Scaling Up Business with Bill Gallagher

Everyone likes to say they come from a place of abundance, but who really means it? And what happens when people are vulnerable enough to ask for their needs?   Today Bill is joined by Curt Bear, founder of LoCo Think Tank, a small-business peer advisory group founded in 2014 in Northern Colorado to help business owners be more confident leaders and grow their businesses faster through perspective, accountability, and support. From small business banker to mobile food trailer owner, LoCo Think Tank was born out of Curt’s desire to facilitate peer advisory at an affordable price point. His group asks tough questions, addresses blind spots, and makes a positive impact on their community. There are givers and takers around the world, in every business, and every community. Sharing your abundance is something that some people are wired for, and volunteering can have just as much meaning as consulting or working for pay. Curt’s group includes a dozen high-achieving small business veterans who are in a place of abundance and want to share what they have been given. Asking for your needs is an essential step to success. Surrounding yourself with a support group or think tank that can help you identify your priorities will help you get what you need, even when you don’t recognize it yourself. Curt highlights his own experience with wanting to operate a food truck while also recognizing via his mentors that he was not going to achieve the success he wanted in life by continuing down that path. Identify the appropriate people that you can share your needs with, and you just may find the solutions that you didn’t think of yourself. Interview Links: Curt Bear   Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.

Once you’ve established the purpose of your work and identified your BHAG, you need to create a vivid vision of your near future. Where do you want to be in 3‒5 years? What do your company, your team, your customers, and your product look like?   Set aside some time when you can be uninterrupted, calm down, and look at the vision of your future. What does the business you are working so hard to build look like? What does your day look like when you’ve reached that 3‒5-year mark? Write down what will be said about your future company. Write your vision and identify specifics that will help you create this vivid vision of your future. Creating a rich picture in your mind is a powerful tool that walks you through your future success and motivates you to take the necessary steps to craft the business you are dreaming of. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.

In honor of Veteran’s Day, Bill has gathered an elite group of military veterans, including Jason Simas, Dustin Zroka, and Betsy Feaster, for a conversation about hiring veterans and why they make excellent team members and business owners.   From Air Force investigation to Exxon executive, Betsy Feaster now works as the CEO of Dog Training Elite. Her military experience trained her in problem-solving, work ethic, and teamwork, and gave her a great understanding of what is required to get a mission accomplished. Retired Master Sergeant U.S. Air Force Jason Simas had over 20 years of service in culinary arts, acquisitions, and negotiations, all of which led him to become an oyster bar franchise owner. His military experience trained him in effective communication with leaders, taking orders at times, and at other times pushing back for better results. Dustin Zroka is the current CEO of TruBlue Home Service Ally. He also served for four years of active duty in the Navy, did a two-year stint in the Army National Guard, and returned to the Navy Reserves in 2015. As a franchise operator, Dustin’s military experience has underscored his resiliency, and the majority of his technicians are veterans. In the military, you make the best of whom you’re given to work with, whether it’s senior leadership who talk down to everyone under them or those who treat others with civility regardless of rank. In civilian life, veterans have the opportunity to choose who they work with as well as the work they are willing to do. These veterans share the lessons they have learned and advice for their younger selves, including taking risks, navigating budgeting differences, flexibility in taking on new adventures, and recognizing and fulfilling your duty in whatever task you are faced with. Interview Links: Betsy Feaster Jason Simas Dustin Zroka   Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.

A BHAG — a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal — can play to your strengths. It’s not meant to be reasonable in any way; instead, it’s designed to inspire you to transform into something interesting.   A BHAG also isn’t meant to be a financial goal. No one really cares that you want to be a billion-dollar company. But you can accomplish a compelling BHAG if you can translate that financial goal into something that is aligned with purpose. Take your financial goal, figure out what your impact will be on the world, and create a goal that pumps up your ego and ignites your passion. Once Bill set — and started talking about — his BHAG goal of reaching 5 million leaders before retirement, he found opportunities through podcasting, public speaking, and engagements beyond what he ever could have originally imagined. Ten years later he is actually on track to reach his BHAG and is proof that pushing yourself far outside of your comfort zone is the key to reaching even your most outrageous goals and turning your dreams into reality. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.

Contrary to popular belief, the American dream, as well as the classic statement wristwatch, are not a thing of the past. Today’s guest shares an incredible story of bringing both to life while legally battling an industry supergiant along the way.   R.T. Custer is a Colorado-based entrepreneur, speaker, and co-founder of Vortic Watch Company. He helps founders create a life of freedom through community, connection, and mentorship and is on a continual journey toward the American dream. Today he shares his "David vs. Goliath" story as he took on Swatch. Watches are not currently made in the United States, but after learning that millions of pocket watches were created in the U.S. between 1850 and 1950, R.T. designed a way to create a 100% American wristwatch by upcycling an antique American-made pocket watch. The idea was crowdfunded and appeared to be a viable business model until Swatch served Vortic with cease and desist papers and a threat of copyright infringement. A six-year legal battle ultimately resulted in victory, and R.T. learned a lot along the way about what it means to take on an industry giant and stand firm in what you believe in. The law is rarely as cut and dry as most of us assume it to be, and corporate bullying combined with navigating an unprecedented refurbishing business led to a landmark case that eventually won in court. This proved that the American-made dream is still alive and that fighting for something new and different just may be the key to finding the success you’ve been dreaming of. Interview Links: R.T. Custer   Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.

The purpose of your company is the why or the what. There is something that you care deeply about that is motivating you to keep working toward your goal.  At that motivational center you’ll find decision and action arise in the brain.    What are you proud of?  That is where you will find the why of your work. Consider a person that matters a great deal to you – what you would tell them about the work that you do? That is the why behind your efforts.  Too many people get stuck on getting their purpose just ‘right’ but, trust me, just good enough is a perfect place to get started. Don’t let perfectionism stop you from getting started in the first place. Just start working with a draft and let it evolve naturally as you continue along your path toward success.  Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.

Good sales pitches aren’t about what you have to offer. An effective sales pitch is all about what you have to offer that the other guys don’t have. When you can identify that selling point, you’re headed in the right direction to close the deal.   April Dunford is an executive consultant, speaker, and author who helps technology companies make complicated products easy for customers to understand and love. She is a globally recognized expert in positioning and market strategy and has launched 16 products to market across her 25-year career as VP of marketing at a series of successful high-growth startups. April advises leadership, sales, and marketing teams through training, workshops, and keynote talks. April offers invaluable insights from her latest book Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win. She goes deep into the art of effective pitching and selling and shares the specific framework she has used to successfully pitch products at companies like Google, IBM, Postman, and Epic Games. Nobody likes buying insurance. Shopping for B-to-B software is nobody’s favorite pastime. And when it came time for April to buy a new toilet, she learned just how painful buying can be. Sorting through features is overwhelming, and the sheer number of decisions that have to be made around making one single purchase can be enough to make anyone give up and head in the opposite direction. 40 to 60% of B-to-B tech purchase processes end in no decision. When buyers are overwhelmed by their options and feel that they don’t have access to the information they need to make an informed decision, the easy answer is to prolong the decision altogether and not buy anything. Overwhelmed buyers need a guide — not a pushy salesperson — to help them identify the most critical elements of their purchase and make a decision. Customers don’t really care about the features themselves, they care about what those features are going to do for their business. There is always an alternative to solving a problem, and customers need to clearly see that their best option is to buy from you. The question you are trying to answer isn’t “why pick us,” it’s “why pick us over the other guys.” Identifying the key differentiators and highlighting that value to others is a critical first step to closing the sale. Interview Links: April Dunford   Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.

When we become a master of something, it naturally flows through us. We feel powerful and effective. Flow state happens in peak moments of mastery, and these two are greatly interconnected.   The beginning of mastery is to give up the idea of ever finishing. Bill is still deeply at work in the areas of his life that he is mastering. When we say we are done with something, we want to put it behind us. Instead, consider what it means to never be done learning more about the things you want to master. Leaders who are engaged and mastering leadership and applying those skills to all areas of their life will find themselves regularly in flow state, and that is a powerful place for a great leader to be. Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.

Everything is a negotiation. From the boardroom to the lunchroom, finding common ground is critical to getting what you want.   Keld Jensen has more than 30 years of experience in international management, negotiation, and communication from his post as managing director of a listed Scandinavian company. He is the founder and former CEO of Centre for Negotiation, a consulting and training organization that has worked with private industry and governmental bodies in Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa. Keld is also the author of the book, Negotiation Essentials: The Tools You Need to Find Common Ground and Walk Away a Winner, detailing common business interactions that you didn’t know were negotiations–and, how to approach them. You might think that only CEOs are great at negotiations, but Keld will tell you that is wrong. Every single person has to navigate 8‒10,000 negotiations a year, and it’s not only in contracts. It's just as much about where to go for lunch as it is about how to move to the next step in striking a deal. Keld shares a variety of experiences that he has had with negotiations. Too many people think that negotiations mean confrontation or conflict or that there can only be one winner. By changing your perception of what negotiation is all about, you can consider the possibilities of what everyone can gain from negotiation. From pausing negotiations for a client who is dealing with cancer to the success of those who uphold the Golden Rule, Keld highlights the ways that effective negotiations can be the secret weapon that leads to success. Interview Links: Keld Jensen   Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.

If you insist on hanging onto your business for too long, you are keeping it weak. If you insist on hanging onto your team too tightly, you are keeping them weak.   Too many leaders hire helpers and then micromanage them, or stay at their jobs for too long each day and week. They don’t vacation often enough and they don’t retire soon enough. Great leaders pass the baton firmly to their team. It’s a powerful function of leaders who create groups of leaders that they can trust. Give people opportunities to make mistakes before you are completely gone. This creates powerful leaders who appreciate what you have done for them and builds not just one good thing in your business, but a lasting organization of a great team and a legacy and culture of leadership that is unstoppable. Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.