The Lonely Entrepreneur Podcast Series - Perspectives: Recent Episodes
Michael Dermer: Entrepreneur, Author, Startup Coach, The Lonely Entrepreneu
The Lonely Entrepreneur Podcast Series – called Perspectives – helps entrepreneurs with the one issue we all face – the struggle – by changing our perspective on the business and personal issues we all face. We share parts of The Lonely Entrepreneur methodology, crazy stories from our journey and interviews with well-known entrepreneurs (Steve Madden, Ron Dermer, Adam Sandow and more) about how they have succeeded in the face of their own struggles. Passion and grit is not enough - and it is our goal at The Lonely Entrepreneur to provide perspectives to help each of us become better entrepreneurs each day. We believe that the difference between success and failure is your perspective. We hope to help the community of startups, entrepreneurs, small business, venture capital, angels, investors, incubators, accelerators and universities unlock the entrepreneurial spirit.
An entrepreneur’s regular day can feel like doing 100 hours of work at 10 hours a time. But can you actually do this every day?
The technique lies in spending more time on the most strategic things for your business. But let’s say you already know your priorities. Here are some tips that can help you with managing your time.
🎬 3 Critical Tips for Time Management
What You Will Discover:
✔️ Do the hardest thing first thing in the morning. This is when you’re at your sharpest. This is when you want to write your strategic plan, not at 7 in the evening when you’re putting your kids to bed.
✔️ Focus on the first five tasks on your to-do list. Maybe leave a little space for a sixth but don’t do the others. Develop the discipline to be laser-focused on the five to avoid wasting an entire day over things that don’t produce results.
✔️ Shut off all distractions. Turn off devices. Put your phone away. Close your email. You don’t need to be connected to the outside world when you’re building your passion.
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Feel like no one understands or cares as much as you do?
The Lonely Entrepreneur helps entrepreneurs with the #1 issue we all face – the struggle. We know what it's like to feel energized and overwhelmed at the same time. It's all about our perspective on business issues, personal issues, and the day-to-day grind of being our own boss. The difference between success and failure is your perspective. You can learn more and get a FREE daily perspective to help you be a better entrepreneur each day by visiting us at www.lonelyentrepreneur.com.
We always tell entrepreneurs that the most important skill that you can have is finding your playground.
The playground is where nobody else is playing – where everybody is selling apples, and you’re selling oranges.
You might say, “That’s terrific. But everyone else has more resources than I do. There’s too much competition!”
So how do we actually go about doing that?
🎬 How To Find Your Playground
What You Will Discover:
✔️ Hear a client’s success story. A nurse with a passion for financial literacy went from one of 10,000 to one of one. How? We helped her narrow down her audience by focusing on people close to her job experience.
✔️ There’s no magic formula. It’s never easy to find it, but it DOES exist. It takes deep consideration and thought to ask, “How do I make it so that when I wake up in the morning, everyone’s doing this while I’m doing something slightly different but beneficial?”
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Feel like no one understands or cares as much as you do?
The Lonely Entrepreneur helps entrepreneurs with the #1 issue we all face – the struggle. We know what it's like to feel energized and overwhelmed at the same time. It's all about our perspective on business issues, personal issues, and the day-to-day grind of being our own boss. The difference between success and failure is your perspective. You can learn more and get a FREE daily perspective to help you be a better entrepreneur each day by visiting us at www.lonelyentrepreneur.com.
The first thing you may hear from entrepreneurs is...
“How do I make my product or service better?”
We know you’ve put heart and soul into what you’re building, and you want it to come out as polished as possible. But what I want to teach you is that your positioning is SO MUCH MORE than the product.
Before you object, listen in to why this is true.
🎬 Positioning Is More Important Than Product
What You Will Discover:
✔️ Hear a real-world example. Think about Nike, ASICS, and Saucony. Which of these brands would runners recommend the most? But which has the highest sales numbers? The distinct difference is in the positioning.
✔️ Know how to prioritize. Your time and effort should go 75% on positioning and 25% on the product to materialize success.
✔️ Give your audience a reason to pay attention. Position yourself in your unique playground where people can go, “That makes sense!” Who do you imagine your customers to be? What needs would you address? Do you have a catchy hook that would tug at people’s psyche?
✔️ Your market niche matters. I call this your “playground” where nobody else is playing. This is where you thrive. This is where you should maximize your time and effort before tweaking your product to perfection.
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Feel like no one understands or cares as much as you do?
The Lonely Entrepreneur helps entrepreneurs with the #1 issue we all face – the struggle. We know what it's like to feel energized and overwhelmed at the same time. It's all about our perspective on business issues, personal issues, and the day-to-day grind of being our own boss. The difference between success and failure is your perspective. You can learn more and get a FREE daily perspective to help you be a better entrepreneur each day by visiting us at www.lonelyentrepreneur.com.
A simple yet the most daunting question for every start-up entrepreneur:
What makes your business different❓❓❓
In today's noisy and often seemingly oversaturated market, nobody's paying attention to anything. For a second, think about yourself. What makes you pay attention when something is put in front of you?
Hence the need to stand out and be different. Be able to describe your unique offer, solve problems others have not yet discovered, and establish a new niche where people are likely ready to support and buy from you.
▶️ Differentiate Your Business & Dominate Your Niche.
Key points in this episode:
✔️ We live in a world where there's competition with whatever idea we have or are executing. There are very few spaces where one can develop an idea where there isn't somebody doing it, thinking about doing it, or could do it in the future. With the stiffer competition, entrepreneurs have got to work harder and smarter.
✔️ Businesses use email marketing and social media as the two most powerful marketing tools, yet some win while others don't. Frankly, our biggest competition is content clutter. People's attention is pulled from all sides by anything and anyone who's selling something on the internet.
✔️ We believe that the first thing required before embarking on a business is finding a playground where nobody else is playing. What we mean by that is that when you're selling your product and service, you're not just like everybody else.
✔️ Careful planning, research, and a solid commitment to your values and vision are required to establish a unique selling proposition for your business. Create compelling reasons why customers should choose you.
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Feel like no one understands or cares as much as you do?
The Lonely Entrepreneur helps entrepreneurs with the #1 issue we all face – the struggle. We know what it's like to feel energized and overwhelmed at the same time. It's all about our perspective on business issues, personal issues, and the day-to-day grind of being our own boss. The difference between success and failure is your perspective. You can learn more and get a FREE daily perspective to help you be a better entrepreneur each day by visiting us at www.lonelyentrepreneur.com.
Talent, passion, and perseverance are all KEY to success in the world of business. However, the biggest misconception for starting entrepreneurs is thinking that these are enough for them to hit the mark and make it BIG.
▶️ What is the Biggest Struggle of Being an Entrepreneur?
Key points in this episode:
✔️ An often-used quote describes entrepreneurs as people who "jump from a cliff and build the parachute on the way down." 🪂 As natural risk-takers we connect with this truth, but let’s not start businesses without a plan and have to pay for painful lessons in the long run.
✔️ Having a skill is one thing, but building a business is another.
Being an entrepreneur means having the ability to learn and unlearn, and possessing the openness to seek new avenues for personal and professional growth continuously.
✔️ Know more about what it means to turn that talent, skill, and passion into a business. Sometimes that can mean turning to other resources, experts, mentors, or having a co-founder. You need to seek out what you don't know or haven’t experienced yet, and gain from others' wisdom to succeed.
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Feel like no one understands or cares as much as you do?
The Lonely Entrepreneur helps entrepreneurs with the #1 issue we all face – the struggle. We know what it's like to feel energized and overwhelmed at the same time. It's all about our perspective on business issues, personal issues, and the day-to-day grind of being our own boss. The difference between success and failure is your perspective. You can learn more and get a FREE daily perspective to help you be a better entrepreneur each day by visiting us at www.lonelyentrepreneur.com.
Am I an entrepreneur? What does it mean to be one?
With entrepreneurism seemingly becoming a fad, the definition needs more understanding. It takes a great deal of courage to be an entrepreneur who takes risks to invest one's money, time, effort, and even many aspects of one's personal life to create innovation and create tremendous value in the market.
▶️ Seeking the Path of the Modern Entrepreneur
Key points in this episode:
✔️ "Entrepreneur" comes from the French word entreprendre, which means "to undertake." People in the past had different ideas of what today's buzzword meant when it was discovered in 1762. What does it truly mean to be an entrepreneur today?
✔️ The modern entrepreneur who will find the way ahead of others is the one who has successfully mastered effective leadership and clear communication, is open to learning from others, is laser-focused, and possesses a strong vision.
✔️ Passion, grit, and a good idea are not enough.
For a long time, entrepreneurship has been all about the hustle and the grind. Persistence is the surefire way to success, coupled with passion, winning ideas, and strategy. But in today's world — they are not enough.
✔️ Being an entrepreneur is not a job; it's an identity. A new business is launched every day in many parts of the world. When the competition gets stiffer, and markets get more crowded, what sets successful entrepreneurs apart are those who embody courage, innovative spirit, and sheer relentlessness to create change.
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Feel like no one understands or cares as much as you do?
The Lonely Entrepreneur helps entrepreneurs with the #1 issue we all face – the struggle. We know what it's like to feel energized and overwhelmed at the same time. It's all about our perspective on business issues, personal issues, and the day-to-day grind of being our own boss. The difference between success and failure is your perspective. You can learn more and get a FREE daily perspective to help you be a better entrepreneur each day by visiting us at www.lonelyentrepreneur.com.
When you try to look for answers as to how to start your business, you’ll get different pieces of advice… every time! Sometimes, they don’t give you a clear plan.
In this episode, I’m simplifying it for you. Get a better understanding of the process with just these three foundational elements that you need to know for your business.
🎬 The Three Foundational Elements For Your Business (And How to Apply Them)
What You Will Discover:
✔️ Have a financial plan. It isn’t just numbers. It ties into your personal, company, and financial goals. It should be 2-3 years of your income and expenses projections. It dictates how you allocate your scarce resources.
✔️ Set a go-to-market strategy. It answers the question, “How do you go to the market with your product or service in a way that will stand out and win?” Find your playground. Use social media as a vehicle to carry your messaging.
✔️ Identify your operating priorities. These ensure you’re making progress on bringing your top talent and resources to give you the best chance at success. Know what your business truly needs. A big team? A new skill set? An advisory board?
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Feel like no one understands or cares as much as you do?
The Lonely Entrepreneur helps entrepreneurs with the #1 issue we all face – the struggle. We know what it's like to feel energized and overwhelmed at the same time. It's all about our perspective on business issues, personal issues, and the day-to-day grind of being our own boss. The difference between success and failure is your perspective. You can learn more and get a FREE daily perspective to help you be a better entrepreneur each day by visiting us at www.lonelyentrepreneur.com.
As new entrepreneurs we start going out and learning new skills, and our first instinct is to go after where the revenue is.
We chase customers to follow the money. That’s what entrepreneurs should do, right?
What if I told you that’s wrong? I’ll tell you why.
🎬 The One Skill You Should NOT Use (And What to Do Instead)
✔️ New ideas spark new challenges. Any time you bring something new to the table it’s going to be met with either open arms or rejection. Don’t push too hard, work smart, and you’ll find the ones who will surely say, “Yes!”
✔️ Find your focus. The marketplace can be overwhelming, so make an intuitive guess as to who your main customers are. Bouncing from one customer to another will NEVER work for your business, it’ll only stress you out.
✔️ Focusing on a customer allows you to know them more. Adjust your messaging to their needs. Pick up the nuances of why they buy and don’t buy.
Do you need to price your product differently? What are they looking for?
✔️ Have the discipline to not chase every customer. Being an entrepreneur means honing in on a specific type of customer, ensuring that our passion translates into a valuable solution. We’re all in this together, lonely entrepreneurs!
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Feel like no one understands or cares as much as you do?
The Lonely Entrepreneur helps entrepreneurs with the #1 issue we all face – the struggle. We know what it's like to feel energized and overwhelmed at the same time. It's all about our perspective on business issues, personal issues, and the day-to-day grind of being our own boss. The difference between success and failure is your perspective. You can learn more and get a FREE daily perspective to help you be a better entrepreneur each day by visiting us at www.lonelyentrepreneur.com.
If you've gone to a physical store or made a recent purchase online, you were likely spending extra minutes trying to decide on your most valuable picks that are worth your trust and money. As an entrepreneur, consider how prospective customers share the same difficulty choosing the best options in your industry.
Therefore, it is your job to help them by crafting goods and services with a unique selling proposition. What sets you apart from the rest? Are you memorable enough?
They have to see precisely what your business offers that others do not.
▶️ Winning In A Hyper-Competitive World.
Key points in this episode:
✔️ We're in a global marketplace with hyper-competition levels, and where the rules of the game are massively changing. To stay nimble and thrive, there are two essential things Michael Dermer points out to possess a high differentiation in a crowded marketplace.
✔️Focus on your brand and expertise to compete, even if somebody else can provide the market with the same products or services that are better, cheaper, and faster.
✔️ Your uniqueness is your superpower in this hypercompetitive world. Inasmuch as your expertise and know-how can establish you as the better choice, being different from your competitors makes you attractive to the buyer on the other side of the table.
✔️Becoming better and different. I challenge you to focus on your uniqueness, and to take your know-how and bring it to the forefront. You'll see how that helps you turn your passion into success, and you'll become a thriving entrepreneur.
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Feel like no one understands or cares as much as you do?
The Lonely Entrepreneur helps entrepreneurs with the #1 issue we all face – the struggle. We know what it's like to feel energized and overwhelmed at the same time. It's all about our perspective on business issues, personal issues, and the day-to-day grind of being our own boss. The difference between success and failure is your perspective. You can learn more and get a FREE daily perspective to help you be a better entrepreneur each day by visiting us at www.lonelyentrepreneur.com.
Many times, innovative ideas are hard to execute because, for obvious reasons, they are unique and new.
In my early years, I left a promising law career to start IncentOne, the first company to provide rewards for healthy behavior. At the time, rewards in healthcare were not only non-existent – they were offensive. I was told over and over, "we will never reward people for things they should be doing to be healthy."
That birthed a new company and a whole new industry.
As entrepreneurs, we are expected to be visionaries, yet we must also make that happen by executing plans with the right people and system.
How do you drive your vision to fruition?
▶️ What Being An Entrepreneur Really Means
Key points in this episode:
✔️A visionary idea 💡 sparks every new venture — but it takes faith and belief to say, "I'm going to bring forward an idea of something that's never been done before." In a challenging world, what sets entrepreneurs apart is their way of thinking and moving. At their core, entrepreneurs are always willing to understand problems from different and new perspectives. They innovate, seize unlikely opportunities, and create value.
✔️ Many successful business leaders have this secret to sustaining growth — HUMILITY and a HEALTHY EGO. They are willing to learn from their advisors and mentors, carefully listen to their customers and employees, and tune in to their inner intuition to become strong but remain humble.
✔️ You can't have vision without execution. You can't have execution without vision. These basic and twin concepts will lead us out of the rocky and lonely path of entrepreneurship. Nobody understands this more than Michael Dermer, who stuck through his business idea crisis after crisis and turned his struggle into success.
✔️ Embrace what it means to learn and get better as an entrepreneur. Too often, we're like, "go, go, go." I have an ego. Become humble enough to recognize the lifelong journey: "I have to get better at this. I have to improve my skills. I have to bring people around me that have done this before."
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Feel like no one understands or cares as much as you do?
The Lonely Entrepreneur helps entrepreneurs with the #1 issue we all face – the struggle. We know what it's like to feel energized and overwhelmed at the same time. It's all about our perspective on business issues, personal issues, and the day-to-day grind of being our own boss. The difference between success and failure is your perspective. You can learn more and get a FREE daily perspective to help you be a better entrepreneur each day by visiting us at www.lonelyentrepreneur.com.
When entrepreneurs get that “Aha!” moment of a good idea, it becomes oxygen that fuels their desire into making it into reality.
However, you may pause and think, “So what’s next?” It’s like walking into a car dealership and seeing all the parts on the floor.
In this episode, I’d like to talk about the four steps of the development process and how you’ll take your idea into an actual business.
🎬 How to Develop the Idea into a Business (Entrepreneur Development)
What You Will Discover:
✔️ Articulate the idea into a vision. Your product or service should have something the world needs. It must hit the mark on what you’re trying to solve. The good idea is what excites you to move, and the vision elevates it.
✔️Translate your vision into a strategy. This also means “knowing the big picture about why you can win.” Learn about how big-name brands like Starbucks and Nike sell common products but with unique strategies that brought them to success.
✔️Create a goal-aligned financial plan. It’s the cornerstone of your business. It’s important to identify the resources you’ll need to purchase, the steps you must take to realize your goals, and how many sales you need to hit them.
✔️ Make an operating plan. You have to know how you’ll put in place the structure to bring your ideas to fruition. This involves people with financing and marketing abilities, metrics to measure your progress, and processes to make everything work.
Oftentimes, people in their entrepreneurial journeys are trying to figure out:
“What are the personal traits that we need to turn our passion into success?’
And so, I wanted to lay out the four critical traits to increase those chances as an entrepreneur.
🎬 4 Qualities You Need to Succeed as an Entrepreneur.
What You Will Discover:
✔️ Have an ego. No, it’s not arrogance nor anything negative. It’s the steadfast belief in your vision no matter what others think. Some may say your idea is the greatest thing ever. Others may say it’s ridiculous. It takes ego to push through!
✔️ Practice humility. You need this to understand that in order to bring your idea to life, you have lots of things to learn. Don’t feel insecure about it. Welcome it, and see every day as an opportunity to get better at it.
✔️ Employ clear, concise, and compelling communication. You’ll be facing investors, future customers, and potential employees. Speed up the fundraising and sales by choosing your words wisely. ✔️ Embrace the idea of planning. A vision only translates when we execute it. To put it simply, you HAVE to do it. Even if it means doing the exciting and not-so-exciting stuff. The latter is important to get you on that path to success.
One of the questions we get all the time is:
“What books should you read as an entrepreneur?”
Aside from my book, The Lonely Entrepreneur, one that stands out the most that isn’t even about entrepreneurship is Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.
The Art of War is a treasure trove of principles for entrepreneurs to achieve their goals – even with fewer resources.
Like Sun Tzu, who has defeated a much bigger army, you too can rise above your field with the proper techniques.
The One Book You Should Read as an Entrepreneur (Art of War)
What You Will Discover:
✔️ Don’t attack their strengths. Find their weakness and exploit it. What is something they fail to address? Which of their methods needs improving and that you can do better? Now, you’ve got a great idea and a market to cater to.
✔️Appear disorganized. When others see you don’t have your act together, they won’t see you as a threat. This allows you to use the element of surprise. You can silently enter the battlefield and suddenly emerge as a victor.
✔️Be deceptive. This doesn’t mean lying to your customers. You don’t have to let everyone know your every step. Move and speak with caution, and let your results speak for themselves.
✔️ Use their strengths against them. You may be more limited in resources, but you have the creativity to strategize your next move.
Learn more today at https://lonelyentrepreneur.com
Along our entrepreneurial journeys, we might catch ourselves saying:
“If I could just [blank], I’d be great!”
And that blank is different every time.
“If I could just raise money,” or “If I could just get people to understand…”
One of the biggest questions we get at The Lonely Entrepreneur is, “What are the top 5 most important skills entrepreneurs must have?”
Well, you’re in luck. Tune in as we break down what we think and why.
🎬 5 Skills You Need as an Entrepreneur
What You Will Discover:
✔️ Know the difference between business and craft. Let’s say you’re a formally-trained chef. There’s no argument you’re incredibly talented in your field. But setting up and running a restaurant is a whole other world of skills to learn.
✔️Find your playground. Create something that puts you in a place where it’s only you. On the surface, competition is everywhere. But there will always be that sweet spot where nobody else is playing.
✔️Have a financial plan. Even with scarce resources, you’ll be able to align yourself to success. We don’t want you to work hard without direction. We want every ounce of your effort to count. Don’t let number-crunching hold you back!
✔️ Communicate in the three C’s: clear, concise, and compelling. You’ll be doing a lot of writing and speaking to convince others. The shorter the message, the greater the impact, and the faster customers and investors spend.
✔️ Ensure your organization has the resources to meet your plan. You may also need advisors, employees who can do social media and production, and other equipment to move the ball to ultimately realize your vision
https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/
The definition of an “entrepreneur” has evolved over the years.
Back then, it meant rejecting corporate and creating your own path – once considered a risky choice.
But now, 50% of full-time workers have a side hustle. As more people come in and glorify the rewards of entrepreneurship, its true essence has been watered down to a good idea and a passion.
In this episode, Michael Dermer breaks down what it really takes to be a successful entrepreneur in the current market.
🎬 What Does it Mean to be an Entrepreneur?
What You Will Discover:
✔️ Entrepreneurship means skill-building. It’s a lifelong journey of taking in new ideas and knowledge - and getting better at them. It’s never easy the first time.
✔️Commit to the journey like it’s a craft. Are you willing to go through the legal work? Figuring out a market strategy? Dealing with people and resources? To get to where you want to be, embrace the ups and downs. Be open to the things you must do – from the exciting to the not-so-exciting.
✔️Success lies in execution. For every 10 ideas you have, one is the best. One will never work. And the other eight lie in how you do it. As entrepreneurs, we may lack capital and resources but not the ability to think differently.
✔️ Balance ego and humility. You need ego to pitch something that has never been done before and humility to recognize that there’s still so much more to learn.
✔️ You don’t have to do everything. You know your craft inside and out. But it’s so much different when you’re turning it into a business. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and advice. Stay open and curious to know what you need to know.
https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/
For ten years, Scott Eddy was a stock broker in NYC. In today’s interview with The Lonely Entrepreneur, Scott shares how he quit the corporate bubble to travel the world and set up his own global digital marketing agency. Describing himself as an “an optimist on steroids”, his energy keeps him on his toes and constantly traveling. He now uses his personal brand as his business where he travels as a speaker and consultant.
In 1999 Scott went to visit a friend in Thailand for a two week holiday after the brokerage firm he worked for was sold and he resigned – he needed a holiday. He didn’t return to the US for 17 years. He spotted how social media was growing in Thailand, so he set up a digital marketing agency, which grew rapidly in Asia. He describes the experience like throwing a dice; it was a big gamble. He had no background in marketing, but he knew it was an opening market for Asia, and he had the drive to make it happen. The secret was that he doesn’t view it as an agency, “it’s humans talking to humans. The whole core is developing relationships”.
As a stockbroker - 99% of sales are from calls and you get 100% commission. You have to make things happen - and the best way to get a sale is to get the other person at the end of the phone to like you within the first 15 seconds. This experience from the financial world has been instrumental in his entrepreneurial mindset.
“You’re building your company not for tomorrow, you’re building your company for long-term value”
After the untimely and tragic death of his Dad when he was a teenager, Scott is a shining example of success in the face of adversity. He values the importance of human interaction and relationship building for a business to grow - to not focus on short-term ROI. We learn how Scott made the tough decision to return to the US for an opportunity, and how he has focused more on using his personal brand as his business.
Hear in this episode Scott discuss:
- Long-term value vs short-terms gains
- Building a personal brand, and why you need to be active on social media
- How he became the most Twitter followed foreigner in Thailand
- How his best and worst moment happened in one day
- How many countries he’s lived in
Useful Links:
www.mrscotteddy.com
Twitter: @MrScottEddy
Facebook: @MrScottEddy
In this episode, Michael Dermer speaks to Michael Grant, President of Antico Noè, the Italian panini business. Originally a 200 square foot hole-in-wall panini shop in Florence, Italy, it’s grown a cult following since 1945. Michael Grant took on the challenge to expand the business over in New York. With a background in financial restructuring and helping turn around low-performing businesses, Michael’s focus on costings and brand-scaling has turned Antico Noè’s growth into a success. 1.5 years in, we learn how Michael deals with the pressures of living up to the Florentine expectations and why you need to be thrown into the deep end.
Michael Grant shares his views on:
- What it takes to leave corporate America for your dream
- His big break with Jennifer Lopez
- Living up to the reputation of a well-known and loved brand
- The need for challenges early on in the business process
- Experiential marketing
- Serving a cult following
“I’m a big believer that you’re never going to be ready to do something - as long as you’re calculated and flexible you can do it”
Quotes of note:
On being entrepreneurial: “You need to be open, flexible and listen to people - things are constantly changing”
On competition: “We can bring our set-up to anywhere, it’s mobile, so we need to ‘wow’ people”
The loneliest moment: “The day I had to tell my MD’s and partners that I was leaving - they were the best to work for”
The craziest moment: “having a cult-following and marketing-build for the summer - but you have no idea how you’re launch day will go”
The happiest moment: “finding out that this venture was successful”
In this episode, Michael Dermer speaks to Liz Gaspari, former owner and vice president of Gaspari Nutrition. Known as the “Supplement Queen,” Liz built an international fitness empire selling nutritional supplements. Born to immigrant parents in a rural Pennsylvania town, Liz’s entrepreneurial spirit was apparent from an early age. Liz spent her childhood coming up with new business ideas, ranging from a pretzel pop-up on a New Jersey boardwalk to selling video games in front of her family’s chicken restaurant. If anyone understands the entrepreneurial struggle, it’s Liz. Building a multi-million dollar company while paving the way for women in the nutritional supplement industry is just a small portion of Liz’s story.
Liz shares her views on:
- Women in business
- The entrepreneurial perspective
- How she built a multi-million dollar business from the ground up
Liz turned her struggle into success by working hard and thinking differently. In this episode, you will hear Liz explain how changing her entrepreneurial perspective helped her achieve success, even when all odds were against her.
Quotes of Note:
- Liz on philanthropy: “I work and I run my business during the week and then on the weekends, I feed the homeless.”
- Liz on perseverance: “I’ve heard no since I was little. I wasn’t affected by the word no. I worked so hard to get what I had.”
- Liz on cultural differences: “I understand how to treat a customer but with their culture. I took it to another level.”
- Liz on entrepreneurial perspective: “I had to be different.”
- Liz on women in business: “I remember my distributors and Vitamin shop saying, “It must feel good to be one of the most powerful women in this industry.”
- Liz on humility: “Remember where you came from. You’ve got to keep your head straight.”
- Liz on being a role model for Afghani women: “I’m proud to pave the way for women from countries like mine.”
In this episode, Michael Dermer speaks to Garnett Strother, an elite personal trainer born and raised in the Lower East Side. Featured by Steve Madden in the #SelfMadeMan campaign, Strother embodies everything it means to be an entrepreneur. Faced with tremendous struggles growing up, he overcame a number of obstacles: health problems, addict parents, and dropping out of school at 17 to have his daughter. Strother is now considered one of the top personal trainers in NYC, but he didn’t get there by accident. He is one of the most driven, passionate, and sincere entrepreneurs we have ever met and we were honored to hear his story.
Garnett shares his views on:
- Overcoming the struggle
- Perfecting his craft
- What it takes to succeed
Garnett turned his struggle into success by working hard and thinking differently. In this episode, you will hear Garnett explain how his entrepreneurial spirit helped him achieve success, even when all odds were against him.
Quotes of Note:
- On basketball- “Basketball was everything growing up. I’m a fan of how they were able to influence the game and the culture themselves”
- On differentiating himself- “I wanted my training to be so well rounded that you couldn’t deny me that opportunity to train you or facilitate that change in your life, because you see what I can produce in all aspects”
- On commitment- “I would sit in Barnes and Noble for 8 hours a day and read everything and then I would practice everything I learned at the boys and girls club.”
- On the loneliness of entrepreneurship- “You start to feel that loneliness because everyone loves karate, but not everyone wants to do karate every day like you do.”
- On motivation- “All of my alarm systems were going off at once”
In this episode, Michael Dermer interviews Pejman Ghadimi - Founder of Secret Entourage, a branding and digital marketing firm that specializes in branding, marketing, entrepreneurial coaching and corporate leadership/service training. Since its launch, Secret Entourage has expanded its reach to over 1,200,000 new individuals each month and has grown as an accepted brand in the business and lifestyle community. Secret Entourage has also helped unify accredited Entrepreneurs with the mission of bringing back the true meaning of entrepreneurship. In 2012, Pejman authored Third Circle Theory, Gen Y's blueprint to Entrepreneurship which had sold over 50,000 copies by mid 2013. Pejman is also the owner and founder of VIPMotoring.net, a unique luxury lifestyle concierge service which currently was said to be "one of the best sources of education for today's modern millionaires" by Forbes in 2012. Pejman shares his views on:
- watching his mother become a successful entrepreneur in Iran only to leave it all behind to come to the United States
- how he overcame a lack of educational background and financial resources growing up to launch several successful businesses
- how he started a career at the age of 18 at a financial institution only to quickly rise to the level of VP
- how his entrepreneurial spirit compelled him to leave that success to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams
- how he founded three successful businesses with a combined annual revenues over $40M
- how his mission drives his daily fulfillment
For this episode's show notes, visit www.lonelyentrepreneur.com/category/podcasts
In this episode, Michael Dermer interviews Dr. Joyce Knudsen, one of the world’s foremost experts on one’s own image and how it can spur the personal growth of every individual. Dr. Knudsen not only is the publisher of ten books and the CEO of Image Makers, she regularly appears on major news outlets (USA Today, NY Times, Glamour Magazine) and has unlocked the personal potential of thousands. Dr. Knudsen is 71 years young and followed by over 1 million Twitter followers. What many don’t know is that she overcame a childhood vision condition and a family situation that spurred her to the type of self-sufficiency that she unlocks on everyone she touches. Dr. Knudsen shares her views on:
- Overcoming the struggle of a childhood illness and an unstable family situation
- How she has taken her own experiences to inspire the lives of so many
- Starting a new business and life journey at age 54
- How she has inspired others to build a social media empire
In this episode, Michael Dermer interviews Adam Sandow, who has built a small empire by bringing affluence, beauty and innovation together as few others have. With properties like Fred Siegel, publications Luxe Interiors + Design, Worth and Interior Design and BeautyDNA. TestTube and Material ConneXion, Adam has redefined creativity. Described as someone who "can take empty magic and put it into a box.," Adam discusses his path as an entrepreneur and how his ability to think differently has led to success where many others have fallen short. Adam shares his views on:
- what it takes to be an entrepreneur
- how his decisions to fund with his only dollars can often be a lonely endeavor
- his unique ability to think differently about beauty and affluence
- his loneliest day and happiest day.
For this episode's show notes, visit www.lonelyentepreneur.com/category/podcasts
In this episode, Michael Dermer interviews his cousin Ron Dermer, the Israeli Ambassador to the United States. Ron explains how the struggle of Israel as a nation and the spirit of the Israeli population has led to a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. Ron shares his view on:
- How the constant struggle of Israel to survive as a nation had led to leadership in innovation and entrepreneurism
- How the need to survive has spurred a culture of creativity, passion, “chutzpah” and will
- The astonishing achievements of Israel in innovation despite its limited size and population size
- How military service adds to the capabilities of those who choose to be entrepreneurs
- His struggle associated with the United States nuclear deal with Iran
- His personal entrepreneurial experiences
For this episode's show notes, visit www.lonelyentrepreneur.com/category/podcasts
In this episode, Michael Dermer interviews Steven Madden, who made the Steve Madden brand a household name in shoes and now has led the brand to endeavors far beyond shoes. No one knows more about success in the face of the struggle. Steve spent two years in jail when his company was taken public by Stratton Oakmont, the investment firm run by his childhood friend, Jordan Belfort, the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio, in The Wolf of Wall Street. Steve shares his views on:
- Surviving in jail for two years
- How we knew he was an entrepreneur
- Donald Trump and how he would be as President
- Getting caught up in the scandal of Stratton Oakmont
- His happiest day and loneliest day
For this episode's show notes, visit www.lonelyentrepreneur.com/category/podcasts
In this episode, Michael Dermer reveals how the “perfect storm” he faced in his business led to the discovery of The Lonely Entrepreneur. Michael watched the business he built over ten years – the first to provide financial rewards for healthy behavior – almost get destroyed in ten days by the financial crisis of 2008. And how his ability to change perspective was the difference between success and failure. Michael’s story includes:
- details how he left a prestigious law firm to make the entrepreneurial leap
- what it was like to see the business he built over ten years nearly collapse in a week
- the two years of twenty-hour days it would take to save his business
- how his change in perspective led to the successful sale of his business
For this episode's show notes, visit www.lonelyentrepreneur.com/category/podcasts