The Entrepreneur Way

Joe DeMaria started his career at 9 years old, running an illicit, back alley soda and candy cartel at his elementary school in Willow Glen, California. Within 2 weeks, he had employed 3 other hard-nosed, dirty-faced 9 year old lieutenants -- paying them 25 cents per unit sold. The Sugar Rush Syndicate was brought to an abrupt end when DeMaria's childhood best friend and wartime consigliere was caught selling an A&W Rootbeer on tape by one of the school's CCTV cameras. He was brought to justice just 5 weeks into the school year, netting an impressive $937.75. He refused to return the money. Today, he teaches coaches, consultants, and peak performers how to scale their businesses and their impact on their audiences using online courses and coaching programs -- through his company Teach To Scale Chr(34)Chr(34)realise that you've got a gauge on your dashboard that says fun and start to pay attention to that one to. The more fun we are having in what we are do... And it does not have to be frivolous, it doesn't have to be goof... It's just that when we are having fun, we do a lot better. We are designed as mammals to play. We are at our best when we play. It's where we are strongest where we are able to take chances and experiment and learn things. So, I think those who know how to play and know how to have fun are the ones that are the toughest and the most resilient Chr(34)Chr(34)...[Listen for More] Click Here for Show Notes To Listen or to Get the Show Notes go to https://wp.me/p6Tf4b-7Fl

Syed Gilani is the CEO and President of Safr, a rideshare startup focused on women’s empowerment through safe transportation. A seasoned business leader with 25 years of experience in North American, Asian, Middle Eastern and European markets, Syed leads Safr’s global growth, investment and overall company vision to build a better, safer and more empowering future for women around the world. Syed holds a Masters in International Relations from Harvard University; an MBA in Marketing from University of the Virgin Islands; and a Master of Science degree from Lahore School of Economics. Syed writes for Forbes and other publications and has spoken at conferences around the world. “take a chance… If you have a business idea or any kind of a service idea or a product idea take your firstly of faith. Do not sit on it for the rest of your life and think next year, oh shear, I can do it next year. There is just never going to be that next year. I would strongly urge all of your listeners that if they have a great business idea they should vet it and they should get it out. If they fail to not feel dismayed”…[Listen for More] Click Here for Show Notes To Listen or to Get the Show Notes go to https://wp.me/p6Tf4b-7Fg

Amy Posey is a Silicon Valley-based leadership consultant focused on neuroscience and high performance. As both an adventurer and leadership development facilitator, she is co author of: Wild Success: 7 Key Lessons Business Leaders Can Learn from Extreme Adventures. “I think the biggest thing is manage your cash flow well. I think that’s where people get really stopped up, I’ve seen it. When I talk to people about managing their cash flow they are like ‘wow that’s boring’I am like yeah it’s boring but it’s the truth of trying to run a sustainable business. And that’s always been my focus is running sustainable businesses. And that to me is a measure of success. So I think really focusing… And if you’re not good at it having someone to help you do that well is critical”…[Listen for More] Click Here for Show Notes To Listen or to Get the Show Notes go to https://wp.me/p6Tf4b-7Fb

Greg Kihlström is a best selling author, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur. He is currently CEO and Co-Founder at CareerGig, after his digital experience agency, Carousel30, was acquired in 2017. He has worked with some of the world’s top brands, including Coca-Cola, Dell, FedEx, GEICO, Marriott International, MTV, Starbucks, Toyota and VMware. He currently serves on the University of Richmond’s CX Advisory Board. Greg’s newest book, The Center of Experience (2020) talks about how customer and employee experience can be operationalized into a cohesive brand experience. Greg’s previous book, The Agile Consumer (2019) explores the most recent shifts in the brand-consumer relationship and how companies must become more agile across their entire operation to remain successful. Greg is a regular contributing writer to Forbes, and has been featured in Advertising Age, SmartCEO, Website Magazine, and The Washington Post. “talk to other entrepreneurs. I feel like it’s my job as CEO and as an entrepreneur to meet people and to learn from others. And it’s not necessarily always people like myself. I certainly like to meet other people that are undergoing similar challenges. But it’s important to meet other people from different backgrounds that have different perspectives whether it’s your competitors or your former competitors or your customers. So really just talk to people, get different perspectives and get out of the silo that that you can often find yourself in”…[Listen for More] Click Here for Show Notes To Listen or to Get the Show Notes go to https://wp.me/p6Tf4b-7F5

Mia Hewett helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs who know they were meant for more, stop secretly struggling, live in alignment with their dreams so that they can scale to 6 and 7-figures the fast way. Mia is the founder of Aligned Intelligence™, a methodology that removes all blind spots, fear, anxiety, and self-doubt. This is for those who have tried everything to change, who realize their past is holding them back but they can't seem to figure out how to move past it. Mia has co-owned and operated seven-figure businesses, is an international speaker, and a world-class business coach. “the way that you speed up is actually to slowdown. If you will slow down and take the time to unravel your behaviours, why you do what you do, he’ll the trauma that is in the way, what has you reacting and having those unconscious habits you will speed up and what you will create will astound you. Here’s the truth. We can be anything in this world we desire to be if we will clearly define it and then being constantly willing to occupy our intention and our mind with it it must become habitual. It cannot be a concept to be put on or taken off like a pair of clothes”…[Listen for More] Click Here for Show Notes To Listen or to Get the Show Notes go to https://wp.me/p6Tf4b-7F1

M. Shannon Hernandez is not your average entrepreneur. After a 15 year public teaching career, she jumped feet first into her journey as a business owner, and within just a few years, she had built a multi-six figure business. A sought after expert in the world of content marketing and strategy, Shannon is known globally as the creator of the Content Personality™ Wheel. In 2016 Shannon founded The Confident Expert™ Program, where she champions and rallies coaches and consultants, teaching them how to market their businesses from a place of intuition, integrity, and JOY-and make a shit-ton of money in the process. “go with your gut…. And it seems simple, and it is on one level but on the other level you have got to go with your gut. And when you don’t know what you don’t know yet a mentor, get an adviser. Higher coach or a consultant, get some help from somebody that’s done it before you. And still go with your gut, so use your intuition and the help of someone and you truly become unstoppable and you can accomplish anything that you put your mind to”…[Listen for More] Click Here for Show Notes To Listen or to Get the Show Notes go to https://wp.me/p6Tf4b-7EX

A practising accountant since 1991, Steven Englander has taken his firm Accounts Direct from being a one-man band serving local clients into a national brand serving business owners all over the UK. Steven empowers business owners by taking a 360 degree view, in order to understand what they need to prosper. “I always assume with an open-ended question that there is a focus, there is a target. And I think if you are starting up in business, starting up a new project you need purpose in it. You need to know why you are doing it and then you need to know where you are going with it. Just make sure that you spend a little time even if it’s only a cash flow projection just so you know where you are going and what resources you will need otherwise you are just going to get swept in the wind. So that’s it just make sure that you know what you want to achieve”…[Listen for More] Click Here for Show Notes To Listen or to Get the Show Notes go to https://wp.me/p6Tf4b-7ET

Rishon Blumberg and Michael Solomon are co-authors of GAME CHANGER and co-founders of 10x Management, a talent agency for tech professionals that has rocketed to the forefront of the tech industry, carving out its place as a trusted and exclusive resource for companies seeking the best and most coveted freelance tech experts. Rishon is, first and foremost, an entrepreneur. It’s what he studied — graduating from the Wharton School of Business with a degree in entrepreneurial management in 1994. It’s what he’s lived and it’s what he loves. For more than 25 years, he’s harnessed that spirit to create and lead successful organizations based in tech, entertainment, and the nonprofit sphere— finding new solutions to long-standing and emerging challenges. Rishon has presented at TEDx, been published in the Harvard Business Review, and was featured on the cover of the Wharton Alumni of New York Magazine. Michael Solomon is the co-author of GAME CHANGER and the cofounder of 10x Management, the world’s first tech talent agency. 10x matches top contract technology experts, designers, and brand innovators with companies ranging from startups to the Fortune 500. Customers include American Express, HSBC, Google, Verizon, Yelp, and more. He is a recognized expert on the freelance economy and its growing impact on business and has appeared on numerous media outlets and at conferences, including CNBC, BBC, Bloomberg TV, NYU, and SXSW. Solomon also leads, with his longtime business partner Rishon Blumberg, the first-of-its-kind compensation negotiation service catering to senior tech talent, called 10x Ascend. Ascend’s mission is to help senior tech talent obtain the best compensation packages possible. The two also oversee the respected talent management and entertainment consulting company Brick Wall Management, whose clients include multiplatinum and Grammy award-winning recording artists, songwriters, top record producers, and filmmakers. Michael also co-founded Musicians On Call, a nonprofit that brings live music to over 700,000 people in health care facilities across the U.S. and remains an active member of its Board of Directors. “definitely grit and fortitude. Make sure that you stay the course, don’t give up. Sometimes you learn new things and that changes your trajectory but if you truly believe in something and you believe in yourself and you believe that you can be the solution for changing that something or creating that something then you have got to have grit to stay with it and stick with it. Fake it until you make it. That’s the number one piece of advice I would give”…[Listen for More] Click Here for Show Notes To Listen or to Get the Show Notes go to https://wp.me/p6Tf4b-7EO

Marin Laukka is the business owner of Yes&, LLC - wherein she coaches hard-working creatives to align with life-giving, authentic success. Marin holds a Master’s degree in Positive Developmental Psychology and certifications in life coaching & yoga. Outside of work, you can find Marin at the dog park with her pup Aatto, rock climbing with her partner Tyler, or dancing with a bowl of chocolate peanut butter ice cream. “hire a coach… I so, so believe in the power of coaching. It does not need to be me it can be any coach and in fact make it someone that you really feel aligned with yourself that you really enjoy speaking to that you trust, that you admire, that aligns with the skill sets that you feel like you are needing and desiring at the time… Hire a coach, give yourself the time and the space to hear and value what you know and what’s already inside of you. And you deserve it. You absolutely deserve it”…[Listen for More] Click Here for Show Notes To Listen or to Get the Show Notes go to https://wp.me/p6Tf4b-7EK

Christopher Doyle is an entrepreneur and business leader with extensive hands-on construction industry experience and a proven record of launching successful startups. He is the founder, president and CEO of Billd, a disruptive payment solution for the construction industry that helps contractors and suppliers grow their businesses with less hassle and risk. Recognizing cash flow hurdles contractors face when purchasing materials, Doyle launched Billd to make traditional Wall Street working capital accessible to these small business owners. Doyle cut his teeth in the construction industry, framing houses in high school at age 16 and working his way through college at Texas A&M before beginning his career in residential and commercial construction. During this time, he not only developed into a project manager supervising sales and operations, he also developed a passion for launching new business operations, opening and leading new divisions of construction companies in Dallas, Austin and Houston, Texas. He went on to serve as director of solar operations for the Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS), delving into energy efficiency and renewable energy program management and authoring numerous publications on renewable energy financing, including launching National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) residential and commercial best practices. Recognizing Doyle as a renewable energy thought leader, the founders of lending company Dividend Solar (now Dividend Finance) tapped him to oversee their contractor operations and sales. Doyle’s leadership and tireless work ethic helped the startup thrive and secure series A funding. He was a pivotal leader in Dividend’s first three (3) loan securitization offerings totaling over $500M. While working with Dividend Finance, Doyle recognized how a lack of access to capital impacts contractors’ ability to operate and grow their businesses. He was inspired to launch Billd, along with co-founder Jesse Weissburg, to bring traditional Wall Street access to capital to the construction jobsite, allowing contractors to bypass project hurdles with access to upfront funds while enabling suppliers to sell more materials and get paid up-front. For contractors who usually aren’t paid until more than 90 days from purchasing materials, Billd provides 120-day terms so they can scale their business and stabilize cash flow. Doyle’s technical certifications include Certified Energy Manager, Business Energy Professional, LEED AP O+M Certified, Solar PV Advanced 40 Hour (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners), Certified Building Envelope Analyst, Infrared Level 1 Thermography Certification, Green Advantage Certified for Commercial Buildings, and a Certified Auditor, Level 3 Installer, QAP - Air Barrier Association of America. He was a founding member of the Solar Access to Public Capital working group of the Solar Energy Industries Association, the Energy Services Coalition, the U.S. Green Building Council, and he is a board member of the Building Enclosure Council of the National Institute of Building Sciences. Doyle holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Rice University. He resides in Austin, Texas, with his two children. “it’s a simple exercise, open up Excel and say: how are you going to find this customer? Well first start with what does it cost? What are you going to sell it at? How are you going to find them? And breaking it down into a very simple exercise to see if the economics even work. Because so many times I talk to people that are looking to start a business and we go through that very easy exercise and you are going to know… look you are going to have to do X volume to get there even close. Like this doesn’t make a lot of sense. I think a very simple Excel exercise starting from scratch or you are just starting your business and you are looking at a new product I see so many times people just miss a very simple 15 minute exercise to breakdown the economics to realise that hey that this isn’t going to work”…[Listen for More] Click Here for Show Notes To Listen or to Get the Show Notes go to https://wp.me/p6Tf4b-7EF