My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Christopher D. Connors is the bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence for the Modern Leader and The Value of You. He is an author, executive coach, and keynote speaker who helps leaders increase their emotional intelligence, prioritize goals, and build thriving organizations. He works with executives and leaders at Fortune 500 companies, sports organizations, schools, and universities. His writing has appeared in CNBC, World Economic Forum, Quartz, CEO World, Virgin Media, Thrive Global, and Medium, and he’s been a guest on FOX and ABC TV programs. Christopher is happily married to his beautiful wife and is the proud father of three amazing, rambunctious baseball-loving boys. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina.   “Adversity is your best friend. In every adversity, there is always an opportunity that is going to come out of that.” Christopher Connors   Worst investment ever The big move Christopher grew up just outside New York City on Long Island while his wife grew up in South Carolina. They had been living in New York when the wife said she wanted to leave. And so they decided to relocate to Atlanta. Christopher wasn’t emotionally or mentally prepared to make a move, but he did it anyway as it was the right move for his family. Physically, Christopher was in Atlanta, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, he was still in New York. He was living this life where he was just struggling to put the pieces together. A thriving career While Christopher was struggling to adjust to the new life, career-wise, he was thriving. Christopher landed the most prestigious job opportunity he’s ever had. The job was very high paying, and he got to work with some of the top corporate clients in all of Atlanta, including Coca Cola, Delta, UPS, and the Home Depot. His head was just not in the game Despite having landed the job of his dreams, Christopher was still not settled and was struggling to adapt. He was still trying to figure out a little bit more about himself in terms of what he truly wanted to do. Even though on paper, this opportunity looked like a dream job, the more he went through it, the more he realized it wasn’t. Getting booted Christopher tried out a couple of different assignments that didn’t work. He just wasn’t able to employ emotional intelligence to be able to separate his personal life from his work life. About 10 months into it,  he was fired. Here he was less than a year into a move with a young son and a wife, and all of a sudden, he didn’t have an income coming in. It was a big blow to his ego because he had been successful in all of the other previous jobs that he had been in. Figuring his next move Getting fired was entirely unexpected for Christopher, but with a family to take care of, he had to bounce back soon. Christopher had always had this burning desire to write and coach just lying underneath the surface. He had treated them as hobbies for so long and just doing it a little bit of on the side. Now that Christopher had time on his hands, he started to build up a little bit more, and with time he turned it into a fulltime venture. Christopher admits that his poor performance in this lifetime job opportunity remains his worst investment ever; however, he’s thankful that it happened because he mustered the courage to kick the fear of venturing out entrepreneurially in the butt. Lessons learned Adversity is your best friend Don’t fear pain and failure. With every adversity, there’s the opportunity or the equivalent seed of an advantage. Learn to see opportunities within your adversities, and you will thrive. Developing emotional intelligence Life will always have its shortcomings. By developing emotional intelligence, you will be able to turn every weakness into a win. Without emotional intelligence, you will always let pain, failure, loss, and other adversities hold you back. Be proactive Start taking the initiative to go after the things that you have the skills for, but have previously been too afraid to do. Your success depends on the actions you take today. Plans are nothing; planning is everything Have a plan in life and take action to turn those plans into reality because plans are nothing planning is everything. Know that plans will change, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t plan. Move from thinking to doing Make all of these things that you’ve always believed that you can do actionable. You need to move from just thinking and talking about these things and start doing them. Muster the courage to start putting your ideas out there, and you may just surprise yourself. Andrew’s takeaways It gets hard before it gets easy Sometimes we just have to hit rock bottom to become our best versions. It has to get hard enough and painful enough for you to decide that you’ll do something different. Our adversities make us who we are It is our adversities, our struggles, our mistakes, and our losses that spur us to new opportunities. Actionable advice First, listen to your heart about what you truly want to do. Second, don’t live in the past; be willing to adapt. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Christopher’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to be a great dad. The couple just welcomed a newborn child into the world. From a professional standpoint, Christopher plans to continue building his coaching business and working with people that he deeply admires in a variety of industries. He also has some ideas for a third book coming up and has started laying the foundation for that. Parting words   “Follow your heart and intuition. Mix this with a plan that’s coupled with the talents, skills, and experiences that you have. Then just go for it.” Christopher Connors   Connect with Christopher Connors LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Blog Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Libby Gill is an executive coach, leadership expert, and best-selling author. She guides emerging and established leaders to inspire purpose and drive performance. She is the former head of communications for Sony, Universal, and Turner Broadcasting, and her clients include Bank of America, Capital One, Disney, Ernst & Young, Intel, Microsoft, and many more. She has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, NPR, the Today Show and in the New York Times, Time Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. She’s the author of six books, including the award-winning You Unstuck. Libby’s latest book is The Hope-Driven Leader: Harness the Power of Positivity.   “Leaders ask questions that propel them into new opportunities. Managers answer questions and get the job done for those who have the vision.” Libby Gill   We’re going to change the format a little bit today because Libby has gained a lot of experience as a leadership expert through coaching, working with teams, and writing books about it. Since we’re at a critical time for every leader out there to figure out how to survive and thrive, we’ll jump straight to the lessons and nuggets of wisdom that Libby has collected along her career path. Libby started her career in communications working for various entertainment studios. In the process, she grew up the rank to become a young leader. After a while, Libby realized what she wanted to do was to continue to grow teams, which she had done a lot as a leader. She read an article in Newsweek about executive coaching and took great interest in it. Libby then started working with people in executive coaching, then she went on to writing books and speaking in big forums. Her career in executive coaching just continued to grow. It’ll be 20 years this fall since Libby started. Lessons learned A business needs both leaders and managers to succeed You need people at different levels in your business. Leaders and managers play different roles in the success of a business. Leaders ask the questions that get the business new opportunities, while managers answer the questions. Leaders provide the business vision, and managers get the job done. Business vision, passion, and drive will get you to success You can win a battle even when you are outnumbered as long as you have a vision, the drive, and the passion for winning. As a business leader, beat your competitors by looking for gaps where you might have slipped off the market and create your competitive edge. If you’re just starting, figure out the most important thing and focus on that. But remember not to spread yourself too thin. The curse of the visionary Most leaders tend to have a hard time focusing on one area, so they find themselves with too many ideas and too little time. Try and focus on one area. Before you think of implementing more than one idea, first ask yourself if you have a financial base under you. Then, how long can you play this out and how long can you get away with trying out your many ideas without your business collapsing or depleting your funds. The hope theory Hope theory is all about having a vision of the future that may be wildly ambitious but is attainable. So to achieve this vision first, have clarity around it. Second, simplify the path to getting there. Consider what you must get out of the way, such as false hope or wrong ideas, bad habits, the wrong people. Third, execute the plan. We can all have our visionary ideas all day long, but it comes down to who’s going to get it done. Effective leadership is, therefore, about having a clear vision, perseverance, correcting the course, and continuing to move towards your vision as long as it stays true to what’s in your heart, your mind, and your gut. Have a fundamental belief that change is possible Not everybody believes that change is possible. There are plenty of people who are always justifying their defense of the status quo, and they’re going to stay exactly where they are forever. But as we move to an age that’s beyond the information age that’s about ideas and imagination, we need to be able to carry out those visions. It all becomes possible by having a fundamental belief that change is possible. Link belief to behavior When you link belief to behavior, that’s where the magic happens. If you link belief to behavior and the vision, then you’re going to act your way to achieving your vision. Actionable advice As a business leader, reach out for support. Some people perceive asking for support as a weakness, but it’s a tough time, and we got to open up ourselves to receiving help and support. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Libby had been moving much of her business online before the lockdown started. Her number one goal for the next 12 months is, therefore, to build online coaching programs and to move to the virtual world, which allows her to touch people in all kinds of countries and places. Libby just started a writing group for people that need accountability and support while they write. They get together on a video platform to touch base and help each other stay focused. Parting words   “In the immortal words of Robert Louis Stevenson, ‘It is better to travel hopefully than it is to arrive.’” Libby Gill   Connect with Libby Gill LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast Further reading mentioned Libby Gill (2018) The Hope-Driven Leader: Harness the Power of Positivity

E.B. Tucker is the former editor of The Casey Report, Strategic Investor, and Strategic Trader. He is a board director and major shareholder of Metalla Royalty & Streaming (NYSE:MTA), a gold royalty company. He is the author of Why Gold? Why Now? The War Against Your Wealth and How to Win It and has more than two decades active in capital markets.   “It’s okay to get a bruise, but don’t get completely broken.” E.B. Tucker   Worst investment ever About 17 years ago, E.B. was trying to get into the world of finance, but he kept hitting walls. Everyone wanted to hire him as a sales rep because of his charismatic nature. However, E.B. wanted to manage money not to be a salesman all his life. So he kept trying. Lady luck came calling Finally, in 2006, one of E.B.’s friends told him about a guy he’d met playing golf, who was trying to restructure his company. The guy was looking for a sales V.P. The position came with an equity position right away. To E.B., this sounded like a winner. What the heck did he get himself into? E.B. got to learn that the company was not trading on the primary exchange and wasn’t compliant with its filings. Therefore, people could buy stock in it, but they’d not be buying the stock in the New York Stock Exchange. They’d just be buying it on an off-market. Getting his friends to invest in the company The company claimed to have natural pest control and was raising money to get the product off the ground. E.B. introduced some of his friends who invested about $150,000. He then went out to meet the CEO at their facility, and this was a disaster. E.B. found the CEO strange and was like some kind of cartoon character. He came back a little bit put off by this, and his gut feeling told him that this CEO was not straight. He’d been scammed A week later, he found out that the company didn’t have the federal EPA licenses that they claimed to have in the presentation to investors. Worse still, E.B. found out that the permit they claimed to have did not even exist, so the whole thing was made up. On top of that, they had already spent the money that E.B. had raised. He couldn’t tell how it had been spent to help the business, though. When he realized that the company had real issues, E.B. went to the guy who got him in and told him about the problems he’d noticed. The guy dismissed him and didn’t want to have that conversation with him. It seemed apparent that the guy knew what was going on. Making things right The company stopped paying E.B. when he brought these issues up. He was there only two weeks before they cut him off. E.B. decided to hire a lawyer to represent him in documenting all these issues. The lawyer wrote a letter documenting all the fraud that E.B. had found and sent it to the board’s certified mail. This cost him about $10,000. Next, E.B. hired another lawyer who was excellent at figuring out how to get his friend’s money back in about six months. This was quite a tough time for E.B. because he had the best of intentions and was just trying to break into the finance field. Lessons learned Go with your gut When people are pitching all sorts of ideas to you, do your research, ask questions, but don’t forget to listen to your instincts. Invest small at first If you’re not sure whether an investment is right for you, but you want to try it anyway, go in small. If things work out, you can always invest more later. Don’t feel pressured to invest all of your money, especially when your gut feeling tells you that there could be a problem. Don’t let people intimidate you Let go of the investment whenever you feel intimidated by someone that’s pressing you to invest. Don’t be afraid to take risks Take risks. You have to be in the game to win. But pull back, especially if your instinct tells you there could be something wrong. Andrew’s takeaways Do your research BEFORE you invest Most people fail to do their research before investing and, oftentimes, do it after investing. Assess and manage risk The best way to manage risk is to reduce your investment size. You may have failed to assess the risk, but if you manage it well, the damage isn’t going to wipe you out. Don’t invest under pressure If somebody is pressuring you to invest, you got to step back, because either they’re desperate for money, and that’s a problem, or they’re manipulating and lying to you. Actionable advice Go, but go carefully. Take risks, but don’t forget to be careful not to risk everything. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months E.B.’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to walk 10,000 steps every single day 365 days of the year. He’s already doing it, and he’s never felt better! Parting words   “We’re all on our journey, but we can learn from each other.” E.B. Tucker   Connect with E.B. Tucker LinkedIn Twitter Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Laura Cho is an International Certified Coach and Founder at Laura Cho Intl. coaching millennial talents to build a successful career by unleashing their full potential with her HR expertise. She is a public speaker sharing HR and career topics on various stages in Hong Kong, Singapore, Cambodia, and Myanmar at universities, radio shows, online platforms, journals, and public seminars. She has been featured in Stories of Asia, The Myanmar Times, Human Resources Magazine (Hong Kong), and 7Day TV.   “The best investment you can make is investing in yourself in the right way.” Laura Cho   Worst investment ever A hunger to be good at what she does Three and a half years ago, Laura started a side hustle as a career coach. To do it successfully, she had to pick up several skills. She was eager to learn anything that would help her. Buying her first online course Laura came across a Facebook ad by a lady living in Hong Kong. The online coach was offering a free business plan. Laura was impressed by the lady’s copywriting in the ad and by what she was promising. Being from Myanmar, Laura believed that the lady from Hong Kong had more knowledge and, therefore, the right person to learn from. So without taking some time to think about it, she invested in the lady’s course. The credit card privilege The course was quite expensive, especially since she had to pay in USD. But because she had a credit card, she spent anyway. All talk no action After Laura started the online course, she soon realized that the coach was just full of air and wasn’t walking the talk. The course offered Laura zero value. She did not learn a single new thing in that class. Whenever she tried to ask questions, the coach would dismiss them as stupid questions. Laura was devasted. And to imagine all the money she had paid! Freeing herself from the guilt Laura couldn’t help but feel angry for allowing herself to make the worst investment ever. She was mad at herself for not taking the time to research the course. Or at the very least see what other people were saying about the course and the trainer. She carried this anger for a while, and it prevented her from trying out any other courses. She realized that she was shortchanging herself and so she forgave herself and moved on from the terrible experience. Lessons learned Get to know the trainer before buying an online course There are very many coaches and trainers today. So, before you invest in someone, take some time to learn about that person. Follow the trainer for some time and interact with any free content they share and read reviews from their past clients. This will let you know if you can trust the trainer or not. Calculate the return on investment Before you invest in an online course, ask yourself what will be the return on investment. How will the course benefit your career or your side hustle? Not all ‘good’ trainers are good for you People have different levels of experience. Just because an advanced student says a trainer is good doesn’t mean the trainer will help you too. Understand your needs first Why do you want to buy an online course? What do you hope to achieve from taking an online course? You have to know your needs first before you invest in your personal development. Andrew’s takeaways Do your research The number one mistake people make when investing, whether in business or themselves, is failing to do their research. Don’t buy online courses blindly, research them first to make sure you invest in the right ones only. Build trust You’ve got to build trust first before buying that online course. You can do so by engaging in the trainer’s free content first and see if they offer you any value. If yes, then go ahead and buy the course. Get the money-back guarantee Only buy courses that have a no questions asked 100% money-back guarantee. Make sure that guarantee is clearly stated. This gives you a chance to get your money back should you not be satisfied with the course. Ensure the online course is the right level for you If you’re a beginner, take a beginner’s course. If you buy an advanced course, it is not going to work, and it will be a bad investment. Be ready to implement what you learn Don’t waste your money if you are not ready to implement what you’re going to learn. Actionable advice Take time before you press that buy button. Think about why you want to buy that course and ask yourself if you have the time to put what you learn into action. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Laura’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to upgrade and equip herself with more business knowledge. Laura wants to flip her side hustle around into a fulltime business and to do so; she needs to pick up a lot of business skills. Parting words   “Keep investing in yourself, and it will pay off over time. But make the right investment.” Laura Cho   Connect with Laura Cho LinkedIn Instagram Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Darin Kidd is an entrepreneur who has achieved success in various arenas. He was a leader and multiple-seven-figure earner in the network marketing profession, building massive teams all over the world. He has owned profitable franchises and has built his online digital brand, which is now consumed by hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. He has been featured in various magazines and books, was on an advisory council with John Maxwell, and has been interviewed by Grant Cardone on Grant Cardone TV. Currently, he is a speaker, trainer, and mentor for others. However, he was not always a successful businessman. Over 20 years ago, he was bankrupt and felt like a failure. He managed to emerge from that experience with a unique perspective and an “I Will Until” attitude on life. He genuinely wants to help people “be more, do more, and have more” in their life.   “It’s about progress, not perfection. Just get a little bit better every single day.” Darin Kidd   Worst investment ever From debt-free to bankruptcy Darin got successful in his early 20s. Everything was going superbly well. He was debt-free, had money in the bank, 401k, some investments, and more. One day someone moved into Darin’s town, and after some time, he convinced Darin that if he paid him up front, he could build his dream home for him for a lower price. The deal sounds too good to be true? It was. The dude walked off in the middle of the construction, and everything he had done to the house was off. And just like that, Darin went from debt-free, perfect credit, money in the bank, 401k, and new cars to bankruptcy and a repossessed car. He couldn’t feed his kids or support his wife. Darin’s family was now on government assistance, Medicaid, and applying for food stamps. Darin went from a successful businessman to a depressed man. The turning point Darin’s family had this big Coca-Cola plastic piggy bank, which they were putting change in. Darin had promised his daughter that someday they’d go to Disney World. One night, after losing everything, Darin and his wife were in their bedroom when the daughter walked in. They had dumped out the piggy bank and were going through the change to try to get enough to buy something to eat. The daughter ran out of the room, crying and saying dad had taken her money for Disney World. Darin was so devastated and couldn’t believe how low he’d gone to the point of stealing money from his kids’ piggy bank. It was at this moment that he decided it was about time he took action and start building a better life for his family. This was when he took on the “I Will Until” attitude on life, which helped him rebuild his life and become the now-renowned successful businessman he is. Lessons learned Obstacles lead to elevation It’s not the easy times that make us grow but the difficult times. There’s no elevation without obstacles. So appreciate the challenges and learn and draw strength from them. Learn the compound effect Practice getting a little bit better today than you were yesterday because the simple things you do daily that seem insignificant compound over several years and completely change you. Do what others are not willing to do Do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Do today what others want to do tomorrow, and success will follow you. You become who you hang out with Your associations, like an elevator, either let you up or bring you down. So always ask yourself what your associations do or are doing for you. Andrew’s takeaways Never compare your insides to other people’s outsides Always remember that people are suffering inside, no matter how successful they seem. They are in pain and facing one issue or another. People, however, tend to see their own pain more clearly but don’t see other people’s pain because you only see their outsides and not their insides. So don’t let what you think you know about people intimidate you or hold you back. Actionable advice Invest in yourself. We don’t make what we want; we make what we are. If we want to make more, we have to become more. So don’t try to figure it out yourself. Find a mentor or a coach to walk the journey with you. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Darin’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to impact over 1 million lives through consulting, coaching, training, mentoring, and courses. Parting words   “Be persistent, consistent, have a good attitude, and remember progress, not perfection. The best time to quit on your goals is never.” Darin Kidd   Connect with Darin Kidd LinkedIn Twitter Facebook YouTube Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Chris J Reed loves to share his uncensored, polarizing, and authentic thoughts on a variety of business topics on LinkedIn and for Forbes, where he is an Official Forbes Business Council Member. He is a quadruple international best-selling author on the subjects of LinkedIn, Personal Branding, and Social Selling, and he is infamously known as “The Only CEO With A Mohawk,” recognized globally by his notorious pink mohawk!   “You gotta have some kind of elevator pitch or icebreaker on LinkedIn, just like in real life.” Chris J Reed   Worst investment ever Replicating success Chris created Black Marketing, which became an instant success. With this successful experience, he believed that he could do it again, so he started another marketing company. However, it wasn’t as successful, but luckily he was able to sell it off after a couple of years. Believing in his hype After selling his second company and making money off it, Chris had it over his head that he could start a third company. He created another company, The Dark Art of Marketing, that was linked to LinkedIn marketing focusing on PR. He employed people and invested in office space, branding, marketing websites, the whole nine yards. For the first couple of years, it worked to a degree, but then the revenue dwindled. Chris decided that the solution to the now not so successful company was to create another company aimed at bringing female keynote speakers to the fore. Too much to handle What Chris didn’t realize was how challenging the market he had entered was. No one wanted to pay him for his services, but he managed to negotiate for commissions. He also, soon enough, realized that he had hired the wrong people who could barely deliver on promises. After six months, Chris figured this business was a sinking ship and closed it down after investing a million dollars. He went back to the basics and put his focus on Black Market that was still successful. Lessons learned Double-check your ideas Every single thing you do bounce it off to about 10 entrepreneurs before you start it. Don’t listen only to your instincts; listen to the right people too. Be a more cautious entrepreneur Practice being more conservative and calculating in terms of what you can win and what you can lose. Always weigh up the pros and cons. be much more conservative and calculating Andrew’s takeaways Powerful personal branding gives you a powerful platform Personal branding makes a lot of difference in your business success. You have more power if you have a strong brand. Go back to the fundamentals When looking to expand or start a business, go back to where you add the most value, and refocus on that and build on that. Actionable advice Do a better analysis of the markets. Ask for advice from people in those markets, but not people who are competitors. Then decide how much money you can lose on the venture, be prepared to lose it all and then ask yourself if it is worth it. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Chris’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to focus on his company Black Marketing. He’s been streamlining the business and is now looking at how he can help entrepreneurs grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, to see it as an opportunity. Parting words   “Go for your personal branding. Go for your LinkedIn marketing. Don’t underestimate branding yourself; do it for free. 95% of people can do it for free. If you don’t have time to do it, turn to us. Find me on LinkedIn with a Mohawk.” Chris J Reed   Connect with Chris J Reed LinkedIn Facebook YouTube Website Blog Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Rand Fishkin is CEO & co-founder of SparkToro, author of Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World, and previously co-founded and ran Moz. Since publishing his book in 2018, he has earned 4.7 stars out of 5 from 170 reviews, a remarkable achievement!   “Find something you’re passionate about, where you can add unique value, and where your audience wants to pay attention. Nail those three, and you’ll do great marketing.” Rand Fishkin   Worst investment ever Time to grow business funds Rand’s worst investment ever happened when he was the CEO of Moz. In 2011, the company turned down an acquisition offer from HubSpot, a very well known marketing platform. At the time, Moz had been growing at 100% year-on-year for about six years in a row and producing about $11 million in revenue. In 2012, Moz sought to increase funding and got $18 million, of which $15 million came from a new investor, Foundry group, and $3 million of it came from a previous investor Ignition Partners. Venturing into more forms of marketing Rand’s company used the Venture Capital (VC) funding ostensibly to grow the business from just providing search engine optimization tools and software to providing different aspects of web marketing, email marketing, content marketing, PR, and social media marketing. Essentially, all of the new forms of marketing that Moz had not served previously. Cutting off what was working Over the next few years, the company cut off all growth of its software platform. As a result, existing products stopped improving and staggered. While their competitors kept making investments, Rand was pouring all of his new money into hiring a huge team, trying to figure out the new management structures, growing his offices, and acquiring other companies. Rand thought that by putting on hold what was previously working and putting all his energy into launching his new idea, the new venture would propel Moz into superstardom with this exciting and incredibly broad software suite. The horrific failure The new venture fell flat on Rand’s face. Moz’s growth rate fell from 100% year-on-year to 50% and then from 50% to 25%. Over the years, Moz continued to plateau in terms of growth and was surpassed by two direct competitors – SEMrush and Ahrefs. Over the last few years, Moz has tried to recover and refocused on SEO after a big round of layoffs in 2016. Stepping aside While the company was still profitable, the failure put a massive strain on the company and Rand. He was not able to handle it well and had an emotional breakdown. Rand ended up stepping down from the company, replacing himself with the chief operating officer who’s still the CEO today at Moz. The myth that leads even the best of us to failure Rand’s biggest driver to his failure was believing in the myth that once you have invested, made a decision, and gone down a path, you have to keep pursuing that path until you see it through to determine whether it was the right decision or the wrong decision. In reality, the right thing to do is to release one small thing that puts you in this direction and see if that works. And then another little thing in the same direction and if it also works launch another. Don’t do anything big until you’ve released a small series of things and validate that your market wants this. Lessons learned Have structure and incentives in place Structure and incentives matter more than almost everything else when it comes to business success. Know what you’re signing up for before accepting venture capital VC financing comes with a lot of glitz and glamor, and you get a lot of media attention. Don’t fall into the trap of chasing the glamor at the expense of serving your customers, your employees, and your happiness. Find the in-between financing model Today, there are financing models in between being wholly bootstrapped trying to build a business with your own or your family’s funds and building a business with institutional investor capital. Don’t be afraid to explore such models. Andrew’s takeaways You can’t do everything Don’t be addicted to growth, and try to do everything. Things seem easier on paper than they are. Companies just can’t do everything. The startup world is a trap Small businesses are trapped. So be very careful when you go in. You can have all the dreams that you want, have a billion-dollar company, but for the majority of people, it’s pain and despair. Leave risk management to the board As the CEO, your job is growing the business while that of the board is reducing risk. When a board gets caught up in growth, they betray their obligation to the bigger world. Let the CEO in the management team propose the growth plan while the board handles the risks. All board members should, therefore, understand the role of risk assessment and risk management. Do not let investors push you Listen to different opinions, but do what’s right for you. Do not be dragged into hitting quarterly profit numbers and all that. Don’t be the CEO who spends time building a competitive advantage and chasing your tail because investors are pushing you. Actionable advice When looking for business financing, be sure to recognize what you’re signing up for and commit wholeheartedly to one path. So if venture capital appeals to you, just understand why to make sure it’s the best choice for your business. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Rand’s number one goal for the next 12 months is profitability. SparkToro just launched, and so Rand’s main focus right now is trying to get it to a profitable, sustainable business. Parting words   “If the world around you is guiding you in a particular direction, if the sources that you read and follow, the people that you listen to and admire, are pushing you to go in one particular direction, it pays to explore the alternatives.” Rand Fishkin   Connect with Rand Fishkin LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Website Blog Email: rand@sparktoro.com Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

John Lee Dumas (JLD) is the host of Entrepreneurs on Fire, an award-winning podcast where he has been interviewing the world’s most inspiring Entrepreneurs. With more than 2,000 episodes, one million-plus listens a month, and seven-figures in annual revenue, JLD has learned a thing or two about podcasting. I learned about podcasting from John and joined his podcaster’s paradise in 2014. It is a community of more than 2,500 people and is the place to go to if you want to become a podcaster. I highly advise those who wish to become podcasters to go to the Apple Podcast called “Free Podcast Course” and listen up.   “I never have since then created something that I didn’t first get proof of concept by actual people investing actual dollars into that offer.” John Lee Dumas   Worst investment ever Clueless college investor When JLD was in college, he found this penny stock after reading some guy’s website. The stock was six cents at the time. JLD invested $1,000 instantly and planned to sell when the stock got to eight cents. He left it at that and went to class. Rich in 45 minutes JLD came back 45 minutes later, and the stock was at 12 cents. In literally 45 minutes, he’d made 1,000 dollars, which for a college student was a big deal. So he thought this is the best way ever to make money. So he cashed out immediately and sold his stock. Then the stock went up to 18 cents as he watched. JLD regretted selling and so out of guilt, he bought the stock at 18 cents and went to bed. He woke up the next morning and logged in around 11 am and the stock was down at 3 cents. JLD experienced first initial luck to double his money and then lost it all, and all this within 24 hours. Fast forward to 2013 In 2013, JLD was one year into Entrepreneurs on Fire when he thought it would be a good idea to come out with a course with an offering. He’d built an audience through his podcast and understood what it means to generate revenue online. So he sat down and came up with this great business idea. JLD’s idea was going to be this podcast platform where customers would simply record their episode, send JLD the mp3, he would edit it, add the intro and the outro, upload it to Libsyn and distribute it out to all the podcast directories. Putting his heart and soul to his offer JLD invested heavily in this idea. He hired about 10 people to work with the clients he had hopes of getting. He invested a ton of money, time, and bandwidth into it. And then he opened the doors. He couldn’t have failed faster Upon launching the offer, JLD got just two clients. One of them asked for a refund within 24 hours. The second one ended up being a nightmare client. He quickly learned that this was an incredibly lousy investment and decided to call it quits. Despite the offer being his worst investment ever because it costs a lot of time and took a lot of money, he was glad to have walked away and not let the sunk cost fallacy take him down. JLD went on to create another offer, after proper planning, and it remains a massive success to date. Lessons learned Listen to your audience Before you create an offer, ask your audience what they want. Find out what’s their most pressing need and the most suitable solution, then offer them that. Listening to your audience will guide you in creating an offer they will want to pay for. Get proof of concept first Before you create something, get proof of concept by getting a few people to invest actual dollars into that offer. Your timing could be everything Just because your offer doesn’t work the first time doesn’t mean that it’s a bad offer. The timing could be the reason. Your offer could be something that works down the road when the time is right. Don’t let the sunk cost fallacy take you down If your offer fails, don’t keep pushing it just because you invested your money, time, and energy in it. You’ll only be digging yourself in deeper. Take a pause and re-evaluate your offer then give it a second go. To succeed as an entrepreneur, learn how to avoid the sunk cost fallacy. Andrew’s takeaways You always have something of value to offer Sometimes you can get confused about what value you bring to the audience. Your voice, your experience, can end up being the thing that people are willing to pay for. Talk to your audience and find out what they find most valuable about you. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months JLD’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to complete his first traditionally published book, called The Common Path to Uncommon Success. So the first hour of every day for JLD, Monday through Monday, Saturdays, and Sundays included is spent writing this book. He plans to publish the book in the spring of 2021. Parting words   “Try not to become a person of success, but rather a person of value. Those words are from Albert Einstein, and they changed my life back in 2012.” John Lee Dumas   Connect with John Lee Dumas LinkedIn Twitter Facebook YouTube Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Dennis Mortensen is an expert in leveraging data to deliver business insights. A serial entrepreneur, Dennis built and successfully exited several companies before founding x.ai in 2014, a company that is solving a painful problem—scheduling meetings—through a sophisticated AI platform that saves people time and effort. Dennis is a recognized leader, author, and university instructor in the field of digital data and analytics. Originally from Denmark, Dennis lives in New York with his family.   “Any startup is just the class of bad decisions. And the danger is that one of them might just be so bad that it kills the company. You just don’t know which one it is; you’ll know when it’s done.” Dennis Mortensen   Worst investment ever Dennis ventured into his first successful venture in 1996 when he started an internet company. He was the sole investor financing the startup on cashflow. He ran the startup for four years, and in 2000 he sold it for $11 million. At 27 years of age, $11 million was undoubtedly quite a kill. Moving onto the next successful venture Excited to have hit huge success with his first venture, Dennis took all the money he got from selling the company and invested it in another startup, a food delivery service this time around. From his projections, this was going to be an excellent investment. So Dennis jumped in the deep end, money in both hands, and started to build up the team. Soon enough, the company was driving up revenue. Doing things a bit different Dennis decided that he would run his business model a bit different from other similar services. He charged slightly higher for the service; however, if the customer had any complaints about their orders, Dennis’s company would shoulder the blame and not the food vendors. Slowly but surely, this business model started eating up his cashflow and affecting revenue. Pride comes before a fall As fate would have it, Dennis got the opportunity to turn things around for his business. Another delivery service that grew to become the most prominent food delivery service company in the world approached Dennis with a merger proposal. Dennis did his research and learned that indeed this would be a great merger. He got into negotiations with the company. The company offered him an 18% stake, but he negotiated to 23%. The company was adamant about offering him no more than 18%, which was still a staggering amount as Dennis would be the single biggest shareholder in that company. In his delirious optimism, Dennis declined the offer and opted to keep running his business on his own. Three months later, this decision came to haunt him when he had to fold his business as he had no cash flow left. The delivery company he walked away from is now worth 10s of billions of dollars. Lessons learned You win some you lose some Entrepreneurship is just a game you play to win, and sometimes you will lose. But there’s a game tomorrow as well. Don’t attach your life’s worth to the success of your company. Don’t dwell on the losers If you invest in a startup company or start a business and it doesn’t work, don’t dwell on it. Dust yourself up, learn from the loss, and move on to the next winner. Andrew’s takeaways Don’t make the wrong mistake You can make many mistakes, but don’t make that one wrong mistake that’s going to kill your business. Don’t be afraid to think differently When you find an entrepreneurial space that’s yet to be explored, no matter how crazy it seems, if it’s viable, go for it. Actionable advice Think of entrepreneurship as a career, not a moment in time where you must try a venture out, and once done, you’ll go back to your day job. This way, you dedicate your life and not just a moment in starting ventures that work and move on from those that fail. You’re not in some kind of hurry to get it done. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Dennis’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to send his lastborn daughter to college, and together with his wife, they can finally enjoy a quiet house. Parting words   “Stay happy!” Dennis Mortensen   Connect with Dennis Mortensen LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram Blog Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Ranveer Brar is a television celebrity, Masterchef India judge, author, restaurateur, food film producer, and benefactor. To put it simply, chef Ranveer is one of the most celebrated chefs in India. His popularity on television is matched by his tremendous fan following on social media as well. Getting the basics right and revering the kitchen as an artist would his/her studio, are mantras he lives by and propagates to others as well. With a bestseller in his kitty, a popular host, and judge on television and an artist both in and out of the kitchen, chef Ranveer calls himself a food-Sufi on a constant culinary quest.   “Failure is a part of your journey. It’s the outcome of the journey that matters. You can’t choose to end the journey when you want to; the journey will end when it wants to. You have to get up and play along.” Ranveer Brar   Worst investment ever Ranveer got success very young. He was an executive chef at 25, an age when a lot of people would be at least four levels below the post of an executive chef. Ranveer had met and been mentored by the right people. Nothing would stop him at this point. Chasing his passion Even though Ranveer was excited to be an executive chef earning a considerable salary, a year or so later, he got bored. Executive chefs in hotels in India don’t get to cook. And at 25, all he wanted was to use his hands to cook. A bunch of friends that Ranveer met on a trip to the US told him about someone who wanted to start a restaurant. They encouraged him to talk to him and partner up, and he figured why not. One day Ranveer was constructing a pizza oven in his hotel and had his head inside the oven when he got a call. The guy said, “Well, here we are, you want to do a restaurant, want to team up?”. Without a second thought, or asking him what the restaurant would be about or what the plans were, Ranveer said yes. So the same day, Ranveer typed his resignation, gave it to his general manager, and a month later, without much forethought, flew to the US to start a restaurant. The ceiling that kept the restaurant doors shut The restaurant was extremely design-driven. So the investment both in terms of time and money on the design was huge. The restaurant had a million-dollar ceiling that caused delays because the designers couldn’t get it right. They kept breaking and rebuilding the ceiling. Being a hotel chef, Ranveer did not bother about such things; he was simply focused on getting stuff for his kitchen. He just wasn’t an entrepreneur in the sense of the word. Shifting gears Gradually, the restaurant was ready to open its doors. The partner decided that they shouldn’t do Indian food but modern Asian cuisine instead. He argued that Indian food was overrated. Ranveer didn’t question the decision. He just went with the flow, something he came to regret later. The wrong business model Ranveer and his partner also decided to make the restaurant a small plate restaurant. Ranveer didn’t know much about business models, so again he just went with the flow. Unfortunately, the model didn’t bring them much revenue given the investment put in and the effort made to run the restaurant. Losing connection with food While Ranveer is a talented chef, he just couldn’t connect with the Asian menu. His cooking techniques were perfect, and he was making great food, but he wasn’t enjoying the job as he had hoped he would. Ranveer couldn’t help but wonder if entering this partnership was the right move. Going on a downward spiral Given his lack of connection with food and the low revenue, things between Ranveer and his partner became bad, leading to deliberate discontent. One day, as Ranveer was having a beer with his friend on his day off, the partner called him to his office. He told him that since he was running an Asian restaurant, he might as well hire an Asian chef. He then handed Ranveer a $5,000 check and thanked him for his services. And just like that, he found himself jobless in a foreign country, all the effort and money invested in the partnership gone. Lessons learned What works for the other person will not necessarily work for you If something is working for somebody else, don’t just do it because it’s a trend. There is no guarantee that it will work for you too. Every problem is unique; every solution is unique. Be prepared To be a good businessman, you have to be prepared before starting a business. Always remember that there is a delicate balance between being prepared and the confidence of winging it. Don’t be over-prepared, but also don’t just depend on winging it. Let creativity fuel your business Let your creativity be an advantage and not a hindrance to running a successful business. Some people forget that they are running a business and become a completely crazy creative artist whose passion completely overshadows and overpowers their business. Don’t be yoked by denial Don’t wish your problems away, deal with them. There’s no right or wrong way to deal with your problems. Just don’t go into denial and close your eyes, and believe that the problems will go away. Don’t look for top-shelf solutions If you want to learn how to be a successful businessman, you have to learn how to prod deeper before making business decisions. Prod yourself deeper, prod people deeper, and ask more questions. Instead of looking for top-shelf solutions, understand what you’re trying to do and achieve so that you can be able to contribute to the solution genuinely. Andrew’s takeaways Passion alone won’t make you a successful entrepreneur Don’t get overpowered by your passion and forget about the business model. You still need to earn revenue to be a successful entrepreneur. Always be you Be more of who you are. You don’t have to be anything but yourself. Make your connection to food, to the earth, to people, or to whatever it is that you connect with best. Your life’s journey will sometimes be a little bit turbulent, sometimes it’s smooth, but don’t fight it. Follow that path, that passion, and be more of who you are. Tough times don’t last, but strong people do You will make it through difficult times. Losing money in business is not illegal or even unusual. When it happens, just let go and restart. Just don’t let go of your friends, family, and relationships. Actionable advice Don’t compare yourself to successful people and bring yourself down. Everybody has a different story and a different journey. It’s the outcome of the journey that matters. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Ranveer’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to have one product out there that solves a bigger need and a bigger problem. A product that he can focus on and be happy about for the rest of his life. Parting words   “Keep eating. To be happy, you need to have a happy relationship with food.” Ranveer Brar   Connect with Ranveer Brar LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube Blog Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast