that you will live a life without challenge or fear.
It is knowing you want something and are committed to it.
No matter what comes at you, you are not going to stop.
It is being relentless.
If you are unstoppable, you will get to your goal.

What does it mean to get into a peak performance state and stay there?

If you want it, you will make it happen.
If you are clear on your powerful, visceral why – the thing that makes your heartbeat faster, it will ripple through your life.
Fight for the best version of yourself.
You decide to get in the jungle, so you must see it to them.
Peak performance is a building process.
Preparation is one of the biggest things. Be around the best you can. (Athletes, entrepreneurs, etc.)
Being around people that are more successful or experienced than you will elevate your capability and possibility.
Once it is time to perform – you need to “get in your body.” Get the blood going. Visualize your success.
Focus on the immediate actions that will affect your success.
Things are won or lost in the moment by who we are and our commitment. Choose to believe in yourself.

What is it that holds most people back?

Good is the enemy of great. Good is a trap. Strive to be great.
We are quick to dismiss wanting to be and do more. Our minds hold us back.
Don’t let negative thinking validate fear.
You are capable of doing anything you really want. It is a choice, a commitment to see it through, and believe that it is possible.

What is the “Fail Proof system?”

6 steps
Step 1: Identity goals that matter to you.
Step 2: Make it real. Get it from idea to reality.
Step 3: Dive in the deep end. It’s big bold action. This leads to initial progress.
Step 4-6: The Chain Reaction. The progress feeds on itself and it becomes snowball effect.
Step 4 - you will have adversity and your emotional reactions and how fast you overcome to get back to what matters is most important. Respond, don’t react to emotion.
Step 5 is the “golden nugget” – find one thing that you can do better.
Step 6 is staying committed, full effort and full belief. Implement your golden nuggets.

How do people foster the ability to respond instead of reacting to emotion?

Reacting is weakness.
It is short-sighted.
You can feel the emotion, but if you let it control you, it is your weakness.
Feel it, but channel it in a way that is productive.

What are some of the best ways to translate the lessons you teach to entrepreneurship?

You must find your crew. People you admire to have around and fuel each other.
Get a small group committed to each other’s success and hold each other accountable.
Don’t go it alone. Your best may not be able to be attained alone. Many times, our best is summoned when others need us and we have to level up to help them.

What have you learned from doing standup comedy that has helped you as an entrepreneur?

He was scared to do it. And had to dive into the deep end. Just like you have to do as an entrepreneur.
It has taught him how to feel a crowd and know if he is engaging or not – or hitting the market.
It has brought a new level of awareness.

Best Quote: What do you want for your moments on earth?

Alex's Misfit 3:

Zoom out. You are a living creature on a planet. What do you want for your moments on earth?

Purpose is the meaning of life. Purpose can be anything as long as it is meaningful to you. Find your purpose and see if it can be with people.
Be open to the gifts. Do not have blinders on so much that you miss the gifts on the journey.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Mike Moll. Simply put, Mike is a marketing expert with a special focus on helping entrepreneurs build systems that create time freedom. He built a fully remote company in 2013 and then has replicated that in helping hundreds of other companies charge what they are worth and free up the entrepreneur in their business.

Through his company, MarketMe, he’s worked with everyone from Trends to AppSumo and regularly speaks on how to build effective and successful marketing systems. I’ve asked him to come on and share his best strategies and advice on how to create better marketing systems in your business.

@TheMikeMoll on Instagram

Mike was not a great student. He felt that everything he was doing was wrong and questioned if he was smart or not. He started making money early in life, working 25 hours a week even in high school. He went to college, and it didn’t last. He was on academic probation within a year and ultimately left. He did a bunch of odd jobs in things likes breakdancing, Bingo caller, and then did some sales roles. He felt he needed to grow up and get a real job, so he got into insurance and did it for 6 years.

In his 6th year, he had a complete nervous breakdown. He was doing well financial, had a company car, etc., but he was not happy. He knew things had to change. His family and life at the time told him he had to find something else. Two weeks later he left and was unemployed with no plan. He started a software company out of his house and as he says, “That caught him up on everything he had not learned and needed to learn about life and business.” He pivoted a year in and turned it into a marketing agency. That is where found his calling and groove to doing what he is today.

What is your business today?

When he first started, he was selling advertising and google ads for clients.
Now, he does lead generation for service companies through Facebook, google, and other mediums.
He also coaches marketers “helping Mike from 7 years ago.”
The agency has a team in place the operates without him having to be there.
The coaching side is where Mike spends his individual time.

What is the most important piece of a good marketing strategy?

A very clear vision of who you work with and what you do for them.
People buy when the feel understood – not when the understand you. Narrow things down and speak to people.
I help “X” group of people” achieve “Y” by doing “Z”
Really defining that and understand the specific person you are selling to is the focus.
If you don’t know how to speak to the needs and challenges of your customer, you cannot succeed.

What is the best way refine and state how you help clients?

The key is to not be afraid and not there is a big enough market for just about everything.
Getting a certain type of business in front of a local audience. A service in a specific town or city is easier than national.
Niching is the best place to go to work and help clients – you’ll be surprised at how much business there is for you.

Any other elements of a great marketing strategy?

Where people go wrong is to go bigger and flashier than they need to be and try to be everywhere all at once.
Find that one channel first to focus on. One market channel should bring you 80% of your customers.
You can’t be good at everything.
Unless you have the budget to hire expertise in all areas, it is a waste of your time and money.
You will have to determine what works for you.
Use Google Tag manager on your website.
Great solution called CallRail that dynamically adapts to the lead by source.

What should we know about Google Ads?

They are not for everyone.
70% of businesses are a good fit, about 30% are not.
Many times, what people search to find you are not what you think.
Google Ads work well for service, Ecom businesses, etc.
Google makes it seem like they are very friendly, but their “easy to use” system wastes a lot of money for clients.
Do not use the default “google AdWords express.” You want to use “Expert Mode.”
When you put your keywords in, you need to take control and make sure that specifics need to be in the search for your ad to show up.

At the 26 min mark, Mike answers the question, How do you generate high converting leads with one single message?

You should have an individual sales or landing page for everything you offer. It should never go to a website.
Be focused and obvious about you being the solution to their problem on a specific page.
Then you have to think about what that person needs to do to get the finish line with you.
Make sure they are in the right place with the “who and do what statement.”
You need to show you know what you are doing with social proof like testimonials.
Then you reinforce they are in the right place by confirming what they care about.
Then a call to action. On that page there should be nothing else, but the way to move forward.

How does someone automate things to free themselves up in the business?

You cannot do this until you’ve nailed the product and pricing in the business.
Your product must be positioned and priced the right way to turn it into a business.
Once you’ve got things right, you can hire or outsource for what is needed.
You then need to build out your systems and processes for people to follow.
Make a list of every step that needs to be done in every area of your business and then explain it in a way that someone who has no knowledge can understand.
Put the processes into a slide deck and record a video of how to do the process.

Best Quote: If you don’t know how to speak to the needs and challenges of your customer, you cannot succeed.

Mike's Misfit 3:

Start building relationships with people who are at your next level by giving away your time and expertise for free.
Take action now. No one is going to do it for you. You have to move you forward.
Expect to fail and learn to enjoy it. You cannot build anything without failing.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Michael Juergens. Mike is a very interesting guy and a modern-day renaissance man. He runs the winery solutions practice for a Big Four firm. He founded the wine industry in the Kingdom of Bhutan. He owns the award-winning So-Cal Rum company that boasts the highest rated silver rum of all time. He runs the Drinking and Knowing Things newsletter and is the author of the best-selling book with the same name. And if that is not enough, he is an adventure race addict and candidate to become the 58th American to qualify as a Master of Wine. Oh, and he’s also a professor at the University of California Irvine.

Mike’s motto is “do epic stuff with awesome people,” And on this show, we have epic conversations with awesome people. So, I’ve asked Mike to come on today to share how he’s done all he’s done and what he’s learned along the way.

www.DrinkingandKnowingThings.com

Mike got to where he through interesting experiences that he was not afraid to lean into. As he says, the universe is constantly presenting us with opportunities and we are often too caught up in our day to day to realize or, even if we do, we don’t lean in on it. So, Mike decided to lean in on everything that seems cool and that has lead him to where he is.

Explain more about we should and can lean into the opportunities in our lives…

If you are going Kayaking in a whitewater rapid, the rapid is going to take you to the bottom.
The goal is the make it to the bottom and have the best time without having any major issues.
If you can nudge yourself into the middles, the fast part, and not try to control it, but let it take you, it will get you to the bottom.
The analogy applies to the universe as if you try to fight the universe, you don’t get anywhere and get beat up, but if you get into the flow of the universe, you will go places you don’t expect – but they are the right places for you to be.
Mike gives a few examples at the 6:30 mark.

With all that you do, you still choose to work and have a job. Why still do that when you have all your businesses?

Mike loves what he does, and his job is to travel around and hang out at wineries and help them.
He was doing that as a hobby before starting the vertical at the firm.
He gets paid to do his passion.
He’s built a business within a business.

Talk about how you created your role…

The corporate culture allows for it.
He has started 6 different practices during his career at the firm.
It has been having a good idea and the sponsors for it, communicating it well to get support and momentum – and then having the guts to do it and take the risk.
It also easier to do when you have already done it and shown success which he has done.

How do you keep up with everything? How do you schedule your life?

He was a single dad for many years and had to be very structured around their schedule.
He would get up at 3am every day.
As the kids got older and did not need him for so much, it freed up a lot of time as he stayed on the same schedule.
Don’t attend non-essential meetings.
Delegate and let go where needed.
And he truly wants to live the life he has and does what is needed to do so.

How did you create the wine industry in the Kingdom of Bhutan?

Mike has been adventure racing in all kinds of different places and his girlfriend had read a book that took place in Bhutan.
She always wanted to go there.
He got an email about doing a marathon in Bhutan and applied.
He surprised his girlfriend but was confused and thought it was an island in the tropics, and she explained it was in the Himalayas.
Bhutan is self-sustaining and has incredible crops/soil.
Everywhere he went, he asked about wineries, and no one knew what he was talking about.
He met some people from the government, and they told him they did not have wineries.
He told them they were screwing up, went home and wrote a white paper about it and sent it to them.
They asked him to help build the industry.

What did you have to do to get started?

He helped them understand the possibilities.
He wrote a 10-year business plan to follow.
It is literally building from scratch.
Mike paid for phase 1 and then got a series A round for phase 2.
He personally planted the first vine, a merlot.
Pre-covid, he went every quarter and there is a team of 100 people there.

Lessons learned?

They don’t know what grape will ultimately work best, so they have adopted a philosophy of failure to see which grapes are going to work.
It takes 3-5 years to figure this out.
It’s a core strategy for them to try a bunch of different things and see which ones work which is different than a typical business strategy.
You have to be careful not too be wide and broad, but not too narrow at the same time.
Building the industry is the most risk he’s take in business.

At the 29 min mark, Mike talks about how he got into the rum business…

One of his best friends and his son are big rum guys.
One day, they were all sitting around having drinks and his friend said, “we should start a distillery!”
Mike said, “what if?” What if we could create a competitor to Bacardi silver rum and focused on that category – and just did it better.
They didn’t know anything about how to do it, but started talking to people who did.
They found out that they could be better and it would not cost much, so they did it and had it made. And it won.
They outsourced the making and bottling of the rum.

You’ve spent 25 years traveling the world meeting people, what are the most important things you’ve learned about life and business?

It’s all about people and relationships.

Advice for people that aren’t living the life they are capable of?

Get outside your comfort zone. The people least like you are the ones you need to meet and learn from the most.

What does it mean to optimize the runner’s mindset?

Recognize that you are capable of much more than you believe.
We place limitations on ourselves.
40% rule. When you body is telling you that you are done – you have 60% still left.
Acknowledge that you are capable of more because you are.

We have a great conversation on racing and breaking through mental limitations…

Drinking and knowing things – what should they know about wine?

There is a wine for everyone.
Just explore and be willing to try them
Drinking and Knowing Things book Vol 1 and 2 - check it out.

What’s your favorite wine?

Burgundy, Pino nior from France

Best Quote: Get outside your comfort zone. The people least like you are the ones you need to meet and learn from the most.

Mike's Misfit 3:

Do epic stuff with cool people. Don’t leave anything on the table.
Don’t fight the universe.
Ask “What if?”

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Stephen Flood. Stephen is the founder and CEO of Goldcore, one of the oldest gold and silver dealers in the market today. The firm is responsible for over $1 billion in transactions and manages $300 million in assets for their clients.

Stephen has an incredible story. After graduating college in Ireland, he left for New York with just a few hundred dollars in his pocket and made his way into finance, eventually working with Goldman Sachs as a Trader in Equity Derivatives. After having a lot of success, he followed his entrepreneurial spirit back to Ireland starting Goldcore in 2003. The company has been featured on just about every financial medium there is from CNBC to Bloomberg.

But, what I love most about Stephen is that he’s an entrepreneur at his core and I’ve asked him to come on and share the wisdom he’s learned on his way to becoming a billion dollar CEO as well as his unique take on investing.

www.GoldCore.com

www.GoldintheUSA.com(Free Report on Gold Investing)

Stephen’s father died when he was 11. He learned early on how to take care of himself. And after going to college he knew he needed to follow his instincts and decided to go to New York where he go into finance. He loved his time in New York, but was always fascinated with technology and finance together. This helped in New York, but it also helped in finding creative solutions like he and his team have done at Goldcore.

Everywhere Stephen has gone, he’s been a disruptor and is driven by creating efficiencies.

What made you leave Wall Street to start Goldcore?

It wasn’t in the plan.
He had been there 7 years and planned to stay.
He originally had planned to start his own firm.
Then 9/11 happened. He was newly married and had an opportunity to exit Goldman and decided to travel the world with his wife.
He witnessed 9/11 firsthand and was ready to move. After about a year, he found himself back in Ireland and joined an old friend to start Goldcore.

What should people know about investing in gold and silver?

Put 10% of your money into gold and hope it does not work!
Gold is a risk off solution.
It gains or holds when things get rough in the markets.
It provides stability and financial insurance.
It calms the mind of the investor so you have the insurance and can take advantage of the opportunity of a down market.

Inflation is at 40-year highs, why hasn’t made very large moves higher?

At the 14 min mark, Stephen talks about the financial experiment of Quantitive Easing and money printing.
Stephen talks about the gold price seeing intervention by larger institutions.
The Cantillon Effect: You can print money and things look good initially, but eventually, it catches up with you and the money loses purchasing power and people start to dump it as they do not believe in it.
Hard assets will appreciate in value.

At the 18 min mark, Steven and I have a deeper discussion about central banking and about the monetary system in general.

Explain how gold gives personal sovereignty…

Having gold stored in a private storage facility is the closest thing you can have to personal sovereignty.
It’s like having your car parked in a garage that is storing it for you.
It gives you an asset that you can access at any time.

Thoughts on cryptocurrency?

Blockchain is a revolutionary technology.
It is huge leap forward.
Bitcoin is not a really a currency and should not be treated like one.
Money is power and the central banks will not allow Bitcoin to take that power – they will create their own and replace it.

What are the key elements needed to succeed as an entrepreneur?

Many entrepreneurs chase the exit and money, but it doesn’t usually happen.
If you can become the domain expert in your area, your chosen field.
If you do that, you will do well successfully and monetarily.
You must become the expert first and then the money will follow.
You need to be truthful to yourself, your employees, and partners.
Your team is critical and cannot be taken for granted. Show then a high degree of respect.
“It is better to find right, than to be right.”
Never stop learning…nothing is sacred.

Biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

When they first started, gold was about $300/oz, and no one really cared about it.
Then as the financial crisis came in and gold went down.
At the time, the business was very transactional based and gold buying slowed down and their business slowed down for quite some time – they had an 80% drop in transactions.
They learned the most on the way down.
They also found a niche in storage which added stability.

What is the benefit of storing things offsite vs. a safe at home?

It is a client preference.
For larger orders, it is easier.
The benefits are that if you sell it very quickly vs. having it at home where you have to ship it in, etc.
Storage is also insured by Lloyds of London.
There is a chain of integrity for storage, so validation is automatic.
If you take possession, it needs to be re-validated.

www.GoldintheUSA.com for some good basics on gold.

Main principles that you have used in building your business that have really stood out?

Being honest and truthful.
Humility is very important.
Own it and take personal responsibility.

Where do you see the economy going over the next year?

Big bold call – there is going to be an event that had a major impact on the markets and economy.
Commercial real estate is a place to watch.
The FED is in an impossible situation and cannot raise rates meaningfully.
There is desperation for yield and returns and it is a bubble.

Best Quote: It is better to find right, than to be right. Stephen's

Misfit 3:

Take personal responsibility and own every outcome.
Look after your mind, body, and soul.
Be truthful to yourself and those around you.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I want to talk to you about commitment. The definition of commitment states that it is the “state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.” What does that mean? Commitment is a word thrown around a lot and you will hear it all throughout your life. I don’t think people take the word and what it means seriously enough.

People say all the time that they are committed to things but give up on them. People commit to doing things for themselves or others, but don’t follow through. To me, commitment is something truly special. To commit to something means that you will do whatever it takes to fulfill the commitment and not give up until it is complete. To commit means that you have taken the time to think through what you are committing to and are choosing to move forward knowing and being prepared for what may happen on the journey. You are deciding that you are willing to go through all the challenges, hard times, and setbacks that could happen on your path to fulfilling the commitment. You also get to enjoy the good times of the journey as well.

A great of example of commitment is marriage. And marriage is one of those commitments that, sadly, many people break.

Marriage is incredible. To find the one person you are meant to be with and commit to them for the rest of your life is a serious and exciting experience. But too many people enter it without taking the time to understand what the commitment of marriage really means. I fact, Jesus spoke a lot about marriage, but I think he really understood what commitment meant in marriage when he said, “The two will become one. So, they are no longer two but one. Let no man divide what God has put together.”

Let no man divide what God has put together. If you believe like I do that things happen as they are supposed to, guided by a divine hand, then when you find the one you will marry and commit to, God has put you together. And because God has put you together, you should not divide it.

Now, that does not mean that there aren’t legitimate reasons for a divorce, but there certainly should not be superficial ones.

Marriage like entrepreneurship requires a true commitment and playing the long game. No matter how good a marriage is, it will have tough times. There will be times where each spouse is not happy with the other. That doesn’t mean they don’t love each other; it just means that they are having a challenge with each other at that time. Marriage is compromise, it’s give and take, it’s tough love, it’s standing true. It is the willingness to love someone when sometimes you don’t feel like you want to. It is the willingness to go through the hard times together and be there for each other.

Your mother and I will be celebrating 15 years of marriage this year. I am very excited about it. The average marriage length is sadly about 8 years which means your mother and I will be almost double that. But, it hasn’t been perfect. We are not perfect. There are times where I know I get on mom’s nerves and drive her nuts and of course, she has her moments as well. We will have arguments from time to time but seem to always find ways to work through them together. There are times where it is tough, but I know I can always count on mom to be there for me, and she knows that I will always be there for her. No matter what happens, we are committed. As we said in our vows – til death do us part.

Hannah, what I want you to take away from this is that commitment is something that is a serious choice in our lives and when we commit to something, we must see it through. And if we are not willing to do that, then we should not commit in the first place. I hope that you take this lesson to heart and use it to make better decisions for yourself in life committing to the right things. It is lesson I wish I understood earlier on in life.

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: To commit means that you have taken the time to think through what you are committing to and are choosing to move forward knowing and being prepared for what may happen on the journey.

Misfit 3:

Commitment is a word thrown around a lot and you will hear it all throughout your life. I don’t think people take the word and what it means seriously enough.
To commit to something means that you will do whatever it takes to fulfill the commitment and not give up until it is complete.
Commitment to something is a serious choice that we must see through. if we are not willing to do that, then we should not commit in the first place.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is John Mitchell. John is the founder of Think It Be It. John is an entrepreneur that went from averaging low 6-figures in business for 20 years to creating a $25 million per year business in just a few years. When I heard this story, naturally my question was, what changed? How did he increase his income 25 times in such a short time?

John did it by radically following the principles of the timeless classic, Think and Grow Rich. He discovered the Science of Success and put it to work. And he developed a system so that anyone can apply it. Today, his 12 Minute A Day methodology is recognized as the Top Application in the World of the Top Book in the World on success.

I brought him on the show to share exactly what he figured out and teaches others, so you can put to work in your life.

www.ThinkitBeit.com/ME (Free video and guide of John's Deep Thinking Process)

John started out as a CPA and at 30 decided that wasn’t the career he wanted, so over the next 20 years, he got into multiple different businesses. When he reached 50, he was not at the levels he aspired to be. He wanted to have enough money not to have to work and have the woman of his dreams and he was falling short on both. He did OK – making 6-figures a year, but he knew he needed to start making over million per year to reach his goals. He realized he had to change his 20-year history. So, he decided to find the top book in the world on success and apply it word for word to his life. That book was Think and Grow Rich.

He got it and read it cover to cover finding that there was a problem. The book said there was a secret for success, but it only gives you half of the secret and the reader has to figure the other half. It kind of bummed John out as he wasn’t sure where to go next. So, he decided to immerse himself further and during a 2-month period, he figured it out and a 12 minute a day process to apply it. He put it into effect in his business at the time and the income doubled and 4-years later he was netting $5 million.

He was operating at a higher level. He was more focused and more in control.

He sold his company and semi-retired but wanted to teach what he had learned to the world and that is what he has been doing. Even the University of Texas brought him on to teach it.

What did you figure out about Think and Grow Rich? What is the secret?

The part the book gives you is that everything begins with a thought.
John realized that the full secret is that “what you envision in detail on a daily basis is shows up in your life.”
When you establish immense clarity of exactly the person you want to be, exactly what you want to accomplish, and precisely how you can achieve your clearly defined goals and then feed it to yourself in 12 minutes a day, you will succeed.
After about 21 days of doing this, it starts influencing your unconscious daily actions and enhances them.
This begins to create the life you want.

Thoughts on conditioning and how it impacts us – and how it can be changed?

Think and Grow Rich is based on the fact that 95% of your daily actions are unconscious.
We are all innately wired for survival and if 95% of our daily actions are unconscious, you are innately wired to be fear-based and negative.
That is the opposite of who you need to be to be pro-active and successful.
You have to override that programming.
“The success of anyone’s life comes down to the cumulative effect of their daily actions.”
You must then influence your daily actions. You do that by proactively influencing the subconscious mind.

How do people influence their subconscious mind?

The way the human mind works is that the conscious mind sets the intention and is influenced by logic, but your daily actioned are influenced by the subconscious mind and only influenced by repetition.
As an example – losing weight. The conscious mind sets the intention to lose weight. But that doesn’t make it happen. The subconscious is in control and is influenced only by repetition, so it the change in behavior reputation that helps someone lose weight.

Take us through the 12 Minute Methodology you’ve developed…

First, you must create immense intention clarity about your life.
You define exactly the person you want to be.
You define exactly what you want to accomplish.
You define exactly how you will achieve your clearly defined goals.
You will live your life quarter by quarter and have your goals set in each area by quarter.
Once you create your clarity, you feed it to yourself every day.
Initially, the subconscious mind will reject it, but around the 21st day of doing it, the subconscious will begin to accept it and start to be reconditioned.

12 minutes?

Reading your template, you’ve created and visualizing it.

If someone implements this, what are the pitfalls they need to look out for, so they don’t fall back into the trap of the subconscious?

People must be driven. If you are not driven, this process will not work. D
arren Hardy gave Joh advice telling him that most people will not spend 12 minutes a day on this process. He must be selective and only work with driven people who will commit to it.
People that are driven will do it.

Is it just a fact that people just do not have the desire and drive to better themselves or can they develop themselves to have it?

At the 23 min mark, John tells more of his story and about his mother dying while he was going through finding himself.
Go through the experience made him think about his life and whether he was living it at his true potential. He wasn’t and that spurred him.
He was confusing working hard with working smart or being competent as an entrepreneur.
It is very hard to change your drive and desire. It takes something dramatic.
But the driven know who they are.

At the 27 min mark, John and I have a great conversation on beliefs and how it relates to drive. We also discuss more on the subconscious and awareness.

Talk to us about the deep-thinking you advocate…

Set aside time to just think 2x per week.
Pick which days per week you will do it.
Pick your favorite place in your home or in nature.
Each session should last 30 mins.
Get a pad of paper (thinking tablet)
Step 1: For the first 10 mins, let whatever come to you come, and write it down.
Step 2: Figure out a question you will ask yourself and then write it down and answer it.
Step 3: Write the 2-3 takeaways and 2-3 action steps you will do over the next week.

Go to www.ThinkitBeit.com/ME there is a video and guide on the process for you.

Is there anything else from your study of Think and Grow Rich that we should know?

It works on everyone. It is based on pure science.
But it is not for everyone.
The hard work is creating the clarity.

Best Quote: The success of anyone’s life comes down to the cumulative effect of their daily actions.

Johns' Misfit 3:

Don’t have an average life. If everyone else doing something, you should look at doing the opposite.
Most things don’t matter. There are a few things you truly need to do great to give you the best outcome. Focus on those.
Most people do not appreciate how precious life is. Take the time to appreciate it and if you are not happy, grab ahold and play the game at a higher level.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Donnie Boivin. Donnie is a Marine Corp veteran, award winning professional sales trainer, and owner of Success Champions and Success Champions Podcast. After leaving the Marine Corp and working in sales and business for almost 20 years, at the age of 40, Donnie realized he was not living his dream.

So, he set out to create it. Donnie is author of best-selling book, How to Be a Success Champion, Business Strategy for Badasses.

What I love most about Donnie is his no BS, direct style. The guy gets results. So, I’ve asked him on the share his best on how you can do the same in your life and business.

Text “Success” to: 817-318-6030 (Donnie will send a bunch of great stuff to you)

After the Marine Corps, Donnie spent 20 years in straight commission sales. His last career was as on one of the top sales trainers in the country for the Sandler Sales Institute. He was all set to buy the business from his boss when his boss told him something that would change his life. His boss, out of love, said “Thank God, you are my retirement plan.” It was in that moment that he realized he was building something for someone else and was their retirement plan. 15 days later, he launched his company and went out on his own.

Nowadays he runs 6 companies, 2 of the top podcasts in the world, and has written 4 Best-Selling books, plus he owns a working farm.

What is a success champion?

Someone who is chasing their own success.
At the 5 min mark, Donnie relates this to the movie Troy. Achilles is the champion.
A success champion is chasing life so they can find their own business freedom.

What is a badass in business?

Someone who knowingly gets up every day knowing they are going to get punched in the face by life but does it anyway.
Most people think business is fairly straightforward and easy.
They are not prepared for the amount of work and dedication it truly takes.
The badass is excited to get to work knowing things are going to be a wreck and they will have to sort through it, plus do all the other things in their life like taking care of the family.
They enjoy the struggle.

At the 10:30 mark, Donnie and I have a great conversation about the DCP formula.

Donnie ads that you have to know what you need to be disciplined about. You need to be focused and stay in your lane and delegate out what is not your lane.

What are the strategies you’ve used to create and build your businesses?

Writing down everything you have to do in the business. Everything.
Then ask yourself, “Would Steve Jobs do this task?” If not, as a CEO of a company, you need to decide what it is you should be doing.
And you may not be able to afford to outsource everything, but you and trade services for things you would like. You have to get things off your plate.
Everything is a system, a process. Donnie created a formula to create processes: ADD. Action. Document. Delegate. For every task in a business, you have to take action on it, document it as you go through it and then delegate it to someone else and let them further define it and make it better putting it to work.
This creates a duplicatable system.

“Every lesson you learn in business is going to be applied again somewhere down the road…”

What are the best strategies that you advocate for gaining clients in today’s world?

People need to understand that the old school tactics that were taught many great names don’t work anymore.
There is no more “closing.”
Instead, your personal brand has become something much bigger and stronger.
Sales is now just a conversation that has an outcome.
People are not used to getting an outcome. They don’t like closing, but they love “closure.”
If people focus on how to get closure than on closing, they will be more successful.
Every conversation with a prospect needs to have some sort of end.
Most people leave their conversations open-ended.
Use sales as a conversation and get to closure.

At the 24 min mark, Donnie shares some examples.

You have to let people know what the actions are that you want them to take and then be detached from the outcome.

Thoughts around story?

How we tell our stories and show up in the world that gets people talking about you.
Cold sales are tougher and tougher.
Everything is community and if you don’t have one or the ability to build one, then you can’t be as successful as you could be in this world.
If you can’t tell the right stories, you cannot build the community of people you need to.

What are the elements of a great story?

The Hero’s Journey. If you have not read Joseph Campbell’s philosophy, it is recommended.
It’s Frodo from Lord of the Rings and going from a nobody, adventure to hero.
What are the moments of time you went through that were really impactful that you can use to teach others?
It’s also being vulnerable in telling the stories and showing that you’ve been through it before.

LinkedIn for growing your business?

LinkedIn is becoming a business social app.
It’s not just a place for putting your resume.
It’s now one of the best places to engage and develop a business.
LinkedIn has just come out launching their own audio/video style of Clubhouse
DCP the heck out of LinkedIn.

There are a lot of people out there working in a job, but know they are destined for something greater as an entrepreneur. What is your best advice for them on how to make the transition?

Screw up fast and screw up hard. As an employee, you are taught not to do this, but as a business owner, if things are not breaking, then you are not going big enough and doing enough.
Turn off everything you thought of an employee and start thinking like a CEO.
People get hung up in creation.
They are not being out front growing their business.
Your business will never be built by doing just operational stuff. Build a network and leverage the heck out of it.
You have to mentally become what you want before you can get it. If you hand someone a million dollars that didn’t earn it, they most likely will lose it because they have not developed themselves to keep and manage a million dollars.
Quit thinking in “how” and start thinking in “who” – who can get this done for me?
Quit thinking in “how” to get where you want to go and start thinking in “systems,” – what systems do we need in place that can duplicate and grow to get you there?
Most of the time you need to take action and quit planning.

What lessons from owning a farm have helped you most as an entrepreneur?

Regiment is everything.
If you don’t have regiments and routines, you will fail.
Your day should be regiments including the fun things you do.

Best Quote: Every lesson you learn in business is going to be applied again somewhere down the road…

Donnie's Misfit 3:

Be you. Everyone else is taken. You do not need to be someone else to be successful.
Go BIG. The Level you are going at right now is not big enough.
Get rid of your excuses. Running your own company, you will meet yourself along the way because you will run out of excuses. Take ownership.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Dave Menz. Dave is known as the “Laundromat Millionaire.” He grew up in poverty and had to overcome tremendous challenge to find success. And he did it by doing something obvious, but unique – upping the game in an industry that was resting on its laurels, the laundromat space.

He started by doing what I have come to call “chicken entrepreneurship,” building a business on the side while working a job. And now he’s a millionaire multiple times over and the author of the forthcoming book, Laundromat Millionaire – the Grit to Elevate and Industry.

Dave has a true rags to riches story that I cannot wait for him to share with you.

www.LaundromatMillionaire.com

Dave grew up poor in Flint, Michigan. He lived in a rough neighborhood but had good parents. They didn’t have much money, but they had a good family. He learned that no one was going to hand him anything, but that he could make it happen for himself if he pursued it. He always had an entrepreneur streak in him, but as he grew up, he “took the bait” of corporate America and had the stereotypical middle-class lifestyle.

It was in is late 20’s that he realized that it really wasn’t what it was cracked up to be. He had kind of sold out on his dream of being an entrepreneur. So, over the next 5 years he and his family lived well below their means and saved to buy a business. They didn’t know what it was, but they needed seed money.

Over those 5 years, he and his wife worked really hard at their plan and looked at every business he could find, but none of them checked all the boxes until he came across a laundromat a few miles from his house.

He didn’t see any red flags in his diligence, but he saw tremendous opportunity and he seized it. The laundromat was “a complete dump and losing money” when they bought it. After going to work, nowadays Dave owns 5 laundromats and the real estate with them and has built a multi-million-dollar business. They even had a laundry pickup and delivery service.

Now Dave’s personal mission is to elevate the industry.

Why did you choose the laundromat business over all the others you looked at?

A lot of the negative conceptions about laundromats as opportunities.
Dave believes the laundromat business is the best small business in America.
Laundromats are a simple cash business with no accounts receivable, no inventory, simple book-keeping, and minimal employees to manage.
It is also a simple business to run that is steady.
It is also a vital community resource that is recession resistant.
It is a business about people who need a good service and that is the opportunity – where many owners just maintain a laundromat, it can be and do so much more.
It can almost be boring because it is consistent, but not “sexy.”

At the 10 min, Dave talks about being an entrepreneur in the general sense and the gift that it is. Dave would find that he was proud to be an entrepreneur and own a business, but when told people what kind it was, he could see the look on their face. He also talks about the laundromat business in general.

What did you learn and do to differentiate your business?

Most people that run laundromats treat it as a side hustle that they don’t have to do much with. That sets the bar low.
Dave treated it as a true business who cared for its customers. The bar was already set low for wowing people. For example, having a very clean and well-kept store. Having an attendant available to help people.
Dave created standards such as high customer service, having attendants, and creating a better value proposition.
It didn’t happen overnight and he continued to work for almost 5 years at his job while putting every extra hour and extra dime into building and making the business better.

Dave’s philosophy: As a human being, he wants to be a better version of himself each day. A better husband, a better dad, and a better business owner.

You found your business on Craig’s List. Was that luck or is there still opportunity to find businesses to buy there?

There is still opportunity there.
It’s an overlooked place
At the 21 min mark, Dave talks about the love being an entrepreneur and running a good business, no matter what the product is.
You can go onto Craig’s List under the “Businesses for Sale” area and find many different ones there.
There are “diamond in the roughs” to be found.

You talk a lot about “Grit.” Define grit how you see it.

The willingness to do anything that is legal and ethical.
It is never quitting. It is not what you do, it is who you are.
It is a mentality.
There are lot of people out there that want to be an entrepreneur but aren’t willing to do the things necessary. They just want the fun.
- They don’t have the risk tolerance
- They aren’t willing to delay gratification
- They don’t understand everything that goes into it.

At the 29 min mark, Dave talks about how he was grinding and pushing so hard, that he woke up one day and started getting ready for work and his wife looked at him and said, “What are doing? It is Christmas Day.”

“To get things in life that most people in life don’t ever achieve, you have to be willing to do things that other people are not willing to do.”

What advice do you have for those looking to build their business while working a job?

Sacrifice. You will have to sacrifice to make it.
You will have to delay gratification and think long term.
None of us are guaranteed a tomorrow, so we must make the most of it.
Make sure you are living your authentic self.
At some point, you will reach a point where you entrepreneur income equals you job income and that is freeing and empowering.
For Dave, his job came first as his primary source of income, and he did whatever he had to give an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.
Dave stayed longer than he had because he could do both well and it helped him to have extra cash to pay debt and other things.
“When you start, you need your job. In the middle, you want your job. And in the end, you are done with your job.” How you make decisions in life is reflective of needs and wants and where your priorities are in life. Dave got to a point where he did not have to do overtime, etc.

At the 38 min mark, Dave and I talk about self-education and the important of that journey in helping you as an entrepreneur. Don’t every stop pushing the envelop when it comes to your self-development.

Best Quote: To get things in life that most people in life don’t ever achieve, you have to be willing to do things that other people are not willing to do.

Dave's Misfit 3:

Be your authentic self. The beauty of business ownership is that you get to decide what your business looks like and what it doesn’t.
Be passionate about something. Live a fulfilled life. Do not be here to “exist.”
Serve others. Look for opportunities to make a difference. Always do what is right.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Andy Mowat. Andy has helped build 3 $1Billion+ companies, Upwork, Boc, and Culture Amp. He is a serial entrepreneur who knows how to build a scalable company that gets results. His specialty is building successful sales and marketing organizations.

But, at the core, he’s a great entrepreneur. He knows how to spot a trend, create the vehicle to capitalize on the opportunity, and make it go. Most recently, he is doing that in his latest company, Gated, which is a unique twist on how people can access you.

I want to discuss all of this with him today and squeeze all of the wisdom I can from him on how to start, grow, and build a brand.

https://www.gated.com/

Andy’s path was not a straight line. He went to college on the East Coast and ended up in finance and banking. He took Czech while he was in college and ended up going into private equity in eastern Europe.

He ended up running the finance function for every grocery store chain in Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland. It was early in the days of coming out of Communism and was eye opening.

He then went to business school but came out in 2001 and things were slow. He found a family office to work for and they tasked him with finding a new business to buy and get into. He suggested health clubs and ended up building high end athletic clubs throughout the west. He knew tech was where it was at, so he then reached out Elance and others and cold called the CEO’s ending up working for Elance. He ran sales and marketing operations. He then went to work for a company as a co-founder outsourcing administration assistants. He then went to work for BOCs running all their post-sale operations and then leading marketing. He then went to work for CultureAmp taking it from $5 mil to $80m. Along the way, he noticed the need to need to better guard a person’s email, so he built Gated.

At the 7:30 mark, Andy shares what Gated is. It is an email management system that keeps people from getting to your inbox unless they are willing to give a donation to charity. It helps to make sure you are communicating with people that genuinely want to communicate with you.

What elements are needed to build a unicorn – a billion-dollar company?

Product/Market fit
Brand
If you don’t have those 2 things, it’s almost impossible.
Andy gives an example of ow this happened with CultureAmp.

Talk to us about Go to Market Machines. How do you build a successful, scalable business?

It is a custom fit each time.
It is not “cookie-cutter.”
Andy starts with marketing because you must have the demand generation.
Pattern recognition is important, but a marketing strategy must be customized to each company.
Andy has a 6-part article series on his LinkedIn that lays out how to build the Go to Market engine.

Any specific part of the 6 that you feel is most important?

The team is the most important aspect of a growth engine.

What are the key elements to building a successful sales team and growth engine?

Read Jason Lumpkin’s stuff around hiring and building sales teams.
Invest deeply in sales-enablement vs. throwing people at the problem.
From a sales enablement standpoint, the managers are your customers, not the reps. If the managers aren’t deeply invested in the training and asking for what is needed to make their people better, it won’t do well.
Invest in good managers and support them well.

What should business owners and entrepreneurs do from the start to avoid some of the common mistakes in building a sales organization?

The classic mistake is that founder’s hire a salesperson thinking they can figure out how to go to market. The founder needs to do that and figure it out.
The founder needs to be selling the first half million to a million of ARR.
You need to be able figure what the repeatable sales process is before you bring someone into to sell.

At the 17 min mark, Andy talks about being a non-technical founder….

What type of data should people be looking at to maximize the impact of a sales team?

Systems that are good are Hubspot for smaller organizations and Salesforce for larger ones.
Look for all the ways you can scale and find leverage.
Key metrics to look at include:
- Client retention
- Funnel conversation
- Time for the sales process. (How long it takes from lead to sale)
- Lead flow.
- MQL to Opportunity conversion. The opportunity to win conversation.
- Customer acquisition costs.

What does it take to build a great brand?

Brand starts with what you name your company.
Naming matters.
Being very clear around what your company does and what you stand for is critical.
People should understand very clearly and quickly your value to them.
Product marketing and differentiation is very clear.
The last important piece is the experience people have when they interact with your brand.

Most unexpected thing that you have found on your entrepreneur journey?

Andy shares how Gated has surprised in that people give more than required and how much people want it.

Routines or best practices you do every day to help you maximize your success?

Andy writes down his Top 3 things he has to do on a notepad each day.
He spends each evening reviewing what he needs to do and accomplish the next day.

Best Quote: The classic mistake is that founder’s hire a salesperson thinking they can figure out how to go to market. The founder needs to do that and figure it out.

Andy's Misfit 3:

Have a career thesis. Get clear around the path that is most likely for your career.
Don’t worry about the steps you make in your career. You can always tell a good story about your career. Don’t take too many steps at one. Take one step and pivot, then the next and so on.
Have a side-hustle to give you an outlet.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I want to share something with you that I’ve learned over the years. It’s something I have noticed about human nature. And it’s pretty consistent. Most people give up too early or right before they find success or get the breakthrough they have been seeking.

This usually happens because people cannot stay in the game long enough for all the work and effort to truly payoff. To be fair, some of this is because society has conditioned us for instant gratification. Everything has to be now, now, now.

In some ways, we all have what I call a “chaos switch” which is a pattern in human in nature to disrupt and change when things have been consistent for a while or even when things have been good for too long. It’s almost like in some ways we are wired to self-sabotage. And that is what happens to people over time and the reason they don’t succeed in reaching the levels they want.

But the secret to lasting success is to stay in the game. To outlast. Where everyone else is throwing in the towel or letting their chaos switch get the best of them, we need to focus on press on. When you feel these moments in your life is when it is most important to keep going. We need to continue toward our goal or stick with our endeavors.

I will give you an example. At 9 years old, you just got your Black Belt in Tae Kwan Do. It’s an incredible achievement that you worked several years to achieve. And after working for that long and achieving the goal, you may feel a little like it is time for a change. Time to do something else. In fact, I sense you feeling a little this way recently. That is the chaos switch in action. At 9 years old with a level 1 Black Belt, you are really just getting started on your journey. You love Tae Kwan Do and there are many more degrees of Black Belts to go. To achieve true mastery, you will need to keep going. After all, you’ve put in years of work to get this point – and now is when things get really good, and you start to learn the best stuff in the sport – it would be a shame to stop now. But that is what a lot of people do. They stop or give up right before all of the best stuff comes their way!

Hannah, and everyone listening – don’t be one of those people. You must have the fortitude to keep going and see things through to their best levels and outcomes. Don’t let the chaos switch sabotage you from achieving your dreams, goals, and reaching your best self. Resolve to follow what I’ve called the DCP formula. The D stands for discipline. The C stands for consistency. And the P stands for persistence or perseverance. Now when you hear that you think, duh, yeah those are needed to succeed. But what do they really mean? What is discipline? Discipline is doing the things you know you need to do, even when you don’t want to do them. Consistency is doing that day in and day out. You can be disciplined for one day, but that won’t do you any good. You must be consistent. And even if you are disciplined and consistent, you are still going hit walls – major roadblocks that seem insurmountable. That is where you must be persistent and persevere and keep going because it is beyond those roadblocks and walls where the great things in life are found.

Hannah, I hope you take this lesson to heart as it will serve you well for your whole life. Stick with the things that matter, give them everything you have and see them through – and practice DCP as a way to help you do it.

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: Most people give up too early or right before they find success or get the breakthrough they have been seeking.

Misfit 3:

The secret to lasting success is to stay in the game. To outlast.
Don’t let the chaos switch sabotage you from achieving your dreams, goals, and reaching your best self.
Stick with the things that matter, give them everything you have and see them through – and practice DCP as a way to help you do it.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Josh Landon. You may not have heard of Josh and his holding company, Wings and Arrow. But you’ve certainly heard of his products such as Ashland Hard Seltzer, Voyage Hard Lemonade, and several others.

Josh is a serial entrepreneur. He sold his first business, St. Archer, to Coors for over $100 million and built Wings & Arrow’s portfolio to millions in revenue from the ground up. In fact, he was given a hefty offer from Anheuser-Busch after only 11 months of building Ashland Hard Seltzer, but he decided to hold on and keep growing the brand.

Through it all, Josh hasn’t compromised his passion for his craft and mission to create unparalleled products for customers. I'm excited to unpack his journey and his lessons lessons learned on the way.

www.AshlandHardSeltzer.com

www.VillagerSpirits.com

Josh took an unconventional path to becoming an entrepreneur. He started out as a filmmaker and still is. He still does all the film for the brands. He was documentary filmmaker making surf films. He won a number of film festivals and was a working filmmaker.

How did you go from film making to building St. Archer and selling it?

As with any business, it started with an idea.
Josh was on surf trip in Puerto Rico with some of his surf buddies and a Tequila brand approached them about investing in the business and being an ambassador.
He didn’t think it was a good idea and thought a better idea was to do it with craft beer because of its popularity.
That’s when the lightbulb went off the produce a beer that is part of the surf/skate lifestyle that has come from them.
There was never an authentic brand from the people that made up the pro-surfers, snowboarders, skaters, etc.
He decided to do it and worked with many of the greats in the industry that could be ambassadors.
But he knew nothing about the business or brewing beer.
He knew he could build a brand and that is what he set out to do.
He didn’t go to college or have a degree.
He didn’t even know what a capital raise was.
He bootstrapped and did it and figured it out and focused on what was in his control.

What are you doing different from your experience with St. Archer with Ashland? Anything you learned that made it easier?

He sold St. Archer to take the brand national, but it was also to see how he would move on and what could come next after getting the financial windfall.
He could have stayed at St. Archer/Coors, but he realized that he was motivated by more than the job and security of the money – he was an entrepreneur.
He is driven to complete at the highest level with his businesses and knew that he could not do that at Coors.

At the 13 min mark, Josh talks about the life of the entrepreneur and putting his family through everything over the years.

You’ve raised $50+ million with no venture money and giving up big chunks of the business?

Raising money comes down to an ability that is not really a learned trade.
You have to authentically tell the story/vision of the brand/company you are creating, and people buy into it.
There is no step by step to raise money.
A lot of it is personality, but also circumstance.

At the 17 min mark, Josh talks about when he made the decision to go all in on St. Archer and move from Ventura to San Diego with his family. He had nothing and had to win and that was part of the story and why people invested. He was all in and had to make it happen.

What have you learned about building a successful brand and community?

With St. Archer, he created the brand that he wanted to see and be a part of.
What has worked is having celebrities as investors, but active in the company and brand. They don’t just buy in and go away.
If he is going to have them invest in it, then they need to be a part of it.
Build a brand that people want to be a part of…if he likes it, he wife, and his friends/business partners – then it is a go.
Beware of overanalyzing. Create the brand you want, articulate the vision, and pour yourself into it.
Then, hire the best and allow them to go what they do best in building and sharing the brand and company.
Focus on what you do well and don’t do what you suck at!

How do you market and sell it once you’ve built the brand?

That is where the talent comes in.
Get experience in this area.
Josh describes the beer business and how it works to make sales. It’s great to listen.
You need to know your customer.
You need to know where they are.
You need to be there when they are ready.
The majority of the money is spent on sales folks and get the brand in stores.

Did anything from your time as a filmmaker cross over to help you as an entrepreneur?

As an independent filmmaker, you are doing everything. It is entrepreneurial.
You have to figure it out from scratch and then have to make it, produce, get into distribution and get people to see it.
Each film is its own brand and business in essence.

What has surprised you most on your entrepreneur journey to date?

How hard it is.
Not just the work, but emotional challenge.
You have to deal with everything and constantly be “on.”
It is a different type of pressure.
It is tough to keep your personality in the middle.

Best Quote: Create the brand you want to see and be a part of...

Josh's Misfit 3:

Straight hard work…especially when you don’t want to.

Humility. No matter how successful you get, keep yourself in check. Nothing ruins businesses more than ego. Self-care.

Take time for yourself and take care of yourself mentally and physically. You must perform at the highest level.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Liz Elting. Where to start with Liz. She co-founded TransPerfect, the world’s largest provider of language and business solutions. The company does over $800 million in revenue per year and employs over 6000 in 100+ cities across the world. She has been recognized and awarded with everything from Ernst and Young’s entrepreneur of the year to being named one of Forbes richest self-made women many years running. She and her story have also been highlighted in numerous books and publications.

More recently, Liz is known for her philanthropic efforts with her foundation, the Elizabeth Elting Foundation which works to advance the economic, social, and political equity of women and marginalized people.

I’m excited for Liz to share her story with you and the lessons she’s learned along the way.

www.ElizabethEltingFoundation.org

Growing up, Liz lived in a number of different places. Everywhere from New York to Portugal to Canada. She went to college in the US and realized she could pursue her passion of languages. She just didn’t know what she would do with it – but her dad told her to follow her passion. After college she worked the translation industry in New York. She found a company that was the largest translation company in the world that helped combine her passion for language and business.

She worked in the company for 3 years and learned the industry. She then went back to school and got her MBA. While in business school, she decided to go into finance and briefly tried out investment banking. She realized she made a huge mistake and then started TransPerfect in November of 1992. In 2018, she sold half of her company and started her foundation.

When we first spoke, you said, “The harder you work, the luckier you get.” Explain that…

That is Liz’s mantra ever since she grew up.
She really felt it when she started her company working 100 hours per week.
She delayed gratification and it paid off.
She had to work intensely and not quit and the more she put in and more focused she was, the more successful the company became.

At the 9:30 mark, we discuss the first products developed and how Liz got her initial clients, then scaled…

At the other company she was at, they translation work for companies, but Liz knew there was so much more that they needed.
She knew that everything needed to be able to work in every language.
The first product was standard translation services for companies, but the goal was to become the end-to-end solution.
The goal was to do anything in a foreign language to scale.
Over time they talked to their clients and really listened. They needed things like staffing and litigation support and content management services.

Then they found a way to offer it to them. Talk about going through the stages of business growth – which ones did you feel were the hardest?

The first million is by far the hardest.
It is much harder to go from $0-$1 million than from say $5 mil to $500 mil because by that time, you have built the teams, systems, client base, etc. Initially, you don’t have that.
One of the core values was “Own It” and so when they started in a new market or sale, it was set up like that - employees owned it. It was then that had to build the first million in the market, etc. The sales teams had to work very hard.

Tell us about the core values. What are they and how have they made a difference for the company?

The core values end up being what is important to you and your life.
So, for Liz, integrity and honesty was critical.
One of the questions she would ask in an interview is “What would you do if you saw someone stealing money out of the cash register?” The answers were eye-opening.
Owning it was another value that she embodied, and it became another core value.
They ultimately had 10 core values.

Is there a skillset or mentality that you feel is most important for success in today’s world?

You must have the work ethic.
You must be a leader and stand out from the crowd.
Being true to yourself and do what is right.
Another value was service, and businesses need to spoil their customers and look at how to stand apart.

What did you do to stand out in the area of service?

Being there for the client 24/7 in the early days, but that was not sustainable.
When they tried to pay employees to work holidays and other things, it led to turnover, so they had to find ways to “be there” for their clients, but in a more manageable way.
They found ways to do this by adding in offices in different times, creating shifts, giving comp time, etc.
They also did special VIP events for clients.
They found ways to produce results for clients faster than the competition.
Filling gaps in products or services clients said they needed.
They were also innovating and figuring out how to help client in better ways.

Talk to us about the entrepreneur journey. What have you learned about how to consistently succeed as an entrepreneur?

No matter what – staying true to your core values.
When times are challenging – you must continue to put the money into sales and marketing.
Find ways to align incentives and compensation so that when the company does well or the employee does well, they are well taken care of. This is for all people in the company.
Focus on employee morale. Don’t just spoil the clients but do you best to do so for the employees as well.

What are the most important things leaders should do to ensure success and make sure they are doing the best for their employees and organization?

In the early days, the leader does everything, but over time, they must delegate to scale.
To do that, you must find the best people, so your interview process is most important. Hire slowly, fire quickly.
It’s the employee you keep around that can give you the ulcer, not the one you don’t have.
Once you have your people – focus on training, development, and retention.
The only way to lead is to lead by example. You cannot inspire people to do things you haven’t done or aren’t willing to do.

Advice for CEO’s? What have you learned about being a great CEO and how it is different from other areas of leadership?

In the early days, it is a lot of doing and doing everything.
Then it is a lot of hiring, training, and delegating and retaining (the middle stage)
Then, it is having the vision for what’s next and making sure the innovations are happening.
It is thinking long-term and getting the feedback from the people on the front lines.
It is dealing with clients at all stages.
And always maintaining a connection with the employees.
1 on 1’s with people at all stages and levels it very important as well.

Anything you’ve learned in selling your company and starting into Philanthropy?

It was wonderful to lead the company for 26 years.
There were things she saw and bigger challenges/issues that needed to be improved.
There is a lot of work to be done.
Philanthropy is entrepreneurship in a different way.

What was the most surprising thing that happened on your journey?

Hiring an entry level person when they first started and then watching them grow and see what they could become.
It was so rewarding and exciting and she learned so much from it.
The learning is continuous and never ends!

Best Quote: Work today like no one else will, so you can live and give tomorrow like no one else can.

Liz's Misfit 3:

If you don’t think you can be successful as an entrepreneur, you can. No matter what happens to you or go through, success is still possible.
Hard work. Work today like no one else will, so you can live and give tomorrow like no one else can.
Integrity and honesty are keys to living a great life and running a good business.

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Misfit Nation! Welcome to the Misfit Entrepreneur 2021 year in review where each year I attempt to boil down all of the incredible, useful information, strategies, and tips that our guests have given on the show into less than one hour for you…with a few surprises thrown in. Now, it’s impossible for me to go over every single best piece of advice and that is why I urge you to take some time and go through the Misfit Archives to see which episodes resonate most with you, but in doing this episode, my goal is to spur ideas – to give you a lightning strike that propels you down a path of action to better improve yourself, your life, and your business or career in 2022!

That’s why I do this show – to not only provide a treasure trove of some of the best information to succeed in life and business for my daughter, Hannah, for when she grows up, but to give you a place where you know you can come each and every week to get inspired and find real, tried and tested tips, secrets, and strategies to succeed in all areas of life, and to share different perspectives from some of the highest performing entrepreneurs in the world with you. I truly believe that one great episode can change someone’s life and that’s what we set out to do each and every week.

But, before I begin I want to tell you something. I want to say “Thank YOU.” Thank you for listening. Thank you for your support of the show and thank you for sharing our message. Without you and the amazing feedback members of this audience give me every week, it would not be half of what it is. Because of you, this show has reached hundreds of thousands of people in over 150 countries. I am truly humbled and in awe at what we’ve done together and I am excited about having an even bigger impact with your help in 2022. So, from the bottom of my heart, Thank you, thank you, thank you!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, and I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did creating it for you!

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jose “Caya” Cayasso. Caya is a serial entrepreneur who is best known for founding Slidebean and Recurring. He is a TEDx speaker, 40 under 40 recipient and has received a host of other awards for his efforts.

Slidebean is part of the Silicon Valley accelerator, 500 Startups and has grown tremendously. The company helps startups solve their pitch deck needs,

What I love most about Caya is how he has built his companies made them successful through organic efforts through content strategies. In fact, his YouTube channel has over 300,000 subscribers. I’m excited for him to share his strategies with you.

www.youtube.com/c/Slidebean

Caya says he made it to where he is a little bit by accident. In his first company, he didn’t really understand what a startup was. He just built a little game and put it on Kickstarter, and it got picked up. That lead to investors reaching out asking if he was raising money, etc. He didn’t know what they were talking about. He had to go through the crash course of learning the startup and investment game with the first company which didn’t end up making it. But, with Slidebean, he has learned from his mistakes and experience and has applied as well as shared with others to help them.

Talk about finding a business accelerator and how that helped you and helps startups…

There is a big debate on whether it is worth to give up equity to an accelerator.
Accelerators are fantastic crash courses in how to navigate a startup giving you the training and information you need to succeed. They give you guidance, teach how to pitch and better run your business and help you with their network.
They are a great bridge for a soft landing as a startup.

Benefits and disadvantages?

If you have the network and connections and access to investment, then you may not need one.
Accelerators also require equity in exchange for working with them.
It is usually about 6% equity for a 6-figure check, so it is not a bad trade off for companies that little to no revenue and no profit.
The biggest advantage outside of capital is the resources available and that they bring to the table.

What makes a great pitch deck?

A pitch deck is your business story.
It doesn’t matter how many slides, but it matters how you tell you story and the data you use.
You typically have to send your deck into investors for them to review and decide if they will meet with you.
Investors on average will spend 4 minutes looking at your slides.
So, you have to tell your story in essentially 4 minutes.

Any specific elements that should be in a pitch deck?

How you are going to make money for the investor.
A good structure is the following:
- Intro: Who you are and a little bit of a teaser.
- Status Quo: This how the market is behaving today, and this is the pain point that can be solved. Problem slide, business opportunity slide, solutions slide.
- Product/Demo: Showcases the solution and how it makes money. This where you brag.
- Market: State of the market, how big it is, competition, and how you will beat the competition.
- Why Us?: Team, why you are the best to solve the problem and maybe a why now it is needed.
- Ask for Money: How much you need, how you will use it, and how it will make vision reality.

You’ve built your companies leveraging content, tell us about the content strategies you’ve used to grow your businesses – what works, what doesn’t?

YouTube was sort of an accident. It was to market for Slidebean but became more for people following Caya and his journey.
You want to create that generates SEO – it’s interesting, it has good data, it is worthy of sharing and people want to share it.
Spend time up front to really understand key words to incorporate into your content to make sure Google is associated you appropriately.
AdWords is possible, but you need to know your metrics well to make it profitable.

Best practices for creating content and optimizing SEO?

SEO is a science and an art. You have to understand Google scoring and need good engineers to build a website that is optimized to it.
Creating compelling content is hard.
You need to have consistent content at a consistent frequency.
You also should be focused on doing good long-form content in the form of articles or white papers that is highly consumable.
It also takes time.
SEO is not the best first growth tactic to go after because of the time it takes to start ranking – it is the long game.
Better growth tactics when starting out are to work closely with your clients and get referrals. You also need their feedback to make things better.
You want to start SEO and content marketing as soon as you can, but the focus early on needs to be customers.
To get customers, you can use outbound email, prospecting, networking, paid media and search ads – direct response that can get you customers right away.

Tell us about using video and your strategy for YouTube…

YouTube is as long a game as SEO/content and is more expensive.
Caya’s average video costs a couple thousand dollars to produce
But the connection you can create with customers and prospects on YouTube is so much better and viral.
YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world.
Long-term video is better than text for marketing and creating community and a following.
YouTube is more art than science – but it requires both.
One hack is targeting searches where the key word or phrase is underserved or the videos in the category or crappy.

At the 33 min mark, Caya gives his thoughts on raising capital and then stewarding it and making sure it is used in the best way. Its best to just listen.

Most important things you’ve learned to succeed as an entrepreneur?

Prepare yourself for how long of a journey it is.
It is easy to get distracted – prepare yourself to be at in a business for 5-7 years to make it truly successful.

Best advice for someone just starting out?

Choosing the right time to raise money. You have to be ready and be in the right position.
You need a product and some testing done prior.
It is super time intensive and there is a lot of rejection.
Be prepared to spend 2-3 months not being able to run your business – raising money is a full-time job.
The business should be able to run without the CEO, meaning the team can continue growing it before the CEO commits to raising money.

Best Quote: A pitch deck is your business story...

Caya's Misfit 3:

Learn when to give up. Time is the most valuable asset that you have. Give yourself a deadline for your projects and respect that deadline. Be prepared to quit.
Start ASAP. The younger you are, the easier it is to start businesses and possibly fail. It is easier to take risks.
Do something that you absolutely enjoy.

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Many years ago, I introduced a new format that alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life…. even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of Lessons for Hannah, I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.

Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

Ok, so here goes…this week’s Lesson for Hannah.

Hannah,

As this is the last Lessons for Hannah of 2021, I wanted to share the 3 biggest lessons I am taking away from this past year. First, I have to say, the last two years have been incredibly eye-opening, awe-inspiring, humbling, and scary and exciting at the same time. Thinking about it. It is truly amazing how much has transpired. We entered 2020 like any other year with plans and goals for life and business and just a few months later everything was thrown upside down and seemingly overnight fear gripped the world and life as we knew it stopped. For entrepreneurs like me who have different businesses in addition to my family responsibilities, it was a rollercoaster as we literally overnight had to change our businesses to keep them going and for many, find ways to even stay in business. Our employees depended on us to help them in the time of crisis and we had to step up. Additionally, our family life changed with restrictions, mandates, and a general fear of the unknown.

But, we made it through 2020 and for the most part we were able to keep our businesses and lives going as close to normal as possible. As I think about, it is funny and not funny, how much “normal” has changed for the world in just a couple years.

We then came into 2021 and the world seemed to perpetuate many of the things we were originally supposed to do for the short term in fighting the virus. I know for me, it seemed like things waned on a lot longer than they should have and as I write this, in many places things lockdowns, restrictions, and mandates are all still going on. In fact, Australia literally has camps people are having to stay in if they are not vaccinated or test positive. They are literally going into communities and rounding people up against their will. And that is not the only place things like this are happening. We have been fortunate that we live in a place where we have been able to get back to do things mostly the way we did before the virus, and I thank God for that. I thank God for a lot of things, and I pray the blessings given to us are given to others who need them more.

As I have reflected on all of this, I have found many lessons to take away or that were confirmed for me over the last year or so. Here are the 3 most important for me.

Lesson #1: Press On.

I’ve always been one to push through and keep going. To find a way and make a way. I think any entrepreneur who has been at it long enough and found success has to do so. There have been so many times over the years building businesses where failure and losing it all was seemingly one day away. But through tremendous effort, ingenuity, a little luck, and a lot of miracles, my business partners and I have been able to make it. Being an entrepreneur will teach you what it means to endure. The big thing about the last year or so was that we had to endure in all areas of our lives. It wasn’t just one area – but every aspect. We had to do in business, in our families, relationships, health – everywhere. That is truly something.

As I thought about this and gained a sincere appreciation for what people around the world have had to press on through and endure, it crystalized for me. I am not sure I ever understood what it truly means to do this. What true difficulty and sacrifice on a grand scale looks like.

Many people have probably seen the poster of Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of England during WWII, that says “Keep calm and carry on.” A lot of people use the phrase or hang the poster up. But, now after seeing what the world had gone through and done to itself over the last two years, I can better understand how important that phrase was. Think about, when this was being said, Britain was being bombed almost every day by the German Luftwaffe, essentially the German air force. The whole country was burning for years, and things were destroyed everywhere, not to mention all of the death. In fact, when it was all over, much of the countries of Europe were in rubble with millions upon millions dead. Keep calm and carry on. Through it all, the people of these countries pressed on.

I don’t believe what we have gone through with the virus is comparable to the devastation and death of World Wars – but then I think the small business, the local gym, restaurant, or haircut shop that was shut down for months on end and many had to close their doors for good. It may not have been a physical bomb that dropped from a plane that blew up their building and business, but the result was the same. Yet, people press on. We endure and we continue to. Hannah after having gone through this experience, I am more confident now that you and our fellow man can handle anything that comes our way.

Lesson #2: The Truth is Precious.

I think we take the truth for granted. We assume people and groups are truthful, when they may not be, or they take a piece of the truth and mix it with untruth. It is important for us to seek the real truth and not just believe what we see in a headline, a twitter post, from the media, or even people who are “in charge” telling us something. We must ask further questions and do research diligently to find the truth – and it’s worth it to do the work.

We have so many examples from this year in which snap judgements were made without the truth or evidence or perpetuating a narrative was more important than the truth. We’ve had top medical experts flip-flop many times on what to do for our health – almost weekly in a lot of cases. We’ve had people that the media had deemed completely guilty totally exonerated when they went to trial and the evidence was finally revealed. And conversely, we’ve had people that the media and even politicians stood behind and said they were victims, only to find when the evidence came out that they were the ones perpetuating the crime against themselves for publicity- creating a hoax.

We must not take things for granted and ask “What is the truth.” Because the truth seems harder to come by and is precious and there is only one version of it. There is no such thing as “your truth” or “their truth,” there is only one truth. And we must, must be truthful not just in our lives with others, but to ourselves. It not only helps us live a better life, but to be better in all areas of life.

That brings me to my last lesson.

Lesson #3: Know Your Principles and What You Stand For. Do Not Sacrifice Them.

There is not much more I should have to say on that point. Do you know what you stand for? Do you know what your principles are? For context, here is the definition of Principles - a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning. So, what is your foundation? What is it that you truly will not sacrifice even if not doing so brings pain, loss, or causes trouble in your life? Hannah, I hope by growing up with your mother and I, you have developed solid principles that you know in your heart and will not give up for anything. Please do the deep work to ask yourself what yours are and know them – because over the last year or so, I have seen many sacrifice what they said were core principles in the lives and on the world stage for personal gain or power. It is not worth it, it never is. And sacrificing these in your life will create much bigger problems than if you had endured and stuck to them in the moment they were challenged.

Hannah, while we are still going through these challenging times, I see more potential and opportunity for people than ever before. People are waking up to finding their principles and seeking the real truth as a bedrock to build from – and they are pressing on and creating a better life for themselves and a better world for all of us. Even at 9 years old, you are doing this in your own way – in fact, it was during this time that you pressed on, endured, and overcame many challenges to get your black belt in Tai Kwan Do. I could not be prouder of you and I hope you put these lessons to work throughout your life.

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: Hannah after having gone through this experience, I am more confident now that you and our fellow man can handle anything that comes our way.

Misfit 3:

Press On.
The Truth is Precious.
Know Your Principles and What You Stand For. Do Not Sacrifice Them.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jeffrey Madoff. Jeff is the founder of Madoff Productions, based in New York City. His company collaborates with ad agencies, public relations firms and directly with clients to produce commercials, branded content and live streaming events.

He began his career as a fashion designer and was chosen as one of the top 10 designers in the U.S. then switched careers to film and video production. You have seen his work and probably didn’t even know it. Jeff and his team are the geniuses behind commercials, online content and brand stories for companies ranging from Victoria's Secret, Calvin Klien, and Ralph Lauren to Harvard University and private equity firms that position companies for sale or acquisition.

Jeff is also the author of the best-seller, Creative Careers Making a Living With Your Ideas.

And that is why I asked him to come on the show, not only the share his incredible wisdom gained during this storied career, but to discuss how to make a great living with your ideas.

www.MadoffProductions.com

www.CreativeCareers.com

Jeff was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. He credits his resilience to growing up there. His parents were entrepreneurs that had retail stores in Akron. Jeff got the entrepreneurial spirit from his parents and so did his sister. It was what he knew, so he’s never had a job. He went to the University of Wisconsin for college. Jeff shares a funny story of how he chose Wisconsin. He also made it on to the wrestling team. He got a double major in philosophy and psychology and Jeff said, “It set him up for no job whatsoever!”

Getting the degrees did help him with critical thinking and an intellectual curiosity that are very important to success.

He was working in a small boutique in Madison after graduating. A good friend of his called him up and had saved some money and wanted to put it to work. Jeff told him that he understood retail and could draw/design clothing, so he could start a clothing company. His friend sent him $2500 which was more money than Jeff had ever seen at any one time and he was off and running. He had no idea how to build the business but knew how to sell retail. He didn’t know how clothing was manufactured, etc. He had a lot to learn in a little time.

He was “ignorant, not stupid.” “Ignorant, you can learn, but stupid is forever.”

What is the process you teach for turning an idea into a living?

The book “Creative Careers: Making a Living with Your Ideas” is the same name as the course he teaches in NYC.
Jeff learned when he started into business was that there are protocols to business and everything you learn informs everything else you do.
For example, clothing started with a sketch. From there, it determines how much fabric is needed, the labor, the shipping, sale prices, profit margin, etc. The idea starts the ball rolling.
Everything is unified with best practices, but many times they are siloed. They should not be…there is much more in common, than different from business to business. Much of the processes are the same to make an idea happen across different businesses.
There are no magical secrets to success – there is a lot of work. More than anything, it takes perseverance.
We cannot lose the patience for process because that is where real success comes from.

After all of the work you did for the book and all of the people you interviewed for it, were there any constants that stood out across them that helped their success?

They embody best practices.
They show up and are present.
The persevere and put in the work.
They surround themselves with the good and right people to make the business go.
They develop a sense of empathy in business to understand the other side in negotiation and building relationships.
More than anything, they push through the difficult times and develop strategies to get over, around, and overcome the challenges that entrepreneurship inevitably brings.

At the 18 min mark, we talk about the DCP formula and how Jeff has seen in his work.

“The only way you get better at anything is to do it over and over again.”

At the 20 min mark, Jeff shares some interesting thoughts on Apple vs. Sony.

Apple has never originated a product.
They copied and innovated.
They sell their products not on what they do, but the experience it gives.
They are truly unique.
Jeff worked with Sony when they originated the Walkman and Sony was visionary in creating and whole new way of life when it came to music.
Apple basically took the idea of the Walkman to create the Ipod.
Same thing with the smartphone. Apple stood on the shoulders of the Palm Pilot and Blackberry creating a broad consumer market for the phone and increased their eco-system.
What Apple did well was design something with great purpose and had the discipline to stick to their focus and product set and not get into businesses that are not really their business.
Companies lose the ability to innovate because they spread themselves thin.

Talk about the power of story when it comes to marketing and branding and how important it is.

Basically, we communicate through story.
It is how we retain information because you remember how a story made you feel.
Stories are the way we bond with each other and it is how products are sold.
Nike is a great example. “Just do it” is so simple, but means so much.
Nike is about athletic excellence, but more the idea of it for clients.
Ralph Lauren stands for status and good taste.

At the 27 min mark, Jeff shares a story of a conversation with Ralph Lauren where he told him he was like Walt Disney.

A brand is a story that is well told.
One of the main criteria of a good story is there needs to be an outcome and they live happily ever after meaning the customer will be better off for it.

Talk about the balance of emotion vs. logic and how it relates to business…

The push and pull between emotion and logic is interesting.
Most people think they make their decisions based on logic, but they don’t.
People are not nearly as logical as they think.
There are 2 ways that decisions are made: Heuristics and Biases
If you appeal to those things, you can lead people to make decisions.

At the 31 min mark, Jeff shares a story of something a guest shared in his class when it comes to how we make decisions with an example of buying a bottle of wine.

Most people pick in the middle of the range of wines for price because they don’t want to buy the most expensive, but they don’t want to buy the cheapest one.
So, if you up the overall price of the selection of wine in a store, you will sell wine at higher prices.

How do we make better decisions as consumers?

Be informed.
Educate yourself.
Do your research and think about larger decisions before you make them.
Find and use credible sources to help you.

The difference between wander vs. wonder, explain that.

Wandering makes you wonder.
When you wander and take in your surroundings, it makes you wonder which leads to curiosity.
Curiosity leads to asking better questions and leads to learning and better understanding.
The only stupid question is the one you don’t ask which leads to you having issues later on.

Running your ideas like a business. Tell us about that.

One of the most important things in business is “proof of concept” meaning someone is willing to pay for your product.
You cannot be the only one in love with your idea. There has to be people willing to part with their hard-earned money to buy it.
Ideas need to go through the proof-of-concept process.

What has surprised you most in your entrepreneur journey?

How there is so much more in common among different disciplines and people. There is a lot more in common than different. We have to be careful not to focus solely on the different.
The essence of being an entrepreneur is bringing some kind of change by brining an idea to life.

Best Quote: The only way you get better at anything is to do it over and over again.

Jeff's Misfit 3:

Persistence. Whatever you are pursuing, you will face inevitable difficulties and you must persist through them.
Not being so enamored with your own idea that you cannot accept criticism and make it better. Don’t become delusional.
Stay curious. Curiosity is the fuel that makes you want to learn more and grow.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Kelly Falardeau. Kelly is one of the most sought-after speakers out there today. Rated as a Top 10 Most Powerful and influential Speaker, she has graced international stages all over the world and is a 5x Best-Selling author.

At age 2, Kelly was in a tragic accident that severely burned 75% of her body. She endured numerous surgeries but was left with scars on most of her body. Growing up, she as bullied, made fun of, and ostracized for looking different leading her to feeling unwanted, un-ashamed, and unloved. She endured once again discovering true self-love and as she says, turned her scars into stars, and is now widely successful.

Kelly has proven that no matter where you come from or what happens to you – you can succeed and thrive and I’m excited for her to share all her wisdom with you in this episode.

http://kellyfalardeau.com/

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Kelly was burned over most of her body when she was 2 years old when a spark from a fire caught her dress on fire. She was in the hospital for 4 months being in the operating room every two days. Every two years after that until she was 20, she had to go back for more surgeries. Because of this, she never thought she’d have a good life and that she would be the “ugly, scar-face, girl.”

When she was 16, she would pray to God asking for him not to let her wake up in the morning, but if she did could she be scarless and pretty like the other girls. Of course, she would wake up and they would still be there. She thought that if her doctor could not take them away or God could not, she was destined to be ugly forever and would not get married or have kids, etc.

Despite all of this, she did end up getting married and having a daughter. She was so excited to have a daughter without scars. She had a miscarriage and then got pregnant again and had twin boys.

She had a home-based scrapbooking business that wasn’t very successful when a friend told her to go to an event. Her friend told her to get rid of the business and be a speaker and the event would help her.

During this time, she was almost bankrupt, her husband was laid off and her marriage wasn’t doing well. She saw her life as a failure. Her friend got her to event and got her on stage to speak and people had a great reaction to her story. She went home and told her husband that she was going to be a speaker. He husband, “Who is going to listen to you?” She didn’t know but knew it could happen. Her husband basically told her it was a waste of time and that it wouldn’t work.

The next day everything changed. She met a lady that was speaking and at the end of her speech, she offered a coaching program to teach people to become keynote speakers. Kelly knew this was her opportunity but had no money to pay for the coaching. The lady told her could pay over time and that normally, people came to her to get coached, but if Kelly could 10 people locally to sign up for coaching, she would come there. Kelly worked with others to get the 10. This was the start of her speaking and best-selling authoring career.

Was there a catalyst for you? What there a moment when you found your voice or flipped the switch?

There was a turning point.
When she left her husband, she had a job alongside her scrapbooking business.
4 months later after leaving her husband, she went into work and had her performance review.
It was the worst review she had ever had. It was either quit or be fire.
Her boss said, “You have to ask yourself one question. Are you going to be excited to come to work on Monday? Or relieved if you don’t have to?”
She knew she wanted to be a speaker full time but was afraid. She had no money.
That night she was reading and saw a message that said, “Why do you not trust that God will provide you everything you need?” She slammed the magazine shut and had a dialogue with herself and God.
She had sleepless night and went into work the next morning and knew she wasn’t excited to be there. That was her last day and the start of her being a full-time speaker and author.

Everyone had scars in some way, shape or form. How do we turn our “scars into starts” isolating these things and use them as fuel to succeed?

We all have either internal and external scars, or both in some way.
It is totally up to us to decide what we are going to do with them.
It is a choice.
You can take your scars and use them for something great.
Kelly always wondered why she had lived. She was told by her care takers that the extent of her scaring was so bad that they did not think she could live.
You can use your scars to hold you back or to be an asset for your success and impact on the world. You are here for a reason – make the absolute best out of it.

7 ways to embrace the real you? Can you share those?

A lot of people think they have to change themselves physically to be good enough.
You don’t have to do this to embrace yourself.
One way is to look in the mirror and pick out all of the things you love about yourself.
Embrace what you love.
Learn to love your little parts that make up all of you.
Quit comparing yourself to others. When you compare yourself to someone else that you think it better, you dimmish yourself.
Never give up or give in.
Seek out great mentors for your life.

No risk, no reward – what that mean to you and what it should it mean to us?

When she wrote the book, she didn’t have the title until the very end.
Life is for living.
If we don’t take the risk, we have not shot at gaining the rewards.
We need to step out and take the risks in our life worth taking.
We all need the 20 seconds of “insane bravery”

At the 33 min mark, Kelly talks about how her experience has made her a better entrepreneur…

Advice for entrepreneurs just starting out?

Make sure you are doing something you are and can remain passionate about.
Don’t’ be afraid to let go and find what you are meant to do with your life and as an entrepreneur.
Unleash your life.
Be open to other opportunities because you will be amazed at what is out there.
Dreams are meant to be found and not tucked away in dreamland.

Best Quote: We all have either internal and external scars, or both in some way. It is totally up to us to decide what we are going to do with them. You can take your scars and use them for something great.

Kelly's Misfit 3:

Dreams are meant to be found, not tucked away in dreamland.
Your value is in your acts of service and what you do for others. Value has nothing to do with money.
Find a mentor you really connect with.

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Misfit Entrepreneurs,

Welcome to this special Thanksgiving edition of The Misfit Entrepreneur. Since, it is a day of thanks here in the US, I thought it best to take some time to thank you and share some thoughts on the importance of this day. First, I want to thank you. Thank you for your support, for your wonderful feedback, and sharing of this show. It has reached a level I didn’t envision when I started doing this all those years ago and it continues to exceed my expectations because of you – the best audience in the world.

As I said when I started, it is Thanksgiving and when we think of Thanksgiving, we think of pilgrims and native Americans coming together for a feast together. And they did, but that is not where the holiday of Thanksgiving actually came from. As you know I love history and I thought it would be great to share with you how this day started and share my message for you.

Thanksgiving as a holiday in the US started with a proclamation in 1789. A proclamation by the George Washington – the indispensable man.

Real quick ADD moment here – George Washington is one my favorite leaders in history and his accomplishments, virtues, and leadership are un-matched in this world. If you want to learn about what it truly means to be a great leader. Read the book The Real George Washington. When you do, you will see how he was seemingly guided by God’s hand to be who he was in the making of our nation. The things that had to happen to get him to where he lead the Continental military and then became President are not by coincidence.

Ok, back to the proclamation. It is short, but powerful and I would like to read it to you. By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go: Washington

One of the things that I do not think people realize is how much God’s teachings guided the founders of our country. When you read their own words and understand the reasons for, as they said, “pledging their lives, liberty, and sacred honor” to win their freedom – you find that it was driven by the teachings of the Bible and God’s word. The narrative in today’s world doesn’t allow that, but when you read the pages written by their hand, you begin to truly understand how much divine providence was instrumental in the creation of the United States and subsequent impact it has had on the world for freedom, ingenuity, and possibility. I short, the founders were some seriously devoted, tough entrepreneurs.

And that brings me to my Thanksgiving proclamation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On this day, we give thanks. We give thanks to God. We give thanks to free enterprise and the possibility that entrepreneurship brings. And we give thanks to all of those who are with us, support us, and are part of our entrepreneur journey.

On this day, let us celebrate the incredible opportunity and life we have been given. Let us celebrate the ability to create the enterprise and life we desire, for entrepreneurs are a unique group of people that directly shape and change the world. Entrepreneurs have the ability to change lives and make them better and have the opportunity to help others reach their dreams as they reach for theirs.

We entrepreneurs have been given this opportunity and responsibility, not just by our choice to be an entrepreneur, but by our creator who put us on this earth to become the best of ourselves and share it with the world.

For this we must be ever thankful and humble, and we must give every day the best to we have to offer and share with this world. We must never give up or quit in the pursuit of our dreams and we should strive to share entrepreneurship and its benefits with all those around us. Entrepreneurs are what makes the world go. Without entrepreneurs, there are no jobs, no funding for governments, no progress, or no improvement in quality of life. Everything begins with entrepreneurship.

Because of this, we cannot and should not take our responsibility lightly and on this day of thanks, we should unite to as I take and adapt a phrase from George Washington, ”humbly offer our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our business and other transgressions-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually and to bless them with peace and concord, and grant unto entrepreneurs a degree of prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

With God’s help, Entrepreneurship is the answer to much of the problems and challenges in our world, and everyone can tap into this spirit within. May they do so and give thanks for the incredible opportunity that it brings.

So, there you go, my proclamation and solute to you entrepreneurs. Let me close by again saying thank you and expressing my gratitude for your support of the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wish you a wonderful, blessed day with your families and a great start to the holiday season!

Dave

Best Quote: With God’s help, Entrepreneurship is the answer to much of the problems and challenges in our world, and everyone can tap into this spirit within. May they do so and give thanks for the incredible opportunity that it brings.

Misfit 3:

People do not realize how important faith in God and the teachings of the Bible were in creating the United States. George Washington made this clear in his Thanksgiving Proclamation creating the holiday.
With God’s help, Entrepreneurship is the answer to much of the problems and challenges in our world, and everyone can tap into this spirit within. May they do so and give thanks for the incredible opportunity that it brings.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support of the show and for spreading entrepreneurship into this world.

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Hello Misfit Nation! I am excited to bring a special weekend episode of the Misfit Entrepreneur. Occasionally, I find something I truly enjoy and when I do I like to share it with you. In 2021 I’ve started listening more to the immersive shows on Wondery. If you haven’t checked it out, you need to do so.

Recently, I was able to connect with them and they offered to share a small sample of one of their new mini-series made with Topic Studios with the Misfit audience – it’s called Operator.

During the 1-900 number craze of the Nineties, one company provided the vast majority of phone sex. American Telnet was an empire founded by the man who called himself “The Telephone Pimp.” He ran the company “like General Motors” and got filthy rich doing it. But for the (mostly) women who answered the calls and delivered fantasies 24-7, it was a different story. The powerful stigma against sex work was always lurking just beneath the surface, until it threatened to tear apart the whole company. Hosted by Tina Horn (Why Are People Into That?), OPERATOR is an eight-part series about big ambitions, Shakespearean-level corporate backstabbing, men and women at the cutting edge of a technological revolution...and on the front lines of a sexual one.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jamie Meyer. Jamie is the founder of Nine Carat Business Consulting, a firm that has been named one of the Top Australian consulting firms and Jamie has been named one of the Top Australian business strategists. She has a unique focus on clarity and focus into where businesses breakdown and how to prevent or overcome these issues.

As Jamie says, her mission is to reinvigorate businesses, their foundation, future, and approach to progress. Nine Carat strives to mine the gold of everyone and everything giving the ability to close the gap between where a business is and where it wants to be.

I’m excited for her to share how she does it.

https://www.ninecarat.net/

When Jamie was younger, she was the kid that wanted to change the world. As she got older, she got more serious about life. She started working full time at a very early age doing everything from hauling frozen fish to working night shift in the container business. Business came naturally to her. She ultimately ended up running a business in Brisbane, AU that was integrating companies and she was really frustrated because of all the lost potential she could see through the process and the fact that her hands were tied by leadership in doing anything about it.

So, she went out and created 9 Carat out of her frustration and to gain control. The company has evolved greatly, and she now works with major companies helping them step into new areas in their business.

Why did you choose the name 9-Carat for your business?

She moved into a house next to a little old couple.
The husband was a graphic designer and helped her design the look and logo of 9-Carat.
There were 9 areas she wanted to focus on in companies.
People would tell her that she would sparkle, and clients would tell her she was a diamond.
And diamonds are forged under intense pressure – which is sort of the story of her life.

Take us through your process of how you do what you do and get the results you get for your clients…

Companies are unique as human beings and have individuality.
There are no one-size fits all path to success for companies.
Clarity and expectation are key.
You must have clarity of where you are at and where you want to go and why. And the set the expectations needed to get there.

How does a business or business owner get “clarity?”

Where you have synergy, you have clarity.
If things feel hard, you don’t have synergy or clarity.
The way you get clarity is specific to each business, but every business must be clear on their purpose and vision – and those are the basis for getting clarity.

What is the difference between purpose and vision?

Purpose is your motivation. It is the ground on which you are taking steps to doing an anything. It aligns with your vision.
Vision is where your imagination comes in and you can see what that physically manifests into in a market. Your vision is driven by your motivation.
You must be clear on both and must be synergistic with each other and coincide.
Purpose is the foundation and vision is the framework.

Where should a business owner start when it comes to purpose and vision?

Purpose – your vision will come together as you figure out your purpose and motivation.

Talk about expectations and how they relate to clarity. How does expectation play a role in achieving the vision?

There are 2 sides to expectation.
The first is the expectation that currently exists in business models – most of the time, they are actually limiting and don’t give much room for leeway.
The goal is to re-write the expectations to facilitate substance from people.
If you have clarity, everyone will be working toward the vision – how can you expand their expectation or give them the room to contribute their genius in a bigger way and expand it themselves?
Let their “unsolicited genius” standout!

Where do see companies have the most problems or breakdown the most?

It really is around clarity and expectation.
Jamie dives in on this at the 17 min mark and it is best to just listen.
A focus just on rules/bureaucracy creates a company full of robots and processing what it is front of them.
Companies put in more and more rules when the lack clarity and expectation.

What is success setting and understanding alchemy and bionomics to achieve it?

Bionomics is relations in interactions between organisms and their environment. It takes into account every action a business has and how it interacts with its market.
Most companies do a lot of things right but understanding why they work so well in one area and then applying that to another area that isn’t doing so well is the key.
Alchemy is the work that Jamie and the client does together to make things shine. It’s turning where they are into a new version of success or converting something a much better version of what it is thought to be.

At the 27 min mark, we talk about the book, The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo and how that has impacted us.

What is the most important thing you do for your business every day as an entrepreneur?

Be grateful every day for it.
Every day, show it a little bit of love.

What are some of the best lessons you’ve learned as an entrepreneur that have helped you the most?

The only person standing in your way is yourself.
We don’t realize the conditioned idea of limitation that we have in our lives.
Always do something that you’ve never done – be bold.

Best advice for an entrepreneur starting out?

Put blinders on to the rest of the world.
Put blinders on to the market and competition.
Create a business that you are motivated by.
Create a vision that speaks to you.

What have you learned about working internationally?

You must have patience.
Do not get bogged down trying to understand everything – you won’t.
You will learn as you go. And what you think you need to know many times is irrelevant.

Best Quote: Where you have synergy, you have clarity. If things feel hard, you don’t have synergy or clarity.

Jamie's Misfit 3:

Always remember the point right when you are about to give up is where the magic happens – don’t give up.
Always be your own hero.
Always be the novice, but don’t assume everyone already knows what you know.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This Weeks' Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, Hannah, this lesson is a little more academic, but very important. I want to talk to you about your rights as a citizen of the United States. Most people will never read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution Including the Bill of Rights during their life – or at least only read some of it.

I believe that everyone should study these documents throughout their lives. I know, I know. They were written by people 200+ years ago, so how could they make sense today, right? Well, if you study history, especially that of the human species, you’d find that there are some things that don’t really change about us over time. Things like craving power and control or dominating over others never really change. And neither do things like wanting the best for yourself and your family or striving to better your life. And don’t forget the urge to be free. These tendencies and many more have been around since beginning of man. And through time they have suppressed or taken away by kings, tyrants, dictators, and warlords to name a few. The last century alone saw this in Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao, Polpot, and countless others and it goes on around the world today.

The genius of the founders is that they knew the tendencies of mankind and they knew that needed to create a way to put a “check” on them so that future generations could truly have a chance to prosper and reach their full potential.

That is what they did with the Declaration, Constitution and Bill of Rights.

First and foremost, the Declaration of Independence may be the best “break up letter” of all time. It starts out by stating When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. Basically, this says that it is necessary for them to break up with England and to provide for themselves in the way God intended with the rights that are God given. But, out of respect they should state the reasons why they are breaking up.

It then goes on to say what the founders believe should be evident to everyone and that is that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly, all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

The founders were saying that we have the right from God to life, liberty (freedom), and to pursue our happiness and that governments should secure these rights for the citizens to do so. But, when the government doesn’t secure these rights and the becomes destructive or outright hostile to them, then the people have the ability to change or get rid of the government so as to put one in that does. But, they go on to say that this should not be done lightly and if possible, it is better to suffer through things than to go this route. And they end with stating that there comes a point where suffering can no longer be tolerated, and it is time to end the King’s rule. They then go in the rest of the document to list all of the things the King has done to them to cause this happen.

Now fast forward a decade or so and the colonies have won the war of Independence and have tried one way of governing that didn’t work, so they have come together to create the United States and form a constitution for governing. The Constitution is an amazing document in that in just a short few pages, it lays out everything needed to govern our country. Contrast that with congress nowadays who passes most bills that are in the thousands of pages. The Constitution is the “check” on the tendencies of mankind that I mentioned before and may be the greatest one ever. But, even when they were done with it, the founders felt it didn’t have everything it needed, so they came up with the first set of amendments to the constitution just to make sure. Remember, they had just fought for independence and were very wary of giving government any major power at all. They were smart.

They created the first 10 Amendments which are as follows:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

This one, most have heard and allows for freedom of religion and the press as well as the t people peaceable assemble and petition the govern for changes based on the grievances they have with it. It does not mean burning down cities, looting and beating other people in the streets, or cancelling someone because you don’t like what they say or stand for or aren’t getting your way.

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

This gives the right for people to own guns and be armed and states that it shall not infringed which means it shall not be tampered with any way. You’ll notice this amendment is the only place that word is used. Another thing that is important to note that in all the instances where dictators took over and/or took control of society in the past century, they did everything they could to abolish the ability for the citizens to own guns in their countries. All of those dictators and tyrants I mentioned earlier did this on their way to slaughtering their citizens by the millions. It is another check on the tendency of mankind.

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

This is an interesting one today because we don’t put soldiers in homes, but there is debate on what is considered a soldier in today’s world. If the government is watching you in your home through your internet searches or phones calls and is using the military to do so, aren’t they essentially camped in your home? I think this debate will rage on.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

This goes with the last one in that the government is not allowed to “Search” without probably cause with a warrant that defines what they are searching for and why. Again, there is major debate about the government’s ability to search what you are doing through your devices and a host of other mediums without a warrant – especially under the Patriot Act. There are cases in court all the time around this.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

This states that someone cannot be tried again for the same crime if found not guilty of it. Additionally, it states that you cannot be compelled to incriminate yourself. This what is happening when you hear someone say they won’t answer and “plead the 5th.” It also states that any property taken by the government or law enforcement can only be done with giving just compensation. There are a lot of lawsuits that happen around that every year.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

This amendment states that you have a right to trial when accused of a crime and that shall be with an impartial court and jury as well as give you the right to confront those accusing you. This is critical to having a solid justice system.

Amendment VII

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

This just sets the value for going to court in common law cases and having a jury.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

This makes sure that the courts can’t hold you by imposing a bail sum so high no one could pay it. It also doesn’t allow excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishment. A lot of lawsuits are files around this on each year as well.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

This is a big one as it states that the just because they aren’t in the constitution, there are other rights that people have, and they are retained by them.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The 10th amendment is very important in that it basically says that the powers not stated in the constitution to the Federal Government or prohibited from the states, are given to the states, effectively the people because they make up the states. In other words, the Federal Government can only have the powers in these documents and the states have the all the rest.

That was the point of the US. To keep the Federal Government small and let the states govern themselves the way their people wanted to govern. The states were little laboratories of Democracy and Republicanism and if a state did something their citizens didn’t like, they could change or move to another state doing the things they liked. It was never intended to have an overarching Federal Government in control of the states and in some ways instituted in some aspect or another of people’s every day lives.

Along the way, the US drifted from it and that is conversation for another day. But knowing your Declaration, Constitution, and Bill of Rights will help you clearly see where they are being violated and where you can help to get thing back on track as a citizen. The United States became the greatest country ever created because of these simple documents and principles and the more we understand them, even in our world today so many years later, the better our country will be and continue to be the greatest place for everyone on earth to come and pursue their happiness.

Hannah, I hope you read these documents and reflect on them often as you go through life to uphold them and teach them to others.

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: The genius of the founders is that they knew the tendencies of mankind and they knew that needed to create a way to put a “check” on them so that future generations could truly have a chance to prosper and reach their full potential.

Misfit 3:

Most people will never read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution Including the Bill of Rights during their life – or at least only read some of it. I believe that everyone should study these documents throughout their lives.
The Declaration of Independence may be the best “break up letter” of all time. Basically, this says that it is necessary for them to break up with England and to provide for themselves in the way God intended with the rights that are God given. But, out of respect they should state the reasons why they are breaking up.
The United States became the greatest country ever created because of these simple documents and principles and the more we understand them, even in our world today so many years later, the better our country will be and continue to be the greatest place for everyone on earth to come and pursue their happiness.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Kirk Cooper. Kirk is the founder of Ecom Automation Gurus, a company that creates turnkey Amazon stores for entrepreneurs. He is a former high school teacher who looked to entrepreneurship to fund his dreams. He loved teaching, but it wasn’t going to pay him what he knew he could be worth.

In 2013, after succeeding in flipping some real estate, Kirk started investing time in Amazon and selling online. He spent his evenings tinkering and eventually created an almost $50k per month business on Amazon. He perfected his model over time and started Ecom to help others do the same. And now has done so with clients all over the world to the point where his business is now worth over $50 million.

I bet you can guess why I asked him to come on the show. I’m excited for him the share his secrets and process of how he built his business and create a fully automated online business.

www.ecomautomationgurus.com

@KirkCooperCEO on Instagram

Kirk loved teaching and coaching. He came from those roots. Many family members were teachers, and it was what he knew. He enjoyed it, but it wasn’t fulfilling his entrepreneur spirit. He wanted time freedom. He also wanted to help others grow and succeed. And doing what he does now, he is still teaching, coaching, and inspiring.

What did you figure out on how to succeed on Amazon?

Failing was a big part of it.
He tried a number of different businesses while working and wasn’t that successful.
He had to find something that allowed him to hold onto his security blanket (job) a little longer and build the business.
He decided to dedicate his evenings to the Ecom space, and it didn’t take that long.
But, as individual, he worked himself into another job as he had to maintain his store and keep up with everything 24/7/365.
He knew he could not sustain it, so he put together a small group of contractors and over the course of several months taught them how to run his store and eventually turned it over them to run full time.
He actually made more money and spent a lot less time in doing this and that is where the idea for Ecom was born.
He started small and focused over the course of a couple years with a small number of clients to perfect the model and then started to exponentially grow the business.

At the 12 min mark, Kirk takes us step by step through how his business works.

90-95% of his clients have no idea how to operate an ecommerce store.
90-95% choose to do drop ship vs. fulfilled by Amazon.
They are looking for a more hands off business where they provide the capital, and the income is passive.
Ecom does all setup, research, product listing, customer support, order fulfillments, etc.
Clients outsource the end-to-end business to them

Talk to us about selling on Amazon, what should people know?

And what is the difference between drop shipping vs. Fulfilled by Amazon. Nothing about it is guaranteed. Like any investment there is risk and reward.
Amazon makes the rules, and they change them, so Ecom has to pivot and keep up to stay successful.
Nothing is 100% guaranteed, but Ecom has a great track record.
Amazon is the biggest third-party marketplace out there.
The drop ship model is appealing because clients don’t have to hold inventory and pay to do so, so it is much less capital intensive than Amazon FBA.
You also can be more nimble competition-wise.
Drop-shipping has smaller margins, but it allows you to capitalize on many different products based on what is popular and needed at that time.

What is it that a client is responsible for in working with you and Ecom?

To bring capital.
You are paid every two weeks from Amazon, so you have to have capital (credit) to be able to buy and ship to customers while you are waiting the short time to be paid.
Amazon takes 15% of the gross and Ecom takes 35% of the NET profit.

So, what is the risk? There has to be some.

The biggest risk is keeping up with Amazon, especially when it comes to fixing account issues.
Sometimes, Amazon AI flags accounts and will put them on hold and not payout while an issue is resolved, so this causes delays.
It doesn’t happen all the time, but it can and does happen.
Amazon has a lot of scammers working them all the time, so their systems are always on the lookout for anything that may look like one, even if it isn’t.
Ecom is experienced in working on these things, but they have to be worked through.

Can you explain the benefits of buying an existing store?

This is where you located an age store that has been around for awhile and has good reviews and a solid track record with sales.
It helps you to start off on better ground, so you don’t have to build up the account.
They are also able to be scaled much faster and get cash flow for clients vs. waiting 6+ months on a brand-new store.

Anything else on the topic of selling online?

If you are not going to invest the time to do it yourself, do your homework on companies like Ecom that you can outsource to.

How has your teaching/coaching background helped you succeed as an entrepreneur?

It is your job as a teacher/coach to be a leader helping growing children with the learning and being a person, they can trust to come to and help with that.
That strength has helped Kirk in building his business.
A teacher and coach helps somebody and there is no great feeling in the world than helping people.

At the 31-minute mark, we discuss the little things being done in the business and how they allow it grow and scale. Best practices?

Don’t be afraid to outsource
Put yourself in a position to be most successful by putting others in the position they can be most successful.
Automate, automate, automate.

Principles to build a great business?

Integrity
Honesty
Being available for clients Great training and coaching

Craziest thing you’ve seen on your journey?

In the arena of ecom, the sky is the limit. It’s possible to make 10’s of thousands of dollars per month outsourcing your business.
It’s amazing how many ways and opportunities are out to create income streams to change your life.

Best Quote: Put yourself in a position to be most successful by putting others in the position they can be most successful.

Kirk's Misfit 3:

It is Ok to fail in whatever you do. Failing is a part of creating your path and being successful.
Outsource, build a team, and grow and scale. Build your foundation first and go from there.
Always be looking for additional streams of income. Look at it them like legs on a chair, if you lose one, you can still stand, so create as many as you can.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ken Ehrman. Ken is a technology and safety visionary, who has spent 25+ years pioneering IoT innovations. As the founder of I.D. Systems which is now publicly traded under the symbol PWFL, he has 40+ patents that have revolutionized efficiency and worker safety for the biggest and most demanding companies in the world such as Wal-Mart and others.

Most recently, he has partnered with Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, to create the Halo Collar and leverage his industry relationships and expertise to bring best-in-class safety solutions to dogs and dog lovers.

We use the Halo Collar for both our dogs, Champ and Luna, and I must say it is an awesome invention. We have several acres, and our dogs are both Aussies who love to run. We also spend time at our other properties throughout the year and needed a solution that we could take anywhere that would work to keep them safely in the area we want them to stay in and Halo has worked perfectly.

I’m excited to talk to Ken about his experience, how he has leveraged it to go into completely new industries, and how he’s built partnerships to succeed.

www.KenEhrman.com

www.HaloCollar.com

Connect with Ken on LinkedIn

Ken graduated from Stanford with an engineering degree. He went to work at a tech company Silicon Valley that wanted to be “chip” in everything, but computers. The company was founded by one of the founders of Apple. He worked there for 1.5 years and then took the chip and built into smart RFID tags. This created ID Systems in 1995. The company tracked high value assets for corporations and helped with safety.

Specifically, he found a niche in tracking and creating safety and efficiency with Forklifts. In 2016, his son got very sick and stepped down to be there for him. His son eventually recovered, but while he was home, his nieces dog escaped their yard and was hit by a car and killed. This tragedy gave him the idea for Halo to help protect dogs.

At the 6:50 mark, Ken takes us through the steps he went through to make Halo a reality including how he got Cesar Millan to sign on to it. It’s best to just listen.

Invisible Fence is traditionally wired, not wireless.
Ken knew wireless was the future and from his work tracking with GPS, knew that there was an opportunity to go wireless by GPS creating your own Fences around house or anywhere as an owner using GPS and an App that connected to a dog collar.
He called his patent attorney to do research and there was nothing our there patented like he wanted to create in Halo. The patent attorney actually asked if they could invest and Ken knew he had something.
Ken then used his industry relationships with chip makers and app developers to create the product.
He used the best of the best in GPS, Wifi, and Bluetooth to make Halo.
After getting it created, he knew he needed an expert in dogs to help it to succeed. So Ken went to Cesar Millan. Cesar and his group initially said no.
Ken kept going back to him and kept getting a “no.” So, he looked at who Cesar closest competition was – a woman named Tamara Geller.
As a last-ditch effort, he went back to Cesar and told his group that if they didn’t sign on, he was taking it to Tamara. That did it. They signed the NDA. Ken didn’t even know Tamara, nor had spoken with her.

Talk to us about shaking up markets…

You have to do a lot of research and know how people buy.
If you are going to disrupt, you need to know when people buy, so you can be there at that point.
There is an advantage to solving a problem you’ve experiences and solved for yourself. Look for those things.
You also need to be in the position to focus on the idea and business.

At the 25 min mark, Ken talks about the next frontier and markets that are ripe for disruption…

What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned in your career?

You need advice from people who have done it before.
There are unlimited number of ways to create and build companies.
Fundamentally, a great way to grow your business is to get customers to invest in your product helping it to grow instead of raising money.
Give clients an incentive to take a chance with you and grow with you. Have them fund your R&D.
For example, Ken gave clients a great deal to buy HALO prior to release raising several million dollars which paid for the product to get done and its initial units.

You’ve had to compete against some of the biggest names in the world and separate yourself to get business. What did you do differently?

The big guys are more stagnant – they don’t have the ideas and vision smaller, more nimble entrepreneurs have.
Additionally, building and creating relationships are critical to success.
The right customer is someone who wants to buy from you at least or as much as you want to sell to them. They are the best partners.

At the 40 min mark, Ken talks about having to step away from the company he built to help his son and how it affected him as an entrepreneur.

He had no choice.
ID Systems was his first baby, but his family came first.
He had put in place a great management team and the company was publicly traded, so he left in good hands.
He was not sure what he would do next and even consulted for a little while trying to find his way.
If you stay in an industry long enough, eventually an opportunity will present itself.

Best Quote: There are an unlimited number of ways to create and build companies..

Ken's Misfit 3:

Sales is not a bad word. In everything you are doing, you are selling. Selling a vision, concept, yourself, etc. Embrace selling and providing great value to others. You must believe.
Believe in yourself, your abilities, and that you can succeed. It will not be easy, but you will make it.
Identify the best possible people and partners to achieve success. Seek them out and bring them into your world.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Shawn Khorrami. Shawn is a serial entrepreneur since the age of 16, having started and managed more than a dozen businesses across an array of industries, with special focus on e-commerce. He’s owned everything from law firms to brick and mortar outfits in the hospitality and restaurant industry, to online businesses focusing on B2B and B2C and managed thousands of employees servicing tens of thousands of customers large and small across the country. He’s been featured everywhere from the New York Times to the LA Times, TV, and top publications.

Nowadays, he focuses on helping businesses maximize their success by coaching and training their CEO’s and leadership teams throughout all areas of a business. But, what struck me most about Shawn when we connected was his candid thoughts about failure, how the product is not the business, and as he says “a lot of times having more guts than brains.” I want to explore all of this and more with him in this episode.

www.connectwithshawn.com

www.Eplaybooks.com

Reach out and ask Shawn for a copy of the free e-book.

Shawn is a first-generation immigrant from Iran. A lot of his motivation came from his father, who in Iran, owned a construction firm. He would go to work with his dad at 7 years old and on. He thought he would follow his father’s footsteps and get into construction. When they moved over to the US, things didn’t carry over from Iran. His dad ended up owning income property. But there wasn’t much in the way of property management services or systems for small investors.

Shawn created a basic database program that allowed for property management focused on smaller investors. This became a business of its own as Shawn sold it to his dad’s friends and it grew by word of mouth from there. He ended up going to college and got degrees in mathematics and computers as well as in economics. He then got a law degree and educated himself in sales, marketing, accounting, etc.

Shawn never thought of working for anyone else. He’s never created a resume or had a W2 from a company he didn’t own. He’s a process guy who seeks how to streamline businesses and edges through process to make them more successful. He would create something that worked well for a problem in his business. He would then productize it and go sell it to his competitors.

He failed a lot and was good at overcoming it to succeed. People began to seek him out and ask him to consult for their businesses. He learned that successes can become failures too because of the lack of good processes and systems.

Only an idiot would go seek out failure….tell us the truth about failure.

It is painful. It is terrible. And it sucks.
No one should purposely fail and if you did that, you won’t learn that much.
Failure will happen and you must really lean into it and learn from it, then put what you learn into action.
The fear of failure should never stop. In fact, as you become more successful, it gets even harder as you know what can happen. Respect, but don’t invite it.

At the 14 min mark, Shawn shares an example of failure and how he learned from it.

In marketing, if it is going well – don’t stop it or change it, even if you have to build the infrastructure as you go to keep up.
Shawn also talks about taking on the wrong type of capital and how it deeply hurt his successful Law Business.
You have to be very careful in all areas of your business.

Your product is not your business, your business is your product.

Talk to us more about your business being your product….

What is your business?
It’s not the service or product. It is part of it, but it also everything else.
Your culture, service, processes, structure, marketing, etc. are all part of your business.
Your business is the journey to buy your product.
Your business is what you do when something goes wrong for a client.
Your business is meeting the customer’s expectations.
Every aspect of your business needs to be looked at as part of the product.

An example is a restaurant that makes great food – but what gets people in the door and keeps them coming back. If you staff is rude to patrons, do you think they will come back? Instead, you must create not only great food, but a great experience and that is the product of a good restaurant – not just food.

Tell about the principles you use to grow a business and in tough times as well…

Part of your business line of income must include some sort of recurring revenue component.
One off sales are great, but you need something repeatable and predictable.
Shawn uses an example of buying a humidifier business but buying because of the filters and essential oils that were resold every month as a monthly subscription.
No matter what your business sells, there is an opportunity to create a recurring component.
When bad times happen, a lot of people/businesses “take cover.”
It is those that look for opportunity that are important. Ask “Where can I find opportunity? How can I change my business to win?”

Where do you see the future going?

The virus is not going away.
And because of that, the way business is conducted is changing permanently.
Companies and employees’ mindsets have changed on how work is done and where it is done.
New systems have been developed to support this new way of working.
The supply chain has changed long-term.

At the 44 min mark, we talk about opportunity in the midst of a pandemic.

Best Quote: The fear of failure should never stop. In fact, as you become more successful, it gets even harder as you know what can happen. Respect, but don’t invite it.

Shawn's Misfit 3:

Don’t let failure stop you. Always be moving forward. Ask for help and overcome.
In everything, there is opportunity. Always.
Have a more a routine that is yours. Create the time for you.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Karl Maier. Karl is a serial entrepreneur with a knack for doubling and tripling the size of businesses quickly. He’s done it 6 times either as the founder of a company or as part of the leadership team, including 7x’ing one company in less than 4 years.

Currently, he’s on his 3rd software company, Abunden, which helps internal and external business advisors be even more effective in helping their clients to grow and succeed. The software was created from the frameworks for success Karl has tested and applied in his businesses over the years.

Needless to say, Karl has some amazing wisdom for to grow and scale businesses and I’m excited for him to share his secrets with you in this episode.

https://Abunden.com/

Karl’s journey was not a straight line. He learned about entrepreneurship from a young age from his grandfather and it created a curiosity in him as to why one company would succeed, and others would fail. As he grew up, he would see and be part of companies and see where they get stuck. Karl developed a passion for helping these companies and that is what he has done.

From his experience, he put together the Abunden Framework to help companies have a platform of the knowledge needed to get unstuck and grow.

Where do businesses get stuck? And from those you see succeed, what are the patterns or consistencies they have?

In the beginning, it’s about getting the sales and making it repeatable. The entrepreneur gets comfortable with this, but inevitably has to hire.
It’s once they begin to bring on employees and grow the business around and with them that causes challenges because the entrepreneur has to figure out how to let go and must let go to be successful.
The breakdown comes in the transfer of information to make that shift. It becomes helping people to do their job rather than the entrepreneur having to do everything.
The issues occur when the systems, documentation, and processes are not solidified.
It’s the behind-the-scenes small details that makes the difference – not the “sexy” stuff.

Talk to us about the Abunden Framework and principles you use to build a business?

Start with “why?” Where are we going? What are goes? Mission? Values?
Next is deciding when and where people fit in and how you make decisions as a leader and management team.
Training. You need to train everyone so they can manage, monitor, and develop employees to perpetuate the business.
Training must be repeatable.
Systems, processes, and documenting them must also be done.
When you put these all together, it becomes much easier to run the business and the entrepreneur can delegate more and more.

At the 12 min mark, we talk about deciding what type of businesses people must choose to have.

What is the starting point to go from self-employed to a bigger business?

You have to be willing to make some changes. If you won’t change, the rest of the company will not.
Picture yourself as the CEO of the company you want to have and what they will do. Their habits. What can you do to start doing that now?

Talk about how you’ve been able to double sales some many times. What should people know about selling in today’s world?

Sometimes selling is not enough.
You have to look all facets of the sale. For example, keeping more of the sale or increasing retention rates increases sales.
You also not only have to sell to customers, but also to employees to get good ones and keep them which helps your business run better.
Customers are not just buying your product, but what you believe in and stand for. People buy identity and cause as well nowadays.

Customer retention strategies?

Making sure you have the right people in the right positions to serve clients.
Make sure people can be and do their best and love what they do.
Develop processes to follow up and “check in” on clients.
Developing service culture within the company.

Talk about navigating pivots. What advice can you give?

First, you must be willing to admit things aren’t going right.
There is a difference between an up-hill battle and a lost cause.
Karl gives an example of business that pivoted during the pandemic, but then also had to pivot back.

Timing?

You have to understand what business you are really in.
It is easy to get distracted with opportunity, but you must know what you do really well and choose the best overall ones to focus on.
Look at what you promise to clients and what your values are to ground you.
Communication is important – especially with your leadership.

How do you see leadership?

What is leadership? Leadership is about motivating people and showing and leading to the vision.
Management is not leadership.
Getting people to see how they can help the world and the customers through what they do and how they fit in – their small piece – important.

How does a business set itself apart with customers and distinguish themselves?

It comes back to the “why?”
You must communicate why what you do makes a difference and the ways it makes a difference to both the employees and customers.

What has surprised you most on your journey?

There is a good list!
The fact that sales is not the end all/be all. It is really important but building a team to deliver is equally important. It’s not just about the sale.

Advice for new entrepreneurs starting out?

There is a lot to learn – listen to your customers and listen to your people.
Become an amazing listener.

Final thoughts?

Things are not static. What is true today is not the same as a year or a few from now.
Things constantly evolve and you must continue to adapt.

Best Quote: Sales is not the end all/be all. It is really important but building a team to deliver is equally important. It’s not just about the sale.

Karl's Misfit 3:

Every time your company doubles in size, everything breaks. Be ready to fix it.
Motivate people. People are how things get done.
Listen more than you talk.

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Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I want to talk to you about your impact. Your impact on yourself, your life, those around you, and the world. How you approach each aspect of your life impacts you, the world around you, and others. You may not see it or know it, but it does. And the true test of character is how you act and adhere to your principles when others are not watching – because unbeknownst to you, someone probably is.

We don’t think about it much, but everything we do impacts something in our lives. This has been called the Butterfly effect or Newton’s 3rd Law which states that for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. If object A exerts a force on object B, object B also exerts an equal and opposite force on object A. In other words, forces result from interactions.

We have a lot of interactions in our lives all throughout every day, but we rarely stop to think about effects that they have.

I was recently reminded of the importance of reflecting and making sure that we approach life each day giving our best and being our best – because you never know what or who can be impacted.

A number of years ago, your mother and I bought an investment property. It was a cheap fixer-upper property in a less desirable area. The goal originally was to buy it very cheap, fix it up, and then flip it for a $5000-10,000 profit. Needless to say we didn’t know what we didn’t know, spent a lot more money than we thought fixing it up, and then got caught up in the real estate crash of 2007-2008. So, we turned it into a rental. It did OK. We went through a lot of renters over a period of 4 years to where we had to eventually evict one for non-payment after months of working with them.

Of course, they trashed the place on the way out, but even worse, left rotting food throughout the house and the place even had bedbugs. I had to do the work on it and essentially had to redo the inside of the house. Needless to say, I learned a lot of lessons that helped me for future investment properties.

After it was ready to rent again, we started looking for renters and we got an application from a young 18-year-old, single new mom. She wanted a place for her and her son that would be theirs and she wanted a longer-term lease. She had a job and had proven she had income to cover the rent and there was something that told me she was worth a chance.

She rented from us for 7 years. I never really had any problems with her. She would sometimes get behind on rent but was always proactive and let me know what was going on, when I could expect payment, and how grateful she was that we would work with her. Over time, I would see her for inspections and other needs and as we talked would impart some piece of wisdom to help her based on our conversation. She was a hard worker and dedicated to her son and I respected that, so, if I could help her grow as a person, I would. I never knew if those lessons about finance or business or thoughts on how to increase her value as an employee ever really stuck.

A couple years ago, we had recouped our investment and the market had turned up. We got an offer on the house that was solid and decide to sell it. I kept the renter in the loop and was up front that I did not know if they would keep her as a renter and to be prepared just in case. Once we closed, they gave her 30 days’ notice to vacate and she let me know. She understood why I sold the place and was again, thankful for working with her all those years. I wished her well and that was that, or so I thought. In the spring of the this year, I got a text out of the blue that said,

“I just wanted to reach out to you and meant to before, but just go caught up with life. I’m working a double today! But you’ve been on my mind lately. I never got to tell you how much gratitude I have for you and your wife. You were truly a blessing for me and my son. If it wasn’t for you being so kind and understanding, I really don’t know where we would be today. I just want you to know, it was never taken for granted. I try to pay it forward every day. Maybe one day, I can be successful like you and help someone out the same. Anyways, thank you again so much for everything you have done.”

When I received the message, I sat back and thought, wow, I did not know we had that much of an impact, and I had to respond. In doing so I did my best to give what may be the last wisdom I could give her. I said this,

"Thank you very much for your kind words, but it wasn't hard for us because it was the right thing to do. It's wonderful that you pay it forward. And you have the potential to be more successful than us and help many. It comes down to a few things. Never giving up, ever, in pursuit of your dreams and goals. Never stop learning and self-educating. Everything you need is at the library, use it to your advantage. Read books on successful people, read books on how to improve yourself. Never stop learning. Work hard, but also smart. Learn to manage money well and how to grow it and nurture it. And do what is right and care for others. You follow that and you'll get all the success you ever dreamed of."

I think that advice works for everyone, and I hope it impacts you in your own way like it did our renter.

Hannah, you never know what impact you will have and when it will take hold. Live your life every day as your best and seek wisdom so that you can share it and help others.

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: Never giving up, ever, in pursuit of your dreams and goals. Never stop learning and self-educating. Everything you need is at the library, use it to your advantage. Read books on successful people, read books on how to improve yourself. Never stop learning. Work hard, but also smart. Learn to manage money well and how to grow it and nurture it. And do what is right and care for others. You follow that and you'll get all the success you ever dreamed of.

Misfit 3:

How you approach each aspect of your life impacts you, the world around you, and others. You may not see it or know it, but it does.
The true test of character is how you act and adhere to your principles when others are not watching – because unbeknownst to you, someone probably is.
When you are impacted in a positive way by someone else, pay it forward as much as you can.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Martin Sawa. Martin was the son of penniless Ukrainian immigrants and was on a path for the same kind of life when he made a decision. At almost 30, he quit his dead-end job to go into real estate and compete in the high stakes commercial real estate market in San Francisco. He struggled, but eventually found enormous success culminating in a $400 million deal that basically allowed him to retire and pursue his passions for writing. He had it all – but he had to confront the true cost of the sacrifices he made to get there.

He wrote about his story and incredible lessons learned in The Other Side of Success: Money and Meaning in the Golden State. Martin came from nothing, sacrificed everything and went through tragedy to find success, and ultimately learned what really matters on his entrepreneur journey and I’m excited to have him share it with you in this episode.

www.martinsawa.com

Martin’s parents lived under both Hitler and Stalin. They made it through the war and were put in a displaced person’s camp in Austria for several years and finally made it to the US. They were resettled in rural Wisconsin. Martin was sort of an outsider in that he had trouble with the language, etc. He was able to go to and work to pay for a Jesuit boarding school and this helped him. He then went to college in the mid-west and after headed out to California.

He got a job in Oakland, got married, and as he approached 30 years old was dead broke and hating his job with another kid on the way. He had his “aha” moment when he was working at zoning counter for his job in the city planner’s office. A developer came in and started screaming at him to process his project. In that moment, Martin just walked away and continued out the door – vowing never to have a job again and would work for himself from then on.

He was driven by necessity. He had some sales experience from when he was younger doing door to door sales. He chose commercial real estate as the biggest things he could sell that would pay the biggest commissions. It took him a year before he made any money. Eventually, he worked for a broker and climbed up the ladder. He was divorced by this time and he and his new wife moved to Los Angeles. He was traveling and doing mega-deal internationally. He reached a point where he felt he was done and quit. He later went back when invited to do a deal with an old colleague. They bought a building in San Francisco. His wife, who was everything in his life, dropped dead one night from a heart attack. He had to work through that and did so. He did a large deal that gave him the ability to do what he wanted to do and that was how he got into writing and consulting.

Can you give perspective on why the US is such a great place to reach one’s dreams?

The worst possible situation for his parents was nothing compared to the worst possible scenario in the US.
Just living in the US was better for them and is for many.
In the US, the children could do better than the parents and his parents instilled this in him.
The US gives the opportunity, not the guarantee – in many places there is no opportunity.

What went through your mind when you walked out on your job?

Martin had a big fight with his wife that night.
The mindset became one of necessity
He knew that he had to put skin in the game to really achieve great things, so he did.
You have to figure out a way and it makes you have to get up early and go to bed late to make it happen.

Advice for those looking to make the leap to entrepreneurship?

Just do it.
You’ll never know all you’ll need to know.
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face and you just have to understand that the majority of the time, plans do not work out the way you thought. It’s the ability to keep going that matters.

What was your mindset as you went through this journey?

In the first year, it was necessity. He had to take care of his family some way, somehow. He even played the credit card game to make things work.
He kept putting more skin in the game and growing the size of his deals because he knew that the reward was greater, even with the risk.

At the 24 min mark, Martin talks about the other side of success and he you overcame the tragedy and challenges…

It’s hard to find meaning in the material world.
Meaning is found in the world of the unseen (spiritual, etc.)

Where do you get the willpower that you’ve used to overcome and keep going?

You have to develop the skill to figure out what works best for you.
You can read every personal growth book out there, but in the end what works for you will be specific to you and you have to synthesize it and make it work.
It is easier to do something when it is specific to you and you’ve created it.

Other advice on how to success?

Put skin in the game.
Rely on your experience whenever possible.

Thoughts on truly finding meaning?

Ask what you believe to be true?
What you believe will govern and guide your life, so make sure what you believe is true for you.
Next ask, who do you admire? What are their qualities?
Align what you believe (core values) with what you do in the material world.
When the alignment is there, you find meaning.

Best Quote: Put skin in the Game!

Martin's Misfit 3:

Have you put skin in the game? No risk, no reward and skin in the game is the best motivator.
What do you believe to be from the top down?
Are you living true to yourself? Is you pursuit of material success in alignment with your core values?

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jennifer Justice. Jennifer, also known as JJ, is an entertainment and live experience executive known for her expertise in building artists’ careers and business portfolios by marrying art with commerce. She made her mark as an entertainment attorney with a roster of clients that included Jay-Z, Outkast, Slipknot and Mark Ronson, and negotiated massive joint venture agreements including the partnerships of Jay-Z and Roc Nation with Live Nation. She then parlayed her experience to join Jay-Z to build Roc Nation in 2010 and served as his personal attorney for 17 years as well as Beyonce’s at times, during that time.

Today, JJ’s focus is on accelerating the success of women, women owned businesses, and women focused brands to help them succeed and achieve equality and diversity in the market and workforce.

I’m excited to have her on to talk about this topic, her experience, and the power of entrepreneurship.

www.TheJusticeDept.com

@JenniferJusticeLeague on Instagram

JJ’s family never went to college or in some cases never graduated high school, so she didn’t have any success mentors. She was passionate about music and when she did get the chance to go to law school, she decided that she was going to be a music entertainment attorney. She didn’t realize how hard it was to get into doing that type of law – it was very small market. She started off a big Wall Street law firm and networked to meet some in the entertainment space. She had some success and ended up as a partner at a firm that specialized in music entertainment law. She found a lot of common ground with her clients and being an advocate for them as many came from the same type of background as her.

One of her first clients was a very then, unknown, Jay Z. They grew up in the business together and she started growing her roster of clients. She then grew into all the other areas of the business for her clients with Live Nation, Roc Nation, etc.

After 17 years, she had twins that were 2 and half and felt it was time to move on. She was single mom and took 6 months off. She took the time to find out what she really wanted to do and became the President of Suyperfly, a live experience company that started festivals like Bonnaroo and others. She was there for 3 years and pushed herself.

Through it all, she has always had a really big passion for gender equality and started her own firm called the Justice Department to help women in this area. She also invests in companies and consults for general business needs.

What was it like taking 6 months off?

It was foreign to her.
It was actually stressful because of her being used to going all the time.
She felt discombobulated. It was eye-opening. She needed a purpose – just a bigger one.

Tell us more about your mission for equality and the state of things…

JJ went in bright eyed and thinking that success was equal.
She found through her work with clients that there was a big discrepancy in wages between men/women for the same roles and types of contracts.
She started questioning why this was happening and looking into it deeper.
Me Too and Covid really brought this into the forefront and showed a lot of examples on a larger scale.
We haven’t made a lot of strides in the area of equal pay and people are fed up with it.

Do you see entrepreneurship as the best opportunity to level the playing field?

Yes, but there are issues there too.
Women get funded 90% less than men.
You do get to set your own rules and solve your own issues as an entrepreneur
It is a great opportunity.

What you best advice to help women succeed in their careers?

In a traditional job or system, do it with open eyes.
Understand that biases exist and educate yourself on them.
Know what other people make. Legally, other employees can share this with you. Find your tribe.
Be armed with the information.
Make sure when you are negotiating a new role or salary, you hire an attorney to review the documents and negotiate on your behalf – you can do this.
For more of an entry level role, you should still hire an attorney to give advice.
Let them give you the first offer and take it into consideration before any agreement or negotiation.
Ask for 20-25% than you think you deserve because you never know. If you don’t get what you want – ask how you can and decide on what needs to be done to get there that you and the company agree to.

Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want and believe in your worth.

What are the principles that you’ve used to build great companies and what do you look for when you invest in companies?

It comes down to the founder. They lead the business.
There is something to be said about the product but investing in areas you know is important as an investor or when deciding to build a company.
Founders needs to understand when it may be time for them to step aside and let someone with the right experience for that level come in to run the company.

What are some of the best lessons you learned from working with Jay-Z?

He really knows who he is.
He had never had an agent because he doesn’t like a middleman.
He took what was passion and built businesses around them doing them himself.
He was/is focused on enterprise level opportunities.
Jay-Z was/is very good at using joint ventures to grow and increase the value of his companies. 1+1 could equal 1000.
Lastly, the willingness to walk away from a bad deal.

You should always be willing to walk away from a bad deal. Many times, walking away will turn it in your favor and if doesn’t, it wasn’t mean to be.

Best advice for an entrepreneur just starting out?

Go through the MVP process
Get a lawyer from the beginning
Find your right team that will support you internally and externally.
Build the core business and expand from there.

Craziest thing you’ve ever seen happen in your career in the entertainment industry?

A lot of it JJ cannot say because of attorney client privilege.
She had her life threatened a few times.
If you’ve watched the show Empire, it pretty much nails how it is.
It’s just as crazy as you think it is.

Best Quote: Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want and believe in your worth.

Jennifer's Misfit 3:

Before taking advice, take a moment to think about if the person giving you that advice has ever been in your shoes.
Don’t worry about the traditional way of doing things. Be un-conventional.
Hire outside of what is traditional. Give those that need a hand up a chance.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Steven S. Hoffman. Steve is the CEO of Founders Space. Founders Space is one of the leading startup accelerators in the world, with over 50 partners in 22 countries. In fact, Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazines ranked it as the #1 incubator for overseas startups.

Steve is also a venture investor, a successful entrepreneur multiple times over and the author of several best-sellers including his latest Surviving a Startup. He’s found success everywhere from Hollywood to Silicon Valley, but his biggest passion is helping other entrepreneurs succeed.

My goal is to squeeze as much wisdom and advice as I can from him and his experience in our time together in this episode.

https://www.foundersspace.com/

Steven has had more careers than cats have had lives. He began as an electrical computer engineer. His real passion was film, entertainment, and games. He went to graduate school for film and then went to Hollywood. He worked his way up the ladder and began a television development executive at a large TV production company. While there, he started to see the future of video games and the growth they would have. He’s made over 100 games in his career. He met the founder of Sega and was offered a position at their Japanese headquarters coming up with new ideas for games, specifically for the US market.

He then came back to the US and launched his first company, LavaMind. The first product he launched was a game that taught people how to become entrepreneurs called Gazillionaire. He did it all himself and put all his money into it. It took off. After that, he saw the opportunity for gaming on the internet. He partnered and launched another business that was an interactive TV/Gaming product with MTV. He then did 2 other ventured startups and took a break.

During the break, friends that were starting their entrepreneur journey would come to him for help and advice and out of that grew his incubator, FoundersSpace.

You’ve worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs in you career, alongside your own experience, what would you say is the main ingredient needed to succeed as an entrepreneur?

Most entrepreneurs never make it.
Ideas don’t matter. Where you start doesn’t matter. Just start.
The most important thing is that you don’t lock onto your idea. More startups fail because entrepreneurs fall in love with the idea and their passion for it.
Go out into the world and start exploring. You may not have the magic idea in the beginning.
Google started out as non-profit to allow academics to search for peer papers.
Yelp didn’t think reviews would be a big part of their product. It was just an add on.
YouTube started out as an online dating site.
Many of the biggest companies you know are far different that the idea that started them.

What is the process that people should go through to find the right version of the idea?

It’s best to pick a direction vs. picking an idea and holding to it.
Try a number of things in that direction
Engage deeply in that area and figure out who your customer is.
An entrepreneur’s job is not to sell a customer on your idea; it is listening to them. The best ideas come from the customer. What do they really need that they are not getting?
Your job as entrepreneur is help solve the customer’s problems.
Entrepreneurs are demand hunters. They cannot create demand, but they can find it and fill it.

How important is it to focus before branching out?

Think small. The majority of entrepreneurs succeed with very small ideas.
A small idea that can tap into a big pool of demand is powerful.
YouTube was a great example of this.

What is it that you look for in a company you invest in?

Venture capital is like rocket fuel for a business.
But the rocket needs to already exist and be pointed at the right target.
Is the business solving a real-world problem and is there demand?
For a startup, the potential is in the team. A great team can help even a poor idea get off the ground and improve it from there.
The CEO must have great leadership qualities. They need to be able bring together the right people, motivate them and lead them.

“An entrepreneur/CEO, put 80-90% of your time into finding an amazing team.”

What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned and put into practice?

Small businesses are not a good fit for venture capital.
A business with linear, steady growth is not a good fit either.
If you are growing exponentially and can prove you can sustain it, then you have a shot with venture capital.
The business model that produces more “unicorns” than any other is a recurring revenue business.
A business where the customer comes back over and over again or needs a subscription to keep the service is key.

What are principles that you’ve developed to help guide you and build your businesses?

How you communicate to your employees is critical.
Culture is not ping pong tables and plush couches – building a great culture comes down to one word – Trust.
Your need to trust you and trust everyone else on their team.
If they know you have their back and everyone else on the team has each other’s, then they will own it together.
The way you get it is by, duh, trusting your employees to do their job and helping them be part of the success by engaging them and giving them a say.

You wrote a book called “The Five Forces.” Tell us about it and what are the 5 forces?

The Five Forces shows where we are headed in the future.
These forces will change all of our lives.
They are as follows:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Brain Computer Interfaces
- Genetics
- Space Technology
- Human Computer Intelligence (AGI/ASI)

Best Quote: Entrepreneurs are demand hunters. They cannot create demand, but they can find it and fill it.

Steven's Misfit 3:

If you fail, don’t internalize the failure. You are not your failures.
Don’t settle for what you think is possible. Growth comes from pushing yourself a little further.
Listen to what you say to yourself. Are you talking to yourself in a negative or positive way? If it is negative, you have the power to change it and it will transform your life.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is JJ Virgin. Where to start with JJ? You’ve no doubt heard of her before. JJ, in many ways redefined fitness and nutrition for people world-wide. She is a 4-time New York Times Best-Selling author and prominent TV and Media personality including the on-camera nutritionist for Weight Loss Challenges on Dr. Phil, and numerous appearances on PBS, Dr. Oz, Rachael Ray, Access Hollywood, and the TODAY Show. She also speaks regularly and has shared the stage with notables including Seth Godin, Lisa Nichols, Gary Vaynerchuk, Mark Hyman, and many others.

And if that isn’t enough, she host her own podcast, Ask the Health Expert and is the founder of the premier health entrepreneur event and community, the Mindshare Summit.

But a lot of people don’t know that JJ’s biggest challenge and biggest success didn’t come in her businesses – it came from an event – her worst nightmare that she was able to turn into her biggest opportunity to grow and thrive.

www.JJVirgin.com

JJ has always been fascinated by nutrition and fitness all the way back to high school. She went to college and on a theatre scholarship. But she catered her way through college using it to pay for things. She dropped out of the theatre program and starting personal training people – being one of the first alongside Body by Jake. She switched to be an English major. She graduated from college with a full-blown personal training business doing 6-figures +. She went to grad school for health and nutrition.

She kept looking at the next things that people wanted and needed and creating them. All of what she did ended up helping her. Her theatre work helped her in promoting and showcasing her services and products on TV and stage. Her English degree helped her in writing her books, etc. And her catering work helped her to better understand foods to help with nutrition and her cookbooks.

You wrote Warrior Mom to document the story of your son and what you learned going through this traumatic time in your life – tell us about it.

Success is living on your own terms and helping others and making a difference. Success typically comes through some very hard challenges and sacrifices.
JJ was in the process of releasing her second book and was going BIG with it.
She went all in. She had 2 children, 15 and 16. The financial responsibilities were on her.
All of her money was tied up in the book launch and she even borrowed some for it.
She came home one day and her son, Grant, was agitated and they got into a little fight and Grant stormed out of the house.
The next thing she knows, her ex-husband and other son come in and tell her that Grant got hit by car and was airlifted to a local hospital.
She rushed to the hospital, and they ushered her into a conference room. She was told that her son was going to die. He had a torn aorta, and he had a deep coma with multiple brain bleeds, and they could not do that type of surgery there.
They also told her that he could not be airlifted because he would die during transport.
She had taught her kids that the only limitations are the ones in your mind and her other son looked at the doctor and said, they would take the chance.
The airlift worked and the other trauma center was ready and the exact opposite. They saved her son.
They fixed his heart, but they did not know if he would wake up. Additionally, he had 15 compound fractures that needed fixed.

At the 17 min mark, talks about her talking to him while in a coma and he would squeeze her hand. She committed right there to get him better than he was before the accident.

JJ committed everything to him and even got the hospital to give her an office so she could work as he was still on the hook for the book launch.
She realized that she had to take care of herself first and be in the best shape physically and mentally as she could to do everything and not risk being sick around her son.
She put the time in and did the work for him and the business and she broke her first million in business while working from the hospital.
Her son later told her than he saw “over there”, and it was wonderful, but he kept hearing her voice and decided to stay and no go.
The first 2-3 years of coming back were brutal, but after 8 years he is better than before the accident.

We are capable of so much more than we think we are, and your story shows that. Can you give more insight into this area?

You have no idea what you are capable of.
JJ said the lessons she shared in the book where already in her, but they were revealed going through the process.
When she was 30, she had a mentor – a personal training client. In a conversation, the client asked why she was in grad school and why she wanted to get her PhD. And the reason was that “I want to be more successful.” The lady just said “huh.”
It turns out the lady, Kay Smith, was a mindset trainer who never went to college. Kay told that if she ever wanted to be more successful, she would teach her.
Kay taught her a few things that made a huge breakthrough – so big, that she dropped out of school, drove all the way to Florida and moved in with her to “be taught.”
The first thing Kay did was put a rubber band on her wrist and tell her every time she had a negative thought to snap it. Kay taught her to tightly control her environment.
One of the key things she taught her were that “the only limitations were the ones in your mind.”

“If you want to learn something, teach it.”

2 Lessons really stood out - “Your limitations become your life.” And “Forgiveness will set you free.”

Forgiveness is tough. JJ used to be more resentful and hold grudges. She didn’t like it about herself and needed to change it.
She started choosing where to put her energy. Putting energy into negative things is not worth it.
It is harder than it seems. She thought she had forgiven the lady who did the “hit and run” on her son until they found her. JJ still had rage.
She learned a process from Dave Asprey on how to forgive.
Most often the biggest person you need to forgive is yourself. It is freeing.

What is your best advice for entrepreneurs to remain healthy and perform at their best?

This is the single more important thing to help your success.
We are the most important tool we have in our business.
Prioritizing self-care is one of the things that separates the most successful.
You have to move every single day. Do not skip this. It not only helps you body, but your brain.
You also have to prioritize sleep. Don’t steal from it. It helps in all areas.
When you wake up in the morning, you want to do some form of meditation. Even 10-20 mins.
Make sure the diet is right:
- Figure out your food intolerances
- Lower your sugar intake
- Hire a coach to help you if need
- Take supplements – you cannot get all you should have without them. A good multi-vitamin.
- Extra magnesium
- Fish oil
- Optimize your vitamin D and take it with K
- Take some extra vitamin C as stress blows it out
- Get some Zinc
- Take Quercetin

Best Quote: The only limitations are the ones in your mind...

JJ's Misfit 3: 

Find and always have an amazing mentor. Have a great community.
Choose people that elevate you.
Self-care. Good sleep, daily exercise, healthy diet, take supplements, and reduce stress.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, This episode is going to deal with a little heavier subject. I want to talk to you about death and dying. This past year, we lost both of your great Grandmothers – amazing women, Matriarchs in our family. And over the last few years, others, including another great Grandmother have passed on.

Death is a natural part of life. It is inevitable and is not something we escape. But I want you to understand that it is only the beginning of something greater. It is the final step toward our real home – our eternity with God in Heaven. In death, all our imperfections are righted on our way into Heaven and the best versions of ourselves are created.

It is amazing to think about this life in the context of eternity. Eternity is forever. Our time in this life is truly a blink of an eye in those terms. It goes by so fast. And while we are just passing through to a greater place and greater existence, this life that we have is special. As I’ve noted before, the odds of being born into this life are 1 in 4 trillion. So, while it goes by fast, we must cherish it. We must cherish the gifts we have been given and share them with the world and those around us. We must cherish the time we have with family and friends in this human form. We must cherish the amazing world that is around us and all that it has. We must maximize our potential and who we are capable of being. It is by God’s amazing grace that we have this opportunity. We must not waste it. We must not put too much energy into trivial things but reserve the best of ourselves for the best around us.

I will not deny that the passing of a loved one is sad and painful. We honor them through our grieving and through our memories of them. We also honor them by putting into practice what we’ve learned from them and by being our best selves. But, Hannah, I want you to understand that one day, we will be reunited with them in eternity. What a glorious and magnificent time that will be.

So, in the end, death is bittersweet. We lose our loved ones in this life, and we grieve them, but we gain an even greater life with them in eternity. And on our way to this future reunion, we get to make the most out of this life and all that it has to offer.

Hannah, you are so loved, and you give so much love. All those that have gone before you love you dearly and look down upon you with a smile and amazement at how wonderful you are. Honor them by living into and being your best self. And honor those around you by making sure they are better off for having known you and give to them in the ways in which you can make the most difference in their lives. On that note, I’ll leave you with this final thought…make the most out of every second of this life and cherish it while preparing yourself for eternity by living a good and just life.

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: All those that have gone before you love you dearly and look down upon you with a smile and amazement at how wonderful you are. Honor them by living into and being your best self. 

Misfit 3:

Death is a natural part of life. It is inevitable and is not something we escape. But I want you to understand that it is only the beginning of something greater.
So, in the end, death is bittersweet. We lose our loved ones in this life, and we grieve them, but we gain an even greater life with them in eternity.
Make the most out of every second of this life and cherish it while preparing yourself for eternity by living a good and just life.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Anthony Trucks. Anthony is a former NFL player, American Ninja Warrior, Best-Selling Author, and Founder of Anthony Trucks Industries and the Shift Method. He’s been featured everywhere from NBC, FOX, Netflix, WSJ, Success and INC.

Anthony has a heck of a story from starting in the foster care system to realizing and then seeing his NFL dream collapse, to starting his own business, losing it, losing his marriage, and almost his life, but then finding his redemption through a shift. Since the shift, Anthony has become one of the most sought-after speakers, coaches, and consultants out there today.

And I’ve brought him on to further share his story, what he learned and now teaches from his shift, and to get his best wisdom and advice on how to succeed and live a great life, not just as an entrepreneur, but a person in this world.

@AnthonyTrucks on Instagram

www.IdentityShiftBook.com promo code ME

Anthony was and his 3 siblings were given away when he was 3 years into foster care. It was 1986 and it was not a great situation. He was starved in some homes, beaten in others, and put through a lot of very rough stuff. By 6 years old, he was a sad little kid who was angry. At 6, he was placed into the family which is now his family today. He was with them for 8 years and they adopted him. But, they were poor and he grew up poor. His adoptive mom got diagnosed with MS. He tried out for football and was terrible. He checked out and was becoming a statistic. Most people don’t know that 75% of in-mates in prison are former foster care cases. As Anthony says, “He beat the odds.” He had an adoptive mom who “loved him past his crazy.”

At 15 he made a choice that he didn’t want to be a loser. To start, he didn’t want to suck at football. He learned to do the things that he didn’t want to do or weren’t in his current character and he transformed himself into a great ballplayer in 7 months. His biggest shift came from the inside and had this ferocious drive that he had done too much in the dark to get better and transform himself that no one was going to take it. This manifested in him being a top ballplayer and ultimately getting a scholarship to play at Oregon.

He made it to the NFL and tore his shoulder out in his 3rd year. He was a dad at 21 and had a family, but no paycheck. At this point, he had a massive identity crisis. Things came tumbling down. His marriage fell apart. The businesses he started failed. Then his adoptive mom passed away from MS. This was a wake-up call. It took him another 2 years to really wake up and change his life, but his mother’s death was the seed that grew into it.

At the 11:30 mark, Anthony talks about the moment before his mom passed away and his friend put things in perspective. This also was a seed that helped him in the future. A friend told him “This is your reality.” Those 4 words unlocked everything he had been experiencing. He cried and just drove to the middle of nowhere not telling anyone and his family and friends got worried. The police found him and brought him home. The next day he went to the gym and a friend he had since childhood told him, “Never do something like that ever again. When I found what happened, I thought I lost a hero.” This made Anthony realize life is worth living and gave perspective. All of the craziness of his life had meaning.

How does someone choose their identity? And how do they develop their life’s vision and know they have it right?

We either assume or survive into our identity.
A lot of people set goals for other people’s dreams.
You have set your own scale and truly answer the question of what you really want.
Once you have decided – let know tell you it cannot be done, or it is not what you want.
You need to then align your identity with what you want.
Who is the person you must become to get what you want? What does that person need to do live into that? What habits must you start or develop or stop? What actions do you need to take each day?

At the 24:30 mark, we talk about Simone Biles as an example of someone who may have lost her identity or being out of alignment with it in her exit from the Olympics (It was not revealed until much later that she had a death in her family which did impact her). It’s best to just listen to our discussion.

Do hard things to get stronger…

The Shift Method has 3 steps, what are they?

See: This is where you find your optimal zone. Find your specific areas that you need to work on.
Shift: Action ends suffering. Put a plan in place of the action items you need to do to improve in the areas you need to work on.
Sustain: Discipline. When you begin to shift, it will feel out of character and thus lends itself to quitting before you get your breakthrough. You must be disciplines to do the actions. You must do what needs to be done to become the person you know you should be. You must not stop.

What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned from your entrepreneur journey?

It’s a journey of predictable failure.
Fail and learn, fail and learn, etc.
Entrepreneurship is an identity in itself.
It is incredibly difficult and incredibly rewarding.
Entrepreneurship helps you find what you are truly meant to do.

Best Quote: There are two types of people in this world: Those that work and those that watch. Make sure you bow for your audience.

Anthony's Misfit 3:

The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement.
Fall in love with the day, not just the destination. Enjoy the journey.
There are two types of people in this world: Those that work and those that watch. Make sure you bow for your audience.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneurs are Alex and Leila Hormozi. Alex and Leila are an entrepreneur power couple. They have scaled three companies to well over $100M in cumulative sales across 3 different industries (software, service, eCommerce) and continue to grow.

Their companies include Gym Launch, a service and coaching company, Prestige Labs, a premium supplement company, and ALAN a lead management software firm. In fact, they took Gym Launch from 1 employee to over 70 and $28 million in revenue in just 3 years.

Needless to say, Alex and Leila have not only figured out how to scale and grow companies quickly and effectively, but they’ve also found the right balance as a couple to do it well and I want to dig into all of this with them in this episode.

Alex Hormozi Podcast – The Game

Alex and Leila both have Youtube Channels where they give a lot of advice

Alex and Leila met in 2016 through online dating. Both were very focused on their careers. But they met for the first data and found a lot of commonalities including their love of business and their backgrounds. How they saw business was similar. In fact, after Alex heard what Leila wanted to do, he told her to skip all that and come work with him. Over 3-4 weeks of them talking and her learning more about the Gym Launch concept, she saw a great opportunity to work together. She ended up leaving her business and joining him with Gym Launch. They ran the business as just them for a year and then began to build out the teams, etc.

They actually were doing such a good job that some gyms could not handle the capacity they were creating for them, and it caused problems. In fact, Alex and Leila almost gave up. They re-worked the business model so they or a rep for them did not have to be present and things took off. From there, they got into supplements specifically for gyms. They also developed a lead management software and other solutions.

Alex mentions that they had a logistically challenged business that they had to fix, even though they were very good at doing what they did.

Alex was good at the solution side, but Leila is really good at putting the team and leadership into place.

What has been your secret to working well as a couple?

Leila

They want to be around each other is the foundation. You have to desire to be around each other all the time.
There is never anything between them – they don’t allow things to go un-addressed, fixing them when they come up.
Delineating each other’s responsibilities is important.
Making sure to drive toward the same goals.

How does your dynamic work or change during tough times?

Alex We are fairly even keeled.
It’s important to separate a circumstance from emotions. It is not a reflection of who you are, it just is.
Separating the stressor from the response is a key skill.
Finding out what information each other is working with that the other doesn’t have when there is a problem.
Staying in each other’s lanes when it comes to making decisions in the business is also very important. They trust each other to make the best decision, but seek input as needed.

What are the principles you use to develop a successful business and teams?

A lot of it is psychology. Really understanding people and making sure to put them in the best place to succeed.
Being willing to have good, but hard conversations.
Working on your emotional intelligence is very important to success.
You pick the people, you assemble the people, you coach the people.
“Sharp mind, kind heart, strong will.”
Core values: Candor, Micro-speed/macro-patience, have humility, give credit/take blame

At the 23 min mark, Alex and Leila talk about their culture…

“To have a great company – marry the smarts and the hearts.”

Explain your marketing and lead strategy…

Fundamentally, there are 2 ways to grow a business: Get more customers or make it each customer more profitable.
Fancy fails, simple scales.
Paid media, earned media, owned media are the areas of marketing.
Referrals are one of the best and easiest ways to grow. You should not scale other areas until the word of mouth is a significant driver of your business.
Mastering an area is that it will continue to produce once you’ve set things up and don’t have to be involved in it constantly.

Give an example of a front-end offer that works well?

Win-win.

For Gym Launch, a customer can start using Gym Launch absolutely free and if they don’t make at least $4000 in their first 30 days, you don’t have to continue.

Back-end?

Value ladders should never stop. You solve problem one and problem two, but solving problem two creates problem 3 that needs a solution and so on.
Value ladders typically stop at the level of competence of the entrepreneur selling them.
Your job is to continuously grow your ability to find and solve problems building out your value ladder.
Alex’s book on this is called Hundred Million Dollar Offers

Best advice for an entrepreneur starting out today?

If you are not moving at the pace you want to look at what you may be lacking. Is it a skill? Is it a belief? Is it a character trait? Identify this and go seek it.
Let go of any identity that you hold – identity is habit and may not serve you in the way you need to succeed. Start with a blank slate and become the person you need to be through the habits needed to succeed at what you are doing.

Best Quote: To have a great company – marry the smarts and the hearts.

Alex and Leila's Misfit 3:

Alex: Think in decades not months.
Leila: 99% of your thoughts are not true.
Alex: Do the boring work.
Leila: Feelings are not to be obeyed, but something to be managed.
Alex: Volume begets skill. The more you do, the better you get. The better you get, the more you do.
Leila: Learning how to make smart decisions is one of the best skills you can require. Don’t build up decision debt.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Robert Burr. Bob is one of kind. He’s been in the oil business for over 40 years and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars during his career. He’s shared the stage with everyone from Robert Kiyosaki to Peter Schiff educating people on the opportunities, benefits, and risks of investing in oil and gas.

Bob is a master syndicator and deal strategist…but you know what, he retired a number of years ago and after spending almost every day on the golf course and with grandkids, he felt the urge to come back. It it was the pandemic that made him jump back in with both feet because it created some of the best oil and gas opportunities he says he’s ever seen.

I asked him to come on to share his wealth of knowledge on investing in oil and gas and his philosophies on business.

www.Burrite.com

admin@burrite.com

Bob started out in the insurance business in the 70’s and had huge success. He was making more money than he ever thought he would. His brother got into the oil business and recruited him to help sell the investments. His brother would run the business and he would raise the money. The timing proved to be tough as it came right as oil and gas embargoes started, but they worked their way through and went on to have massive success over many years.

As Bob says, “It wasn’t easy, but it has been a passionate, life-fulfilling mission that he would not trade.” Bob wrote about his story in his book, Leaving Your Pack.

At the 6 min mark, Bob talks about a conversation with his dad that helped put him on his path and about “being in the game.” “

The day I can no longer compete in life is the day I hope God takes me…”
All this is, life, is a big game and we get to play and compete every day.
Everyone has 24 hours. You have to show up for your 24 hours and keep showing up.

Talk to us about the types of things and deals you do in oil and gas…

Bob talks first about the geological side and how it is very hard when starting.
You have to try multiple fields to find one that is good.
He hit big on one field and sold it in the early 90’s to marathon and was able to retire.
After many years of retirement, his boys got into the business. He decided to help them avoid a lot of the early mistakes and come out of retirement.
One of the benefits of oil and gas is the tax advantages – up to 90% in the first year against your income.
Bob raises money to drill his wells and targets a 3-year payout alongside the tax advantage.
He focuses on good, solid income producing wells that will product for many years.
The drop in oil prices during the virus was an opportunity of a lifetime for him and his investors.

What are the risks that people should know about when investing in oil and gas?

Conventional new well drilling is successful about 20% of the time, so pretty risky.
Bob focuses on proven oil fields that are already producing and getting a piece of them.
Proven production and proven recoverable reserves are key to limiting risk.
In some cases, Bob will drill the well with his money to test it out and if he finds oil, he will then use investor money to build the well out. This is least risky for the investor.
Bob is obsessed with making money for his investors and has built his reputation on it.

At the 26 min mark, Bob talks about the tax-free way to “roll” oil gains like a 1031 exchange and defer taxes…

What are the principles you build your businesses on?
Bob wasn’t great with people – his brother ran the business side and Bob brought in the money.
But then he lost his brother and had to come to grips with who he was and change because he was a selfish person.
He soul searched and really made a commitment to become someone who truly loves his people. Initially, he thought he would “fake it til he made it,” but in the act of caring and putting his people first, he began to change and become that person.
It’s the same with partners/investors – without them, you cannot win, so take care of them and help them.
“In order to have a successful business, you have to sincerely, from your soul, love your people.”

Other great lessons about entrepreneurship and how to succeed from your journey?

Getting into a deal is a lot easier than getting out of one.
It’s better to kill a deal than to get into a bad one.
Be so sensitive.
Don’t do business with people that have an acidic personality. Do business with people that have a soul and heart.
Success is not easy. Educate yourself to be ready and know the good and bad sides and be prepared either way.

Best Quote: In order to have a successful business, you have to sincerely, from your soul, love your people.

Bob's Misfit 3:

You can’t do anything without passion. If you are not being fulfilled spiritually, you cannot give it every it requires.
You must have total commitment. Once you decide, commit.
Take care of your spiritual relationship with God and love people.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is David Bradford. David is well known throughout the world for his work and development of Interpersonal Dynamics -arguably the most sought-after course at Stanford Business School. He is the Eugene O’Kelly II Senior Lecturer Emeritus in Leadership at Stanford and has been leading in his areas of expertise since 1969.

His work in Interpersonal Dynamics has been at the forefront of how to build great relationships in business and in life and David has been tapped by many of the largest companies in the world to help them in better developing their leaders and teams. He is the co-author, with Carole Robin, of the best-selling book, Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues. The book is in many ways the Stanford course he is so well-known for packaged in an easy to use and implement guide so anyone can put the principles to work.

And its these principles that I want to dig into today, so let’s jump in.

https://connectandrelate.com/

David did his doctoral work in social psychology with an emphasis on interpersonal group behavior. He learned how to get students working in groups of 12 to get better at interpersonal relations and was brought to Stanford to help teach this to generations. Students call it “touchy/feely.” Over the course of a semester students learn how to be more open and authentic and get it validated from their peers. The experience is often transformation for students. After succeeding for so many years, David and his co-author, Carol decided that they could help people build powerful relationships on a larger scale by putting their process into a book, Connect.

What is Interpersonal Dynamics?

The course is part of the business school because business is about relationships. Strong relationships.
We have to look at how we relate to other people and it will be different for each person – there isn’t one way to do it.
Interpersonal Dynamics is about creating strong relationships where people can be honest, authentic, and work through challenges successfully together.

What is an exceptional relationship and what are the characteristics of them?

Relationships are on a continuum. Some are casual or superficial. Others are closer. We have friends that we share experiences with as well as intimate ones.
Exceptional relationships have 6 core dimensions that David has discovered throughout his career. They are as follows
- 1: Can I be myself? Not having to “spin an image.” Can I tell you who I really am?
- 2: Can I build conditions where you can be yourself and let yourself be known? This builds trust.
- 3: Do I know that neither of us will use this information against the other person?
- 4: Can we be honest and say what we mean and mean what we say?
- 5: Can we lean into the conflicts and learn from them in a way that builds the relationship?
- 6: Are we committed to each other’s growth and development.
This is high standard. If you have 3-4 exceptional relationships, you are ahead of the game.

Is there one of the dimensions that is harder to achieve in a relationship?

Each one has its own needs, but the hardest one is learning to deal with conflicts.
We have trouble with getting and giving feedback.
We have trouble dealing with someone being upset with us.
We need to see conflict in a positive sense.
Conflict is a sign something needs to be fixed.
If you car is broke, you don’t say “Bad car!,” you get it fixed.

At the 11 min mark, David tells the story of how he and Carol had a falling out and used the dimensions to repair their relationship.

Carol and David had a very strong relationship.
They were both teaching the interpersonal course and David had mentored Carol.
Carol was set to replace David as he was moving to Emeritus.
Carol wanted a new title and some other things that David didn’t really think was needed and he did not go to bat for her with the University.
It hurt their relationship deeply.
After some time passed and each reflected, they got together and neither ended up agreeing, but they understood each other and accepted each other’s views, it allowed them to rebound and even led to them writing the book.
Logic and feelings are both important. It’s the feelings behind the logic that give it importance.
Logic and feelings are partners. Not in opposition. We don’t want logic to fully control us like Spock on Star Trek and we also don’t want feelings to fully control us. But if we don’t recognize our feelings, then they do control us. So, can we know what we are feeling and now what we want and have them work together.

What are some of the things people should be doing to put their relationships on a path toward exceptional?

At the 18 min mark, David talks about how they do the groups with the students at Stanford. It’s best to listen.
You should look at each of the 6 Dimensions/variables and ask where you can improve.
Then focus on getting a little bit better and growing each area of improvement.

You worked with and advised some of the biggest companies in the world include top Silicon Valley startups, where are some of the biggest challenges in most companies when it comes to building better relationships?

Entrepreneurs often have a great idea and pull in others, but they over-emphasize what they know.
Building a company and solution is complicated.
It is hard as a leader to both have a vision and drive but stop and listen to other people.
At the 25 min mark, David tells the story of George Washington being talked out of attacking New York by his team and if he had, they would have been defeated and the US would not exist.
You have to be able to make decisions and know where you are going, but listen to others and implement their feedback at the same time.

At an individual leader level, what are things they should thinking about when interacting 1:1?

What is often most difficult to recognize that the power differential between them and their direct reports.
In the end, they are the boss. They hold the employee’s future in their hand. So leaders have to work extra hard to make sure their relationships are strong enough to get the truth, but also that they maintain the line of being the boss and not becoming a friend.
Asking “Am I doing anything that is getting in the way?” or “How can I be more helpful?” is important to show you are willing to work with people and adapt to help them succeed.

What do you see in the great leaders you’ve worked with on how they balance being a leader and being a friend?

It’s both.
Your primary objective is the organization.
This doesn’t keep your from building a strong, open relationship with direct reports.
At the 31 min mark, David tells the story of Jeff Immelt, former CEO of GE, giving a talk at Stanford discussing his relationship at GE with then CEO, Jack Welch. He said they were friends and liked each other. Jeff worked for Jack.
Jeff had a time where he didn’t meet his numbers for 2 quarters. At a leadership retreat, Jack pulled him aside and said “Jeff, I really like, but a 3rd quarter like that and you are out.”
They could be friends, but Jack never forgot that his first duty was the organization.
Hiring and growing people is important – we hire people for their potential and it your duty to help them. Feedback is a gift.

Any practices or habits leader embody that help them learn to get better?

Leaders need to know themselves.
If you want a leader to be liked, you are in trouble. You want to be a leader that is effective. You need to get likes and approval somewhere else.
Can you live with the fact that a direct report is mad at your or disappointed in you and not bend yourself into a pretzel?
This important when you need to terminate someone.
Can you honor differences in style with direct reports? This is important and needed to succeed. Don’t just hire people like you.

What works or mentors have influenced you most in your career?

David’s father.
Carol.
The best mentors have been the mistakes he’s made. And what he has learned has been huge for his success.
David sometimes has a class that doesn’t go well, and he takes time to write down why.
Mistakes are learning opportunities and you must use them as such.

Best Quote: Logic and feelings are partners. Not in opposition. We don’t want logic to fully control us like Spock on Star Trek and we also don’t want feelings to fully control us. But if we don’t recognize our feelings, then they do control us. So, can we know what we are feeling and now what we want and have them work together.

David's Misfit 3:

We constantly have choices. “I can’t” is a choice. Whatever you decide on anything, is a choice. Own it.
Realize that your goal is not to be perfect, but to be human and show who you are.
See disagreement and conflict as a sign that there is something here we need to work on. Seek a 3rd alternative that has the best of both. See conflict as a source of creativity and a source of growth.

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Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, Between this Lessons for Hannah and the next one, you will turn 9 years old. Nine! It feels like it was just yesterday that I held you for the first time and saw your first smile. Time goes so fast, and you wake up one day and your baby has grown into an amazing little girl who is already making her impact on the world. Hannah, you have impacted your mother and I in so many ways (most of them good, ha ha) and I wanted to take this time to give you 9 ways you are amazing as you turn 9 years old. Here goes.

You have a beautiful and caring heart and are not afraid to show your love to all those around you. You are always there to put a smile on our face or give us one of your little notes telling us how much you love us. Never stop doing this.
You have a mischievous side that keeps you active, and yes sometimes get you into trouble, but keeps you curious and learning – and keeps us on out toes. Although, it sometimes frustrates me, this quality will prove so useful during your life. Never stop being curious or learning.
I love, love, love the sense of humor you have developed. It’s witty, yet sometimes sarcastic, but always playful. You’ve even started talking in movie lines like your crazy dad and mom do way too much. (Also, the occasional quote from The Office)
You are also strong, not just physically (amazingly, at 9 years old, you are just about a black belt), but also in the way you approach life. This isn’t surprising – you have always been strong and brave since the moment I first held you.
You have a talent for music and continue to grow and increase your abilities every day. I don’t say it as much as I should, but I love hearing you sing while playing piano or your Ukulele.
You are very comfortable in your own skin and being by yourself. You can keep yourself busy for hours and are independent in your way. Many people afraid to be by themselves and face who they are. You do it every day and can with ease because of your good heart and curiosity for the world around you.
You are very giving. How often do you whip out your little wallet and offer to pay for something like groceries or want to give to one of your family members? It’s like 10 times a week. And of course, even though you persist, I have to explain that you do not have to buy our groceries, but the act of giving and helping others is inherent in you and I love that you want to and are always look for ways to help.
You are personable. While you are very comfortable being on your own, you are also great with others and easily can adapt to new people and become fast friends. You can walk into a room full of people you’ve never met, and within a short time, almost everyone will know you and like you. This is just part of who you are – never lose it.
Lastly, you are an amazing blessing to your mother and I and all those you come in contact with. You are an incredible daughter, granddaughter, friend, cousin, sister to your puppies, and a bright light of goodness in this world.

Hannah, I could keep listing ways you are amazing, but you’ve got a lot more birthdays ahead of you and I need to save a few to add to this list each year. Just know that your mother and I, family, friends, etc. love you, are proud of you, and are so lucky to have your impact in our lives. Happy 9th birthday!

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: Many people afraid to be by themselves and face who they are. You do it every day and can with ease because of your good heart and curiosity for the world around you.

Misfit 3:

Keep growing, learning, and being true to yourself.
Never stop doing to little things for those you love and showing you care.
The willingness to give to others is a wonderful quality. Never lose it.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Matt Lohmeier. You may have heard of Matt as he has been in the news over the last year when he wrote a book and spoke out about the dangers of marxism and its effect on people’s lives, especially the military. He was a lieutenant colonel in command of a space-based missile warning squadron for the United States Space Force and was subsequently terminated after writing the book and speaking out.

While Matt’s story has been controversial politically – politics is not why I asked him to be on the show. No matter who you are or what you believe, at some point in your life you will need to take a stand to defend your principles and in today’s day and age with seemingly endless twitter mobs and cancel culture rampant, that is not an easy, no, an almost impossible thing to do. I want to explore what compelled Matt to take his stand and use his lessons learned to help you for when it’s your turn.

And lastly, while I know Matt has deep concerns about marxism and its danger to the American way of life – I think there is something that is even more dangerous and that is the loss of entrepreneurs. We are going to explore all this and more in this episode.

www.MatthewLohmeier.com

Book: Irresistible Revolution

The views that Matt expresses are his views and not those of the military. Matt has served in the military for over 15 years and has been a fighter pilot logging over 1200 hours with F15s and other planes. Most recently, he was in command of a space unit in the Space Force. During 2020, as he saw what was happening in the culture and the woke culture, he recognized the seeds of marxism behind a lot of it. And he saw how much it was polarizing society. He recognized many of the talking points of marxism from his studies in the military and on his own.

At the 5:30 mark, Matt talks about the oppressor vs. oppressed mantra from Marx and the Communist Manifesto and started to see it being brought into and impacting the military. There were trainings being done in the military that re-enforced marxist principles. He saw it as his duty to speak up and wrote his book the Irresistible Revolution. He was fired a week later.

What was the catalyst that compelled you to take your stand?

The military service member shoulders and important and large burden in that they have to be and remain un-political.
Politics until recently have remained out of the military, but things have become much more politized.
This started to create a climate in the military that stifled free speech and made service members fearful. It created a climate that hampered innovation and started to infringe on the oath he took to defend the Constitution.
Matt believes that integrity and preservation of the individual and their rights and freedoms is paramount and could not let those things be infringed upon.

Can you explain why marxism is such a danger to the American way of life, entrepreneurs, and the individual?

At the 13 min mark, Matt talks about the founding philosophy of the US with a focus on the individual and their natural rights vs. marxism’s goal of collectivism and removing the worth of the individual and instilling that worth in a group instead.
Marxism can only survive by making everyone a victim and calling for violent force to overthrow the system and creating a collective run state that owns the means of production and is control or all – no private property, no natural rights, no entrepreneurship, etc.
It destroys the individual and their potential.
The principles the underpin the founding of the country are what have unleashed the potential of mankind and given them the freedom to reach it, especially for entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs are great at using logic and reason to succeed, but as a whole, society runs more on emotion – how do we get back to using logic and reason as a society to better manage the emotional reactions so many have in today’s world?

There is emotionally induced illogic and the influence of emotion on the ability to think critically is important to understand. This has been studied and it has been proven, the more emotion, the more the ability to think clearly is diminished.
At the 25 min mark, Matt explains this throughout history using examples and how we can get back to logic/reason and better tap into the entrepreneurial side of ourselves.
Pay attention to rhetoric. For example, equality vs. equity. People have the right to be free of discrimination or roadblocks to equal opportunity. But equity means forced equality of outcomes, not opportunity. This is totalitarian. It ends up in inequality and discrimination of one group over another.
If the state has to ensure outcomes, it chooses what people get and forcibly takes from others. It becomes a large authoritarian/totalitarian lust for power state.

Entrepreneurs are the biggest line of defense. Everything stems from entrepreneurship. To take an idea from nothing and do what has to be done to create something around it that creates benefits for others that impacts their lives and the lives of others. Capitalism and the principles of the US unleash this. What an incredible opportunity we have at our fingertips every day that most do not have.

What should entrepreneurs be doing to share and show the success of entrepreneurship and capitalism?

You are a leader – whether leading a large or small group, or just impacting one person for your sphere of influence.
You must do all you can to foster the creative impulse and spirit of entrepreneurship and keep forces that would destroy it away.
Leaders influence culture and impact culture – this can be positive or negative.
Dialogue is a good thing, but context in which dialogue unfolds is important.
You must share ideas and the logical reasons for them, but not force ideas on people and lead out of fear.
Everyone is uniquely situated to bring something to a team – discussion and free thinking is critical to a great culture and you as a leader must foster the kind of climate that can allow this and allow for disagreement without punishment.

What advice would you give someone to get over the hump and take the stand they know they need to take?

Some things are worth falling on your sword over and other things just aren’t.
You have to determine whether the issue you think you need stand on is really worth it.
If so, you need to study and learn about the issue very well and be very well versed in it. You must understand it.
You also must weigh the cost(s).
The book Ordinary Men is an example of what can happen if a stand is not taken.
Matt judged the issue to be worth the cost and it was important to speak up early before things became worse.

Final thoughts?

The loss of entrepreneurship is a devastating blow to America and Marxist ideology directly threatens that. These are issues that should not be partisan.

Best Quote: The loss of entrepreneurship is a devastating blow to America and Marxist ideology directly threatens that.

Matt's Misfit 3:

Be authentic. Speak the truth. It will enhance your life personally and professionally and speaking the truth is courage which is desperately needed.
Determine your aim and pursue it vigorously by prioritizing your life consistent with that aim.
Learn constantly, but don’t be ever learning and never come to the knowledge of the truth of things. Seek truth to reason appropriately and use logic based on sound principles.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jeff Wald. Jeff is a serial entrepreneur and founder of WorkMarket, an enterprise software platform that enables companies to organize, manage and pay freelancers efficiently and compliantly. Jeff built WorkMarket from scratch and sold the company to ADP in 2018 for over $400 million. Jeff and WorkMarket won the Stevie Award for best HR software, were ranked as one of CNBC’s 25 Companies to Watch and received several other awards.

But as with any entrepreneur story, it wasn’t success out of the gate. Jeff had failures and learned a lot of lessons on his way to success. His story and the legacy he has created with it is truly amazing and I cannot wait for him to share it with you today, along with his best advice to succeed as an entrepreneur.

www.JeffWald.com

Jeff says he was fortunate to be born into his family and be born in the U.S. He started his career in finance as an M&A banker at JP Morgan working 100+ hours a week. He then went to business school and when he came back, he realized that it wasn’t the best fit for him or his life. He ended up at a venture firm and after a few years in, he really felt the call to entrepreneurship. He was helping people create their dreams and there was something about that was so amazing to him.

His boss told him that he needed to go after this calling. He did and funded the business himself. The business failed and he lost everything. In fact, his mother called and asked him if he needed to move back home. He had 30 days before he couldn’t pay rent and figured out how to create some income. Ironically, several years later, he restarted the business and ended up selling it for a nice profit. For a while Jeff wouldn’t tell people about the failure and the 2-year depression he went through. He didn’t want to own it. Eventually, he did and learned that sharing his story and telling the truth about his journey helped him find his true self and become a more effective person. It was freeing.

At the 9 min mark, Jeff and talk about this process of freeing yourself, but realizing fear and those things are still there, but you learn to handle them better.

At the 14 min mark, Jeff shares the story or Workmarket…

The idea had been around Jeff and his co-founder’s idea board for almost a decade.
In 2010, they decided it was time.
They raised $6 million for the business from VC’s
The idea was to create a solution to help manage the Gig workers and contractors.
After a year, they launched the product connecting the buyer and an on-demand labor force.
They ended raising a total of $70 million and then ADP came knocking.
At the 18 min mark, Jeff tells the story of how ADP ended up buying the business.

What was in the PowerPoint slides that landed you $6 million in initial investment?

Looking back, the presentation/look was terrible.
But the ideas and what they were setting out to do was spot on and exactly what they did. That was what people invested in and what they did.

What is the future of work nowadays?

There are 3 broad trends
- Remote work and flexible work are one bucket
- The on demand/gig economy
- The 4th industrial revolution of robots and AI and how it will impact the labor force.
In Jeff’s book, The End of Jobs, he discusses these trends.
A lot of people out there talking about this stuff want to be heard more than they want to get it right.
Jeff’s goal is to present the trends based on evidence, so his framework in the book is looking at the history of work, looking at the data and the trends/patterns, and then looking at how companies engage workers.

What are the main findings from work?

For remote and flexible work, the pandemic has rapidly brought forward a more flexible workforce and has broken the 9-5 paradigm. It has also changed the need for location proximity to work.
As for on-demand labor, this is not something new and has been around for a long time. About 25% of the labor force is on-demand and it is growing slowly.
As for robots and AI, it is important to understand that we have been here before. We have been through huge technological improvements that greatly improve productivity.
Each time, we end up with more jobs from new ones being created where others are lost, people making more money and ultimately working less.
The key challenge is how we help people transition to new types of work and how smoothly that can be done.

At the 33 min mark, Jeff and I discuss why it is such a good time to be an entrepreneur.

You’ve said, “Ideas are cheap.” Explain that.

“Ideas are cheap, the will to execute is expensive.”
The idea you have is not unique – someone else has had it.
The difference is whether you act on it and bring it to fruition or not. The idea is super cheap. It is the will to do it that is expensive.

Top 3 lessons learned going through a process to sell a company?

Bankers are useless.
Going through a process is a huge time suck. It takes a lot of your time and you need to be prepared. It’s like having another full-time job.
As you build your company, you need to be building it with the mindset of creating value in the capital window you have to sell or maximize its potential to investors or buyers.
You should know what you potential buyers or investors care about for a business like yours and focus on those things.

What are the values you used to build the company that resulted in a lot of other companies being created by employees?

Jeff would tell employees and encourage them to go after their own dreams and create their own businesses if that is what they really wanted.
Core values were learning and transparency.
He would share everything with his team about the business to be transparent and help them learn.
Jeff would put on startup events for his team to help them walk their own journey.
It helped make employees more well-rounded at a minimum.

"Best Quote: Ideas are cheap, the will to execute is expensive."

Jeff's Misfit 3:

Ideas are cheap, the will to execute is expensive. Get out there and start!
No one will care how much you know, unless they know how much you care.
The key to success is getting knocked down 7 times and standing up 8.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Aryeh Sheinbein. Aryeh is the founder of Results Driven Advisory, a firm that has 2 primary focuses. The first is to help business owners value their business, then improve the value of the business. Second, to help business owners grow their own wealth while focusing on the business. Aryeh has and still works with Alvarez & Marsal as a Managing Director. The company is one of the premier advisory companies to the world’s biggest hedge funds and private equity firms on business valuation.

He’s maintained this while building multiple successful companies such as Results Driven Advisory helping clients throughout the world.

And I wanted to have him on to discuss a few topics, of course how to make sure you get the full value out of your business and maximize your wealth, but also how to successfully build companies while still working in a professional you love under a company.

www.Solutionadvisory.com

Instagram: @AryehTheBusinessMan

Aryeh went to college and got a degree in finance and wanted to be on Wall Street as an investment banker. After two years, he moved to a small private equity/VC firm that was more of a family office. They invested in early stage companies and small businesses that they grew and sold or took public. He did that for 4 years and it helped to shape his path. He was the only junior person on the team and worked with private companies. He then went back to Wall Street and spent time in hedge funds and equity firms, then ended up where he is today helping those firms in valuing businesses. He always had the drive to do other things on his own and built his own businesses or invested in them along the way.

What should business owners know about how to truly value their business? What do they get wrong?

For most business owners, the majority of their net worth is tied up in the business, the asset. And most don’t think about maximizing that for themselves.
The starting point is the value today and the ending point is what you take home when selling. You have run the business to get to the destination in the right way.
Business value differently. Manufacturing is different than SAAS, etc.
Buyers are interested in the future cash flow. What does the business throw off in the form of cash?
If you are not generating free cash flow, you have to show how the growth with get there and how it will pay off. If you are, you need to maximize the cash flow as much as possible. Essentially, EBITA.
Recurring revenue in addition to good EBITA is important for value. It is valued higher than one off revenues.
If possible, you should work to have a recurring component to your revenues to help your with your value.

What should an entrepreneur do to start increasing their value? And how does recurring revenue affect the multiple on a business?

You need to layer in a recurring or subscription stream of revenue and automate it as much as possible.
Look for complimentary products or services to your core product to add a recurring component with.
Increase net revenues (EBITA) by either strategically lowering the cost to deliver your solution or look at ways to increase your pricing – do both if possible.
Look for economies of scale in where you can add more clients without adding cost.

How do you achieve a liquidity event without selling it?

You can do this with debt as a cheap cost of capital.
It must be debt as vehicle that the business can handle.
In a similar way you can do a “cash out refinance” on a home, you can do the same with a business loan.
At the 20 min mark, Aryeh goes through an example of this.

Thoughts on exiting a business?

There are many different factors, but the first to understand is that there are two types of buyers: Financial and Strategic.
A Financial buyer is buying with the intent of a future financial gain or return on the invest in buying the business. They will pay a fair market value in the middle range.
A Strategic buyer is a competitor or a complimentary business and views your business as a good “add on” to their business and plug it into to their offerings.
Strategics get more economies of scale and thus typically pay a premium value for a business as the sole purpose is not just a financial return, but there are other businesses or capabilities that the target brings.
- Think of Dollar Shave club being bought because they created a niche and it was easier for Unilever to buy them and the niche than to compete.
- Most business owners work on and in their business but have little time to focus on their own wealth. How can an entrepreneur maximize their personal wealth while short on time?
Increasing the net worth of the business increases their net worth, so maximizing that is a start.
If the business is generating good cash for the business owner, most business owners hire a financial planner or advisor. This industry is driven by limitations in that they sell financial products and/or are paid a percentage of assets, but these fees really eat away at the growth potential of your capital.
Additionally, you are not able to see all the investment vehicles available to you.
The #1 thing, if you want to be educated, is that whoever you are going to deal, you have to know, like, and trust, and they need to show they have a broad knowledge base.
Look for true investors that are Fiduciaries if you are going to work with an advisor.

Thoughts on 401ks and other investment vehicles?

If you are an employee, take full advantage of 401ks and the match.
There are limitations in that you cannot invest in things like real estate, etc. in a 401k.
401ks stick mostly to mutual funds and ETF’s which over 90% do not beat the S&P 500 over time.
Fees are also important to track and make sure you are on top of as it is surprising at how impactful they are to the growth of your 401k in a negative way. Keep fees as low as possible and limit them in every way you can.

How do you manage it all and do what you do?

You need to have systems for things.
Things need to be able to scale.
Standard operating procedures that are documented and can be followed by team members is critical.
Your goal is not to be needed in the day to day but be needed strategically.
What is the trade of time? You have to see what it takes and is capable of doing before you can know if it is something you want to continue.
You must personally develop and get to know your true strengths to find complementary strengths in others and fill your weaknesses.
Staying healthy is very important as well.

Best Quote: For most business owners, the majority of their net worth is tied up in the business, the asset. And most don’t think about maximizing that for themselves.

Aryeh's Misfit 3:

People are super important in business and life, and it is a 2-way street. Your development in people skills and communication is critical to success.
Focus on things you enjoy doing and to do this, you need systems to help you do so.
Use systems to help manage and do the things you don’t enjoy. Always be learning. It really compounds your growth over time.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jeff Lieber. Jeff is the founder of Turnkey Product Management, a boutique Amazon consulting firm, which helps brands at every level sell their products on Amazon.

Jeff started by selling his own products on Amazon and identified the fundamental strategies to help sellers to stand out among the competition and see their full potential on Amazon. TurnKey offers everything from Full-Service Amazon Account Management to Consulting to Amazon Ad Management. He’s been so successful that he’s been asked to work with some of Mark Cuban’s Shark Tank portfolio of companies and has helped clients go from $0 to $100k+ in one month in sales. His secret had been mastering Amazon’s pay-per-click advertising, key word research and optimization, listing optimization, and other areas that when put together give him and his clients a big advantage.

Amazon is one of the most accessible places to start or grow as an entrepreneur and I’ve asked Jeff to come on and share his secrets with you.

www.TurnkeyProductManagment.com/Resources

Jeff graduated college in 201o and got a job at a health care company in San Francisco. But, he had always been interested in entrepreneurship and been on the lists for some of the top internet marketers. In 2014, he saw an opportunity for Amazon where people where sourcing and launching their own products. That model made sense in that he could source a product and create a brand around it. He decided to take a leap and do it on the side. He started with “puppy training pads” of all things. He paid the bulk of his life savings for a container of it, $15000. He started out slowly but got better at marketing and soon had success. He then launched other products and after about a year, he had replaced his income and decided to focus on it full time.

A friend of his launched a product on Kickstarter that did well but were not having success on Amazon. They tapped Jeff to help, and he doubled their sales pretty quickly which led to more referrals and helped him build a consulting practice. He got overwhelmed and was stressed to the max. He decided to sell off the businesses and keep just Turnkey and focus on that, which he did.

Because he could focus, it really took off.

What does it take to become a successful Amazon seller and what are some of the best practices on how to do it well such as product sourcing and branding?

The people that build brands around something really care about and are passionate about and working to bring something unique to the market, do well.
Those that chase trends and hop around all time, don’t do as well.
You need to be passionate about creating awesome products and brands.
At the 11 min mark, Jeff gives an example of a client selling CrossFit products well.
On the sourcing side, it depends on what your product is. Supplements for example are a huge market with a lot of niches – but that is not something you would source from China. You would want to get the products from the U.S.
You can google suppliers for the products you want and find lists of suppliers.
There are product sourcing consultants that can help you and do a lot of the work for you and negotiate on your behalf.
Get as many quotes are you can, at least 5 suppliers and remember, it is all negotiable.
Alibaba.com is great place to find suppliers for any product you want to source.
You should request and check samples to make sure the quality is good.
There will be winning suppliers that standout.
Once you’ve picked one, then get the smallest minimum order you can negotiate to test with.
Then use Amazon FBA by shipping the product to the warehouse.
You are then in stock and can sell.

Branding Tips

You can have the best product in the world, but people can’t touch or feel it when shopping on Amazon. You need to create that experience for them on your Amazon product page.
You have about 1 minute to convince a buyer to buy your product. An optimized page does this.
1 is amazing, professional photos for your products. Invest in this.
2 is customer reviews. Reviews are king on Amazon, so you need to plan on getting to at least 10 reviews as fast as possible. Get creative.
3 is having a real good title and sales copy. When you search on Amazon, all you see if the title, image, and price – so title is critical. Make sure to use all real estate available to you.

Share a case study of how you doubled sales with a client…

A newer brand that was back by a former NBA player.
They had done the work to make a good product and had gotten a number of pro-athletes to represent it.
But, it wasn’t a popular product at the time.
They hardly had an Amazon page. It wasn’t unique and didn’t showcase the product well.
Jeff and his team optimized the page and listing and focused on the strengths of the client.
They went through #1-#3 above and made sure they checked every box.

Any other tips?

Once you have products listed and optimized and gotten reviews, it’s time to turn on Amazon PPC advertising.
Most search results are ads. They don’t look like it because Amazon hides it well.
Amazon is 3rd largest advertiser in the world now.
The fast way to get visitors to your page is to run well-designed Amazon PPC campaigns and you can go very targeted and detailed.
Start with a small amount and grow it over time.
You need to do this and if needed, find an expert.

Any niches you see that are up and coming?

The health space is very big – diets like Keto, Gluten Free and others are gaining popularity.
People are niching down to the submarkets under these.
Make sure you don’t just chase a trend; you need to be passionate about it.
There are tools to assess potential for products on Amazon
At the 34 min mark, Jeff explains this in more detail.

Anything else people should know about selling on Amazon?

It’s an amazing place to be.
Amazon could be your best sales channel.
Don’t treat it lightly and just throw up a listing.
Amazon gives a snowball effect where it compounds over time and can grow to a 7-figure business within a few years.

What surprised you most on your entrepreneur journey?

The roller coaster and how extreme it can be.
The challenges, the mess ups, and mistakes.
It’s on you at the end of the day and you run into things you never expected.
But that is balanced by the freedom you get and the great things that happen.

Best advice for entrepreneur’s starting out today?

Thing carefully and take your time to pick the right one.
Don’t chase something just for the money.
Make sure you will be happy with what you are doing.

Best Quote: You can have the best product in the world, but people can’t touch or feel it when shopping on Amazon. You need to create that experience for them on your Amazon product page.

Jeff's Misfit 3:

Life is short. We never know when it could be over, and it is precious.
Make sure to enjoy each day. Meditate and take time to change your expectations to equal your circumstances around you. Realize how good you have it.
Take a risk on what you want in life. It’s worth it.

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Recently, I was able to connect with them and they offered to share a small sample of one of their new shows with the Misfit audience and that is what I want to share with you in this short special episode because it focuses on one of my favorite topics – the stories, successes, and failures of businesses and what we can learn from them to help our success.

With that in mind, I want to tell you about a new podcast from Wondery featuring Marcus Lemonis called 100 Percent. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT WITH MARCUS LEMONIS is a masterclass, cocktail party, and Sunday drive wrapped into one. If you are thinking you’ve heard the name before, that because you probably have. Marcus runs a fortune 500 company and is host one the most successful business shows on TV. In his new podcast, he talks with exceptional entrepreneurs such as Kathy Ireland, Charles Barkley, and many others about their businesses and how they got started. He asks entrepreneurs if they know their numbers: revenue...sales...gross margins...But the numbers are just one part of the equation. On the show, they get personal. Marcus digs deep and understands the stories behind these companies. Where did their idea begin? Who inspires them? What are their goals? He’ll identify what they're doing right and he coaches them on what may be holding them and their business back.

Some of his celebrity friends stop by to offer inspiration, advice and sometimes...tough love. Friends like Kirsten Bell, Howie Mandel and even Gayle King. Together, they’’ll help entrepreneurs identify what they need to do to take their business to the next level

You’re about to hear a preview of ONE HUNDRED PERCENT WITH MARCUS LEMONIS. While you’re listening, follow ONE HUNDRED PERCENT WITH MARCUS LEMONIS on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or listen early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Just go to wondery.fm/100PercentMisfit.

Enjoy!

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Hello Misfit Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Lessons for Hannah!" In November of 2016, we introduced a new format that we are putting alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life….even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of "Lessons for Hannah," I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.

"Lessons for Hannah" are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I have learned which I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah,

I recently re-read the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. The book is a metaphor for one of the most important journeys of life – finding and pursuing your highest purpose. It is written as sort of a fable of a shepherd boy who leaves behind the trappings of comfort and what he knows to pursue a dream, his dream, to find a treasure. He goes through many twists and turns, challenges, and has to overcome internal strife and the urge to quit and delay gratification many times to make it through the journey. In the book, this journey is called realizing your personal legend.

What I love about it, is that #1, the book is very accurate about this journey in life and #2, it presents great wisdom and lessons that are needed in life.

Let me share what I mean with some quotes from the book.

“Dreams are the language of God.” How true. When we dream (not so much the dreams of sleep), but when we dream of pursuing something great. Something seemingly beyond our capacity and even comprehension. When we have that vision and it keeps coming back to us in our lives, I believe that is one way that God speaks to us and shows us what is possible for us. And sadly, most do not listen. How many never realize their true potential and possibilities simply because they did not act on their dreams.

“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So, it’s better to listen to what it has to say.” If you think deeply about this quote – it is about that voice inside you that is telling you what you know you need to do. Our heart and soul will guide us if we desire something enough and steer us in the right path if we are willing to truly listen to it. And same as with the last quote, sadly many do not listen. They do not listen because of fear. They do not follow their dreams because of fear. They are afraid of failing and possibly losing what they have. In fact, in the story, the shepherd boy loses everything he has multiple times and each time he is faced with a choice to give up and quit or accept something less than his dream. And each time, his heart tells him he must keep going and because he keeps pursuing his dream and listening to his heart, his soul, and the language of God, the next quote happens.

And that is “When you want something, all of the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” Hannah as you go through life, you will understand this more, but when you truly desire something that is good and true, it is amazing at how the universe opens up ways for you to get it. What you focus on truly does expand in your life. And God told us this in the bible in Proverbs where it says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Listen to your heart and pursue your dream and you can and will get it. You will have to overcome many things in your way, especially fear, but if you keep pursuing and resolve to not give up, even if setbacks take you off track for a while, you will get there. In fact, the shepherd boy after one of the times losing all of his money, works for an entire year in little store in a town, in a foreign land, where he was a stranger and did not even speak the language - all in order to get back on his feet. And in doing so, he helped make the store more profitable than ever, making himself more money than he had lost, and learns many valuable lessons that he uses down the road to reach his treasure and fulfill his personal legend.

Speaking of personal legends, the next quote I want to share from the book is “To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only obligation.” I agree with this in principle but would add that to “realize one’s destiny in the context of serving God and being right and true by his word is our obligation.” But the point is the same. We all have a great purpose in this world from the God that created us, and we need to fulfill it. In fact, another quote from the book states, “No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn’t know it.” The world is a huge place, and it can feel like each of us are just there, but everything we do has an impact and when we pursue our dream guided by our heart in a good and true way, we play our central role in the history of the world and become that which we were created to be.

Lastly, another theme that is quoted throughout the book is “Maktub, it is written.” This quote references that everything that happens, happens for a reason and is pre-ordained or written by God. Every choice we make, every decision happens because it is supposed to in the grand context of the universe. We may never understand it all or why, especially when bad things happen to us, but that is a question that only God can answer and someday when you meet God, he will. The lesson from this for me is to trust in God and trust in the bigger picture. And I have seen this throughout my life. The story of finding you and us becoming a family is a great example of this. Everything that had to happen for us to become a family had to happen exactly as it did, good, bad, and everything in-between. It was a journey, a dream of all of ours that was just and true that we pursued until we fulfilled it together.

Hannah, there are many more lessons, but if you can understand that you must listen to your heart and God’s voice in your biggest desires and dreams, and then pursue them because they are good and true to the end; the universe will help you realize them and fulfill your personal legend, or legends, because Maktub, it is written. It is your obligation to realize your destiny and play your central role in the history of the world. I know you will and cannot wait to watch you do so!

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: To realize one’s destiny in the context of serving God and being right and true by his word is our obligation

Misfit 3:

Read the Alchemist one a year and make sure you are on the path to your personal legend or legends.
Listen to God’s voice in your dreams and what your heart tells you is just, good, and true.
Keep going, no matter what happens – keep the desire alive in you.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Greg Salsburg. Here’s the first line from his online bio: Greg Salsburg has been ostracized by society since birth and became a disappointment to his family and all those who came in contact shortly thereafter. His freakish nature, early adoption of donning loud footwear and love for all things “Seuss’ian” made him a pariah on the playground.

Intrigued? How could you not be?

Greg is the CEO and Founder of STiR Communications. STiR-communications is a business consultancy firm that leverages the ubiquitous channels of distribution to advance clients messages and bottom line objectives.

Greg’s success has spanned decades and is truly impressive working with everyone from Four Seasons to JP Morgan and even having Muhammed Ali and The New York Yankees as clients. He’s won countless awards and has been a 20 under 20 recipient, 30 under 30 recipient, and 40 under 40 recipient. How’s that for consistency. Although his forward facing role is directing STiR-communications strategic and creative forces, it’s his transformational work with business leaders behind the scenes; through his mindful practice and real word acumen, that has earned him the nickname the “Consigliere Consultant.”

But, for Greg it was not a straight up rise to success. He was a multi-millionaire who lost every penny and had to re-invent himself. He did this by embracing humility and seeking wisdom. It’s this journey and what he learned and put into practice to create his success 2.0 that I want him to share with you today.

Greg started off in news and sports in New York and with NBC TV and sports. He transitioned from there into marketing because it just wasn’t fulfilling. He met someone who was starting a business called Café Hollywood which was later changed to Planet Hollywood and became the worldwide director of marketing and public relations.

This changed the trajectory of his life. Greg had a unique ability to communicate, and it shined through. It was a leap of faith to go from journalism to marketing at a global level.

He was always very impressed with those that had an entrepreneurial spirit and could build and create something from nothing vs. seeing it and reporting on it from the sidelines. This eventually led to him creating his own marketing and PR company after his success and learning journey at Planet Hollywood.

At one point you had everything and were living a rockstar lifestyle, then lost it all. What happened and was there a moment or an epiphany that changed everything?

When Greg was at Planet Hollywood, it was more than a restaurant – it like running a Hollywood studio and he was surrounded with stars and agents every day.
He went on to work in Motown and run 6 Flags Amusement.
He was in the right place at the right time, but felt he had a bit of imposter syndrome.
He grew up with professionals that had very little failure, but not much risk taking.
When he started to taste his first bit of adversity, he crumbled. He didn’t know how to handle it emotionally.
He went from not having any failures, to having a larger one and the good money after bad to try and save it, but he was blinded by arrogance from his previous success.
He went from great wealth to losing it all.
Now, through the journey he has been on, he has gained it back “20 fold in all areas of life.”

What did you learn on the journey and what did it teach you?

People tend to believe success is bi-fricated into power and wealth.
The truth is that is a 3-legged stool and the greatest component is the “emotional balance” needed alongside the other two areas.
If you are not in tune emotionally, it doesn’t matter how much power or wealth you have, it will never be enough.
Your EQ cannot be out of balance as you cannot operate in a peaceful manner.

EQ is misunderstood and not thought about that much. Define it for us and then tell us more about the 3 areas we need to understand.

When Greg was living the rockstar life, it seemingly was good and more was better. But, it was almost an angry position that it took to get it and maintain it.
Emotions were never talked about and it was about the “grind.”
There was a feeling that if you worked more and slept less, you were better or more successful.
Any emotional talk was dismissed and repressed. It was not “manly” to talk about it as it meant weakness.
Greg new this was wrong. He could feel it to be the missing piece, so he started to learn and study more about emotion and consciousness.
He watched the towers drop on 9/11 from his balcony, he realized that the world would never be the same and how fragile life was and it was this realization that spurred him to change and help others in a bigger way with life mission. He pursued who he knew he should be.
Consciousness is the key to living a good life and being your best self.

How do the 3 areas intersect with EQ?

At the 21 min mark, Greg talks about “PE Ratio and what it really means and its impact.” It’s best to listen.
With the pandemic, it caused people to have a reset, but the truth is that we’ve had a pandemic all along that has been widely ignored, which is an emotional disservice to ourselves and those around us. We have ignored the internal workings of ourselves. It is real and measurable and we need to do better.
VUCA- Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. This is part of life in all areas, but how do we deal with it better?
We offset volatility with a vision. Vision changes volatility.
- Understanding changes uncertainty and makes it easier. Take the time to truly understand.
- Clarity will help with the complexity.
- You need agility to offset ambiguity.
¾ of all health issues are caused from stress. People are not tuning into the areas of consciousness they need to deal with stress in a better way and leaders need to foster this.
Feelings/emotions are personal to each person, but understanding them and learning to work with the better is key to a better life and leaders must take time to understand help people in this area and they have to start with doing this themselves in order to be effective.
The CEO needs to also be the Chief Emotional Officer.

One of the things I like about your messaging is the blend being bold and audacious with a hint of sarcasm and comedy – is that the secret to standing out in today’s world?

It comes from being authentic. Authentic is what helps you standout.
You must find your honesty and authenticity and move it away from the center to the edges where the most excitement is.

Explain the significance of why STiR is spelled the way it is…

Greg wanted to be the opposite and deliver a different product and stir things up in the marketplace
But he did not want to make it about “I,” but “WE.” So he made sure the “I” was a lot smaller in the name because it’s not about him.

What are the elements of a great communication strategy?

A great strategy is not a one-size fits all.
The companies that have the best strategies are not trying to be like the others in their marketplace.
Companies that stand for something and have a mission and weave that into everything in a deeper, more connected way with a smaller, devoted tribe win.
Those that really tell a story and remove the hypocrisy of business.
The medium (humor, seriousness, etc.) will be different for each one, but it all comes down to emotion and tapping into it.

Any company really doing it well?

It was different pre and post pandemic.
One that is doing well is Danny Meyer. They are doing an amazing job in hospitality post pandemic.
Hospitality was hit particularly hard during the pandemic. Danny stood up for his people and go out and explain publicly why it was so important to get help for the industry and not lose the vitality and backbone it provides to the American economy.
He was also on the front line in NYC helping businesses with way to keep going and stay in business.
He believes people matter, caring matters, and showcases it throughout his restaurant group. When the chips were done, he put profits aside for people.
It is conscious leadership at its best

What is the changing dynamic of business and important to understand post-pandemic?

Retail has accelerated at least a decade in some ways to a demise, but others adapted in big ways where they had not or were not willing to do so.
Consumers now have the power.
The workers have much more of a say and much more power.
It’s not a top-down approach anymore.
With the ability to work from anywhere and now the proof that it works, the talent pool is now far great for businesses. But, it is also a much great flexibility for workers and consumers.
The means leaders must be in tune with the areas that matter most with the people they deal with on a regular basis or they will lose them.

Best Quote: You must find your honesty and authenticity and move it away from the center to the edges where the most excitement is.

Greg's Misfit 3:

Be a go-giver, not a go-getter.
Your mind must be stronger than your feelings.
You must hustle and work smart, but don’t just simply be grinding or you’ll be left with dust.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Alicia Jarrett. Alicia is your quintessential entrepreneur. She is an international real estate investor with offices in Australia and the US, an educator, and founder of multiple companies including SuperCharged Offers and Global Citizens HQ which includes multiple other brands in its holdings.

She left a 6-figure job to start her own businesses and as she says “build something great.” And now years later she has done so and has also founded groups to foster women in leadership around the world. I can’t wait to dig into all of this with her and get her best advice on how to succeed in real estate investing, so let’s get to it.

www.Superchargedoffers.com

888-538-5478

alicia@superchargedoffers.com

Alicia and her partner Matthew have had great careers. Alicia was in HR and consulting for 18 years and Matt has a background in global transportation and systems. Things were going great in their 6 figure jobs. About a decade ago, Alicia started thinking there was something bigger she should be doing. Why was she there? Why was she was in this job? She loved what she did, but knew there was something bigger out there. So she started a consulting practice focused on leadership and developing people. At the same time, Matt and Alicia were doing some real estate investing. Investing in Australia was much different and limiting compared to the US.

They were doing fix and flips and rentals, but asked what could do they by combining their skills and building something bigger for themselves. The goal was to build a business they can do anywhere in the world. They ended up landing in the US doing fix and flips from Australia. They had some successes and some failures.

They then worked to combined their talents utilize data in a bigger way. They figured out a process for how to wholesale land and invest. As they had success, they decided to go further and better automate their marketing and lead generation creating their SuperCharged offers platform. This led to other businesses being created to help build their companies as they are today.

Tell us about your strategy, system, and what you do…

Land Scouts is a business that buys off market land usually from estates or that people have owned for long periods of time and have not done anything with it.
A lot of realtors don’t want to deal in land
There is a need for a service to help sell the land and/or get problems fixed so the land can be sold.
Alicia will buy and hold and/or buy and flip.
They also help with financing working the seller and seller financing.
The Supercharged Offers business helps generate the leads for the land deals.
Alicia and Matt are obsessed with data and have developed a science on gathering and filtering the data to find the best opportunities.
They then market through omnichannel to those opportunities.
6 D’s- Data, Direct Mail, Digital, Design of everything in the language of the customer, Demographics, Done for you.

This discussion is the bulk of the episode, so it’s best to listen…

What is your take on the current real estate market?

It feels like history is repeating itself.
Alicia is doubling down and marketing hard.
Alicia is using data to help with market sentiment looking at the last 2 years of sales trends.
The market sentiment is shifting with people paying more and more above market value.
Getting good properties is harder because the sellers are in control, so you really need to be looking at the data to adjust offers accordingly.
Traditionally 10% of people in the US move every year…that has changed and is a higher percentage during Covid
The trend is out of the cities and to find more suburban life.

What are you doing to prepare for when this real estate bubble ends?

You have to look at pivoting your strategies
You cannot do nothing.
You have to be prepared.
If you wait to act, by the time the shift has happened, it is too late.
Demand will shift as those that wanted to get land or move from the cities will and that demand will dry up.

Tell us about the B-RAFT method for leadership…

People don’t leave jobs, people leave people.
B- What are the clearly defined boundaries for your team. The boundaries that help them grow and develop.
R-Right relationships in place
A- Accountability. Put processes in place to define and drive accountability.
F – Feedback. You have to be good a giving feedback as a leader. Feedback is not always about telling someone. It is about a leader asking good questions.
T- Trust. This is the basis of a team. Empower people and set expectations.

Best quote: Do things that scare you. Do the things that make you cringe a little.

Alicia's Misfit 3:

Never, ever stop learning. Put your learning into action.
Do things that scare you. Do the things that make you cringe a little.
Listen to your gut and your inner voice.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur Alan Payne. When I say Blockbuster Video, what comes to mind? If you are younger, you may be saying “What’s Blockbuster video?” If you were around through the spectacular rise and fall of Blockbuster, you are probably thinking something along the lines of colossal failure. At one point, Blockbuster was the pinnacle of entertainment where everyone went on a weekend evening to rent a movie.

And most think that the downfall happened because of Netflix and streaming and the company not adapting to the new world of content. While those things had an impact, the real reasons started much earlier and Alan Payne was there. In fact, Alan was one of the most successful franchisees and his stores outlasted Blockbuster’s bankruptcy by over a decade. They did so, because Alan realized the company was Built to Fail and decided to run things differently drawing on his storied history of success in business. In fact, his book is called Built to Fail, which tells the story and lessons learned from the failure of Blockbuster as well as what Alan has learned on how to succeed in business over his 30+ year career.

I’ve asked him to come on the show and share his story, his experience, and wisdom and how you can use it succeed where others have failed.

Book: Built To Fail by Alan Payne

Alan didn’t come to own a business in the traditional way. He was working for a grocery company called HEB in Texas in the 80’s. HEB is regarded as one of the best and most well-run companies in the nation. At the time, they were looking to add video rental into their stores as it was becoming almost an expectation of customers. But HEB had decided to take things further. Blockbuster was just starting out in the mid 80’s and because HEB owned so much real estate, Blockbuster wanted to lease space from them. HEB decided to do it themselves and have their own brand called Video Central. They tapped Alan to lead it.

They opened the first Video Central store right across the street from a Blockbuster. It was the first video store run by a mature, capitalized company with a massive track record of success. Video Central was very success against Blockbuster doing 3x the sales of an average Blockbuster. Alan grew the business to 35 stores and then HEB decided to sell it to focus on the grocery business. Alan left with the stores and joined a Blockbuster franchise group with stores from Alaska to Texas.

Within a few years, in 2000, he got the opportunity to buy the stores and did so running them for another 18 years outlasting Blockbuster by almost a decade.

All of this was due to using a business model that he developed at HEB.

The reason he wrote the book was that what he saw from 1993 to ultimate demise of Blockbuster was frustrating as it could have been avoided.

What really killed Blockbuster? Why was it built to fail?

At the 8 min mark, Alan talks about the early days of Blockbuster success, but after the initial entrepreneur who drove it to an $8 billion valuation left, how it cratered because of terrible leadership.
The company was so obsessed with growth, they never took much of an interest in being really good at what they did and as such got outdone by Netflix, Redbox, and others.

What did you do differently that allowed you to outlast and survive and thrive where Blockbuster didn’t?

They were obsessed with being a little bit better every day.
They looked at things like a business of abundance and had better availability and selection than anyone else.
Alan committed in his stores to have more inventory, so his stores did not run out of titles as easily.
They also tracked and matched demand better than Blockbuster.

At the 16 min mark, Alan talks about how Netflix and Redbox came to be and how Blockbuster missed out because of complacency when it was right there for the taking for them.

Netflix beat Blockbuster by focusing on movies (90%) that were older and that people still loved – not new releases.
They then tracked the data created profiles of customers to match up their interest and market the movies that fit them and their profile.
Complacency and apathy internally killed Blockbuster.
Blockbuster also took a market share hit from Hollywood video in the later 90’s and then Netflix came along, then Redbox, etc. And with Blockbuster not willing to change, the end was inevitable.

What were lessons learned from HEB on how to run a great business?

Attitude. “We will be the best, period. One can of corn sold at a competitor down the street is one too many.”
The service and dedication to giving clients the best deal.
HEB had much more advanced systems for tracking what was happening in stores. Blockbuster was archaic.
The HEB experience is an X-Factor. It’s an obsessive commitment to excellence.

You covered several important lessons in Built to Fail, share those with us…

Clearly define your company’s purpose and mission. What is your purpose in your community, in society? You have a responsibility to be the best.
Identify what really drives your business and pursue it relentlessly. Book: Measure What Matters. You have to work hard in the right areas.
Respect and learn from your competitors. “Our competitors will accept failure as an inevitable result..” There is no way we will let them do it better than us.
If you are going to do it, be the best at it. Don’t “get bigger at it,” get better at it.”
In difficult times, rely on fundamentals to survive.
Don’t just talk about the future, plan for it.
Great companies create the future, they don’t wait for it.

These lessons/principles are what Alan applied to his business to make it so successful. Talk about when you finally had to close your stores and any lessons learned…

It’s important to learn when it is time to throw in the towel.
Blockbuster filed bankruptcy in 2010 and Alan had not even closed a store.
But the brand got beat up through the bankruptcy and was tarnished.
It was an uphill battle, but sales continued to slow and erode.
Alan ran it profitably for several more years while closing and consolidating stores.
Alan made sure to take care of all the employees to the very end and did keeping all salaries intact, etc.

Any other advice?

It is fun to continuously get better. That is the challenge of running the business, the fun part – how do we get better tomorrow?
It is the motivating factor.

Best Quote: It is fun to continuously get better. That is the challenge of running the business, the fun part, constantly asking – how do we get better tomorrow?

Alan's Misfit 3:

Have a healthy skepticism of people in power. Respect them but be willing to challenge them in a healthy way.
Create the future. Don’t follow, lead. Great sustainable companies create the future.
Tap into the compound rate of return from continuous improvement getting a little bit better every day.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Patrick Colletti. Patrick is a serial entrepreneur, board director and advisor for angel, VC, and Private Equity backed organizations, He is a leadership and organizational culture expert and champion for what he calls “Re-Founders,” business leaders and entrepreneurs who revitalize the places where they live, work and play.

When he began his tenure as company president of Net Health in 2001, the company was experiencing significant financial turmoil resulting in laying off all but 2 employees. Collaborating with a growing team, he grew the company to where it now helps heal millions of people each year. In concert with a team which included 4 private equity partners, he completed a corporate turnaround —reinvigorating the already established organization in what essentially made NetHealth a re-startup. This is the essence of Patrick’s concept of Re-Founding and something I’m very excited to dig into with him in this episode.

www.Refounder.com

Patrick started out as an entrepreneur as a kid with a paper route. Having to do all the facets of business, including collections as a kid. He then went into selling plants. He thought differently and would re-arrange the store to help things sell better to give better context.

He then went to school and studied philosophy and business. After school, he joined a private equity backed media company. They launched Law.com. He then joined another .Com and it failed. It came down to him and just one other and the board gave them 90 days to turn things around or shut it down. He and his partner did turn it around. They eliminated the debt and worked to get the shareholders whole. In a relatively short amount of time, they amassed 100 clients and go things in a good place. He then turned to really building the company to be able to scale and grow across the world. Today, they work with over a million caregivers across the world and have done 10 deals on the buy and sell side and have become a “a billion company with heart.”

What is Re-Founding and why do you think it is do important for entrepreneurs to understand?

Re-Founders are the people you want in your company because when you get stagnant or complacent, they are the ones that help you breathe new life into it.
Founders start with an idea and go all in creating something from nothing. They are visionaries.
Re-Founders are visionaries as well, but in a different way. They re-imagine existing and broken structures and improve them or change them for the better. They are magicians.
Re-Founders use their magic to create something better from something broken.

Characteristics of a Re-Founder? Who are these people?

Re-Founders are not afraid to take a sober look at hard realities. They have awareness.
Re-Founders identify and solve “Problem Zero” which is the main problem threatening flourishing. It takes selective focus. “Kill Your Darlings”
Re-Founders imagine audacious possibilities.
Re-Founders spring to action and create better realities for people. They lead with empathy and create momentum.
Every Re-Founder has a team that they work through.

At the 14-minute mark, we discuss Re-Founding in the context of DCP (Discipline, Consistency, Persistence).

Where does Re-Founding start? Problem Zero?

There are two different scenarios.
The first is those that are in the midst of a crisis. These are the easiest.
In those moments, people are willing to spring into action. There is a playbook for this.
The second scenario is more difficult and is when people/companies are very successful because they are more resistant to change, but they have to realize they will need to change in the future to remain viable.
The key is to be proactive and be looking for the areas you need Re-Founding in ahead of time.

At the 19 min mark, Patrick talks about the problems ripe for Re-Founding as well as some of the principles used by Re-Founders to solve them. It’s best to just listen.

What do leaders need to do to perform at their best?

Great companies build great cultures.
Sustained success comes from a great culture.
Build a culture that develops Re-Founders.
Companies that develop Re-Founders invest in programs, processes, and ways to help people be seen, challenged, and grow as Re-Founders.
You also have to pay people well and take good care of them.
How does your programs and processes help people feel seen and celebrated? How do you challenge people in a way that engages all of their senses?

Talk to us about what you do to build a great team…

Everyone is uniquely made.
Recognize the uniqueness.
Your leadership team should do an analysis like DISC or Strength Finders – it will teach you so much about everyone and help you to see the uniqueness.
Patrick shares a story of a program he instituted in his business that helped people in his company to “be known in a vastly different way.”

Thoughts on how to better succeed?

If you are not failing, you really aren’t pushing yourself.
Beware the tendency to become “fat and happy.”
Think about the lead indicators and focus there instead of just lag indicators.
Helpful leading indicators examples are MQLs, # of Demos, successful development sprints.
Patrick uses the example of losing weight with leading indicators as well.

Best advice for an entrepreneur starting out today and best advice for a seasoned entrepreneur?

Both will need a customer.
Getting excited about finding customer is very important.
Don’t overly fixate on profit upfront as a startup – pay the bills and get really great feedback and listen to

Best Quote: Re-Founders use their magic to create something better from something broken

Patrick's Misfit 3:

Get real about your purpose and your work. Learn your strengths, passions, and your “brokenness for the world” that you will fix. Resist entropy.
Be a Re-Founder. Don’t get “fat and happy” and stay challenged.
Rest and reflect.

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Recently, I was able to connect with them and they offered to share a small sample of one of their new shows with the Misfit audience and that is what I want to share with you in this short special episode because it focuses on one of my favorite topics – the stories, successes and failures of businesses and what we can learn from them to help our success.

With that in mind, I want to tell you about a new podcast Miniseries on Wondery from Laura Biel, the reporter behind Dr. Death and Bad Batch, called The Vaping Fix. It’s a story of Silicon Valley idealism, reckless capitalism, and how the now infamous e-cigarette company, Juul, managed to hook a new generation on vaping.

In 2015, the founders of Juul set out to create the iPod of e-cigarettes, a perfectly designed device that would disrupt the tobacco industry and help traditional smokers quit. But their fruit flavored vaping options, high levels of nicotine, and youthful influencer endorsements lead to consequences that would put millions at risk.

“Juuling” became so big among teenagers that it became a verb. And with plooms of vape clouds surrounding schools across the nation, parents, politicians, and the government demanded answers: was this Juul’s plan all along, or did ambition blind them from seeing the pitfalls of their invention?

You’re about to hear a preview of The Vaping Fix. While you’re listening, subscribe to The Vaping Fix on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or listen early and ad-free in the Wondery app by going to http://wondery.fm/VF_Misfit. Enjoy!

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This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, This is a very important episode in that it is the 250th episode of the Misfit Entrepreneur. It has been such an honor to do this for all these years and help people, including you, through the world over 250 episodes. My sincerest “Thank You” to all that subscribe and listen. This was a tough one for me as it’s the Big 250. And this episode should stand out. As I thought about all the things I could share as a lesson, I kept coming back to something that on the surface seems small, but really impacts everything.

Hannah, I want to share some insight into a very important distinction that will make a difference in all areas of your life from your relationships to your work and even your health.

The distinction is between Self-Mastery and Self-Gratification. The dictionary defines Self-Mastery in just two words, self-control. But what does truly mean? More on that in a second. Conversely, the dictionary defines Self-Gratification as “the indulgence or satisfaction of one’s own desires.”

As human beings, we are locked in a constant struggle between these two things. For most, Self-Gratification and emotions win the majority of the time. This leads to many problems. I’m not saying that emotions and feelings are not important, but emotions and feelings are just that and are not necessarily truth, logic or even rational. For example, think of something you really, really wanted, emotionally. You had to have it. It didn’t matter the cost. So, you spent the money to have it, thus getting self-gratification, only to later have remorse because you spent too much for it or really didn’t need it. How many times in our lives do we act purely out of emotion and get a short feeling of Self-Gratification, only to find it was a mistake later? I would wager a lot.

Self-Mastery is the other side of the coin. It is developing yourself to have total control over your emotions and thus decisions to help you in making sure the choices you make are reasoned and thought-through. Self-Mastery is learning to recognize the emotional impulses and understand them, but to not act on them immediately without giving sincere and logical thought to them. For example, for years I wanted to get a true sports/muscle car. I had seen an Aston Martin DB9 on the road some years ago and emotionally told myself I had to have that car. I was going to get it no matter what. Did I need it? No. Could I afford it? At that time, no. But, after a few years, I was at a point where I could afford to purchase a $200k+ car. And I saw another one on the road, this time a DB11. My immediately emotional reaction was that I needed to go get it. After all, I’d wanted it for years and deserved it, right? It was at this point, that my training on Self-Mastery kicked in and I started to think about the logic and reality of paying $200k+ for a car. What could I do with that $200k instead? I could invest it and make a great return. I could invest in my businesses and help them to grow larger. A car is a depreciating asset, so the moment I would buy it, it would start to become worth less. Was it wise to purchase something with that amount of money that lost value?

In the end, after thinking rationally and logically, I knew the answer. It wasn’t. But I still wanted a sports car!

Fast forward to when Covid hit. Everyone stopped driving. Car dealers were not selling cars and car companies were getting pretty antsy. They started slashing prices and offering deep incentives. By this time things had a changed a little. When I first saw those Aston Martins, it was before you came into our lives and we didn’t have two decent sized dogs. A two-seater sports car would make things a little difficult. But one muscle car that I had always liked and that had a back seat that could fit you and a dog was the Camaro. I started searching a little and built the perfect Camaro online. It was basically a track ready SS with a 650-horsepower engine in a deep cherry red. I got with my sales guy at the dealership (I’ve owned Chevy trucks for years) and had him start searching. After a couple weeks, he found the exact car down to the line item that I had built, and it was the only one in the 5 surrounding states! He then proceeded the tell me that the dealer had slashed the price on it by 30% to move it and he could not even trade for it. He told me to just go buy it direct from them. Which I did. So, in the end, with a little Self-Mastery and keeping Self-Gratification at bay, I got my muscle car that can go toe to toe with an Aston Martin and got it for 30% off the price as well as some other incentives.

Of course, practicing Self-Mastery is much more important that a car purchase as it impacts your relationships, etc. But I think you get the example.

Just remember, though, there is a balance between Self-Mastery and Self-Gratification. Think of them as two sides of a scale. If you lean to too far to one side, the scale tips and that is where you get into trouble on either side. If you cut emotions and Self-Gratification out completely, you basically are a robot and miss out on some great things in life. If you cut out Self-Mastery completely, you become destructive to yourself and those around you. The secret is to find the balance for you. There will always be things in life that Self-Gratification and emotion have more power over. You job is to recognize them, bring some logic to them, and if you proceed, knowingly understand the potential consequences, good or bad, and be prepared for them. No matter what, you must take responsibility for your actions.

One thing that I started doing when I was first taught the difference between Self-Mastery and Self-Gratification was to “stop, ask, and choose,” when it came to big emotional decisions. You know when emotion is bubbling up inside you and you can feel it when you want something really bad. In those times, just take a moment to stop yourself, then ask yourself if this is truly the right decision and why, and then based on that, choose to move forward or not. I know it sounds a little goofy, but it works, and it is awkward in the beginning to literally stop yourself, ask, and then choose how you will move forward, but it gets easier and almost becomes second nature after a while. This little exercise has saved me countless times and I hope you can put it to work for yourself.

Hannah, finding the balance between Self-Mastery and Self-Gratification is a lifelong work and I don’t believe you can every become perfect at it, but just working on it will make a major difference for you and help you in so many ways. I hope you make the commitment to better yourself in this area.

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: There is a balance between Self-Mastery and Self-Gratification. Think of them as two sides of a scale. If you lean to too far to one side, the scale tips and that is where you get into trouble on either side.

Misfit 3:

As human beings, we are locked in a constant struggle between these Self-Mastery vs. Self-Gratification

How many times in our lives do we act purely out of emotion and get a short feeling of Self-Gratification, only to find it was a mistake later? A lot. So we must find a balance between Mastery and Gratification.

Finding the balance between Self-Mastery and Self-Gratification is a lifelong work

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Clint Pulver. Clint is an Emmy Award-winning, motivational keynote speaker, author, musician, and workforce expert. He’s been a professional Drummer for over 20 years, playing with top headlining fellow musicians in venues like the Vivint Arena, the Stadium of Fire, and the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Something I want to talk further with him about in a unique way today.

Known as the Leading Authority on Employee Retention, Clint helps organizations retain, engage, and inspire their team members from the front desk to the board rooms and everyone in between. Clint was featured in Business Q Magazine as one of their “Top 40 under 40” as a premiere Corporate Keynote Speaker. He has transformed how corporations like Keller Williams, AT&T, and Hewlett Packard create lasting loyalty through his work and research as the Undercover Millennial. He’s also appeared in feature films and on America’s Got Talent.

Needless to say, Clint is the go-to for teaching leaders how to create organizations that people never want to leave. And I’ve asked him to come on and share his best secrets to help you in your business.

www.ClintPulver.com

When Clint was a young kid, he had a hard time sitting still. Everyone saw it as an issue. He had one teacher named Mr. Jenson who asked him to stay after class in grade school. Mr. Jenson noticed him tapping constantly with his hands while switching back and forth writing with both hands. He said he thought Clint might be ambidextrous. He gave Clint a few tests and said, “I don’t think you have a problem, I think you are a drummer.” He then gave him his very first pair of drumsticks and told him to see what happens.

22 years later, he has traveled the world playing with top musicians and at top venues and speaking. All because someone helped live a better story.

Clint never set out to be a speaker. In fact, he wanted to be a pilot, but had an eye disease he was diagnosed with at 21 that prevented him from being one. He was told we go blind by his early 30’s. When he was younger, he had spoken in church and someone in the crowd approached him to speak at an event they were doing. He got paid $500 and did the event and loved it. He put together a workshop and other groups asked him to speak. He spoke first to High School students, then groups, and then business.

He also started the Undercover Millennial after talking to a business owner he said “You have to adapt or die in business” but ironically didn’t think he needed to adapt his leadership.

He tells the story at the 9-minute mark.

“The perception of leadership vs. the reality of employee experience is many times completely different.”

What is the difference between mentorship vs. management and why is it so important?

When an employee hates their job, they talk about their manager. When an employee loves their job, they talk about their mentor.
There is leadership, mentorship, and management. • Leaders lead or sail the ship, managers make sure the ship is seaworthy and can continue to sail, mentorship is taking care of the people on the ship.
“Mentor” cannot be given to a leader or manager – it has to be earned and your people will decide.

The 5 C’s of a great mentor…

Confidence - They exudes trust and have a humble confidence.
Credibility – They have the experience.
Competence – Competence. People want to mentor with someone who practices what they teach, not just a theorist.
Candor – Great mentors create relationships so strong that honesty and trust exists.
Caring – The ability to care about the people that they are managing and leading.

What are the 4 types of managers?

Two things that determined employee satisfaction. The standards (expectations) of the manager and the connection people had with the company, their manager, their co-workers, etc.
Manager Type 1: The Removed Manager. These people are burned out and low on standards and low on connection. They don’t care and are just there.
Manager Type 2: The Buddy Manager. These people are low on standards and high on connection. They care about being liked more than they do accountability. This created entitlement.

How does someone walk the fine line of being a leader and a buddy?

It is stating up front and consistently that you have expectations and standards.
A mentor is not a friend. There is a line. It does not mean they don’t care or won’t help you, but they have standards, and they matter.
You then uphold those expectations/standards.
Manager Type 3: Controller. These people are high on standards, but low on connection. They are command and control. They use fear to get results – but the results don’t last.
Manager Type 4: The Mentor Manager. High on standards, but equally as high on connection. They aren’t always liked, but they are respected, and they get great results. They hold employees accountable, but also back them up.

What are lessons from your experience as a drummer that have translated to entrepreneurial success?

Cleanliness. This is a word from drumlines where all drummers are in exact unison.
Cleanliness relates to entrepreneurship in that when you work to have everything in lock step and everyone doing their job exactly as they should at their optimum level, you get cleanliness in business.
Simplicity. As entrepreneurs, we are so busy boiling the ocean and our “to do lists.” But the greatest entrepreneurs know what they need to stop doing. Drummers are the same in that great drummers don’t add things in where they aren’t needed, etc.
The basics done well make the difference.

What are best tips on how to communicate effectively as a leader?

Every audience is asking the question, “Let me know when it gets to the part about me.”
We have to bring the sense of humanity back into our conversations.
Make sure it is not about you and that those are finding value from what you are saying.
Always have the audience, the customer, interests in mind.

Other entrepreneurship lessons you feel people should know? • The ET Theory. This is based on the movie ET.

At the 42 min mark, Clint shares the theory and it’s best to listen.
ET dethroned Star Wars and was the #1 grossing movie for 11 years straight.
It sold over $6 Billion in just ET dolls/toys.
ET was iconic and the process to create a lasting character is the same for a great business.
1: Concept – what is the idea?
2: Illustration/design – writing out and draw the character – it is the same in designing a business.
3: Sculpting – this is where you see the character for the first time.
4: Casting/Molding – the core of the character like the core of a business
5: Mechanics – How to make it move, etc. In business, this is marketing and how you will make the business go.
6: Fabrication – it comes to life, just like a business will if you follow the process.
The details are the most important. Every brick carefully and thought through. This creates quality.
If you create an ET out of your business, you create something timeless.

Best Quote: We are not getting out of this life alive. Be a “do it, did it, done it,” NOT a “woulda, shoulda, coulda.”

Clint's Misfit 3:

Get really good at creating a “to don’t” list. Get good at what you need to stop doing.
To live is the rarest thing in the world, for most people just exist and that is all - Oscar Wilde. We are not getting out of this life alive. Be a “do it, did it, done it,” NOT a “woulda, shoulda, coulda.”
It’s not about being the best in the world, it’s about being the best for the world. Significance over success.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur Travis Chambers. Travis is the founder of Chamber Media, a firm that takes companies from being product and service sellers to brand builders by doing what he calls story selling through creating scalable social video ads that drive millions in sales.

Travis led distribution and content strategy for “YouTube’s #1 Ad of the Decade,” Kobe vs. Messi which amassed over 140 million views. He’s worked with some of the biggest brands in the world including Yahoo, Kraft, Old Navy, Coca-Cola and has been featured in AdWeek, Forbes, HuffPost, and Inc. Magazine. Travis regularly speaks at conferences such as INBOUND, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Google Growth Summit, VidCon, and VidSummit among many others.

But, what I love most is that Travis built his business to suit his lifestyle. It was goal from the start. And I’ve asked him to come on share how to do it.

www.Chamber.media

Everything started when Travis was a kid with 8 mm cameras. He got into the film industry and in his early 20’s had his first kid, his dad got Parkinson’s disease…and cancer…and divorced after working 70 hours per week his whole life. Everything hit him at once. He was working at 20th Century Fox in his dream job making commercials for the movies. Entrepreneurship had never crossed his mind. His “mid-life crisis” hit when he was 23 years old and made him ask what he really wanted to be doing with his life.

He realized there was so much more out there, so he left and started Chamber Media to live life on his terms. What are those terms for you, your ideal lifestyle?

Autonomy and flexibility
Time with family (his was missing the early years with his kids)
Work needs to be means to an end
Find something you don’t hate that you are good at, that makes you the money for your lifestyle.
This is one of the reasons his company has a 4-day workweek for all employees. He could not get this from a job, so he created it and helped others get it.

Where does someone start? What do they need to consider to build a lifestyle business?

You cannot go and compete in a mature market – it is a race to the bottom.
Zero to One by Peter Thiel had a big influence on Travis.
You should never start a business that cannot be a monopoly. It needs to be so unique and so much its own thing that it can’t be easily replicated – you may get competition, but they can’t do it exactly like you or get the results you can get.
Find your “blue ocean”

“Start with a service first. You can always sell yourself as an entrepreneur. And if you can sell yourself to one person, you can sell yourself to 100 and have a successful business.”

Get good at your primary niche before branching out.

Tell us about what you do and your principles you used to build and now run your business…

In the Art of War, one of the main rules is to choose the battlefield.
Too often people see a market leader and think they can do it. At that point, it’s too late. Once there is market leader in a mature market, the game is over.
You’ve got to choose the pond that is growing into the ocean.
The niche Travis found was video ads and buying them doing them before Facebook ads, etc. had even come about.
Knowledge does not equate to wisdom. You have to understand industry in and out and use the wisdom gained to see the future.
You cannot get good at anything until you say no to almost everything.
The values of having a lifestyle business, staying boutique, etc. were extremely important and governed how they operated. Starting out they would only take on projects of $100k in above and would turn down ones below that.
5-6 years in, Travis and the team noticed that they really had a strong leadership layer and had replicated themselves and could now really scale.

What have you put in place to allow the business to scale and let you step away?

People and process.
A lot of things broke as the company grew and their processes got seriously challenged and had to be worked through and improved over and over.
Hiring people with the same values, hopes and dreams, and direction that the team has. They also have to believe what Travis and the team believe. Things like making a little less to have a 4-day workweek, etc.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned on your journey so far?

The art of doing nothing.
Being too aggressive can be the wrong route and Travis is prone to it.
Surrounding himself with a leadership team that balances him ad helps bring logic as a group.
Most problems don’t have to be solved “today.”
Emotion kills.

What is a “Story Seller?”

A lot of the Fortune 500 focus heavily on building brand and making people feel a certain way about.
When you are a small brand, you cannot play the same game as someone with a 100-million-dollar marketing budget.
When you are small the best way to go is direct response marketing. It’s the only way to grow.
Over the last 30 years, direct marketing has been primarily infomercials and direct mail.
You can’t do that with digital or social as people have too much choice. They scroll quick through the newsfeed.

At the 34 min mark, Travis talks about developing the “Everything Ad” and how they did it and the results of it. It is best to just listen.

What makes a #1 video ad? What are the components that go into it to drive engagement and sales?

7 Ad categories perform best and vary by industry.
Category 1: Spokesperson Video. It’s the highest performing. Only 2% of the top 1% of ads are spokesperson which offers a lot of opportunity.
Category 2: Product Demo. 50% of the ads are product demos.
Category 3: Social Proof. Press reviews, consumer reviews, ratings, etc. Anything to prove the solution is good.
Category 4: Dynamic Ads. Creative that is made based on what the person has seen.
Category 5: Case Studies. Any kind of empirical evidence that appeals to logic. Before and after, side by sides, scientific, etc.
Category 6: Lifestyle. Showing what could be or feel like if someone had the solution.
Category 7: Unboxing. Think Christmas morning and opening the surprise, etc.
What Travis and his team found by chance is that most of the successful ads that they have done have all 7 of these in them in some way and you should strive to do so in yours.
The Everything Ad ideal length is 90 seconds. Hook, Teaser, Problem, Solution, Another Problem, solution while weaving in all the categories (Spokesperson, social proof, unboxing, etc.)

Anything else around marketing with video we should know?

Pay attention to the news.
Apple has highjacked Facebook somewhat. Apple has blocked the ability for ads to continue without an opt-in on its platform which is causing a big drop in ads being served.
Travis explains everything that Facebook knows about you, a lot of it coming from paying credit card companies for data.
Facebook is going to become more like TV as they won’t be able to retarget at the levels they have been able to do in the past, so the ads are going to really have to make an initial impression to stick.

Best Quote: Start with a service first. You can always sell yourself as an entrepreneur. And if you can sell yourself to one person, you can sell yourself to 100 and have a successful business.

Travis's Misfit 3:

Work to live. Don’t live to work. Success and greatness are not the most important thing. Be truly present.
Smart has the brains, but stupid has the balls. You can get really far with grit and strategy.
You’re live will be judged by how you treat people, either by a higher power or by yourself depending on what you believe.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jackson Millan. Jackson is the CEO of Aureus Financial, a firm dedicated to helping entrepreneurs turn the success in their businesses into to personal wealth. Over the last 14 years, Aureus has helped entrepreneurs create over $1.2 Billion in combined wealth from implementing Aureus strategies.

The company has been featured everywhere from the Today Show to Money Magazine and Jackson and his team show entrepreneurs how to maximize their business cashflow, reduce their time spent in the business, and create personal financial freedom.

Mmm….make more money with less time and achieve financial freedom faster? I think just about anyone would want to learn more about how to do that. So, I’ve asked Jackson to come on and share his secrets on how to do so.

The 40 point business performance scorecard https://bit.ly/AureusScorecard

Free FB group where people can get access to my books and best content http://bit.ly/YLBGroup

https://www.aureusfinancial.com.au/

Jackson starts out by telling the story of why he is traveling around Australia for a year right now.

Jackson’s journey started as a child. His mom was a hairdresser, and his father was very much an entrepreneur, but jumped from one thing to the next without sticking with them too long being more a dreamer. He was taught to work hard but realized there was a harsh reality of a disconnect because his parents worked 15 hour days and they had no wealth.

At 19, he decided to become a financial advisor and would not take no for an answer. He got a shot at a firm, but says it was literally disgusting, like Wolf of Wall Street type stuff. It was toxic. He thought he made a massive mistake. People were selling commission-based products to people that didn’t need them and thought about quitting.

Instead, he thought long and hard about how to do things right and what he really should be and that was a “wealth coach.” Someone who educated clients around the language of money and empowers them to grow their wealth.

You’ve said that most entrepreneurs struggle to achieve financial freedom…explain that.

The fundamental issue that most entrepreneurs face is that they are so actively involved in their business, it becomes the be all and end of all their existence.
The business can become a trap of a cash-eating monster that continually needs fed by the entrepreneur instead of what it should be – an investment vehicle.
The big problem is behavior. As humans, we use the means we have available. The more means we have, the more we use.
In other words, people tend to spend what they make increase their spending and lifestyle as their income increases.
There is a lot of cashflow that flows through a business and most businesses aren’t managing it effectively or well enough to have it produce the freedom it can produce.

How do we use a business to its full potential? What entrepreneurs be doing to make the business a true investment vehicle?

First, the business needs to be repositioned as the vehicle and define the destination.
Annual Roadmap: Goal setting exercise thinking 20 years into the future. We focus a lot on short term vision, but it’s the long-term vision on 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 years that makes a difference.
What you plan for in 20 years will change, but does that mean you shouldn’t do it?
Segment the 2 types of goals. You should be able to have your cake and eat it to.
Map out all your lifestyle and income goals and then back into the cashflow the business has to generate to create this.
Then, you look at the business to see how to re-engineer if needed to achieve that cashflow.

What is the Million Dollar Mindset?

If you keep trimming the fat, you are going to cut into the muscle.
You should not shrink yourself wealthy.
Most are not intrinsically motivated to defer gratification.
We must live for today and plan for tomorrow.

At the 15 min, Jackson explains the million-dollar mindset using the marshmallow experiment.

Delaying gratification is good, but it is important to figure out how to play the game to win in context of what you want – not settle.

What practical tips can people do to keep this forefront?

We need to write the rules. At the end of the day, it is your game.
Come up with your 10 commandments: 10 guiding rules that are non-negotiable when it comes to making financial decisions for themselves and for their businesses.
We never bad decisions on purpose. We make the best decision at the time. But with rules to follow, it can help us to make better decisions in the moment and increase their quality.
The higher the quality of the decisions we make about money, the higher quality of outcomes we get.
Next, you need a cashflow mechanism that holds you accountable. Jackson talks about this at the 20 min mark.
Your cashflow system needs to pay yourself first. Save first and spend what is left.
Success and creating cashflow shouldn’t be sexy. It is consistent and almost boring.

What are ways entrepreneurs can free up cashflow?

Create a bucket strategy.
5-6 banks accounts Your main account is your income account where all your money from your clients, etc. comes into.
Remove expenses from the income account and put those in a Cost of Sales account where you pay those bills out of.
After subtracting cost of sales is real revenue that you operate your business.
An operating account is used to manage these fixed costs – salaries, rent, etc.
You want to have an owner’s pay account to pay your #1 employee, you.
Then you will need a Tax account to save for taxes.
Then you will have a profit account.
You then fill them in this order: Profit Account, Tax Account, Owner’s Pay, Operating.
Revenue – Profit = Expenses, not Revenue – Expenses = Profit

Talk to us about building a 7-figure lifestyle business…how do we do it?

Jackson’s first business failed tremendously.
He started a fashion business and taught himself on the go.
He had some success in getting known and some sales, but the business was hemorrhaging cash.
He wasn’t passionate about it and he built for the blind pursuit of money. A big mistake.
He was burning the candle at both ends hating it.
He was deep in debt, but knew he had to get rid of it, so he did.
He went back to his roots and his passionate focus which was helping people learn to have financial success creating a 7-figure business.
How did he do it?
- He got educated and self-educated on what he needed to know. The right strategies.
- He created a game plan – a 1 page game plan framework that was a working document that gave clarity.
- He then focused on his numbers and started tracking everything in his business so he could predict, forecast, and run the business more efficiently.

What has surprised you most on your journey?

How difficult it is to get yourself out of the technician role, the doing, and become the leader building he business systems, teams, etc.
Are you building a business around you or a business that can be scaled?
Are you building it for you to be the hero and to feed your ego? Is that the right way?

Books that made a big difference for you?

4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris
Unshakable by Tony Robbins
The Alchemist by Paulo Cuoelo

Best Quote: Revenue – Profit = Expenses; NOT Revenue – Expenses = Profit

Jackson's Misfit 3:

Create your 10 Commandments. We need guiding principles for life and our finances that can be our compass.
Complete the annual roadmap. Go through the 20-year roadmap exercise and do it with your significant other independently
Create a time where you can review your finances for 90 minutes once per month – Your Money Meeting.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Carl Gould. Carl Gould is a worldwide leading authority on business and entrepreneurship. He is an entrepreneur who built three multi-million-dollar businesses by age 40. His company, 7 Stage Advisors, has mentored the launch of over five thousand businesses. Some of the companies he’s helped are companies like Allstate, American Idol, USA Olympic Track, IBM, McGraw-Hill and the US Army.

Carl created the farthest-reaching business mentoring organization in the world, and his methodologies are in practice in 35 countries. He has trained, certified or accredited over 7,000 Business Coaches and Mentors since 2002.

He has also written multiple books on the subject of business strategy, leadership and sustainable growth. He co-authored “Blueprint for Success” with Stephen R. Covey and Ken Blanchard; and his best-selling book, “The 7 Stages of Small Business Success”, lays out the formula for HyperGrowth. Needless to say, Carl is a wealth of entrepreneurial wisdom and I’m going to do my best to get everything I can out of him in our time together.

www.CarlGould.com

www.7StageAdvisors.com

Free business analysis to show the true potential of your business – can get it on the site.

Carl’s journey started in college. He was an accounting and finance student. He broke his leg pretty badly in his second year and had to leave school. He found himself with a broken leg that took 6 months to get better, broke, and needing to make money.

He started a design/build landscape company and doubled it every year for 7 years then sold. Then in the early 90’s, he started a construction company and grew it to 2004. He started coaching in 1990 after going through certifications. It was his side hustle in the 90’s. He then started his coaching/strategy business in the early 2000’s.

His passion is coaching and guiding small business owners. He still invests in other companies, real estate, etc.

What is the one thing you think matters most for success as an entrepreneur?

Absolute 100% dogged determination.
Among all the traits of entrepreneurs, resilience and determination are most critical.
Adversity is always there, and the key is to keep getting back up and doubling down on yourself, your business, and you clients.
If you keep showing your commitment that you will serve no matter what, you will see it through.

At the 8:30 mark, Carl shares his view on the short attention spans we have and how he sees it in context of success…

The level of content has gotten so good that people are better educated consumers.
People don’t cancel what they love, they cancel what stinks and is boring.
They can see through it.
It’s exciting because you have to be so on your game, but are rewarded, almost unfairly when you are.
People are hungry for greatness.

Take us through the 7 Stages of Growth and Business Success…

Carl developed this in the 90’s. It is model that has been validated over the years.
Stage 1: Strategic Planning Stage. You need to have a compelling and inspiring vision and plan for the business.
Stage 2: Specialty Stage. This is where you build your expert authority in your niche.
Stage 3: Synergy Stage. This is where you build a team that is aligned with mission, vision, values, and purpose.
Stage 4: Systems Stage. Document and build out the ecosystem to scale the business.
Stage 5: Sustainability. You are starting to be known for something other than the utility of your product or service.
Stage 6: Saleability. You maximize the value of your business and it is now an asset. There is also where you are mature and doing things like buying other companies or going public, etc.
Stage 7: Succession. This is when a legacy business is born and is lasting.
Sequence matters. You have to go through each stage and maximize it before going to the next one.

How does and entrepreneur execute in each stage?

It is like going through the years of school.
You have to fully immerse yourself in each stage.
You have maximized stage 1 if you can answer the question, “What is so compelling about my business that my customers would be willing to leave from where they buy from now and buy from me and pay a premium? Would my competitors’ employees be willing to come work for me and earn less?
In stage 2, you know you an expert when someone reaches out to you unsolicited and asks you for advice on your niche that is in the same industry.
In stage 3, you know you have maximized if people are fully bought into your vision and do whatever it takes to help the business successful.
In stage 4, you make the internal commitment to systematize every area of your business and have “your company way.” Once, it is fully documented and mapped out, you’ve done.
In stage 5, you’re like a franchise and can expand and duplicated what you’ve done.
In stage 6, you are building your management team to run the business instead of just you, the owner.
In stage 7, when you can fire yourself and the next generation can take over, you’ve done it.

What are some of the biggest traps entrepreneurs fall into and how do we avoid them?

Stage 1 planning is typically inadequate.
Entrepreneurs fall in love with their product instead of falling in love with their client. They should focus on the client first.
Pricing is also a trap/mistake entrepreneurs make. You need to charge what your value is. Don’t get people to “just pay for your service.” You need to be a premium because you are bringing tremendous value – where you need to be good is at articulating the value.

Best advice for building rapport and influences? What are some of the best practices?

The basis of any relationship is your ability to build rapport.
There is a science of how we build, maintain, and nurture rapport.
First, know your client by knowing behavior and personality styles (DISC, etc.)
Rapport is the relationship of sameness, likeness, and commonality and it is an involuntary response – getting someone to like you.
How we do anything is how we do everything – remember that. People have tendencies and are creatures of habits.
Your ability to align with people’s tendencies and habits helps you build rapport.

Thoughts on leadership and how to be a successful leader?

You need to be willing to do whatever you’re asking of someone, or have done it.
You need to be willing to let someone else take the lead.
You can be a leader from the front or the back (you can go first paving the way, or go last letting everyone else get the credit)
You walk the talk without the talk. Do it and demonstrate the principles you want followed.

Anything else we should know?

Outsourcing and building remote teams is a very important skill to learn.
Your ability to “staff to valleys and are prepared for the peaks with variable costs.” This may be having contractors ready during peak times and not using them during slow times to help you manage the business better.
The best way to remain nimble is to be good at expanding and contracting the business as needed to maximize your business.

Best Quote: Hustle. You can hustle your way to success. 96% of entrepreneurs never make it to $1 million in revenue. You absolutely can hustle to more than that.

Misfit 3:

Hustle. You can hustle your way to success. 96% of entrepreneurs never make it to $1 million in revenue. You absolutely can hustle to more than that.
There is less competition for the #1 slot in your niche. Go for #1. There is the least amount of competition to the be the best. Your clients will see this and love you for it.
I hereby decree, I hereby promise that I will not discount my way to market share. I will charge accordingly for my value.

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Recently, I was able to connect with them and they offered to share a small sample of one of their new shows with the Misfit audience and that is what I want to share with you in this short special episode because it focuses on one of my favorite topics – the stories and successes behind some of the most inspiring businesses, creative innovators and intrepid entrepreneurs.

Secret Sauce is one of Wondery’s newest series, hosted by John Frye and Sam Donner. First up, they’re diving into the company that revolutionized how we vacation, travel, and even how we trust other people... Airbnb.

In 2008, Air Bed and Breakfast launched at SXSW (South by Southwest) with high hopes of becoming an alternative to overbooked hotels...but they ended up with just two people booking a stay...and one of them was a co-founder of the company. How did Airbnb persevere through adversity to become a company that would forever change the way we think about travel? What was their magic - their secret sauce - that made them such an unlikely success story? And what lessons can we learn from them?

You’re about to hear a preview of Secret Sauce. While you’re listening, subscribe to Secret Sauce on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or listen early and ad-free in the Wondery app by going to wondery.fm/SS_Misfit

Enjoy!

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This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I want to speak to you about sacrifice. Your life is going to be filled with it. When most people hear the word sacrifice, they think of it in a negative way. But I want you to know that sacrifice, more often is good and brings good into our lives.

No matter who you are or your status in life, life is hard. It is full of twists, turns, wonderful moments, amazing experiences, happiness, sadness, love, suffering, and sacrifice. And each person has to navigate life in their own way and each person will work through the challenges of life in their own way.

But, if we can build a positive relationship with sacrifice and see it for what it is – a natural steppingstone to bettering our lives, we can use our sacrifices to make ourselves better, create opportunities, and have a better life.

What do I mean? As we go through life, we will encounter challenges in every area. We will have challenges in our work lives, in our personal lives, and even be affected by things we cannot and do not have control over. You will have to make sacrifices all the time.

A sacrifice is really a choice. Many times, it is a choice between what is right and hard, and what is easy. It is very tempting to take the easy path and not go through the struggle. But the easy path many times leads to bad outcomes. For example, it is easier for a married couple having issues in their lives and marriage to get a divorce than it is to work on the problems together and overcome them. But those that do make the commitment to work together to overcome their challenges come out with stronger, more loving relationships and are happier than those that don’t. At least I can say that is what has been shared with me from those I have spoken to over the years who have been in those situations.

By the same token, it is easier to set aside big problems in business and one’s work and just pretend they don’t exist. This avoidance usually leads to the problem growing bigger and festering to a point where it must be dealt with and at that point it is much larger and more painful than it would have been if handled earlier.

I’ve made many sacrifices in my life, so has your mother. And we will continue to have them and to make them. I know that sometimes, in making the sacrifices it makes things harder in the short term, but in the long term, it is worth it. I think you’ve seen this already even as young as you are. If you’ve ever heard of “delayed gratification,” this is where it comes from. Making a sacrifice in the short term for a bigger gain in the long term. I know and trust in that if I make a sacrifice for the right reasons, it will turn out good in some way, shape, or form in my life and it almost always does. Delayed gratification has paid off for me big time over the years. Therefore, I do not shy away from these times in life, but welcome them and am prepared for them as best I can be.

I hope that you can learn to do the same. To embrace that life is full of sacrifices, choices we must make – and that as much as possible, we must make the right choice, even if it is hard, maybe even painful in some way in our lives. Just know that it is worth it. The pain will be short-lived and lead to a better, richer life, and make you stronger.

Hannah, don’t be afraid of sacrifice. Embrace it and watch for the good that comes from it.

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: A sacrifice is really a choice. Many times, it is a choice between what is right and hard, and what is easy.

Misfit 3:

When most people hear the word sacrifice, they think of it in a negative way. But I want you to know that sacrifice, more often is good and brings good into our lives.
A sacrifice is really a choice. Many times, it is a choice between what is right and hard, and what is easy.
Embrace that life is full of sacrifices, choices we must make – and that as much as possible, we must make the right choice, even if it is hard, maybe even painful in some way in our lives. Just know that it is worth it.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is David Shriner-Cahn. David is the host of the wildly popular Smashing the Plateau podcast and his business helps consultants and coaches build their business following their careers as professionals employed in the marketplace. Simply put, David helps employees’ transition to thriving entrepreneurs.

He has been features in Forbes, INC, and many other outlets and is also a popular speaker. David’s mission to help people become entrepreneurs was born out of his experience of being a highly successful employee for 28 years only to wake up one day and be told it was over. He had to go through losing his job and identity to finding a new path as an entrepreneur and his experience and what he has learned can help so many that are in the same situation, so I’m excited to get into it.

www.SmashingthePlateau.com

David has a master’s in engineering from Cornell. He worked as an engineer early in his career and then transferred after a job loss to the not-for-profit sector. He had no formal training to become a not-for-profit executive and did that for 23 years. He had plateaued in the organization and could not become the CEO as he was in the #2 position. He decided that it was time to scratch entrepreneur itch he had most of his life and became a consultant.

He had built a network that he used to start his business.

What do you think is the hardest part about transitioning from an employee to entrepreneur? And talk to use about “chicken entrepreneurship.”

The challenge with “chicken entrepreneurship” is deciding when you are ready.
You real need to be mentally ready.
The first step is the hardest piece for everyone.

What does that look like to be ready in your mind? How does someone know?

Most of the time, you don’t know.
It is when you have enough courage to jump and do it.
What most have never done is the business piece – building and running a business day to day.
The knowledge base someone has gained from their role over the years to solve a problem and set of problems is important to build your business around.
You won’t know how to do everything, but you must be willing to work to figure it out as you go and take it as it comes.

Thoughts on the mind shift that has to happen?

Its both a mindset and behavioral shift.
If you are employee and are wrong 10% of the time, you are going to hear about it and not in a positive way. If you are an entrepreneur and right more than 10% of the time, you are probably doing well. It’s a big change to get used to.
As an entrepreneur, you are going to try and fail all the time to succeed.

Is there a process people go through to manage the transition from employee to entrepreneur?

It’s very helpful to have time for reflection and take some time not focused on producing income. You need time to focus inwardly.
You can also see if you can get a role that is time limited, a short contract gig to pay bills while you get your business going.
Step 2 is getting in touch with a few things about yourself and your impact.
Understand what you love doing the most and are committed to.
Get clarity on what it is you are most competent and doing – they may or may not be the same as what you love doing. Find the intersection of them.
Then decide who you want to serve and what problem(s) you will solve for them.
Next, do a little market research to determine there is a market and potential clients. Talk to them and see if they would hire you to solve the problem(s).
You then need to test and start trying things and iterate.

Talk to us about the business side and running the business once up and going…

How much money do you want to make? Margins matter because it is almost impossible to make up low margins with volume.
You need to think about how many hours you want to put in. You can make more money, but not more hours.
How much do you want your business to be about your own personal brand or not? How much is it based on you? This determines how you design things.

At the 27 min mark, David and I talk about why most people don’t get what they want… What are some of the best resources and tools you’ve found to help entrepreneurs?

First, manage your processes with pencil and paper or typing out the steps.
Pay attention to things that are repetitive.
Once you track then, you can create systems that are repeatable around these processes so they can be handed off to others.
Once you’ve done this, it will start to show what types of solutions you need to put in place for these needs such as technology, apps, virtual assistants, or assistants, etc.

At the 33 min mark, we discuss the #1 cause of business failure…

The #1 cause is cashflow and managing it properly.
Have appropriate cash reserves for hard times
Sales is not cashflow. You have to collect the money.

Best practices around life/work design?

We are whole human beings, and we need to integrate.
It should all be working toward our higher purpose. So be very clear as to what this is.
Clearly define your goals.

Other advice for entrepreneurs?

Apply for credit when you don’t need it because that is when you are most likely to get it.

Best Quote: If you are employee and are wrong 10% of the time, you are going to hear about it and not in a positive way. If you are an entrepreneur and right more than 10% of the time, you are probably doing well. It’s a big change to get used to.

David's Misfit 3:

When you are faced with a major transition, take time for self-reflection. You will be much better off for doing so.
We do much better when we create structure. Most importantly, have a structure to create a positive mindset at the beginning of the day.
Be prepared to iterate. Breakthroughs are what others notice after you have taken hundreds or thousands of pivots.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Anna Parker-Naples. Anna is he host of the #1 international podcast, Entrepreneurs Get Visible. She is the #1 best-selling author of Get Visible: How to Have More Impact, Influence and Income, and Podcast with Impact: How to Launch Your Podcast Properly.

She has been recognized as the National Businesswoman of the Year and finalist for SME’s National Entrepreneur of the Year. And if that is not enough, her audio skills have caught the attention of Hollywood and she’s been honored there.

But Anna’s story has some major twists and turns and what I love most about her is how she learned to blend strategy and mindset together to overcome massive challenges and achieve greatness. Of course, she’s not too bad at teaching entrepreneurs how to seriously grow their visibility and I can’t wait to get into all of this with her.

www.EntrepreneursGetVisible.com

Anna came into the entrepreneurial space a few years ago. 4 years ago, she was working as a voice actor receiving awards on the red carpet in Hollywood for her work. 6 years before that, she was told after a complication with a pregnancy that she would never walk again. To be fully recovered and at the top of her game on the red-carpet years later made her realize that others can do what she did and that there was a process to that success, so she started her business, podcast, and speaking.

How did you from being not being able to walk to walking on the red carpet? What was the transformation?

Anna was as broken as you could imagine.
Before having children, she was a stage actor.
She could hardly get out of bed or function with the amount of pain she was in.
She had a moment on a New Year’s Eve where she realized that she could no longer stay in her frame of mind.
She went to a therapist. They talked and the therapist questioned her views of the world using NLP.
This got her to think 2 things. What is she was in a wheelchair the rest of her life, but was highly successful and her work could still be seen all over the world? And What if the doctors are not right about your body and could heal itself?
Thinking about those things sparked a new view on her potential and started her on her path.

At the 9 min mark, Anna tells a story about she was carried into a job interview and how it was presented to her to have a home studio to do her work.

At the 10 min mark, Anna and I discuss the power of the mind what working on your thoughts can do for you.

It is a constant work in progress.
Many of the things we tell ourselves are not true and are just limiting beliefs.
What happens if you decide to think something different about yourself? You’d be surprised.
Everything is choice in our lives. It is not rocket science, but it starts with how you think.

At the 14 min mark, we talk about how everything begins with an idea, a thought in our lives.

How have you learned how to blend your mindset with strategy to exponentially grow results?

Anna uses the term “envisioning.”
You envision everything. Where you want to be. Who you are clients are. How much you are making. Who you surround yourself with, etc.
Podcasting is a great medium to get in front of the clients you want and also, as a podcaster to bring guests on your show that you want to network with and have in your world. Be strategic and deliberate about it.

Is there a process for envisioning?

Yes, it is called the 10 Pillars of Purpose and Profit.

Listen at the 18 min mark as Anna goes through the 10 pillars.

Good book called the Micro Pitch Script by Bill Slay to help you hone your message and how you connect how you impact and help others.

“Make sure you are not positioning yourself at the bottom for the heap. Strive for the top. There is much less competition there.”

Confidence is key to get visible, explain that…

Everything is a choice.
People choose not to put themselves or their content out there because they are not confident in themselves.
But you have every right to put yourself out there and share your talents.
Confidence comes from changing how you think and recognizing that is it ok and safe to fail.
Be willing to be yourself in front of others knowing you cannot and will not ever be a fit for everyone, but you will for enough.

Talk to us about gaining visibility and things people should be doing to stand out…

Podcasting is the fastest growing medium with the highest conversion rates, so you need to have a strategy.
On social media, are you communicating a consistent message and story across your different channels?
Use story to share more about you and let people in. Connect!

Best practices to start, run, and grow a successful podcast?

It starts with solid planning.
Get clear on your message, your target audience, your funnel, any products, etc.
Treat the launch like it matters. It is a unique window of opportunity where the algorithms are on your side.
Have good production quality.
Have good audio. Invest in this.

What are some of the things you’ve learned about entrepreneurship and success on your journey?

Everything is cumulative.
Fail fast and continue as things build on each other.
Realize the ripple effect of the impact you can have in the world.
Think about the effect your message can have if you amplify it.

How important is playing the long game?

No one is an overnight success and if they are, they most likely won’t stay there for long.
You must take continuous action.
Consistency and a long-term view are more important than ever.
When it is worth it and about something more, you will have no problem making money.
Money is nice, but it cannot be the sole reason for a business and just focusing on that will not sustain you – you’ll be unfulfilled and burned out.

Best Quote: Make sure you are not positioning yourself at the bottom of the heap. Strive for the top. There is much less competition there.

Anna's Misfit 3:

Anything is possible. You just cannot necessarily see if for yourself yet.
When you allow yourself to see your potential without excuses or blocks in the way, you can achieve it.
It is ok to fail and go wrong, because that is when you can look inside, learn from it, observe what works and what doesn’t and then turn it around.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Krista Ripma. Krista is the founder of the digital marketing agency, Authentic Audience, which helps transform clients’ businesses by implementing innovative marketing strategies focused on authenticity, storytelling, and selling the truth. She is also the host of the Authentic Audience podcast.

Krista and Authentic Audience have been featured everywhere from Forbes to Entrepreneur and her passion for helping others tell their stories and share their truth through radically honest marketing is un-matched.

Radically honest. We don’t see that as much as we should these days, and it’s important to make sure we are being true to ourselves and our businesses, so I asked Krista to come on the show to discuss what it truly means to be authentic and honest in today’s world.

www.AuthenticAudience.co

Krista has always been in to sharing stories and sharing stories. She studied communications and film in college and went to work in film in LA. But the whole industry was inauthentic. She loved the stories, the scripts she read, but the world around her was fake. She did all sorts of jobs and learned what it meant to work hard.

From there she went to working with TV networks in health and wellness. During this time, she met a Yoga star who needed help with her brand and Krista helped her grow the brand. She loved it and realized that is she is what she wanted to do. Help people grow their brand in an authentic way.

Define Authenticity…

It is something that really cannot be taught.
It is when you are in alignment and you know when you are.
It is when you are walking your talk and being the person or brand, you want others to think you are.
It is the lack of fear or doubt – just truth.
There is a big difference between transparency and authenticity. As leaders, we have to pick the appropriate time to share things and be transparent – but we can always be authentic.
Authenticity is standing in your truth and opening your heart up so others can do the same.

How does someone transform their business through authentic? What do they do?

You have to answer the 4 most important questions.
- Who are you?
- What do you do?
- Why does it matter?
- What’s in it for me? (your dream client)
Anonymous brands are dead. People want to know who is behind the companies where they spend money.
We have to create personal brands within our bigger brands to thrive and succeed.
The X-factor that sets your product or service apart is you.
Customers want to “be seen” by you and feel like you see them.

What is working and what is not in marketing strategies and launches today?

The biggest mistake is taking someone from awareness straight to the sale.
The best part of marketing is the “consideration phase” which is the time you take to share who you are and what the value of your product or service is and establish credibility.
What is working is a longer warm-up/consideration phase where you provide a ton of value before ever giving an offer.
Consideration used to be about 7 days, now it is more like a month to do it right.
Best practice is a longer warm-up and shorter buying timeframe.

Is there a formula that you use for launches?

Krista has an e-book called the 90 Day Launch plan which breaks it down week by week of what needs to be done.
You can get it at AuthenticAudience.co
She discusses her process at the 20 Min-mark, and it is best to just listen.

How does someone get leadflow and build a list to market to?

You don’t have to have a big list, but you need to have a way to build a list.
You will have to invest, and you need the confidence to do so.
Lead gen campaigns on Facebook work well – you have to give something of great value for free to be successful. Something that really speaks to your dream customer.
LinkedIn is another great place to get leads. It has the most opportunity.
YouTube is also a place to be if you create content.
Growing your email list is by far your best investment.

At the 31-minute market, Krista gives her best advice on selling, both online and in general..

Get your money mindset right.
Understand the abundance of money around you and be careful not to let a scarcity mentality stop you.
There is so much money out there, it’s everywhere and we are deserving of the piece of the pie as long as we work hard for it.
After money mindset is the seller’s mindset.
This is the confidence in what you are selling.
Your dream customer is why you created your product and service, how can you not sell to them? If you don’t, you have failed them. They need it and are ready to buy.

At the 38 min mark, we discuss “asking for the business.” It’s best to just listen… Shifts in online selling?

Major algorithm shifts. Much more pay to play. A lot of throttling happening.
We have to pay to reach our own audience.
Engagement is the secret sauce. The more engagement you have/time spent is the big X-factor right now.
For paid media, the market is super saturated, and the competition is fierce. It’s also not more expensive to compete.
In order to do well, you have to stand out in a bigger way and you have to innovate and figure out how to do it – even if that means being controversial by being authentic.

Best advice for entrepreneurs in today’s world?

Get one customer. Launch the thing!
Get real eyes on your site/product/service and get feedback.
Forget about your logo. Focus on your product and service and the way you make clients “feel.”
If you create an amazing customer experience; customers will tell others and you will grow by word of mouth.
Pivot as needed because you will have to.
You are always launching and pivoting – don’t rest.

Best Quote: Authenticity is standing in your truth and opening your heart up so others can do the same.

Krista's Misfit 3:

Stay in your uniqueness. It is your superpower.
Stay in service. Shift your mindset to that of service.
Self-care. Burnout is around every corner. Establish self-care rituals that help avoid burnout by any means possible.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Harma Hartouni. After listening to Harma and his story today, you will have no excuse for not being able to keep going and reaching your goals. Harma grew up in Iran during the Iraq-Iran war taking shelter from bombs every night. He later had a traumatic accident that crushed his lower body and took him a year to come back from. And I will let him tell you about everything else that has happened to him in his life. But this guy never quit.

And today, Harma is a self-made millionaire entrepreneur and developer, owns a real estate company employing hundreds of residential and commercial real estate agents in Southern California, and runs the #1 ranked real estate business in his region. His real estate practice exceeds $1B in sales volume and he is also the founder and CEO of multiple companies servicing the local real estate industry, His businesses include financial services, technology and coaching. If that is not enough, he is the author of Getting Back Up: A Story of Resilience, Self-Acceptance & Success. Fittingly, those are the topics we are going to discuss in this episode.

www.HarmaHartouni.com

Harma was born in LA and within 30 days moved to Iran. Shortly after, the revolution happened and his mother lost all her rights and they were stuck in the country. At 18, Harma got into a car accident and did not get hurt, but when he got out of his car, another car hit breaking both his legs and mangling his lower body. He was not supposed to walk again. He did everything he could to get back to walking and was able to move to the US.

He ended up in Glendale, CA. He had a lot of struggles and it took him a year and half to become confident enough to come out to his family and reveal he was gay. He quit dental school against his families wishes to be a real estate agent.

He’s been in real estate for 18 years and his business now does over $1.2 billion in sales a year. His passion has grown to really building the business and he has the top agents in the nation working for him. He’s married and had 3 kids.

I’ve heard you say that “everyone is a survivor.” Explain what that means.

Every single person has a story.
Some are deeper, other not so much.
Everyone has been through challenges.
Understanding this helps you to appreciate not only them, but what you have gone through as well.
Resilience comes from learning from the past and choosing to move forward.
Everyone has gone through and overcome something in their lives.

You talk about not letting yourself become a victim. Talk to us about the difference between being victimized and being a victim.

Run towards your fear. Accept it and own it.
If you start doing that, you cannot be a victim.
Harma has been so broke that he has been in place where he had no hope in anything else. He had not choice, but to find a way to survive.
People that manage to become victims at some point were given a false hope. They were not pushed to move through their challenge or trauma.
You cannot move forward by being stuck in the past.
If you keep reading your last chapter, how will you write a new one?

There are of people in the same situation you have been in that don’t break out and reach their full potential and accomplish successes like you. A lot of people would just give into their state and accept it and stay there. Why didn’t that happen to you? How did you break out?

This is one of the reasons he wrote the book with his lessons.
Harma had a very challenging upbringing with his father. He had to think ahead. He had to protect his mom.
But, his father was very successful, yet didn’t have followers. He would use people and burn through them.
Seeing this gave him a why and purpose – not to be like that in his life. He was fueled by a mission to become more successful and bigger than his father.
He was also fueled to be able to get his mom and family out of Iran and to help fund them in the US.
Harma was fueled by gaining a better live for himself and all those around him.
You must get in the habit of loving the journey. You must find the joy and meaning in it as you go through it.

At the 22-minute mark, we talk about the peaks and valleys of entrepreneurship What are a couple of your favorite lessons from your book?

Unsolicited advice should not be welcomed. Don’t let yourself get derailed by someone else’s opinion.
Seek advice from those that are successful and doing it and learn from them.
The 5 Minute Funeral. We all have setbacks. Deal with them for 5 minutes and move on. Be fast to move on to a solution.
Don’t get hung up on things. It does no good.

Talk to us about the principles you use to build a business…

Harma failed miserably in his first business.
You need to know what you are doing and have done it before you hire someone as you will be training them.
You will need to understand all areas of your business – but you cannot be good in all area.
Every talented person can do anything, but they won’t do it too long if they don’t like it.
You must understand personality and what people gravitate to in their lives. A tool such as DISC will help with this. Make sure you have the right personality in the right role.
You will have to be slow to higher, fast to de-hire, and be very careful who you choose to partner with in business.
You are responsible for helping your hires succeed. Your job is to put them in the right role and give them the environment to succeed.
Meet people where “they are at.”
A magical question when having challenges with a staff member is “Knowing what I know today, would I still have hired them?” If the answer is no, then you need to part ways. If it yes, then you need to work through things together.
You hire the people, and the people build your business.

Every year, your business does over a billion in real estate sales. Talk to us about selling in today’s world.

You must know your market so well and know your ideal customer inside and out.
It works well to niche.
Develop a very unique value proposition.
People don’t care how much you know. They care how much you care.
Trust is at the core of a sale.

Thoughts on the real estate market at this time?

Things will not continue forever.
Rates are low
There will be a period of correction because of the forbearances that people took over the last year and then will have to pay back.
Banks are seeing people have hard times paying payments.
It will not be 2006-2008, but will correct.
The media is always 6 months behind – what you hear on the news is not current.
Consumer spending will go up and balance out a correction over time – we will still need to go through the correction.

Best Quote: Run towards your fear. Accept it and own it. If you start doing that, you cannot be a victim.

Harma's Misfit 3:

5 Minute Funeral. Spend 5 minutes dealing with a setback and then move forward.
No means not yet. Don’t give up.
Only listen to someone who has a proven record to guide you.

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This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I want to share something with you that I learned a long time ago but have been amazed at how true it is. There are a lot of things that separate top performers from the rest of those out there. What is that allows some people to do more, accomplish more, push further, and endure more than others or what people think is possible?

I talk a lot of about Discipline, Consistency, and Persistence or Perseverance and have called it the DCP formula. In my mind, the most important part of the formula is the P. Because no matter how disciplined and consistent you are – you will run into major walls or seemingly insurmountable challenges. And if you are not willing to persist or persevere through them, then you will plateau. You will become stagnant.

You see this a lot in companies. When they begin and really nail their product or service and model, they grow quickly and have enormous success, but many, after a while stagnate. Usually, it is after the founder or owner steps down or steps back. Apple was a good example of this. For many years, Apple was the upstart and was so innovative that it continued to nail the market with its products and grow. But, then after the “professional managers” took over and essentially expelled Steve Jobs from his own company, the company plateaued. It got stagnant and comfortable just making Macs. But others begin to make PC’s just as good or even better and the company started to wither to the point where its stock got to just a couple bucks. Of course, the shareholders blasted the board, and the company became a place of turmoil. Reluctantly, the company brought Steve Jobs back and well…you know the rest of the story. Steve reimagined the products and reimagined how to change the world with technology starting first with the iPod and then iPhone and so on.

The company had not been willing to persist or persevere through its biggest wall – the need to reinvent itself into a company with totally different offerings. But Steve was willing to and guided it through.

So, where am I going with this?

There is a rule that has existed throughout human history. It has been called many things, but the name I like for it best is the 40% Rule. In fact, the place where I saw it coined best was in a book from a Navy SEAL named David Goggins.

The Rule is pretty simple: When you think you’ve given it your all or are exhausted and your mind is telling you are done - Telling you that you cannot go further, you are only 40% done. You have 60% more left in you.

Wait, what? Yes, what I am saying is that when you feel you are most exhausted, and you have given everything – you still have 60% left.

How can that be? Because our limitations exist in our minds. I’ve said before that what you focus on expands in your live. The bible says, “that which gaze upon you become.” What we believe and tell ourselves becomes our reality. So, when our mind is saying we are exhausted and cannot go further – guess what happens? We don’t go further. But, what if when the thought pops into our heads that we cannot go further and have given it all, that we tell ourselves, “No, I haven’t. I am only just beginning. And we repeat that over and over as we take our next step, etc.” What will happen? We will not be done. We will keep going. Winston Churchill once said, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” This is the essence of the 40% Rule. Keep going.

In my life, I have sought ways to seek opportunities to test this rule and expand my capacity to endure. I hope you will do the same.

One way I have done that is through Ironman racing. A full Ironman is a 2.4-mile swim, followed by 112-mile bike ride, followed by a marathon. Every race has new challenges. No just in navigating a new course, but the risks around you from others (look up Ironman bike crashes) and being pulled and stretched in completely new ways mentally and physically. For example, my last full Ironman brought completely new challenges and almost broke me until I remembered the 40% Rule. First, the swim was like no other in that there was a stinging jellyfish bloom in the water. Imagine swimming 2.4 miles navigating jellyfish, even in a wetsuit, getting stung on your face, feet, hands, really any exposed area. Then getting out of the water and getting on a bike for 112 miles with the pain from it and your body reacting to it while you ride.

I admit, it was my fastest swim ever! Then, on the bike the headwind picked up to almost 20 miles an hour, forcing me to have to work harder than normal to maintain my pace. And if that wasn’t enough, the original temperature for the day was to be in the high 60’s. Pretty ideal weather. Well, about the time I was ending my ride, the overcast clouds parted, the sun came out, and it shot up into the 80’s. Needless to say, after the swim, hard bike, and now it being 20+ degrees hotter, I was not feeling that well as I got start on my marathon. In fact, about 5 miles in. I started feel dizzy. I stopped running. I tried to walk but felt completely exhausted.

I have never not finished a race. Ever. But, in those moments as I sat down in the grass on the side of the road – every impulse in me told me to quit. My mind had all kinds of thoughts going through it. Things like “You’ve got nothing to prove. Don’t hurt yourself. Just quit. No shame in it.” Or “You’ve got another 21 miles to go, there is no way, etc.”

I sat there for 10-15 mins getting all the fluid I could in me. I could not even look at another energy gel pack. I was at my absolute limit. Or so I thought. I noticed the thoughts circling in my head and stopped them. I chose to get up and take the next step. I chose to embody the 40% Rule.

I wish I could say that I got back up, ran my best marathon ever and set a new personal best time, but that is not what happened. Do you know what’s worse than running a crappy marathon? Walking a crappy marathon. 5 hours later I crossed the finished line with my slowest time ever. I attempted to jog the last half mile and even that was ugly. But finished. I crossed the finish line and went straight to the med-tent. After some fluid and a little care, I was back on my feet. An hour or so later, I was pounding a horde of fast food satiating my unending hunger and feeling pretty good. In fact, I had plenty of energy – even though it was midnight and I had basically exercised for 14 hours.

It was in this moment that I realized how true the rule is. I had more left. A lot more. And now this lesson fuels me not just in my racing, but in business, life, and everywhere.

The 40% Rule is something we can and should all live by. We should push ourselves and our boundaries and learn to dig deeper and push ourselves further than we ever thought possible – because we can.

I think the real secret to success in anything lies in this Rule and we each have find it for ourselves and Hannah, I hope you find it in your own special way.

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: The 40% Rule is something we can and should all live by. We should push ourselves and our boundaries and learn to dig deeper and push ourselves further than we ever thought possible – because we can.

Misfit 3:

The 40% Rule states: When you think you’ve given it all or exhausted and your mind is telling you are done. Telling you that you cannot go further, you are only 40% done. You have 60% more left in you.
What we believe and tell ourselves becomes our reality.
The 40% Rule is something we can and should all live by. We should push ourselves and our boundaries and learn to dig deeper and push ourselves further than we ever thought possible – because we can.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Shawn Finder. Shawn is an interesting guy. He grew up as one of North America’s top tennis players and ranked 2nd best at one point. He was literally competing to be the next Andre Agassi. At age 23 that he was told that he had to decide whether to try and become a tennis professional or get an MBA. He chose a university education.

You see Shawn is an entrepreneur at heart and he knew that was his calling. At age 24, he started his first venture importing packaging and selling to retailers, but his real passion was selling. So he started a list building company to help salespeople called Exchange leads, grew that to huge success and then started AutoKlose which he just sold to Vanillasoft.

I brought him on to talk about his journey, what he’s learned, and how to get more leads and business.

www.autoklose.com

www.ShawnFinder.com

Shawn was top ranked tennis player playing world-wide and go to the age that he needed to make a choice to make it a career or go to school. He got his MBA in finance. And this has served him well as an entrepreneur. He started out working for a company as head of sales, came up with the idea for his first business, Exchange Leads, his 2nd day on the job and 18 months later had built it into his first company.

You’ve bootstrapped all of your businesses to success. What is your best advice on how to bootstrap a business?

Shawn focuses on growing as lean as possible and focus on profitability.
He outsources using Upwork and other mediums for resources.
It is also important to be very strategic from the start.

Tell us about some of the pitfalls or things you would do differently if bootstrapping again…

You have to find a balance between being profitable and using the money in the bank to invest in your business. Don’t keep too much in the bank.
You are going to try a lot of things to grow your business or make it successful, be careful not to neglect things that are working and make sure you are investing further in them alongside all the stuff you are trying.
Start SEO before even launching the business if you can – organic growth is a huge opportunity.
Beware the personal ups and downs that come with having a successful business, but it not translating into personal success and income right away. You will delay personal gratification a lot.

Lessons learned going through the acquisition process?

Always be prepared for an acquisition.
Make sure your financials are up to date, accurate, and dialed in.
People don’t acquire you just because of the money you are making or your MRR/ARR.
You need to value every area of your business. Your team, your clients, your income, your IP, etc.
Working capital is very important to understand in an acquisition.

At the 12 Min mark, Shawn explains working capital and how it impacted his sale…

Working capital is deferred revenue. Revenue paid up front for services to be rendered in the future.
It will be taken off the purchase price from a buyer.
This impacts to valuation as it comes off the purchase price and can be higher than you think.
Talk working capital early on in an acquisition process so there is no surprise at the end.

What did playing tennis teach you about success, business, and life?

When Shawn was 18, he started teaching tennis.
Training others and top executives opened doors for him and helped learn how to become more professional in communication and business.
Networking through your passion(s) and connecting with others that have similar interested – and that can partner or help you is a huge opportunity
Coaching others for money is selling and fighting to keep business, so it prepares you for success in a lot of ways.

Talk to about selling in today’s world? What works? What doesn’t?

It’s getting tougher and tougher and things are changing very fast.
The most important thing to leverage is LinkedIn. Being genuine and connecting on the platform is important to help build trust.
The biggest problem is all that we are asking salespeople to do from a CRM, tracking, detail standpoint that they don’t have time to sell. Put the sale first.

What should people know about the CRM and lead management systems out there and how best to use them?

Build a sales stack that has a lot of automation. Automate as much of the process as possible allowing for automate scheduling, etc.
Get as much of the busy work out of the way for your people so they can focus on the sale.

Best ways to boost sales?

Get outside the box.
Use Video. Don’t just send an email.
Persistence is now more needed than ever. Your job in sales is to follow up. The lack of follow up is the biggest reason sales are not made or lost.

Tips to increase conversion rates?

Pre-qualify as much as possible.
Determine the best buyers for your salespeople to speak to and show your products to.
For others, put them into a nurturing sequence or schedule them out with a scheduler software into the future.
Look for every way you can to cut wasted time out of the sales process.

You have an E-book with over 25 entrepreneurs and sales leaders. If you had to pick the top piece of advice from the book what would it be?

Building trust is the #1 thing for selling anything.
Do you research ahead of time and know about your prospect.
Discuss their pain and get 2nd, 3rd, and 4th levels deep to truly understand it.
Don’t solution right away. Listen, get feedback, gain an understanding, and work with them to help them see why you are the right fit. It is their decision. Don’t “sell” them.
Follow up, but follow up across multiple channel.

Best Quote: People don’t acquire you just because of the money you are making or your MRR/ARR. You need to value every area of your business. Your team, your clients, your income, your IP, etc.

Shawn's Misfit 3:

Invest in real estate at a young age. It is a great investment over the long term.

Bootstrap your company lean and profitable. Build a team that has an amazing culture.

Don’t focus on hiring quickly. Hire people you would hire into your family.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Brandon Fong. What if I told you that at any point in time, you are one connection away from huge growth and success in your career or life? Just one connection. Would you believe me? Brandon does…because he has proven it – not just in his own life and businesses, but for the thousands he has helped realize this power in their own lives and businesses.

Brandon is the founder of 7 Figure Millennial. He’s been featured in Fast Company, became the youngest member of the Genius Network with Joe Polish and elite millionaires at age 22, and has helped build multiple 7-Figure marketing operations. He teaches people how to deeply connect and develop real, authentic, and meaningful relationships with people – virtually.

In the current climate we are operating in as entrepreneurs, this skill is invaluable, so I asked Brandon to come on the show and share all of his secrets with you.

7 Figure Millennial Podcast

Brandon-Fong.com

Magic Connection Method Gift: BFO.NG/Misfit

Brandon’s entrepreneurship journey started in middle school. Each day when he went to pay for his launch, when he went to pay, on the screen it would say $0. The reason being is because he qualified for the school lunch program because his family was very challenged financially. It frustrated him and drove him never to have that problem. His parents did everything they could to nurture this in him and taught that many times success comes from being resourceful. And you can be insanely resourceful if you know how to connect with people.

His parents would let him skip school at 16 to go to networking events to meet, learn from, and connect with successful people.

Every time Brandon has leveled up in his life has been because of someone he has met and connected with. He also learned to prioritize health, happiness, and relationships alongside money.

Talk to us about being just one connection away and how real that is for people…

The people you look up to are a lot more accessible than you think they are.
Just because someone has large success, doesn’t mean they are not open to connecting with you.
You just have to reach out. The worst thing that can happen is that nobody replies.

Tell us about the Magic Connection Method. How does it work?

If you reach out in a real, genuine way, you will stand out in today’s world.
The Magic Connection Method is a process Brandon Developed that has 3 parts.
The goal is to get someone to respond and open the door to have a relationship.
Step 1: The Hook
The biggest mistake people make when reaching out to others is they make it about themselves instead of who they are contacting.
The goal of the hook is to make it about them and connect with them in a genuine way in which you are interested in them and can talk to specific reasons why.
Step 2: The Irresistible Offer
“A compelling offer is 10x more convincing than a compelling argument”
Example of normal offer vs. an irresistible offer is the new mattress companies that let you sleep on the mattress for 100 nights and if you are not satisfied, you can send it back and get your money back – no questions asked. It’s a win, win compared to going to a store and buying a mattress and hoping it works out.
For your irresistible offer, ask “How can I show that I care about them, minimize risk for them, give them a lot to gain, and make it easy to say yes.”
At the 19 min mark, Brandon gives an example of how he worked for free for a short while with Jonathan Levi.
Step 3: The “No Oriented Question”
When you say yes to something, you are giving away something
The exact opposite is true with saying “no.” It is choice.
A “no oriented question” may be something like “Would you be opposed me to doing x”
It is giving them the opportunity to say no instead of trying to force a yes.

You’ve said you can help entrepreneurs uncover $100k+ in their backyard, explain more on this…

There is lots of untapped potential in a business. It just needs to be found.
It goes back to the Magic Connection.
Identify your best client
Refine the offer to be irresistible
Communicate with clients and prospects in a better way and you’ll get better results.

Talk to us about the steps you take in a business to create a world marketing program?

It takes a systematic process to genuinely reach out to people.
Business is people at the end of the day.
The Magic Connection Method is key.
One exercise is to identify your top 5 customers that are the best and most profitable and who the top 5 worst customers are that are not profitable and drain time.
Once you have the profile, you can then create an irresistible offer that is tangible to best buyer prospects.
Track everything so you can see the response rates, engagement, etc.
Start small in your outreach, see what works and what doesn’t, then scale from there.

What are some of your best practices for how to build lists and find good leads?

You have to have a solid client profile and decision maker profile.
Then you can use tools like LinkedIn Navigator and Search
There are people that scrape lists for specific industries, etc.
There are a lot of resources to use and you can search for ones specific to your buyer and industry.

What’s the #1 piece of advice for a new entrepreneur starting out?

If you ask for money, you’ll get advice. If you ask for advice, you’ll get money.
This is about feedback more than advice.
The Ikea effect. People value Ikea more because they had to do the work and build it.
How can you become the piece of Ikea furniture to invest in? Asking for feedback, taking it, and then reporting back on the success of it being grateful resonates.

At the 40 min mark, Brandon talks about prioritizing happiness, health, and relationships.

Best Quote: A compelling offer is 10x more convincing than a compelling argument

Brandon's Misfit 3:

You are one connection away from leveling up. People are way more accessible than you may think.
Clearly understand what happiness means for you. There is nothing in the way of your being happy right now. Define it for yourself. It’s a choice.
If you ask for money, you’ll get feedback. If you ask for feedback, you’ll get money.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Mark Tepper. Mark is a highly successful entrepreneur in the financial space and multi-time INC 5000 winner. You probably have seen him weekly on CNBC and Fox Business where he’s known for his no-nonsense, direct approach. I personally enjoy his honesty, willingness to stand on his principles, and insights and use them in my investing business.

Mark is also the author of 2 best-sellers, Tilting the Odds and Walk Away Wealthy.

But, what I love most about him is that he is an entrepreneur to the core and is a fierce competitor before anything else. And I’ve asked him to come on and share what he’s learned along his journey, his thoughts on how to navigate the crazy markets in today’s age, and what he sees for the future.

www.SWPConnect.com

Twitter: @MarkTepperSWP

Mark grew up an entrepreneur at heart. He’s always been very competitive and as he says, “I would not make a great employee.” He came out of college and started his own business. He loves how rewarding it is to own his own business. He loves the wealth management business because he has a scorecard every day he shows up because he is either performing or he is not.

Tell us about your philosophy on investing and how to succeed as an investor?

Mark’s free eBook on his website called Tilting the Odds breaks it down if you want to get it.
There are 3 main things Mark and his team look at
The first is the management team. Mark and his team look for quality management teams that have tenure and consistency.
The second is that the company has to prove it has a sustainable growth story either in the market they are serving or other areas and that is has run room to continue to grow and not be a “1 hit wonder.”
The third is price. You must discipline and not overpay for growth.

At the 8 min mark, we talk about the recent event with Gamestop in the market and how it related to entrepreneurship. Its best to just listen.

“Every single lesson I have learned from the stock market can be applied to running a business”

Talk to us about the business of investing and financial planning. What is most important to know about the industry and what should they look for in an advisor?

The industry is a lot of smoke and mirrors.
A lot of “wealth management” companies are just salespeople that are really glorified middlemen.
Most do not have a strong value prop or competitive advantage.
Mark and his team are active investors who have sought to have a strong value prop and a competitive advantage through their processes, reinvestment into the company and technology.
The best question to ask a financial advisor is “What separates you from your competition?” If they can’t easily answer that, then they don’t have a separator.
The next question is “What is your investment philosophy? Active? Passive? Investment vehicles you use?
Lastly, ask “Are you a fiduciary?” Fiduciaries are required back law to put your best interest ahead of their own.

What should people know about today’s market and what should they be preparing for?

Liquidity and money printing have been a huge driving force behind the current market uptrend. Trillions of dollars are flooding the market.
It is long term very unhealthy.
The insider buying activity is down. Executives internally are not buying more of their company stocks because they are at all time highs.
M&A activity is expected to slow in 2021 because companies don’t want to overpay for acquisitions.
But, until bond yields go up, there is some runway. It depends on the Fed actions, Treasury actions, etc.
Stocks are still attractive compared to bonds.

Advice for new investors and those just starting out?

Have a process and stick to it. Be disciplined.
You should go into any investment or any trade, you should know ahead of time how to unwind that trade.
If you are not willing to be disciplined and have a process, then it’s maybe best to just use index funds.
Check out the book Unknown Market Wizards
- They all got lucky in some way
- They all had a system

What are the principles you’ve taken from investing and used to build a business with?

Begin with the end in mind. When you buy a stock, you need to when you are going to exit and have the strategy.
The same goes with a business. As you put together your business plan, you should also be preparing your business to be able to be sold as well.
If you do that the right way, you will build a very efficient, profitable business.
Know what the end looks like as you get into your business.
Systematizing every is so important.
“Nobody ever went broke taking a profit.” The more you can play with the house’s money they more successful you will be.
Build liquidity for the rainy day. Set money aside. Don’t think you are invincible.

What has surprised you most on your entrepreneur journey?

Having to make lots of BIG decisions along the way.
You have to be able to think multiples of steps ahead.
The more you put into it, the harder you are willing to work for it, the better your results will be.

What companies have your found through your model that you are liking right now?

DMTK – Revolutionizing melanoma testing
SI – Fintech Banking Services for the companies like Coinbase and others that the regular banks don’t.

Best Quote: "Nobody ever went broke taking a profit" Mark's

Misfit 3:

Live in the present. This is the most important thing that can be shared.
Begin with the end in mind…always.
Realize that success is something different for everyone. Create your own standard for success.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jeremy Parker. Jeremy is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Swag.com. Swag.com is the best place for companies to buy and distribute quality promotional products that people will actually want to keep. They work with over 5,000 companies including Facebook, Google, Amazon, Spotify and Tik Tok. The company was ranked #218 on 2020’s INC 500 list and has been growing tremendously.

But, a promotional products company growing massively in age of no tradeshows or in person meetings where these things are typically exchanged, how can that be? That was exactly the question I had when I was first introduced to Jeremy. What is he doing differently at Swag that has people flocking to them?

I thought it best he share his secrets with you.

www.SWAG.com

Jeremy went to Boston University for filmmaking. But he also liked branding. He chose filmmaking because YouTube was just beginning, and he saw a way to tell stories/market through filmmaking. He did a documentary that won the Vail Film Festival. It was this point that he had to make the decision on if he wanted to continue down the filmmaking path or go to his true passion in marketing. He went back for his final year in college and focused on marketing. He decided to start a high-end T-shirt business and use it as a learning process – right before the crash in 2007.

Just after getting started, all the places he was selling his shirts to were starting to have trouble. He decided to index the price of his shirts to the price of the DOW Jones. Every 100 pts it fell equaled a discount on his shirts. Jeremy wrote to Mark Cuban sharing what he was doing, and Mark shared it on his Maverick blog. It then got seen by the CEO of MV Sports, a larger player in the promotional space. After meeting, the CEO committed to help fund his next business.

He decided to re-imagine university apparel and started a brand under MV Sport. He then started a company doing product placement in Youtube Videos which then sold to a publicly traded company.

He always liked the promotions business and new it was stuck in old ways and needed to be tailored to work with the Millennial buyer.

Talk to use about the early days and getting going. What is your best advice for entrepreneurs just starting out?

When you start a business, you have to put yourself out there, listen to your customers and adapt quickly.
Know the power of a name as the name of your company have a huge impact on your success if done right.
They successfully negotiated to get the exclusive license to use the Swag.com domain for 2 years in exchange for a little equity and have the option to buy the domain for $200k during that period.
Then, Jeremy went big. He did a top-down approach to get logos and focused on Facebook and others to get any type of sale so it could then be referenced to parlay future sales.
They focused on sales first and didn’t even build out the website.
They got a number of Blue-chip companies, got their feedback for what they wanted in a buying experience and then built the Swag platform around it.
Don’t be afraid to go after the big clients from the start.

Is there a framework you use for disrupting an industry?

Look for an industry or niche where every player is doing things the same or not collectively serving a market.
You can either disrupt by doing something that no one is doing or by recognizing that the players are doing it wrong or not adapting to the changes in the market because they are “stuck in their ways.”
You have to talk to all those you think are customer and get great feedback you can use to fix the problems and pain points they have as a group.
Customers will tell you what they are looking for.
You will not have everything clients want and have it working properly and that is ok. You solve a problem and continue to improve.

What has been the most impactful decision for your success during the pandemic?

Pivoting. They started to sell masks, either blank or printed with logos, etc. Access to their manufacturing power for clients.
They kept their team intact.
The sped up the release of Swag Distribution where they allowed clients to ship 1 item or a few at a time to individual addresses. Swag would hold the inventory and clients could send them out to whoever they want at any time. This made a huge difference and gave clients a new way to engage and promote.
They changed to give the customer experience people needed in the pandemic quickly.

How do you get customers today? What works? What doesn’t?

Started with knocking on doors
Graduated to Google Ads
Once customers were coming in, they thought long term, SEO
Content strategy is critical and where they focus.
They use content across all channels (web, social media etc.) to drive memory
The name of the business is by design because you type it right in. Like “googling” you “swag it.”

What applications do you use to manage your marketing, engagement, re-targeting, etc.?

They use Hubspot as their CRM and marketing automation.
One of the biggest tools they use for sales is Intercom. It allows them to engage in chat real time on the site with clients and help them to get what they want quickly and make the sale.
Intercom integrates into Hubspot

Tell us about your unique perspective on fear…

“Fear kills more dreams than failure ever could”
People get into their own way.
Take the first step.
Once you take the first step, you then focus on the problems, listening to the customer, and start building and creating
You will never have all the answers, so don’t be afraid of you don’t.
Use the fear to make you better and stronger as every time you push through it, you get better.

At the 35 min mark, we discuss fear further and asymmetric risks…

At the 40 min mark, Jeremy talks about trends he sees for the future…

Work at home is here to stay.
No more tradeshows, but buying for Virtual Events
People are buying for specific holidays they didn’t used to do like “Employee Appreciation Day.”
Gifting is becoming more important.

Best Quote: "Fear kills more dreams than failure ever could"

Jeremy's Misfit 3:

Be confident in yourself and your ability.
Be a good person. Treat others well.
Be healthy. Stay in good shape and take care of yourself.

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This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I want to talk to you about something very important in life, common sense and independent critical thinking. Sadly, as I watch our society, these things are more and more lost every day and yet, they are so important to maintain.

So, what is common sense and independent critical thinking? Well, the dictionary defines it pretty well stating common sense is sound practical judgment that is independent of specialized knowledge, training, or the like; normal native intelligence.

Personally, I like to think of it as thinking that is between intellectual rigidity and total emotional ignorance. Intellectual rigidity being that someone has just made up their mind based a fact, but not all the facts and will not consider any other possibilities or even change when new facts are presented. To me, this stifles the ability to learn and grow keeping people trapped in a single thought pattern. On the opposite end is total emotional ignorance which I deem as a complete disregard for the truth and facts, even when presented, because a person thinks their feelings are the truth.

Make no mistake, feelings are not facts or truth.

To illustrate this point I want to use something that is controversial and happening right now during the Wuhan Coronavirus – Mask wearing, mask mandates and the 6-foot rule.

First, let us look at what our leaders in the US have told us. On March 8th 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the lead infectious disease expert for the US response on the Wuhan virus advised Americans against wearing masks on 60 minutes stating “There is no reason to be walking round with mask.” As we all know, this position was reversed in the summer of 2020 and later Fauci said that the reason he originally said not to wear masks was to preserve PPE at the time and that he does not regret it. Now, for me at this point, common sense kicks in a little to ask a question, “So are you telling us that masks actually do work and we should have been wearing them from the start, but you lied to us because you wanted to preserve PPE? How many lives were lost because of not wearing masks or some sort of face covering because you told us not to?” Notwithstanding that bit of contradiction, let’s take further a look into masks.

You may not know this, but there are actually many contradictory scientific studies on mask wearing. Some studies say they work, others say they do not. Without getting into the do they or don’t they debate which will rage on probably forever, let’s look at things from an angle of common-sense using reason, not emotional ignorance or intellectual rigidity. It’s time to think independently.

When I look at what is happening with the virus a few things immediately standout.

Mask wearing and social distancing is at an all-time high, but cases of the virus worldwide are at an all time high. Think about that for a second. I’m not saying masks don’t help, but they certainly aren’t preventing the spread in a large way based on the data.

Another important fact to note is that the average mask and respirator filters particles that are 30-80 microns in size, but the virus particle size is about 10 microns. That means, even wearing a mask, every time you breath, particles are going through the mask – which may be why the spread has continued.

Another thing I have thought about is how the virus is transmitted. By all accounts, it is airborne and lives on surfaces if not cleaned or disinfected. This led me look at things we are doing such as the 6-foot rule and other practices and ask, do these really matter? Is the virus that smart that it knows how far 6 feet is? I played football from 2nd grade through college. It is a sweaty, bloody, fluid swapping sport and I loved playing it. Nowadays, I love watching it and found it interesting this past year that players would go on the field without a mask, sweating, breathing hard, tackling each other, huddling up after each play, and so on, but when they came off the field, they all had to wear a mask on the sideline. To me, that makes no sense. Does the virus actually know when players are on the field and off the field and only attacks them when on the sideline, so they need a mask?

Or what about how in some states you can go to a grocery store, but cannot go to church. Does the virus really leave you alone at the grocery store vs. when you sit in a pew?

When you think about it, it seems pretty ridiculous. It gets even more interesting when you do a little research on the origins of social distancing in the first place. They actually started from a 14-year old’s high school science project back in 2006 and 2007. If you want to learn more about it, you can read the New York Time’s April 2020 story about the origin and it is not a scientific process.

If you have common sense, even from the football example above, you would ask about the validity of social distancing and its efficacy, but knowing the origin is not based in any real scientific study that was thoroughly tested, you have to at least question it. Is the virus really that smart? Or is it like every other virus in history that works it way through a population until it reaches a point where enough people have gotten it and developed anti-bodies and/or have been inoculated through vaccination that it becomes like any other virus we all deal with in our lives? Based on common sense and what has happened to this point, personally I think it is the latter.

But, I don’t dismiss everything either. Instead, common sense tells me the real answer lies somewhere in the middle. Masks probably help some or in certain situations and so does distancing, but should I have to wear one to walk to my table in a restaurant where I then take it off and am breathing and talking with particles leaving my mouth floating throughout the air alongside everyone else’s particles in the restaurant – no. Should there be such drastic measures for a virus with a less than .9% death rate? Probably not.

One last point on cases. The flu typically has over 30 million cases each year in the US and we are currently past the halfway point of the flu season and there have been less than a million cases according to the CDC. Where are they? I don’t know if people know that the flu is another form of coronavirus, so common sense would tell me that we are probably counting cases of the flu as Wuhan virus and the case numbers are not as large as reported. Additionally, the flu kills up to almost 700,000 people a year worldwide and pneumonia kills a staggering 3 million+ per year (that’s 2016 data). You can find these stats on the CDC website and with a simple search. That’s almost 4 million deaths per year that the flu and pneumonia account for. My question, why haven’t we been wearing masks and social distancing our whole lives?

As you can see, common sense and independent critical thinking is more about asking questions and seeking answers than just making a decision based on a little bit of knowledge. Doing that is intellectual rigidity or emotional ignorance basing everything on feelings. You must ask questions and delve deeper and seek knowledge before forming an opinion or set of believes on something, especially major topics. That advice is not new. It can be found in the Bible, and from Plato, Aristotle and others. In fact, Thomas Jefferson told us to question with boldness when he said, “Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear.”

Hannah and everyone listening, we must question with boldness in our lives and not take everything at face value. We must use reason, common sense, and independent thinking and not allow ourselves to be too rigid or form our thoughts based solely on emotion. We must also not allow fear to drive our decision making. I’ve said many times that I believe entrepreneurs are the answer to the problems of this world as just about everything stems from entrepreneurial thinking, so we must strive and work hard to become the best thinkers we can be and help others throughout the world to think critically and use true common sense.

The world will be an even better place for everyone if we do.

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: We must use reason, common sense, and independent thinking and not allow ourselves to be too rigid or form our thoughts based solely on emotion. We must also not allow fear to drive our decision making.

Misfit 3:

Common sense and independent critical thinking is the place between intellectual rigidity and total emotional ignorance.
Feelings are not facts or truth.
We must strive and work hard to become the best thinkers we can be and help others throughout the world to think critically and use true common sense.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Karim Abouelnaga. Karim is CEO of Practice Makes Perfect (PMP), a Public Benefit Corporation that partners with K-12 schools to help narrow the opportunity gap.

Karim founded PMP at 18. He is an author, a TED Fellow and Echoing Green Fellow. At 23, he was named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 list in Education, and at 24 was named to Magic Johnson’s 32 under 32 list. In 2016, he was ranked in the top 3 most powerful young entrepreneurs under 25 in the world. Karim’s TED Talk was named one of the 9 Most Inspiring Talks of 2017 and his Forbes day-in-the-life feature is Forbes’ most viewed video of all time, collectively garnering over 5 million views.

If you’ve listened to this show for any length of time, you know that I believe traditional education is important, but self-education and learning to think independently is paramount to success. I’ve brought Karim on to talk about his experience and what he’s learned in creating PMP and in his entrepreneur journey.

www.KarimAbouelnaga.com

You have to know where you are from to know where you are going.

Karim’s parents were both Egyptian immigrants. His father had a dream to come to America to create a better life for himself. He was an entrepreneur that started from scratch. He drove a cab and the later started importing Egyptian collectables and selling them at street fairs. Eventually, this led to starting a little thrift shop. Karim spent a lot of time working in the shop helping the family business.

Karim and his siblings attended some of New York City’s most struggling schools. And early on school wasn’t that much of a priority. Then his father got sick with terminal cancer. It was then things changed.

As a kid, he hard that education was his way out. He hadn’t thought much of it, but after his father passed and he got into high school, he began to see what this meant.

He had some luck in that he had a series of mentors that helped him. He graduated at the top of his class. He went to college for business and management.

As he started furthering his education, the disparities in education became more apparent and he found his mission and purpose. He graduated from Cornell and started PMP as a way to solve the education gap with low-income schools – what he calls narrowing the opportunity gap.

10 years later, the company has grown and is a multi-million-dollar education enterprise.

What are some of the principles you learned from your father that have helped make you successful?

Show up early. Be reliable.
Foster an incredible work ethic.
The importance of learning to work for yourself.
Learn from those around and get mentors to help you – don’t stop learning.

At the 12 min 12:30 mark, Karim and I have a conversation about nature vs. nurture.

What is the challenge and opportunity that you see right now in education?

Money doesn’t solve problems, people do.
It is what you do and how you use the money to create the environment to succeed.
If you figure out something that works and prove it works, then the more money you put into, the more successful it can be.
So, the big challenge and opportunity is how to better use the money to really make sure it is being used effectively.
There is also a lot of bureaucracy and interia.
We also make assumptions that the problems we all see are being worked on already – and many times they are not.

How does entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ways of thinking help in education?

Entrepreneurs are problem solvers. They see a problem and design a solution.
There is no shortage of problems in education.
One big constraint is always limited resources and entrepreneurs are great at succeeding with limited resources.
Entrepreneurs are always great at addressing problems that they are intimately familiar with.

How do we better foster independent self-education in our education system, so student realize the importance of it alongside their formal education?

Humans respond well when we have purpose.
It comes down to intrinsic motivation and how we foster it in kids in school.
You have to kids understand what their purpose is.
The easier we can make the connection between what a kid will learn and the results it can have for them, the better.

At the 26 min mark, we talk about teaching entrepreneur principles in k-12.

It can possibly help.
The bigger thing is being able to customize education to each kid’s personal needs.
It is taking the large bureaucratic system and making it more nimble to cater on an individual level.

Tell us about your routine and what you’ve learned on how to be most productive….

Routine is key – it takes the thinking out of things.
Prioritize sleep and don’t compromise on it.
A lot of evenings are spent just wasting time and not productive – by going to bed earlier and getting up earlier, you will have more time to focus during the hours that matter most.
Constant learning and work on skillsets is also part of routine, doing them in your own way.
The hardest part is being focused and sticking with it.
The biggest difference between the most successful and the others is their ability to cope with boredom and continue along a same routine day in and out, as boring and same as it may seem.

Tell us about your new book and its mission…

It is all about purpose.
The goal of the book is to help people figure out their clarity of purpose.
There are key questions that help people understand and figure this out.
It is a great book for people who are starting something new and for people who are thinking about changing careers.
It is called the Purpose Driven Social Entrepreneur.

Best advice for a young entrepreneur starting out today?

Start! Don’t get stuck.
Much of entrepreneurship is learned as you go and through learning from others.
Going through the process is the best way to succeed.

Best Quote: You have to know where you are from to know where you are going...

Karim's Misfit 3:

Your attitude determines your altitude – Zig Ziglar
Less is more. The root of success is focus.
Don’t be ashamed to ask for help on your journey.

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Business movers is one of Wondery’s newest series. In the series, host Lindsay Graham dives deep into the inner workings of some of the most successful companies of all time. From the origin stories of their famed leaders to the million dollar idea that catapulted them to success, how exactly did these companies grow from an idea and a dream to multi-billion dollar corporations? Hear the landmark decisions, the scandals, and the stunning triumphs that made them who they are. And First up in series is Walt Disney! If you don’t know his story, you’ll be amazed.

Learn how, even when faced with harrowing obstacles and wide-ranging skepticism, he remained true to his vision and brought his world of magic to life. You’re about to hear a preview of Business Movers. While you’re listening, subscribe to Business Movers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or listen early and ad-free in the Wondery app by going to wondery.fm/lukasmovers.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is David Wood. David is the founder of Focus.CEO. He left a cushy Park Avenue job over 20 years ago to build the world’s largest coaching business. He has coached and mentored entrepreneurs worldwide on how to do what matters, get there faster, and be extraordinary. He has been ranked the #1 life coach on google and has built a following of hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs. He is also the author of Get Paid for What You Are.

Jack Canfield, author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series had this to say about David, “David walks his talk; I admire his willingness to put himself in the fire and do what it takes to make that next step.”

So, how has David done all of this? Simple, by learning what it means to truly focus and get to what truly matters and delivers results in life and business. And I’ve asked him to come on the show to share his best with you.

www.Focus.ceo

Get the checklist and training on how to double revenue: www.MyFocusGift.com

David began his career as a consulting actuary because he was good at math. He thought he had it made. He was from a country town in Australia and landed a job on Park Ave. in New York consulting with the largest companies in the world.

Then someone introduced him to personal growth and he was skeptical of it. His heart was cracked open after spending time with these people. He realized there was so much more. He didn’t want to work with people around numbers, but people around people. So, he devoted the next 20 years to learning from the best of the best and teaching others.

He now teaches people not only how to increase their income, but how to show up in all areas of their lives.

How can people get more in touch with themselves emotionally and with their vulnerability and use that to their advantage in life and business?

Early in his life, David had a tragedy – his little sister was killed getting off the school bus. He shut down much of his emotions and developed his cerebral side.
He got really good at thinking and finding solutions.
There are at least fields that we need to get interested in.
The first is the field of thinking and thought. Most of us are not aware of our thoughts. They just happen.
Second, the body and understanding the signs from it, like the need to take a deep breath.
Third is emotions. Understanding how we feel and why.
You can do courses to practice in these areas.
Most importantly is to slow down and check in in these areas to understand and then you can share them with others.

At the 12 min mark, David and I have a conversation on awareness. Many people are living on default and not aware to how to understand the 3 areas and use this understanding to help their lives and business.

Google “Authentic Relating” this it term that describes this field of study.

How does understanding this help you in life and business?

It can help you in leading people
It can help you in keeping key staff and growing them
It can help you get clients.
It will help keep customers.
It will help you in your marriage and your relationships with your kids.

Explain focus as you see it and teach it?

“The human mind is like a monkey on crack…”
At the 20 min mark, David gives an example of how this happens.
The problem as entrepreneurs is that we see all the options and opportunities around us and start to get scattered. We lose focus trying to accommodate all of this.
Work out what you are going to choose to care about for 12 months and narrow it down for 12 months.
Once you’ve chosen what to care about it, you then have to choose what not to care about.
Write these things down.
You have should have 12 months goals, 8-week goals, and then you need 7 days goals that you write down each week that are helping you get to the longer term goals.

Anything people can do daily to keep focus and/or remind them of keeping focus?

You can double your productivity with a simple checklist.
Make sure you have your 12-month goals and that you LOVE them.
Make sure you have 8-week goals that you will celebrate because when reached they are getting you close to your 12-month goals.
Book in your calendar for a weekly recurring 20-minute date with yourself. David calls this a CEO date. In this session, look back at what you did in the last 7 days and celebrate it. Then look at your 8-week goals and ask what you are going to choose to care about for the next 7 days. Write it down as that will be your 7-day goals.
Have a penalty that you do not want to keep you honest to doing them.
Daily, block off “sprints” in your calendar. These are focused time blocks with no interruptions. 2 hours blocks work well.
Put your phone on silent and let everyone around you know to support you and give you the time.

Get Paid for Who You Are – tell us about it…

The book is about what you care about and really love and how you make a living around it.
Even if you have to start it as a hobby – you need to scratch the itch.
If you track all your actions during the week, look at them and then ask, “Do I love doing it? Am I great at it?” If the answer is yes that is your genius zone.
With everything else, you need to get it off your plate and get someone else to do it or eliminate it. The more you are in your genius zone, the better you will be.

Talk to us about leadership and tough conversations?

Having a tough conversation is a leadership move.
Don’t let things hang in the air that you know need worked through delt with.
David gives multiple examples and it is best to just listen
The clue that you have a tough conversation opportunity is that you are feeling a bit awkward or uncomfortable. How you approach it is different in each scenario.

5 steps to double revenue?

Have your 12-week goals
Have your 8-week goals
Book your sprints and show up for them.
Have a weekly CEO data for yourself to pick your targets for the next 7 days
Set an alarm for the end of the day where you ask, “If I only got 2 things done tomorrow that would make the most difference, what would they be?” That will tell you where you need to start the next day.

Best Quote: The human mind is like a monkey on crack…

David's Misfit 3:

Love your goals. Have goals that if achieved would make you do a happy dance.
Have a “not to do” list. Have an agreement with yourself of what you won’t do.
Welcome everything. Embrace things and then think and choose action from there.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Eric Partaker. Eric is an interesting guy. He had been ranked "Top 30 Entrepreneurs in the UK", 35 and under, by Startups Magazine, and among "Britain's 27 Most Disruptive Entrepreneurs" by The Telegraph. His work has been featured on a number of major TV stations and networks, as well as in the Wall Street Journal and The Economist. He has also appeared as a guest judge on the The Apprentice.

Over the last 20 years Eric has advised Fortune 50 CEOs while at McKinsey & Company, helped build Skype’s multi-billion-dollar success story, and founded several companies, before becoming one of only 300 certified high-performance coaches in the world by the High-Performance Institute.

But, it’s not just that Eric coaches a very exclusive number of top performers throughout the world, it’s unique experience and way of looking at things that really makes his standout – and that is what I want him to share with you today.

www.EricPartaker.com

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Eric story takes place over a decade when we got on a plane and felt a little “off” at take-off. As the plane climbed, he began to feel pain in his chest and arm. Luckily, a doctor was on the plane and checked him and determined he was having a heart attack. The plane had to do an emergency landing.

He landed in a small town in France to a waiting ambulance and remembers saying to the paramedic, “Please don’t let me die. I have a 5-year-old son.” He ended up being ok as they got to him in time. Eric says that this was the start of history, because prior to that he was a workaholic working 100 hours a week.

It became his mission to help others avoid what he went through. But it took a little more time. Eric says that it was not even the heart attack that sparked the final change. He changed his health habits, but still 3 years later he still had not changed himself outside of that and woke one day to his wife sobbing telling him she was going to leave him if he didn’t change his ways. He was not present and available to his family. He needed to make changes on the home front. He realized there were 3 domains that we must be balanced in: Health, Wealth, and Relationships.

Define High Performance and what it means. What does a true Top Performer look like?

Take a step and look at the why
Only 2% of people that reach their full potential. 98% don’t. It’s terrifying and liberating at the same time.
The liberating part is that you can be part of the 2%.
Think of performing at your best in the life domains: Health, Wealth, and Relationship.
Peak Performance gives a set of tools to be your best in each of the areas.
Don’t picture the Ferrari. Picture what it means for you to be your best.

Are there habits that people can develop to perform at their highest potential? What are the traps that keep them from doing this?

At the 13 min mark, Eric talks about the 3 Alarms.

He starts with I-P-A.

Identity: Behavior follows identity – you have to choose who you want to be before anything.

Productivity: Knowledge isn’t where the game is played. It’s readily available. The game is turning knowledge into action.

Anti-Fragility: The more you get hit, the stronger you become. The true opposite of fragile. Things will not go to plan. You must step into it, rise to the challenge, and get stronger because of it.

Understanding this is one thing, but putting it into action is another…How does someone choose who they want to be and so on? Focus on 3 things, the 3 domains.

At the 18 min mark, Eric talks about us putting on our hero costumes and instinctively knowing what to do.

Remember, behavior follows identity. We did this as kids all the time.

The practice and simple practical tool for remembering this is the 3 Alarms.
Take out your phone and set 3 alarms each for one of the domains – but in the alarm write out what you at your best would be called in each of the domains. What is your super hero name for each one?
For example, in the health department for Eric, his alarm says “World Fitness Champion” because that is who he is when he shows up in the gym. At 6:30am each day, this goes off for him. He steps into this identity when he works.
9am is “World’s Best Coach”
6:30pm is “World’s Best Husband and Father”
Linking this intentionality to the best time of day for it is game-changing.

At the 21-minute mark, we discuss how little reminders like the 3 Alarms and others can make a difference even subliminally and using them to create your future self. We also discuss choice and the role it plays in your success in your life. It is best to listen.

What are some of the traps that you see keeping people from reaching their true potential?

Procrastination. It kills success.
It ends up being a self-defense tactic because what you know you need to do is not something you want to do.
The simple solution is to change the way you talk. When you feel the urge to procrastinate, you should stop and take notice of what is going in your head.
Instead of saying “I have to,” change it to “I choose to.” Even if you don’t like it, you are still choosing it.
Then give it a small of time, like 5 mins. So instead it becomes, “I choose to start for just 5 mins” - this defeats procrastination.

2 Special Forces techniques to increase success?

Some of Eric’s clients are ex-special forces and are masters of anti-fragility.
One of the things they do all the time are “pre-mortems” and “post-mortems.”
This is a great anti-fragility builder.
When you visualize everything ahead of time and note any potential obstacles and how you will overcome, it helps tremendously as you begin the project, task, strategy, or going after a goal, etc.
Ask, “If I were to fail completely in this, what are the reasons this would happen?”
Then figure out what you can do ahead of time to overcome the reasons. Then, when done, do an analysis of what happened and what you learned from it – and what you could do better the next time around.

The 3-13-3 multiplier. Tell us about that and how it relates to entrepreneurs.

The first 3 is the 3 Alarms

The 13 is adding 13 weeks back to your life every year.
The average person loses 28% of their work day to the ineffectiveness of multi-tasking. (this stat comes from the book The One Thing)
Taking out 6 weeks for vacation per year, that means at 28%, we are losing 13 weeks per year of productivity. Over a 40 year career, that is an entire decade!
The solution is to master the art of single tasking.
Get old school with a time sheet and track every activity you do in a day for a week to see where you time is going.
When you get better a single tasking, you get more productive and you add more time back into your life as you are becoming more productive.
You can increase the ability to achieve your goals 3x by taking on the avoidance of loss head on. We have an over-aversion to loss.
If you tie a monetary loss to something you are avoiding that if you continue to avoid and not do, you have to pay up. Basically a bet. It will motivate you to do it. You can also make the payout go to something you despise which further incentivizes you as you will not want to pay it.

What is the one thing that has surprised you most on your entrepreneur journey and what is your biggest takeaway from it?

Becoming world class at something is not nearly as hard as people make it out to be.
It requires you really understanding where you are going to be your best in.
Blocking your calendar and time to work on and develop those skills.
Then show up and have respect for yourself to keep your appointment with yourself to do it.
It is so much closer than people realize.

Best Quote: Becoming world class at something is not nearly as hard as people make it out to be. It is so much closer than people realize.

Eric's Misfit 3:

Choose your identity. Choose who you want to be. You did it as a kid and you can do it now.
Measure how you are doing daily. Show up and do you best. At the end of the day give yourself a W for a win and an L for learn. No more than 6 L’s in a month.
Remember to not take things too seriously. Have a good time.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Dylan Blau. What does dog training have to do with massive success in entrepreneurship? A lot actually. Dylan is the founder of Epic Dog Pros and a professional dog training expert and behaviorist. He has rehabilitated thousands of dogs; training some of the most challenging cases from extreme aggression to dogs scared of everything. His consistency & dependability is incomparable allowing him to do what others cannot.

Aside from that, he is a Public Figure, Mentor, Life Coach, and social media/PR wizard who used these tools to create all of his businesses and grow exponentially. In fact, hacking social media was the key to showcasing his talents in dog training to the world and making him known selling millions’ worth of dog training programs. Nowadays, he works with Celebrities, YouTube Influencers, Facebook Public Figures, Authors & other Social Media Celebrities to help them maximize their selling potential on social media.

So, going back to my question at the beginning. What does dog training have to with massive entrepreneur success? Dylan’s shares how he used everything he knows about dog training to create a massive brand and business.

@WeAreDogTraining on Instagram

Dylan has been training dogs for 13 years and never expected to be in that business. He originally went to school for musical theatre and even did standup comedy for a while. He thought he was headed into acting. He ended having an opportunity in Arizona to work with dogs and learn lessons from watching Cesar Milan. This inspired him and a friend to rescue dogs and train them. And he did. He found he understood it almost intuitively and continued to develop the skill. He felt that he needed to share his knowledge and what he learned to help others learn it.

As he went down the entrepreneur path, he found people like Tai Lopez and others. He immersed himself in learning top minds. This let him to fall in love with social media as it became an amazing stage for him to share everything he was doing. It began to take off. After training thousands of dogs and being known for really helping problem dogs and aggressive dogs, his teachings have been adopted by many throughout the world.

“Training a dog is solving a problem. And working with animals is almost more fun than working with people as they don’t give you excuses. They only show you their limitations. The problems to solve.”

Humans put up barriers and resistance. People can go to therapy for years and never solve their problems. And several years ago, Dylan doubled down on his brand on social media as a dog trainer and he now has hundreds of thousands of followers across many platforms and ways to get to his teaching and training. His whole business literally runs on social media and has allowed him to sell millions in his programs.

During Covid, he offered to help others with the strategies he has used to grow online and now his latest business, The Blau Agency has grown tremendously.

What are the principles that make for successful dog training that relate well to entrepreneurship?

Consistency – Training a dog is all about creating a consistent day to day routine of actions that will help the dog to grow and progress. It is the same with an entrepreneur. Every day you work on the same things and trying to get better at them. Clarity –
Clarity is one of the biggest reasons why dog trainers and dogs, and business owners and entrepreneurs will succeed or not. Things must be clear, easy to follow, and understand. The opposite of clarity is confusion and when we and dogs get confused, we shut down. Dylan uses the example of ordering a black coffee vs. trying to figure out Starbucks’ men. Black coffee is easy and universal.
Confidence: You need to build confidence in your dog just as you need to build confidence in yourself as a business owner or entrepreneur. Fear is a terrible motivator. Building confidence builds motivation and confidence comes from healthy communication that is clear (clarity) and consistent.
Patience: You must be patient with the process as you put in the work in the other areas with a dog and as a business owner or entrepreneur.

At the 21-minute mark, we discuss these and my DCP formula in more detail and get into overcoming the challenges that happen even if you are doing well. We also discuss structure. It’s best to just listen.

When you hit a roadblock, your ability to adapt, evolve, and problem solve comes down to your mantra (your battle cry) and your confidence/clarity in that you can work around it.

Talk to us about hacking social media to grow a business, what should we know?

Social media are free platforms where you can show people who you are every day and get attention to your brand and your business.
With the right strategy, it can seem effortless.
Dylan explains social media using his father, who is a successful, old school entrepreneur who never used social media. These business can and will continue to succeed.
But Dylan said that social media is “Missed Potential Income.”
Instagram is one of the best platforms to be on.
.Tik Tok is now a must and has taken over social media.
LinkedIn is still good.
Parler is a new one.
Dylan focuses the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, and Youtube.
Dylan learned that the more he showed people, the more they responded and connect with him.
If you can use social media to make your customers feel like they know you, the more successful you will be.
If people see you consistently with confidence and clarity talking about a topic that you know, they will come to you because you are always there when the time is right for them.
Every day, Dylan wants people to see him, engage with him, and have an opportunity to interact with them.
Dylan was not originally a fan of Tik Tok, but now in his mind, it is the #1 place to be currently. It is a goldmine for anybody and Tik Tok will allow you have to fund with social media – it is all about being relatable and vulnerable.

How are you able to put yourself across all these platforms, how much time are spending a day, and what is your strategy to monetize? How do you manage it all consistently every day?

First, you need to present yourself in a way that gives you credibility. People judge your social media pages the way they judge a book cover.
You want to develop your brand to be credible. It could be with PR, features, etc.
Then you need to generate an outflow – a way to connect and develop a relationship.
Relationships create opportunities.
Connect with people – Dylan does this through Direct Messaging
Opportunities create sales.
Collaborations are important such as going on podcasts or with other social media influencers.
You can certainly hire people to help you like VA’s or direct hires.
Focus on what you are good and get help for the rest.
At the 40 min mark, Dylan talks about how creates content and documents what he is doing as he goes.
Documentary style content is the easiest to make. Show people the inside look at things.
To collaborate – Dylan will go onto someone’s page and like 10 photos that he thinks is meaningful to the creator, then comment on 1-2 posts, then follows them. Once they respond and follow back, he direct messages them with a simple message to connect.
He and his assistants send messages connecting every day.

“The more you know yourself the more you can show yourself.”

Any last thoughts?

Have fun. Enjoy your life.
Money is a result of doing what you love to do.
Play the long game. Don’t think short term.

Best Quote: Training a dog is solving a problem. And working with animals is almost more fun than working with people as they don’t give you excuses. They only show you their limitations. The problems to solve.

Dylan's Misfit 3:

Taking responsibility. You are wherever you are in life, because of everything you’ve done. You are in control.
Ask for help. Life is more fun with people. Surround yourself with great people to help you grow.
Have fun. Enjoy life! Believe in yourself to be yourself.

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Misfit Nation! Welcome to the Misfit Entrepreneur 2020 year in review where each year I attempt to boil down all of the incredible, useful information, strategies, and tips that our guests have given on the show into less than one hour for you…with a few surprises thrown in. Now, it’s impossible for me to go over every single best piece of advice and that is why I urge you to take some time and go through the Misfit Archives to see which episodes resonate most with you, but in doing this episode, my goal is to spur ideas – to give you a lightning strike that propels you down a path of action to better improve yourself, your life, and your business or career in 2021!

That’s why I do this show – to not only provide a treasure trove of some of the best information to succeed in life and business for my daughter, Hannah, for when she grows up, but to give you a place where you know you can come each and every week to get inspired and find real, tried and tested tips, secrets, and strategies to succeed in all areas of life, and to share different perspectives from some of the highest performing entrepreneurs in the world with you. I truly believe that one great episode can change someone’s life and that’s what we set out to do each and every week.

But, before I begin I want to tell you something. I want to say “Thank YOU.” Thank you for listening. Thank you for your support of the show and thank you for sharing our message. Without you and the amazing feedback members of this audience give me every week, it would not be half of what it is. Because of you, in just a couple short years, this show has reached hundreds of thousands of people in over 140 countries. I am truly humbled and in awe at what we’ve done together and I am excited about having an even bigger impact with your help in 2021.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, and I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did creating it for you!

Misfit 3:

Listen to 2020 Misfit Entrepreneur Year in Review
Pick 3 things from the episode to take action on in your life and business.
Make 2021 your best year yet!

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Patti Plough. Patti is a serial entrepreneur and the President and CEO of Excel Legacy Group. The company works in conjunction with leaders in the ESOP advisory industry. They specialize in tailored solutions to help their clients achieve their ESOP goals. Their unique approach focuses on the goals and strategic priorities of each selling shareholder in addition to the creation of an employee-owned business.

For those of you that are not familiar with an ESOP. It is an employee stock ownership plan. The plan gives workers stock in the company as part of their compensation and they get to share in the benefits of being an owner in the company.

There are a lot of benefits to both the employees and owners of a business and this is one subject that I think every entrepreneur should know about and Patti is the go-to expert in the space.

https://ExcelLegacyGroup.com/

Patti’s background is in nursing and she spent the first 15 years of her career as a bedside nurse before becoming an entrepreneur. She then had what she calls a “divine appointment.” She was contacted by the company she was working for to do an insurance screening on a VIP for a big railroad. When she got there, the gentleman asked her if the company did wellness programs. She checked into it and her company did not.

She had to find a wellness company and found the one and only around. She contacted them and found out the owner had just lost his only client to budget cuts. She decided to partner with them and bring the service to VIP. From there, she kept going and built the company into a multi-million business in the corporate wellness space and after many years, turned the company into an ESOP.

She created other businesses along the way using the same attitude and persistence.

At the 8 min mark, Patti tells the story of how they went from potentially selling their business to private equity to choosing to do an ESOP.

Patti’s biggest concern was what would happen to her employees if they sold.
Patti and her partners would come out favorably in a transaction, but there was uncertainty about the fate of the employees.
While meeting with a financial professional to discuss the transaction, the concept of the ESOP was brought up and discussed.
It was like a light bulb went off.

Take us through the entire concept of ESOP and the benefits to the employees and owners in choosing this route…

The benefits to the employees including them keeping their jobs, ownership in the company, etc.
The benefits to the owners are that they can get fair market value for the company.
ESOP is like a retirement program for the employees, but they are now owners and get shares. They can cash those shares in after a vesting period.
The employee can retire and cash in their shares.
The owners can still be active in the business.
As the company grows the value of the shares grow.
It also gives the ability for tax deferral as it functions like a 401k type plan.
The ESOP is free to employees and as the shares accumulate in value and that is the retirement fund.
Owners realize the value by the company buying the shareholders out over time.
There is benefit to selling 100% of the shares as it allows the company to become a tax free entity, like a 501c3
The savings in corporate taxes helps produce enough revenue to pay the owners out over time.
Leveraged ESOP allow owners to sell their shares over time to the corporation over a period of time (typically 5-10 years)

At the 21 min mark, Patti talks more about the tax side of things.

Other things we should know? Any risks?

There is an opportunity to get a second bite at the apple and sell shares twice.
The reason Patti is so passionate about the ESOP is that she feels there is no risks and only benefits to the program.
It is important to make sure you systems and process are well honed in and the company is not dependent on the president or CEO. It helps valuation.

Talk to us about how you roll out an ESOP to an organization…

First, you do a very high level valuation.
Then, take time to discuss and understand the structure possibilities and vesting schedules.
Decide how the owners will get paid for their shares
Decide how you will do payout while keeping the company healthy.
Make sure the employees can benefit in the best way possible.
You will them select a trustee and do financial due diligence and valuation. This is typically done behind the scenes and worked through before announcing anything to employees.
You will then finalize with the trustee to agree on a number an finalize the ESOP.
Lastly, you announce, rollout to employees, and celebrate!

What have you learned about how to build a great business?

It’s the people that see your vision, believe in your vision and help you to build and grow that vision.
The credit goes to them.
You have to operationalize and do all those things, but your business will only be as good as the people you have in it. Take care of them.

Advice for someone starting out today in a new business?

Do NOT give up. Never, ever give up. It took 15 years for Helix to grow and become what it is today.
Never give up on your vision and dream.
Push forward.
Passion and persistence. Things don’t typically happen as quickly as you anticipate.

Best Quote: What have you learned about how to build a great business? "It’s the people that see your vision, believe in your vision and help you to build and grow that vision."

Patti's Misfit 3:

Always listen to your first witness, follow your gut.
Surround yourself with people that are more success than yourself and learn from them. True mentors.
Passion and persistence. Stay committed to your dream. Do not give up.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Samit Patel. Samit is World’s #1 Crowdfunding Marketer. He is the founder of Joopio and several other businesses that help grow, scale, and get companies known. He and his teams create “done for you” campaigns that are unique to each product and service.

Samit has been featured everywhere from Forbes, Fast Company, Alphr, and is tapped by many of the world’s biggest influencers and companies to help them get their products and services off the ground or better known.

Samit has created a process that ensures products and services get the attention needed to be funded and sell into the future. They do everything from making sure pre-launch is right all the way through to E-commerce after launch. And that is what I want to dig into with him in this episode, to have him teach you how he and his teams do it.

www.SamitPatel.net

Samit got pushed into business when he went to university to help pay the bills. He set up an events company that helping make $1000 or so a week as an 18-year old. He graduated in 2009 into a horrible job market. And after making $1000 a week, was not going to take a job for less, so he started a number of other businesses in sectors like travel, beauty, and he says, “You name it, I tried to do it.” He then got into a partnership for a new business where he worked for over a year to make it come to fruition and just when it was about to launch, got kicked out of the partnership.

He was dejected and lost and hit a bottom. It took a freak accident that happened to his younger brother that led him take a consulting role for a startup and had success. It took him about 10 years and pretty much giving up before things happened for him and he found a big success.

The freak accident that happened was his brother drowning and being brought back to life. It made him realize that he needed to rethink his whole life and really get focused – a wake up call that he was nowhere near where he wanted to be.

It was in this startup that he built a campaign to launch the product it did over $1.3 mil, one of the top crowdfunded products at the time. He then went on to another product in the skiing industry with great success and further honing his skills. And nowadays, he raised over $30 mil launching product across 40 different industries.

Why is Crowdfunding such a good way to launch a product or business?

It’s a great way to validate your product or service and see if it is truly worthwhile.
It allows you test it out with consumers and get feedback.

What are the pitfalls or bad side Crowdfunding? What mistakes do people need to be careful to avoid?

If you look at Crowdfunding as your only channel and pin your hopes solely on it, then most will be disappointed.
Think of Crowdfunding as a part of a glorified PR campaign introducing your product to the market, but you cannot just stop there – you need all of the other marketing, engagement, resources and actions to go with it (social media, e-commerce, etc.)
You also should use a multi-platform approach across the different crowdfunding platforms across the world.

Take us through your process and how you do what you do. (it’s best to listen, but here are some short notes)

First, you don’t necessarily need to create your product. You could go to Alibaba and find a product that is close to your idea and use that.
Second, create a landing page which has the product, 3 core features, and why people should buy it.
Third, you can start advertising and sharing it on Facebook groups or spend a little money on Facebook advertising. You will be asking for their name, email, etc. and your goal is to get at least 100.
Fourth, you will put them in a VIP or community group, so when they sign up, on the thank you page and you can push them to be part of the group.
These groups are critical because they give the feedback you need to make your product great and give you ideas for ancillary products.
Fifth, you can jump on a call with each of the 100 people to walk through the product and discuss it in detail with them – and sell it to them.
At this point, you will have validation of interest in the product or not.
You can also test pricing at this point to see if people will pay for it or put a “deposit” down for it once it is available.
Sixth, scale the whole process up. If you spend $20k, you should be seeing a 3x return and give you 10-15k leads when the campaign goes live.

What else should we know about how to launch a product right?

Samit will always launch on Crowdfunding first because it gives validation and gives early adopters.

Samit has a system he calls TLFES:

Traffic
Leads
Funnels
Engagements
Sales
You should also put your face behind the product – it will separate you and help you connect with your early adopters.

At the 30 min mark, Samit and I discuss other nuances of launching.

When you launch, you want to get 200 sales as that will get you trending and get the platform promoting your launch. Samit says it takes about $20k spend to achieve that.

At the 32:30 mark, Samit explains more about how Crowdfunding platforms work…

Crowdfunding platforms have algorithms just like social media and if you generate 200 backers on your first day, you will trend on the platform.
Kickstarter, for example, has “Projects We Love” that highlights products that are trending. 200 sales are the key.

What are the lessons you’ve learned being an entrepreneur? What are the principles you use to succeed?

Structure is important.
Samit has had to become a lot more patient and less YOLO.
Putting systems in place are very important to success in anything. Personal, business, etc.

Best Quote: You should also put your face behind the product – it will separate you and help you connect with your early adopters.

Samit's Misfit 3:

Don’t be ashamed of getting a job to help you while you are getting your business off the ground.
Work to replace yourself. Create process and SOP’s for the actions you do so you can hand them off.
Create the structure for yourself. Health, family, etc. Beware of chasing the money. You do not get time back that could have been spent with your loved ones and friends. Make time for it.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Per Sjofors. Let me ask you something…How do you know how to price your products and services? How do you know which customer segments to focus on that will pay your top dollar for your product and services?

For most, it is a shot in the dark. They either price based on their costs and build in a margin or do what they “think the market will want or be in the range of the competition.” But is that reality? What if there was science behind pricing that could help you know exactly how to price your products and services and the best market segments to sell to with pinpoint accuracy?

Well, that is what Per has dedicated to better part of his life to doing. Per is a serial entrepreneur creating businesses that have gone from $0 - $72m/2 years, $10m - 28m/3 years, 0 - $15m/2 years. His methods have helped over 700 businesses all over the world and has been featured everywhere from the WSJ to the Street. His latest business is called Atenga and it is a culmination of all his work on pricing into a AI powered solution that shows companies how to price their products the best way and the best markets to sell to.

I bet you can guess why I’ve asked him to be on the show and that is to share his wealth of knowledge about what he has learned on how to price products and find target markets.

www.Atenga.biz

Per had a chance to run a couple of companies in Europe before coming to the U.S. to run companies and build them here. Pricing products and services was always a challenge and hit and miss. Everything per studied was very academic and theoretical that is couldn’t help them understand why some pricing strategies worked and others didn’t. Per saw a gap in the market in helping companies not only price their products and optimize the market fit, but to also find the right target markets to drive the highest sales volume and profitability.

He started a consulting firm providing those services.

What is the #1 thing companies get wrong when it comes to pricing their products and determining their target markets.

The first mistake is that companies guess or price on “what feels good.” Doing this leaves money on the table.
The second mistake is looking at your competitors and price based on them. But companies have no idea how their competition arrived at their pricing?
The third mistake is to price based on the cost of the product. The buyer doesn’t care about the cost – they care about the value they get or perceive to get.

At the 11:40 mark, Per goes through his method for pricing…it’s best to listen

It starts with market research that allows prediction of sales volume at different prices. This gives the base.
Then, the prediction needs segmented with anything about the buyer to get the persona of the buyer that will buy at the highest prices and see real value. (Attributes that describe a customer – age, net worth, industry, where they live, interest areas, etc.)
You then look at the features and benefits that generate the highest sales volume at the highest price. Some things may need developed or created based on the buyer’s need.
You will also look at all sales channels and marketing messages to see what works and what doesn’t, so you can focus in on just what works in conjunction with the other areas above.

Can you give some action steps in each area that an entrepreneur could take on their own?

Go talk 2 dozen potential customers and present your product or service.
Then ask them 2 very simple questions.
- What do you think is a price for the product or service that is so low that you don’t think the product or service can continue to deliver the benefit that you expect?
- What is the price that is so high that is so high that it doesn’t matter, however good the benefit, that it will just be too expensive and you would not buy it?
Once you have these answers and data, you can take the averages and you will have a good range where your pricing should be.
This gets you in the ballpark and let’s you know where your price should fall.

What goes into increasing a customer’s willingness to pay?

There are tricks you can use to increase sales volume and value perception.
We as humans are fallable.
When we make buying decisions, we are influenced by our environment.
We also make decisions based on emotion first.
Whenever we make decisions, we are always making it in context.
Every time you sell something you have to make context.
One of the most effective ways of doing this is by price anchoring. This is where you present price in context.
For example, start by presenting something very expensive and then from there provide options that are less expensive and what you really want to sell.

A great example is the gold Apple watch for $17,000 when Apple really wanted to sell the $349 watch. The press was covering the $17,000 and made the $349 look very affordable.

You should have a “good, better, best” strategy. You start by presenting the best, then the better, and then the good.
The idea is to make the option you want to sell your product at look inexpensive and the best value in context to the other options.

At the 28 min mark, Per talks about how buyers lie in giving feedback…

Buyers lie because they know the next time they are going to buy from this company, they want a better deal. They want more features and want a better price.
This typically ends up with a product having too many features and benefits at a price that is too low.
This is why buyer feedback should be done by a 3rd party and anonymously.
A great way to think about it is when you go and buy a car. You don’t come right out and tell them the one you want, and you’d be happy to pay a little more to get it. Instead, you act more reluctant and work to get a deal and cheaper price.
When working to figure out pricing, you have to put your own buyer hat on.

What advice can you give on starting and growing a business?

The hardest part of the entrepreneurial journey is really to understand the customer.
Customers may not think like you or see the need or problem like you. Remember, that a customer is not you and you really need to work to understand your key customer types.
The #1 thing is to get sales. If you cannot sell, you cannot survive.
You must focus on creating a sustainable sales operation in your company
Make sure your investment in the company really helps drive sales results – especially in the beginning.
Another thing that is really important is NOT TO DELAY! Get started and going. Beware of the “we just need to do X to get going…” There will always be the “X”, Get going!

Any other advice for entrepreneurs?

People are the most important asset in any company.
The one thing that is most important for people is to feel that they have a role in the company.
Management needs to open to share successes and mistakes and include your people in your process.
It’s about everyday inclusion and appreciation for the people in your company.

Best Quote: Buyers lie when giving feedback, because they know the next time they are going to buy from this company, they want a better deal. They want more features and want a better price.

Per's Misfit 3:

You are going to make a difference. Only you can make your difference for your business, your personal life, and those around you. It is only through your actions that you can do this.
Data makes the difference. Gut feel is not going to get your business to its best place. You must have data and need to focus on meeting objective you set based on data.
Hire the best, give them leeway, include them, and reward them when they do good. Work with them when the screw up, because like you, they will.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ty Montague. Ty is co:founder and CEO of New York-based co:collective. co: is a growth accelerator that works with leadership teams to develop purpose-led business strategy and to implement that strategy through innovation in the customer experience. Founded in 2010, the co: team has been fortunate to work with everyone from Google to IBM, MetLife, PUMA, Microsoft, Capital One and many more of the Fortune 500.

Ty has been named one of the 50 most influential creative people of the past 20 years by Creativity Magazine, as well as one of the Top Ten Creative Minds in business by Fast Company magazine. He is the author of the best-selling book, True Story: How To Combine Story and Action to Transform Your Business.

And that is where I want to focus with him in this episode – how we can best tell our story and use it to grow our business and ourselves.

https://cocollective.com/

Ty was an unlikely entrepreneur and somewhat of a late bloomer. He started out in New Mexico and didn’t really know what he wanted to do with his life. He worked as a raft guide and an auto mechanic before moving to New York where he worked as a bartender.

He met someone across his bar that was in advertising and told him to explore it. He took to it and was good. He ended up working at some of the top firms with a lot of success. About 15 years ago, Ty began to notice the differences between advertising and what companies actually were doing. He also saw a new kind of business, one that had a story and conveyed the story through action and the customer experience than through paid media.

Ty came to call these companies “story-doing” companies rather than “story-telling” companies. As he compiled his list of these companies, he found a new passion for them. This caused him to leave traditional advertising in 2010 and create Co-Collective to help companies define their higher purpose or quest - then help them put their quest to work throughout their business and with customers.

Talk to us about story-telling vs. story-doing…

The first company Ty noticed that was a story-doer was Starbucks. He noticed they didn’t advertise traditionally. Starbucks built their company on a quest and creating an experience like no other for customers.
Others included companies like Redbull, Tom’s Shoes, Tesla and others.
As he studied these companies, he found that they operate in a different way.
Ty then codified it.

Take us through what you codified…

Companies need to figure out their quest. People want to do business with companies that share their values – and companies need to define their values.
A quest is a crystallization of your higher purpose as a business, the generous change you want to see in the world, and the rallying cry that want to use to get all of your employees and customers to follow you to the goal you want to achieve.
This comes from experience, truth, and the company’s’ DNA.
The story has multiple parts.
It has the truth about the protagonist which is the truth about the company’s – the challenges/opportunities they face and secret weapons the company has.
- It has the about the stage they are on. The truth about the market and landscape that the company’s story plays out on.
- It has the truth about the participants or customers. Who is the company for and how can the company help the participants get what they need out of the relationship.
- The truth about the antagonist. Who is the dragon the company is working every day to slay?
- Once these are defined, you use them to become a story doer.

At the 13 min mark, Ty gives an example of a company using Tesla that has all the elements of the story and what they are…it’s best to listen.

A good quest should be the answer to the question, “What business are you actually in?”

The protagonist and antagonist are half of the quest, what is the other half?

It is what you do with a quest once you have it.
It is important the CEO participates in this and signs off.
Once you have the question, you determine the actions to make it a reality.
The business model is defined by the quest.
The things you do inside your company is defined by the quest.
It should determine the things you celebrate and reward in your company, so it is real for employees.
The quest informs more traditional marketing. Your branding, messaging, communications.
The quest also determines your capabilities.

At the 19 min mark, Ty talks about Apple, it’s quest, and the changes since Steve Jobs’ passing.

Steve Jobs referred to Apple computers as bicycles for the mind.
Believe it or not the most efficient form of transportation ever created is the bicycle. It is easy, simple, and efficient. Apple’s quest lives in that.

At the 22:30 mark, Ty goes through a checklist of questions a company needs to answer about its quest.

Do you have a clear purpose in the world beyond making money?
Have you done the work to define and align on your quest?
Does your purpose frame the business that you are in and are you using it as a tool to define your internal culture and customer experience?
Is your purpose being used to drive and action and engagement with employees and your customers?
Does your purpose define a clear enemy, so it’s not just what you are for, but what you are against?
Have you focused on a few transformative actions that bring your purpose to life in the world?
Are people outside the company engaging?

How does “story-led innovation” fit into this?

Ty uses the example of Redbull in thinking they are the action sports sports company that is on a quest to help us push out limits and live our lives to the extreme.
Redbull created their own event Flutag, instead of putting their name on advertising at events and now it has hundreds of thousands of participants a year.
Your quest will help determine where you innovate and how you differentiate.

What is something an entrepreneur can do today around story-doing that will make a difference for them?

Ask the first question. What is your purpose outside of making money?
How is your purpose going to make the world a better place, inspire employees to want to help accomplish it, and inspire customers to be a part of it and tell others about it?

What other trends are you seeing in business, entrepreneurship, and marketing?

Diversity on your team is something every entrepreneur needs to think about.
Millennials and Gen Z consumers will pay attention to that.
Beware the shadow side of being quest led it being a novelty. Authenticity matters. If you are not doing your quest, people will call you out and expose you.

With all you’ve done, what has surprised you most on your entrepreneur journey?

How much Ty loves it.
He worked for people into his mid-40’s and it felt like a real risk.
His only regret is not doing it sooner.
Make the leap!

Best Quote: Companies need to figure out their quest. People want to do business with companies that share their values – and companies need to define their values.

Ty's Misfit 3:

Quit caring about what anyone else thinks. The best most successful people pursue their truth and don’t let people get in their head.
Figure out what you would do if you won the lottery and start doing it right now.
Try to leave the world better than when you came into it.

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This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I want share with you an abbreviated version of a talk I have been doing called “The 5 Principles to Thrive, Succeed, and Live Your Best Life.” It is resonating greatly right now during the pandemic, but the principles are timeless.

I want to start by asking you and anyone listening a question. And that is, “Do you know what chances of being alive are? Let me explain. The chances of you being alive are the same as if 2.5 million people got together, roughly the population of a city the size of Chicago or San Diego, to play a game of dice, each person with a TRILLION sided dice, and they all roll the dice and come up with the exact same number. I’m going to let that sink for a second.

To put it numerically, your chances of being born are 1 in 4 TRILLION.

There is no way around it – you are a miracle it.

I share this for perspective. No matter what your circumstances, no matter who you are, no matter where you are in your life right now, you are a miracle. The fact that you are here means that trillions of others that could have been will never exist. Literally, one step in the wrong direction on a battlefield in history and you don’t exist. One rock in space hits another a different way – and someone else is in your place.

You are one of the greatest miracles ever created. Cherish this fact.

And that brings me to principle #1: Keep Perspective.

You must keep perspective in your life. No matter what is happening, good or bad, right or wrong – you will do well to keep yourself grounded and maintain perspective.

Having good perspective will not only help you to think better and make better decisions, but it will also give you the ability to find happiness at any point in your life.

There are always things to be grateful for and to live for and into our lives…Now, that doesn’t mean we don’t have tough times in our lives. We all do. Right now, the whole world is turned upside and will be potentially changed forever creating some challenging time.

But when these times come, it is very important for all us to control what can be controlled and let the rest go.

Above all else, there is one thing we can control that makes the most difference in our lives – and that is our mindset and our conditioning. You see. we have two minds. We have a conscious mind that we are “aware” of… It is the mind that you use when you “think” to do something. But, we have another much more powerful mind…the subconscious mind. This is the part of your brain the runs you without you even knowing. Think about it – how much do you “think” to throw a ball, drive a car, brush your teeth. You don’t – you just do it.

The subconscious is the most powerful part of our mind and the conditioning it has received determines much of our thinking, decisions, and how we operate in life. Have you ever asked yourself or wondered, “Where do my thoughts come from?” or ever made a decision where you said afterward, “Why did I do that?”

You did it because it was the automatic response your subconscious was conditioned to….As powerful as it is, it is actually not that smart in that it doesn’t decide if the conditioning it has received is truly the best thing for you or not. It just follows the programming.

This is why a person’s mind can actually be their biggest obstacle to success – because whatever your subconscious is programmed to is where you end up.

The key is to understand this and use this awareness to stop debilitating conditioning and reprogram your mind with the way you want to think and the thoughts you want to have.

And that is Principle #2: Learn to control your mindset and conditioning.

Principle #3 is short and quick. You must balance faith and optimism. The best example of this is a story I’ve shared before about Vice Admiral James Stockdale, who was a PO in Vietnam for about 7 years. I urge you to go read his story and his interview by Jim Collins. Essentially, the biggest lesson he shared is “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose-- with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

You must always balance faith and optimism and come to grips with reality. If you develop the ability to do this, you can make it through anything. Remember, as I started with, you are a miracle and you are here because you were destined to be here. Things are happening as they are supposed to. And you get to choose how you respond and react to them.

And that brings me to Principle #4, which you taught me, Hannah. Our journey to become a family is filled with twists, turns, and miracles. You can go listen to the first Lessons for Hannah for the full story. But it came down to just a few things. One small choice, one tiny checkbox made the difference for us to find you. The adoption agency, at the time only worked with only 1 orphanage directly in all of China And no one in the world new about you but us because of checking that one box and the agency working with that one orphanage. Third, you were mis-diagnosed and should have been considered a “healthy child,” which means we would never have had know about you as it was a different program.

And here is what I learned from our journey. Everything that happened to the point where we became a family, had to happen exactly as it did – Good and Bad. And it taught me to have no regrets.

Aside from the chances of you being alive, everything that had to happen to get you to this point right now where I am speaking to you and you are getting this message had to happen exactly as it did.

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t change any of it. Oh, that doesn’t mean I don’t learn from it and given the chance to do things again, wouldn’t apply what I’ve learned. I just don’t regret it.

And that brings me to principle #4 which is really a couple of principles in one, but they fit together.

Everything is a choice. Choose wisely. Do not let yourself be saddled by regret from your choices. Learn from them and become better…

When you do that. When you combine everything I’ve shared in this episode.

Keeping a good perspective and staying grounded.
Learning to control your mind and conditioning to utilize it to help you become the best version of yourself and live into your potential.
Having faith that you will make it, but not discounting the reality that is before you
And understanding the everything in your life is a choice that YOU make and that those choices have gotten you to where you are and are the experiences you can draw on to make yourself better – not letting your past determine your future

When you put all this to work for yourself, you will find yourself practicing Principle #5.

You will become the best version of yourself – a constant work in progress no doubt, but a light to those around you and someone they can count on to guide the way and prevail no matter what happens

You will be able to give to this world and those around in ways you never dreamed of and make a much bigger impact that you ever thought was possible. You will be able to thrive, succeed, and live your best life.

Principle #5 is be the light you were meant to be in this world. You have so much more in you than you know. Live into it.

I’ll leave you with this quote from the great Jim Rohn:

“The big challenge is to become all that you have the possibility of becoming. You cannot believe what it does to the human spirit to maximize your human potential and stretch yourself to the limit.”

Hannah, and anyone listening I challenge you to use these 5 principles to maximize your potential and stretch yourself to the limit.

I love you,

Daddy

Misfit 3:

You are a miracle. You are 1 in 4 Trillion. Cherish every moment and thank God for it.
Realize that everything that had to happen to get you to where you are now, good and bad, had to happen exactly as it did. Don’t regret anything but make darn sure you learn from it and become better for yourself and for others. Life is too short to saddle yourself with regret.
Be the light you were meant to be in this world. You have so much more in you than you know. Live into it.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Alex Kuhn. Alex is the founder of Born to Lead – a company that helps business leaders grow & lead 6,7,8...even 10 figure businesses.

Their key is helping these leaders discover their SuccessDNA and learning how to build the business model around the leaders unique, innate leadership style & talent.

Alex started his entrepreneur journey as one of the top collegiate swim coaches, turning around 2 programs before the age of 28. This helped lay the foundation for his work and Born to Lead. He went on to create and sell two other companies in the health and digital space, but his passion for helping leaders tap into their best selves is what really fuels him.

And it hasn’t gone un-noticed, Alex has been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, and a number of other outlets for his paradigm shifting leadership that has helped more than 200 clients at least double their business growth – and that is one of the main things I want him to share with you in this episode, how he does it.

www.Alex-Kuhn.com

www.Alex-kuhn.com/MisfitEntrepreneur ($500 FREE Gift, Success DNA Program)

Alex has always had a great relationship with his father, and they love to challenge each other. When Alex was 9 years old, his father told Alex he was a “follower” to push him. Becoming a leader became part of his DNA. At the age of 12, he left home to go train with the greatest athletes in the world in swimming – people like Michael Phelps and others.

He never made it to the Olympics and ended his career at age 22. Instead of taking the Fortune 500 job he was offered, he decided to take a swim coach job making essentially nothing at a tiny all girls school in Iowa. After a couple years, he got his first head coaching job becoming one of the youngest college head coaches in the space and turned the team around. He got awarded coach of the year for it.

He moved up the ranks and took his next job in California. After 7 years, he was in a position to take over a top tier collegiate swim program, but he decided not to. The entrepreneur bug had been in the back of his mind for a long time and he could not ignore it any longer. So, her retired from coaching and start his entrepreneur journey.

After a few years, he was still broke and not reaching success. He had a defining moment where he asked the question, “What was it that had made him so successful in swimming and coaching that he had not translated to entrepreneurship.” The answer set him on a path to the success he has now.

What was the answer to the question you asked that set you on your path to success?

It all came down to leadership
Finding the specific style of leadership that works best for you and building the business around it was the key.

How does someone break the mold and tap into this for themselves? How do they find their innate leadership style?

The first thing is that we have to u-train themselves and unlearn a lot of things.
Look back at your life all the way back to when you were a kid – what was it that came so easy to you? That you could just do well?
You have to figure out what comes most naturally to you.

SuccessDNA has 4 architypes:

Developer – The person who is really good at getting the best out of others. Think of great coaches or mentors.
Architect – The person who looks a vision or idea and are able to put it into a sequential plan to get it done and get the right people in place to do it.
Motivator – This person has the ability to get other people to say yes and buy in.
Visionary – This person is able to anticipate the future. They know where things are going before everyone else.

How does an entrepreneur use their strength to the favor once they know it?

Once you know your innate talent and archetype, you then ask what is going to work best with it in the following areas
- Marketing and sales
- Product and service Team
- If the leader understands where they are going to work best and focuses there, it makes it easy to fill in the gaps around them for the other areas.

At the 17 min mark, Alex gives some examples of this.

Don’t fight your natural tendencies.
Ask how can you build the business around natural tendencies.

“If a fish came up to you and ask you if it could fly. You would not tell them it is a hustle or mindset problem. You would tell them they were meant to swim not to fly. You must focus on what you were meant to do, your innate ability.”

What makes a great leader? What do they need to have to be successful?

Honesty – Are they brutally honest with you and with themselves. Are they willing to be vulnerable?
Integrity – How much do the believe in the message they are sharing. Can people feel it from them and know they are behind it 100%?
Courage - They’ve got boldness and guts – courage and are not afraid to step out.

What is the process you take clients through that helps them more than double the size of their business?

Forget the word process but look for patterns.
It isn’t a step by step instruction manual.
First, you have to know your SuccessDNA to setup the business structure to succeed.
Second is Relevance, Resonance, and Response. At the end of the day, cash needs to be coming in the business.
- Is the vision relevant to those you want to serve?
- Does it resonate with them?
- Is the offer so simple and easy for a client to say yes that the response is very positive?
Third, you have to have a leverage program/product/service on the back side that is one to many, not one to one from a sales standpoint that can scale.

At the 30 min mark, Alex gives example of how to leverage and create leverageable businesses

Are there any principles that you used to turn around swim programs that are transferrable to entrepreneurship?

There is one thing missing in the entrepreneur world that the best athletic coaches do well.
The best coaches fit themselves into the environment and use it to their advantage.
The way this fits into business is to think about how you deeply connect to those in and around your business, your customer.
How does you business best fit in with clients, employees, etc.
Find the differences, highlight them, and use them to build your business around.

Best Quote: If a fish came up to you and ask you if it could fly. You would not tell them it is a hustle or mindset problem. You would tell them they were meant to swim not to fly. You must focus on what you were meant to do, your innate ability.

Alex's Misfit 3:

Listen and trust yourself first and foremost
Understand what you want to define your relationship with others. What do you want them to walk away knowing about you.
Find that one person that will be your rock in your life.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Kevin England. Kevin is the founder and CEO of Vonazon, a highly sought after full-service digital sales, marketing, and media agency that helps businesses expand their reach and impact through well-thought-out and holistic strategic initiatives.

But more than that, Kevin is a top-rated speaker and consummate entrepreneur having started his first technology company when he was 19, which he built into a massive organization and ultimately sold to Gateway computer. At that point, he could have easily retired, but instead he got into whole different businesses leading him to Vonazon.

And that is really what I want to explore with Kevin in this episode, aside from all his insight into entrepreneurship, I want to discuss what it is that keeps successful entrepreneurs going after they’ve essentially “made it.” What is this force that brings us back to the well?

www.Kevin-England.com

www.Vonazon.com

Kevin started at 13. His dad gave him his first computer and told him to figure it out. So, he taught himself how to write code. He started out by writing games. His data realized he had a knack for it and got him involved with some of his business colleagues. Through high school, Kevin wrote programs for businesses and developed applications.

He grew up in surf town and was basically a surfer who could program. Programming brought him into his first business at 19. His goal was to help small-mid sized business grow and implementing technology. The business grew and Kevin became the biggest value-added reseller for Gateway Computer to a point where if Gateway sold a computer in California, one of Kevin’s employees touched it.

Kevin ultimately sold the company to Gateway to help them build out the service side of Gateway and his team were the people in Gateway stores across the nation helping clients.

After cashing out and basically being able to retire, you got back into the game in a difference business, why?

Kevin could not sit still
He still had the bug
He saw a challenge in the tradeshow industry to help prove and get return on investment.
Vonazon was born to help create a system to create buzz, connections, engagement, and follow up digitally around tradeshows.
It took off and has now become the company it is today.

How do you see entrepreneurship?

Besides it taking a lot of time and effort, if you have an idea, passion and drive; that is the basis.
Entrepreneurs all have the idea, passion, and drive and feel a calling to get out do them.
These things are innate to us as humans. Everyone has an entrepreneur inside them.
Great entrepreneurs are inspirational people and can get people to rally behind the idea and get it moving forward.

Talk to us about your philosophies of leading people and building a great business?

Not every situation is perfect. There are failures and we must learn from them.
His first company did well, but didn’t have a great culture.
Creating an amazing culture is critical to success.
First, you must have goals and core values – and embody them.
Second, communication and collaboration.
Third, respect and provide recognition.
Fourth, empower those that truly embody the culture.
Fifth, HAVE FUN!
Kevin goes on the explain more about all 5 and it’s best to just listen…

Move your feet and figure it out…explain that.

Figure it out comes from the day his dad gave him his first computer. Kevin asked what he was supposed to do with it, his dad gave him some books and said, “You’ll figure it out.”
So, figure it out became Kevin’s mantra.
In today’s world, anything you want to learn is at your fingertips.
Additionally, for 20 years, Kevin was a hockey coach. He would teach the kids to “move their fee” to get results.
It’s the same in business, you cannot sit back and wait, you must move your feet.

Sports is a great metaphor for life, business, etc., are there any other lessons you’ve taken from sports to help your success?

Always be prepared. Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance
Practice, Practice, Practice, so you are always ready for game time.

Talk to us about pushing someone limits…

Kevin has always been a risk taker.
You will have to take risks to succeed, especially as an entrepreneur.
If you push hard enough and work hard enough, you will find that the risk is more of a calculated risk.

What is your best advice for an entrepreneur just starting out?

You have to have knowledge in what you are doing.
You have to have passion for it.
You have to have drive to keep going and follow through.
It is an amazing endeavor to build something from the ground up.
The risk is worth it.

How do you overcome fear?

Fear slows you down and stops you. It is a demotivator.
Everyone has an amazing opportunity to create something.
You have the ability to do it, regardless of what you think.
The key is to just start and figure it out and do it.

Any other thoughts?

Understand that as an entrepreneur, you will work a lot, but you cannot sacrifice your loved ones and family.

You must create your family time and commitment to spending the time daily with them.

Your loved ones matter more than anything else.

Best Quote: Always be prepared. Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance

Kevin's Misfit 3:

Your employees are your must important asset. Give them the leadership and tools they need to be successful.
Embrace your failures by turning them in an opportunity to learn and achieve.
All you need is knowledge, passion, and drive to succeed.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Michelle Reines. Michelle is the founder of the Badass Leader brand and best-selling book, From Bad to Badass leader. Michelle worked extensively in the corporate world for years racking up accolades, awards, and being featured throughout top publications.

But something was missing. She was making multiple 6-figures per year and crushing it in business, but she wasn’t fulfilled. So, Badass Leader was born. It came out of a desire to create a cool, approachable, edgy, humorous, more relatable leadership development resource for every day front line leaders, middle managers, executive entrepreneurs, and the up and coming generation of leaders.

Michelle put her money where her mouth was. She quit her job, went from making several hundred thousand dollars a year to making $25k a year and creating Badass Leadership. And nowadays, Michelle and Badass Leadership are one of the most sought after leadership training groups in the business. So, I asked her to come the show and teach you how to be a Badass Leader.

www.BadassLeader.com

Michelle’s exodus from corporate America stemmed from a tragedy. At 49 years old, her mom passed away. It was a shock. Her mother had a sudden heart attack while she slept with no red flags, being healthy, etc. When Michelle turned 47, she got to thinking – what if I only have 2 years left? She had discovered that she had some of the same risk factors as her mother.

She embraced the mindset of living like you were dying. She stepped away from corporate America in 2011 to fulfill a dream to help leaders. She had struggled learning how to lead and learning to be effective as leader before figuring it out and having get success and knew she could help others succeed faster and easier.

In her first year, she made just under $25k and was absolutely thrilled and knew she had something. She succeeded wildly over the next couple years and then decided to take it to a new level with the Badass Leader brand. She started Badass to bridge a training gap that existed and provide and easier to understand and implement leadership structure for success.

What was the hardest part of transitioning from employee to entrepreneur and what advice would you give others looking to do that same?

Fear. In particular for Michelle, it was disqualifying herself (I’m not ready yet or I’m not good enough).
Michelle really took hold of the phrase, “If it is to be, it is up to me” and took it to heart, embodying it.
Don’t shoot yourself down before you’ve given yourself a shot.
Say yes and figure out how.
Look at the fear as excitement and opportunity – let it fuel you and give you momentum.
All possibility lies in living outside your comfort zone.

What is a Badass Leader?

Someone who is fearless and willing to live outside their comfort zone, focused on people over performance.
They really get that it has everything to do with how we care for us.
To get the performance you seek, you must love, develop, and support your people as a leader to become their absolute best.

What is the difference between being in a position of leadership and being an actual leader?

There is a difference between managing and leading.
Managers micromanage and are afraid to show weakness – thus are insecure and rely on ego.
It’s not just about performance. It is about consistent results by helping people reach their great.
It is about creating an environment for people where they want to “play their ass off for you and the team.”

Tell us about the 12 principles. Can we go through each one of them and why it matters and how we can institute them?

Don’t be an ass. You cannot be oblivious. Learn what is working and not working and what you need to do differently. Know thyself.
Stop, Drop, Take a Selfie. You must become self-aware. You need to get clarity on how to best communicate and how others need to communicate with you. Everything DISC is one of the best.
Let’s Talk About Trust. Trust is the foundation on which every Badass team is built. You simply cannot succeed without trust in your team and then of you.
Put Your People First. Make sure they know and see you put them first. Prioritize people over performance. Performance is an outcome from great leadership.
Be an Epic Coach. Put your people first and coach them to accelerate their success. Work at becoming a good coach for them.
Building a Badass Team. Once you are an epic coach and leveraging the other lessons, you can build a Badass team. Each lesson builds on top of the other.
Make Sure People Are Evolving. This when you stretch yourself and your team our of your comfort zones and live into their potential.
Suck it Up Buttercup. This is focused on the leader. Stuff is going to happen. Problems are going to arise – big ones. You are in the spotlight and people are watching you. It’s your job to navigate through the problems and challenges and shy away from them. Get comfortable with “the suck.”
Don’t Be a Kiss-Ass. Don’t fall prey to sucking up and kissing ass. Learn how to be respectfully sugar-fee. You have to communicate effectively to your leaders and without being manipulative or politicking.
Be a Groupie. Love, love, love your team. Be a groupie for them – not yourself. As a leader, their success is your success.
Expand Your Tribe. Learn from others that are succeeding and share and cross-pollinate with your peers. It will accelerate your success.
Love Somebody Like You. There is nothing more important than health and your time with those you love. Take care of yourself and make sure to prioritize those you love.

Anything else to share?

Be you and do you.
Don’t sacrifice who you are to succeed.
Stay true to yourself.
Trust your instincts.

Best Quote: "If it is to be, it is up to me..."

Michelle's Misfit 3:

Get to know your selfie. Use DISC or a similar type assessment.
Focus on developing your epic coaching skills.Become an architect of people.
Expand your tribe and do it now. Expand peer relationships, get mentors, etc.

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www.BadassLeader.com

What was the hardest part of transitioning from employee to entrepreneur and what advice would you give others looking to do that same?

Fear. In particular for Michelle, it was disqualifying herself (I’m not ready yet or I’m not good enough).
Michelle really took hold of the phrase, “If it is to be, it is up to me” and took it to heart, embodying it.
Don’t shoot yourself down before you’ve given yourself a shot.
Say yes and figure out how.
Look at the fear as excitement and opportunity – let it fuel you and give you momentum.
All possibility lies in living outside your comfort zone.

What is a Badass Leader?

Someone who is fearless and willing to live outside their comfort zone, focused on people over performance.
They really get that it has everything to do with how we care for us.
To get the performance you seek, you must love, develop, and support your people as a leader to become their absolute best.

What is the difference between being in a position of leadership and being an actual leader?

There is a difference between managing and leading.
Managers micromanage and are afraid to show weakness – thus are insecure and rely on ego.
It’s not just about performance. It is about consistent results by helping people reach their great.
It is about creating an environment for people where they want to “play their ass off for you and the team.”

Tell us about the 12 principles. Can we go through each one of them and why it matters and how we can institute them?

Don’t be an ass. You cannot be oblivious. Learn what is working and not working and what you need to do differently. Know thyself.
Stop, Drop, Take a Selfie. You must become self-aware. You need to get clarity on how to best communicate and how others need to communicate with you. Everything DISC is one of the best.
Let’s Talk About Trust. Trust is the foundation on which every Badass team is built. You simply cannot succeed without trust in your team and then of you.
Put Your People First. Make sure they know and see you put them first. Prioritize people over performance. Performance is an outcome from great leadership.
Be an Epic Coach. Put your people first and coach them to accelerate their success. Work at becoming a good coach for them.
Building a Badass Team. Once you are an epic coach and leveraging the other lessons, you can build a Badass team. Each lesson builds on top of the other.
Make Sure People Are Evolving. This when you stretch yourself and your team our of your comfort zones and live into their potential.
Suck it Up Buttercup. This is focused on the leader. Stuff is going to happen. Problems are going to arise – big ones. You are in the spotlight and people are watching you. It’s your job to navigate through the problems and challenges and shy away from them. Get comfortable with “the suck.”
Don’t Be a Kiss-Ass. Don’t fall prey to sucking up and kissing ass. Learn how to be respectfully sugar-fee. You have to communicate effectively to your leaders and without being manipulative or politicking.
Be a Groupie. Love, love, love your team. Be a groupie for them – not yourself. As a leader, their success is your success.
Expand Your Tribe. Learn from others that are succeeding and share and cross-pollinate with your peers. It will accelerate your success.
Love Somebody Like You. There is nothing more important than health and your time with those you love. Take care of yourself and make sure to prioritize those you love.

Anything else to share?

Be you and do you.
Don’t sacrifice who you are to succeed.
Stay true to yourself.
Trust your instincts.

Best Quote: "If it is to be, it is up to me..."

Michelle's Misfit 3:

Get to know your selfie. Use DISC or a similar type assessment.
Focus on developing your epic coaching skills.Become an architect of people.
Expand your tribe and do it now. Expand peer relationships, get mentors, etc.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jim Stoval. Jim is an icon. He’s shared the stage with everyone from Zig Ziglar to Tony Robbins. He’s the bestselling author of 30 books including The Ultimate Gift, The Ultimate Life and The Lamp which have been made into major motion pictures.

Jim has been a national champion Olympic weightlifter, the President of the Emmy Award-winning Narrative Television Network, and a highly sought after author and platform speaker. Steve Forbes said “Jim Stovall is one of the most extraordinary men of our era.”

You see, Jim is blind and he has shown through his life and work that no matter who you are or your situation, you can accomplish anything. In fact, for his work in making television accessible to our nation’s 13 million blind and visually impaired people, The President’s Committee on Equal Opportunity selected Jim Stovall as the Entrepreneur of the Year. He was also chosen as the International Humanitarian of the Year, joining Jimmy Carter, Nancy Reagan, and Mother Teresa as recipients of this honor.

It's truly an honor to have him on and I can’t wait to have him share his wisdom with you in this episode.

www.JimStoval.com

Jim was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and still makes it his home. His businesses stretch across the world. He grew up with one ambition – to be an All-American football player and play in the NFL. He had the size and speed to do it and was heavily recruited and scouted. As such, he never cared about school or anything. He didn’t have a plan B.

Then one year, during a routine physical, he was diagnosed with a condition that would cause him to lose his sight. His dream to play in the NFL died and he was confronted with this massive problem that was a blessing in disguise.

Of all that you’ve done and learned on your journey, what have you found that truly matters?

Jim has over 10 million copies of his books in print and the movies off them have grossed over $100 million.
The story of the book and subsequent, the Ultimate Gift is what truly matters.
The secret of life is to find our gift and then we achieve meaning when we share it and give it away.
We achieve meaning when we truly serve humanity with that gift.
So many people play the wrong game.
You can go from world class to mediocre by playing the wrong game.

How does someone go about finding their gift or confirming they have found it?

You must grow, advance and develop – otherwise, you are choosing only with the options you have currently.
You start with what comes easy to you that everyone else seems to think is hard.
You have to find what you enjoy doing and then find meaning with it and how it can matter in a larger way.
And you need to be able to profit in it.
You don’t “make money.” You “earn it.” And you earn money by creating value.
Ask how you can serve more people and create more value – the money will follow if you can do that.

How do you see money?

The big lie – If I have enough money, I wouldn’t have any more problems.
Money doesn’t solve your problems; it makes you more of whatever you are.
Valuables without values is like a loaded gun. Get and instill the right values before your get the money.
Money is not a goal. It is a tool.
We don’t want money, we want the things money will buy and we need to know what those are.
Otherwise, we get caught up in the “disease of more,” where are never satisfied and “more” never comes.
The disease of more is an empty pursuit.

At the 16 min mark, Jim talks about losing his sight and about changing your life by changing your mind…

Jim made a bargain with God and challenged God.
It all happened at a state fair. He saw an exhibition of weightlifting.
And then went to a concert at fair without even looking who was playing.
And then the announcer came out and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Ray Charles”
In that moment, Jim found his message in the magic of seeing Ray Charles and realizing a blind guy could do something.
That was the beginning and what put him on his path to be an Olympic weightlifter, his businesses, etc.

What have you learned about how to develop and winning and succeeding mindset?

The magic words “Somebody ought to do something…”
Those words are an idea.
The world is weighting for a great idea and we trip over them multiple times a day.
The have a great business, you need idea of “somebody ought to do something” and then ask, how can I help other people avoid that problem or issue or improve this situation for them.
Care about others and solve their problems. It’s about them and not you. That is how you succeed.

What have you learned from your relationship with Steve Forbes?

They met after Jim was chosen as Entrepreneur of the Year.
Steve is a 3rd generation and handed the business built by his father and grandfather.
He had a choice of growing it and taking to the next level or sitting on it. He did the former and has built it into the powerhouse it is today.
It is different to take something successful and grow it and keep it successful, than to start from nothing and grow something. They are two different skill sets.

You’ve written 40 books, is there a favorite? If so why?

The best book is Keeper of the Flame.
The best-seller is the Ultimate Gift.
They are all special in their own way, but the Ultimate Gift is in a league by itself.

What is Ultimate Productivity?

Productivity is a matter of getting the most of what you put into something.
It involves intensity and efficiency.
It came out of a conversation with Steve Forbes.
The biggest source of productivity knowledge came from John Wooden, who Jim spoke with weekly until his death.
It comes down to how we motivate, communicate, and how we act.
It is not about time; it is about results.
The things you measure are the things that will move.
Activity is not productivity. Don’t confuse them.
The one commodity we don’t get any more of in life is time. Every day you should be doing something to get closer to your goal.
The time to get in the game is today.

Jim and I continue a discussion on this and it’s best to listen at around the 32 min mark.

What would be your advice a young entrepreneur to succeed, not just in the beginning, but into the future?

First, they need to understand what it is to be an entrepreneur.
The name is overused.
Entrepreneurs are the ones who do everything in our society. Everyone who is employed works for an entrepreneur.
Everything invented, built, etc. started in the mind of an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurship is not for those that can be talked out of it.
You have to be so committed and have deep passion for it.
You must also realize that you have a lot of bosses as an entrepreneur – your customers are your boss and can fire you by voting with their dollars.
Next, you must have serious delayed gratification. There are a lot of rules that have to be learned.
Self-education is critical to succeed as you competing against the best.

Best Quote: You don’t “make money.” You “earn it.” And you earn money by creating value. The more value you create, the more you earn.

Jim's Misfit 3:

The biggest dream, you’ve ever had in your life is alive in you and well. The big scary dreams are real and hell is standing before your maker understanding what you could have done if you had gone after the dream that was inside of you. The question is not “can we,” but “will we.”
You will be the same person you are today 5 years from except for the books you read and the people you meet.
You change your life when you change your mind. Guard your mind and the input into it.

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This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, 

I want to talk to you about what makes a great friendship. We live in a time in which true friendships are rare. It’s seems that in the age of social media, you can be friends with someone one minute and then it disappears the next with one tweet, post, or view that is not the same. Things like social media and the instant world have made people more tribal and kept them from growing beyond a certain way of thinking or viewpoint and stifled being open and tolerant of others views. And in this world, true friendships become more and more rare.

You see, to have and build a true, life lasting friendship it takes work, commitment, a willingness to set aside each other’s faults and things you disagree with, and love. When I say love, I am not talking about romantic love, but a love and caring for your fellow man. An understand that everyone is different and won’t believe the same things – and that is OK. In fact, that is what makes life and friendship great. It saddens me that people don’t realize that they probably agree on 80% of more of things with others but let 1 or 2 differences keep them from having a friendship.

A great friendship has several elements at its core, and I want to go through them.

First, a great friendship has a deep commitment. A commitment to one another that you will care. A commitment that you can count on each other when in need. And a deep commitment to look out for each other and help each other – especially in the darkest times.

Second, a great friendship is built on trust. Trust that the other person will be honest and be there. Trust that you will not betray one another. And trust that, even in disagreement, the friendship will stand.

Third, a great friendship takes effort. In our world, it is very easy to neglect the effort part of friendship. In order to maintain a lasting friendship, you must make an effort to stay in touch, communicate regularly, and be there. I’m not talking about sending an email or a message through a social platform. I’m talking about taking time to get on the phone and have a great conversation. Scheduling time together, even if it is just a coffee. And showing genuine interest and care for the relationship, nurturing it over time.

And sometimes, it takes more effort from one side than the other. Sometimes, to be a great friend, you have to put in more of the work and effort to keep the friendship going. Sometimes, you have to speak hard truth and even act to help each other against what one may want. Think about someone who is an addict, whose true friends and family pull out all the stops to help them – even when they don’t think they need help.

True friends are always revealed in the darkest times. They will be there when you need them most. And in today’s world, as polarized as it is, true friends will remain friends even when they don’t disagree on things or have opposing views – because they know they AGREE on a hell of a lot more than they disagree on. They are not fickle.

For example, a true friend will not disown you for something like supporting a political candidate that they don’t. As we are in an election season, it’s amazing to see this happening all over the place and on places like social media – where people have been “friends” for years, but just because they disagree on a candidate, they are now sworn enemies. They were never friends to begin with.

Hannah, you will have friends come and go throughout your life, but there will be a few truly lasting friendships that you will find along the way. Cherish them. Commit to them. Trust in them. Put effort into them. These relationships are what make life so wonderful and exciting. Remember, in the end, all the money, possessions, and accolades mean nothing if you do not have those you truly love to enjoy and celebrate them with. Here’s to true, long-lasting friendships!

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: To have and build a true, life lasting friendship it takes work, commitment, a willingness to set aside each other’s faults and things you disagree with, and love.

Misfit 3:

True friendships are rare.
True friends are revealed in the darkest times.
The 3 elements of a great friendship are deep commitment, trust, and effort.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jeff Dudan. Where to start with Jeff? Jeff is the founder of a massive franchise, Advantaclean which he started in 1994, built it to over 240 locations in 37 states and exited just last year. He then went on to start Dudan Partners, a company that partners with clients to help them start new franchise businesses, grow existing ones, and invest in potential opportunities.

He is also a former D1 college football player, was featured on CBS’s Undercover Boss, a Forbes Contributor, speaker, consultant, and tireless advocate and supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

And if that wasn’t enough, he went out and wrote a best-seller called Discernment, The Business Athlete’s Regimen for A Great Life Through Better Decisions and this is the major area I want to focus with him today – how our daily decisions as entrepreneurs make such an impact on us, not only now, but for our future. So, let’s jump in.

www.JeffDudan.com

Jeff has always been a Misfit. He grew up in Chicago and was a great athlete. He originally was basketball star, but found football and loved it. He walked on at University of Northern Iowa, but was a terrible student and after 1 year, could not make the grades. He went to a Junior College, got his grades up and went to play ball at Appalachian State. When he got there, he realized that he was interested in learning and there was a path for him. He started a painting business painting student housing to pay for college and by the time he graduated, it was doing so well, he didn’t need a job. Then, in 1992, a friend from south Florida called and asked if he would come down and work with a restoration company to help get things rebuilt.

He originally thought it would be 3 weeks, but it ended up being 3 years. He cut his teeth in the restoration business and ended partnered with a few others to create the business that would become Advantaclean in 1994. Over the next 10 years, they built out the business with locations across the south. Along the way, Jeff bought his partners. It was in 2005 that he was coming back from being on the road for Hurricane Katrina and drove through the night to make it to his son’s football game and had a realization that he could not continue being away and doing things like he was.

He realized that “Our true values are what we tolerate and must have.” He knew that building this business further would require him to be constantly on the road, so he decided to franchise. In 2005-2008, he sold all of the locations he currently owned as franchises and then in 2009, they launched to market and built it to over 200 locations in 37 states. Then in 2018, he sold the business in its entirety.

What are your values now in business and life?

Your values are how you operate.
Then need to be an authentic reflection of your true self and believes.
Values are choosing.
You want diversity in your business, but you don’t want diversity in your values.
Your vision is the dream, then your mission is how you will do it, your values are your choosing – how you decide how you operate, hire, etc.
Each business needs a value set that works for that business that everyone understands throughout the organization and honors them.
There is not one set of values. There are personal ones and business ones, but they should and will overlap.

Define Discernment and explain why it is so important to understand…

At the core – Discernment is a principled, effective, experience informed process for making decisions.
There is never a 100% success rate with decisions.
It is all about probabilities and the quality of the good decisions over time can be meteoric on your results.
If you are business athlete meaning your are going to show up and put the work, you need to define the things you need to sturdy and continually refine to become a better athlete. Decision making is one of the big things.

Is there a process for how to make good decisions that consistently work?

The first step is knowing your values and using them to aid in your decision making.
Jeff looks at things like a personal balance sheet and at the 14:30 mark talks about this in detail. It’s best to listen.
Everything you do as a leader creates a positive or a negative. They both go on your “balance sheet.”
You have to control your inputs – the things that go in between your ears and through your eyes because they affect your outputs. Make sure your inputs are helping be the best in your outputs.

At the 18 min mark, Jeff talks discusses how he learned to understand the power of his mind and how to shape his thoughts.

Sports and visualization helped him early on.
Our brains like to take everything and put it into a pattern and routine.
Changing these routines take a lot of brain power vs. just the automatic patterns of the subconscious.
Be intentional about the changes you need to make is hard and if you don’t stick at it, you will revert back to the old pattern.
Understanding that and looking for these patterns in our lives is critical to changing and growing.

How do we know we are making a good decision and are on the right track?

You don’t. You just don’t.
It can take a while to see if a decision was really good.
We do the best we can and cannot criticize ourselves for taking action based on the best information available.
People are the biggest variation. They are the X-factor. People create all the variation in our life and this where your gut, intuition, listening skills, and discernment comes in to help make the best decision.

Any daily habits people can practice to make the best decisions?

Reading and personal growth helps you not only learn, but see others and how they handle problems/challenges and get inside an author’s head is a great way to develop yourself.
Push yourself to be uncomfortable and get different perspectives. Don’t be afraid to put yourself in uncomfortable situations.
You have to get out on the edge. If you aren’t, you are just taking up space.

What is advice your can give a 1st time franchise to help them be successful?

No genius attacks for 12 months. Follow the plan.
Franchises have a track record of success – you change and adapt to the model, don’t try to adapt it to you.
One of the best reasons to franchise is to learn to be an entrepreneur with guardrails. Franchises allow you to put your entrepreneur toes in the water and learn following a system that is already developed and proven vs. having to do it on your own.
Talk to a franchise consultant to help you if you needed.
Make sure to leverage your passions into a business you would be proud to show up everyday.

Advice for someone thinking about franchising their business?

Do your homework.

Franchise is a completely different business.
It can be costly to get off the ground.
You have to be incredibly responsible with the opportunity you are giving to people.
At the end of the day, it is a people business. Your customers are now your franchisors and you need to develop them and help them to be successful.
Franchise is also inverse to the general economy. When unemployment is up, more franchises are sold because people are not as secure in a job and look for something else.
Crises accelerate trends. Franchise businesses during Covid have survived at much better rates than small businesses.

What are the most important things you learned in your sports career that translated well to entrepreneurship?

Grit. How to persist. The ability to keep going and make it.
Seek coaching. You’ll never push yourself as far as a coach will push you.
Keep things simple. Simple metrics that can be measured make all the difference. 80/20 Rule.

Anything else to share?

Entrepreneurship is something that everyone should think about and we are coming into a renaissance for it.
Entrepreneurship will rebuild the middle class and grow it even larger.
When it comes down to it, if you can’t figure out a good, solid reason to say know to entrepreneurship, then say “yes.”

Best Quote: Discernment is a principled, effective, experience informed process for making decisions...

Jeff's Misfit 3:

Half of life is showing up. Nothing great happens until you show up. How you show up matters, but just showing up is the first step.
You can make a decision today and have a different life tomorrow. It doesn’t happen overnight, but changes start to happen and the dream happens faster than you think.
The person who has the most to do with what happens to you is you. We are not victims unless we choose to be. There is nothing that can hold us back except us.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Bill Flynn. Bill has over 30 years of experience working for and advising hundreds of companies, especially startups. After working for ten different high-tech startups in different market segments such as speech recognition, e-commerce, and affiliate marketing where he was a VP of Sales eight times, twice a CMO and once a GM of a division of a $100MM IT services company, he pivoted to becoming a business growth coach. He had five successful outcomes, two IPOs, and seven acquisitions, including a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis.

Bill is the author of Further Faster, The Vital Few Steps That Take the Guesswork out of Growth. And he embodies them, everywhere he’s gone, he has been the key ingredient in the growth of the business. It’s probably, because he says, “Most business do just about everything wrong.” They do decision making wrong, hiring wrong, teams wrong, strategy wrong, and so on. In fact, a lot of it boils down to how we read and interpret people, which Bill has a gift for.

So, I brought him on the show to share his wisdom and lessons with you to help you in your life and business.

www.CatalystGrowthAdvisors.com

Bill started out in high tech through some family connections and spent a lot of time in startups, including the company who created Siri. He did 10 startups over 5 years including two that went public at well over a billion valuation. He was 5 for 10 in startups through the mid 2000’s and then got into coaching because he was forced to turn a failing company he was involved in around. He had to learn to lead and coach others to be leaders and succeed.

He put together his own system of running the business that worked well and became basis for him to coach other business owners on how to build a business. He really fell in love with helping business owners “figure it out” by working with leadership teams and take the guesswork out of growth.

What is neuro-leadership and why it is important?

It is how to lead with brain in mind.
Our brains have biases and you have to understand that we are all a little crazy.
We are emotional, irrational, and we don’t also act in rational ways.
As a leader, you must understand how the brain works, learns, takes feedback, etc. so you can coach through the biases that exist.

At the 10:30 mark, Bill talks about using this for sales and how the brain makes buying decisions – and how knowing this made him the top sales person and create top sales teams wherever he’s gone.

What are some of the basics people need to know and understand to start practicing neuroleadership?

The brain is really a prediction engine as a way to survive. It must predict the future to keep itself safe and survive.
Over 10’s of thousands of years, the brain has created short cuts to automatically discern if it is moving toward reward or away from threat.
The brain has a 2x bias toward threat and is geared toward seeking reward.

At the 13 min mark, Bill gives a good example of reward vs. threat in the workplace and how it can impact people and leaders.

The model Bill uses is SCARF.

Status
Certainty
Autonomy
Relatedness
Fairness
5x every second, our brain is looking out and also listening to the body perceiving threats and rewards.

Bill’s best tip for sales success:

When trying to persuade or influence, before meeting them, sit down and identify the “Bully with the juice.”
This person is the one that has the most influence in the room and they are the one you want to key on.
As them what the best outcome from the meeting can be? Write it down, then acknowledge any others and get their feedback.
Repeat back what they say they say and make sure it is captured right.
Then tailor your presentation around what they told you – their ideas.
Come back to it at the end and go down the list to make sure you covered everything they listed and offer any other feedback.
In the end, it is very hard for people to say no to their own ideas.
It is about them and not your product.

Thoughts on building a sales team/organization?

As a sales manager, you have 3 things you need to do:
Hiring for these 3 things:
- Hire the best salesperson for the environment that you are in.
- They need to be super curious and have an entrepreneurial drive.
- They have to be compassionate = empathy with a bias to action
Train, train, train.
Learn how to build capacity.

Further Faster, Vital Steps to Growth…what should we know?

Focus on team vs. individual or culture. The team is where everything happens. Teach your people to be good team leaders.
You must build a set of systems to run your business. Strategy and execution are connected.
Cash should be your primary growth metric. The business lives on cash, not “revenue.” Growth sucks cash and it is your lifeblood.

What is one thing every entrepreneur should do every day to help their success?

There are 2 types of entrepreneurs, the startup founder and those that want to build and grow something.
As a startup founder, do not fall in love with the idea, fall in love with the problem. Keep working at how to best solve the problem.
For the entrepreneur that is growing and building – go back and revisit every key decision you made in the startup phase and make sure that is still true. Most often they are not. Going from $1 million to $50, $10, or $20 million require completely different skill sets. Make sure to keep your identity and don’t violate it.

“A plan is about doing, a strategy is about thinking,” what do you mean by that?

The definition of strategy is different across the board for most business owners – but it should not be. Strategy is about choice.
Strategy is figuring out the unique market position you want to have that helps you to have a predictable, profitable customer.
You have to craft that, but remember, it about choice – and many times, it is not choosing what to do, but what not to do. Southwest Airlines is a good example of this.

Final thoughts?

If you are entrepreneur and struggling, it’s not your fault. We’ve never been taught to do this.

Running a company is a unique thing that you have to get better at by learning and growing over time.

Learn the science behind building a great company.

Best Quote: Few things matter in business or life, but those that do, matter tremendously...

Bill's Misfit 3:

There is a huge gap between what science knows and business does. A survey is not a study, a study is not research, and research is not science. Science is when people look at problem objectively and experiment and solve the problem. The good news is that for entrepreneurs, many have already done this. Go self-educate.
Few things truly matter in business or life. But, those that do, matter tremendously. Relentlessly focus on those things.
Most businesses struggle on force of will, luck, effort, and timing. Don’t do that. Figure out how to fire yourself, so you spend more and more time thinking about how to create the future of your business and yourself.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Damion Lupo. Damion is the founder of multiple businesses, EQRP co, My Gold Adviser, and Financial Underdogs. Damion’s mission and that of his businesses is helping people break financial bondage by empowering them with the tools and training to be financially free in retirement.

And if that is not enough, the guy has published 12 books, is the comeback king after losing $20 million and being negative $5 million – he built it all back and surpassed where he started, and is a multiple degree black belt who created is own martial art called Yokido.

Needless to say, Damion’s experience, mission, and discipline has allowed him to become the leading voice in helping realize how to take control of their financial future and I’m excited for him to share his wisdom with you today.

www.EQRP.co

Damion’s path was all over the place. He originally had gone to the Air Force Academy and was going to be a fighter pilot but had issues with his eyes and ended up working in the article circle. After a little while, he went back to school and ended starting a textbook business out of his dorm room that paid for his school – until the school shut him down and would not allow him to run it.

The universe kept giving him feedback to be an entrepreneur and after he left school, he embraced it. As he says, “I’m a bad employee – I got fired from a volunteer position…”

He then started into real estate and learned how to use other people’s money and did it 150 times. He was naïve and just focused and took action amassing millions in property. Things went great until 2008 hit.

Damion got caught up in the 2008 bubble and lost $20+ million. He lost everything and after a few years, he finally admitted defeat and lost the game. He went to work on himself and found that who he truly is, is a teacher, but he needs to be in trenches doing the work too. He shifted his focus to freeing 1 million people from financial bondage. It took him 10 years to go from the crash to surpassing his previous wealth.

Can you elaborate on what truly happened in 2008 and what happened to you so people can learn from it as the market is heated up again?

Damion leveraged a ton and took on too much debt doing real estate in 7 states.
When the market got sense and re-priced, he was essentially naked in that the fundamentals were way off, so his investments were worth a lot less over night.
He was underwater and it collapsed on him.
He was also remote operating and losing money in that process.
He got hit from all angles because of his personal guarantees, etc.

What is EQRP?

It is an Enhanced Qualified Retirement Plan.
It came from a philosophy of personal responsibility.
Instead of handing their money over to someone to manage, they can have the ability to control their money.
EQRP gives people the power to invest and control their investments in a much better way.
The IRS actually allows people to do much more than buys stocks and bonds in retirement accounts, tax free – and most people don’t know it.
The tax code is setup for entrepreneurs and business owners to succeed.
The government wants you to have a good retirement so you are not a burden on them.
With EQRP, you could literally put almost $250k a year away tax free for a family of 5.

Why is it better to specialize than diversify?

Narrowing your focus is a key to success.
Pick your focus and nurture it over time.
Patience is critical. You have to put in the time.
Don’t chase irrational expectations and spend time understanding risk.

What type of investments can be done that people don’t know can be done and how do they give you more control?

The IRS tells you what you cannot do. Outside of that, it is pretty open.
For example, the IRS says you cannot invest retirement money in something like a classic car, but you can invest in multi-family properties, rentals, flips, gold, silver, AirBnB, private notes, etc.
These things give you much more control than what Wal Street is selling.

At the 26 min mark, Damion talks about how you can do an EQRP account…

You can actually have unlimited amounts of retirement accounts – you just have to stay within the monetary limits for them.

What should people know about investing in real estate in these accounts?

Real estate gives you leverage because you can use a small portion of your retirement account for a down payment on a piece of property and finance the rest.

“Money makes people stupid. And a lot of money makes people super stupid because they think they can solve all of their problems with money and the reality is they just gave up thinking.”

Your biggest asset to attaining wealth is your ability to learn and think – it’s between your ears.

At the 31 min mark, Damion talks about how is not a good fit for EQRP.

We also talk about personal responsibility and empowerment and not playing the role of a victim.

How did you go out and create your own martial art?

When you do something long enough, it becomes part of you. It becomes part of your DNA
Business and martial arts are now one and the same for Damion.
He notices some big overlap with martial arts, yoga, and reiki, and created a fusion of them into a new martial art he calls Yokido.

What principles from martial arts have a made a big difference for you in business?

Heading straight into something doesn’t end well.
You need to get into alignment which requires maneuvering and connecting. Teams will beat an individual. Thinks sports.
It’s the same in business. You must align your team and bring people with the right values.
How you do anything is how you do everything – so how people act in their lives is how they will act in business.
Get your Foundational 15% right and you will do well.

What is something you think every entrepreneur should know?

Everything takes longer and more money than you think.
You should double everything when you are starting off.
Having unreasonable expectations and lack of patience is a business killer.

Best Quote: Money makes people stupid. And a lot of money makes people super stupid because they think they can solve all of their problems with money and the reality is they just gave up thinking.

Damion's Misfit 3:

Make sure you balder and greyer people around you. You have to wisdom and true life experience from people that have gone through it to help you.
Passion is not enough. You have to figure out what the market wants and solve problems. Have passion for solving a worthy problem.
Fall in love with the process vs. the outcome. The process will lead to the pleasing outcome.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Carl Allen. Carl is an entrepreneur, investor, and one of the most prolific corporate dealmakers in the world. Over his 30-year career, he’s done over 330 deals worth over $48 billion.

Carl has analyzed thousands of deals, large and small, across dozens of countries and nearly every business sector. And because of his experience, he’s brought in to advise some of the world’s largest corporations on investments and acquisitions.

Recently, he’s launched a new venture, the Dealmaker Wealth Society, a platform that teaches people how to use Allen’s techniques to purchase and sell businesses.

Needless to say, Allen is the go to for how to successfully buy or sell a business and he was the perfect guy to come on and discuss the topic.

www.Trainwithcarl.com/misfit

www.dealmakerwealthsociety.com

Carl started back in 1992 when started working for the investment banking arm at Bank of America. He was helping to buy and sell businesses for the Fortune 100. He then had a brief stint in private equity investing in tech company that was bought by HP. As part of the deal, he became one of the M&A directors at HP buying and selling businesses all over the world. He spent most of his time on the road, granted he loved it, but he spent a lot of time away from his wife.

In February 2008, he life completely changed in the matter of 24 hours. He was in Moscow doing a deal for HP in a boardroom and keeps getting calls from his wife. He finally stopped and answered the phone and his wife told he needed to be back to the UK immediately because she had gone into labor 4 weeks early with their son. He had his wallet, phone, and passport on him and ran out of the building leaving his luggage behind, sped to the airport, and when he landed in the UK, he had a police escort waiting for him – and he got into the room 5 minutes before his son was born.

When he cradled his son in his arms, looking at him, he burst into tears. He knew he couldn’t do it anymore. He called up his boss at HP and quit leaving behind millions in stock and bonuses and decided to retire.

3 weeks later, he was bored beyond belief and knew he had to do something. He sat down with his wife and she helped him understand that he could be a local business broker.

Within a few days, he had his first deal. He found the buyer; things went on for about 3-4 months. The night before the deal was to close, he got a call from the seller, who he represented – they had decided to pull the deal. He left immediately to meet with the owners and got to the business where they had assembled all the employees. They told him the buyer was going to fire the employees and essentially gut the business and they could not allow that. In a half-crazy moment, Carl looked at them and said, “I will buy the business.”

At the 10:50 mark, Carl goes on to tell the story of how bought the business and ran it with no experience. What makes a great deal for both the buyer and seller?

There are 3 criteria
Buy a business that you know something about, are passionate about, and can bring something of value to it.
You want to find a distressed seller of a good business (not a good seller of a distressed business).
- A distressed seller is someone that has a very big incentive to leave the business, whatever it is.
You want a business that is finally strong with good cashflow and assets (if applicable)

How does someone go about finding a deal?

There are 4 ways to generate deal flow (and deal flow is the holy grail)
Business brokers like BizbySell.com, Benchmark, and others. Typically these will inflate values.
- Look for a deal that has been open about 9 months.
You can build a network pretty easily by talking to CPA’s, Attorneys, Banks, or any other professional that works with businesses.
Direct approach. Go to InfoUSA, Hoover’s, etc. and do a search for exactly what you are looking for and then write to them in a highly confidential way.
Leverage the power of social media.

What are the most important factors to look at when looking to buy a business? What do you need to do if you are looking to sell?

Small business deals are 90% about seller psychology. You have 2 identical businesses and the valuation and structure of the deal can be night and day different.
You will pay more if a seller is not motivated.
Most businesses are valued on a multiple of their profit.
The average of $1-10 mil business sold in 2019, the multiple was 2.5-3x profit. So if you have a $1 mil business, then that means it would be worth $250-300k.
Multiples will be higher for tech and fast growth businesses.
How do you value a business? There is an accounting answer, but then there is the terms and structure of the deal. For example, if you can buy a business out of cash flow over 4-5 years, you may be willing to pay more for it vs. everything being paid up front.
One of the challenges for people looking to sell a business, and this is most important – the only way you are going to sell the business quickly is if you separate yourself from the business – meaning you are not needed day to day for it to operate and grow.

What is the blueprint to buy a profitable business in 99 days or less?

10 steps
Step 1 has nothing to do with dealmaking. It is mindset. It comes down to a person’s why. Nobody wants to own or buy a business – we want the deep emotional benefits that business ownership gives us – freedom, cash flow, legacy, assurance, etc.
Step 2 – Creating a deal spec. Define the 3 pillars for yourself and finding the perfect business to buy.
Step 3 – Deal origination
Step 4 – Go through how to build a great relationship with the seller and get them to want you to be the one who buys from them. Know, like, trust.
Step 5 – Valuing and structuring the deal
Step 6 – Negotiation
Step 7 – Financing
Step 8 – How to close, LOI,
Step 9 – Deal team
Step 10 – What to do in the first 100 days post-closing.

What are some of the things to do in the first 100 days?

Administrative stuff
Change all the passwords in IT
Change bank accounts
Spend a lot of time with the people and learn how to improve and better the culture.
Get feedback from the team and customers
Improve how you manage the working capital.

Purchasing a business with no experience or no money – any tips?

Know your why before you do it. What is the deep emotional reason? This gives you the fuel to follow through and make things happen.
Stay in your lane. Buy something that you have experience in.

Where are you seeing the opportunities in right now? What is the trend?

Online, manufacturing/engineering, etc. is booming
Brick and mortar is down and the trend is away from it.
People going into Covid with business have done 3 things:
- They’ve taken advantage of opportunity and growing
- They’ve put their head in the sand and refused to adapt.
- There are some that have continued as it and have not been affected.
If you can buy a business that is struggling a little and can turn it around, then there are good opportunities.

Best Quote: Nobody wants to own or buy a business. We want the deep emotional benefits that business ownership gives us – freedom, cash flow, legacy, assurance, etc.

Carl's Misfit 3:

Buy a business in a sector you know, love, and understand and that is established vs. doing a startup.
Live with passion and do something you really love and care about. Life is too short.
Fall in love with your customers, not your product or services.

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Hello Misfit Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Lessons for Hannah!"

In November of 2016, we introduced a new format that we are putting alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life….even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of "Lessons for Hannah," I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I want to talk to you about personal responsibility – one of the greatest assets to your success and living an amazing, fulfilled life.

Most people upon hearing the term “Personal Responsibility” may not associate it with living their best life, but I do.

Let me tell you why.

As I write this, I continue to watch many parts of our society erode and give way to anarchy, riots, and emotional outbursts with no logic behind them. And when many of the people that are participating or leading these actions are confronted, they blame everything and everyone besides themselves for what they did or for why they did it.

To me this sad. I feel for them. Because by not taking responsibility, they are giving up all their personal power. Think about it, if you do not take responsibility for your actions, your thoughts, and basically your life, that means that you have given up these things to something or someone else. You have lost control. You have given away your best chess piece. Your personal freedom and individual liberty.

And every time this has been done in history by people and groups, it has not ended well. It has devolved into the destruction of societies, massive poverty, needless suffering and death. Every dictator in history has told those that they have taken over that they are not responsible for their problems, their place in life, and to just give up their rights and liberties to them and they will solve everything and all will be wonderful. And every time people do this, it ends badly.

Personal responsibility, the freedom to think for ourselves and take control of our lives, and yes, take responsibility for our mistakes, failures, and the good things, the wonderful things and yes, bad things we do is the greatest asset we have. When you take personal responsibility, it frees you. It frees you from the forces of groupthink. It frees you from having your value in life dictated to you by someone else or some group. It allows you to chart your own course and be your best. It gives you the ability to reach your potential and not be held back. It gives you everything you need to be the greatest version of yourself and leave your impact on this world.

Do not, under any circumstances, ever give up or surrender your personal responsibility to someone else or some thing. Especially out of fear or anxiety. These are the easiest ways it is taken and when people are most willing to give it up. They throw in the towel – because they just want things to be Ok or “normal. But, that is part of taking personal responsibility. Because things aren’t always going to be OK. It is an illusion that they can be. There will be times of suffering, loss, deep fear, and even catastrophe in our lives – but none of that is ever worth giving up your greatest asset as it is that asset, personal responsibility, and our ability to use it that gets us out of these challenging times and dark places. Without it, we can sink deeper. For example, think of the addict that will not confront their illness and take responsibility. They blame very circumstance and everything and everyone for their problems and in doing this, they slide deeper into darkness. But, if you have ever talked with someone who has been down a road like this and tuned everything around, the same elements are always present. The minute they took responsibility for their life and for taking care of themselves – they started to get better, get the help they needed, and ultimately win over the illness. There are countless stories like this throughout history – many of them are people in society we look up to, from famous leaders, artists, world-changers, and so on. All of them, at some point realized the asset of personal responsibility and used it to its fullest.

Hannah, I have given you many lessons over the years and will continue to do so, but out of all of them, this may be the most important one and it is the underpinning of everything. The lesson to build all lessons on, except for one. There is only one thing that is more important and goes along with this. While, it is critical for you to practice personal responsibility for your life, it is even more important for you to put your faith in God because he will never let you down. Responsibility plus faith in God is the secret to life. Not to get too preachy, but I have it on my wall for a reason – Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”

So, to sum it up, Hannah, take personal responsibility for your life, your actions, your thoughts, everything you can control, but make sure you put your faith in God. That is the secret to living an amazing, fulfilled, successful, and happy life.

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: Personal responsibility, the freedom to think for ourselves and take control of our lives, and yes, take responsibility for our mistakes, failures, and the good things and bad things we do is the greatest asset we have.

Misfit 3:

Personal responsibility is one of the greatest assets to your success and living an amazing, fulfilled life.
If you do not take responsibility for your actions, your thoughts, and basically your life, that means that you have given up these things to something or someone else. You have lost control.
There is only one thing that is more important than personal responsibility for your life, and it’s to put your faith in God because he will never let you down.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jake Kiefer. Jake is a serial entrepreneur, founder of the Pro Basketball combine, that has been called the “Steph Curry of speaking.” He helps entrepreneurs and freedom seekers build their dream business by creating world class networks that create raving customers, unlimited freedom, and epic life experiences.

Jake has been featured everywhere from NBC to ESPN, USA Today, Forbes and on and on. He’s reached his success by being a master networker and creating opportunities within his network and starting businesses.

I could not think of a better guy to come on the show and teach you how to build and grow your network and use it to succeed.

www.JakeKelfer.com

@JakeKelfer on Instagram

Jake has always been a “hungry” kid. Growing up his dream was to play for the Lakers. But, at 5’8’’, that wasn’t going to happen. So, Jake studied to be a sports agent to be able to work with the players and the Lakers in some way. He was willing to do whatever he could. Coming out of college, he put his hustle and what he had learned to work and go a job with the Lakers to work in corporate partnerships.

He got to be on the court and work in the business and with the players every day.

“In the pursuit of greatness, you must always be willing to take action every day because great things will happen when we don’t expect them or how we expect them.”

It wasn’t too long before he realized that it was time to move on and start his own business career. He started his first business, launched several books, building a combine for the NBA, and teaching entrepreneurs how to build a 6-figure business – all from creating world class networks.

How do you build a world class network and get in the room with the right people?

It is not about personality. Every person has their own unique communication style.
The key is to understand it, embrace it, and then learn to use it to your advantage.
Networking does not take the time that people think it does. It can be done as simply as sending out a few messages per day that takes 15 mins.
Start small with your networking efforts. For example, if you want to be on more podcast, start by reaching out to one person per week, then one per day, and so on.
Make a list of your 1-2 steppers. These are people that are 1-2 steps above you that could be highly beneficial in your life and business.
Do research and be open in honest in your communication.
Once you get going, it is like a snowball that keeps going and growing.

Where is the first place someone should start?

Identify who you want to network with and why.
Then identify the best place in which to connect with them. Meet them where they are…
Then look at the how – How is the best way to connect with them?
Leverage the power of other networks like social media to help.

How do you cut through the noise so people that you want to network with actually get your message and connect with you?

Don’t copy and paste. Use their name and know about them so you can reference it in your communication.
Always find a commonality between you and the person you are reaching out to. Find something you can make personal in your communication.
Let the person know how you came across them or heard about them.
Give one sentence about who you and leave it open for future communication.

Once you build a network, how to do you cultivate it, engage it, and start to make it work for you?

One-time outreach is an interaction, but a relationship is an experience.
Building a relationship and network is selling. Selling yourself.
You need to craft an experience.
First, after the initial outreach, be the one to follow up on next steps. Take initiative and execute on any action steps.
Make it easy and remove any obstacles.
Second, update your contact at a time interval that makes sense. Give before you get as well. Create value.
In every relationship you have the starting phase, development phase, and the growth phase.
Following up takes you from the start to development phase. And then you progress to growth as you interact futher.
You then get the “Triple Win.” That is where each person is winning and others impacted by the relationship as well.

71 things you must do to turn your network into a 6-figure business. Give us a few...

F-U. It’s all about the follow up. You need a solid process.
The rule of 3. You want to have 3 types of people to reach out to every week. A prospect, a customer, and a 1-2 stepper. That is 50 every single year in each group.
We are all people and share the same desires. How can you make sure someone feels appreciated, loved, etc.
You can get a free copy from Jake’s site at https://www.jakekelfer.com/

At the 25 min mark, Jake talks about using a network to create a 6-figure business….

The game of life is meant to be enjoyed. And the best way to enjoy is to surround yourself with the right people. This leads to great business and life.
Jake shares the story of his connections with the founder of MVMT watches.
You never know who you are talking to until you know. In other words, everyone has something that can impact us. Don’t discredit people because they cannot help you right now as you never know where they come in in the future.
Example of other speakers are not competitors. Instead, Jake networked with the competition to be a resource for speaking gigs others could not do. This has led to 10’s of thousands per year.

Has anything changed in the age of coronavirus?

Not much from an in-person standpoint, but the opportunities to connect are more abundant that ever.
More people are spending time on their phones than ever before and are more widely available. Y
ou just need to be willing to put yourself out there.
Instagram is the best platform for Jake right now because it is one of the few platforms where people are responding themselves.

At the 37 min mark, Jake talks about creating the Pro Basketball Combine and the business lessons he’s learned. It’s best to just listen.

Tell us what it means to “Elevate beyond the competition.”

We play the game of life
Competition is part of any game.
You have to be better than the competition and sometimes the competition is ourselves.
When you become super clear on what success looks like to you, you don’t have to compare yourself – you just go after it.
And when you are clear, you make better decisions because you know exactly what greatness looks like and you can pursue it relentlessly.
Surround yourself with the right people and those that help you grow, push you, and get better.
Think in terms of investment, not cost.
Execute in spite of any hurdle that gets in your way.

Best Quote: In the pursuit of greatness, you must always be willing to take action every day because great things will happen when we don’t expect them or how we expect them.

Jake's Misfit 3:

The only shortcut in life is to start now.

Live in the moment and enjoy the journey.

Take one action related to your network every single day to build a world class network.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Sean Castrina. Sean gives new meaning to the term “serial entrepreneur” having started over 20 companies in the last 20 years. In fact, he seeks to start a new venture annually.

Sean has been featured everywhere from Entrepreneur, Fox Business, Forbes, NBC news, and just about every other business media outlet that exists. He’s the author of 8 Unbreakable Rules for Business Startup Success, The Greatest Entrepreneur in the World, and The World’s Greatest Business Plan.

Needless to say, Sean knows how to build a business and succeed and I’ve asked him on today to give his best advice on how you can do the same.

www.SeanCastrina.com

Sean was a good high school athlete and got a scholarship to play in college. He came out of college and got his dream job by offering to work for free for 90 days and bet on himself. It worked well for 5 years and then leadership changed. He had the picture perfect life at the time – new house, married, a new child and was in grad school. Overnight, he was let go.

It was at this moment that things really hit him – employment was a fantasy of security. He had done everything he was told to do to succeed, was doing well at a good company, and in one day, he was gone. Oddly enough, the CEO that had left remained friends with Sean years after and his son is one of Sean’s business partners.

Sean realized that when you work for someone you don’t have much security and you make them wealthy. It’s ok if you have that type of mindset and really want to be an employee, but if you have any inkling of entrepreneurship in you, you must explore. So, Sean went out on his out.

What is the most important qualification for business ownership?

You have to know why you want to be an entrepreneur and it has to be so motivating that you will be willing to do and go through everything to make it work.
Every roller coaster starts with a steep climb and that is how entrepreneurship and achieving success is.
You must be relentlessly focused.
Ideas are nothing if you don’t take action or are able to stay on them like a “dog on a bone.”
Bet on a person with the right qualities over the business every day.
The good thing about entrepreneurship is gives you more control. You can make changes when you see things coming and adjust.

Have you developed a “blueprint” for starting and building a business?

Sean talks about how figuring out service companies and the systems around them.
He doesn’t need to do the service; he just needs to make the phone ring.
There were big benefits in not having inventory, space, etc. and required very little in startup capital.
There are 2 things you need to do well.
- You need to market well.
- You need to hire good people.

At the 12 min mark, Sean talks about how he has built a $60+ million business started with Handyman business – but the most important thing is to stay in his lane and be focused. Its when he deviates, he has troubles.

What are your keys to marketing?

It’s very basic.
You have a target customer.
You need to know what your target customer wants.
You need to carve out your unique place among your competition.
You have to know your customer, you have to attract them, and you have to stand out from the competition.
Then you have to know how you will reach that person.
Where are they? What message do they respond to? What is your competition not doing? How can you craft a unique brand position for your business.

The mistake small businesses make is that they stay small and think small. You should follow the same strategy you would follow if you owned a Fortune 500 company.

The secret is to relentlessly attract customers.

That solves all problems. Be so great at what you do that you customers know there is no alternative. It is too expensive to be average. If you build a great company, market it like a Fortune 500, and staff it well, you will have a great company.

Where do you see most businesses fail? What do they miss?

The Bermuda Triangle of why startups fail:

Falling in love with the idea and not confirming it will actually be something a target market will buy.
They staff horribly – family and friends from the start, etc.
They don’t aggressively market or advertise

The 3 mistake businesses make in general:

They become content and happy with survival.
They don’t plan to thrive and strategize for future threats.
Founders/Owners get too much in the day to day.

8 unbreakable rules for startup success?

You need to work on yourself and be a great entrepreneur.
Your business idea needs to be tested. It needs to be qualified. Any way you can test your idea, you need to.
You need to plan your business out – from launch to day to day.
Protect yourself with partnership agreements, insurance, etc.
Build a successful team. Get the best, be the best.
Marketing is not optional. Build a brand from day one. What is the one promise that you could make to your customers that if you could deliver on it, they would chase you down for your business?
Know you numbers and be a numbers junkie. Numbers allow you to make good decisions.
Learn from others. Failure is best heard from a secondhand story and it’s a lot cheaper.

Most important lesson from the Greatest Entrepreneur in the World?

Fictional story that teaches the 8 unbreakable rules.
But, Sean added another rule – You’ve got to recognize when you have to pivot and change. Good business owners see change before everyone else.

What are your thoughts on thriving as an entrepreneur during the pandemic?

Start the business over again in your head.
In the pandemic – Who is your target customer? What do they want? and How can you get it to them?
It comes back to the basics.

Best Quote: Be so great at what you do that you customers know there is no alternative. It is too expensive to be average. If you build a great company, market it like a Fortune 500, and staff it well, you will have a great company.

Sean's Misfit 3:

Read and consume quality information. It makes you better and smarter. The average CEO reads 60 books per year.
Partnering can be your be superpower. It fills your gaps and allows you to scale and grow. What is the one thing that if you had would take your business further? Partner for it.
Set goals that stretch you and the relentlessly pursue them daily.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Rachel Graham. Rachel is the CEO and Founder of Evolve and Transform and Co-Founder of Healing Springs Ranch, a treatment facility for addiction that bridges mental health, trauma and addiction by treating the entire person both physiologically and psychologically. Evolve and Transform is an international speaking and coaching platform that helps business leaders, teams and individuals reach their optimal performance and purpose.

Rachel is a not just a successful entrepreneur, but a TEDx speaker and renowned resource and speaker for YPO, as well as a member. To be a member, you must have a business that does over $10 million annually in revenue.

I asked Rachel to come on today, not just to talk about her entrepreneur journey, but to share her best advice on how to care for your mental health and well-being.

www.healingspringsranch.com

www.evolveandtransform.me

Rachel had the perfect life. Perfect marriage, perfect family, job, etc. She had it all together, but in less than 24 hours, it all unraveled when it was uncovered that there was an addiction problem in her family. As her world began to unravel, it took an even worse turn with other things happening like her family dog passing away, she was ni the process of leaving her current business.

She had a profound moment as she was driving to her house and the babysitter called her to tell her that her house was flooding. She got home, looked at everything, and just lost it. She had a moment with God where she just screamed and fell to her knees in two inches of water screaming “Why? Why? Why?” It was in that moment that she had a transformation, as if the hand of God was picking her up and telling her “You’re going to be alright,. I’m trying to show you something.”

She felt it through her being and in that moment realized that she needed to evolve and transform. She immediately went and bought the domain name as she knew she had a mission.

Where do people start when they need to pull themselves out of these dark times? What is the starting point?

At the heart of addiction or trauma is pain.
Unresolved emotions and pain are at the core of things that need to be confronted.
Many times the addiction is a way to escape deep emotional pain.
Addiction is not the issue – it is what gets people in trouble, but the issue is much deeper.

Talk about confronting pain…

“We are sick as the secrets we keep.”
We can only oppress things so long – but they will come out.
It manifests differently for people, but it does come out.

What should people do to start the process of confronting pain?

It requires a level of vulnerability.
People shy away from being vulnerable, but it is one of the most healthy and strongest things we can do.
It allows us to connect at a deeper level.
Open up to someone you trust and have the conversation.
Guilt vs. Shame. Guilt is when you feel bad. Shame is a belief that there is something bad in you and you don’t deserve your life.
Talk to friends, counselors, and get help. Open up and learn how to be vulnerable.
It is liberating to be your true self and let people see who you are.

Are people afraid to show their true self?

Yes, because as a society we are conditioned to put our best foot forward and come off as perfect and in certain ways.
Even entrepreneurs – we are supposed to be successful and when we fail it is so hard because we are not willing to admit we are not the picture society says we should be.

How important is it to find meaning and purpose? Where does it fit in?

It fits in when you stop trying to control everything.
We must be honest about our gifts and be real about our talents and what we are truly exceptional at.
That is where meaning and purpose lies – in focusing on those gifts and using them to their fullest extent – you begin to fire on all cylinders.
Don’t be something you are not or keep trying to be something you are not. It hinders your ability to succeed. Accept who you are and be clear on what you are good at and what you are not.

Talk about compulsive behavior and how we can use it for good and control it in our lives…

We all have compulsive behaviors as human beings.
Compulsive behaviors are there to serve a business.
They are there to soothe us or help us with coping.
But they can get out of hand.
If your compulsive behavior begins to cause relationship, financial, health problems, and so on, it is becoming an issue.
Otherwise, they can be useful to us.
The biggest coping mechanism for entrepreneurs is “workaholism.” Sometimes it is too escape other areas of our lives, or ego, etc. it is a powerful drug that we have to be careful not to use too much.

Explain “You can’t level up if you are tethered down…”

It can be external or internal.
Internal is the hardest.
When we tether ourselves down with baggage in ourselves, you cannot go to your next level.
You have to let go and just be authentic and good with yourself.
If you feel like you cannot get to the next level, look inside and see what is holding your back. Maybe it is a skill set to learn or something you have to confront – whatever it is, you need to overcome it and level up.
Don’t be scared of the next level.

What is it that you see consistently in top entrepreneurs that keeps them at that top of their game?

They remove ego. They know their self-worth and don’t fake it or use ego to mask insecurity. Be high integrity.
They actively listen and know they aren’t always the smartest person in the room. Receive the gifts others can give you to help you.
They have a learner mindset, not a knower mindset.

Who inspires you? Where do you get wisdom and advice?

People. Connecting with people. That is inspiring.
Every person you meet has something they can give you or leave you with.
Rachel tells a great story about leaning the Tango and someone saying to her “You’ll learn more about yourself than you will about the dance.” She never saw the person again.
During dance training, she saw how she could not let go of things and when she stopped trying to control things, she was able to Tango much better and could pick up the steps.
Don’t miss the moment when you meet people.

Best Quote: "We are sick as the secrets we keep..."

Rachel's Misfit 3:

You cannot level up if you are tethered down. Look at yourself and remove what is holding you back.
Meaning and purpose can come out of the darkest moments. Be grateful because these moments are a big reveal for us.
The power to change is a mindset. You control your victim to creator mindset. Become a creator and be powerful vs. powerless. Make the world happen for you.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ann Sieg. Ann is considered one of the pioneers of attraction marketing. In fact, she generated over $4.2 million dollars in her very first online product, an e-book that helped her generate over 400,000 subscribers.

She is the CEO and President of the E-Commerce Business School – a company that has taught more than 8,000 entrepreneurs over the last decade on how to setup an automated e-commerce business in a 90-day sprint. And she’s impacted the lives of 10’s of thousands through her coaching and training programs.

She is the top affiliate of just about every affiliate program every created, but what interested me most about Ann from my initial discussion with her, is that, like me, she believes deeply that entrepreneurship is the answer to many of the world’s problems. I just had to have her on to talk everything from making it big online to entrepreneurship, family, and success.

www.Ecommercebusinessschool.com

www.joinebs.com

Ann started selling at 7 years old, buy selling hand-made Christmas bells. She went door to door selling them and even had bundled offers. She sold out. This gave her the underpinning, but as she grew, she got into sports, specifically gymnastics and devoted herself to it. As she says, it taught her ridiculous, insane mental and physical discipline and taught her how to incrementally get better.

She learned that with a lot of discipline, you can find success. She then went on to coach gymnastics for 15 years and had to quit because of the pain she would get in her hands from spending most of her life in the sport. This experience gave her the love for tracking everything, stats, etc. to incrementally get better and this later translated into a good skill for selling online.

“There is a very distinct difference between someone who is a master at something and someone who is a great teacher or mentor. They are two different skill sets.”

She never planned to be an online marketer, but got into it later after raising her boys.

Why is having a strong family environment so important to your success and an entrepreneur and what have you done to create that in your life?

Ann looks at things differently than maybe society does today.
As she says when she got married, she made a “covenant” and a vow that she would not break. It means that she will follow through to the end.
Human endeavors hinge on multiple things: ability, our word, and our bond.
The family unit with the mom and dad is critical to this – and Ann believes, critical to success.
You have to make it work in business – and making it work in a marriage is great practice and training for that.
One of the best predictors for happy children is that the mom and dad truly love each other and it shows.
You have a responsibility to your children to do right by them and it begins with doing right by each other.
Ask yourself, “Whose feet will your children sit at?” Do they carry your world view? Entrepreneurship can be fostered and taught at home – because it isn’t in school. Ann homeschooled for this reason.
Being in tune with family and business also helps with clarity and purpose.
She believes in giving yourself and your children permission to fail and encouraging it because that is one of the best ways to learn and foster entrepreneurship.

How did you get into E-commerce later in life?

It started with her sons.
They decided to start an EBay business selling swords.
Ann was in the world of direct sales at the time and she needed leads, so she followed some of what her sons were doing to help generate leads online.
Ann found an online mentor, went through the training, and then learned about how to develop a target market.
She started doing well and partnered with her son. – who had become a top affiliate marketer. Together they were a powerhouse.
They started with digital products and then turned into e-commerce with physical products.
She tried doing direct sales online and found it did not do as well over time, so she pivoted to teaching E-commerce and what she had learned about how to make money online.
She focused on Amazon and EBay as they build the sales funnel for you (the funnel is the hardest part).

What are the products you are selling today? Take us through the steps of what you do in 90 days to get someone up to speed?

Amazon and Ebay in an arbitrage model was the start.
Then developed training method for arbitrage, wholesale, private label, self-actualization with a Shopify store, etc.
Each has more risk because of variables that involves and her courses cover everything needed for each of them.
Her programs focus on results and how to keep better ones.

At the 30 min mark, Ann talks about what stops people and how she found ways to help them keep at things to success using the 90-day sprint.

It all comes down to systems and teams.

Ann figured out the systems to give like a franchise would and also helping them set up an outsourced team.
They key is to develop people – not just sell a course.

What does it take to create a business that generates $10k online in revenue?

There are two types of business – You own the funnel and have to create or e-commerce where it is already created, such as at Amazon.
Arbitrage is easiest. You take others’ products and sell them and take a cut.
$10k/mo is about how much money you can bring to the table, you can do 28-50% profit with deal stacking on your front end.
Amazon is the easiest way. With $4-5k in investment in product inventory using Fulfilled by Amazon, you can accomplish it. This taps you into Prime customers.
You will need to use a prep center to make sure your products are set up correctly for Amazon’s criteria.
An example, you can go to Walmart and scan with the Amazon app, buy the products in bulk and ship them to Walmart – such as back to school materials.
You can do the same thing with product online. Arbitrage is just buying low and selling high.

Give us your thoughts on why entrepreneurship is needed now more than ever?

This inspiration came from Paul Zane Pilsner, who wrote The Next Millionaire, and Robert Kiyosaki. Richard Mayberry as well- there is no free lunch.

Ann shares that we have shifted to a handout society.

Ann calls it the redistribution of opportunity. She abhors calls for redistribution of wealth.

What sets entrepreneurs apart is that we live by our ability to calculate risk and take it – stepping out on a tightrope without a safety net.

Handouts cause us to lose our muscular strength as business owners. Bailouts do not foster strong business owners – mentally and entrepreneurially.

Challenging times offer the opportunity for great innovation. Ann cites Panera Breat starting Panera Grocery during the coronavirus as an example.

The extreme of total government control over business robs people of their intellectual capacity, mental, and spiritual capital and destroys the freedom of the individual to create and do great things.

Best Quote: "There is a very distinct difference between someone who is a master at something and someone who is a great teacher or mentor. They are two different skill sets..."

Ann's Misfit 3:

Find your wheelhouse. This is different than finding passion. The wheelhouse is your strength where you really shine.
What are you called for to be in service to others?
Begin with the end in mind. What is the legacy? What do you want to be remembered for?

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This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I saw a piece the other day on true greatness being achieved through serving others. The piece talked about how people get the pursuit of greatness in their lives wrong. They seek personal satisfaction, fame and fortune, power and privilege. In short, they seek to be served.

While some people gain wealth, power, notoriety and so on by approaching greatness in this way, the greatness that they achieve is typically not satisfying to them – because at the end of the day, all they have are the accomplishments and themselves. They are typically lonely and unfulfilled.

I have met many people like this over the years that on the surface seem to have everything – all the money, possessions, and things anyone could ever want, but they are some of the most unhappy and unfulfilled people I have ever met. They spend most of their time complaining or taking their frustration out on others around them – driving them away.

This happens because true greatness has to have meaning behind it. Real meaning. Otherwise, it is empty and shallow. But how and where do we find real meaning on a path to greatness? We find it in serving others. Zig Ziglar once said, “You can have everything you want in life, if you just help enough other people get what they want.”

And what Zig was saying was what Jesus taught us all as he shared his light into the world. As the son of God, he came not to be served, but to serve. He gave his life for us. He washed his disciples feet at the last supper bowing to them. When we seek opportunities to serve others, we find our greatness, our joy and meaning, and we help others to do the same. And helping others can be done every day with a simple act of kindness or helping someone in their lives.

I can also come from solving a great problem for people, such as in creating a business in which it serves and helps people. But the key is being genuine and sincere in your pursuit to do it – and not just in it for the money or your personal gain. The mission and vision must be to serve others and enrich their lives and help them to make them better. And through this you will find success and true greatness for yourself. As Zig said, “You can have everything you want in life, if you just help enough other people get what they want.”

It’s a simple principle, but one that is hard to action every day.

Hannah, every day we have an opportunity to serve others in some way and put them and their interests before our own. And there are so many ways to do it. It can be just simply helping someone with a need. Teaching a skill or new subject to another. Serving through a business with a mission and vision of truly helping to solve problems and enrich people’s lives. And in just being kind to those around you and giving to your relationships. The lesson I want you to take is that you can make a difference every day and you can achieve great things in life just by looking for ways to serve and enrich others lives instead of your own. You will get way more in your life that you ever imagined if you make this your focus.

Now, go out there and serve others in your life today!

I love you, 

Daddy

Best Quote: True greatness has to have meaning behind it. Real meaning. Otherwise, it is empty and shallow.

Misfit 3:

Most get the pursuit of greatness wrong. They make it about themselves instead of finding greatness by serving others. Often they end up alone and unfulfilled.
You can get everything in life you want, if you just help enough other people get what they want.
Look for ways to serve others every day. In doing so, you will find true greatness in your life and achieve and have more than you ever imagined.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Nathan Hirsch. Nathan is the go-to entrepreneur and expert in remote hiring and e-commerce. Nathan started FreeUp.com in 2015 with $5000 and scaled it to over $12 million per year, selling it in 2019.

He then went on to co-found the Outsource School, a company that educates and provide resources to entrepreneurs to train and help them effectively build and scale their business through outsourcing. The platform combines all of the knowledge and tried and tested systems that Nathan and his co-founders have used to scale businesses to 8-figured and beyond entirely through outsourcing.

Hearing that, I bet you can guess why I asked him to be on today. In the world of Covid and business in general, it literally pays to know how to outsource well for your business – and Nathan is the guy to teach us.

www.OutsourceSchool.com

www.OutsourceSchool.com/Misfit for a special offer

Nathan’s parents were both teachers. He grew up thinking he would go to school, get a job, etc. But his parents made him get jobs every summer and he realized he hated having a boss. When he went to college, he saw it as a way to learn, but also as “4 years to create a business” that he could own and run after college. He started our by buying and selling textbooks, essentially competing with his school. Before he knew it, he had lines out the door and got a cease and desist letter from the college!

He then pivoted and started selling on Amazon. He then branched out selling other items and ironically found a niche in baby products. Before he knew it, he had a multi-million dollar business selling baby products from his college dorm room and needed to start hiring because he was overwhelmed. He tried college kids and then outsourced VA’s, and through managing them learned how to put processes in place that he no teaches today to outsource.

He found a lot of holes in the VA process and it took forever to find good ones, so he had an idea to create a company that did that for people, pre-vetting VA’s and taking all the guess work or out of it. That company was Freeup.com. In 4 years, it went from a $5000 investment to $12 mil in sales with everything outsourced and done with 35 VA’s. They sold it in 2019.

At this point, people were approaching Nathan for his experience and knowledge, so he created Outsource School to give people what they need.

What are the do’s and don’ts of growing a good e-commerce brand?

Nathan didn’t create his own products – he found others and sold them and dropshipped
Partnering is important to success in building an e-commerce company.
Nowadays, it’s important not to be on Amazon.
The fundamentals haven’t changed.
- Focus on customer service
- Focus on how you can diversify and not have all your eggs in one basket.
- Focus on partnering to fill your gaps

Why do you think outsourcing is the best way to scale a business?

The world has changed.
You don’t need to be located any specific place, you don’t need office space, etc.
The barriers and costs to entry are low because of the free tools out there and internet.
And in today’s world, just about anything you need in a business is available at your fingertips with skilled VA’s. Accounting, graphic design, website design and management, customer service, etc. can all be outsourced.
You can scale and grow with part time VA’s up to full time as you go.
It makes it much easier to build a business.

Take us through how your build a business using outsourcing…what are the steps?

2 parts: The idea and MVP and outsourcing.

Nathan’s first 2 hires are always a part-time bookkeeper and someone to get him out of his inbox and manage his email, appts., etc. T
ake the MVP to market, get feedback and see if it has promise.
You can then increase hours of the VA’s and add others in for other needs.

“A MVP (minimum viable product) is important in any venture. Just because we sold a couple companies, doesn’t mean every idea is going to be good. So, you have to test the waters with low risk using an MVP.”

At the 14 min mark, Nathan goes into detail about how they built Outsource School.

To make your business better and grow, you need to get yourself out of the day to day so you can focus on the most important parts of growing and getting the business out there and making sure it has a market, creating brand awareness, networking, etc.
Do that correctly and you’ll be in a good place after year one.

What are the “got to” tasks or roles that should always be outsourced?

Everything!
There are 3 types of VA’s
- Followers: Non-US, $5-10 per hour and there to follower your processes and systems.
- Doers: Graphic designers, video editors, etc.
- Experts: High level. Think consultative and bring their own best practices, processes, etc.
It’s important to know which type you need for a role. You will need all 3, but you need to know where to put them and hire them in at.

At the 19:45 mark, Nathan talks about the SOP process (Standard Operating Procedure) and why it is so important to focus on.

SOPs need to be broken down into 3 parts.
Part 1: Why. Why is this task important? Why is it needed? What does success for it look like?
Part 2: Step by Step. Put together the exact steps needed to do the job.
Part 3: Do NOT Do List or Important Reminder List. Put all the important stuff at the bottom to make sure it is clear to them.
Once you have the SOP, don’t focus on 1:1 training from day one.
Give them the SOP and a video for the first week, pay them, and let them go.
At the end of that week, test them. If they get 80% of it, then move forward with 1:1.
This is a way to sift through VA’s to find the best one for the role.

What’s the most important thing entrepreneurs need to get right from the beginning and why?

If someone is newer to VA’s. It all starts with the interviewing and onboarding.
Nathan uses the CARE method:
- Communication: They must be able to communicate to your standards. How fast do they respond? Do they communicate in a way you understand and do they understand you?
- Attitude: Is their attitude in line for what you want in the role.
- Red Flags: Be on the lookout for any red flags.
- Experience: Do they have the skill set and have proven it.
Once you find someone, make sure you are on the same page for compensation.
The onboarding method is called the SICC method in a 30 min meeting:
- Schedule: Are they good with the schedule that you need? Are there conflicts?
- Issues: Computer? Internet? Power?
- Communication: Will they communicate in the way you need to them to?
- Culture: Set the expectation of them having to be a culture fit and what that means.
At the end, give them the opportunity to ask questions and back out.

Anything else we should know on outsourcing?

When starting – just focus on getting 5 hours per week back.
Don’t try to outsource everything at once.

What has surprised you most on your entrepreneur journey?

Nathan gets rejected almost every day. He keeps putting himself out there and getting rejected all the time.
You learn to focus on the successes and let the failures go and not affect you.
Your ability to handle rejection well will help you grow a larger business.
Nathan also shares a story of almost losing a whole business because they almost lost all the data for the company.

Who do you go to for mentorship and why do you choose them?

Look for people that have skills you are lacking that you cannot hire for.
Create a relationship with them before asking for mentorship.
You can even hire them as a coach and teach you their processes.
Look for people with your same values. For Nathan, that is honoring your work, treating people with respect, and owning up when you make mistakes.

Best advice for an entrepreneur starting out today?

Get your MVP out there.
You don’t need hardly any money to start a business right now.
Figure out if there is actually a market for your product and experiment to make sure it is worth your investment.

Best Quote: “A MVP (minimum viable product) is important in any venture. Just because we sold a couple companies, doesn’t mean every idea is going to be good. So, you have to test the waters with low risk using an MVP."

Nathan's Misfit 3:

Reward those who have helped you achieve success.
Honor your word and be super clear on what you can and cannot do.
Figure out what your ideal day looks like to be your most productive and make sure you business is structured around that.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Brian Levenson. Brian is a leading mental performance coach and author of Shift Your Mind – 9 mental shifts to thrive in preparation and performance. Brian is the go to performance coach for top athletes and organizations around the world.

He’s worked with everyone from the NBA to the top universities and the PGA. He is a consultant for the NBA and MLS combines where they use his processes for interviewing athletes to make sure they are the best fit and to determine their mental strengths and weaknesses.

Brian has a very special talent for helping athletes, entrepreneurs, and executives prepare themselves to perform at their highest levels and I wanted to have him on to teach you how to be your best.

Twitter: @BrianLevenson

www.StrongSkills.co

When Brian graduated from college, he was a “lost puppy.” He was never one of those that knew what he wanted to do. He explored and went into sales for a couple years. One day, he had happened to have lunch a woman named Julie who worked with top athletes and organizations helping them to breakthrough in their performance. This really appealed to Brian as a big sports fan and loved helping others.

He went back to grad school for sports psychology and when he finished, he moved to DC to work alongside Julie and be mentored by her. This helped him get his business going.

Brian has become obsessed with increasing performance or as leaders learning how to open up possibilities and see the world in new and different ways.

Brian’s dad was an entrepreneur and entrepreneurship was in his blood, so he is pretty fearless about trying new things and constantly tests new ideas and concepts.

What does it mean to “prepare to perform?”

There are distinctions between preparation, practice, and performance.
Preparation is about readiness and building competence.
Great practice blends preparation and performance.
Performance is executing and the things you’ve done to prepare and in your practice.
You have to look at all 3 like their own disciplines in which you need to hone your skill.

What are the differences between the performance and preparation mindset?

It takes 9 mental shifts that have to happen – backed science and evidence.
Here are a few…
- Humble in preparation and arrogant in performance
- Perfectionistic in preparation and adaptable in performance
- Work in preparation and play in performance.
The shifts provide a framework for how to show up.
To apply this is takes awareness and intention.
You have to be aware and focused in which mindset you are in and at what times.
Once you realize this, you then practice, practice, practice…

Can you share more of the mental shifts and what do people need to be “aware of” to maximize their preparation and maximize their performance?

Future focused in preparation and present focused in performance.
Using analysis in preparation and relying on instinct in performance.
Experimenting in preparation and trusting process in performance.
Being uncomfortable in preparation and stepping into comfort when performing.
Leveraging fear in preparation and being fearless in performance.
Being selfish in preparation and selfless in performance.
Even though these seem counter-intuitive, they are what help people consistently perform at the highest levels and they are reality.
You need to get clear on what you need to do to be your best and shift your mind.

At the 12 min mark, Brian gives examples.

“It is way easier to be mediocre, than to do the hard work on yourself and confront who you are and decide who you want to be.”

How do people truly breakthrough when it comes to maximizing their performance? What does it take?

Useful self-talk is more important than positive self-talk. Accept reality.
Positivity is a loaded term, like balance. Balance is a myth.
Don’t put pressure on yourself to be “positive” in your self-talk, but to make sure it is “useful” instead.
Learn to love the phrase, “Up until now…” because you can change what happens next. You have a choice to move forward from now into what you want for the future, the way you want.

At the 18 min mark, we discuss this in more detail… Tell us about the Strong Skills Model…

Strong Skills are 12 Competencies that can help people and organizations thrive
- Mission
- Vision
- Philosophy
- Diversity, equity, inclusion
- Ethics
- Emotional Intelligence
- Positive Psychology
- Decision Making
- Mindshifts
- Teamwork
- Leadership
Believe in the power of “And”

What are some of the biggest challenges you are seeing and helping to solve with Strong Skills?

Right now, it is diversity, equity, and inclusion with what is happening in our world.
In the past, it was just checking a box for most organizations to say they did it, and that is not the case any longer.
Teaching people to work from the inside out and have the hard conversations.
It’s time to run toward things than away from them.

From an entrepreneur standpoint, what have you found in your work about self-awareness?

It’s amazing at how the body actually impacts our behavior. It’s called Somatics.
By creating awareness and understand of your body’s actions or reactions to emotions or ways of feeling, you can recognize it and manage it better.
This is where emotional intelligence links with self-awareness.
We can prime our thoughts and feelings to happen a certain way, but we cannot always control them. This is why Self-awareness and Somatics come in to help us recognize and redirect them.

Pick 1 or 2 mental shifts that you think are most important for entrepreneurs and explain in more detail…

There is a distinction between reacting and responding.
Experimenting in preparation. As an entrepreneur, you need to experiment – but there is also a time to trust the process and move forward. Good entrepreneurs walk this line well.
Trust and belief in your process and ability to succeed is another important piece for entrepreneurs.
Give yourself space to experiment, but also trust your process.

What are the 3 C’s?

Consistency
Control
Confidence

Anything else?

Forget balance – focus on integrating things and being integrated throughout your life and work.
We also need to learn to be where our feet are.
It is also important to focus on the performance mindset and learn what that means for you.

Best Quote: “It is way easier to be mediocre, than to do the hard work on yourself and confront who you are and decide who you want to be."

Brian's Misfit 3:

Take care of your marriage first and your kids second. Selfish first, then selfless.
Self-determination theory: Autonomy. Confidence. Relatedness.
Have conviction but be passionately curious.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ben Sturgill. Ben is your quintessential pro-athlete turned entrepreneur. And I have had the pleasure to get to know him well over the last year as he is one of the traders alongside me at Raging Bull, an elite trading education company.

Ben played basketball in college and went on to play pro overseas, but knew that he needed to prepare for life after basketball – so he became an entrepreneur and since retiring from basketball has grown and sold businesses in software, real estate, and the event space.

Along the way, he started trading and investing in the markets and found he had a knack for it and today he’s a pro that trades full time and helps others throughout the world to create financial success through trading.

I’m excited to talk to him about his journey and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

https://ragingbull.com/experts/

www.Dailydeposits.com

www.IPOPayday.com

Ben grew up in a home where money was tight and from a young age, he knew he had to work to get what he wanted. He started hustling as a kid. But, it was a baseball raffle ticket sale that really exposed him to entrepreneurship and the concept of leverage. At the age of 10, he went around his neighborhood figuring out how to sell more and more of the tickets and in the span of a few weeks he made $300. This opened his eyes to the potential out there.

He was then given the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki from a mentor that had learned to invest and build wealth in the stock market on a teacher’s salary and were very wealthy. Learning from the book began his journey on learning about money.

Ben learned to look for what the greatest opportunity for him and when he grew 6 inches in one year and had a knack for basketball, he went all in on the sport. But, he still had his knack for entrepreneurship and kept learning as he career blossomed. He even started a Gumball machine business in college just practice having a small business.

After graduating college, he got the opportunity to play pro basketball overseas. Now that he was just playing basketball, he had more time to study entrepreneurship and investing in the markets. When he retired, he started a software company, a real estate company, and an event rental company. He sold the businesses and used the capital to start trading the markets full time and put more time into his family.

What other lessons did you learn from your early mentors?

The power of compound interest and what the value of money invested can do over time. Having your money make money for you.
How to look at money in general. Money is an emotional thing. The difference is the means and the end. When you focus on adding value, the means, the money will come.

Did you have any mentors in your basketball career that taught you things that translated well to your entrepreneur life?

“Play the next play.”
It is easy to get hung up on mistakes or let them define us or keep us from moving forward. We cannot. We need to learn, move on and play the next play.

What does it take to turn pro or become a pro-athlete?

You have to be fortunate.
A coach that believes in you.
A team that is supportive.
A scout that is supportive.
You have to work hard in the gym and in enhancing your skills.
At every level the game speeds up and you have to prove you are worthy of being there.
At the 20 min mark, Ben shares the story of being dominated by Okufor from UCONN.
He had to answer the question of “Do I deserve to be there? Am I one of the best players on the court?” You have to believe it and then go out and prove it.
In the pros, it is not just about winning. It is a business and the players have to hit their numbers per their contract.
You have to learn humbly, but affirmatively that you are one of the best players on the court.
Once you have that mentally and have the edge, the fear goes away.

What was the best thing about turning from pro-athlete to entrepreneur? The worst?

When you put in the years to be a pro and are paid and recognized accordingly at the top level for everything you’ve done, one of the hardest things is starting over.
In starting over, you aren’t that good and make hard mistakes.
You are back at the very bottom and have to rebuild the foundation. It’s challenging.
The flipside that is great about entrepreneurship is that you gain more control. In some ways, it is going from a team sport to an individual sport.
It gives freedom and the ability to create.

Let’s talk about trading…Tell us about how you trade the markets and how you’ve created your business.

Money is an emotional subject and to trade, you must master your emotions.
You must be disciplined. You must plan your trade and trade your plan.
It takes a systematic approach and problem solving to do it well.
Every day in the market is different, but the discipline and edge that you use for yourself is critical to maintaining success.
It is a job like any other job – some days are good, other are bad. You must continuously learn and get better.

Give us an example…

Ben trades the SPY index daily.
He day trades it.
It is very easy to trade an option on the index, but making a profit is the hard part.
Sometimes, he is in for as little as 10 mins.
The discipline is critical to winning – and keeping emotions at bay to take his profits or know when to let things go and not get too greedy.
He’s able to do this because he has watched the SPY for years and uses specific signals he has figured out over the years.
To him it is like shooting a basketball each day. He won’t make them all, but if he makes more than he misses, he wins.

Thoughts on crafting a winning mindset?

We are psychosomatic beings. We have our head and body, and then our emotions.
The key to crafting a winning mindset is to be very self aware of ourselves and emotions.
You must be self-aware about how you are, what you hang-ups are, your strengths, weaknesses – the things that can sabotage of you.
In order to craft a wining mindset, you must understand these things and learn to change or control them better.
If you don’t know, ask those around you for feedback so you can grow.

What advice would you give to a new trader?

Be prepared for the journey. It is going to take time to grow and learn and get used to.
Be prepared to practice. Paper trade to start (broker accounts will let you trade with a fake money account).
Find your setup and your niche. It has to fit YOU.
Find what you do well.

Best Quote: We are psychosomatic beings. The key to crafting a winning mindset is to be very self aware of ourselves and emotions. You must be self-aware about how you are, what you hang-ups are, your strengths, weaknesses – the things that can sabotage of you.

Ben's Misfit 3:

Potential. We need to understand what the greatest potential is in our lives. To find fulfillment in our lives is to find our greatest potential – what we were made for.
Problem. Solving problems is the most valuable thing that anyone wants. When someone has a problem, it brings them and you great joy to solve it for them. And the more problems you can solve for more people, the bigger your business.
People. People work with you because they like you and they trust you. People will do business with you because they like and trust you and know you will deliver for them.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Marek Zymslowski (mis lof ski). So, how do I describe Marek? Well, I start of by reading the title of his best-selling book, Chasing Black Unicorns: How Building the Amazon of Africa Put Me on Interpol’s Most Wanted List. Now, if that is not enough to interest you in hearing his story, here’s a little more…

Marek is basically Indiana Jones meets Silicon Valley. Marek is one of Poland’s most respected internet entrepreneurs having started numerous internet business in Europe and since that wasn’t enough, he went to Africa and built Africa’s biggest hotel booking portal, Jumia, which is now listed on the NYSE. He is ranked as one of top 10 most important people in Tech in Africa and a lead mentor at Google’s Launchpad and the World Bank’s XL Africa program.

And of course, he somehow became one of Interpol’s most wanted. His journey is filled with incredible lessons that we all can use in our lives and businesses.

www.ChasingBlackUnicorns.com

Marek’s life has a few different parts. First is the Polish part. His mother was teacher and father was a soldier. He started his career in the early 2000’s and became a millionaire – and then lost everything in 2008. He was in the finance space and described it almost like Wolf of Wall Street.

He then went into another startup and was able to build things back up and pay off his debt. He was in early stage online businesses in Poland. As Poland got more mature and the online space began to get more saturated, he decided to look for the next frontier that needed developed out – and that is where Africa came in. He moved to Nigeria and began to build new online businesses including the African version of Amazon and Booking.com type businesses.

He’s been in Africa 8 years and was able to IPO one of the companies. It has been for the most part positive, except for an extortion attempt to take over his company which got him on the Interpol list.

At this point, with everything you’ve been through, what is your most important lesson learned?

Do not make decisions too quickly.
Building a business that moves fast doesn’t mean you have to make bad, emotional decisions to do so.
All of the problems, Marek has gotten into in his life, it was always Marek making bad decisions without taking the time to think them through.

At the 12 min mark, Marek talks about the journey to go to Africa and start a business…

Marek thrives on chaos.
He likes to create markets or bring mature type markets to immature economies.
He got in with an e-commerce company that was expanding and he landed in Nigeria – he was the right man at the right time.
Marek saw it as a great learning experience.
Africa is full of extremes – areas of huge poverty and then huge areas of wealth and opportunity.
85% or people in Africa live day by day, but the middle class is doubling in size every 10 years.
Places like Lagos are not beginning to look like Dubai.
Africa is extremely diverse in countries, tribes, languages and size.
It is an amazing market for business opportunities – but it is high risk, high reward.

What should we know about doing business in Africa?

It reminds him of Poland in the 90’s.
When you come from the western world, you don’t realize how lucky you are and things you take for granted every day, don’t exist. That also brings opportunity.
The challenges you have to overcome are different.
Thinks like infrastructure and banking are almost non-existent on a large scale.
There is lack of electricity and water infrastructure. Marek had to get used to having power for his business about 5 hours a day and had to get his own generators, satellite links for internet and backup things to run the business.
The legal system is based on the British system, so it is easier to understand, but the challenge is the rules being followed. There is a lot of corruption.
Competition will try to bring you down, not by doing things in the free market, but instead using bribery and corrupt tactics with police and government to stop you.
Corruption is part of running a business in an emerging country.
You have to understand the tribal culture and local traditions and how they influence the customer.

At the 28 min mark, Marek shares the story of how he got on the Interpol most wanted list…

Choose partners wisely
Fight for what you believe in
Don’t give up or give in.

What is your process for starting and building a business?

You must be excited about something
You will be excited about a lot of things, so write them down.
Then narrow them down from there to get to the best one.
In the conceptual stage, work with many ideas and understand the problems as there will be even more when you go to the execution stage.
If you are good at something, you will end up making money at it.

Are there any trends people should be watching in business?

Online business in sub-Saharan Africa.

Renewables, specifically, solar energy. There is a lot of mega trends and solar is one of them.

Look outside your own borders.

Thoughts on opportunities as the world re-opens from the virus?

The virus has not changed the trends as much as it accelerated them.
Stay within your sector as there are most likely a ton of opportunities.
Your speed in which you adapt is key to succeeding at higher levels.

What has surprised you most about entrepreneurship?

Marek never expected that he would have to deal with rejection so frequently.
And more importantly, learning to overcome that rejection and not let it affect you daily.

Best Quote: Building a business that moves fast doesn’t mean you have to make bad, emotional decisions to do so...

Marek's Misfit 3:

Treat your body as the most important organization you are responsible for. Just like you constantly watch your business and take care of it – you should do the same for your body.
Mistakes come from being too emotional and allowing ego to destroy you. Ego is a double-edged sword and you must learn to yield it wisely.
At some point, you have to stop listening to people and reading books and start acting on your own.

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This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, As we are just coming off the 4th of July holiday in the U.S., I thought it would be a good time to talk to you about Liberty. Liberty is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days and many people that use it, don’t really understand its true meaning. Liberty is a very deep and important word and impacts every aspect of our lives.

The dictionary defines Liberty in multiple ways including:

Freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.
Freedom from external or foreign rule; independence.
Freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according to choice.
Freedom from captivity, confinement, or physical restraint

When you boil it down, Liberty means to be free to choose how you want to live in your life. But, it is also important to understand that for most of human history, we did not have Liberty. And we did not because there was always someone, a King, Lord, or a form of government that instituted control over all aspects of people’s lives. Now, I am not going to down that rabbit hole of a discussion on the history of tyranny in this episode. I’ll save that for a long conversation when you are older. But, it is important to understand and ask the question that “If for most of human history, people did not have liberty, what changed so that they could have liberty?” Well, the truthful answer is that most people around the world still do not have true liberty – even in the U.S., but we have much more than most.

When the United States was created by the founders, they understood that the world was missing true liberty and while they were certainly not perfect as no man will ever be, they set out on a great mission to create a place of true Liberty for the world. In the Declaration of Independence, they stated something that we take for granted, but was absolutely shocking and foreign at the time. The said, “ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. And That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The fact that they not only stated that rights came from the creator and not from a King, Lord, or Government was enough to flip the world on its head, but even more importantly, they stated that “to secure those rights governments are instituted among men, and this is key, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

This was even crazier. Not only were rights from a creator, but it was the people, the governed, that were in control and gave consent to their leaders.

We take this for granted today. In fact, many people have never even been taught or read the few things I just stated, because it is considered normal and the denial of Liberty that was around for the majority of human existence is thought of as crazy. The founders went further when they drafted the Constitution of the United States because now they were not only saying it, but they were laying the framework for how to enshrine Liberty for the people and keep the Government essentially in check, so that it did not infringe on individual Liberty. And of course, they were smart enough and humble enough to know they were flawed, not perfect, and some things of their day could not yet be rectified in the Constitution – but they put in a process to do so where we the people could amend the Constitution. In fact, the beginning of the document states, “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union…” More perfect, NOT perfect. They knew that it would be a work in progress.

As a side note, the form of Government they chose was a Representative Republic, not a Democracy. I know a lot of people like to call the U.S. a Democracy, but it is not. And for good reason, as every Democracy in history has failed as it devolved into mob rule. With a Democracy, all that is needed is a tiny majority, even by the slimmest of margins and then that majority would be in control and have the ability to suppress or take away the Liberty of all others – basically ruling them. How would you feel if 51% of people didn’t agree with you, so they took away all of your rights and freedoms? That is why Democracies fail as they turn into mob rule and destroy themselves. Thankfully, the United States is not one.

And one other note, the Constitution as it was written by the founders is not that of today. We have had some wonderful amendments added to the Constitution such as the abolishment of slavery, bill of rights (the first 10 amendments), and rights to vote for all, etc. But, we have also had some, in my opinion, destructive amendments such as the 17th amendment which removed one of the most important aspects of the original Constitution. In the original Constitution, Senators were to be elected by their own state legislatures. This was important because it meant that the only way they would remain a Senator is if they did what was in the best interest of their state. This also kept the states and people with the power and the Federal Government small. The 17th amendment removed that and allowed Senators to be elected by popular vote and thus ushered in a form of Democracy at the state level into our Republic that was not intended. All the Senators had to do was promise the public a bunch of stuff and they would get elected – they didn’t’ have to look out for their state anymore.

So, why am I telling you all of this? Well, up to this point, I wanted to explain how important Liberty is to everyone and share how it was given its due place in the course of human history. We have certainly seen the benefits of it in the United States and what liberty in entrepreneurship and free enterprise has done for the world. But, remember, the default state of human history is not Liberty, it is tyranny and an insatiable appetite for control and power, so our Liberty is something we must cherish and understand very well, so that we don’t willingly give it up or lose it.

Everyone must work hard to thoroughly understand Liberty and work to enshrine it for future generations. It is what creates prosperity or the opportunity for it – the ability to pursue happiness. Liberty does not and should not guarantee anything to anyone. It simply gives all us to opportunity to create the life that we want. This is the wisdom and advice the founders gave us. In fact, Benjamin Franklin was stopped on the street right after the Constitution was signed, and asked, “What type of government do we have?” He said, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

The lesson I want you to learn is to understand your liberty and understand the history that led to it, so as not to repeat the fails of human history and to use your Liberty to pursue your happiness and create the life you want. We have Liberty, freedom that many people still in this world could only dream of, all around us in all aspects of life, business, and in our thinking – don’t take it for granted and use it for good. I know you will.

I love you, Daddy.

Best Quote: "Remember, the default state of human history is not Liberty, it is tyranny and an insatiable appetite for control and power, so our Liberty is something we must cherish and understand very well, so that we don’t willingly give it up or lose it."

Misfit 3:

Liberty is a very deep and important word and impacts every aspect of our lives. For most of human history, the human race did not have liberty. because there was always someone, a King, Lord, or a form of government that instituted control over all aspects of people’s lives.
The founders of the United Stated flipped the world on their head when they stated that, not only were rights from our creator, but it was the people, the governed, that were in control and gave consent to their leaders.
Understand your liberty and understand the history that led to it, so as not to repeat the fails of human history and to use your Liberty to pursue your happiness and create the life you want.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Rylee Meek. Rylee is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of American Partners Group, the CEO of the Social Dynamic Selling System, and speaker, author and mentor.

Let me tell you why I asked Rylee to come on today. Rylee is the king of creating predictable, sustainable, and scalable selling systems. He had his teams have promoted over 25,000 events and connected over 2 million consumers with their clients.

He is one of the best people I have found to come on and teach how to create a sales growth engine for your business. And my goal today is for him to give you the blueprint to help you no matter what type of business you have or medium that you sell on. It’s a tall order, but I know Rylee is up to it.

www.RyleeMeek.com

www.SocialDynamicSelling.com

Rylee grew up in a small town of 1500 in South Dakota. He got his first job at 15 at a local gas station. He was making $5.15 per hour. After his first 8 hour day, he did the math and realized that there was no way he was going to make what he wanted for the things he wanted to do – so his first day was his last day. He quit and was never employed by someone again. By the time he graduated high school, he had successful business doing 6-figures per year retailing health and wellness products.

He ended up doing a number of different things and then got an opportunity to go open up an office for a business in Puerto Vallarta. He moved with his wife to seize the opportunity and within 5 months, the government shut operations down for the business. He lost all of his money in the investment. He was broke and came back to the US homeless having to sleep on his sister’s couch.

He was 24 and needed to find a good opportunity. He came across an ad on Craig’s List for an opportunity to learn to sell through dinner seminars. It was a whole new awakening for Rylee. He had always sold things 1:1 and this process was a way to sell to many at one time and better qualify your clients.

He then had to figure out what products he was going to sell. He was aware that it was normal thing for financial advisers, etc. but he saw the opportunity to do it for other larger ticket item products.

In his first 6 months of doing this, he did over $2 million in sales selling home remodeling products.

Now, a decade later he’s done it with 7 different companies in different verticals taking them to 7 and 8 figures in their first year.

He began to grow and scale and create a system to teach other businesses on how this works.

What is the #1 thing people need to understand about selling?

If you build it, they DO NOT come.
You can have the great product, but if nobody knows about it or you don’t have a system to take it to market, it doesn’t matter.

What are the principles of the social dynamic selling system?

It’s called this because in any setting, there is a social dynamic happening.
Social dynamic selling is being able to understand this and use it to your advantage in selling.
It involves positioning as an authority and people being at an event for your expertise.
It is creating an environment where people purchase together vs. 1:1 selling.

Take us through the steps of how the system works…

The system (dinner seminar format) is not for everybody or every product. It needs to be a higher cost product or at least have a ladder that makes the lifetime value of a customer to higher value.
Goal is a 3x per event. If it costs $5000 to put the event on, then you should make at least $15,000.
You need to identify you true client avatar and what you actually sell.
What you sell is deeper than you think. For example, you might want a drill so you can drill a hole in the wall. But, it is deeper – you really want the hole, so you can hang a family picture and make your home more comforting and warm, etc. The drill is just the vehicle to what you want, which is the benefits of the benefits of the benefits.

At the 20:50 mark, Rylee goes through an end to end example of the system with a client.

Define the avatar.
Know your market radius.
Market to the ideal audience speak in terms of the benefits of the benefits.
Direct mail still works best to get people to the event. .

At the 25 min mark, Rylee goes through the event process when onsite.

The goal is to get people to know, like, and trust you.
Give them something right away – Rylee typically likes to start with a salad so they don’t have to wait a long time to eat something and get grumpy.
You have cover all areas of how people learn – auditory, visual, kinesthetic in your presentation.
There are 6 measurables that are tracked through a full campaign and each has one goal. The only goal for the seminar is to get the 1:1 appt.

What are the key components of the presentation?

Facts tell and stories sell. Use stories.
You need to take people on the emotional journey of how your product or service makes a difference and helps to alleviate or avoid the pain they are having in their lives by not using the product or service.
You are not doing the “rah-rah” rush to the back of the room.
Your goal is to gain the right to have the following up meeting because the have interest and know, like, and trust you.
“Nobody wants to be sold, but everybody wants to buy…”
You must create the environment where you don’t “sell,” you give people the opportunity to buy.

At the 38 min mark, Rylee talks about “hunting vs. farming…”

Every buying decision is an emotional decision, but it has to be backed by logic.
Sense of urgency helps.
The key is being able to fulfill the business when you get it.

How do you take your system and sell through a web meeting or webinar?

You have to be very good at understanding tonality, voice inflection, and sensing where the client is at during your presentation.
Actively listening is just as important.
You can use the same format to drive traffic using direct mail, online campaigns, etc. driving them to a live webinar.
On a webinar, the littlest things make a difference and your tone and mannerisms are very important.
You also have to understand the your perspective may not be there perspective, but it is your job to understand and speak to it.
Be curious…

7 Businesses, $100+ million, what are 1-2 lessons that you think every entrepreneur should know?

If you build it, they don’t come. Get a good sales process.
Bootstrap your business.
Once you’ve got things going, find others and delegate.
You only need your people to be 60% as good as you think you are.

Best Quote: "Nobody wants to be sold, but everybody wants to buy…"

Rylee's Misfit 3:

Get a mentor or coach. They might 2 different people and outside sources. They will help you be accountable and help you succeed even more.
Be intentional in whatever you do. We are all called to excellence and need to give our very best in all we do. Anything short of that is a waste.
RPM in the morning. Read, Pray, Meditate. Your morning routine is critical.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Anthony Sarandea. Anthony is an interesting Misfit Entrepreneur. Not only is he known as one of the top customer generators in the world with a business that drives over 1 million new customers a year for clients, but he’s been featured alongside Snapchat Founder, Evan Spiegel as one of the entrepreneurs changing the world.

He’s one of the top Forbes 30 under 30 entrepreneurs, philanthropist, and is even getting into acting. But, the thing that impresses me most is how methodically, consistently, and quietly, Anthony built a powerhouse that works behind the scenes driving the business and customer acquisition of some of the largest companies in the world. They rely on him and his businesses to make them go.

And today, I not only want to talk about the secrets Anthony has learned on how to find and get customers, but also the lessons he learned in building businesses doing 10’s of millions of dollars that not many know about.

Anthony Sarandrea on Instagram

www.AnthonySarandrea.com

Anthony grew up in a lower middle class family. His dad was a police officer and his mom was nurse. He was taught to work hard and had talent in sports, specifically basketball. His dream was to play pro-basketball and went on that path. Halfway through college, he found the internet. He saw a guy in a fancy car running around on a Tuesday and asked him what he did. The guy told he worked on the internet.

Anthony convinced the guy to let him learn from him and started essentially shadowing him working 18 hour days learning everything he could from all sources he could get information.

His knowledge turned into skill and his first business where people hired him for online/internet projects running ads. He grew and hired his brother, then another and then other employees, etc. and kept growing it. He built it out to where today, Anthony’s business is basically a Lending Tree for services needed by distressed Americans – basically a lead generation powerhouse for products and services for people that have challenges like too much debt or low credit scores, etc. The market had been ignored and underserved and Anthony stepped in to help people get the services to help them.

What does it mean to “Own the Customer and Not the Offer?”

You want to be in the business of owning the customer
It is a lot more scalable as one customer is a good fit for multiple offers.
The key is to position yourself as the go to place for businesses with offers to get customers.
You want to be in a position to build an ongoing relationship with the customer, so you can work with them over and over again in different ways.
This way, you don’t shove a square peg into a round hole and best help the customer, but also monetize them in multiple ways for your business.

At the 9:52 mark, Anthony breaks down his business and how it operates….

Anthony gets an ad for a specific type of product such as health insurance.
They spend 6 -figures a day on paid ads on everything from Facebook to Direct Mail.
All of the different platforms are just channels to get in front of a consumer.
When a customer clicks on the ad, they go to a landing page with more detail and criteria.
The goal is to get them to take an action. For example, for health insurance, it is to make a call to discuss their needs.
Anthony has a whole call center setup on the back end with his business clients in which calls are routed to their call centers and sales teams.
Anthony gets paid every time the phone rings, every time a customer signs up, even based on how long a call lasts.
There are differences for each business customer that Anthony’s business customizes to maximize success.
There is whole routing system behind the scenes that slices and dices customer information to determine who a client is sent to.

How did you figure all of this out?

It started when built his first ad business. He got to with a bunch of different segments, which gave a diverse view of needs.
Eventually, he productized the service
His job was just then to sell it businesses. And he had a win-win.
He would deliver a customer at a great price agreed upon with a customer and he didn’t get paid unless he delivered the customers.

How do you get your business customers?

It’s much easier now that he has a track record.
But, it is also easier because Anthony takes on the risk and only get’s paid when he delivers.
He would also pay to speak at conferences and gain credibility.
He found a niche in large, but still up and coming players in different markets.

Since you are dependent on a clients success, how do you impact that?

It’s how you structure a deal
More importantly it’s how you align to the interests and what a client is really looking for and then speaking in those terms and structuring things.
One of the greatest skill sets to have is to look at a deal from a different perspective.
Flip the script – if you are taking on the risk, you need to vet them more than they do you.
In Anthony’s case, he’s doing the hardest work in getting people to be interested in a product and make a decision to learn more.
He even tests out a client’s process and give feedback and recommendations to improve their process before sending a lead to make sure it can be successful.

Tell us about your customer acquisition strategies…

Focus on a specific niche within a niche. For example, don’t just focus on moms, focus on divorced moms just on the east coast, etc.
Demographically niching down is what wins over time.
Tactics will change by platform in how you make an ad look or the content.
You job is to be more interesting than someone’s mom, dad, sister, brother, friends, etc. on their newsfeed to spur them to act and learn more.
To do this, you need to be highly specific and talk in terms of deep down psychological benefit.
Anthony literally becomes a “method actor” when focusing on niche and actually gets himself into the same situation he is focused on serving.
- For example, he purposely defaulted on his medical bills so he could feel what people go through. The collections calls, letters, anxiety, etc.
He then uses these experiences to write his ad copy.
Too many companies spend their time on talking about their product, service, offer, or benefits, when their only focus should be on connecting with a customer in terms of the real-life reality of the situation they are in – their deepest psychological pain points.

What works and what doesn’t when it comes to driving traffic?

Use all mediums – things like direct mail aren’t dead.
Start on a Facebook or Instagram and go from there.
Right now, a lot of brands have pulled back budget, but there are more people on the platforms, so it is a great time to advertise.
Every platform works, but the tactics for each one vary widely. Start and get good at one and then go from there.

Any resources to help people get started in the basics of doing ads?

Yes, there is a Facebook Ad Buyer Group you can join and learn from
Things move so fast and literally, what works today can change tomorrow, so it is a constant learning curve.
Just start. The best way is to start paying some money and start learning. And as you lose your initial money, it will push you to focus and learn how to make it work for you to stop the bleeding.

What are the best lessons you have learned in entrepreneurship that you apply every day?

Find the most world class people. Hire the best. Hire the A players today, because you will always come back to them.
Fail fast
Don’t fall prey to mommy effect, where you only listen to people telling you things are great. Seek out the naysayers and get the critical feedback. Listen to them.

How do you find the best? The A-players?

Look at who is working in highest levels of your competition and doing well or who is closest to your business or industry.
If you find someone who is really successful in an area you want to learn in, go above and beyond to get their attention and curiosity to speak with you. Anthony will Venmo a payment for an hour of their time without even speaking with them to show he’s serious.
Find people who are where you want to be and ask them how to get there. Connect with them in multiple ways.
Make sure you are up front and make sure they know that speaking to you or meeting you will not be a waste of time.

Best Quote: "Too many companies spend their time on talking about their product, service, offer, or benefits, when their only focus should be on connecting with a customer in terms of the real-life reality of the situation they are in – their deepest psychological pain points."

Anthony's Misfit 3:

Fail Fast. Fail and find that one win every day.
Surround yourself with the best of the best, the A-Players.
Purposely make time every week to help others and give of yourself. It give perspective and perspective is the key to happiness.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Dr. Benjamin Hardy. Ben probably needs no introduction, but for those of you that haven’t heard of him, he is an organizational psychologist and bestselling author of “Willpower Doesn’t Work.” Ben’s works have been read by over 100 million people and he’s featured regularly on Forbes, Fortune, CNBC, and many others. He is a regular contributor to INC and from 2015-2018, he was the #1 writer, in the world, on Medium.com.

But, what is it about Ben that separates him and has helped him to have such an influence on the world? Well, having read some of Ben’s works, I think I know. It’s his uncanny ability to challenge societal norms and go against the “herd,” but do it in an easy and understandable way that is practical and can be put to use in your life.

He’s recently released his latest book “Personality Isn’t Permanent” and when I learned the focus of the book, I had to have him on to discuss it, and of course, his thoughts on entrepreneurship as well.

www.BenjaminHardy.com

Ben’s journey started when his parents got divorced when he was 11. It caused a lot of trauma. He father became deeply depressed and a drug addict after. It got so bad that Ben could not see him anymore. With everything going on, he barely graduated high school and spent his days playing video games.

You need a future to have hope and happiness. It is hard to have meaning in your life without a future. Ben didn’t have a future at this time in his life. He was not happy.

So, he reconnected by going on a church mission. He did it by himself. It was meaningful and an escape to start fresh. He did it for a few years and it was transformational. He also got into journaling during this time. He got to where he was journaling an hour a day. This helped to find himself and learn to live intentionally. He squeezed as much as he could out of his time and this led him to study psychology and this led to him getting his PhD.

This experience was what helped drive him and shape how he thinks and what he studies and writes about. Ben now continues to write and be a thought leader and lives in Florida with his family.

Why is the story that someone tells themselves so important to their life and their success – and underpinning to their personality?

Identity is more important that personality.
Personality is a byproduct.
Identity is something that you can control.
Your identity is the story you tell and use to explain yourself.
Most don’t take the time to consciously reframe their stories.
Your identity can and should be based on the future and who you want to be.
You are different than your former self.
It is good to view your current self as different from your future self.
You can set better goals to pursue and become a better version of yourself in the future.
Beware overly defining their current self. “I am X or Y…” It is better to explain yourself in terms of how you want to be and where you want to go. It is a better form of storytelling and doesn’t lock you in.

If someone wants to be deliberate and re-craft their story, what would you tell them to do?

Being deliberate is the separator – deliberate practice or intentional learning. A process that translates to a specific goal and you need a view of your future self to do it.
The first place to start is your identity of your future self. It is more important than current self.
It is impossible to make good decisions today if you don’t know who you want to be tomorrow.
Use a 3-year time frame. Clarify your future self and who your want to be in 3 years.
You have to choose who you want to be in the future. If you don’t choose, that is a choice. It comes down to choice.
Choices must be made even with the uncertainty around them.
Many times we don’t have choice of our circumstances, but we do choose how we respond.
Once you begin to tell yourself your new story, you begin to live into what you tell people you are.

Tell us about the book, why is personality not permanent?

Listen to the TED talk called “The Psychology of Your Future Self.”
Dominant views of personality don’t reflect the science. Your personality is not innate or your authentic self. It can chance and does change.
Are you the exact same person you were 10 years ago?
Study after study has shown that people are not and their personality changes over time.
“Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they are finished.”
People that keep telling themselves the same narrative become rigid and stunt their personal development.
This why personality tests can be debilitating as they can confirm a personality type, create bias and lock people into something that may not be the best for them and their growth over time.
Additionally, your environment, social group, and roles you are in also affect your personality and they change over time.

Ben breaks down personality into 4 levers….

Trauma – Former experiences that are not reframed and shape your subconscious
Narrative – The story you tell and where you are going – this actually acts against your subconscious as it is shaping your future self in that you will be different than who you are now.
Subconscious – Where you are right now and your comfort zone.
Environment – The influences around you

At the 32 min mark, we discuss how this topic has been shared in numerous ways throughout human history, but most still don’t learn it. We also talk why personality tests don’t work.

Beware living by a label or labeling yourself.
The biggest problems of personality tests is that they overly define your current self and stop you from thinking about the future an choosing your future – labels trap you and aren’t accurate.

What is the difference between a wannabe entrepreneur and an actual entrepreneur?

There is an identity shift required to become an entrepreneur.
People who invest in their future goals, business, and identity get their faster.
Your willingness to “put your money where you mouth” is helps you succeed as an entrepreneur.
We are kept from our goal, not by obstacles, but by a clear path to a lesser goal.
Additionally, your ability to recovery from a setback or past experience and get back to creating the future has an impact on entrepreneur success.

Tell us about the 100% Rule…

Ben learned it from Clayton Christiansen
Committing 100% is a lot easier than committing, say 98%. If you don’t’ commit 100% it becomes a slippery slope. What if you were only 98% committed to your marriage?
Not being 100% can lead to identity confusion and issues with willpower.
Situation will beat environment if you are not decided. 100% Decisions cut off alternative outcomes.

Habits?

Habits are the byproduct of the goal.
Some are good for everything – constant learning, journaling, serving others, morning/evening routines, etc.

Any big lessons you’ve taken from your adoption journey?

No other success can compensate for failure in the home.
Invest daily in your kids.
It helps you realize that so many other things don’t matter as much.
Patience and empathy toward your children. Measure the gain, not the gap.
Don’t overly define your kids around their current personality.

Best Quote: "You need a future to have hope and happiness. It is hard to have meaning in your life without a future.

Ben's Misfit 3:

Clarify your future self. Clarity creates motivation..
Tell people about your future self.
Continually invest in your future self and try new and better things. The bigger the future, the better the present.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Rytis Lauris. Rytis is the co-founder and CEO of Omnisend, the Powerful marketing automation platform focused on moving eCommerce marketers beyond generic email marketing tools. It’s currently the fastest growing marketing automation platform in the industry. Because of this, Rytis has gained a lot of notoriety within the eCommerce community for his insights on omnichannel and the future of eCommerce.

With over a decade of experience building and boostrapping successful startups in e-commerce, I wanted to have Rytis on to discuss the importance and future of marketing coming out of the Wuhan Coronavirus quarantine and how important it is for you to understand the different ways you need to market to stand out.

www.omnisend.com

Rytis Lauris on LinkedIn

Rytis graduated with a degree in political science and no experience in technology or marketing. When he was 21, a friend ask him to help with a business he was starting. He had no experience but figured it out and made it work. He never looked back and has been an entrepreneur ever since with a number of businesses. He got into digital marketing (which Onmisend was born from) and had success, but while running that business, started a few others that didn’t work out. One was a postcard business and the other was a polling tool for presenters on stage at conferences and events. He learned a major lesson in that every business has to solve a real problem. The two failures were “nice to have” products, but not necessities.

“You have to find a monetizable customer pain/problem to solve. That is the only way to build a proper business.”

What is Onmichannel marketing?

It is a way to communicate with a customer based through multiple mediums at once including email, text, chat, messenger, push notification, Facebook/Google/social ads and retargeting.
It is one tool where you can market through all channels at lunch.
It can be customized to communicate across the different mediums at different times and different ways to customers during their lifecycle.
You need a way to meet customers where they are – and nowadays that is in a number of channels.

At the 12 min mark, Rytis talks about Omnichannel in action with examples…

Marketing needs to follow the same path in how buyers behave and each customer will have different preferences and behavior.

What works best for a B2B and for a B2C strategy with Omnichannel?

Most of the work Rytis does is with B2C and mainly physical goods.
Omnichannel works better for B2C.
B2B doesn’t typically buy through things like Facebook Messenger and typically has a more formal process and decision-making process.
It does depend on what the product is as some B2B products may make sense for Omnichannel.
The consumer channel is the bigger opportunity for Omnichannel.
Omnichannel can work for informational type products or services as well for B2C.
It is especially good for things sold online as it can track everything.

Are there any changes or shifts you see happening or coming because of the virus?

Massive change that will make a major impact for the future – almost all businesses are transforming to a digital presence by nature.
Consumers have all gone digital and expect it, so your business has to accommodate it.
In harder times, businesses turn to selling into their customer base instead of investing to get new customers. This can work as it is a warm market, but they have to be careful not to sacrifice the future and keep a focus on gaining new clients.

Amazon? Friend or Foe? Should it be a part of an Omnichannel strategy?

It’s a tricky question, but ultimately, the answer is yes.
Everyone should have Amazon as a part of their strategy, but not rely on it solely.
It is easier to start on Amazon. It has the traffic and the platform and the tools you need to get going.
Once you are going, you need to be building your own brand, own platform, and owning the customer journey.

What is the difference between a Omnisend type solution and a Hubspot type?

Hubspot is more for B2B needs, Onmisend is built more for B2C.
Hubspot and other tools like it are more CRM and drip campaign type tools.
Omnisend has order follow up sequences, synchronizing with your online store, etc. Hubspot does not.
They are really completely different types of solutions and focuses.

If you had to give one of your best pieces of advice, outside or Omnichannel, for entrepreneurs to market their business, what would it be?

Be consistent.
Deliver what you promise.
Respect your customers and they will respect you.
Marketers and businesses need to think in terms of campaigns and lifetime values of customers.
It needs to be about what customer want to hear from you, not what you want to say to them.

How important can the little things be such as reviews online, etc?

Very important!

Social proof and reviews are critical for selling online and validating your products/services.

You customer feedback is gold and must be listened to.

Another little thing is keeping people informed and up to date.

What has surprised you most on your entrepreneur journey?

Rytis never thought of himself as a creative person, but entrepreneurship brings that out in him and has made a large impact on his success.
The 80/20 rule is real. 20% of the effort drives 80% of the results. Stay true to this.

What is your best advice for an entrepreneur starting out?

Just do it. Whatever it takes – find a way and make a way.
And there is no better day to start than today.
Plan on the move…

Anything else you want to share?

Use Omnichannel
Be consistent
Think in terms of customer lifecycle.

Best Quote: "You have to find a monetizable customer pain/problem to solve. That is the only way to build a proper business.”

Rytis's Misfit 3:

Just do it. Take action and take the first step.
People overestimate what they can do in a short amount of time and underestimate what they can do in a longer amount of time.
Dream responsibly.

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This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I can’t believe it – we are now at episode 200 of the Misfit Entrepreneur. What a milestone and what an awesome honor to have it be a Lessons for Hannah episode. I am going to take a break from doing the Wuhan Coronavirus updates and change things up for this episode with a very simple, yet incredibly important lesson. After a few months of being quarantined and working almost every day, because, well, there wasn’t much else to do – we decided to take a week off and go to our cabin at the lake. We originally had planned a vacation during this time, but because of travel restrictions, we had to cancel it. But, we could go to the cabin.

And after a week of being there, it reminded me of a very important lesson we all need to remember in our lives and as we have approached episode 200, it has come into even more focus. We must take the time to truly relax and recharge in our lives! I didn’t full appreciate and realize how much I was not relaxing until after about 4 days into our time there. In fact, the first day we were there I used the morning to do a 70.3 triathlon in and around the lake. It was great. Just me and 5 hours of exercise. But, even after that, I was checking the computer and my phone to “see what I had missed.”

The next day I woke up and checked email, etc. before the day started and then we went out to the boat and hung on the lake – but of course, I would periodically still check my phone. Over the weekend, family came in and we spent the long weekend hanging out, boating, etc. As the weekend went on, I felt less of a need to check in. I even started reading a really good book, The Last Odyssey by James Rollins and devoured it in about 3 days. I started to feel myself loosen up and begin to relax. I even slept in a little longer as the week went on and gave myself a few days off of doing any exercise, etc.

By the end of the week, we were just hanging out, enjoying time as a family, having fun, and not worrying about things. It was very nice and made me realize how much we are on the go – even during a lockdown. In a normal week, I am going from 5:30am in the morning to early evening, you are doing your schoolwork with mommy, then jumping on web meetings for classes for your Tai Kwan do or other activities, and your mother has her work and priorities. We are literally, non-stop every day. And it takes a slowdown, a change of venue, and pace to shock yourself out of that daily grind to show you that you are in need of time off and time to recharge and relax.

By the end of the week, I felt better overall. I felt like we all connected as a family in a larger way that we haven’t in a while, and I had new perspective to go back to things with. You had a blast playing with your cousins, hanging out on the boat doing things like tubing, fishing, and all the other fun stuff we do at the cabin. I could tell you needed that after being basically relegated to home for 2 months with your mother and me. And your mom got to catch up on some sleep and enjoy some much deserved R&R.

Hannah, it’s important that we take the time in our lives to break out of our daily grind and routines and get recharged. It helps us reconnect with our family and ourselves, see things we have been missing, and enjoy life in different ways. I urge you to take these times in your life, at least several times a year as helps you to be even better in all areas of your life. The week at the cabin reminded me of that and reminded me that we need to do it more often and I have a feeling we will spend more time at the lake this summer. Here’s to 200 more great episodes with some recharging breaks in-between!

I love you, Daddy.

Best Quote: It’s important that we take the time in our lives to break out of our daily grind and routines and get recharged. It helps us reconnect with our family and ourselves, see things we have been missing, and enjoy life in different ways.

Misfit 3:

We often don't realize how much we need to relax and recharge until we take the time to do it.
When we take the time to recharge, it breaks us out from our daily grind and helps us reconnect with ourselves and those around us.
We must make it a point to take several weeks per year to recharge ourselves and relax in our lives.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Carol Little. Carol is a top public speaker and founder of the Little Training Company, a company devoted to helping people learn how to make a memorable first impression and take their public speaking to new levels. She works with professionals and entrepreneurs throughout the world helping them to craft their message and deliver it in the best way to their target audiences.

But, that is second to what I want to speak with Carol about today. You see, more recently, Carol lost everything to a natural disaster, and through ingenuity, determination, and hard work, she came back and has built and even better business and life for herself. There are so many entrepreneurs experiencing what Carol went through right now across the world, so I could not think of a better person to come and share how she came back from losing it all and what she learned along the way.

www.LittleTrainingCompany.com

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston. Carol’s entire neighborhood flooded. Carol has to leave everything to save herself. Harvey was the event that changed her life. There is life before Harvey and life after. She lost everything she owned.

In the aftermath, she was faced with questioning herself, asking, “It’s it not about who I am, but who I want to be.” And she had to make a choice. Everything had to be rebuilt.

She made strategic changes to her business and how she works, and who she serves. What started out as a tragedy ended in a victory because the lessons learned through her experience have prepared her to succeed and overcome anything.

Can you describe the decimation that took place with Harvey and in your life? It’s best to listen at the 5 min mark…

It was nothing like she had experienced being from California.
Her neighborhood wasn’t in the flood zone and did not have flood insurance.
But the officials decided to open the dam and flood her neighborhood. No one was spared.
Carol was taking care of her mother who was in a wheel chair at the time.
They had to carry her upstairs to get her up to safety.
The water started coming in the middle of the night and the sounds were horrifying.
Carol called 911 at midnight and they were not rescued until 11am the next day.
4.5 feet of water came into home. The boat to rescue could go to the front door.
They were taken to a shelter and eventually lived with a family friend for 2 weeks.
Carol shares that it’s not just your house that floods. There are no banks, grocery stores, gas stations, etc. everything was flooded. Some places got 10+ ft. of water.
Carol said she was naïve that she thought she could just clean up after the water, but everything is destroyed – everything has to be stripped, belonging and appliances have to be thrown out.
Your sense of security and safety gets lost. Everything Carol had worked so hard to build was gone in an instant.

Talk about losing your business in the midst of this….

Carol had speaking engagement and trainings but could not go.
The airport was closed.
She literally didn’t have clothes or even underwear for days.
And with everything that happened, work was the last thing on her mind.

Was there a point where you hit a bottom in going through this? How did you get yourself back up and keep going?

Carol laughs as she says she so many times it was like a bouncing ball.
It was a year and half before contractors could even get to her house to start redoing it.
Her first bottom was after the people who had come to help had to leave and all that was left was Carol and her destroyed home. She just lost it and broke down. It all finally set in.
Carol says that in times like this, you find out what you are really made of.
She tells the story of when someone called her a “victim” and she could not take it. She said “No, my house flooded, but I am not a victim.”
Being a victim is a choice.
You can feel like things are forced on you like a Hurricane or Pandemic, but even in those situations, you are not victim unless you choose to be.
Many times, people play the role of a victim because there is comfort in that. You can’t play the victim to reach the level of success you want.
There is only 1 thing that no one can take from you – your ability to choose.

At the 18 min mark, Carol takes us through the timeline and actions she took to put her life and business back together…

First, she got stable. She had to find a place to live and get her mom safe.
She didn’t have a “plan.”
She put one step in front of the other.
She started working her way back into her business.
The most important work she had to do to be successful was on herself.
Carol had to become OK asking for help and to find.
Carol started making a list of everything she found that was lost. It helped her to focus on what she did have. It gave her a feeling of control.
Carol’s “Found List” was an anchor.
Sometimes, you have to be your worst, so you can be your best…
Halfway through the rebuilding process, Carol’s mom passed away.
She kept trying to hold it together putting on a good face. But, it wasn’t helping her. It was making it worse. Eventually, she could not keep it together and imploded from the inside out.
Things got very tough as Carol was at her worst for a while – things got messy- but this showed her where she needed to work.
It is ok not to be perfect or always be strong. It’s OK to need help.
Carol had kept the best of herself trapped by trying to be so strong and independent.

Now that you’ve gone through this and come back, what really matters and what are you during the pandemic to succeed?

What matters most now is service. So many came out to help Carol during her time of need and now it’s her turn to pay it back.
Carol is able to serve and coach people during their tough times now and help them overcome the same types of challenges.
It used to be more about making money – now, it is more about serving. The focus used to be more on the end result and now, it is on the process itself.
And the big lesson Carol learned is that all of that end result stuff that money buys can be washed away and destroyed in a moment. It can be gone in the blink of an eye.
The real gold is in the now – it’s in each moment.

What are you seeing out there right now that people need?

People are in fear.
They are in fear for their health, their finances, their livelihood, their family, etc.
The pandemic has created a space to deal with the “things that are in the way” of where they want to go or the level they want to get to.
Now is the time to deal with it and you can come out of this pandemic to succeed at a higher level than before.
People don’t take the time to slow down or don’t want to confront and deal with debilitating thought patterns or major obstacles holding them back.
And even in confronting these things, you need a way to hold yourself accountable, so you don’t slip backward. Whether that is a coach or some other support system, it’s needed.
It’s really easier to fail and people tend to take the path of least resistance. It’s the unknown that scares them – failure is known, success is the unknown.

The skills of making a first impression and messaging is going to be very important coming out of lockdown. How can we do our best in these areas?

Authenticity has been so overused and has become cliché, but as scary as it can be, you want people to see who you really are.
People will hide in plain site. It is terrifying for most people to just stand in a room full of people and be seen for who they really are.
If people cannot see you for who you really are, then they cannot hear you either. They won’t care what you have to say.
You must eliminate the ways that you hide. Let people see who you are. You won’t be for everybody and that is OK.

How does someone articulate in the best way possible who they are and what they want and stand out?

People miss the opportunity of the “introduction.”
You must be memorable.
It’s important to tell someone who you are and who you serve and how you help them in an introduction.
Don’t just say what you do or job title.
When it comes to messaging use MESSAGE as an acronym for the elements needed
- M is for Me – telling who you are. It is not your resume. Start strong using a story or a quote or ask a question that your talk will answer.
- E is for engagement – this speaks to getting your audience involved. Make the audience part of the conversation.
- S is for social proof. This is showing what qualifies you to have the expertise.
- S is for stories. Tell stories, they are the heart of your speech.
- A is for action steps. You always want to let them know what to do next. Action items.
- G is for giveaways. Giveaway an e-book or something.
- E is for ending. End as strong as you began and ask for what you want.

Best Quote: "It’s it not about who I am, but who I want to be. That is a question everyone must answer at some point.”

Carol's Misfit 3:

Don’t be a hoarder. Share your gifts, skills, talents, and ideas. Put them into the world. The more you hoard the less you have.

Don’t argue for your limitations. Stop giving all the reasons you cannot do something. Argue for what you can do something. Argue for your liberation.

Stop struggling and allow yourself to rise. Struggle is an energy that can keep you from getting what you want to achieve. It’s like quicksand.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Mathew Nemer. Matt is the co-founder of GetLinus.IO, a fintech company that is changing the game when it comes to what banking is and getting great returns on your savings. Linus pays over 57 times that national average interest on clients’ accounts and is able to do so by taking advantage of blockchain technology and the decentralized, digital asset credit markets. Don’t worry if that went a little over your head, because Mathew explains it a lot better and simpler than me.

The important thing I want to discuss today is the future of banking and finance and how companies like Linus are at the forefront. And we are also going to discuss how Mathew was able to get a rag tag group of IBM’ers, former founders, and top software execs to join his crew and make Linus a reality.

www.GetLinus.io

Matt’s career was launched in 2008. He started with a wealth management firm/hedge fund and hustled to make a name for himself. With all the carnage happening in the markets, he knew that the firm probably wouldn’t keep him, so he went to grad school and finished tops in his class. He worked at Chicago Board of Trade during school in the grain pits.

He then worked at Morningstar in 2012 as analyst. He started his first startup in 2012. As he says, he didn’t know what he was doing. It didn’t pan out. He then moved to Nashville and took a job with Vanderbilt University. It was at this time, he started to learn about Blockchain and Bitcoin and started following it.

In 2016, he noticed that BTC Media was gaining steam and Bitcoin meetups were becoming more common. He started doing work on the side for people doing ICO’s to get his feet wet. He then worked for BTC Media as their CFO. He was recruited by some other companies in the space and pitched an idea to one of them and landed with a crypto wallet company. This is where he met his business partner, who worked at IBM in the blockchain area. They were working on ideas on the side and decided to build the idea of Linus on their own. They got funding and put the pieces of the team together.

At the 10:30 mark, Matt and I discuss our current money system to set a baseline for what he does at Linus. (It’s best to just listen)

How does Linus work?

It is a cash deposit account, similar to a high yield savings accounts.
The difference is that Linus gives 4%+ interest. T
hey can do this by tapping into the digital asset credit markets outside the FED system.
Borrowers in these markets will pay higher interest to borrow US dollars.
Linus is considered a Fintech company.
They only deal with fiat dollars (like the US dollars), but use a blockchain concept.
The platform does the conversion of fiat to crypto assets and handles the lending process.
It functions like a bank account and you can deposit or withdrawal any time you want.

Break it down for us all to understand…

There are people that need USD to purchase cryptocurrencies and are willing to pay more interest for the ability to do.
Linus helps to provide this money. It is similar to a money market type of account.
It is a global market that Linus taps into.
Because people are willing to pay higher rates for the money, the amount Linus can pay customers is higher.
The borrowers put up collateral and have to store more collateral in escrow with Linus than they borrow, so that Linus has claim to it if they don’t pay.

How do you address that you are not FDIC protected, etc.?

Linus is outside the FED system, so it would not participate.
Linus does not do fractional reserve banking, so it would not apply to them anyway and they would not get approved.
The FDIC doesn’t even currently have to a reserve ratio because of the CARES act.
Matt says that if you do truly feel you need to know that the money is there no matter what in the matter of 3-6 months, then invest in something like a Marcus account.
If you are looking for a solution between traditional low interest savings accounts and investing in the markets, which carries minimal risk, Linus or a solution like it may be a good option for you.

At the 27 min mark, Matt talks about risk and the “efficient frontier.”

What else should we know about blockchain and the emerging digital ecosystems?

Matt is a big fan of Bitcoin and Etherium
Linus is built on the Etherium ecosystem.
Bitcoin is the largest and most widely used.
Bitcoin is more like gold in that it is a deflationary currency – it is predictable like gold.
There is a limit to amount of Bitcoin that can ever exist. It is finite.
A lot of people haven’t notice that most of the big players and banks are going into cryptocurrency and positioning themselves to be the players in the space.

At the 34 min mark, Matt shares the example of JP Morgan getting into crypto and creating it’s own stable coin (digital dollars).

The technologies JP Morgan/Chase and others are using are the same ones Linus is, so it confirms they are headed in the right direction.

What have you learned so far in this venture about entrepreneurship?

It is an interesting time to be an entrepreneur because ideas can grow so well.
We need to be careful not to get stuck in the day to day.
Take a step back and look at the longer-term opportunities.
It’s important embrace the digital world and interact with people as much as possible and in every way possible during this time.

“The best thing you can do in your life an career is put blinders on. Don’t waste energy worrying about things you cannot control.”

How were you able to get a team of top talent like you have pulled together for Linus?

The best place to start is with like-minded people.
Network through friends and those you work with currently.
Be open to people that are unique and have other skills sets or experience that lends it to succeeding in your business. Even if they don’t have experience in the business you are in.

What is your best advice for an entrepreneur starting today?

Put on blinders
Find joy in other things.
Don’t forget to learn lessons from all areas of your life.
Practice passive thinking. Sometimes synapsis fire and connect better when you are away from your business.

Best Quote: "The best thing you can do in your life an career is put blinders on. Don’t waste energy worrying about things you cannot control."

Matt's Misfit 3:

Be yourself. It sounds cliché, but it is actually really hard to put into practice.
Grow your network. You will owe a lot of people a lot of favors. Do your best to repay them.
Persistence is king. You cannot give up.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Dylan Jacob. Dylan has a incredible story. He’s already built and sold multiple companies, has built his current company, Brumate, to over $50 million in sales in just a few short years with less than 10 employees and no outside capital, he’s been awarded Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Midwest, is a Forbes 30 under 30 recipient…and he’s only in his mid-20’s.

But, he didn’t start out with anything handed to him. In fact, quite the opposite and his path went through a lot of twists and turns, but one thing was constant – he was an entrepreneur from a young age. A Misfit Entrepreneur. And true to Misfit form, he’s used his inner Misfit to bootstrap companies and create whole new markets. I’m excited for our conversation today and know that your going to get some great takeaways from him.

www.Brumate.com

@Dylan.Jacob on Instagram for updates and keeping up with Dylan’s story

Dylan grew up in a small town in Indiana. There wasn’t much to do. His childhood consisted of him looking for and finding things to do. He always wanted to be an inventor, so he would tinker and create things. He grew up poor and his parents split with he was in 4th grade. His mom was working for minimum wage. He had been home-schooled prior and thus 4th grade was his first year in traditional school. Of course, having next to nothing, he would see other kids with things he wanted to get.

So, he started doing everything he could to make money to buy things and not burden his mom. He did everything from yard work to odds and ends jobs for people. This made him realize that if could provide value, he could get paid for it.

In 7th and 8th grade, trying to fit in and gain acceptance led him to hanging with the wrong crowd. He was expelled twice. He was an entrepreneur, but not in the right way. He sold drugs (weed). It wrecked his life. He was expelled, when to juvenile detention for several months and was put on house arrest. His mom had to pay for everything and it hurt their family.

It was at this time that Dylan took a step back to reexamine his life and looked for legal ways to make money to pay back all the costs of his trouble. He took a nod from his grandfather who had come over from the middle east and started fixing things like TV’s and VCR’s, etc. and had a little shop. As Dylan went into High School, people were getting smart phones and would damage them or break screens. Instead of repairing them, Dylan would buy them cheap, fix them up, and sell them on Craig’s List. He would order the parts from overseas and resell them. This was his first taste of making real money.

This started Dylan’s career of finding unique opportunities in gaps in markets. Big gaps.

As sophomore year started competition in the form of repair shops started to come in and he was doing less business because people were getting their phone fixed. But Dylan found another gap – He got to know the others of the repair shops and where they were getting their repair parts. They were ordering from E-bay and Amazon and getting B and C grade parts, not OEM parts that were A-grade. Dylan made deals to supply better parts from the connections he had made and was using. He made the competitors his new clients.

By senior year, Dylan’s business was working with over 100 repair shops around the U.S. doing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The funny thing was he still held to this theory of wanting stability and a job in life and decided to go to college for engineering. As he says, he “didn’t quite believe in himself as an entrepreneur.” He had gone from being expelled to being top 10 in his class with a thriving business – but still thought he needed a job!

During Christmas break of his first year, a larger franchise ended up putting Dylan’s repair parts in the bulk of their stores and then shortly after gave him a buyout offer. He took the deal and took the semester off. Once he saw the money is his bank account, it was a reality check. There was something to entrepreneurship.

He decided to put school on hold and go full time as an entrepreneur. He bought a house to fix up and as he began to fix it up over the course of a year. He kept a journal and would jot down ideas they came up. One idea came to him while fixing the house. It came out of the need for a better selection of kitchen backsplash tile. There was hardly any selection and none of the options, he liked. So, he saw the need for more options, specifically glass backsplash. Vicci Design was launched in 2015 and provided the largest color selection and size of glass tile available. Over a year, he knocked on doors and local showrooms and started working with Wayfair and Overstock. It was profitable from day one. He was still doing side hustles and launching other businesses during this time.

He turned 21 in 2016 and started to love craft beer. And most of it came in 16 oz cans. He’d notice that always the last ¼ of his beer was warm. It drove him nuts, so he wrote in his journal, “Find a way to keep beer cold.” That was the beginning of Brumate.

He started looking at the stainless steel insulated drinkware market. In 2016, it was the fastest growing category in the housewares market. All the major players were focused on hydration drinkware. It was all about water bottles or coffee. Dylan decided to create the products for the “dehydration” market – making drinking alcohol a better experience. It was huge gap that no one else was doing and ignoring.

His first launch on the concept sold out in a couple weeks.

Dylan’s story has a lot of teachable moments…

There is opportunity in everything you do.
Don’t give up on an idea.
Asking how and finding a way and making a way.
Looking for the gap, opening the niche, and owning it.

It’s one thing to have an idea for a product, it’s another thing to create it. How do you source and get a product done?

If you can source locally, it’s better.
It won’t be cheaper, but will be better.
In Dylan’s case, he could not find a manufacture in the U.S. capable of producing insulated drinkware.
He worked with a company in New York to take his designs and get a protype type 3D printed.
He looked up records of competitors or like companies on Port Examiner to see who their manufacturers were.
He contacted them to see which would be the right fit and new they had experience producing the kind of product he wanted.
It was important to have a manufacturer that had a very strong in-house engineering team – it was the best thing he ever did. They helped him take his concept and make it manufacturable from day one.
- Many times the engineering is free as part of their service.

What can you tell us about selling online once you have a product?

Dylan’s has used Shopify for his sites.
He started with creating a landing page with pictured of people holding the product. He collected emails of people who opted in with interest for when he launched the product. This was the group that was the first round of buyers.
What worked for Dylan was showcasing the product in real life situations. He photoshopped it into pictures.
Dylan scaled the company to a little over a million before beginning to hire a focused, in-house team.
Customer service is another part of marketing as it is a retention tool. So a lot of emphasis was put there as well.
Messaging is key and will be different for every product or service. You must try as many times as needed to figure this out.

At the 43 min mark, Dylan discusses some unique ways he figures out what is in demand.

What was the tipping point? $50 million+ in 4 years – what was the inflection point?

Q4 2016 did over $300k in product selling out.
He put his up for sale, sold Vicci, and got as much cash as he could putting every penny into Brumate.
His biggest challenge was cashflow and keeping stocks.
He would be out of stock for months and have to take pre-orders.
Once there was enough cashflow to sustain inventory and outsourced fulfillment, things really started to take off.
He was then able to focus on marketing full time with the team he was building.
Basically, the company now is really just a marketing company for the product, everything else is outsourced.
This took them from $2 million to $20 million in the next year.

Constant innovation and testing is critical to staying on the forefront of product creation and growing the market.

Best Quote: Your biggest opportunity is what your competition is failing at or not servicing with their products.

Dylan's Misfit 3:

Your biggest opportunity is what your competition is failing at or not servicing with their products.
As a founder, focus on what you are very good at. Stay in your lane.
Outsource to scale and grow. Fill your team with those that are best in class in their own categories that compliment you.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Mark Given. Mark is a philosopher, teacher and speaker and travels extensively helping companies, organizations, associations, educators, and individuals understand the science of building, maintaining and repairing TRUST.

He is the founder of the Trust Based Philosophy and the Trust Based Academy and best-selling author of 8 books about Trust.

He’s started and sold multiple companies and built a global brand and I’ve asked him on today to share his best wisdom on how to create, build, and grow trust as I think it is one of the most important currencies we have as entrepreneurs – and I also think it will be especially important as we get back to doing business as the global pandemic subsides.

www.MarkGiven.com

Mark has had transformations throughout his career. He graduated from college with a music performance degree, but always wanted to be in business for himself. After traveling for music for a while, he decided to get into business doing a short stint in insurance. He then opened a small retail video rental store in 1980. He started long before Blockbuster and others. He focused on opening stores in towns with 25,000 or less people. He grew it to over 47 location in a 24 year period. He had the vision to see the changes coming with streaming and movies moving to online and sold the business long before others got out or went out of business.

He did very well on the transaction and then started into the real estate industry. But, really loved working with people and helping them. He realized that he operated for much of his life and career on a specific concept of trust. He realized that no one was teaching any science behind why trust works and how to build, maintain, and repair it. Trust is the foundation, but it’s more than just a philosophy.

Define what trust is….

Trust is not a feeling
It is something we know when see it and we know when we don’t.
We see it in body language, facial expressions, etc.
Trust is the foundation of whether we want to associate with a business or a person. If we trust them and believe in them, we will continue a relationship and do business with them.
It is a principle, not a concept.
It’s important to know why you or other trust. The how and the why is critical to understand trust.

What are the 4 Facets of Trust?

Grand Opening: This is your first appearance or introduction. Instead of the standard 2 step greeting of “Hi, I’m…” to a 3 step greeting of using the word “you” twice before you introduce yourself.
Rapport: Ask really good questions that resonate really good questions with the people you are speaking with. It is about asking and listening. Ask better questions and really listen.
Maintenance: Be a giver, not a taker.
Apology: We all make mistakes. It is how we handle that mistake that matters most. We must apologize properly to build, maintain, and repair trust.

At the 13 min mark, Mark gives examples of each?

Grand Opening: Use the 3 step greeting. It needs to be about them and not you. The key is to include the word “you” in how you greet someone. “It’s nice to see you today. Thank you for taking the time speak with me.” Then you can talk about yourself. The formula is “you, you, I.”
Rapport: People like to talk about themselves and are interested in their needs. Ask them questions to give them the opportunity to speak about themselves. The principles of “How to Win Friends and Influence People” are just as relevant today as they were in the 40’s.
- Use FORD:
- Family
- Occupation
- Recreation
- Dreams “
- You cannot solve someone’s problems unless you know what their problems are and you’ll never understand what their problems are unless you are listening and get them to tell you.”
Maintenance: Giving more and take less. Be generous. When you are a sincere giver, you give with the intent to serve and help someone else succeed without concern for what you get in return. Examples including checking in on those you care about and seeing it you can help them. You can have everything you want in life, if you just help enough others get what they want.
Apology: There is a system for apologizing the right way. 4 steps
Recognize that you have made a mistake
Admit and recognize the fact that you did make a mistake to those affected.
Reconcile and determine how you can make things better.
Tell those affect that you will not let it happen again and then deliver on that promise.
Understand that you need patience as it will take time for people to come back around.

How do entrepreneurs go about establishing trust and asking people to buy our products and services in the “new normal” coming out of quarantine?

How we interact with people will change because of social distancing.
We will need to listen and watch even more to how we need to deliver our products/services.
It is going to be harder to earn trust. People will be more sensitive to it.
Being a giver is more important than ever.
People are going to be craving the truth even more and will be OK with it, even if it is bad news – they just want the transparency upfront.

How do you see the Trust Based Leader in all this?

Managers are not the same as leaders. They are responsible for getting tasks done.
Leaders have a different role. They have a vision for the future.
They inspire people to follow them to make it reality.
Great leaders inspire people to be their best and/or become their best.
Great leaders are inherently trusted because their ability to inspire and bring people alongside them to where they are going.

Best advice in managing the stress of these times and ongoing?

There is always stress – it’s how we deal with it that matters.
The habits that you have throughout the day are the things you can use to put in place systems and principles to help you reduce stress.
It takes great habits
It takes focus
It takes knowing and being OK with your reality.

7.5 Things to Thrive in the Next 3 Years?

Decide what you want. Where do you see yourself? (Vision)
Create the plan to get to what you want and are seeing. (Mission)
Know the cost – what is going to take to get what you want.
Do not let anyone try and steal your possibilities and dreams.
Get to work.

Best Quote: “Trust is the foundation, but it’s more than just a philosophy.”

Mark's Misfit 3:

Legacy. No matter what we do, we are leaving a legacy. What do you want yours to be?
Transparency and spirituality. Be transparent with others and be in tune with yourself and the universe.
Authenticity and Productivity. What you see is what you get. Be yourself because everyone else is already taken. Be positively productive.

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Hello Misfit Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Lessons for Hannah!"

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah,

It’s been 5 weeks since I gave the background and my first status update of the Wuhan Coronavirus and its impact throughout the world. And it is incredible what can happen in 5 weeks. I wish I could say things are much better now, but we have not yet turned the corner.

First, let me review some of the biggest things that have happened over the last 5 weeks so they are on the record. I am probably going to miss some, but here is my best list of them:

At the time I am putting together these thoughts there are over 2.7 million cases in the world and over 190,000 deaths. In the U.S., there are almost 850,000 cases and over 47,000 deaths. At this point, the U.S. seems to be testing more thoroughly and giving the most accurate numbers so the totals for the world on both cases and deaths are probably higher.
- I do want to point out as I did in the last update, because perspective is very important, that each year upwards of 50 million people get the flu around the world and in an average year between 30,000-40,000 people die from it in the U.S. alone. So currently, it looks like the coronavirus is more deadly than the flu, but we may not ever know because of the lack of testing on a worldwide scale. The amount of people that may have had the virus may be dramatically higher than what is being reported.
Almost all states have been shut down and “shelter in place” orders have been put into effect basically keeping people in their homes. The same is true for most countries around the world. Some states are even arresting or fining people for being outside or driving.
Almost all businesses have been ordered closed with the exception of what the government deems essential such as grocery stores.
Almost 25 million people have filed for unemployment losing their jobs in the U.S.
Many businesses have closed and some major ones, especially in the retail sector, are starting to file for bankruptcy.
Trillions of dollars have now been printed by the U.S. and other governments and are in the early stages of making their way into the economy to help.
Major sectors of the world economy, such as travel, are in a terrible state with most airlines cutting over 90% of the flight routes and having to get money from government to keep afloat.
Most recently, in just the last week, it has finally hit the oil sector to where the price of a barrel of oil actually went negative. That means oil producers were paying people to take oil from them.
- This is just an indicator of how low demand is in the marketplace for fuel and the other things oil is used for. Most people don’t realize that oil is used to make everything from your clothes to your computers – but if all these businesses are shut down or drastically have cut back in their production and very few are driving cars, flying, using transportation, etc., the demand is almost non-existent. And because just about 8 weeks ago, the U.S. and the world economies were doing well and there was huge demand, we have a major supply issue in that there is too much oil out there. So, it’s not a surprise that oil has cratered, but it is a great barometer of how decimating this has been to the world economy.
Additionally, from the medical area, things like elective surgeries have all been cancelled where people will have to wait.
In Ohio, we have about 500 deaths from the virus and from talking to the many members of our family that are in medicine and on the front lines helping patients, the major surge of cases that we were told would happen – has not. In fact, most hospitals are operating with most of their capacity open. (more on that in a little bit)
Lastly, many states, including ours in Ohio, have closed school for the rest of the year and have not indicated yet how and when things will fully open back up.

Now, Hannah, at this point in your life, you are 7 years old and you probably don’t care much about unemployment numbers or what the price of oil is or what that even means. I know that, but I also know that you will listen to this when you are much older and understanding what happened in the past will help you in determining things that will happen in your future.

I think, it is also important that I share my thoughts, feelings, and opinion on our current state. First off, I can say, and I thank God every day, that your mother and I’s businesses have weathered the storm to this point. While my largest business is in the travel space, because of the diverse markets we serve, we have been able to hold steady. We are seeing some major impact across travel and I think we have a ways to go. We haven’t gotten the full brunt of it yet. At this point, we have been able to keep our employees and benefits in place for them and plan to continue to do so as long as we can. There are some government programs/assistance that have been created over the last few weeks that will help us in being able to keep people employed. We have applied for them and been approved but have not yet gotten any relief.

At home, we have settled into a pretty good routine with your schooling. You mother, like so many other parents that have been thrust into having to teach and school their children, is an angel for taking on the bulk of this while I work to keep things going across the different businesses. As you’ll someday remember, she has created lesson plans, works with you every day, and is fully immersed in making sure you thrive in your learning.

Each Sunday, we have been doing a family video conference with all our family and your cousins where we play games, share updates and eat around the table together.

The spring has warmed up outside so you now can go play outside and enjoy things like going on bike rides and playing in the yard. And we have set it up so you can Facetime and have virtual play dates with your friends. I know it is not the same as seeing them and doing the things you used to do, but it is the closest we can get for now. And you’ve adapted amazingly. Your resilience and ability to adapt to whatever life throws at you is amazing and has been evident ever since the day you were put into our arms in China.

Ok, so up and until this point, I know I sound pretty gloomy, but to tell you the truth, I’m not. We just must understand and face the reality we live in. Once, we do that, we can then see the opportunity and good things all around us. For example, in business – some of the best opportunities of my lifetime are showing themselves and I’m not wasting any time on actioning on them. More millionaires are created during recessions and economic downturns than at any other times. That is because those that are willing to go after opportunities and do what is necessary to seize them will get them. This is a great lesson that people can learn right now. On the other side, because life has “slowed” down, I believe we are finding as people, how to get back to truly connecting and caring for one another. There are so many examples of this from people helping go get groceries for older people stuck in their homes to people giving and donating to provide medical gear to first responders and on and on. As families, we no longer have the go-go-go of work, organized sports, after-school activities, etc., so we have more time to spend with each other and become closer. We have found innovative ways to still do things and participate. For example, you are currently having your Tae Kwan Do lessons virtually on Zoom with your entire class all learning and practicing with your instructors from our living room. 3 days a week, you are dressed in your full gear and go at it. It’s great.

As they say, when life gives you lemons…or maybe its better stated, when the Wuhan Coronavirus gives you lemons – you make lemonade!

There are some things that I am watching that are important and will be into the future. First, I am watching and concerned about how states and governments are suspending rights and liberties, in our case, given to us by our Constitution. They are doing this in the name of keeping people safe, but there is no reason for you to be arrested for going for a drive in your car like they have done in states like Michigan. This concerns me because when things do get back to some normalcy, will these governments give up this power? It’s been shown through history that they typically don’t or at least not all of it.

The other thing I have been doing over the last 5 weeks is studying epidemiology and reading and listening to the thoughts of the top epidemiologists from places like Standford, Yale, Rockefeller University, and others. And ironically, most have been saying the same things, which concerns me. First, it is important to note in the U.S. that people in charge of the response to the pandemic are not epidemiologists, whose job it is to study and understand how viruses spread and how we handle them as human beings. Don’t get me wrong, the people in charge as some of the greatest medical minds in the world. But, in listening to what top epidemiologists are saying, there are some important things I think we have missed. First, we do not have and may never have a vaccine for the coronavirus. There are some treatments that are showing promise, but nothing on a grand scale.

I found it interesting that almost every epidemiologist has stated that the absolute best way to fight the virus is herd immunity. Herd immunity is when a large majority of the population has gotten the virus, overcome it, and development antibodies as an internal defense. Their argument is that this is what naturally stops the virus because it makes it very hard to spread it once this level is reached. Logically to me this makes sense. If you have 100 people in a room and 80 of them have had the disease and there is herd immunity, it makes it a lot harder for the virus to jump from one person to the next because there are essentially 80 barriers in the way. The next thing they’ve almost unanimously said is that closing schools was the worst thing we could do. Wait, what? Yes, and the explanation is that children are designed specifically as part of their growth and immune system development to be able to get and overcome viruses and diseases as they grow to build up the immunity for when they are adults. The epidemiologists argue that in closing schools, we have hurt our best vehicle for creating the herd immunity that ultimately slows the spread of the virus. They are stating that all we are doing is delaying what inevitably has to happen in nature to overcome a virus. Until we reach herd immunity, it will continue to have its impact and come and go. Again, this logically makes sense to me and why we keep being told that even when we are allowed to come back out of quarantine, that this can come back. It still needs to work its way through. The last point they have made was that we should have focused on the most susceptible groups like the elderly and people with existing conditions and let the healthy go through the process of herd immunity.

Now, whether you agree or not with that, in studying past outbreaks like this, even Swine Fu about 10 years ago, it killed almost 20,000 and infected about 60 million in the U.S. in the span of a year and then essentially disappeared. It didn’t go away. It’s still out there. But, in less than a year, herd immunity took place. The government did essentially nothing. Nothing was shut down. No quarantine was done. In fact, it was hardly mentioned in the news. So, this is something I will continue to monitor and watch in the coming months.

There are few other lessons I’ve take away over the 5 weeks that are important for me to share.

First, I believe that we must prepare for a “new normal” after things begin to come back online and restrictions on our lives are removed. We will not go back to the way of life we were used to before this pandemic. Wearing masks will become a part of everyday life. Distancing ourselves will become the norm. Testing for the virus will become an annual event. Things like going to restaurants will change and tables will be spaced much further apart. They may only allow a certain number of people to sit together. Travel will change dramatically. It already is. I read an article this past week that Emirates Airlines is now requiring a blood test to be able to fly. Can you imagine giving your blood to fly on a plane? Professional and Collegiate sports and organized sports for kids will change. We may not be able to have crowds at events. Close contact sports may be more limited or in the interim be stopped all together. (think football, wrestling, etc.). I could go on with example, but the important thing is that we have to prepare for the changes in our lives and mentally to be able to accept and manage these changes in our lives and adapt to the new normal. The ability and willingness to adapt will be one of the most important skills we can possess coming out of this.

Second, there will be huge opportunities for innovation and new industries as a result of the “new normal.” As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. And with people working from and staying at or closer to home for the foreseeable future, there will be an explosion of new services for you at your home. Many of them will be innovations on what have already existed, but even a small innovation can create a whole new industry. For, example, in home haircuts existed prior to the virus, when a stylist came to your house and cut your hair. Was it a huge industry? Was it something that was reserved for the wealthier? Yes. But coming out of this, there will be a higher demand for such services and thus the prices will come down and the market will grow. Innovation will take place and a whole new version of that industry will take place. Same thing for things like massages, etc. Could Massage Envy pivot to having their people do house calls? Things like this are possible and thus, for those that are innovative and willing to look at things differently, whole new business verticals could be created. AirBnb was a great example of this pre-virus. But, to show you how fast things can change. Post-virus, who knows if AirBnb will be able to thrive at the level they once did. They will have to innovate and pivot I would expect. So, the lessons, innovators will thrive in the coming years.

Lastly, parents have learned that they can school their kids at home supported by the local school districts, so I think we can expect to have more of a blend of schooling with virtual at home classes and going to an actual classroom. People may now be given the choice out of safety concerns and parents will have more involvement in their children’s schooling than previously. I think this is a great thing and I think it will lead to better learning experiences and better overall results for student learning. The lesson for me is that while parents have always been encouraged to be active in their child’s learning, it is now going to be more part of our everyday routine and we as parents have gotten used to it, making it easier for us to be more active in learning. The lesson I am taking is that we should embrace it as it will usher in a new renaissance of learning and development of our children and lead to what I believe is a brighter future.

Hannah, it is clear that we are going through another shift in the way of life of the human race. This has happened many times throughout history and each time has led to the betterment of the society and our lives. Whether it was early man learning to create and use tools and harnessing fire, to the Renaissance, to the American Revolution unleashing the power of the individual and it’s capability, to the industrial and technological revolutions sending us to space and leading to the technological capability we have today – each time our lives changed for the better. The changes that are happening will lead to a different way of life, but one that will ultimately lead to a better one as we innovate and grow into it. Maybe that is the biggest lesson of all.

I love you,

Daddy

Misfit 3:

We must prepare for a “new normal,” especially mentally coming out of the virus. Everyday life will change and the ability to adapt will be a critical skill to thrive.
Innovators will thrive as whole new industries will be created to serve a new way of life.
Each time there has been a major shift in the way of life in human history, it has lead to better quality of life as we innovate and grow into it.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Tom Libelt. Tom is the founder of Smart Brand Marketing, a company that focuses specifically on helping people better sell their online courses.

Tom has had a very interesting life that basically made him an entrepreneur from the time he could walk and talk. He was born in communist Poland. By 7 years old, he was laying on the back seat of a car smuggling liquor into the country and his job was to cry and scream if immigration stopped them and wanted to check. At 9, he started helping his dad push products at soccer stadiums in eastern Europe. As he says, “He was hustled a few times by Russians and learned his lessons.”

At 11, his family was able to escape communism and make it to the U.S. Tom became an entrepreneur because his family had to use entrepreneurship to survive. He then took those skills and used them succeed in a number of business ventures proving he’s a true Misfit Entrepreneur.

www.smartbrandmarketing.com

Tom has always had drive toward two different things, music and business. Early on, he focused more on music. He was creating his own music and working as an engineer, but was also working on businesses, etc. He’s tried a lot of things – retail, online businesses, selling products, etc.

He knew how to sell, but wasn’t sure why he knew. He worked from everyone from Nestle to Metlife to learn the art of selling.

Lessons from run-ins with Russians?

When he was younger, he would sell VCRs and video tapes to make good money because they were illegal. He and his dad would move them.
He learned hard lessons like when he got conned by Russians selling him soccer balls with no rubber inside.
Or in trying to sell comic books and create value
He also learned how to have a poker face and utilize human behavior and psychology.
In studying human behavior, Tom learned to focus on the things that don’t change.

What is it that doesn’t change? What can you teach us about how to sell?

The drives, emotions, and whys don’t change for people. Health, wealth, happiness, etc.
Selling is basically a transfer of emotions.
You have to tap into people’s imaginations and let them bring their emotions into it.

At the 11:30 mark, Tom talks about selling online today….

The way you sell doesn’t change – even in a changing world.
First, you need to meet people where they are and on the level they are thinking. Empathy and understanding is key.
Feel, felt, found.
Stories sell and you need to use them to connect.
Selling in person is easier because you can see the other person, their emotions and reactions. When selling online, you have to anticipate these reactions and have the answers and solutions baked into to your promotion.

Where is it that most course sellers breakdown? What don’t they do that prevent them from making money?

The main thing is the simplest thing – Does this course make sense and is there a compelling reason to buy it?

It has to easily show it’s value in how it’s presented.
You must be very clear and easy to understand on how you can truly help solve a problem.
As an example, some of the easiest courses to sell are for things like a test to get a job and there is a very short time frame such as a Series 6 license or selling life insurance. In order to get the job, they need to pass the test and maybe have a month to do so.
And the pitch becomes, “I will help you pass this test in the timeframe you need so you can (insert emotional need such as make more money, but the car, get the girl, etc.)
Some of the most successful courses are prepping for tests or certifications.
Tom does not work with courses on abundance or manifestation because he doesn’t believe in them and thus won’t work with them out of integrity.

How do you help someone create an online course in 14 hours?

Making the course isn’t the most important thing. 80% of success is marketing.
But having a good system to create a course can make it easy and able to do quickly.
Keeping it simple and basic is easiest way.
From A-B, it is about a 14 hour process.
Focus on the simple steps you need to bring your course to fruition – you can always make it better as time goes on.

How do you market it and make upwards of $30,000 on a course?

First, focus on the messaging.
Even if you have 500-1000 of an audience, you have enough.
You then take messaging after seeing the results from the audience, you then “rack the shotgun” and try across all platforms. Everything from Facebook to Quora.
Based on the results, you then just keep narrowing in to see the best place to sell the most and focus.
And focus on one course at a time, don’t try to do multiple courses at once and market them.

Can you give an example of how you market on different platforms?

Pull marketing
Get people interested to come to them (sales page, etc.)
Using case studies, social proof, and sharing unique processes.
You need to do 2 things: The right audience and the right product, but also a 3rd thing – education. You need to educate people to have them like you.
You have to make the connection as to why the course creator is the right person to learn from.

At the 31 min mark, Tom talks about the challenges of being successful with courses.

What are some of the best entrepreneur lessons you learned from the music business?

In music, it about knowing the right people – a lot of gatekeepers. It was lesson in how important it is to build your network well.
For most, it is a short career, so you have to be setting yourself up for life after music and as entrepreneurs, we need to be setting our business up the market changes that come our way.
Do it your way. Hold your ground.
Don’t try to copy other exactly the way they are as you will be a crappy copy of them. Craft your own style.

At the 39 min mark, Tom talks about why meeting his heroes was such a disappointment and lessons learned from working with “stars…”

You don’t’ always get to do what you like. Professionals get in and get it done – regardless of how they feel or how things are going.
Lauren Hill left the studio because the “grapes were soggy on the table…”
TI was someone who came in and was lesser known at the time. He was all business and got it done.
You can see someone’s career trajectory by how the operate in the studio. Are they focused, serious, ready, and go to work or do they mess around, waste time, etc.

“Don’t be the person who needs special slippers and McDonald’s from 34th Avenue to record a track…”

You started a coffee shop in Atlanta, but don’t drink coffee? How did that work out?

We all have our impulsive buys. This was Tom’s.
He was in a place where he was deciding to do next and wanted to buy a business.
He sold within 6 months.

Any favorite place you’ve lived around the world?

Japan is amazing in a lot of ways.
- Very nice, organized, great culture, etc.
- But at times, it is too rigid and too organized.
Thailand is exactly the opposite – it’s the wild west.
Splitting time is good.
Standard of living is different where you are.
One issue with digital nomads is that because things are less expensive, many times they coast and end up not being able to go back because they don’t make as much from coasting and have lost their edge.

Best Quote: “Don’t be the person who needs special slippers and McDonald’s from 34th Avenue to record a track…”

Tom's Misfit 3:

Do your thing in your own way. Own your success.
Nothing lasts forever. Past performance doesn’t indicate future results. Don’t rest on your laurels.
Have your own opinion and stick to your guns.

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Dave Lukas, The Misfit Entrepreneur_Breakthrough Entrepreneurship: Recent Episodes

Dave M. Lukas, Entrepreneur, Author, Investor

1: Hustle while you work. Strive to constantly learn from all those around and look for what you can use to help you succeed. Develop your skills. This works well if you are building a business on the side while working a job.

4 and #5: Use strategic partnerships and JV’s to grow. Partnerships are a great way to grow because you can create scenarios where 1 + 1 = 3. You both can benefit in a larger way that just on your own.

1: The Need for Achievement. They want to do well for the sake of doing well. The naturally want to set the bar high and continue to beat it. They are focused on producing excellence. This is also needed for successful entrepreneurs.

2: Competitiveness. They want to be the best. They also want to win the prospect or client over to their point of view.

3: They have great optimism and resilience that they will succeed and keep going until they do.

1: Can I be myself? Not having to “spin an image.” Can I tell you who I really am?

2: Can I build conditions where you can be yourself and let yourself be known? This builds trust.

3: Do I know that neither of us will use this information against the other person?

4: Can we be honest and say what we mean and mean what we say?

5: Can we lean into the conflicts and learn from them in a way that builds the relationship?

6: Are we committed to each other’s growth and development.

1 is amazing, professional photos for your products. Invest in this.

2 is customer reviews. Reviews are king on Amazon, so you need to plan on getting to at least 10 reviews as fast as possible. Get creative.

3 is having a real good title and sales copy. When you search on Amazon, all you see if the title, image, and price – so title is critical. Make sure to use all real estate available to you.

1: Concept – what is the idea?

2: Illustration/design – writing out and draw the character – it is the same in designing a business.

3: Sculpting – this is where you see the character for the first time.

4: Casting/Molding – the core of the character like the core of a business

5: Mechanics – How to make it move, etc. In business, this is marketing and how you will make the business go.

6: Fabrication – it comes to life, just like a business will if you follow the process.