Expat Business Hero: Inspiring Interviews with Expat Entrepreneurs & Business Experts

A brain-storming session at a BBQ with friends inspired Barbara Lax to quit her successful engineering career and create a winning child care concept for modern families and companies in Switzerland. Undaunted by attempts to sabotage her business and the inevitable family struggles, Barbara eventually won Veuve Clicquot's Swiss Business Woman of the Year 2017 and is today ranked among the Financial Times 1000 fastest growing companies in Europe.  Notes: https://www.alexcongdon.com/29

James Moffat is a Scottish born entrepreneur living in Switzerland. After 20 years in the corporate world and thinking, ‘Is this it?’ he found himself on the outside, looking for a new adventure. On his journey to gain his own clarity and purpose, he built a business helping entrepreneurs better align to their own purpose whilst boosting their visibility. Episode notes : https://www.alexcongdon.com/28  

Yuri van der Sluis is a Dutch sales expert, speaker and author living in the Valencia region of Spain. His passion is helping B2B sales organisations to lead with trust because without trust in the sales process you’ll never create value. Full of inspiration and enthusiasm, Yuri speaks to Alex about his struggles and difficulties in setting up the business and the things he has learnt along the way, and what he hopes to achieve in the future. Episode Notes: www.alexcongdon.com/27  

One of the hardest things a business owner faces is setting the price for their products, especially if you are the product! Janene Liston moved from California to Switzerland and has taken her career expertise and created a business advising small & medium sized businesses on their pricing and how to charge what you are worth. And that's why she calls herself The Pricing Lady! Full Episode notes : www.alexcongdon.com/26

Johan Franzen, a Swede living in Switzerland, is proving there is entrepreneurial life after a long and successful corporate career. He's created what he calls a “virtual swiss army knife for your entrepreneurial journey”,  a platform for entrepreneurs that want to connect and be part of a trusted community of like minded business owners and specialists, exchanging resources, tips and tools. He’s given it a novel name too, www.entnest.com Episode Highlights 01:33 - What prompted the start of your community ?05:01 - The connection of trusted people for entrepreneurs07:08 - The bigger and global vision to help entrepreneurs08:15 - How has your corporate background helped ?15:54 - The transition from employee to entrepreneur26:32 - Key learning points when starting a business32:16 - Future plans and goals Full Show Notes & Transcript https://www.alexcongdon.com/25

Yann Ilunga is a Swiss-Italian entrepreneur based in Helsinki. His passion is podcasting and as well as producing his own successful shows, he coaches those interested in starting and growing a podcast very often to support their business. He also has a successful Facebook community group with over 2,400 member from all over the world and has been featured in Inc.com, Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazine. Full Show Notes: http://www.alexcongdon.com/24 Episode Highlights 02:14 -   How and why did the business get started?06:49 -   Is podcasting an ideal business when split between locations?09:57 - What is a mastermind group and how does it help your business?14:04 - When setting up a business why is a podcast a good idea?17:38 - How can podcasting be integrated into an established business?24:50 - Things to think about when starting a podcast28:03 - Does the business and podcast topic need to be exactly aligned?31:10 - How to get listeners to your podcast show38:54 - Is there a place to migrate from audio to video?42:07 - Structuring a location independent business46:17 - Learnings and success stories from working with clients50:07 - Future plans and goals

Guy White is the founder of Catalyx, a successful and very innovative agency based in Geneva helping brands connect with their ideal consumers. Originally from the UK, Guy quit the safety of corporate life to start his 1st business before he turned 30. In this episode Guy we discuss his view of risk, entrepreneurship and leading a start-up organisation. Full Episode notes https://www.alexcongdon.com/23 Episode Highlights 00:57 -  Who does Catalyx help and how?05:36 -  A different approach from other market research agencies13:27 -  Challenges and difficulties of setting up the business19:22 -  Practical support and inspiration from others23:50 -  Business and clients achievements22:06 -  What are the future goals for the business?23:50 - Who would you like to mentor ?  

Sarah SantaCroce is a Switzerland born and bred LinkedIn expert who spent time living abroad in California where she mastered the art of social media networks. Now living back in Switzerland, Sarah was able to build on her experience to build her business and the LinkedIn expertise that she has today. Sarah works with introverted entrepreneurs, coaches and consultants, to help them establish systems, make worthwhile connections, generate leads and for them to create their own businesses using LinkedIn. For the full transcript and resources, please visit: https://www.alexcongdon.com/22

Carl Wahlers, former rugby player and corporate manager wants men with mental health issues to get things off their chest. He's set up Blokes And Black Dogs, a support group in Switzerland for men who want to enjoy life once again.  http://www.alexcongdon.com/21

Melitta Campbell, has a formula for helping women start a business on their own terms. Originally from Wales, she's now in Montreux, Switzerland and has overcome her own out of balance lifestyle to become a successful business coach for women. The full episode page is available here: https://www.alexcongdon.com/20      

Jonathan Cave is a Geneva based New Zealander who quit the "good life" managing the lives & money of ultra wealthy families and is now on a mission to help individuals and teams connect with their purpose so they can live extraordinary lives. He says that it all starts with getting clarity and that only then can you truly be happy and perform to your best. His approach is based on creating your own personal philosophy of life using his MyPhy system.  Show Notes: To take a free 'Happiness Gap' test, visit http://www.myphy.com Full Details on https://www.alexcongdon.com/19    

  Alessia Minkus, serial entrepreneur, award winning business owner, international speaker and trainer. Originally from Rome Italy (today spends half her time in California) between her and her partners they have started over 60 different companies generating over $2 billion in sales. Her main business today is Industry Rockstar which is currently touring Europe helping business owners create the results & success that they want. She runs that business with her husband Kane Minkus & Kevin Harrington, the original shark on the hit American business show Shark Tank.   During this fun interview, Alessia shares her lessons including: -why hiring a business mentor beats free advice from friends -how a mentor sees the potential in you that you can't -how to sell : moving from fear to impact & empowerment -the power of business & life partnerships -the secret to maximising your energy in your business and life And she also reveals why Italian women are great to date or marry! If you would like to join Alessia and the Industry Rockstar team on one of their free business mentoring events in Europe or beyond, please sign up here: https://www.alexcongdon.com/alessia

Michelle Masters, from California, is a world leader in NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and has the incredible gift of helping people rewire their brains to overcome limiting beliefs around money and other areas of personal change. Her latest book is called Money Magic and you can find more details on her work and the book on the show notes, at https://www.alexcongdon.com/17  

Sundae Schneider-Bean is an intercultural strategist and host of The Expat Happy Hour podcast, which has been rated no.1 on iTunes Places & Travel section. Originally from North Dakota, she lives in South Africa but calls Switzerland home. She works with individuals and organisations in over 60 countries helping them adapt as quickly as possible to ever changing international life. She’s experienced a coup d’etat & terrorist attacks, navigated very doggy internet connections and all whilst keeping her family safe and growing her global coaching business. Useful Resources: www.sundaebean.com – FREEBIE “5 things you’re going to do wrong while living abroad” Expat Happy Hour Podcast

Interview with Sam Dorri, a Brit in Singapore, who creates customised art for parents who want to preserve their favourite parenting memories in Singapore. Sam gave up working with big brands and agencies and sought her independence as an expat, moving from the UK through Bahrain and eventually Singapore. We cover solopreneurship, the need for partnerships, sales and how to balance life with work.   Show Notes: www.Sammyeve.com

Stuart Elliott, a British expat, arrived in southern China via a long detour through Southern Africa and whilst raising a new family, runs his global coaching practice from there. He's passionate about mindset and hypnosis as ways of building your confidence. Show Notes: Free 5 x step confidence boosting course https://doubleccoaching.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartelliott1/  

Ekaterina Filippova (Kat) helps entrepreneurs make their brands and websites more visible online, dare I say radiate? Her journey to Montreux, Switzerland started in a town in the Urals, Russia where the Soviet nuclear program was born. Sit back and listen to Kat's story, a wonderful heart centred person who makes a difference to those she works with. Show Notes: https://ekatcommunication.ch https://www.facebook.com/ekatcommunication/ https://www.instagram.com/ekatcommunication/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekaterinafilippova/ Online visibility hacks community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/katsonlinevisibilityhacks/  

Interview with Alex Greve, a Dutch 'Food Techie' entrepreneur living in Malta & founder of KickDish.com, an e-commerce app unifying meal planning and grocery shopping. Tells the story of his ups & downs of building an eCommerce app, testing before building & how to outsource (& in source) programming work.  Show Notes: www.KickDisk.com www.Upwork.com for hiring freelancers 

Stuart Kibbe moved from the USA to Geneva, Switzerland where he founded THE IT GUYS, a very successful IT services business. On the way, he mentored disadvantaged children in inner city London, a phase which has greatly influenced his ability to show compassion for all those he works with today. As a double entrepreneur couple, Stuart is passionate about marriage and shares his tips on how to make it work, a topic his wife Harriet has turned into her own business (see link below). Stuart's always been obsessed with Peak Human Performance and just can't help himself running the odd triathlon here and there. He shares his thoughts on mentorship and how he struggled to initially to understand the concept of paying business mentors but is now a complete convert and puts this at the heart of his advice for others starting up. Show Notes: www.stuartkibbe.com www.buildmymarriagetoday.com (Harriet Kibbe)  

Diana Dentinger is an Innovative Change Maker & Influential Thought Leader who inspires you to Live "who you really are". Entrepreneur, Corporate Team Builder & Executive Coach. From Chicago, USA, now living in Torino, Italy. Podcaster & author. She starts the episode telling us that you need to choose between the two major values of freedom and stability - you can't chase both! And she also has some interesting observations about why you can never really be fully part of a culture you were not brought up in. We went just over an hour but the episode is full of great nuggets & fun! In her Number One Self Help Transformation book “Modus Vivendi - Your Life Your Way” she takes you on a journey to discover yourself. Recently awarded one of the Top 100 World Women Achievers for 2018 in the HR Congress held annually in Mumbai India. Show Notes: www.dianadentinger.com - featuring a freebie page with personality quizzes, find your life purpose quiz, what is best career fit for you quiz and masterclasses on self confidence and time management. Diana's book: Modus Vivendi - Your Life Your Way  (on Amazon)  

  Tulia Lopes is not acting! She's a Brazilian living in Germany and tells her story of bouncing back from business failure in Spain to becoming an award winning public speaker and coach & mentor, helping women boost their confidence & find their authentic message. Show Notes: www.tulialopes.com www.speakupandleadacademy.com On Amazon Books - Leading in High Heels

Dange Durrett left recently independent Lithuania for Chicago to raise her son and build her growth consulting business. She's on a mission to stop small businesses failing (85% do after 18 months) and explains why creating your own network can boost your sales and more! Show Notes: Labas Connect on Facebook www.LabasConnect.com

Steph Fonteyn, an internationally exhibited artist, Tedx Speaker and Team Building expert explains how she overcame post natal depression (& a career in HR) to realise her dream of being an artist and an entrepreneur. Show notes: Www.stephfonteyn.com Www.collaborativeart.ch Info@stephfonteyn.com Instagram: stephfonteyn Facebook: stephfonteyn

Martin Daubney, a Brit in Switzerland, has transformed his own experience with excessive corporate workplace stress into a coaching & training business helping other companies rid themselves of the same. In this interview we cover his transition from corporate leader to independent coach and trainer and how discovering his strengths was his first key step;  Show Notes: Martin mentions  - http://martynnewman.com/  - Emotional Intelligence and Leadership. To reach Martin -  Facebook Page - Inspire Coaching www.InspireCoaching.com martin@InspireCoaching.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/martindaubney/ and for a downloadable pdf of the very short version of Clear Your Head to Get Ahead...go to FaceBook Executive Anxiety (your email needed)  

I talk with Barbara Roux-Levrat, coach & mentor,  on how women, and men too, can lead a kick ass life by stop being too nice to everyone! Barbara's story, moving from the Dominican Republic (via Scotland) to Switzerland, will resonate with women (and men!) who want to stop pleasing everyone and live their life on their own terms.  Show Notes: You can reach Barbara as follows: https://www.facebook.com/emotionalStrength/ www.emotional-strength.com barbara@emotional-strength.com  

In this interview with Sweden's most innovative digital storyteller, Naseem Quraishi Larsson explains why telling your story on film, flaws and all, can be the key to connecting to your clients and re-creating your personal brand and identity. Especially after you've ditched your corporate career and need a new identity for your business. Naseem had a career in change management at IBM before redefining herself, with the help of film, as an expert in brand story telling and film making. A daughter of Swedish and Indian parents she moved country several times and that resulted in a rather depleted network at home. But putting her self out there on film help her create a network of partners and clients when she launched her business.  Naseem is a published author with a nationally distributed book on Leadership in Sweden and is soon to feature her short film, Changes, at the Cannes Film Festival. She runs free webinar masterclasses and a mentorship program as well as creating bespoke films,  details of which can be found on her various digital channels below: Show Notes: https://www.facebook.com/filmboosting/ http://www.qlfilmdevelopment.com/   Subscribe on iTunes     

In this episode of The Expat Business Hero I talk (& laugh) with Keven Gambold who created a drone consulting business in the USA after leaving the British Royal Air Force as a Bomber Pilot.  Show Notes:  "How to Blow 1 Million Dollars - An Ex-Entrepreneurs Guide on What NOT to do". By Keven Gambold - Available on Amazon Today Keven runs www.UnMannedExperts.com a leading Drone Consulting Business. In the episode he refers to the book: "Crossing the Chasm :  Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers (available on Amazon)   Subscribe on iTunes

Justin Damian Furness wants to help you lead a fulfilled life and that's why he created the Life Print System, a transformation program he delivers around the world. In this interview, Justin shares the ups and downs of moving from South Africa to Switzerland, creating a business as an expat and the importance of 'adapt or die' as a guiding principle.  You can reach him on www.JustinFurness.net where he is offering a free 30 minute consultation called the 'Fulfilment Factor Assessment'. Show notes: www.JustinFurness.net https://www.facebook.com/jdfurness Instagram: @jdfurness Youtube: LifePrint System   Subscribe on iTunes

I feel for you. I know what it's like. The reality can be quite different from the dream. Didn’t they tell you that? In this inaugural episode Alex Congdon explores the fears and concerns that expats have in setting up a business in a foreign land and look forward to the upcoming interviews with expat business owners who have done it and become heroes to their families, the people they serve and to themselves.