My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: For over two decades, Dave Clare has been a practitioner who has led multiple businesses in and through commercially and organizationally challenging times.STORY: Dave was trying to fill up his unhappy life and thought investing in a community leadership center was the answer. The center only hemorrhaged money and never brought in any revenue.LEARNING: Don’t buy stuff just because you’re trying to make yourself feel happy. Keep the absolute minimum on costs, and drive revenue. Never compare your insides to other people’s outsides. “If I’m happy on the inside, I don’t have to try and force happiness on the outside. And I don’t have to make poor decisions on the outside.”Dave Clare Guest profilePurpose, Leadership, and Simplicity are the keys to success in shaping your business evolution.For over two decades, Dave Clare has been a practitioner who has led multiple businesses in and through commercially and organizationally challenging times.Bringing care, compassion, and urgency to his process, Dave’s legacy in the making is one of achievement, fulfillment, and joy in the workspace. Dave’s process works because they matter to everyone - clients, teams, leaders, everybody!Worst investment everIn 2000, Dave was living in Canada and was a licensee of the world’s largest personal and organizational development company. He had just come off a very successful year and thought it would be great to embed himself in the community.Dave decided to leverage the equity in his house and buy a building where he’d set up a Center for Leadership Excellence in the community. He’d worked really hard to position himself in the business community. He found this ancient building, bought it, and renovated it. The house was over 150 years old then. Dave bought new furniture, hired staff, and started the center.Dave just kept spending more money in a business that, at the time, really wasn’t making money. The company didn’t have a recurring revenue model and wasn’t building equity.Then the global financial crisis hit, and Dave’s staff started disappearing one by one. At this point, he was upside down on the house and the business and lost 70% of his client base. Dave had heavily invested in tier-one automotive clients. When the global financial crisis started, Obama pulled many automotive plants from southern Ontario and put them back into America. When this happened, many of Dave’s clients’ businesses were decimated. Therefore his business was destroyed too.Lessons learnedDon’t buy stuff just because you’re trying to make yourself feel happy instead of buying something because you need it.Having a robust support network is critical.Take responsibility for your poor decisions.Only invest in stuff that adds value to your clients.Andrew’s takeawaysNo matter how far down you go, you can turn things around.Keep the absolute minimum on costs, and drive revenue.Never compare your insides to other people’s outsides.Actionable adviceInvest in yourself and find inner happiness because if you’re happy on the inside, you don’t have to try and force happiness on the outside or make poor decisions to mask your unhappiness.Dave’s recommended resourcesHave a 30-minute free online whiteboard session with Dave about yourself and your leadership. Dave will help you look at any of the four critical frameworks of culture, strategy, tactics, and performance for your success. Mention that you’re a My Worst Investment Ever podcast listener, and he’ll slot you in one of the four weekly sessions.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsDave’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to free himself up from his responsibilities in his business so he can focus more outside of it.Parting words “Don’t be afraid to fail.”Dave Clare [spp-transcript] Connect with Dave ClareLinkedInInstagramFacebookTwitterYouTubeAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Craig Handley is an author of a best-selling book: Hired to Quit, Inspired to Stay: How Focusing on Employee Dreams Built an Exceptional Culture and an Unbreakable Company. He is a musician writing music for artists all over the world.STORY: Craig’s company invested over a million dollars in software that was never used.LEARNING: Find a niche and concentrate on that. Review your financial statements monthly. “If you’re a company doing X, don’t try to be a company doing everything else.”Craig Handley Guest profileCraig Handley is an author of a best-selling book: Hired to Quit, Inspired to Stay: How Focusing on Employee Dreams Built an Exceptional Culture and an Unbreakable Company.He is a musician writing music for artists all over the world.He is a bit of a comedian who has done Stand Up on Broadway in New York City.Craig also moonlights as CEO of his company ListenTrust, named #1 in Business Products and Service on Inc. Magazine’s 500 and 5,000 lists.That company does about $150m in sales for their clients and answer 100’s of thousands of C.S. lead generation calls.ListenTrust employs close to 1,000 awesome people, and Craig now runs a social media company called SocialClose that’s gone from 0 to $600,000 in revenue in the past 60 days.Craig has cage-dived with great white sharks and rappelled down Table Mountain in South Africa, driven the Baja 500 trail in Mexico, and hiked through the jungles of Malaysia.In Iceland, he snowmobiled across a live volcano, swam in the Blue Lagoon, and dove in the famed Silfra Fissure, the only dive site in the world where your dive is in the crack between two continental plates.He is also the 85th civilian in the world ever to jump out of a plane from over 32,000 feet (HALO Dive)... out of respect; mosquitoes don’t bite him.Craig hung out on Necker Island with Richard Branson, met Ringo Starr, and bumped into Paul McCartney (before security escorted him back to his table while trying to get a selfie.)And in Calgary, he had a scarf blessed while meeting the Dalai Lama (which he has since misplaced).He has partied with Akon, Snoop Dogg, and many other celebrities who asked him for his autograph (because they thought he starred in Vikings or Game Of Thrones, and he did not correct their thinking).He served five years in the U.S. Army infantry during the first Iraqi war, leaving with an honorable discharge.Handley studied voice and piano in college. He has written and produced hundreds of songs, from rap to pop to ballads to humorous parodies, and even opened for Coolio and hosted the Adult Entertainment Awards.He once turned down a record deal because it would have been “a pay cut” from his profitable businesses - and the required tour schedule didn’t leave him enough time for his business or family.Worst investment everCraig owned a call center and was paying a lot for software licensing. He figured he could save money by building the company’s own order entry platform. The company hired a team of five people to make this software. Each of them was getting paid around $70,000 a year.The programmers told Graig that the company needed to have a specific piece of software to integrate with the platform they were building. The software was at a discounted rate of $330,000 a year. This would save the company a million dollars yearly by not having to pay for a third-party platform. So Craig bit the bullet and paid the $330,000. That was about 14 years ago. To this day, nobody has ever logged in to that platform. Nobody integrated it. Nobody did anything with that software. So the company not only invested $330,000 in that product but also invested in five salaries that produced nothing. The company basically put almost a million dollars into building its own software that was never used.Lessons learnedLearn what business you’re into and think it through. If you’re a company doing X, don’t try to be a company doing everything else.Andrew’s takeawaysSoftware isn’t what it appears to be.Don’t develop software without reading The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful BusinessesRevenue is your shield from your mistakes. It prevents your mistakes from destroying you.Get on-time and accurate financial statements from your accountants and review them monthly.Actionable adviceAsk for help when you’re not sure about a significant decision you need to make.Craig’s recommended resourcesCraig recommends his book Hired to Quit, Inspired to Stay: How Focusing on Employee Dreams Built an Exceptional Culture and an Unbreakable Company for anyone who wants to build a perfect culture within their organizationCraig also recommends Matthew Kelly’s book The Dream Manager: Achieve Results Beyond Your Dreams by Helping Your Employees Fulfill Theirs.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsCraig’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to grow his marketing company to over two and a half million. Craig also hopes to win a Grammy next year.Parting words “Be unselfish and give before you take. Be a person of faith who believes that when you help others, the universe will come back around and help you.”Craig Handley [spp-transcript] Connect with Craig HandleyLinkedInInstagramFacebookTwitterYouTubeWebsiteBookAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Amit Kumar is a nuclear scientist turned serial entrepreneur who never thought of being an entrepreneur and now coaching and mentoring thousands of small business entrepreneurs through the MSMEx platform.STORY: Amit got so engrossed in his first entrepreneurial venture that he forgot about some investments he had made. When he remembered them, he learned that the companies he’d invested in had long been delisted.LEARNING: Define your long-term. Always track your investments. Take care of your own money. “While the principle of long-term investment is good, long term isn’t perpetuity; you have to define your long term.”Amit Kumar Guest profileAmit Kumar is a nuclear scientist turned serial entrepreneur who never thought of being an entrepreneur and now coaching and mentoring thousands of small business entrepreneurs through the MSMEx platform.Worst investment everAmit left the corporate world and started his first venture. Coming from a project management background, he took this venture as a project. For this reason, it did well, but he didn’t enjoy it.Amit put so much time into his entrepreneurship stint that he forgot about the investments he’d made after opening a Demat Account (an account to hold financial securities in a digital form and to trade shares in the share market in India). He had applied the principle of invest and forget.Amit now couldn’t find the investments in his portfolio. When he followed up, he learned the companies got delisted. The account manager claimed to have sent Amit some emails updating him on the status of his account, which he never noticed because he was busy building his business.Lessons learnedWhile the principle of long-term investment is good, long-term isn’t infinity. You have to define your long-term.Always track your assets, even if you invest long-term.If you don’t have time to keep track of your assets, delegate them to someone else.Andrew’s takeawaysTake care of your own money.Create, grow and protect your wealth.Always review your monthly financial statements and make sure they’re accurate.Actionable adviceWhen investing long-term, have a goal in mind and think about your exit strategy. Review your investments regularly.Amit’s recommended resourcesAmit recommends listening to the My Worst Investment Ever podcast and reading Andrew’s books to learn from other investors’ failures.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsAmit’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to list 10 SMEs in the SME IPO platform, as this will create a good opportunity for these SMEs by opening a new asset class. [spp-transcript] Connect with Amit KumarLinkedInWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO:  Mark Longo is the Founder & CEO of the Options Insider Media Group. A former Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) member, Mark created the first options podcast over 15 years ago.STORY: Mark was working as an equity puts trader on the floor of the CBOE when, one day, every broker on the floor started calling out orders for puts. Mark, however, was hesitant to join in the funfair. This caused him a few dollars but saved him a lot more because the S&P futures started tumbling, traders lost millions of dollars, and many lost their jobs after that.LEARNING: Listen to your intuition. Don't be afraid to walk away from an option that looks too good to be true. There will always be other options to trade. “When a trade is just too perfect, don't be afraid to look that gift horse in the mouth."Mark Longo Guest profileMark Longo is the Founder & CEO of the Options Insider Media Group. A former member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), Mark created the first options podcast over 15 years ago. That single program has since grown into the Options Insider Radio Network - the world’s leading podcast network for options traders. Known as “the voice of options” for his pioneering work in digital media, Mark now hosts a variety of long-running programs, including Options Boot Camp, Volatility Views, and This Week in Futures Options, among others.Worst investment everMark was a new trader right out of college when he was recruited in Chicago, the Mecca, for trading options. Mark focused on the equity options. He got to break into the SPX pit, which was the biggest pit at the time. This was around 1999 when the Dotcom bubble was in full swing, and stocks only went up. This was when firms were recruiting massive D1 linemen to hold a physical presence on the trading floor. Physical presence was the thing. So Mark had to break into the back of this crowd of hundreds of men who did not want him there. Another firm wanted his spot, so they sent a former professional hockey goon to try to take that spot from him. And while all this was happening, Mark was trying to learn SPX.Mark was finally breaking into the new trade. One day in early 1999—a quiet day as it often was on the trading floor—Mark was sure it would be a dull day, so he was sitting at the back of his spot waiting for something to happen. Suddenly the phone rang on the far side of the pit. A broker picked up the call and talked to his customer, and he started calling out a market for some slightly out-of-the-money puts in the S&P. Another phone rang, and another broker talked to his customer; he started barking out an order for similar puts. This was kind of strange. Mark thought to himself that it was just customers looking for puts.Then more phones started ringing in the front of the pit, and those brokers picked up their phones, and they, too, talked to customers and started calling out orders for puts. Mark could see the ticker in the pit SPX wasn't moving, and the next thing every broker in the pit was lifting offers on these puts. Typically, a broker would get a call from a customer, and he'd call out a market, then it would be a bidding song and dance that takes forever because no one ever lifts your offer instantly. So the fact that not just one broker but all were doing it simultaneously was strange. Everyone was trampling each other to get the brokers to sell these puts.Mark, however, decided not to join the bandwagon. He just took a moment, stepped back, and pulled his hand down. And in just seconds, the S&P futures started tumbling. Many traders lost millions of dollars, and many more lost their jobs.Turns out, Robert Rubin had suddenly resigned. This was in the middle of the Dotcom bubble, and the Treasury Secretary was a big deal. His sudden resignation shocked the hell out of the markets.Lessons learnedWhen a trade is just too perfect, fits all your conditions, and seems like free money, take a step back because you could be missing something.It's okay to listen to your intuition when it's warning you something isn't right.Don't be afraid to walk away from an option that looks too good to be true. There's always a reason that it's priced at that level.Andrew's takeawaysPay attention to your intuition.Remember, a lot is always going on behind a trade, and if you feel nervous, maybe it's time to back off.Actionable adviceIt's okay not to make a trade. There will always be others. So instead of trading in microseconds, spend some time doing your due diligence.Mark's recommended resourcesGo to the Options Insider Media Group to access a dozen different shows with great content in the world of options.If you'd like exclusive content, try out the Options Insider Memberships to listen to podcasts live before they are available to stream on all major platforms and listen to Mark's company's exclusive podcasts.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsMark's number one goal for the next 12 months is to help new traders find ways to migrate away from low-probability types of trades and get them to trade options that have a much higher probability and good longer-term style.Parting words “If you miss a trade, it's okay; there will be more great ones. Don't be afraid to look that gift horse in the mouth every once in a while.”Mark Longo [spp-transcript] Connect with Mark LongoLinkedInFacebookInstagramPodcastWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Harriet Mellor is a Sales Transformation Coach, Serial Entrepreneur, Consultant, and CEO of Your Sales Co. She is passionate about growing businesses and removing the stigma from sales.STORY: Harriet invested thousands of dollars in courses, programs, and coaches she never used because they didn’t align with her values.LEARNING: If you don’t take action, you won’t see any results from your investment. “I am my biggest investment and my biggest asset if I invest correctly.”Harriet Mellor Guest profileHarriet Mellor is a Sales Transformation Coach, Serial Entrepreneur, Consultant, and CEO of Your Sales Co. She is passionate about growing businesses and removing the stigma from sales.Over the last 17 years, she’s helped hundreds of top companies around the world (including her own) make more money using simple, powerful, and proven sales strategies that work. From scaling Sales teams to million-dollar business growth—by applying her Signature Sales Success Method, Harriet’s clients have experienced impactful and sustainable results.Harriet is on a mission to empower 1,000 business owners and salespeople to grow to 6 and 7 figures (and beyond) using simple and well-planned processes with a focus on Sales activities and efforts.Worst investment everDuring the earlier years of her career, Harriet made some really poor investments in who she worked with and the content she consumed. Harriet invested thousands of dollars in several courses, programs, and coaches that didn’t quite align with her values. These investments just sat there waiting for her to take action, but she never did. They were just a waste of her money.Lessons learnedTake more time to make decisions.Be mindful when speaking to people.Before you invest in something, ask yourself if you have the time to invest and take action.Always consider the expected ROI.If you don’t take action, you won’t see any results from your investment.Andrew’s takeawaysInvolve other people concerned when making a decision.Make sure an investment is suitable for you.Focus on the outcome of an investment, not its hype.Actionable adviceMap out what you want to achieve, share that with the person you’re considering investing in, and get their feedback.Harriet’s recommended resourcesDownload the FREE Replicate Your ideal Client template to help you find your outreach target clients.Harriet also recommends reading The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It to learn about success and the ability to fail and pick yourself back up again.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsHarriet’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to go across Australia, the US, and the UK delivering more in-person value-driven workshops.Parting words “Go out there, sell with value and deliver with value.”Harriet Mellor [spp-transcript] Connect with Harriet MellorLinkedInFacebookInstagramAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Hugh Grover is the founder of the Digital Sales Community. He has helped Fortune 100 companies and some of Australia’s leading businesses massively turn the dial on revenue.STORY: Hugh spent over six years studying a course he was uninterested in and working a job that he hated just because he thought that’s what people thought was right for him.LEARNING: If something doesn’t appear right, listen and unpack why your gut feeling is off. “We make good decisions when we choose to listen to our gut feeling.”Hugh Grover Guest profileHugh Grover is the founder of the Digital Sales Community. He has helped Fortune 100 companies and some of Australia’s leading businesses massively turn the dial on revenue.Previously, Hugh was a top 1% revenue generator for a Fortune 100 company for four consecutive years.He also helped grow a retail business by over 36%+ in only five months and helped a brick-and-mortar business club grow its revenue exponentially in the height of a global pandemic.Hugh has developed a proven ‘sales system’ over the past decade that his clients are implementing right now in their different businesses. Let Hugh show you how you can apply that system in your business and massively turn the dial on revenue.Worst investment everWhen Hugh was choosing what to study in university, he felt obliged to follow what everyone else in his family did. So his options were medicine, finance, or law. Hugh had no passion in these areas, but he felt that was what was expected of him. So he chose to do accounting. Hugh failed his accounting subjects three times in his first year at university. He really wasn’t interested in the course, so he didn’t apply the time and effort required to pass.Hugh had ignored his gut feeling that kept telling him to do what he was good at (communication) but followed a path that he thought would look good on him. He was more concerned with what other people thought was good for him than what he wanted. This caused him six years of unfulfillment and unhappiness. It was a period when Hugh was just going through a degree, a job, and a career, trying to be someone he thought he needed to be as opposed to who he actually was.Lessons learnedIf something doesn’t appear right, listen and unpack why your gut feeling is off.When deciding whether to continue pursuing something, ask yourself what you’re actually getting out of it and what you are happy to sacrifice for that thing.Andrew’s takeawaysLearn to let go when the suffering is unnecessary.Think about the difference between emotion and intuition. Emotion is a persistent feeling, while intuition is usually a fleeting moment.Actionable adviceWhen something doesn’t feel right, question it and seek unbiased advice and counsel on how to navigate through it.Hugh’s recommended resourcesHugh believes your gut feeling is your best resource for making better decisions that make you feel happy and congruent with who you are as a person.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsHugh’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to be present, more balanced with what he’s doing and put his customers, clients, and family first. [spp-transcript] Connect with Hugh GroverLinkedInFacebookInstagramYouTubeWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Mihir Koltharkar is a Global Award Winning Trainer, TEDx and Keynote Speaker, and Author with a rich experience spanning 22 years.STORY: Mihir partnered with a friend to offer his services to a government company in Mauritius. The profits from this deal would have been in millions in just about 45 days. Then, out of the blue, the company declared bankruptcy nullifying the contract.LEARNING: Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched. Be careful not to get into the entrepreneurial seizure. Even if you have a signed contract, the deal is not done until the money is in your bank account. “The deal is not done until the money is in your bank account.”Mihir Koltharkar Guest profileMihir Koltharkar is a highly accomplished and a Global Award Winning Trainer, TEDx and Keynote Speaker, and Author with a rich experience spanning 22 years. He delivers sessions in his unique and engaging way, and has a proven track record of enhancing performance and growing revenues spanning sectors and industries.In the last 2 decades, he has conducted 2,000+ live sessions in 12 countries and inspired hundreds of thousands of people. Mihir’s life purpose is to add value to people’s lives. He is featured among the Top 20 Global Trainers - Sales (2021), and was recently awarded ‘Master Trainer - Pride of India - Negotiation Skills’. People and Media call him ‘Smiling Buddha Of Sales’ and ‘Mr. Sales’ for his wisdom and knowledge in the domain.Worst investment everMihir worked for a luxury real estate company headquartered in Dubai with more than 800 sales professionals. He stayed at this company for one year and managed to increase its turnover by 4.5 billion dirhams. When that happened, Mihir decided that his knowledge shouldn’t be restricted just to one organization. So he took the risk and decided to start his own company.Mihir moved from Dubai to India, where he registered the company. He was full of hope and planned to give himself six months to set up the organization.Mihir started from zero without any investment. He did everything for himself, from setting up the website and social media to writing proposals and attending client meetings. Gradually, things started kind of moving. When revenue started coming in, Mihir invested all the money into the business for marketing purposes.There was this guy in Mauritius whom Mihir had known since 2001. The guy encouraged Mihir to partner with him and take his training sessions to Mauritius. Mihir thought this was a great idea and arranged some training sessions there. The sessions went on well. After the training sessions, the guy told Mihir that he had a potentially huge client—a government company.Mihir traveled back to Mauritius to meet the company. The meeting went well, and the company was interested in Mihir’s services. He mentally calculated the profits. It would have been in millions in about 45 days. Mihir’s mind started going crazy.After the meeting, Mihir gave them a proposal. They liked it and requested a second meeting. Mihir went again, met them, and they suggested some modifications to the proposal. The parties went ahead with the negotiations as well. The company was okay with the negotiated price. Mihir was super happy and was already building castles in his head.Mihir’s partner was also super excited about this deal. He suggested that they get an office space in Mauritius. They signed a two-year lease for an entire building and placed an order for furniture in China. Things were moving forward, and then suddenly, the government company declared bankruptcy. And that was the end of Mihir’s contract.Lessons learnedDon’t count your chickens before they’re hatchedEven if someone signs the contract or gives verbal approval, the deal isn’t finalized until the time the money is in your account.Andrew’s takeawaysWhen a business idea sweeps into your mind, it can take you over. So be careful not to get into the entrepreneurial seizure.Actionable adviceWhen starting a business, don’t just rely on hopes, have a structured plan, and even when an unexpected event occurs, don’t deviate from your plan.Mihir’s recommended resourcesMihir recommends reading Allan Pease’s books to learn about communication and better handle problems in business and your personal life.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsMihir’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to take his training sessions to 15 countries, up from the current 12.Parting words “Plan your work, and work your plan. Most people plan a lot, but they don’t put in the effort or work on that particular plan.”Mihir Koltharkar [spp-transcript] Connect with Mihir KoltharkarLinkedInFacebookTwitterYouTubePodcastWebsiteBookAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Andrew L. Howell is a Co-Founder of the Salt Lake City law firm York Howell, known as one of Utah’s fastest-growing companies.STORY: Andrew was convinced by his second cousin to enter a business deal with him and another family member. They took out a loan of $1.7 million. The business was a flop, and the two partners abandoned him, leaving him to bear the burden of repaying the loan.LEARNING: Don’t get involved in a business you’re unwilling to invest your time and effort into. Don’t bring partners into your life if you can avoid it. Avoid getting involved with family members. “Don’t bring partners into your life if you can avoid it. If you can do something on your own, do it.”Andrew L. Howell Guest profileAndrew L. Howell is a Co-Founder of the Salt Lake City law firm York Howell, which is known as one of Utah’s fastest-growing companies.Andrew has built a successful practice throughout the United States with respect to estate planning, asset protection planning, probate, and estate administration, charitable giving, sophisticated business structuring and transactions, and tax planning.Andrew is most passionate about the family legacy planning that he assists his clients with, and he has a specific focus on ultra-high net worth families and business owners.He is also the co-author of the book, Entrusted: Building a Legacy That Lasts, which features seven core disciplines of successful wealth transfer of high-net-worth families going back hundreds of years. He is also the co-author of a follow-up book, Riveted: 44 Values That Change the World. Entrusted has been very well received by the estate planning community and has led to recent speaking engagements with attorneys on the future of estate planning.Andrew is routinely recognized as a Mountain States Top Lawyer. Utah Business Magazine named him among Utah Legal Elite from 2011 through 2016. The National Advocates recommended Mr. Howell as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Utah.Andrew enjoys vacationing in Montana with his wife and their three children when not in the office. He is also an avid fly fisherman, hunter, and skier and loves to be outdoors with his family.Worst investment everAndrew had a second cousin who was older and all grown up. He admired and thought highly of him. The guy had gone to Stanford Law and seemed to be successful.Around 2006 when everybody was making money from real estate, Andrew decided to dip his feet into the field.The second cousin told him about a building that was being built in Salt Lake in which he had the right to the bottom floor. He asked Andrew and another family member to join him and turn the floor into an office-sharing arrangement.Andrew figured it was a good idea, and the three got an SBA loan of $1.7 million to purchase the property. Andrew was busy with his day job, so he wasn’t actively involved in running the business. He, therefore, expected his partners to run it.The partners had zero marketing and zero push for the entire project. They had about 70 offices they needed to rent out, but they never got more than 15% occupied. The business was just hemorrhaging money without bringing in any revenue.Finally, Andrew’s two partners got tired of pumping money into the business and threw in the towel. This was when Andrew came to find out the second cousin, who he thought was financially successful, didn’t own anything. He was up in debt, didn’t have any assets, and was going to declare bankruptcy. So Andrew was left holding the bag. The business collapsed, and the bank repossessed what it could.Andrew went through the loss of a relationship. He and his second cousin no longer talk and probably never will. The failed business caused Andrew a tremendous amount of sleepless nights. He was up for months and months thinking about how to come up with $1.7 million. All the equity in his home and retirement accounts were sucked away. He’d get letters from treasury demanding payment for the loan.Andrew managed to negotiate with the treasury, and instead of paying the $1.7 million loan, he’d pay $70,000. He sold a rental property that he had at the time to come up with that $70,000. That rental property would today be worth twice what it was then.Lessons learnedDon’t get involved in a business you’re unwilling to put your time and effort into.Be very careful about partners. Don’t bring partners into your life if you can avoid it. It’s much easier to do something on your own.Don’t get involved in a business you’re not passionate about.Avoid getting involved with family members.Live a purposeful life doing whatever you decide to do.Andrew’s takeawaysPay attention to your clients ‘why’ if you want to make a difference.Stay away from sexy money-making opportunities.Never invest in anything that someone brings to you.Business starts with revenue. Without revenue, you’ll never have profits.Beware of outward appearances.Protect your energy. When you feel something is draining your energy, try to get out of it.Apply basic risk management principles in every sphere of your life, and you’ll succeed.Actionable adviceJust say no and proceed with caution.Andrew’s recommended resourcesAndrew recommends his book Riveted: 44 Values That Change the World for anyone who wants to have a deeper discussion within the family about who they are, what they believe, and what they are trying to pass on beyond the finances by going through each of those 44 values.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsAndrew’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to develop an independent entrusted process for families that’s not a complimentary service to his legal practice.Parting words “I just really appreciate the opportunity to come on the podcast. People want to hear me talk, so I’m happy to do it.”Andrew L. Howell [spp-transcript] Connect with Andrew L. HowellLinkedInFacebookYouTubeWebsiteBookAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Annie Duke loves to dive deep into decision-making under uncertainty. Her latest obsession is the topic of quitting.STORY: Annie’s worst investment ever was becoming a poker player.LEARNING: It’s ok to do a few different things at a time. Quit more if you have to. “Quit more.”Annie Duke Guest profileAnnie Duke loves to dive deep into decision-making under uncertainty. Her latest obsession is the topic of quitting. In particular, she is on a mission to rehabilitate the term and get people to be proud of walking away from things. Annie is an author, speaker, and consultant in the decision-making space, as well as Special Partner, focused on Decision Science at First Round Capital Partners, a seed stage venture fund. Annie’s latest book, Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away, was released October 4, 2022, from Portfolio, a Penguin Random House imprint. Her previous book, Thinking in Bets, is a national bestseller.Worst investment everAnnie had been pursuing a Ph.D. in cognitive science for five years. The plan was to become a tenure track professor. Right at the end of her time at university, Annie started suffering from stomach problems, which became acute. She got pretty sick and landed in the hospital. Annie then decided to take a year off. She needed money during that year off, so she started playing poker to make money.Annie considers going into poker her worst investment ever because there wasn’t a lot of process behind that decision. She just thought it would be a fun way to make the money she badly needed. She didn’t think about the consequences of that decision, and even though she did well at playing poker and had some pretty good wins, Annie wishes she had put more thought into it.Lessons learnedIf the time and investment are small to complete something, just do it.Do things in parallel. That means it’s ok to do a few different things at a time.Keep your investments robust, not just against luck, but against your poor decision-making.Andrew’sAndrew’s takeawaysYour focus doesn’t need to be single-minded.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsAnnie’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to finish her PhD. to create more time for things that are outside of work.Parting words “Don’t be afraid of quitting. When things aren’t working out, get to that decision earlier. It’s going to move you along in your life faster.”Annie Duke [spp-transcript] Connect with Annie DukeLinkedInFacebookTwitterYouTubeWebsiteBooksAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Mathew Frederick specializes in finding and securing under-contract, off-market multi-family, and office buildings for conversion to their highest best use.STORY: Mathew bought a building without knowing that it had underground storage tanks of fuel that were polluting the environment. It cost him $400,000 to clean up the mess. The mess further reduced the property’s value to $1.7 million from $2.1 million.LEARNING: Make a minor adjustment to your ego and humility. Do your due diligence. Know the fights to walk away from. “I realized I had to make a minor adjustment to my ego and my humility.”Mathew Frederick Guest profileMathew Frederick specializes in finding and securing under-contract, off-market multi-family and office buildings for conversion to their highest best use. He did not plan to be an investor; his police officer brother convinced him under gunpoint, so he decided to say yes. With 34 years of experience in residential, commercial, and new development, Mathew has seen much chaos in the industry and would like to guide others through the land mines. He loves the lifestyle that investing affords him but is excited to help others reach their financial freedom also.Worst investment everIn 2005, after much success in residential property, Mathew decided to go commercial. He carried the attitude that he was good at what he was doing. However, Mathew’s first commercial property taught him that he wasn’t so bright.Mathew would drive by the building daily. It was vacant and abandoned. He talked to the owners and convinced them to sell the property to him for $680,000, down from the $800,000 they were asking for. Mathew got a vendor take-back mortgage (VTB) where the seller would hold the mortgage. He put down $180,000, and the sellers held a mortgage for half a million dollars. No bank was involved in the deal. Mathew felt very proud of himself for convincing the sellers to hold a mortgage for seven years at a reasonable interest rate and got property worth $800,000 for $680,000.Mathew immediately started renovating the property. He wanted it to be the head office of his real estate company. He also wanted to put a restaurant there.Things went great. Seven years later, the property went from $680,000 to about 1.6 million dollars. Mathew decided to refinance it. He would pull his money out, pay off the VTB, and still be sitting on a lot of money.There was one problem, though, that affected this plan. When Mathew bought the property, he didn’t get a phase one environmental. His lawyer had asked him about it, but Mathew insisted the stormwater management assessment was enough. When he went to refinance the building and get a bank mortgage, the bank required a phase one environmental and a phase two environmental because it was discovered that 50 years before Mathew was born, there were gas stations at the property that caused lots of pollution. Mathew spent about $400,000 cleaning up the mess on that property. Had he gone to a bank during the initial sale, they would have demanded the environmental check immediately, and the sellers knew it. That’s why they gave Mathew the VTV. It wasn’t because of his genius negotiation.Everything that could go wrong went wrong. The underground storage tanks of fuel were found under the property. At the same time, the property backed onto a ravine that went down to a stream. The Conservation Authority was upset that the property could pollute the ravine. At this point, the property had been appraised to about $2.1 million. But all this mess reduced the value to $1.7 million.Lessons learnedHave a mentor, join a coaching program, or a community to work with so you can learn about investing.Make a minor adjustment to your ego and humility.Andrew’sAndrew’s takeawaysDue diligence is a necessary process that makes up for the lack of full disclosure when doing any deal.When buying a piece of land, look beyond just the surface.We do not need to be in some fights, so we know the battles to walk away from.Eventually, you can win.Actionable adviceListen to your lawyer.Mathew’s recommendationsAn online video library with 100 videos (75 hours), 80 audios (15 hours), and 100 documents to help teach investors how to start, run and maintain a successful real estate investing business.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsMathew’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to bring water to North America and use it for some purpose.Parting words “I am honored and humbled to have you accept me as that person on your 600th episode. I think it’ll make a difference for folks out there.”Mathew Frederick [spp-transcript] Connect with Mathew FrederickLinkedInInstagramYouTubePodcastAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast