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Making Moves Podcast | Corporate to Successful Entrepreneur

The Making Moves Podcast (with business guru's Seema Alexander & Kelly Lynn Adams) is dedicated to helping 9 to 5'ers, side hustlers & entrepreneurs go from following the rules to creating their own. Get ready to be exposed to weekly bite-size trainings and inspiration about business building, money making, mindset training, and so much more. You will hear from top entrepreneurs and influencers (in all industries) tell the good, the bad and the amazing of the journey from employee to entrepreneur. This is the place to learn more so that you can be, do and have more.
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May 11, 2017

Rachel Luna is a best-selling author, international speaker and elite business coach. A former US Marine, this 4 foot 11 inch firecracker has a reputation for inspiring confident action and helping her clients double, triple and quadruple their income. If you're stuck in a rut and want to increase your income and your confidence so you can get you to the next level, Rachel Luna is the woman to call. 

  • [02:43] What triggered you to start your own business?
  • I have always been an entrepreneur, ever since I was a kid.
  • [04:15] In my early 20s, I bought into a T-Shirt company. I am at good at promoting things.
  • [04:33] How I went into my current business was almost accidental. I was working in Germany and my life was a hard mess. I was in and out of a bad relationship, I was overweight and in debt.  I hired a life coach.  She said I had such an interesting life story and positive energy and that I would make a good life coach.  I said no one is going to listen to me.  She said not now but once you get yourself together and that’s going to be inspiring for other people.  They will want to know how you did it.  In 3 months my life turned around.  I got certified as a life coach.
  • [07:14] Tell us about your first book and the second book that you are working on.
  • I did not know that when I wrote the book, I was actually going to publish the book. I started working on a fiction book.  Then I went to join a non-fiction book competition.  I had to write a book proposal and the first chapter, create a video and get a good number of likes just to get to the next round.
  • [09:23] I made it to the Top 25. In the next round, I had to write 3 more chapters.  I was writing the book to be in the competition just to win.  I didn’t win.
  • [09:53] However, because of the social media promotion, people were asking me when the book will be done. I used Create Space.com to publish the book and it was an easy process.
  • [12:23] The book talked about one trait that all successful people have – they were really authentic. It talked about funding your dream. 
  • [13:15] There are questions in the book. If you are going to spend money buying the book, do the work.  You have to reflect on what you have read and take action.
  • [13:50] The second book – “Girl, Confident”. I want to write stories that will get people excited about the things that scare them the most.
  • [16:56] How to get exactly what you desire confidently?

A lot of times people are waiting until they stop feeling fear.  That’s the problem.  You have to take action while you are scared.  Let go of your emotional attachment to the outcome.  You have to be okay that some people are going to laugh at you or judge you.

  • [23:30] Tell us about your business model, in particular, Affiliate Marketing and generating $100,000 within 18 months.

I helped a girl with Affiliate Marketing and she achieved over $100,000 within the first 7 months.

  • [25:00] 2 main points to the success in Affiliate Marketing:

(i) Integrity – I don’t just promote anything, I am very selective.

(ii) Engagement – I engage with people with a high touch experience.  I will get on the phone and do one-on-one call.

  • [27:30] How do you define success?

In this moment, success means honoring what I want at my most selfish level.  Selfish self here means really being true and honest with yourself and the people around you about what you want and what you need.  When personal wants and needs are not being met at the highest level, not referring to big things but the highest level of fulfillment, you cannot show-up fully and you cannot serve other people at your absolute best. 

  • [30:16] Who are your mentors and your thoughts on investing in yourself?

The best investment is investing in yourself if you are willing to cash in on that investment by doing the work.

  • [31:45] Do your homework before you hire a coach to get the right one. I have a network of amazing mentors.
  • 2 key points:
  • People want to learn from other people who have done what they are trying to do.
  • The best investment is investing in yourself.

 

Social media

www.rachelluna.biz

 

Book

Successful People are Full of C.R.A.P.

 

Apr 14, 2017

As an attorney-turned-philanthropic advisor, LAURA FREDRICKS knows how to ASK.  She has enjoyed a lengthy and successful career in industries best known for making high profile, multi-million dollar A$KS – law and philanthropy – and is the first to merge strategies from both professional sectors into a mainstream practice known as THE ASK©.

This new practice has placed LAURA on the national and international speaking circuits at conferences around the world from Amsterdam to Ann Arbor, Bologna to Boca Raton, Kenya to Kentucky, Moscow to Montreal, Sydney to Seattle, plus Australia, Italy, and the Netherlands. THE ASK© has also led LAURA to TV and radio appearances on local talk shows across the nation, and her expertise has been featured in national publications. Her four books on “How to A$K© for Money – and More of It” have become industry leaders. New books with “Asking Advice for Everyday Living”

 

  • [01:57] – Share your story.

 

  • [02:25] – I had a lot careers.  Started off as a journalist for a music magazine.  But I always wanted to go to law school.  Combined law & journalism, hence I did Communications Law.
  • [3:24] - One of my professors said “why don’t you be a law clerk”?  I did as I had to pay bills!  People present opportunities to you – you just take it.
  • [04:11] - I wanted to do something better in the world.  I know that asking came very easy to me because I realized I won every case on cross-examination because I asked the right questions.  
  • [05:11] - 5 steps ASK factor (developed 3 years ago)

As more and more bombardment of social media, more things got complex.  If you can make whatever niche you are trying to do, simple, you will do very well.  What works in any sector for any person at any age in any decade for anything that you want, it comes down to 5 things:

  1. Know exactly what you want with numbers and dates.  Be specific – specific dates, specific skills and specific amount.
  2. Prepare the conversation.  It’s a mental exercise.  Write it down.  Especially when you are asking for money, a job, a raise, a transition.  Why should I believe in you?  Why does your skill set match this?  What do you do that nobody else in the planet does?
  3. Time to shine.  Deliver with confidence.  What do you want?  Head straight and just go!
  4. Reiterate what you think you heard when you did your ASK (this is the most important step).  Don’t let them go, use the word “we” – we can work this out, what do we need, what is our timeline?  It’s inclusive – you get back to me, you let me know – you are putting them in a corner of spotlight and it’s an awful position to be in.
  5. Plan you next move while you do your ASK.  If they say “we’ll get back to you”.  You reply “Fine, how about Monday at 2 pm?
  • [11:25] - Do not skip any step, check and go to the next one.  It is a proven method.

 

  • [12:40] - If you are an introvert and you’re rather shy, what’s your advice and your story of how to ask for funding?

 

  • [14:20] - You got to have data as it speaks volume.  When you ask for yourself, it’s the hardest – everyone becomes an introvert.  Just say “I’ve done my research…”, “I want to ‘challenge’ you…”, “I’ve never done this before but it’s important to me…”.

 

  • [16:30] - You transited 9 times, how did you go through the transition to become your own boss?

 

  • [17:14] - People won’t be listening unless they want to challenge themselves to the next level.
  • [17:36] - If you don’t listen to your voice, you’re not going to move to the next level.
  • [17:43] - What’s your level of unrest?  Nothing promotes change than the highest level of “uncomfortability”.
  • [18:35] - Then I got the other job – I was happy but not my full potential.  How good can I be?  What more can I do?  How am I going to get it?  Don’t risk your chance.

 

  • [20:25] - You are a money wellness expert – is your money mind-set connected to ASK?

 

  • [21:22] - Chapter 1 (of my book) – what does money mean to you?
  • [21:41] - Every single decision you make in life has money.

Branding

  • [24:41] - The more specific, the more you build your business.  If you are everything, a lot of people will pick & choose.
  • [25:36] - You are in it to win it!
  • [27:30] - Transition takes drive, it’s not given to you and if it’s given to you (I guarantee you it’s not what you want).

 

  • [28:06] – What’s your recommendations to those who do not really know where to invest in their business?  

 

  1. Before: I was a lawyer and I had absolutely no money.
  2. During: Transition – you have a small budget – take people out, get more education.
  3. After: if you have resources and you know exactly this is where you want to be, hire no one but the best.
  • [30:43] – 3 key points
  1. Just use the 5-step process.  

           People need organization, structure and focus in transition.

  1. Start small and build
  2. Make sure you are all in – 100% committed

 

Social media

www.expertontheask.com

Apr 3, 2017

"Hal Elrod is living proof that all of us are capable of creating miracles in our own lives.  His inspirational message, loaded with examples of Hal's never-say-die attitude and winning strategies, will empower anyone to make the most of his or her life."

--Bud Gardner, co-author, Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul

Hal got his start inspiring and entertaining people at age 15 as a radio show host where he was given the hip moniker, "Yo Pal" Hal.

At age 20, Hal's life was almost ended when, traveling at over 70 miles per hour, Hal was struck head on by a drunken driver and found dead on the scene.  Hal’s heart stopped beating for 6 minutes, he fractured 13 bones, suffered severe brain damage, and spent 6 long days in a coma, awakening to the devastating news that he might never walk again.

Never one to accept limitations set by others, Hal astounded the medical community when he miraculously took his first step only three weeks later and was released from the hospital less than two months after the night of the crash.

Hal got back to work that same year to sell over $100,000 of kitchen products door-to-door and became one of the youngest members ever inducted into the company's Hall of Fame.

Now at 27, Hal is a bestselling author, motivational speaker, and CEO of Global Empowerment Coaching. Hal is truly taking life head on with his autobiography by the same name, Taking Life Head On! (The Hal Elrod Story), which published last year and is inspiring thousands of people throughout the world, already reaching #7 on Amazon’s bestseller list.

Hal's story is amazing, his youthful energy, humor, and unique principles for experiencing more joy and fulfillment in your life offer a fresh perspective for your viewing audience.

  • [03:22] – Can you share the story of what happened and what you did to overcome it?
  • [04:00] - I was involved in an accident.  Broke 11 bones.  Immediately in a coma from that impact.
  • [04:24] - When I woke up – why am I in pain and everything hurts?
  • [04:33] - Unimaginable reality.  I may never walk again.
  • [05:04] - How am I going to respond to this?  Either negatively or positively.
  • [05:29] - The source of all our emotional pain and suffering is resistance.  Fortunately, I learned this from my mentor a year and a half before the car accident.
  • [06:27] - I can either be down about it or be the most grateful in my entire life.
  • [06:39] - I am waking up every day, what more do I need to be happy?
  • [07:56] - Three weeks later, the doctor came in with the x-ray report and said “we can’t explain this but your body is healing so fast”.
  • [08:21] - Dedicated my life, my second chance to fulfilling my potential the way that I could for the purpose of helping others.
  • [09:10] - How did you make the transition from a corporate job to being an entrepreneur?
  • [09:50] - I was in sales (not exactly a 9 to 5 job), there was freedom.  I was paid on commission.
  • [10:32] - I saved up $20,000 and started dedicating my evenings and weekends to my entrepreneur journey. 
  • [11:52] - I decided I wanted to become a coach.
  • [13:00] - Started by giving away discounts.  Launched my coaching business and focused full time.
  • [13:48] - My first client was a forty year old finance adviser and I joined him in his Business Networking International (BNI) group. 
  • [14:21] - The President the BNI group was impressed by what I have accomplished at 25 and hired me to be his coach!
  • [17:04] - How it evolved into this concept of Miracle Morning and what it really is (you wrote a book on it and you have a series on it)?
  • [17:40] - It was not an idea for a book.  The economy crashed and I lost half of my clients because they can’t afford to pay me.
  • [19:10] - I went for a morning run to get me into a peak state every morning.
  • [19:14] - I listened to Jim Rohn’s audio – “your level of success will seldom exceed your level of personal development”.  Those words at those moments hit me.
  • [20:17] - I searched online for the best personal development practice known.  The breakthrough was when I did all the 6 most powerful, timeless and proven development practices. 
  • [21:00] - That morning my entire life changed. In less than 2 months, I more than doubled my income beyond where it was at the height before the (economy) crash.
  • [22:39] - By 2009, Miracle Morning was universal and can work for anyone and 7 years later, hundreds of thousands of people around the world were doing Miracle Morning every day, with the book translated to 24 different languages.
  • [25:07] - It’s changing so many lives and I will keep promoting it.

 

3 KEY POINTS:

  1. Choose to be happy.
  2. You don’t need to have everything figured out like a 5-year plan – just start!
  3. Embrace your failures (whether big or small), you learn, you adjust and you correct.

 

Social Media

www.miraclemorning.com

The Miracle Morning book is available on Amazon and Kindle.

Mar 29, 2017

When Sean was born doctors predicted he would not survive past birth because of a rare bone disorder that stunted his growth and caused his bones to be extremely fragile. Despite these challenges, he's taken a stand for a quality of life that has reached millions of people around the world, including Sir Richard Branson, President Clinton, and his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Sean has appeared on everything from The Oprah Show to Youtube videos with millions of views. The Biography Channel did an hour feature on his life called, “Three Foot Giant.” His message has been heard at live events in over 15 countries and 47 states over the past 16 years. Sean's latest book, “Get Off Your But” has swept the US and been released in over a half dozen languages around the world. As a board certified therapist, Sean uses humor and compassion to develop a fun environment where individuals open their hearts and minds for lasting empowerment to occur.

 

  • [02:44] – Tell us about the life of Sean
  • [03:09] – I teach what I teach about confidence, overcoming insecurities. I do what I do for my own good.
  • [04:03] – We teach what we need to hear most often. I hear my own message over & over.
  • [04:39] – What are some of the common insecurities that people have and how do you help people come out of that?
  • [04:45] – All insecurities can be boiled down to one thing – the feeling that “you are not….enough”. Insecurity is something that you can’t get rid of but it’s something you have to stay ahead of.
  • [06:39] – Why were you born? What’s your purpose?
  • [08:28] – Self-care, what do you do in your day-to-day activities that nourishes you?
  • [10:02] – How can transitioners practise self-care? How to keep them motivated?
  • [10:44] – Entrepreneurs have challenges too, if not more challenges than a 9 to 5-er. When you’re the Captain of the ship, you are directing the course of the ship. When you are a crew member of someone else’s ship, you can’t even determine where you’re going.
  • [13:51] – Tell us more about the “The Prison of Your Mind” talk.
  • [14:12] - I have spoken to inmates who will never see freedom (in the traditional sense) again.
  • [14:47] – I have also seen people who are not in physical prisons but yet they are miserable although they have lots of money. They are stuck in the prison of their minds.
  • [15:48] – Your heart is where your passion is.
  • [17:05] – What do I have power over? I have power over my mind.  I am no longer a prisoner to my body.
  • [32:30] - How to get started to be a speaker? What advice would you give?
  1. They come and work with me! I teach short courses.
  2. Human beings are fascinated with somebody who is creative with metaphors. Your minds can build pictures.  Study metaphors!
  3. I started 22 years ago. You got to put in the time and get the right coaches.
  4. I even studied hypnosis.
  • [22:46] – Who in your life is important to you most?
  1. No one succeeds alone.
  2. People that have what I want and when I help them get more, they will pull me up too.
  3. People that want what I have. Teach people what you have mastered.
  • 3 key points:-
  1. Don’t worry about success. Confidence is a by-product.
  2. Focus on value creation. When you create so much value, you have no choice but to get rich! 
  3. Focus on becoming something rather than achieving, acquiring and doing something.

 

 

Social media

 

http://seanstephenson.com

Mar 15, 2017

Serena Dyer has co-authored a book with her father, Dr. Wayne Dyer, titled Don’t Die With Your Music Still In You about her experience growing up with spiritual parents. The book is a daughter’s response to her father’s wisdom and provides readers a glimpse into what life was like growing up with seven brothers and sisters -- and Dr. Wayne Dyer as a father.

 

Serena is a contributor to several publications where she shares stories on varying subjects, including meditation, travel, the spiritual journey and life with her brothers and sisters. She is also a featured speaker at spiritual, motivational and wellness events around the United States. Her subject matter covers a wide range of topics, but she always seeks to share her personal spiritual perspective in a way that encourages introspection and personal growth.

 

While completing her master’s degree at the University of Miami, Serena was moved by startling statistics concerning the global tragedy of human trafficking. Although most of her work is done privately, Serena does add her voice to raise awareness via the charity Stop Child Trafficking. Serena currently resides in south Florida with her husband Matt and her 2 children.

 

 

  • [02:30] - How did you start?
  • [02:41] - I quit Law School because I felt like a “fraud” there – that was not a place for me. There was an inner-battle.
  • [04:30] - I came down with pneumonia. My dad said to me when you attract illness which begins with an “i” instead of wellness which begins with “we”, you are only focusing on yourself.
  • [05:36] - I didn’t know who I was and what I was doing and went into a deep depression.
  • [06:20] - I had no idea what I was passionate about.
  • [06:45] - The only thing I knew is that I know how I wanted to feel. I wanted to feel content.
  • [08:08] - My dad taught me how to assume to feel happy at one point of my life - picture and imagine what you felt like. Before you go to bed, the last 5 minutes, close your eyes, put down your phone, etc. to focus on how you would feel in your body if you feel content. When you wake up, spend 5 minutes and assume how you want to feel for the rest of the day.
  • [10:30] - After a while people and opportunities showed up that aligned me to the way I wanted to feel – good, content, peace.
  • [14:30] - For transitioners who do not know what their passions are, what advice would you give them?
  • [15:07] - I came out of depression to write a book with my dad. Once I started to get out of there, there was peace. It’s not an overnight process as it took me a few months.
  • [16:08] - The biggest thing that occurred to me is that I regularly lied to myself. I denied what I actually wanted.
  • [16:30] - I have always like talking about things related to psychology, people’s journey, telling stories but I have rejected and ignored that part of my life in pursuit of the career that I thought I was going to have.
  • [21:40] - How’s your experience growing up with spiritual parents?
  • [22:35] - In my home, you have to take responsibility for everything that shows up in your life. You are in control of creating the life you want but that does not mean that bad things that show up are your fault. They are to teach you things and how to overcome them.
  • [25:10] - Master of your own fate, creator of your own destiny.
  • [26:09] - What are your spiritual strategies and what are you most proud of?
  • I am most proud of:
  1. Having a sense of peace.
  2. Having a whole understanding of where I am at in my life right now.
  3. Not judging and criticizing myself like I used to. My relationship with myself is strong.
  4. The difficult years of my life did not make or break me – it revealed me and who it revealed me to be – somebody I like.
  • [28:00] - The strategies:
  1. It was an accumulation of dedication and constantly choosing thoughts that made me feel good.
  2. It is work to have spiritual practice that feels good.
  • [32:30] - How has the book affected your life?
  • When you change the way you look at something the way you look at it actually impacts the behavior of the thing you are looking at.
  • [37:00] - What’s your last piece of advice?
  • [41:48] - I used to think that I would feel peace if all this crap will go away but it is actually the reverse. The crap will go away when I am at peace.
  • 4 key points:-
  1. We don’t attract what we want, we attract what we are.
  2. Do not lie to yourself. Tell yourself the truth.
  3. What you bring to a situation is changed by the energy you brought.
  4. Peace has to begin with me.

 

 

Social media

 

Website: http://serenadyer.com

 

https://www.facebook.com/officialserenadyer/

 

 

Serena Dyer has co-authored a book with her father, Dr. Wayne Dyer, titled Don’t Die With Your Music Still In You about her experience growing up with spiritual parents. The book is a daughter’s response to her father’s wisdom and provides readers a glimpse into what life was like growing up with seven brothers and sisters -- and Dr. Wayne Dyer as a father.

 

Serena is a contributor to several publications where she shares stories on varying subjects, including meditation, travel, the spiritual journey and life with her brothers and sisters. She is also a featured speaker at spiritual, motivational and wellness events around the United States. Her subject matter covers a wide range of topics, but she always seeks to share her personal spiritual perspective in a way that encourages introspection and personal growth.

 

While completing her master’s degree at the University of Miami, Serena was moved by startling statistics concerning the global tragedy of human trafficking. Although most of her work is done privately, Serena does add her voice to raise awareness via the charity Stop Child Trafficking. Serena currently resides in south Florida with her husband Matt and her 2 children.

 

 

  • [02:30] - How did you start?
  • [02:41] - I quit Law School because I felt like a “fraud” there – that was not a place for me. There was an inner-battle.
  • [04:30] - I came down with pneumonia. My dad said to me when you attract illness which begins with an “i” instead of wellness which begins with “we”, you are only focusing on yourself.
  • [05:36] - I didn’t know who I was and what I was doing and went into a deep depression.
  • [06:20] - I had no idea what I was passionate about.
  • [06:45] - The only thing I knew is that I know how I wanted to feel. I wanted to feel content.
  • [08:08] - My dad taught me how to assume to feel happy at one point of my life - picture and imagine what you felt like. Before you go to bed, the last 5 minutes, close your eyes, put down your phone, etc. to focus on how you would feel in your body if you feel content. When you wake up, spend 5 minutes and assume how you want to feel for the rest of the day.
  • [10:30] - After a while people and opportunities showed up that aligned me to the way I wanted to feel – good, content, peace.
  • [14:30] - For transitioners who do not know what their passions are, what advice would you give them?
  • [15:07] - I came out of depression to write a book with my dad. Once I started to get out of there, there was peace. It’s not an overnight process as it took me a few months.
  • [16:08] - The biggest thing that occurred to me is that I regularly lied to myself. I denied what I actually wanted.
  • [16:30] - I have always like talking about things related to psychology, people’s journey, telling stories but I have rejected and ignored that part of my life in pursuit of the career that I thought I was going to have.
  • [21:40] - How’s your experience growing up with spiritual parents?
  • [22:35] - In my home, you have to take responsibility for everything that shows up in your life. You are in control of creating the life you want but that does not mean that bad things that show up are your fault. They are to teach you things and how to overcome them.
  • [25:10] - Master of your own fate, creator of your own destiny.
  • [26:09] - What are your spiritual strategies and what are you most proud of?
  • I am most proud of:
  1. Having a sense of peace.
  2. Having a whole understanding of where I am at in my life right now.
  3. Not judging and criticizing myself like I used to. My relationship with myself is strong.
  4. The difficult years of my life did not make or break me – it revealed me and who it revealed me to be – somebody I like.
  • [28:00] - The strategies:
  1. It was an accumulation of dedication and constantly choosing thoughts that made me feel good.
  2. It is work to have spiritual practice that feels good.
  • [32:30] - How has the book affected your life?
  • When you change the way you look at something the way you look at it actually impacts the behavior of the thing you are looking at.
  • [37:00] - What’s your last piece of advice?
  • [41:48] - I used to think that I would feel peace if all this crap will go away but it is actually the reverse. The crap will go away when I am at peace.
  • 4 key points:-
  1. We don’t attract what we want, we attract what we are.
  2. Do not lie to yourself. Tell yourself the truth.
  3. What you bring to a situation is changed by the energy you brought.
  4. Peace has to begin with me.

 

 

Social media

 

Website: http://serenadyer.com

 

https://www.facebook.com/officialserenadyer/

 

 

Feb 27, 2017

Noha Waibsnaider is a leading food entrepreneur and change maker in the healthy, real food movement. After graduating from Columbia Business School, she worked at Unilever and learned about the preservatives, chemicals, and processing that fills most of our foods. Originally from Israel, Noha grew up on a diet of mostly unprocessed foods and snacking on dried fruit. She realized there was a big gap in the marketplace and an opportunity to create snacks that make people feel good about snacking, with food that tastes great and is naturally nutritious. In 2005, she launched Peeled Snacks: organic fruit snacks with no added sugar or preservatives. In the last year, the brand has quickly evolved to a larger healthy snack platform, with the launch of Peas Please, savory veggie snacks. With her vision of providing tasty and nourishing snacks everywhere you need a snack, Peeled Snacks are sold in Starbucks, Target, Whole Foods, Wegmans, Giant, Hudson News, Amazon, and many other retailers. The company has ranked on the Inc. 5000 List of America’s Fastest Growing Companies for four years, has been featured in Oprah’s O List, and received Healthy Snack awards from Health Magazine and Fitness Magazine. 

 

  • [02:25] - When did you start your own business and what was your background?

 

  • [02:40] - I learned about the food industry and supply chain.  Realized that the products were loaded with sugar and chemical.  I will talk to the scientists and they are not willing to eat it!
  • [03:10] - There’s an opportunity to make real food that’s not highly processed and make it accessible to people.
  • [03:30] - People have been eating dry food for a number of years.  

 

 

  • [05:28] - Product-based businesses have so much to consider upfront.  In terms of operations, what did you start with?

 

  • [06:12] - There’s a very large based eco-system for food-based products now.  
  • [07:40] - We started small.  The early challenges, limitations and constraints are what helped you define the concept.
  • [06:26] - It’s an evolution and part of the creative process.

 

  • [09:00] - How much money did you invest upfront?

 

  • [10:00] - I sent in a two-page application for funding but was not successful.  
  • [11:03] - Initially, I thought it’s a small business and it can be self-funded.  I was using credit card and doing balance transfer.  Started borrowing money from family - started fund-raising with friends and family.  
  • [13:09] - Since then we continued to raise money from Angels and crowd-funding.
  • [16:08] - What is your pricing strategy?

It’s important to get pricing structure right early on.  We have premium products and we increased the price gradually and people were still willing to pay for.  At least 50% margin.

 

  • [19:55] - How does the Strategic Advisory Board work?

 

  • [20:14] - Network is “give and take”.  At one point we gave stock options to people.
  • [21:43] - My first strategic advisory board guru was a business school professor.  His biggest piece of advice was – “you’re going to need an advisory board and I volunteer to be the first member on it”.  That was very helpful.
  • [24:07] - Those on our board have very diverse business backgrounds.
  • [26:10] - How do you get access to influential people like Stacy Madison?
  • [27:06] - Building relationship, meeting people, networking, going to industry events, asking what you need and being clear of what you need.

 

  • [27:47] - If you could go back, what are the 3 things that you would have invested in most?

 

  1. Golf lessons! – so much of networking happens on the golf-course.
  2. Marketing
  3. Gone into it with a long-term view and not so overwhelmed by all the ups and downs.

 

  • [31:27] - What motivates you to keep you going?

 

  1. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.
  2. Passionate about what I do, i.e. healthy food, food that energizes and what our brand stands for.
  3. Consumer’s feedback.
  4. There’s no tracking back, we have to give returns back to our investors.

 

  • [33:54] - What are things to learn, unlearn and relearn from your corporate background to your own business?

 

  1. When I was at a large company, I had access to so much data.  At Peeled Snacks we did not have any.
  2. Being responsible for your own space and schedule.
  3. It’s a totally different level of stress – managing emotions.

 

3 KEY POINTS

 

  • The more the business grows, the more money is needed.
  • Network is “give & take”.
  • Be passionate about what you do.

 

 

Website: peeledsnacks.com

Get a 10% discount code for these amazing products

 

Social Media: 

Facebook: Peeled Snacks (https://www.facebook.com/Peeled/)

Twitter: @PeeledSnacks

Instagram: @peeledsnacks (https://www.instagram.com/peeledsnacks/




Feb 21, 2017

After 24 years in the Professional Beauty Industry Amy Arvary experienced a significant life change. This change left her unable to continue life as she had planned.  At her darkest point Amy discovered the Law of Attraction began a daily practice of mindfulness. Her practice led to hypnosis and she acquired a Masters Certification in Clinical Hypnotherapy.

Amy's unique approach to healing the mind brings her clients an immediate sense of clarity, confidence and purpose. Across the globe she enlightens audiences and private clients with the secrets to manifesting the successes they desire. 

 

  • [01:30] – What triggered you to make a move to start your own business?

 

  • [01:41] - I never intended to start a business. I worked in a salon for a long time and began the transition in hypnotherapy. 2 or 3 years into the practice I realized this could really be something that wasn’t me but it felt right to me.
  • [02:37] - In 2009, I started to learn things about the business side.  I’m learning every day.
  • [03:30] - What is hypnotherapy and who can benefit from it?
  • [04:03] - Hypnotherapy is a practice that allows you to get into a meditative mind space and it changes the frequency in which your brain is working and at a different frequency, it clears all the guilt, fear, frustration, anger, etc.  
  • [04:29] - Mind state – take a look at what’s going on inside of you and use that to direct you more to the direction of what you want instead of the direction that you are being pulled into.
  • [04:43] - I stumbled into it organically.  I was at a very dark mindset at that time.  
  • [05:00] – Hypnotherapy allowed me to just dive in.

 

  • [05:57] - Tell us about some amazing stories / people you have worked with.

 

  • [06:30] - Surgeon – I see his patients as a post-surgery therapy.  I will help them with behavior modification.
  • [09:36] - Worked with athletes too.

 

  • [10:40] - How important is the mind and subconscious to accomplish what you want to achieve?

 

  • [11:36] - It is tremendously important.  You have the ability to change with every breath you take.  Hypnotherapy allows the opportunity to be able to do that.
  • [11:49] -Totally believe there’s a way of being better.  You don’t have to do anything except to close your eyes, listen and imagine.  Physically – you feel better immediately, lighter, more clear and allows you to be better by default, always.

 

  • [12:30] - What are the daily habits/rituals that you help through your clients right now?

 

  • [13:00] - Become aware of what you’re thinking.
  • [14:15] - If your body is responding in a negative way, then it’s not what you really want.  If you are trapped in fear and you become aware of that, you should take a deep breath, drop your shoulders and say “thank you”.    

 

  • [15:28] - How to overcome mental state when at the lowest?

 

  • [16:07] - There are many unknowns but you start understanding that everything is neutral, nothing is good or bad.
  • [16:20] - We label things however we want.  Everybody has a different way of interpreting stuff.  So, if you are aware that you have a choice to interpret it as a good/bad thing, it frees you up from the pressure.

 

  • [18:55] - What inspires you?

 

  • 1. The people that I surround myself with.
  • 2. New ideas – I love hearing lectures of sciences (quantum physics)
  • 3. My clients
  • [20:43] - Tell us about your free gift (ebook) to listeners:

There’s an audio link at the end of the ebook, you can listen to it every day or at least once a day for a week.  After a week, see how you are feeling and how things are manifesting.  I’m very confident that things will be improved.

 

  • [23:33] - Hypnosis session.

 

  • 4 key points:

 

  • Never stop learning
  • There’s a big difference from being a practitioner of something and having a business
  • You can stumble into something positive even in your darkest moment
  • Saying “thank you” (gratitude) heals

Social Media:

  • You can find more about Amy Arvary, her programs and how to connect at www.AmyArvaryCS.com and sign up to receive The 5 Steps to Becoming Limitless.
  • https://www.facebook.com/amyarvarycs/
Feb 13, 2017

Jen Groover is a serial entrepreneur who's gone from guest-hosting spots on QVC to inking deals with some of the industry’s biggest heavyweights. Her success began with the creation of the Butler Bag, the world’s first compartmentalized handbag, and has evolved into an entire lifestyle brand, which can now be found at several prominent retailers. She's also behind Leader Girlz, which teaches young girls the importance of empowerment through play, through her brand, and has another jewlery brand called Empowered by Jen Groover.

 

Jen was also nominated as a UN Delegate to the first Global Accelerator for the Global Entrepreneurs Council. Jen made history at the New York Stock Exchange as a member of the first all female group to ring the opening bell. She also had her own PBS special, and Jen Groover’s name has quickly became known with innovation, entrepreneurship ,evolution and emotional intelligence.

 

Jen’s leadership has aligned her with brands like Avon, Verizon, USANA Health Sciences, SkyMall.

 

Jen is a top business and lifestyle contributor and content creator for for major tv networks like ABC, CBS, CNBC, NBC, Fox News and Fox Business News. She also contributes to editorial pieces to several prominent business magazines and online resources as well as her products brand and work have been featured in hundreds of media outlets including O!The Oprah Magazine, Redbook, People, US Weekly, Success and Entrepreneur.

 

 

  • [03:00] What triggered you to make a move to start your own business empire?

 

  • My childhood was not ideal with a lot of uncertainties and unpredictability and fighting around money.  I didn’t want that cycle when I got older.
  • A desire to control my own fate to the point which I could.  
  • [04:05] In college, the idea of career path and the thought of getting a job is not appealing to me.  

 

  • [05:57] Your journey for the Butler Bag, your first product – how you went from concept to creation and what are your initial challenges?

 

  • [06:25] I have twins and one day I was digging through my bag but I could not find my credit card and they were screaming and crying.  I thought to myself – there has to be a better way.
  • [07:25] You don’t complain about something unless you do something about it.
  • [07:37] I trained myself to be inventive as I am not a designer, I can’t draw and I’m not an engineer.  
  • [08:08] Six months later, while unloading the dish washer and from a bird’s eye view I looked at the dish washer tray and everything on the tray was standing straight.  This is how I want my handbag to be.  
  • [09:20] When someone looks at something, they either think: i) someone has thought of it already or ii) why haven’t I thought of that (you probably have a winning product there).  
  • [09:34] The challenges -  mindset and not knowing what to do.
  • [09:59] The obstacles -  I have never done this before.
  • [11:19] When the first shipment came, 95% of them were not the quality of leather I ordered.  Had to figure out how to salvage that mistake.
  • [12:44] What are your distribution, manufacturing and pricing strategies?
  • [13:06] I had to figure out the cost and have a price range that is affordable.  Used Kate Spade in this model.
  • [14:14] Understand the media inside-out.  Hired a trainer who taught me everything about the media and how to tell my story.  
  • [18:40] When was the right time to move to the next project, i.e. Leader Girlz?
  • [19:03] Butler Bag was running itself.  I had a team in place and started doing licensing deals which gave away a lot of responsibilities.  
  • [19:32] I was inspired when I took my daughters to Disneyland when they were 3 years old.  I was telling stories to my daughters that I didn’t believe in.  There must be something more relevant now.
  • [20:27] How do you foster entrepreneurship to a girl through play?
  • [22:12] Teaching the mindset of leadership, empowerment and that uniqueness is a power.
  • [23:33] To take Leader Girlz to the next level and eventually to a franchise model.

 

  • [25:20] How do you prioritize?

 

  1. To be clear on what I really want, what I’m good at and what I’m not, to be very transparent about that.  
  2. To acknowledge that I can’t do it all myself. I have a supportive partner and we complement each other.  Partnership is important in order to scale myself and to leverage.
  3. To delegate well. A good leader empowers people instead of manage people.
  4. Take time to rejuvenate.

 

  • [28:11] Why mindset is one of the key staples to success?

 

  • It is the fundamental foundation to success, not knowledge.  The problems in mindset are the lack of self-worth and lack of self-belief.  

 

Key points

  1. To become aware of where our belief is coming from.  To question everything.  
  2. Taking all those negative beliefs and reverse them to positive.
  3. The “How Powerful I Am” statement – say it, think it, feel it!
  4. Mindset is the driving force of everything.
  5. Your network is your net worth




Best-selling book: “What If And Why Not?”


Website: www.jengroover.com

Feb 8, 2017

Jovanka Ciares is a former entertainment executive turned Wellness expert, detox specialist, nutrition educator and author. She is the creator of the Wellness Smackdown™, a proprietary detox and weight loss program for natural weight loss, which was featured on the first season of ABC’s “My Diet Is Better Than Yours”.

 

  • [00 : 33] - She studied nutrition with best-selling author Dr. T. Colin Campbell at Cornell University and life/wellness coaching at the Spencer Institute.  

 

  • [02 : 30] - Jovanka took her life experience to make it very relatable to women.    
  • [03 : 08] - In her early life, Jovanka made drastic changes that lead to a new life that she is living now and a career that’s she’s in now.
  • [03 : 29] – She is from Puerto Rico.  She went to US later and she fell ill.  Started changing diet from her typical diet that she grew up with to the standard American diet.
  • [04 : 00] - She went to graduate school, started working and climbed the corporate ladder very quickly in a large corporation.
  • [04 : 30] - She was travelling the world and managing an enormous budget and it was taking a toll on her.
  • [04 : 50] - In the process of finding alternatives to the smack down, it led her to the discovery of a new passion that is not mainstream.

 

  • [06 : 38] - How do you take your past experience and turn it into a business and make it a sustainable business model? How do you start from concept to really monetizing the business?

 

  1. A mindset shift has to happen.  Transmit the timeframe.  Use skills that I have learned from the corporate world to transmit to my business plan.  Plan logistically and financially.  Reducing overhead to a minimum for at least the first two or three years.
  2. Clarity about how to grow the business and how to access the market as well as the people.
  3. Aligning myself with people in this industry.  I have two mentors who are instrumental in getting me to where I am today.

 

  • [10 : 50] - Fitness and nutrition programs are normally one-on-one.  How do you structure those group programs?

 

  1. Started off selling one-on-one.
  2. Hired a coach in creating programs for the internet.  Started with a small program.  Now I have published 3 books, 5 or 6 products online and a membership community.
  • [13 : 40] - It took four years after she left her job before the products started to be profitable.
  • [15 : 58] - How did you write the first book and build your credibility further through the book? – I have written three books and they were all self-published which I did on purpose.  I asked people what they wanted in the book which I was going to write.  My second book is a cookbook that complemented the first one.
  • [20 : 31] - You are known as a detox specialist and this word can be confusing.  Can you explain this to the listeners? – No one should be afraid of or concerned about the detox process.  What we do depends on the level of comfort of the client.  

 

  • [25 : 55] - Three strategies to influence your hardest clients to focus on their health:

 

  1. To determine what works for them and this can be different from what works for me.  
  2. Embrace the day-to-day, e.g. this analogy - if there is a flat tire, fix the tire and keep going.  Don’t go back to your old habit.  The end of the road is the end of your life.  
  3. It is part of the journey of your life.  The destination is death.  Your journey does not end when you reach that goal of weight loss, etc.  
  • [30 : 54] - How do you take time off for self-care? – Self-care is not negotiable.  Find time to go for vacation and give back to the community.
  • [35 : 10] - Last words of wisdom – Ensure that there is joy in the process every day.  There will be days that are hard but you must remember why you are doing the things you do.  Be reminded of the things that will bring you joy when your goals are achieved.

 

Website: http://WellnessSmackdown.com

Freebie: http://sexybodyreset.com/ (Actually called the Flat Belly Reset)

Social Media Links:

http://facebook.com/JovankaCiares

http://twitter.com/JovankaCiares

http://youtube.com/user/JovankaCiares  

Jan 30, 2017

Elisa Marshall is the Founding Partner of Maman--a french-inspired bakery and café in SoHo, New York City and Toronoto,

  • [01 : 22] -Maman serves locally sourced, family-inspired dishes and baked goods, both savory and sweet, from the South of France and North America. In this collaboration, Elisa manages the design and packaging, handles front of house and contributes to the recipes and baking.
  • [01 : 22] - PASSION is Elisa’s motivation and drive in making a move in her career from stability to opening a restaurant and tackling entrepreneurship head-on.
  • [02 : 45] - Elisa was doing everything at 20% of capacity for each area from fashion to baking, event planning, interior design, marketing, etc.  This was not fulfilling enough.
  • [03 : 10] - Created a world for herself and doing everything she loves all under one roof – that’s how Maman, a French-inspired bakery and cafe came about.
  • [04 : 10] - Elisa’s first business partner was her husband, Benjamin Sormonte and still is.
  • [04 : 54] - Three of Benjamin’s friends who were from part of a large hospitality group invited Elisa and Benjamin to join them.
  • [05 : 19] - Elisa and Benjamin quit their jobs and took a big leap.
  • [06 : 00] - Working in that restaurant was a great learning opportunity before venturing to do their own thing.  Be prepared to learn.
  • [06 : 49] - What should we do and what should we not do in “Partnership” and “Founders”? - Ensure that we have separate strengths and weaknesses.  There should be no gaps and not too much overlapping as both can cause issues.
  • [10 : 07] - One of Benjamin’s childhood friends is Michelin star chef Aramand Amal.  Chef Aramand’s accolades added credibility and made people take them more seriously.  Credibility is important.
  • [10 : 35] - Intimidated by the New York market, they needed to have the competitive edge, something more special.  Be different.  
  • [10 : 53] - Elisa’s recipes were given to Chef Aramand and he tweaked them to make it special.
  • [12 : 07] - Branding is super important – how do you balance food quality and ambience for a new restaurant? - It’s very important that they go hand-in-hand, especially in New York where competition is fierce.  
  • [14 : 42] - How much does marketing and PR play a role or is it just plain word of mouth? - We are fortunate because a NY restaurant opening in Toronto sounds much more intriguing to the media than vice versa.
  • [16 : 00] - Our coffee cups are unique and eye-catching.  In SOHO NY, we are in an environment where we can have celebrities come in and Instagram something.
  • [19 : 03] - How do you manage the process of moving to the other locations? - It’s a matter of finding the same level of expectation and interest.  Finding staff is the biggest problem in NY.
  • [21 : 10] - If you could go back and redo the investment for Mamon, what would be the two things you would have invested first?
  1. People
  2. Aesthetic

 

  • [23 : 45] - No. 1 advice to fellow “transitioners” who want to start a restaurant business today.
  1. Transitioning in general – to really create a world for yourself and make sure what position you are transitioning into, that you’re passionate about, that you love and that you’re willing to sacrifice a lot physically, financially and emotionally.
  2. Restaurant industry – willing to work very hard, probably ten times harder than you ever anticipated it to be, finding and managing good people.

Key Points:

  • Be prepared to learn
  • Credibility is important
  • Be unique and different
  • Be passionate and love what you do

 

 

  • [28 : 52] - Maman has six locations:

 

  1. SOHO
  2. Tribeca
  3. Franklin
  4. Greenpoint, Brooklyn
  5. International Centre of Photography Museum
  6. Toronto

Website: http://www.mamannyc.com/

Jan 9, 2017

John Paul Lee is the CEO of Tavalon Tea, founded in 2005. He left a career as a management consultant to pursue his dream of entering the world of entrepreneurship---and entering the world of tea. John found a void in the tea market and took upon himself the task of revitalizing the image of tea by making it more accessible to the masses and creating a quality brand. Tavalon Tea products are found today in over 4800 worldwide locations, and they maintain office locations in NYC, NJ, Hong Kong, Seoul, Cairo, Phnom Penh, and Dubai. John has been featured in many publications and is regarded as one of the top entrepreneurs of our time.

Time Stamps:

  • (2:20) Leaving a cushy management to job to “make moves”
  • (3:23) John’s AHA moment: Living abroad, looking for a way out, and finding the solution in tea
  • (6:05) How the naysayers fueled his passion and dream
  • (7:20) How NOT to finance your business—from John’s personal experience
  • (9:45) The tipping point for Tavalon: Adjusting and adapting from retail to wholesale and opening the first international office in Seoul
  • (13:35) The benefits of partnership, which is as crucial as a marriage
  • (16:31) The importance of an operating agreement, with rules, roles, guidelines, and responsibilities
  • (17:06) Growth strategies that worked for Tavalon: A tiered approach
  • (21:02) The first successful “in,” before the brand
  • (22:22) Funding strategies in the beginning for your business
  • (25:19) Tavalon’s Advisory Board—full of influential people
  • (28:50) John’s story about pricing advice from a marketing guru
  • (30:26) How to form an advisory board---it doesn’t hurt to ask!
  • (33:14) John’s advice about initial investments for a product-based business: raise capital strategically, look for experienced business partners, make good decisions about your location
  • (35:14) John’s advice to fellow transitioners today: “Entrepreneurship is very hard. You have to really understand your product and have a passion for it.”

Key Points:

  • Why John followed his dream to make Tavalon  the lifestyle brand of tea, like Starbucks is for coffee
  • Don’t be afraid to transition from retail to wholesale
  • Don’t partner with someone with the same skill set as you
  • The best way to build your brand is through associations

Resources:

www.tavalon.com

Find Tavalon Tea on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Jan 4, 2017

Nely Galan is a Latina media mogul, author, teacher, entrepreneur, speaker, Emmy Award-winning producer, and savvy influencer. She is a quintessential maker and an advocate for gender parity. As a Cuban immigrant, Nely worked her way to the top as president of Telemundo’s entertainment division, producing over 700 episodes for TV in English and Spanish. Another claim to fame is that Nely was the first ever Latina to appear on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice show with Donald Trump. Nely’s book, Self Made, is a NY Times bestseller about becoming empowered, self-reliant, and rich in every way. She also founded a nonprofit, The Adelante Movement, which trains other Latina women for entrepreneurship.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

  • (2:39) How Nely made the transition from working for someone else to “making moves” on her own
  • (5:21) Overcoming the fear of making the leap into entrepreneurship
  • (7:23) The value of side hustles
  • (9:08) Cultivating the “self-made” mindset

 

  • (10:44) Nely’s experience and lessons learned from Donald Trump and Celebrity Apprentice

 

  • (15:16) Self Made: a new way to define success for women--through the book, the concept, and the movement
  • (19:35) A self-made woman that has inspired Nely? All the women who turn pain into profit
  • (22:45) Engaging your entrepreneurial muscle, beginning with ONE hour each week
  • (25:51) Nely’s advice to other women? “There is hidden money in America for all of us, especially for diverse women who start businesses.”
  • (29:00) Take baby steps every day, work because you WANT to, and find choices and freedom within the money you make
  • (30:20) How to find out more about Nely, her endeavors, and her resources online

Key Points:

  • Start incubating your idea while you still have a job
  • To be successful, you are going to be afraid and you WILL fail
  • If you listen to what everyone else says, then you’re not SELF MADE
  • There is no Prince Charming and no one is coming to save you; self-reliance is the key
  • Have a vision and take baby steps, beginning with ONE hour each week

Resources:

Self Made by Nely Galan

www.nelygalan.com

www.becomingselfmade.com

www.theadelantemovement.com

Dec 26, 2016

In this episode we have Brian Smith, founder of the UGG Australia brand. Graduating in 1978 as a chartered accountant in Australia, Brian came to America looking for the next big opportunity to bring back to Australia. While studying at the UCLA Graduate School of Management he noticed there was no sheep skin footwear in the U.S. With only $500 in capital he imported boot samples and over the next 17 years built the UGG Australia brand into a multi-million dollar international enterprise. He sold it in 1995 and the brand has continued to grow to exceed a billion dollars in annual sales for the past three years.

  • When you decide to jump in, you don’t know everything. Why should you? There are a lot of things Brian didn’t know that would have stopped him had he known. But once you have jumped in and started these then just become obstacles you have to overcome, they don’t become road blocks that stop you from moving.
  • You can’t give birth to adults. Every business started with someone conceiving the idea and then giving birth. The birth of UGG was buying six pairs of samples. But then every business goes through infancy and just lays there and every once in awhile you get a giggle out of it but you keep feeding it and changing the diapers and eventually it will start toddling. The business is getting articles or blog posts and customers are writing reviews and you are getting orders. Then it moves into youth, orders are coming in and production is good. If it’s a really good business it will hit the teen years. You want to be at every party in town. It’s a stupid dangerous phase for a business because it’s tempting to do all these big adult things you aren’t ready for. But eventually you get through that and it becomes a mature adult of a business.
  • You have to figure out what it is your market wants and then design your advertising to make them want to be in the picture. Find out who your target is and in a small way give them credibility so they know your product is what they are looking for.
  • Nearly always your most disappointing disappointments will become your greatest blessings.
  • The quickest way for a tadpole to become a frog is to live every day happily as a tadpole. There is nothing you can do to accelerate time, it just has to pass. The key word here is happily. You might as well get on to something you like doing while you’re waiting for the big thing to happen.

Advice

  1. Don’t move out of your day job until you are forced to do it because the new business demands your time.
  2. Try to find out what you can do better than everybody else and do it. Once you start out and really focus on something you will become an expert very quickly. It doesn’t matter what the product or service is, once you become an expert the money will start flowing. If you are going to be an expert on something, it better be something you like.
  3. If you are on the brink of becoming an entrepreneur, you’re about to be born. Just jump in, whatever you have conceived give birth to it. Take the first step but don’t mortgage your life for it. Start small and enjoy the ride because it’s going to be a fun one.

Contacting Brian

Website: www.briansmithspeaker.com

Email: brian@briansmithspeaker

Brian does a small amount of coaching. He won’t coach someone unless he is sure he can help. You can buy the book on the website or on Amazon.

Dec 19, 2016

“When you leave corporate you have to be careful that you don’t bring the lifestyle you used to lead into the lifestyle you are about to lead. There is hustle, grit and reinvestment. If you keep spending money like you did before you will run out of it.”

  • Gena was working in a law firm in New York City and making good money, but she was unhappy. She started meeting a lot of people in the coaching industry who needed help but couldn’t afford or want to work with a law firm.
  • While she was still at her law firm she started coming up with different ideas. She started brain storming different packages she could offer. She hired a web designer and had a website created. The website was ready the day she left her corporate job.
  • Gena almost had to file bankruptcy the first year because of her spending. She was making money; she just wasn’t making smart choices and investments. She was able to turn that around.
  • Gena created a legal program four months into her business that made over $20,000 in its launch.
  • The monetary issues came from investing in too many things. She was hiring coaches, traveling the world, going to workshops, conferences and events and buying different courses. She had a lot of great content but no time to implement it because she was always doing something else.
  • The biggest lesson Gena learned in her first year of business was invest in one thing, commit to it, complete it, implement everything you learn and then move on to the next thing.

When people start a business the first thing they think about is making money. They don’t think about protecting that money and that’s where the legal comes in. The legal is there to protect your business and your brand, your income and your assets both personally and professionally. Gena tries to make law less scary, more approachable and easier for people to understand.

Three website documents it’s important to have at any stage of business.

  1. A website disclaimer: people come on your website and read different articles and it’s important that they understand the role you are taking, who you are and who you are not. I’m not a medical professional, I’m not an accountant, I’m not a therapist etc. If you aren’t a professional you want to tell them that because if you don’t and something happens to that person you could get in trouble.
  2. Privacy policy: This is legally required in several states. But when you have an online business you are technically marketing to every single person in the world. The privacy policy says I won’t sell any of your information or spam you.
  3. Terms and conditions: this protects the content on your website. When people come on your website you are saying your material is yours and they can’t use it.

How to contact Gena

Gena and her wife have a Facebook group for women entrepreneurs called Gena and Jordanna Your Magical Business.

Gena has a lot of freebies on her website www.genashingle.com/sign-up. Her website also lists all the things she does.

Dec 12, 2016

Today we are talking about planning for 2017. We want to share with you five key steps that will really help you plan 2017. These are things we collectively do ourselves that have worked for us.

  1. Review (audit) the year. You really want to see what has worked for you this year. Is it the projects or partnerships or just a clarity in your message? Then you really need to look at the other side. What’s not working for you? A lot of times when things aren’t working for you, you are either not in alignment or you have a missing link somewhere. This audit is critical because it will allow you as you start to plan for next year to really focus on building on your strengths and to look at the things that are not working as opportunities.

 

  1. How do you want to feel next year? Do you want to feel empowered? Do you want to feel motivated? Do you want to feel free? Identify how you want to feel next year because once that clock turns if we haven’t planned well we scramble and get really immersed in the day to day, week to week and month to month activities and we don’t really stop and set the intention of how we want to feel for the whole entire year.

 

 

  1. We all have a million and a half ideas of what we want our year to look like. This is an opportunity for you to write it all out. Do a physical brain dump of everything that you’re potentially thinking that you want to bring to fruition next year. Once you start to put all that together the next step is to categorize it. Then prioritize the top three categories (or top three main projects) that are really going to impact you and make you feel the way that you want to.

 

  1. Pick the top three things you’re going to do in the next 90 days. These need to be tangible things so you see results in 90 days. Once you’ve identified three (you can have 3-5, I would not go more than 5) plan weekly or bi-weekly the tasks that need to get done with each goal. There is something called the Daily Action Planner. You can look it up, it’s an amazing planner. If you’re one of those people who likes to write things down and categorize it will help you with your 90 day planning.

 

 

  1. We’re all entrepreneurs and it’s hard sometimes to keep yourself accountable. One of the biggest issues people have is breaking promises made to ourselves because there is no one keeping us accountable. Find a group of people you respect either in your mastermind if you are part of one (and if you’re not you should really consider it) or other accountability group and declare your goals for next year. Declare them and allow people to give you constructive feedback and challenge you on some of your goals.

 

We’re both coaches, strategists and business people in our own right. A lot of what we do is help people just like you build and grow your brands and scale them, make them profitable and really get you clear on what your goals should be for next year and how to get there. So if you’re looking for additional support check us out. Our websites are www.seemaalexander.com and www.kellylynnadams.com. We also both include a 30 minute free consultation. Whatever you want we are there for you and that’s the whole intention of this. We want you to have an incredible 2017.

 

Dec 5, 2016

Jenny Power’s background is in special events, marketing and PR. She used to work in the non-profit sector raising millions of dollars for worthy causes but working mostly by herself. She didn’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of so she started going to networking events. That’s when she noticed two types of people at these events, neither of which she was looking for. It was either the old boys club, guys drinking beer and hanging out, or it was a sorority mentality where you walk in and feel awkward and look for someone to talk to. She thought there had to be a better way. That is how she came up with the idea for Running with Heels, one of the top exclusive women’s networking organizations in the city.

  • It started out as a dinner party series and has now branched out to a lifestyle business.
  • They do lunches and workshops and masterminds and social events.
  • They are invitation only. They take a lot of time to curate the event and make sure the right people are there. The right people for them are senior level women executives and established business owners.
  • There are a lot of networking events out there. If someone that applies is not a fit for them Jenny will direct them to one of the other events that her friends run.
  • In terms of revenue streams they do ticketed events and an annual membership. Members are invited to events earlier and the events are small so everyone gets personal attention.
  • Members have the opportunity to be profiled in their newsletter and to participate in masterminds called “Running in Circles” which are circles of women that get together in New York once a month.

Networking tips

Jenny wrote an article “The Secret Networking Tip” for Motto by Time, Inc. She was tired of seeing articles telling people to “fake it till you make it” and “just act like the best version of yourself”.

  • Don’t do that imposter thing and pretend to be someone else. It’s too hard to remember all of these acts you are playing.
  • Jenny’s #1 networking tip: love me or hate me, I’m always myself.
  • If you don’t know something, ask a question. So many people are afraid if they don’t understand some industry lingo or someone is talking about something a little out of their range.
  • Ask questions. People love to have those teaching moments. They love to have the chance to teach someone something they know.
  • Act like yourself all the time. It’s okay to be vulnerable. It shows confidence to say I don’t know something and I want to learn it.

Advice

Hire a virtual assistant. You might not want to have a salaries person or someone in your house when you are just starting out.

Immerse yourself in a community of entrepreneurs.

Contacting Jenny

Website: www.running-with-heels.com

Facebook: Running with Heels LLC

Twitter @heelsandspiles

Podcast: Broadcast Broads Building Businesses

Dec 5, 2016

Jenny Power’s background is in special events, marketing and PR. She used to work in the non-profit sector raising millions of dollars for worthy causes but working mostly by herself. She didn’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of so she started going to networking events. That’s when she noticed two types of people at these events, neither of which she was looking for. It was either the old boys club, guys drinking beer and hanging out, or it was a sorority mentality where you walk in and feel awkward and look for someone to talk to. She thought there had to be a better way. That is how she came up with the idea for Running with Heels, one of the top exclusive women’s networking organizations in the city.

  • It started out as a dinner party series and has now branched out to a lifestyle business.
  • They do lunches and workshops and masterminds and social events.
  • They are invitation only. They take a lot of time to curate the event and make sure the right people are there. The right people for them are senior level women executives and established business owners.
  • There are a lot of networking events out there. If someone that applies is not a fit for them Jenny will direct them to one of the other events that her friends run.
  • In terms of revenue streams they do ticketed events and an annual membership. Members are invited to events earlier and the events are small so everyone gets personal attention.
  • Members have the opportunity to be profiled in their newsletter and to participate in masterminds called “Running in Circles” which are circles of women that get together in New York once a month.

Networking tips

Jenny wrote an article “The Secret Networking Tip” for Motto by Time, Inc. She was tired of seeing articles telling people to “fake it till you make it” and “just act like the best version of yourself”.

  • Don’t do that imposter thing and pretend to be someone else. It’s too hard to remember all of these acts you are playing.
  • Jenny’s #1 networking tip: love me or hate me, I’m always myself.
  • If you don’t know something, ask a question. So many people are afraid if they don’t understand some industry lingo or someone is talking about something a little out of their range.
  • Ask questions. People love to have those teaching moments. They love to have the chance to teach someone something they know.
  • Act like yourself all the time. It’s okay to be vulnerable. It shows confidence to say I don’t know something and I want to learn it.
 

Advice

Hire a virtual assistant. You might not want to have a salaries person or someone in your house when you are just starting out.

Immerse yourself in a community of entrepreneurs.

Contacting Jenny

Website: www.running-with-heels.com

Facebook: Running with Heels LLC

Twitter @heelsandspiles

Podcast: Broadcast Broads Building Businesses

Nov 28, 2016

On this episode we are so excited to welcome Mona Patel, a dynamic and engaging entrepreneur with 17 years experience convincing leaders of some of the world’s biggest brands to understand value and optimize their customer’s experiences.

  • Mona didn’t have a business plan when she jumped, she just followed her gut. She didn’t believe in herself and then one day she did. She used that momentum and started sprinting and has been doing that since.
  • The benefit of not having a plan is you’re almost constantly listening for clues to create one.  That early stage for Mona was about figuring out what she wanted to do.
  • Listening helped Mona land her first and second projects. She wasn’t pitching what she could do; she was listening for what they needed.
  • UX stands for User Experience. The field is based around understanding what a user or customer wants and needs from a brand and then designing solutions to meet that need.
  • At Motivate Design their version of UX has always been around using design to motivate people to change their behavior.
  • Mona’s undergrad is in psychology and engineering. It was understanding how people think, memory cognition, behavior and then the application of that to physical product design.

Entrepreneurs, sit down with your team. If you don’t have a team it can be friends and family. Ask them to write down as many what if questions as they can in a three minute period that answers a problem statement that you propose to them.  The first set is not always the best answer so I’m going to ask you to do it three times. Nine minutes total and share in between.  The result will be:

  • You will come up with an answer.
  • You will get unstuck.

If you think about it the number of what if questions you ask are often negative. What if I fail? What if I can’t? What if I lose? What if people make fun of me? What if I have to go back to a job? That’s what holds you back. Use that opening what if for positive.

Shift from what if I can’t to what if I don’t? Working with a coach is really important. But it’s also important to list what you want to get done in your life.

Write down your life goals.  You aren’t going to get there if you don’t know

  1. What your goal is
  2. Why it’s important to you.

If a Ted Talk is one of your goals, when are you going to start? It’s not going to be easier by avoiding it. You can commit to watch one every week and get the rhythm of how it works. You can also get yourself on stages and get a public speaking coach so you’re refining yourself. Maybe it’s journaling everyday so you start to identify your story.

 

Three things to invest in when starting a new business

  1. Get a coach
  2. Don’t create a company around yourself
  3. Networking
 

You can find Mona Patel at:

Website: www.motivatedesign.com

Email:  mona@motivatedesign.com

Nov 21, 2016

In this episode we are talking to a talk show host, wellness and beauty expert and one of my good dear friends Nitikia Chopra.

Nitika Chopra is a certified life coach, wellness entrepreneur, go to resource for young women around the world and motivational lifestyle guru. Nitika’s on a mission to inspire radical self-love.

We all want to get to the place of ease where you are going on vacations or having more time with your kids at night. It’s easy to look at people around you and think “I’m so far from that. What am I doing wrong that I’m not there yet?” But a lot of times people don’t really get honest about what’s happening before they get to those points in their life where there is ease.

Advice for growing in relationships and connections:

  • Nitka came to a place in her career where she was connecting with people out of fear, to realizing the connection had nothing to do with her. What if I came at it from a place of service, where I had no expectations? What can come from that place?
  • They will either like you or they won’t. Come at it from a place of confidence and grace and see how you can provide something for them versus wondering if they are going to like you or not. Then at least you’re showing up as your best self.
  • Act and do your work with the right mentality
  • Instead of creating the niche let it come to you organically over time. There kind of an epidemic of constantly trying to figure things out. Give yourself grace and let things evolve naturally. It’s better to be authentic and real then try to force yourself into something.
  • If you’re side hustling you should have a tremendous amount of pride in that phase of your life.
  • Be grateful for your job, it’s the reason you’re able to hustle for your dreams. Because you don’t have to worry about your dream creating money for you at this moment.  Don’t complain about your job, even if you don’t love it. Have an attitude of gratitude.
  • For the person who has just transitioned, congratulations. It’s okay to be excited but It’s a brick in the house, so don’t stop hustling. Don’t think that’s it because the downfall of that will be harder to come back from.

Contacting Nikita

Website: nitikachopra.com

Instagram: @nitikachopra

Snapchat: @nitikac

Nov 14, 2016

In this episode we have Sybil Amuti. Sybil is an executive brand strategist, podcast producer and cohost,

philanthropist, coach, wife, and mother.

Sybil is also a cohost of the Great Girlfriends show, a podcast conversation series created to connect

women with daily tips and solutions for living a passionate every-day life and building thriving business.

In this podcast, you will hear Sybil discuss:

 How her parents impacted her chartered course from kid-preneurship to corporate

career stability.

 The way she graduated with a master’s degree and moved from New York to New

Orleans only to move back to New York again a year later.

 The impact of taking a break to pursue fashion had on her idea of who she was.

 How she was consistently able to find fantastic positions that paid exceptionally well,

yet always seemed to have something else going on the side.

 The way she built a partnership with her husband and other friends from the ground up.

 How she began to feel that she was being dishonest with herself and others about who

she was, and how that turned her direction toward building up her own legacy.

 What she believes about establishing a clear perception around the mission you seek to

accomplish and how you see yourself doing that in order to focus your brand.

 How she always has a destination in mind, so everything she does has a map that routes

back to the starting point.

 How she used her mission to start her focus on making her services available on the

branding side.

 How she helped to influence small businesses, especially women entrepreneurs who

have passion but really need help with strategy.

 How she used workshops to reach more people at one time.

 The way she made the inspirational connection to women without spending a ton of her

own money while also being able to give it away for free.

 Adding the most value possible from her specific perspective.

 How her friend journeyed with her through her transition into co-creating the Great

Girlfriends podcast.

 The way her powerful friendships with other women has impacted the way she works.

 How she leveraged honesty and vulnerability into creating a community.

 What she has learned about compartmentalizing her hours and keeping strict cut-offs

for work and family in order to optimize her time with clients and make sure everyone is

getting what they need.

 The fact that there is no safety net when working outside of corporate and how that

means it’s time to don your cape and be your own superhero.

 What it means to be where you are now and not discount the present while looking

forward to the future.

 How you deserve the fulfillment that comes with the honesty of being who you are.

 The best tips on partnering with others to grow your business, including deciding that

you are being someone that is worth partnering with.

 How important it is to have a quality character and to choose partners with quality

characters.

 The importance of having partnership agreements drawn up legally to keep each other

in check and to have something to fall back on in times of difficulty.

 How she overcame complete fear to help Tony Robbins re-build his brand and how that

translates to everyone she helps.

 What she has to say to all of us that find ourselves second-guessing and questioning our

competence and abilities.

If you are interested in connecting with Sybil or if you have any questions for her, you can find her in the

following places:

Website: www.legacyrow.co

Website: www.thegreatgirlfriends.com

Twitter: @sybil_amuti

Instagram: sybil_amuti

 Email: sybil@legacyrow.com

Nov 7, 2016

To niche or not to niche is a major question. People think they have to niche and niche and get sales in the door but it’s a process. Entrepreneurship is a journey and we learn as we go.

When you start a business and you may know exactly what you want to do you still need to validate your business idea and you still need to talk to your ideal client avatar. When you go broad it’s good in a way because it allows you the space to test and validate what’s going to work and what’s not going to work. You change as a person along the way so your business might eventually change or get tweaked. It’s good to be okay with where you are at right now wherever you are at because it’s going to evolve and change.

Five steps to understanding how to get your ideal client

  1. Discover yourself and discover who you want to serve: Learn about yourself in the process. It’s a self discovery process of who you are right now and who you want to serve that will give you the best results. Connect the dots with your life to your own niche. Clarity is key and maybe right now you aren’t clear but if you give yourself time and space you might come up with an “aha” moment.
  2. Identify your ideal client. Learn everything there is about them, the usual demographics such as age and gender etc. but also their characteristics. Where do they hang out offline and online? What’s their value system? Know their desires (What do they want? What’s missing for them?) Why have they not gotten there yet?
  3. Create services and products that solve their biggest pain point: Pain points, frustrations or their desires and dreams. This is important but it’s also important to just lead with one. Focus on one pain point and the desired outcome and that will make them really pay attention.
  4. Validate your product: The first year of entrepreneurship is exciting but also humbling because there is a lot you don’t know. Until you realize there is a lot you don’t know this won’t resonate with you. You probably have market research departments in your company and you don’t have that as an entrepreneur. You can do mini focus groups or (once you have identified your ideal client) maybe bring them over to your house, pop open a bottle of wine and ask them questions. Talk to them about their pain point and start to validate.

When you are thinking of your product or service make sure it’s not a niche to have, but a need to have.

Lead with the most relevant service your client needs right now, then as you become more successful you can open it up to the other multi faceted opportunities you are thinking about in your head right now.

  1. Keep learning from them: You are going to keep testing and asking but sometimes your audience changes. People with the most successful businesses say that you need to have products or services that have a lifetime value of what they can keep learning from you. It’s easier to keep a client and “upsell” them or offer them something else that would help them than it is to get a new client.
Oct 30, 2016

Our guest today is Betsy Helmuth, owner and operator of Affordable Interior Design. She has designed over 1500 spaces including apartments in Argentina, a McDonalds in Brooklyn, and a mansion in India.

  • Betsy started out by working for free for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’s Thom Filicia, while making a living as a bartender. This led to her becoming interested in having her own firm.
  • She reached out to Thom because it was something she wanted to do, but he came back to her and said he needed her help.
  • Sometimes when you see people on big platforms you think they’ve made it in different ways.  If anything, they are probably looking to grow and it’s a really good time to reach out.  
  • Once she got clarity, Betsy’s business grew from an idea to the six-figure mark in a couple of years.
  • Betsy didn’t know anything about SEO when she started blogging but she just kept writing all the time.
  • She would sit down at the beginning of the month and line them all up. She would come up with ideas for different days of the week. She would put a picture up and a couple sentences of what she thought about it.

If you’re going to do something, if you are going to maintain that consistency, then you have to get really passionate about it.  

Nurture your tribe. Put a lot of information out there but when you nurture your prospects and the people they become your tribe.

When you hire someone they are living your brand and you have such a specific trade, how did you manage the process?

I evaluated the way I work.  I have a very specific method for how I work.  It’s the same for every client that I have ever seen.  I do and say the same thing to each client.  So, I teach that to my designers.  Even though all my interior designers have all been to interior design school, unlike me.  Even though they have all worked as paid designers in the field, unlike me.  I also make them train for a month in my method.  So when you get an Affordable Interior Design designer, they are going to do all the steps that I do so that I know that every client is getting the exact same experience.  So, I had to distill this unpredictable design method into a very formulaic.  Which is how I like to work.  Freedom with in a form.  So I have a formula that I do every time and it works every time.

You can find Betsy Helmuth at:

Website: www.affordableinteriordesign.com

Podcast: www.bigdesignsmallbudget.com  

Facebook: Affordable Interior Design.

Oct 24, 2016

Today we’re talking to Susan Vernicek, founder and CEO of Identity Magazine.  She’s an entrepreneur, motivational expert, speaker, and the author of the bestseller Get All A’s in the Game of Life.  Her missions is to provide women with opportunities to discover self-acceptance, appreciation, and achievement.

Identity Magazine is for women who want to read authentic stories.  It’s for women who feel that they want to go somewhere in life without feeling they have to change in any way.  It’s for women who want read about everyday women sharing the good, the bad, the ugly, sharing their personal stories, sharing their successes.  It’s for the woman who doesn’t want to read about diet fads and celebrity gossip.  It’s a place for women to feel supported and validated and that they are not alone.

In this episode Susan talks about:

  • Transitioning from her corporate job working for a medical company.
  • The sacrifices she was willing to make, taking up soccer coaching and bartending to keep herself and her business financially afloat.
  • How she actually worked closely with her boss to slowly transition from her 9 to 5 job to working completely on her own.
  • The small office she paid $200 per month for when she first started.
  • How she leveraged her unemployment payments to help her business grow.
  • How she scheduled her week, working seven days to make ends meet.
  • Going from an advertising focus to learning new methods of monetization.
  • Wondering what was next for the magazine at one point, leading her into her most creative growth.
  • How she took two years of content and created her first book to increase sales.
  • How that first book led her create new financial platforms through speaking and hosting workshops.
  • The question she asked that would launch the beginning of her journey to authoring a bestselling book.
  • What other books inspired her own.
  • How she wanted a book that would be a piece of validation and empowerment for the crazy journey of being an entrepreneur.
  • How she plans to produce more books for single mothers, divorcees, college peers, caretakers, etc.
  • The last ten years of her business and what she looks forward to in the future, including this year’s conference called The Retreat.
  • The possible re-brand of Identity Magazine.
  • The advice she believes every transitioner should know about sacrifice and being willing to do what it takes to succeed and go after their dreams.
  • How she believes we should all focus on our own journey and experiences, not comparing ourselves to others, only using their stories as inspiration and guidance.
  • Where she finds her inspiration to continue her journey even after attaining a measure of success.

 

If you would like to connect with Susan, the best way to find her is at her magazine website: www.identitymagazine.net.  

If you have a story of your own to tell, you are encouraged to submit it to the magazine.

Oct 17, 2016

We’re so excited to have Jenn Scalia today with us as our guest, to share with us her entrepreneurship journey and the valuable skills in creating a 7-figure business. She is a visibility strategist for entrepreneurs who want to make an impact. Known for her tough love, no BS style, she helps entrepreneurs to overhaul their biggest fears and empower them to share their message with the world.

 

Jenn is the coach that has been through what you have been through, but she has successfully snapped out of it and went from rock-bottom to creating a 7-figure business within 3 years. And now she’s here to help others to achieve the same.

 

Today's episode with Jenn is filled with golden nuggets! We have touched on so many areas relating to business, entrepreneurship and coaching, including:

 

Her back story and what triggered her to make the move.

The key to her success in creating a 7-figure business within just 3 years.

The doubts and resistances that she faced throughout her entrepreneurship journey, especially during the initial stages of her business.

How hiring a coach completely changed the way she deal with her business.

The 3 main things that she believed sky-rocketed her business.

What she thinks is the best coaching business model for people to start off with.

What are her thoughts and suggestions on generating Passive Income, or she prefers calling it Leveraged Income.

When exactly is the right time for one to create a membership site.

Useful tips on how to build and eventually grow a list of followers with high engagement rate.

Her opinions on outsourcing during the initial stages of a business.

The importance of creating massive values for your clients or potential clients.

How having the correct mindset and alignment can have huge impact on your business. She also shares what inspires her and keeps her mindset on track.

Her advise to those who plan to or have just made the leap into the world of entrepreneurship.

The common misconceptions among new coaches.

Her recommendations on the issue of pricing and her take on certifications for coaches.

The top tools and resources for business owners.

 

If you are interested in finding out more about Jenn and her coaching services, please visit her website at www.jennscalia.com.

 

Plus, good news for our listeners! Jenn is kind enough to give our listeners a special gift - "Six Figure Success Mindset Mini Course”, where she shares the mindset hacks that she used to achieve her success and the mindset shifts that can unlock one’s unlimited earning potential. Find out more about it at www.jennscalia.com/makingmoves!

Sep 18, 2016

Today we are so excited to speak with Samantha Ettus. Samantha is work-life expert whose goal is to find the spark within each one of us and turn it into a fire. In this episode Samantha talks about:

  • Her book The Experts Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do. One hundred experts each wrote a chapter on their area of expertise. The book became a best seller and she went on to write three more “experts” books.
  • The “elephant in the room” for women which is how to manage personal lives in conjunction with their professional lives.
  • Don’t quit your job until you’re financially stable, especially if you have a family. Even for single women, it’s so critical that you are financially secure and stable before you take a leap.
  • Your personal brand is like an octopus. You are the center of the octopus and then there are all these tentacles like books, speaking, hosting a podcast, hosting a show, whatever it is. Those are tentacles of that main octopus. When you think of it this way, these are distribution channels for your same message and your same mission.
  • Choosing your platform: It has to be something you’re passionate about. It needs to be something you get up every morning excited to do.
  • Live as though you are adhering to a train schedule. You work every day from 9-3 or whatever it is that works for you and your business. You have to watch those hours or you will watch them disappear.

Three tips on how to better manage our life versus work-life balance for more success.

  1. It’s important to choose a partner who will be your equal at home, instead of someone who expects you to do 90% of the work at home and with the children. Once you have a partner it’s about how you manage that relationship.
  2. How are you managing your time? Do all of your errands in the “golden triangle”. These are the three points in between your home, your office and your child’s school.
  3. Always make sure that your building your network continuously. Keep up with your industry, always making new contacts and keeping in touch with current ones. Staying relevant is critical.

Tips on how to become more productive:

If you have kids, it’s essential you have boundaries in terms of the time you’re with them and the time you’re focused on work. A lot of entrepreneurs who are working from home struggle with this. It’s hard when you have kids at home to close the door and focus on your work. It’s pivotal you have some kind of childcare or it’s almost impossible to get a business off the ground.

At home with your loved ones turn off your technology for a couple hours a day. You can give your office or colleague your home phone and say use it in an emergency.

Contacting Samantha

Website: www.samanthaettus.com. You can sign up for her free weekly newsletter where she shares work-life balance tips and her favorite articles and videos about career and lifestyle.

 

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