My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Our past podcast guests continue to share with us little pieces of advice that we can all try to maintain and do daily to keep ourselves on an even keel. Hopefully, with this wisdom, we’ll ultimately create a brighter future out of this situation. Philipp Kristian Diekhöner from Ep61 The Impact of Foreign Currency on a Managed Fund Philipp Kristian Diekhöner is a keynote TEDx speaker, global innovation strategist, and author of The Trust Economy, published in English (2017), German (2018), and Simplified Chinese (2019). Philipp has spoken at prominent global organizations such as Facebook, P&G, Microsoft, Turner, Munich Re, Zillow, Globe Telecom, CPA Australia, Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economics and Energy, the Economist Intelligence Unit and many others. We need to understand how we can make agility sustainable. We’re currently experiencing an exciting surge in agility in business. Organizations that are not usually very agile are developing quality responses and solutions to the current situation very rapidly and very effectively. We need to move from compliance measures to proactive ways of addressing the current issue and future issues to come. Let’s encourage more of the community spirit because the collective action to fight a common enemy is a powerful way. For that to happen, everyone must care about the situation, and we must feel in control of actually doing our bit. Think about sustainability in urgency. Use the current urgency for change and use it as an opportunity to create sustainable transformation, future of work, and digital transformation in your organizations, businesses, and governments. Understand that by using new tools and ways of working, we’re going to form habits that will sustain us even after the current times have improved and move to greener pastures. There’s a massive opportunity in adversity, and we can make the most of the current situation by coming out stronger and more capable as humanity and as the business world overall. Dante Vitoria from Ep178 When an FBI Agent Tells You to Go to Breakfast, Do It For over 30 years, Dante Vitoria has been running his firm the Vitoria Group, which has broad experience working with companies of various sizes to fulfill its client’s financial needs. The group provides a vast array of financial services specifically tailored to enable clients to meet their goals, the assistance direction, and access to professional banking and other facilities. We all are working from home because of the global pandemic, be diligent about that. Form continuous habits to keep you productive. Remember to follow advice from the government and health officials. If you do get to go out, wear a mask and keep a distance. We are all at home and stressed about this crisis, so be kind, patient, and gentle with everyone; we all cope with stress differently. So try to understand everyone. Vikas Gupta from Ep156 Always Remember that the Unexpected Can Happen Even with Value Investing Vikas Gupta founded OmniScience Capital to provide a scientific approach to global and India-listed equity investments. Together with his team, he formulated the Proprietary Scientific Investing Framework, which stands on the strong foundations of nearly 100 years of investment research and practice. During this COVID-19 pandemic, we ought to think about our personal life, investment life, and business life. When it comes to our personal life, this is the time to ask ourselves if we are on the path that we want. The lockdown is the best time to build a new habit that you could use for the rest of your life. Review your investment critically so that you can be able to see whether there are any flaws in it. Regarding your business, go back to your vision. Have you reached your set target? How is your progress qualitatively and quantitatively? What can be changed? Connect with Philipp Kristian Diekhöner: philippkristian.com LinkedIn Connect with Dante Vitoria LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Blog Website Connect with Vikas Gupta LinkedIn Twitter Facebook 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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group 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  

Here a few tips from some of our past podcast guests that will help you get through this COVID-19 crisis. These uplifting words of wisdom will help give you a positive mindset and come out of this pandemic stronger. Sal Daher from Ep152 To Win Big as an Angel Investor, You Have to Look at All Angles Sal Daher is an angel investor who invests in technologies that set Boston apart. He is a member of Walnut Ventures and MIT Angels. Sal is a syndicate lead and podcast host at Angel Invest Boston Podcast. Be very careful with your cash, renegotiate your rents, and consider the cost of your headcount. This thing is going to be here for a while; we’re not going to have vibrant economic activity anytime soon. So you have to think long term in terms of preserving your resources. Use the limited resources that you have, in a way that’s economical for you. This will help others and also help your long term survival. Think creatively; you might be able to build value in your enterprise. But remember to be very careful with your scarce resources. Joe Saul-Sehy from Ep155 Financial Risk Management Lies in Diversification across Industries Joe Saul-Sehy is the co-host of the award-winning Stacking Benjamins podcast, which focuses on earning, saving, and spending with a plan. He was the “Money Man” at Detroit television WXYZ-TV, appearing twice weekly. During this COVID-19 crisis, realize that there are things you can control and influence, and things you can neither control nor influence. Most people dwell on the things that they can neither control nor influence. Focus on your community and on the things that you can control, like, getting better at the things that you do. Even if your job is gone, your skills are not gone, you’re still the same person that you were before. Spend time not only growing yourself but also growing your community or keeping the people around you safe. Such are some of the things that you can control and influence. Jack Thomas from Ep176 Successful Entrepreneurs Focus on Hiring Right Jack Thomas is the founder and CEO of BASE, which was voted as Asia’s Gym of the Year 2018 at the Fitness Best Awards. With eight years of experience in Asia’s fitness industry. Jack also hosts the Fitness Business Asia Podcast, a weekly show with a mission to raise the standards of Asia’s fitness industry. You now have more time to do the things that you want to do, whether it’s writing a book, or working on something in your business that you’ve had to put on hold recently. Stay connected with your team. This is a great chance to show your team that you are there for them, and you will see how your business will bounce back with an even stronger team before the pandemic. Adversity breeds resilience. It’s during these tough times that we have to rise to the challenge to develop our offerings and grow. As a business owner, make sure every day you are working towards capitalizing on the opportunities available and continue to serve your clients. Connect with Sal Daher LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Website Connect with Joe Saul-Sehy LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram Website Connect with Jack Thomas LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram Podcast 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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group 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  

Scott Beebe is the founder and head coach of MyBusinessOnPurpose.com and author of Let Your Business Burn: Stop Putting Out Fires, Discover Purpose, And Build A Business That Matters. Scott hosts the Business On Purpose podcast sharing real stories of how he and the team are working with business owners and their key leaders. They’re building systems, process, and purpose using the Business On Purpose Roadmap to liberate businesses from the chaos of working in their business and help them get their lives back.    “Where there is no vision, people become detached, people then scatter, and eventually people die.” Scott Beebe   Worst investment ever Success as he knew it comes tumbling down in an instant One snowy Friday morning in February 2015, Scott walked into work and walked back home unemployed. He went home, ready to count his losses and figure out how to bounce back. Married with three kids, Scott needed to find his footing again and fast. Taking his side hustle more seriously At this point, Scott had already started Business on Purpose podcast. He figured he could take it a notch higher now that he had more time. Scott called up two of his friends and asked them if he would coach them on how to create visions, missions, and values for their companies. The two friends accepted, and that’s how My Business on Purpose was born. Instant business results In just a few months, the business grew locally through word of mouth. Scott realized that the business had potential and so he decided to invest in marketing it. He hired someone to run Facebook ads for him. Flushing money down the toilet Excited to do more with his business, Scott forgot the tenets of what he was teaching other business owners, having a vision for your business. Scott left the Facebook manager to run things without a clear direction, and as expected, the marketing failed. The business never got any leads from this marketing effort. Yep, $30,000 later, Scott never got a single lead from the Facebook ads. It was devastating, but he picked himself up and decided to follow his advice. He went back to the drawing board and drew up a master plan for his business, which is what he’s continued to use up to now with a lot of success. Lessons learned Vision is the most important thing in business Vision is the most important thing in business. It’s not your financial health. It’s not making sure that you’ve got the right employees, it’s a vision. Without a vision, people scatter, and businesses die. Have a business marketing master plan Before you start marketing a business, have a master plan. Create everything from front to back. This is what people call a funnel, or a sequence or a campaign. Have a simple visual map so that you can see everything, then start plugging the parts and pieces in so that you can unleash it all together and make sure that you have everything. Tune in and listen to your teammates Your teammates have valuable ideas too. Learn how to drill down and listen to your teammates; they may just save you from making your worst investment ever. Andrew’s takeaways Have a sounding board Make sure that you have some people around you that you can bounce ideas off each other. Put that can help you put your resources together in a way that produces maximum value for your business. Make your message clear Make your message very clear for all your advertising and marketing. Let your target audience know how they will benefit. What’s the next step in the process for them if they’re interested in going to that next step? Make this information clear. Niche down It’s essential to identify your target market, but also, try to move down into a persona. This will help you come up with a clear marketing message. Actionable advice Whether you’re doing things for Facebook ads, or family situations or business in general, write it down and map it out. Because when you write it down, other people can run with it. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Scott’s number one goal in the next 12 months is to liberate 100 business owners from the chaos around the world. Parting words   “Work on the dock while the tide is out because when the tide’s out, you can see so much more clearly. We’re in a unique time. The tide is out, so take advantage of this time.” Scott Beebe   Connect with Scott Beebe 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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group 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  

Daniel Gomez is an Award-Winning Business Strategist, Corporate Trainer, and Confidence Architect and is the President/Founder of Daniel Gomez Enterprises. Daniel speaks and coaches at events all over the world! His passion is to elevate businesses and entrepreneurs to achieve their true potential through their training and coaching programs. Daniel has empowered his clients to build epic success in their personal and professional lives. He is the international best-selling author of “You Were Born to Fly,” a book written to inspire and give people the high-performance habits and confidence needed to be the leaders of their destiny.    “The quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions you ask yourself.” Daniel Gomez   Worst investment ever When anger impedes your success in life Daniel had been living with a lot of anger. This anger saw him sabotage himself and his business. He was full of hate and would barely bring himself to trust anyone, including his clients. This affected his personal and business growth. Daniel was hot-tempered and would quickly go from zero to 100. This strained his relationships and caused him so much anxiety. His biggest problem was that he couldn’t understand where all this anger was stemming from. Getting to the root of the problem One day Daniel had had it. The anger was consuming him, and he wanted things to change. Daniel turned to God and prayed without ceasing. He looked into his heart, thinking hard on the cause of this anger that had plagued him all his life. Daniel finally realized that he still harbored a lot of anger towards his dad. Life growing up wasn’t the best. Daniel’s parents moved a lot, and in the process, they had numerous disagreements and would separate a couple of times. One day, Daniel watched as his dad left and asked if he could go with him. His dad promised that he’d be back the next day, but he never did. From this day, Daniel never trusted his dad again, and he carried this anger to his adulthood. Learning forgiveness Once Daniel found the root cause of his anger, he realized that he had to forgive his dad to have any success in business and life in general. Lessons learned Forgiveness frees you When you don’t forgive somebody, the only person you’re hurting is yourself. The anger eats you up, and you end up adding more damage to your life and to whatever you’re doing. Be ready to go through the motions to find forgiveness Unfortunately, you usually have to go through trauma and pain before you see that the emotion is there. So feel the anger, release it, find the root cause, and then let go. Who do I need to forgive? Forgiveness is the key to success in life, and in life, there will always be someone that you need to forgive. So always ask yourself, “Who do I need to forgive?”. This will help you release any feelings of anger as you go on with your life. Andrew’s takeaways Look into the cause of your anger People rarely look at the cause of their anger. Instead, they focus on the effects of anger. To heal, you need to look at the cause first. Anger is not a feeling Anytime you have anger, look beneath it. Anger is a defense that is defending you against a painful feeling. It could be a feeling of abandonment, a feeling of lack of trust, a feeling of fear, a feeling of uncertainty. For example, right now with COVID-19, most people are angry due to the anxiety and uncertainty the virus is causing. Resentment rots the container it’s in Resentment is replaying the negative emotions that you’re feeling over and over. In doing so, you continue causing yourself harm sometimes even healthwise. To deal with your negative emotions write them down Sit down and write down all the things that you feel bad about. Everything that you feel ashamed about. This will be your private list and it will help you to start to overcome those feelings. Actionable advice Talk to somebody about your anger or resentment. You release the emotion just talking to somebody, and it won’t take deep root in you. So call somebody, talk about it, and express your feelings. In the process, you’ll release that negative energy. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Daniel’s number one goal in the next 12 months is to speak to an audience of 10,000 people and transform lives and let them know how awesome it is. Parting words   “Stop putting so much pressure on yourself in wanting to run and take big leaps. It’s not how fast you get there. The smallest step every day towards a future you want is going to get you there.” Daniel Gomez   Connect with Daniel Gomez LinkedIn Facebook 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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group 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  

Three more of our past podcast guests graciously shared some words of advice to help us cope and make the most out of the COVID-19 epidemic. Giacomo Arcaro from Ep113 Don’t Chase the Money Giacomo Arcaro is one of the most important European growth hackers, with more than 140,000 “crypto-followers” and has been featured in the Financial Times,  Forbes, Wired, and the Los Angeles Times. He’s had 2-million-euro exits with two start-ups, CercaClienti.it and SocialAutomation.online, and is the founder of Black Marketing Guru. We need to understand that during the COVID-19 crisis, we are going to face a low touch economy where you have to consider a lot of factors. If you have a business based in a small area with a lot of people, you need to reconsider reinventing your business so that it remains standing if this crisis goes for a year or two. One way of reinventing your business, for example, is running it on social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook Live. COVID-19 has not changed our lives; instead, it has anticipated the digital revolution. Johnny FD from Ep134 Stay on Track Johnny FD (Fighter-Divemaster) quit his job at corporate giant Honeywell in 2007 to move to Thailand, travel the world, and work as a professional scuba diver. He has since written two books: 12 Weeks in Thailand: The Good Life on the Cheap and Life Changes Quick (both on Amazon), started multiple six-figure online businesses, and since has been interviewed and featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, and the BBC. If you don't get out of this quarantine with new skills, new knowledge, a side business or side hustle started, then you never lacked the time you lacked discipline. But if you were working hard and didn’t have enough time to rest and you really need to, take a break. Lay around, do nothing, and relax. But if you are only laying on your bed scrolling through your smartphone and just eating and complaining, you need to get out of bed and make some changes and money. You can start by treating your stay at home as the standard working days; the only difference is that you are not getting outside. Now is the time to do things that you usually don’t have time to do, for example, learning a foreign language, reading, learning a new skill, etc. There's going to be a lot of money to be made and a lot of money to be lost. Make your decisions wisely so that you’re on the money-making side. Nicolas Rabener from Ep55 Diversification: An Easy Way to Reduce Your Investing Risk Nicolas Rabener is the founder of FactorResearch, which provides quantitative solutions for factor investing. Previously he created Jackdaw Capital, an award-winning quantitative investment manager focused on equity market neutral strategies. Unlike the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, low volatility smart beta ETFs in the US have declined as much as the stock market and therefore failed to provide the desired downside protection. Tail risk strategies are currently attractive because some of them generated outsized returns in March when the stock markets crash. If you’re considering buying portfolio protection, it’s going to be very expensive because, just like insurance, portfolio protection is best purchased when it is not required. Connect with Giacomo Arcaro LinkedIn (English) LinkedIn (Italian) Twitter Instagram Website Facebook Connect with Johnny FD Website 1 Website 2 LinkedIn Invest Like a Boss summit 2019 The Nomad Summit 2019 The Nomad Summit 2020 Email Connect with Nicolas Rabener: factorresearch.com LinkedIn Twitter 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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group 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  

In times of fear, uncertainty, and anxiety, a word of encouragement goes a long way to help cope with the situation. A few of our past podcast guests graciously sent us a few words of wisdom to help all of us stay hopeful for a brighter future after we beat the COVID-19 pandemic. Dan Passarelli from Ep 42 Struck by an Anomaly in Options It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay in your trading account, your IRA, in your career, in your personal life, and most likely with your health. You lived through the financial crisis, through the feeling of despair back in 2008. That was temporary, and then it had been good for a long time since then. You’ll still get through the current pandemic. The markets may be low now, but they won’t stay there forever. If you buy stocks now, at some point, those are going to be a loser, but five years from now they will be winners.   David Stein from Ep127 Trading Currencies and Commodities Is Harder Than You Think We are in times of radical uncertainty, and there is no way to accurately forecast what will happen or determine the optimal asset mix to position your portfolio for what lies ahead. The best thing to do right now for your portfolio is to choose an asset allocation that you’re comfortable with considering that the stock market falls significantly, or it rebounds significantly in due time because a vaccine is discovered. Remember that comfort means we will not be personally harmed and overly regretful if either of those financial scenarios takes place. Right now there is no right answer based on the numbers. It’s based on your level of comfort and your level of regret.   Dustin Heiner from Ep144 His Life Went From Loss to Success When He Mastered Passive Income Tough times will always come, markets will go up, markets will go down. We need to focus on what is important in our lives. If you were to lose everything right now, what would you not do without? Focus on that. Serve as many people as possible and take good care of them. If you help more people, you’ll get something in return, not just monetary, but you also feel so much better. When you’re preparing for your future, start by saving for an emergency. Buy income-producing assets such as rental property or anything that makes you money. Connect with Dan Passarelli: markettaker.com LinkedIn Twitter Connect with David Stein  LinkedIn Twitter Website Podcast Book Connect with Dustin Heiner  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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group 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  

This is an all hands on deck moment. We all need each other in one way or another. Our past podcast guests sent us some inspirational thoughts to give you hope and keep you going through this challenging period. Beth Azor from Ep74 Keep Your Arrogance and Overconfidence in Check If you’re trying to work from home successfully, focus on time management. Identify the three critical things that you have to get done tomorrow. Take 50% of your day and focus on today, and 50% of your day and think about a year from now. Delegate and also ask for help. Use organizations such as Upwork and Fiverr to get some inexpensive help. It’s time to redo our 2020 goals. Allow time for distractions and interruptions in your day; they’re going to happen. Learn to say no. No is a complete sentence. It’s essential to have a morning routine that you do every morning. Time blocking is a good exercise. Also, batch calls and try to do all your calls in a two-hour setting. Get outside to get some fresh air, take a walk, and exercise. Create one place in your house for your workspace and clear out any clutter in your workplace. It’s a crazy time right now, so give yourself a break, but at the same time, don’t look back 30 or 60 days from now, and the only thing that you could be proud to say that you did was watch four seasons of a Netflix series. There are lots of ways you can still move your career forward. Chance Glenn from Ep135 Have the Courage to Stick with It The COVID-19 crisis is exposing our strengths. People are coming together, working together, being creative, and innovative to help their fellow neighbors out there. There’s something that you can do, even if it is just an encouraging word to somebody. Christopher Salem from Ep99 Meditate and Journal to Overcome Pain of Losing Don’t get sucked into problems. Not only the problem of the Coronavirus but also in other issues that were affecting you before this crisis. This is the time to reflect on where you are and where you want to go. We have the opportunity now to get in tune with who we are, what our purpose is, our core values and principles. It is the time to be a better example for other people that are important to us, our families, our colleagues, our business partners, or people in general. Use this time wisely to build your foundation so that when we get out of this pandemic, you’re going to be in a place where you can serve others through your example. This is a golden opportunity to be grateful and to fulfill your purpose to help others at a higher level. Give without expectation; receive without resistance. Connect with Beth Azor Beth Azor LinkedIn Twitter Connect with Chance Glenn LinkedIn Twitter Website Electronic Alchemy Email Connect with Christopher Salem LinkedIn  Twitter Website Email 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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group 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  

Today we bring you more messages of hope from our past podcast guests. We are all feeling the pressure and anxiety from the COVID-19 pandemic. But together, we can beat this crisis and thrive in it. Mohd Sedek Jantan from Ep44 Panic Selling When Stocks Fall is Usually a Terrible Idea If you have invested for more than three years, but are only now experiencing short-term losses, do not obsess about the reduction in value. Losses of 20% to 30% are normal. Understand that equity volatility is the price you pay for capital appreciation over the long term. Now is the time to differentiate between income and wealth. During this COVID-19 pandemic, wealth that investors have accumulated over a lifetime has eroded in value as the market has crashed. But were you making good returns before? If yes, take this opportunity to top up your investment. Set up an automatic investment schedule. This removes the emotion from the process. If the market sinks further, do not fret, most of us are investing for the long term anyway. Azran Osman-Rani from Ep76 From Zero to a Billion Dollar IPO One thing that’s holding us back from dealing with this crisis even with excellent advice is acceptance. We subconsciously hope that after COVID-19, things will return to how they used to be, and so we are not living in the reality of the situation. The tension between the logical part of knowing what we have to do to change and adapt, and the emotional part yearning for the stability of the past is what is causing pressure, anxiety, and even depression. When we accept, we can move on and do what we need to do to move ahead and let go of that yearning for the good old days, and we will be able to cope better with the current situation. Lasse-Peter Pestel from Ep7 Eurozone Bailout Fund: Considering Risk over Return A crisis can be an opportunity for your company to thrive just look at delivery companies such as DHL or UPS. They are reporting figures which are the same as the pre-Christmas times, and these are the busiest times of the year. Don’t break the law even during holidays. Staying at home, it will calm you down and give you peace of mind. The current situation is a bit tense. Nonetheless, let’s do what we can to cope with the situation and hope that it will be over soon. Connect with Mohd Sedek Jantan: LinkedIn Connect with Azran Osman-Rani LinkedIn Twitter Azran Osman-Rani Instagram Connect with Lasse-Peter Pestel: Linkedin Xing Book 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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group 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

We are living through the COVID-19 Coronavirus times. Times of fear, despair, and anxiety. We all need words of hope and encouragement to keep us going. Andrew reached out to our past podcast guests who took a few minutes to share nuggets of wisdom on how to survive and thrive through this epidemic. David Barnett from Ep136: Always Have a Clear Path to Plan B You are not your business. You, as a person, are a wholly distinct and separate thing from your business. There are going to be many businesses that will no longer be viable and will end up closing. That’s not a reflection upon the business owners; it’s just a function of the time that we’re in. There is going to be a long and protracted recession; people need to think about themselves as individuals ahead of their businesses. If your business survives this, that’s great. But if you don’t see a way out, then you need to look for the path to extricate yourself from the situation, while retaining as many resources as you can so you create opportunities for yourself once this thing winds up and is over. When a business starts to head downhill for whatever reason, cut your losses, and don’t put your resources into the business to try to help it survive. Your survival has to be paramount in a situation like this. Andrew Sherman from Ep133: Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Business Now’s the time to retool, repurpose, reevaluate your business and your value proposition. It’s also a time to look at the future of work and the future of the workplace. Will working from home be the new normal? How will that affect staffing, teamwork, engagement issues, and even innovation and creativity? It’s also an excellent time to be sure that you stay close to your customers. The small businesses and entrepreneurs that really stay close to their customers are being rewarded now with alternative business models. Erik Bergman from Ep112: Keep Empathy in the Start-Up War Room Lower the amount of media exposure, so you don’t get stressed out by watching the news and watching the numbers all the time. Focus on other, less stressful things. Use this as an opportunity to create new habits. You don’t get new results by setting new goals; you get new results by creating new habits. Habits are everything. Many of us are working from home and meeting fewer people, meaning that we have more time on our hands to create new habits. Use this time to learn about different ways to make money online. Google and search on YouTube for various business ideas and guides. Explore these things and see if you can find something that sparks your curiosity and can be turned into a money-making opportunity. Connect with David Barnett LinkedIn Email Website Connect with Andrew Sherman LinkedIn Twitter Complete bio Amazon author’s page Connect with Erik Bergman LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Website Podcast YouTube 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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group 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  

A management consultant and venture capital professional, Henry Briffel advocates for the highest ethical standards, value of a secure and diversified supply chain, and the power of people and technology to bring innovation to the marketplace. Henry helps clients raise capital, operationalize their ideas into businesses, and monetize their products and services for the benefit of all stakeholders.   “Most people are good, but they are frequently influenced by money.” Henry Briffel   Worst investment ever Even veterans make poor investments Henry’s worst investment came just recently after working for years and moving on to entrepreneurship. Henry, over time, had made valuable business contacts and resources. He met a businessman who made him an offer to join his business as a partner. He offered Henry a 50% business deal. With Henry’s connections, together, they could build a successful business. Henry saw this as an excellent business opportunity. Working with blind trust Henry and his partner agreed on a temporary partnership. Henry gave everything he had into the partnership from the start. He brought on valuable venture deals and even put his resources into the business for several months. Soon enough, they had deals on the table from major tech companies. The cracks start to show As they got close to closing one of the significant deals, Henry started noticing behavior change in his partner. He brushed it off as two strangers getting to know each other. But, as more deals came in, his partner kept pulling away. Henry questioned him about it, but he convinced him that he was genuinely vested in the business. True colors are finally revealed Soon enough, Henry found out that his partner had been using all the deals Henry had worked hard to benefit himself. His partner had been going behind his back, lying to all the clients trying to snatch them from Henry. Eventually, on Christmas Eve, Henry’s partner informed him that he was never part of the deals that he had brought. He had managed to sideline Henry in all the deals he worked so hard to bring. Unfortunately, there was nothing Henry could do because they had not signed any contracts or NDA. Lessons learned Question people who refuse to sign an NDA are questionable Always question whether someone wants to sign an NDA or not. Make sure that you insist upon a mutual NDA; don’t make it one-sided. Temporary contracts only benefit one party over another If someone doesn’t want to sign a permanent deal, it’s because they don’t believe in you. Deal with that early into the partnership because it could get in the way of valuation. Everyone should be on the same page Everyone along the value chain should be on the same page and working towards the same goal. They should all be aligned for the business to work. Andrew’s takeaways There’s no shortcut to trust Occasionally, you could get lucky and meet someone that you don’t know well, but that person is trustworthy. But the reality is that you get to know who you can trust over time through difficult times. A non-disclosure agreement takes away excuses Once an NDA is signed, then it makes it a little bit more of a level playing field. It makes it difficult for any of the parties to hide something. Actionable advice Never be a sole proprietor or the only person with information about your deal. Always have people around you that you can trust. That allows you to have an outside view of what’s happening. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Henry’s number one goal is to take the deals that he and his venture capital partner have done and make them successful. He wants to help other people be successful because that exponential growth of both financial security and productivity breeds other exponentially growing scenarios. Such growth will be essential to get through the current difficult financial times. Parting words   “Just keep going.” Henry Briffel   Connect with Henry Briffel LinkedIn Facebook Twitter 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 Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group 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