Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

This episode starts a new interview with Liz Scully and focuses on the question, "What is a mastermind?" We go far deeper than that. However, that is not a question that is worth answering quickly or simply. There is a sort of art to good masterminds, and we delve into all the artsy details as we craft our answer to the question. What is a mastermind? The idea of a mastermind can be different for different people. Thus, when you ask, "What is a Mastermind?" you get varied answers. Part of this comes from people being attracted to the word but not grasping that it does have real meaning. There is a buzzword sort of following for mastermind groups that has been embraced by many get-rich-quick pursuers. That muddies the waters. Our conversation with Liz looks to clarify that and let you see the true definition (and value) of a well-run group. This conversation details what makes a good group, how to keep members engaged, and how to get the most value from your time. We explore the costs in time and money and why the ROI makes a good group an easy decision. When you are done with these episodes, you will be much better informed whether you are considering joining a mastermind or starting your own. About Liz She spent 20 years working on big Hollywood films. It led to her winning an Emmy, and she had work that is multi-Oscar nominated. Now, she is a business strategist and a Mastermind coach. She loves helping entrepreneurs have more fun with their business. That is why she has the daft (in her words) - yet fabulous - brand "Evil Coach" alongside her more sensible Mastermind biz, Rethink Central. She is Irish, nomadic, and as confused as everyone else about why she has an English accent. Learn More Learn more about her Masterminds at: https://www.rethinkcentral.com/develpreneur Check out the content and view the links. You will learn more about her unique approach to helping build better businesses and leaders.

We continue our discussion with Naomi Johnson and examine some of the more advanced ways to use your profile to close deals with LinkedIn. She provides a story that is a convincing way to view how we can use our profile to talk to a customer. This focus is not on people in general but on how to reel in that client that is considering a purchase or hire. It is that final step in a funnel that LinkedIn can help you build. Close Deals With LinkedIn By Addressing Lingering Doubts We have all seen funnels and how they typically work. The last step is the decision to buy. We can close deals with LinkedIn by thinking about that decision step. The customer will be talking it out amongst their team and others that may not know you yet. The profile provides you a way to give them a quick summary of your skills and how you are the best choice for them. We talk about how the time invested in building reliable connections via networking can lead to that sale and a return on the investment. About Naomi Naomi Johnson is an Expert LinkedIn Profile Writer. She has spent the last ten years helping people position themselves as the 'go to' experts within their industry and structuring their business so prospects come to them pre-sold and ready to buy. Furthermore, she is the founder of TheProfile.Company and The Expert Economy. She is also the author of "The Expert Economy," "What to Put on Your LinkedIn Profile," and "Grassroots to Green Shoots." Learn More Check out how you are doing by visiting: http://www.theprofile.company/scorecard Answer 18 questions and discover where your business might be falling short. Then learn how, with some attention, you can begin making LinkedIn work for you. It takes just 2 minutes. It's completely free. Receive customized results instantly. If you've attended multiple workshops on using LinkedIn and you're still failing to win new business, it's time to look a little deeper and discover why. Get clarity on why your LinkedIn Activities fall flat and don't convert into Sales!

This episode starts a discussion with Naomi Johnson about creating a better LinkedIn profile to advance your career, reach, and brand. She is a specialist in working with LinkedIn and leveraging it for your needs. We cover the features and layout of LinkedIn pages and how to use those to tell your story. Be prepared to update your profile after listening to this episode. Use A Better LinkedIn Profile To Tell Your Story I have to admit. Walking through a profile with Naomi will make you see it in a new light. That is the benefit of consulting someone on a topic they have mastered. The subject of a better LinkedIn profile is just an objective that can make a difference in your life in many ways. She gives us a tour explaining why we want to make those improvements. They include personal brand, our service or products, and many other areas of our professional life. About Naomi Naomi Johnson is an Expert LinkedIn Profile Writer who has spent the last ten years helping people position themselves as the 'go to' experts within their industry and structuring their business so prospects come to them pre-sold and ready to buy. She is the founder of TheProfile.Company and The Expert Economy, and author of The Expert Economy, What to Put on Your LinkedIn Profile and Grassroots to Green Shoots Learn More Check out how you are doing by visiting: http://www.theprofile.company/scorecard Answer 18 questions and discover where your business might be falling short. Then learn how, with some attention, you can begin making LinkedIn work for you. It takes just 2 minutes. It's completely free. Receive customized results instantly. If you've attended multiple workshops on using LinkedIn and you're still failing to win new business, it's time to look a little deeper and discover why. Get clarity on why your LinkedIn Activities fall flat and don't convert into Sales!

The second half of our discussion with Benjamin Friedman digs into how you plan for the future and scale through automating solutions. The key to this step is understanding and documenting your processes in a way that makes them easily repeatable. Then, e, grow and talk to Benjamin Friedman about exactly that. The discussion goes into what we need to know about our business to survive and then to excel. Accounting and finance might seem like dry subjects, but this interview brings out the importance of knowing where we sit with regard to finance in particular. Automating Solutions Is The Key To Growth We cover a lot of ground in this episode. However, the time spent talking about processes and automation are essential to building and growing a company. There are many businesses that do not fully understand what they have and how they get business done. That lack of knowledge will always frustrate any efforts to scale. Know what you are doing well and then you can determine the ways to do it better. About Benjamin Benjamin Friedman has over 20 years of facilitating scale and growth, often leading to exit events. Focused on metrics and results, Benjamin also looks to discover the deeper issues limiting growth. He had five successful M&A transactions in the last ten years leading operations and finance.  In his last six roles, he contributed to financing, mergers and acquisitions, explosive revenue, and employee growth. Benjamin practices a servant-leader philosophy emphasizing outcomes mutually benefiting the company and the employees. Learn More Check Out More From Nemjamin at: https://www.webuildscalegrow.com Check out the site and his latest book, "Scale: Reach Your Peak."

We start a new interview with the founder of build, scale, grow and talk to Benjamin Friedman about exactly that. The discussion goes into what we need to know about our business to survive and then to excel. Accounting and finance might seem like dry subjects, but this interview brings out the importance of knowing where we sit with regard to finance in particular. A Firm Foundation To Build, Scale, Grow Your Business Everyone wants to grow their business. That is where Benjamin provides the most value. However, one has to know where they are before they can begin a journey of growth. Therefore, we talk about what you need to know, where a fractional employee can come in handy, and how to fit an experienced partner into your budget. About Benjamin Benjamin Friedman has over 20 years of facilitating scale and growth, often leading to exit events. Focused on metrics and results, Benjamin also looks to discover the deeper issues limiting growth. He had five successful M&A transactions in the last ten years leading operations and finance.  In his last six roles, he contributed to financing, mergers and acquisitions, explosive revenue, and employee growth. Benjamin practices a servant-leader philosophy emphasizing outcomes mutually benefiting the company and the employees. Learn More Check Out More From Nemjamin at: https://www.webuildscalegrow.com Check out the site and his latest book, "Scale: Reach Your Peak."

We wrap up the interview with Don Colliver talking about key stumbling blocks like presenting data heavy content. There are a number of other misconceptions and improper approaches he addresses in this discussion of becoming a better presenter. The essential point is one we often see. You should remember why you are presenting it. That, of course, points back to his earlier three questions of knowing who you are talking to, what you want to convey, and the call to action. Presenting Data Heavy Content Is About The Journey There are really two reasons for presenting data heavy content. You are either trying to show the journey to achieve your conclusions or point to the conclusion itself. Don brings up a common fallacy where the amount of work involved is attempted to be conveyed. That is not something your audience cares much about. They want to send the end results or learn how you problem-solve through it. Both of those cases mean a summary or similar approach is going to be better than a lot of data. Keep your focus on what you can easily communicate, and they can easily digest. About Don Don Colliver is a teacher, speaker, writer, and comedian with over twenty-five years of experience. He enjoys passionately engaging audiences and helping them engage with one another. Don’s mission is to help every speaker profoundly impact their audience through the power of courageous vulnerability, confident authenticity, and the joy of connection. Thanks to his popular public speaking courses delivered internally at Google and worldwide, hundreds of nervous speakers have transformed into more effective and joyful communicators, reaching a deeper level of audience connection than they ever thought possible. In addition to teaching, Don can be found on the trade show floor, where he writes and delivers presentations for companies including Adobe, Cisco, and Medtronic. On the screen, Don has written and directed hundreds of hours of nonfiction television for shows, including House Hunters, $40 a Day with Rachael Ray, and Roker on the Road. Before teaching others to take the spotlight confidently, Don toured internationally as a theatrical Clown for the contemporary circus company Spiegelworld and performed briefly with the Blue Man Group. Also, he is listed in the Cirque du Soleil performer database. He is a founding member of the award-winning sketch and clown groups DJ Faucet and the Innocents. His troupes have received awards, including the Improv Olympic Del Close Award for Best Sketch Comedy Troupe and the Hollywood Fringe Award for Best Physical Theater. Don won the 2017 Toastmasters International District One Tall Tales Speech Championship. Don graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Communications from Boston University. He holds certifications in Design Thinking, Applied Improvisation, and Instructional Design. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. When he’s not helping speakers engage with their audiences more deeply, he can be found hiking through the redwoods.  Learn More Check Out More From Don at: https://www.doncolliver.com Check out the site and his latest book, "Wink.

This interview is a new one with Don Collliver, and we go deep on effective presentations. There are a lot of best practices and rules you have heard that he breaks. His approach is not simply to be different. He has seen the value in using his approach for business presentations that focus on getting the point (or series of points across). The goal is communication, in this case, rather than entertainment. However, his background in entertainment makes him an entertaining speaker as well. Effective Presentations Get The Message Across There are a number of factors that Don considers in putting together a presentation. These help him focus on his message, the audience, and show respect for their time. That helps us avoid things like the cat "hang in there" slide or other superfluous slides and gimmicks you often see. The approach and guidelines he provides are for putting together a professional and focused presentation. About Don Don Colliver is a teacher, speaker, writer, and comedian with over twenty-five years of experience. He enjoys passionately engaging audiences and helping them engage with one another. Don’s mission is to help every speaker profoundly impact their audience through the power of courageous vulnerability, confident authenticity, and the joy of connection. Thanks to his popular public speaking courses delivered internally at Google and worldwide, hundreds of nervous speakers have transformed into more effective and joyful communicators, reaching a deeper level of audience connection than they ever thought possible. In addition to teaching, Don can be found on the trade show floor, where he writes and delivers presentations for companies including Adobe, Cisco, and Medtronic. On the screen, Don has written and directed hundreds of hours of nonfiction television for shows, including House Hunters, $40 a Day with Rachael Ray, and Roker on the Road. Before teaching others to take the spotlight confidently, Don toured internationally as a theatrical Clown for the contemporary circus company Spiegelworld and performed briefly with the Blue Man Group. Also, he is listed in the Cirque du Soleil performer database. He is a founding member of the award-winning sketch and clown groups DJ Faucet and the Innocents. His troupes have received awards, including the Improv Olympic Del Close Award for Best Sketch Comedy Troupe and the Hollywood Fringe Award for Best Physical Theater. Don won the 2017 Toastmasters International District One Tall Tales Speech Championship. Don graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Communications from Boston University. He holds certifications in Design Thinking, Applied Improvisation, and Instructional Design. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. When he’s not helping speakers engage with their audiences more deeply, he can be found hiking through the redwoods.  Learn More Check Out More From Don at: https://www.doncolliver.com Check out the site and his latest book, "Wink.

We wrap up the Allison Graham interview with a deeper dive into how she manages stress of all kinds and her consulting about the same. She has taken her unique approach and turned it into something she can share with others and often does. Her approach is pragmatic and easy to follow. We just need to take the time to follow each step. Managing Stress By The Steps There is much in managing stress that is like any other problem we face. For example, we need to understand we have a problem and identify it. Alison provides some excellent examples of things like negative speech and self-talk that can lead us in the wrong direction. Then she provides ways to directly address those mistakes to turn around our situation whether it is personal or a relationship. About Allison Allison Graham is a keynote speaker, author, and consultant who works with highly-accomplished men and women who love their work. However, they want more mental and emotional space away from the constant stress of the daily grind. Her last book, Take Back Your Weekends: Stress Less, Do More, Be Happier, is giving hope to professionals across the globe that they can have it all. Stay tuned for news on her next book called The Stress Illusion. We talked about it in the interview, and it will be released later this year. You may recognize her from media outlets like CTV, CBC, and Breakfast Television. If you’d love an extra dose of inspiration each week, you’re invited to follow Allison on LinkedIn and join Allison’s weekly Lift Up at https://allisongraham.com/liftup Learn More Check Out More From Allison at: https://allisongraham.com Explore her site and sign up for her weekly Lift Up - and look for the free training she offers.

Our discussion with Allison Graham starts with someone with a long road and a lot of practice overcoming adversity. However, there is far more to the story than simply overcoming. She provides excellent tips for us all. Her journey through tough times and her thought process as she learned how to fight through her pain and challenges provide excellent tips for us. She has taken a unique approach and made it accessible for us all. Consulting Advice And Overcoming Adversity The interesting point through all of this is how Allison took her struggles in overcoming adversity and related them to her consulting business and advice. She has taken what seems like common sense and made it truly common. The ideas she brings up are the kind we think we should have thought of. However, her unique approach creates a story and advice that leaves us wanting more. I look forward to her book when it is released. About Allison Allison Graham is a keynote speaker, author, and consultant who works with highly-accomplished men and women who love their work. However, they want more mental and emotional space away from the constant stress of the daily grind. Her last book, Take Back Your Weekends: Stress Less, Do More, Be Happier, is giving hope to professionals across the globe that they can have it all. Stay tuned for news on her next book called The Stress Illusion. We talked about it in the interview, and it will be released later this year. You may recognize her from media outlets like CTV, CBC, and Breakfast Television. If you’d love an extra dose of inspiration each week, you’re invited to follow Allison on LinkedIn and join Allison’s weekly Lift Up at https://allisongraham.com/liftup Learn More Check Out More From Allison at: https://allisongraham.com Explore her site and sign up for her weekly Lift Up - and look for the free training she offers.

The discussion with Bastien Siebman continues and starts with a plan to write a book in record time. He uses Asana for productivity hacks like that and gives us a lot of great ways to improve. There is a firm foundation of getting things done that he uses as part of his approach. However, the key for Bastien is Asana and how he tailors it for each customer. Write A Book In Thirty Days There are many sites, blogs, and podcasts to help one write a book. However, Bastien's approach combines the typical suggestions of steady progress and small steps using Asana. While his approach may seem obvious once he explains it, it is genius in its simplicity and how he leverages his tool of choice. That combines for an excellent example of things we can do. We just need to spend a little time thinking through how our tools and processes can help us solve bigger problems faster. About Bastien Bastien Siebman uses Asana as his secret tool. He is an Asana Certified pro who helps clients worldwide. Also, he is the Asana Community #1 contributor, author of four books, and creator of many tools and services. His team of Asana virtual assistants also helps clients delegate and save time. Learn More Check Out More From Bastien at: https://minimalist-work.com Everything he does around Asana for productivity and minimalism is on the website. Check out his free books, blog, and other resources, or contact him for some consulting time to get better faster.