Smart Man, Smarter Woman Podcast

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Time is going faster for Juliet. Is it because she's been stuck in the house with Steve for a year during lockdown? “No matter how much we know, we still fail sometimes.” “There is no such thing as a failure. There are victories and there are learnings. Sometimes what become victories later resulted from our greatest learnings.” “The only people who never fail are those that never do anything at all.” “Always show that thing that differentiates you from other companies, and in most cases other than your product, it's usually you.” “You have something to tell people. You're telling your story, your brand's story, or your company's story, and people get attached to that and they like to follow your journey.” “Pinterest is not social media. It is a visual search engine. It's the third largest search engine after Google and YouTube.” “The number one mistake is not collecting people's emails.” “Email marketing is the number one thing that companies can do that brings a lot of conversion.“ “Whether you're on social media, writing blog posts, email marketing, or anything that you're doing, you always have to tell a story.” “Don't be afraid. If you want to do this so badly, go for it. You will fail. Learn from those mistakes. Stand up again. Go, pivot, create something.” “Don't worry about finding customers for your products. Find products for your customers.” - Seth Godin   Our guest is Founder and CEO of Rectified, Inc., Sandy Dedeian. Sandy has been an entrepreneur and marketer since 2004, and has followed an atypical career path. She has a unique mix of academic knowledge, traditional work experience, and crazy entrepreneurship. In 2007, she founded Rectified Inc. to help small and medium companies improve and perfect their marketing, and has since worked with SMEs in the Middle East, the UK, the US, and Canada. Sandy holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from the American University of Beirut, a Masters in Management from the Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth, and an MBA from HEC Montréal. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Steve didn't ask how Juliet was doing. She's going to tell us anyway because she prepared an answer. “I don't think any business owner can really hit their goals unless they understand the financial position of the company.” “I don't think you need to do your numbers yourself. I think it's really important to get a qualified bookkeeper that you're able to communicate with as well.” “The question of, ‘what do you see when you look at these numbers?' Could start a wonderful conversation that could also lead to education.” “Let's not just imagine it in our heads, but actually lay out a plan.” “Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, and cash is king.” “Entrepreneurs may not talk about it the way we do, they might not manage it efficiently or effectively, but the mere fact that they are still in business and have been able to manage cash flow over whatever length of time their business has been around, is a testament to their ability and their success.” “Give the financial side of the business as much attention as the other sides.” “Banks generally aren't in the business of funding startups.” “If you have a banker and you're unhappy, or you're looking for a new one, it's really important to talk to people you know.” “The banker is not your best friend.” “Nobody expects an entrepreneur to be perfect, but they do expect them to be transparent, knowledgeable, and to be enhancing their skills.” Tracey has a gift for listeners (linked below). Steve's questions are famous. “When you understand your money, it changes the trajectory of your life.” “It's really important to be kind to yourself.” “I believe that through knowledge and discipline, financial peace is possible for all of us.” - Dave Ramsey   Our guest is Founder of Bissett Financial Fitness, Inc., Tracey Bissett. Tracey has over 20 years of experience in financial services. Prior to Bissett Financial Fitness Inc, Tracey worked as an executive at TD Bank. Her experience and education make her uniquely qualified to coach on all aspects of money. In 2020, Bissett Financial Fitness, Inc. launched the Young Money Scholarship Fund to assist post-secondary students with their finances. Tracey holds an MBA from Dalhousie University, a Bachelor's from Queen's University, a Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Certificate from Centennial College, and a Higher Education Teaching Certificate from Harvard University. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “Time is the ultimate status symbol.” “Clients measure value differently. What we too often call customer experience, when we're working on customer experience, we're actually working on customer service.” “Service is designed to save clients time and effort. Experience is about creating time well spent.” “What do the best brands in the world have in common? People don't buy from them, they buy into them.” “If anyone expects to recover, you must be staging an experience. Your in-store experience has to be worth me paying a ticket to get in.” “Even experiences are commoditised, so you have to keep refreshing them.” “Experience is time well designed, and experience is memory. If there's no memory, you didn't have an experience.” “Whatever business you think you're in - you're not in that business.” “There are two types of loyalty. There's the loyalty of fear and obligation, and there's the other kind of loyalty which is connection and identity.” There's no Q&A round today. “Open, honest communication is the best foundation for any relationship. But remember that at the end of the day, it's not what you say or what you do, but how you make people feel, that matters the most.” - Tony Shay  Our guest is Founder of DMW Strategic Consulting, Dennis Moseley-Williams. Dennis has been a globally sought-after motivational speaker on customer experience for over 20 years. He is the author of Serious Shift: How Experience Staging Can Save Your Practice, and he has a blog that is read by entrepreneurs and business owners globally. Dennis is one of only two certified Experience Economy Experts in the financial services industry in the world. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Juliet will never get tired of being called the Smarter Woman. “With some entrepreneurs there's this sort of internal process that goes on of wanting to be a ‘self-made person'. Often times this can lead to people feeling like they have to do everything themselves, but that is such a fallacy. No man is an island.” “When you find the right people at the right place and the right time, magic can happen.” “They think in order for you to be an entrepreneur, you need to have some fancy tech startup. Being an entrepreneur can just be you have an Etsy store and selling stuff.” “Be really conservative with your cash flow at the start.” “Do not make the assumption that your project will go viral.” “Pitching and finding potential investors is not an easy thing to do. It does, to an extent, depend on the networks of people that you have.” “Everybody sees the flashy headline. Nobody sees the two years of groundwork that it took to get to that point.” “Most start-ups fail.” “It's okay to let an idea go. You can try new things.” “You can do anything - just not everything. Accept the help that people are willing to give if you're just starting your entrepreneurial journey.” “Build something 100 people love, not something 1 Million people kind-of like.” - Brian Chesky   Our guest is Marketing Director of Atomic47 Labs, Nicholas Prouten. Nick's decade-long career has spanned across roles in Gaming, Entertainment, Cybersecurity, Real Estate, Blockchain, and Cryptocurrencies. He is an Ambassador for LODE, a precious-metal-backed cryptocurrency, and his goal is to bring back an honest monetary system. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “Keep saying ‘yes' whether you know how to do it or you dont know how to do it. At some point you will make it if you just keep saying ‘yes' and faking it.” “To be an entrepreneur, you've got to have that persistence, and you've got to have those multi-skills and be able to get through a lot of different things.” “Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. It does take a special kind of breed.” “A lot of people who hire designers, or any creatives in general - anything that you're hiring somebody to create for you, is owned by them by what's called creative ownership. It's that creator's intellectual property until the creator gives that company the creative ownership. An action item to help companies get around this is creating something as simple as a creative transfer agreement.” “There is a belief that once you pay for something like a logo that it is yours, but it is not by law.” “Being an entrepreneur, as lonely as it can be, make sure that you're finding ways to connect and be inspired. If you're having a hard day, just call someone.” “Be good to yourself. Rest. Take a day off every now and again.” “You see things and you say ‘why?' I dream things that never were and say ‘why not?'” - George Bernard Shaw   Our guest is Central Branch Founder, Brady Dahmer. Brady is a multiple award-winning designer and creative entrepreneur. With over 25 years of experience, Brady has held board positions in several arts foundations and events, developed courses, served as a faculty member of a national art school, worked with Fortune 500 Companies, entrepreneurs, revolutionary thinkers, and current and future leaders. He taught Design and Art Direction, and designed a curriculum, at The Art Institute, and ran the TYE international youth entrepreneurial program for high school students. He is the author of ”I Wish We Knew That Before We Started...” Brady holds a Bachelor's Degree in Design and Advertising from Conestoga College. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Today is an almost perfect day for Juliet. Steve wants the credit, but only for the good days... “I believe that your business should support your life, not consume it.” “More often than not, you're doing a lot of repetitive admin work.” “Start with a virtual assistant, but you want to be purposeful and keep that lane really small, and have it grow.” “Day 1, if you're thinking of being an entrepreneur, start that team.” “You didn't start a business to run a business.” “Your calendar is like your time bank account. If you don't do things effectively with the hour, you're going to lose the day.” “Your primary focus right now has been delivering the services and keeping the business, revenue, and profits, but there's a second thing that most people neglect and don't understand, and that's the efficiency of growing the business and compressing the admin aspect of it so the creation continues to grow.” “Do anything you can to have a good laugh.” “You had jobs you didn't like doing. You left them for a reason. So, this is supposed to be fun.” “Learning is only learning when you implement it. Slow down to speed up. Implement. Build your win team so you can get to what is next.” “Winning doesn't always mean being first. Winning means you're doing better than you've ever done before.” - Bonnie Blair   Our guest is Founder of Win the Hour, Win the Day, Kris Ward. Kris is the leading authority on team building and productivity. After her husband's cancer diagnosis, Kris stepped back from the day-to-day running of her business for 2 years. After her husband's passing, she returned to the business full-time and found it growing despite her absence. Today, she coaches and teaches entrepreneurs how to grow their business so that they can become more successful with more freedom. Kris has featured on multiple leading podcasts, radio shows, and TV shows, she is the best-selling author of “Win the Hour, Win the Day”, and the host of the Top 10 podcast, Win the Hour, Win the Day. Kris holds a Bachelor's Degree from Ryerson University. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “A business model is nothing but how an organization creates, captures, and delivers value. How they join together these different pieces in a business is the business model.” “Most entrepreneurs, what happens is they think there is a gap in the market, but they never look whether there is a market in that gap.” “Do business testing. Do a sample business testing to see if your assumptions are correct or not. And then, decide a business model based on that.” “90% of startups fail. Why? It's because it's all assumptions.” “A business coach should be looking at three things: giving the entrepreneur a third-party perspective, an accountability partner, and analyse the patterns within the organisation.” This is a podcast. Nobody can see Steve's hand movements, but maybe listeners can hear the air moving to help them visualise it. “You have a natural HR inside you.” “If you have one business model and one revenue model, it can get outdated due to technology at any time. You need to keep innovating newer revenue models to have your business sustain.” “Think of the revenue model side. Technology is giving immense potential for you to have different revenue models. “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” - T.S. Elliott   Our guest is business coach, Joseph Sudhip. Joseph was born and raised in India. With hard work and education as an emphasis for getting ahead, Joseph went on to pursue a Bachelor in Commerce and Law, an MBA in International Business, become a Certified Management Accountant, and got certified as a Registered Corporate Coach. With extensive experience working in various industries with business owners and CEOs, Joseph decided to become a business coach, helping businesses grow and provide value as they succeed. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “Interestingly” is, in fact, a word. Juliet is interestingly excellent. “The only thing that people really respond to in the mail, is something you could eat.” “We guarantee our customers that we will delivery them a 10% success ratio.” “There's a misconception among entrepreneurs that you only go out of business because there's not enough business.” Cheryl's Win-Win-Win philosophy: is this a Win for my customer? Will it be a Win for their target audience? Will it be a Win for Idea Factor? “The time that I was being the technician was zapping my energy to pour into it the entrepreneurship which was really where I belong.” “We have a process behind everything, not visible to our clients, but very visible to us. What's happened since we've done that is we have a precision effort to every campaign that we launch.” “For years I often said certain things were difficult for me because I couldn't tap into the Old Boys' network.” “If you don't understand your goal, you can't create a path to get to it.” “I already know what my legacy is going to be, and it's what I always wanted. That is to pass over the reigns of Idea Factor to another female entrepreneur. I'm excited that it's not only a female entrepreneur, but also a woman of colour.” “Worry about being better, and bigger will take care of itself.” - Gary Comer   Our guest is Cheryl Cappellano, Founder and CEO of The Idea Factor, Inc. Cheryl has over 20 years of experience in the industry, dedicating her time especially to cultivating relationships with customers. In 2011, 2012, and 2013, she was nominated as Royal Bank of Canada's Female Entrepreneur of the Year, she was a Burlington Chamber of Commerce Finalist in Business Excellence in 2013 and 2017, won the Business Excellence Award in 2018, and she is a member of the World Wide Association of Female Professionals. She is a regular public speaker on topics ranging from marketing to advertising, and she shares her wealth of knowledge with others through her mentorship initiatives. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Steve hasn't had much sleep, but with some extra caffeine, the show goes on! “It's great that I have a business acumen, and it's great that I love sales, but I have to have a plan.” “People think it's so easy to go and sell your art, or your photography, without really sitting down and saying ‘what does that mean, and what is the plan to doing that, and how do you execute it?' There's a lot of steps in between the actual creation and the selling that go into play.” “The difference between the businesses that make it and the businesses that don't, it isn't the product or service that you sell, it isn't the marketplace, and it isn't the conditions, it is the resilience of the business owner to keep getting back up.” “Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. It does take a certain kind of mindset, and although it can be very rewarding, there are lots of sacrifices, and it isn't for everyone.” “We need to look out for each other. We need to support each other. We need to help those who have difficulty helping themselves.” “Whatever you do as an entrepreneur, just make sure that you stay strong, you keep going, and know what your goal is. It's easier to stay connected if you know what you're reaching for.” “You do not take a photograph, you make it.” - Ansel Adams. Our guest is Karlana Pedersen, Owner of Karlana Pedersen Art & Photography. Karlana is a business owner, entrepreneur, and visual artist, specialising in mixed-media art, digital illustration, and portrait photography. In 2015, she founded Karla Pedersen Visual Art & Phototgraphy, which has since become an exclusively online custom art service provider, divided into two distinct brands - Karlana.com, her digital art gallery, and Art Maiden ®, her new art licensing brand. She is a certified Nikon Professional, with the focus on both lifestyle, and fashion photography. She is also the co-host of the weekly How Do Artists Podcast, and Artwork Wednesday on Facebook Live. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “If you're not out there getting in the media, getting on podcasts, getting quoted in the Star, somebody else in your industry is.” “If you don't know the art of the pitch and you don't understand what you're doing you can burn more bridges than you can build.” “Whatever it is you do, you have expertise, you have knowledge that the mainstream doesn't have.” “Every success builds on every other success.” “There are so many different forums now, there's a billion different ways to find your comfort zone.” “Civility in the workplace can help you retain customers and employees. It literally has a financial impact of 30% on companies.” “The way we treat each other really matters.” “There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” – Oscar Wilde. Our guest is Tracy Lamourie, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Lamourie Media. Tracy is an industry thought leader, international award-winning publicist, and she is a frequent guest on many TV and radio shows, and internationally recognized podcasts. In 2017, her work helped free an innocent man from death row. She has been quoted in multiple international publications on human rights issues, public relations, leadership, entrepreneurship, and empowerment, and she is a regular contributor to Medium and Prosperi Press. She was nominated for the 2020 Universal Women's Network Woman of Inspiration Award, the 2020 RBC Women of Influence Award, and the 2020 Tallberg/Eliasson Global Leadership Prize. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Steve didn't ask Juliet how she was today. She's having a hard day today, and she wants to be at the fireplace with a glass of wine and the dog lying next to her. “Do you know why people think email marketing doesn't work? One reason is, they are terrible at copywriting. The other is the corporate side of marketing.” “This is the ultimate secret to email marketing: You ask people if they want you to send them a thing, and if they say yes, you send them that thing and you don't send them other stuff.” “Almost always, the best idea is the simplest idea.” “If you're selling anything, or you're any kind of marketing organization, or a non-profit, and you need people you need to reach, you need a list.” “If you're going to start out with a list, the first thing you need to do is you need to have an email marketing provider who's going to send those emails for you.” “90% will never purchase anything from you. But you've got to be okay with helping people for free.” “A lot of people who write articles about marketing online – their goal is not to teach you how to do marketing. Their goal is to get more readers, so they get paid more by whoever the platform is. They have tools that tell them which topics and articles are popular, and they will read those articles and summarize them in their own article having never done any of that marketing.” “No one's giving away the secret sauce on the internet for free.” “Put a little notepad next to your phone, and every time somebody calls you and they enquire about making a purchase, put a checkmark for where they heard about you. If there are lots of checkmarks in the Facebook column, post more on Facebook.” “Join a business networking or business referral group. That's going to be a good stepping-off point.” “If you're having a bad business day, sit somewhere comfortable and quiet, preferably dark, for a few minutes and just let your mind wander, and then you'll come up with a solution for a problem you've had in the past. If you're motivated, you're not going to want to sit in that chair anymore, you're going to want to go do something about what you just thought of.” “Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won't, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can't.” - Unknown Our guest is Matt Rouse, co-founder of Hook SEO, LLC. Matt is the author of Crush SEO, Start Saying Yes, and Flattening the Hamster Wheel. He has also authored over 1000 articles and many training courses, including the Inbox Mastery Email Marketing Masterclass. Matt hosts the Digital Marketing Masters Podcast and has done over 150 episodes. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Sarcasm isn't part of Juliet's vocabulary. It's also her and Steve's anniversary. “There are as many companies as there are entrepreneurs' personalities.” “Successful entrepreneurs have a purpose.” “Once your purpose is clear, everything else becomes easy.” “Most entrepreneurs want to change the world. That is because they have the purpose that they can have an impact.” “Successful entrepreneurs understand it's a journey. They understand that making money is not a purpose.” “If you want to build a successful company, you cannot do it by yourself.” “Don't expect that the reason you started your business necessarily has to be your long-term purpose - you can change it.” “How many of your new years' resolutions do you actually implement?” “People have a tendency to want too big of a change at once. Instead of starting big, just start small. Implement the first step until that step becomes a routine – when it's a routine, you don't have to think about it anymore.” “92% of our worries are not legitimate.” “If you feel like you want to write a book, write a book. It's not easy, but it's a good journey.” “I would like to recommend to entrepreneurs to take care of themselves. I'm talking about physical health and mental health. Think about your mind as a muscle – if you want this muscle to grow, it needs to recover. For the physical aspect, start sports. Take care of yourself, because if you can't take care of yourself, how can you take care of your company and your people?” “If people are doubting how far you can go, go so far that you can't hear them anymore.” – Michele Ruiz Our guest is Laurent Notin, a business coach on a quest to crack the entrepreneurship code. Laurent is a French national who left France at the age of 23. He then lived in South East Asia for 20 years before settling in Finland in 2019. He has a passion for helping others, and dedicates his time to coaching, training, and mentoring entrepreneurs. He is also a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Juliet wants to retire in the Caribbean. “You need to focus on the essential few and let go of the trivial many.” “A little bit of progress across 15 things isn't really moving you forward to accomplish what you want to accomplish because you're not moving forward far enough in any of the areas.” “There's an entrepreneurial spirit in some of us that is not in all of us.” “You need to stop trying to build an airline, and instead drill for oil.” “You don't have to be the best in the world at drilling for oil, but you could probably make a lot of money in that industry if you're just okay at it.” “Your mentors don't have to be people that you've ever actually met.” “Try to keep it condensed. Pick one or two people in a certain subject matter and just follow them.” “Keep seeking the mentor until you find the one that resonates with you.” “200 years from now, we're all going to be dust. Even if we change the world, no one is going to remember us 200 years from now. The meaning of life is to take the luck that you were given, push it as far as you can, and then sprinkle it around as best as you can. Give more than what you took.” “Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have the same 24 hours in a day.” – Zig Ziglar   Our guest is Dylan Ogline, founder of Ogline Digital. At the age of 14, Dylan started his first business. After dropping out of high school, he became a serial entrepreneur, taking on multiple business projects simultaneously. In 2016, he decided to drop all but one – digital marketing. Since then, he has built Ogline Digital to become a 7-figure agency. Dylan believes that everyone can build their own digital agency, and he dedicates much of his time to his training programs where others can learn to start and build their own successful digital agencies. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Shaun attended an entrepreneurial conference in grade 9. Shaun didn't see a blue cow that inspired the name of his company. If you have a business, you have some understanding of what marketing is. “Digital marketing is just using a different means to do that type of marketing.” “Instead of running newspaper ads or radio ads, you're running Facebook ads.” “Find people that can help you do what you need to do in those little steps along the way – don't try to learn it all yourself.” “If you're found online, whether you have a Google listing or you have your website, you are, in one way or another, doing digital marketing.” “As much as understanding who your client is, you also have to have an understanding of who your client is not.” Businesses should think about starting or joining Facebook groups. “When you create a video for your business, you're not going in to try and sell your service. You're going to provide information and value.” “There is a skill and knowledge that you have that other people are looking to have answers to.” “Podcasting has gained a lot of headway in the marketplace in the last several years.” “Where I see a podcast really beneficial for a business is not as a means to advertise but as a means to share your area of expertise and your knowledge.” “The digital landscape is always going to be changing. What we set out to do today, in 2 months, 3 months, or 6 months is most likely going to change.” “Be okay with the fact that you might start something that is not going to work.” Juliet spoke more than she was planning to speak. “Clients don't care about the labour pains. They just want to see the baby.” – Tim Williams   Our guest is Shaun Whynacht, Founder and CEO of Blue Cow Marketing. Shaun has over 20 years of experience in digital marketing across both the US and Canada, helping clients develop the tools for marketing and promoting their businesses. A self-professed learning addict, Shaun spends his “downtime” keeping up with the latest trends in technology, marketing and design so that he can put them to work for his clients. Shaun is also a licensed display fireworks and pyrotechnician. He holds a Diploma in Technical Television Productions from the Nova Scotia Community College. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “Your brain is not designed to keep you happy; it's designed to keep you alive.” “When you have more energy because you're doing your HAPPI, all of a sudden things start making sense.” “Shifting your state of being gives you more energy to do all the things that you really want to do.” “KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid. You don't need to make it complicated.” “Fun is the first thing that goes whenever we start working on something in life that we're excited about, and it needs to be the first thing that stays.” “Often times, we're just busy for the sake of being busy.” As entrepreneurs, we got into business because we thought we could succeed. “If a thought led you to action, why not take more time to think?” “What's the fastest way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” “Everything that we needed to be successful in life we learned when we were kids, and we need reminders of it.” “We must work hard not to become our struggle. Whatever you're experiencing is not who you are.” “It's not your last decision that's going to determine your path; it's your next decision.” “Happiness cannot be travelled to, cannot be owned, cannot be earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” – Denis Waitley Our guest is Vernon Brown, Founder of What's Your Happi. He is a sought-after keynote speaker, happiness coach, and certified life coach. He started out working as a model and actor in New York, but eventually turned to life coaching in search of fulfilment. In 2013, he Founded What's Your Happi. Motivated by his own life experiences, Vernon has coached thousands of people, and helped them find and sustain their happiness. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: If you have a set vision or plan in your head, you tend not to pay as much attention to external factors. Karen didn't have a plan when starting her blog or her podcast, and her philosophy was “start it, try it, and then decide”. This meant she could be more adaptive to the environment. “If 2020 has taught us anything, I think it has absolutely convinced even perhaps some of the non-believers that the ability to pivot is absolutely key to success.” “With respect to your entrepreneurial toolkit, I believe that written communication is really important.” People portray themselves as successful but never really show the behind-the-scenes. There's the image of the iceberg: at the tip of the iceberg is the success we see on social media, and under the water is where we find the long hours, sleepless nights, stress, and setbacks. “If you're not resilient or you don't think positive, then entrepreneurship is going to be tougher than it already is for you.” “Do not wait; the time will never be just right. Start where you stand, work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” – George Herbert Our guest is Karen Swyszcz, Co-Founder of Kaibigan Connection, Founder and blogger at Makin the Bacon, host of The Bacon Bits ‘n' Bytes Podcast, and author of the best-selling Women's Health book, Fitness to Freedom. She works part-time as a continuing and professional studies instructor, teaching blogging and social media strategy courses at Sheridan College. She is also the co-author of Lighting The North, a book on diversity and feminism in Canada, which is also a 2020 Non-Fiction Finalist for the Canadian Book Club Awards. Karen holds a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Waterloo. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “Everybody is changing the world just by existing and going through their day. It's whether you're changing it for the positive, whether you're changing it for the negative, or you're just kind of maintaining status quo.” “Of course I need to make a living, and I want to make some money, but I think we need to do it in a responsible way.” “Isn't everything an opportunity?” The inspiring story of Suon Rottana that David turned into a film. Steve took the decision to change one of the questions. Juliet tried to protest, but it didn't work. Will she take him along on that island getaway? “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman Our guest is David Peck, Founder of SoChange. He is a lecturer at the business school at Humber College in Hamilton, Ontario, and contributes regularly to Rabble.ca and TheMindMarket. He is also an accomplished podcaster, with his podcast, Face 2 Face, featuring over 500 episodes. In 2007, David was a co-producer on the educational kids show, Spellz. In 2008, alongside comedian Matthew DiSero, David founded the Mosquitoes Such Tour, which aims to raise awareness of Malaria through performance. In 2009, Verge Magazine named David a Global Hero for his contribution towards making the world a better place. David co-edited Irreconcilable Differences, and he is the author of Real Change is Incremental, which was awarded a Word Guild Culture Award for social change. He holds a Master's in Philosophy from the University of Guelph. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “A business is a commercial, profitable enterprise that works without you.” “Companies and leaders need to go beyond traditional training methods to truly engage with their employees.” “Knowledge-dumping is important, but when it comes to culture, leadership, creating influence, and mass movements, it's the culture that needs to shift.” There are three types of employees in every organization: “Actively Disengaged – they come to work and do less than is expected.” “Disengaged – they come to work and do what is expected.” “Engaged – they come to work and do more than what is expected.” “If you've got employees in your team that come to work and just get through the day, then you've got wasted money on the table.” “You're wasting 34% of their salary before they even walk in the door.” You can turn an organization around in 4-5 weeks. “I've learnt all my leadership stuff from bad leaders – what not to do.” “You've got to start a business where you're not working in it. You've got to start a business that is scalable, leverage-able, and online.” “Your past is perfect. Even if it didn't work out or you had an argument with your boss and got fired, it's a good contrast to keep pushing you toward your passion and dreams.” “The biggest lesson in life is always to charge towards your highest excitement; charge towards your true north. If you're not charging towards your highest excitement that means you're off-course.” “Everything is neutral until you give it meaning.” “It is a hell of a journey, and the more you can look after your mental health along the journey, the better off you're going to be as a leader, influencer, and entrepreneur.” “I've never lost a game. I just ran out of time.” – Michael Jordan Our guest is Richard Maloney, Founder and CEO of Quality Mind Global and Engage & Grow. Richard is a serial entrepreneur, internationally sought-after keynote speaker, mental health coach, and mentor. He has authored three books: The Minds of Winning Teams, Engage & Grow, and Injury Free. His method, known as the Maloney Method, has grown into a system of healing that has allowed people to transform their lives through mental training. He has a passion for fine wine, the outdoors, friends, family, golfing, and surfing. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “As an entrepreneur, no matter what your business industry was, you had some kind of a challenge last year.” “Being an entrepreneur is always a rollercoaster – these past nine months even more so.” Steve has no words to describe the past year. “What 2020 has showed us is the resilience of the entrepreneur, the ingenuity of the entrepreneur, the tenacity of the entrepreneur…” “Every entrepreneur out there should be very proud of themselves. They are the heart and soul of the economy.” “Even if your business wasn't able to survive it, for whatever reason, as an entrepreneur you still have to acknowledge that you did it, you gave it your best shot, you gave it your effort, and to not undervalue what that means. Don't assume that you're a bad entrepreneur because you didn't come out on the other side of this.” “A positive thing that came out of it was a lot of introspection for me and a much deeper sense of strong relationships with the people that I determined were important to me, and that the connections with those people was much stronger than they have been before.” - Juliet “Personally, I was very glad we launched our podcast.” – Steve “The thing I have enjoyed about the podcast and the guests is the variety of guests – lots of different people, different backgrounds, different stories, and different journeys. I can honestly say I learned something from every one of them.” Steve turned 65 this year (Happy Birthday!). When his birthday arrived in the fall, he wasn't excited at all. Since then, he's had some time to reflect on it, and he gives some advice to entrepreneurs: “Spend some time planning what you want to do, and spend some time planning what you want your transition to look like.” Steve and Juliet are amateur photographer junkies. Every summer, a local photographer does a photography class. This year, because it was done virtually, there was a fall and a winter session, so Steve and Juliet got to spend more time doing something that they both enjoy. They were planning to take their business 100% remote by June this year, but Covid-19 forced them to do it a few months sooner. It's the first time in 10 years that they didn't have a brick-and-mortar office to go to. Juliet is still on the fence as to whether it's the right move for her personally. Steve and Juliet are looking forward to traveling outside the 50-mile (75km) radius of their travels in the last 9 months. “It'll be interesting to see how many of the positive changes around the world stick.” “One of the things that has really come out of the last 9 months is how supportive everybody is of everybody else.” “Entrepreneurs are generally optimistic people.” Steve is optimistic that many good things will remain. Steve and Juliet thank all the listeners for hanging in for the past 40 (more or less) episodes. “The first steps toward getting somewhere is to decide you're not going to stay where you are.” – JP Morgan Today, our co-hosts reflect on 2020, and look at the year ahead. 2020 has been more challenging for entrepreneurs than it ever has before, and today Steve and Juliet aim to inspire us to embrace 2021 and let go of 2020. While there is an abundance of negativity, Steve and Juliet take this time to reflect on the positives. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Juliet took their puppy for a walk at 4:30am. She thinks the puppy had mixed feelings about that. “A lot of people don't always share the tough moments; they kind of gloss over it and say ‘it was a struggle in the beginning, but look at where I am now.'” “Entrepreneurs need to hear that it's not all perfect, and it's not this front that you see on the news or on social media; that there is so much struggle behind it to get them there.” “I'm all for encouraging entrepreneurship. I think there will be a great need for more and more over the coming years. But I don't think it's doing anybody a good service to tell them that it's all fun and games.” “Validating an idea is a plain sensible thing to do.” “People get on their high horse that they have this idea and therefore other people must buy it. They're missing the whole idea that it's a problem that they need to address and find that people want solved.” “In this day and age, there's a good argument for starting a business as a side hustle.” “You are not your business. You should not measure yourself by the success of your business. That is a tough lesson to learn.” “Don't be afraid of learning, because sooner or later you're going to have to.” “If you're going to grow a business, you want to be very sure that your reason behind it is good, and that you are mentally fit enough to do it.” “Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It's the mastery of fear. It's about getting up one more time than we fall down.” – Arianna Huffington Our guest is author, writer, and speaker, Jan Cavelle. Jan started with a sales business that she ran from under her staircase at home, and through pure determination, she scaled her business to garner great success. She has won numerous awards, represented the UK in Europe as one of the first 50 Female Entrepreneurial Ambassadors, spoken about SME's on Newsnight, debated at the Cambridge Union, formed part of the Women Influence Community, and has written contributions to many publications, including Real Business. Her ambition has always been to author and publish a book, which she will accomplish in 2021. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “The differentiating factor between success and failure in business comes down to systems.” “But you have to remember that businesses are first built on a foundation of human beings.” “There's always been a difference between being an entrepreneur and being a businessperson. You start a business; you're a businessperson. An entrepreneur is more in the make-up of who you are.” “If someone offered you the perfect job, doing exactly what you like to do, and the job came with what you considered to be a good salary and benefits package; and if they guaranteed your job security, would you take that job?” “There is not a single entrepreneur on this planet that would take that job.” “Outlier entrepreneurs are always looking for ways to better their lives.” Marco is giving away free access to his 12-day course. Send him an email with the subject: Podcast. (Contact details below) “When you knock on the door of opportunity, do not be surprised if work answers.” – Brendon Burchard Our guest is Marco Robert, inspirational speaker, international business consultant, mentor, and outlier entrepreneur. After being laughed out of the bank with his business plan, he was determined to follow his dream; he started on his entrepreneurial journey, and by the time he was 30 years old, he was worth more than 7-figures. Decades of experience in business have allowed him to not only attain his own success, but to help others find their “flame”, become outlier entrepreneurs, and reach the levels of success that they yearn for. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “With a good team you can be anywhere.” “The important lesson for all of us as entrepreneurs: it's always a work in progress.” “It's not about technical skills. It's obviously important to have a qualification to do what we do, and the knowledge and some experience with the body, but really it's all about the soft skills.” “Most entrepreneurs at some point or another, regardless of who they have behind them, have felt like they have been on their own.” “With a great attitude and a willingness to learn, it doesn't matter if you're the most junior practitioner – if you want to get better and you're willing to learn and overcome some bumps in the road, you'll get better.” You know you're making progress and learning when you're not making the same mistakes over and over again. “Trust your instincts, and if there's something that you believe in, really go for it. Be the person you want to be, and give it your all.” Understand what the values are of the people you want to do business with. “If your values are aligned, and you find the same things important, the relationship tends to be a better one and a longer lasting one.” “Don't be upset by the results you didn't get by the work you didn't do.” Our guest is Luke Fuller, Co-founder of Ace Sports Clinic. He holds a BSc in Human Anatomy and Physiology, Master's Degrees in Osteopathy and Physiotherapy, and is an NSCA-certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Luke has a passion for helping others with their health and wellness, which allows them the freedom to do what they want, when they want. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “Most people don't like to step outside their comfort zone, but when you do, it opens your eyes to different things.” “Leaders in any type of organization that are large and effective, they somehow make their people feel a different feeling of importance, attention, that they matter – that it's not just the numbers.” There's not only one formula to be a great leader. “The best entrepreneurs are the ones that have a powerful ‘why'.” As a leader, how you feel reflects in how your team is going to feel. Sometimes, for entrepreneurs that's a lot of pressure – feeling like you can't have a bad day because then your team is going to have a bad day. “You're going to have bad days, but how do you handle it, and do you have a routine that gets you back at least to a neutral spot so you're not walking in with a sour face?” “The key to be a great leader is to be genuine, real, to be yourself, and to care about the people you work with.” “It's very critical to have a routine that you start your day with. It's less important what the routine is, and more important that you have a routine.” Steve and Juliet have written a book. Steve reckons there are still more chapters to write, but Juliet doesn't quite feel the same way. “Being an entrepreneur is tough. It takes a lot of dedication. Maybe you're having a horrible year, those conditions are temporary. If you have that resilience and persistence to keep going, if you truly believe in something and you're passionate about it, then things will turn.” “There's a big difference between being a business owner and being a leader. Just because you are an entrepreneur and you own a business doesn't automatically mean that you are a good leader.” “Motivation gets you going. Discipline keeps you growing.” – John C. Maxwell Our guest is John Laurito CFP, ChFC, CRPC, CEO of The Laurito Group, Keynote speaker, Leadership expert, Author, and Host of the Tomorrow's Leader Podcast. John is a highly successful leader, earning a reputation as a “turnaround expert.” His work speaks for itself: he led the Hartford, CT office of Amiprise from it's ranking of 100th out of 110 up to #1 in the country. He also tripled the size of Concord Wealth Management (the Boston Agency of Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company) within 7 years, moving it from last place in national ranking to being awarded the President's Award (twice) and the Excellence Award (three times). Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Juliet was stressed out by planning and organizing Steve's birthday dinner. Steve doesn't recall being stressed at all – he does, however, remember the good wine. “If I were to crystalize what I consider to be my most important challenge, it was the ability to do what my parents did for me – to provide that unbelievable education in a way that I never knew if things were good or bad for them.” “Whether it's more profitable or not is not always the issue. Sometimes doing the right thing is how we define success.” “One of the keys to the success of successful businesses is you must always be evolving and innovating, and you cannot stand still if you hope to still be in business in 5, 10, or 15 years from now.” “You better love what you're doing, because you're going to be doing it for a lot more hours than the typical person who gets up, goes to work, and comes home.” “Living and dying by what you do at your workplace is a very fulfilling way to live your life, providing you don't measure your success by the success of what you're trying to do.” “The biggest investment you'll ever make in your life is in the people that you surround yourself with as the business becomes something that requires others.” “If you have nothing you'd do differently, you haven't tried hard enough.” “The best lessons you ever learn are the ones where you lose money, because you'll never forget it.” “Every single one of your employees is in your marketing department, whether they know it or not. They're all marketing your company, and they all carry your reputation with everything they do every day.” “If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle Our guest is Jeff Paikin, President and Co-Founder of New Horizon Development Group. Jeff has been widely recognized for his commitment to his community and his philanthropic initiatives; earning him the title of Hamilton Citizen of the Year in 2013. He has also earned several awards from the Hamilton Halton Home Builders' Association including the National Roof Topper Award, the President's Award of Merit, and the Paul Wright Memorial Award. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Boni and John now live in Mexico – sometimes on land, and sometimes on a boat. All while running a successful business. “We do not like to stay in one place for very long.” “While we were driving to our corporate jobs in downtown Toronto, I did the math on how much time we were spending in the car in our commute to work. Not including sleep time (factoring only productive time), we were each spending 8 weeks a year in the car.” Boni and John got rid of most of their material belongings, leaving Canada with 4 suitcases, their 2 cats, and a guitar. “As entrepreneurs we're all familiar with the necessity of embracing risk. There are still shades of grey: every entrepreneur is not comfortable with the same degree of risk.” “We are material creatures. Giving up that material connection is probably what keeps most people from doing what we've done.” “Our business matches the life that we want, as opposed to the other way around.” “If you set your mind to doing something, you can pretty much do anything.” “The act of thinking about, and going through the process of writing a book, about your business, is incredibly clarifying.” “Embrace the creativity in all aspects of the entrepreneurial journey.” “Don't ever let someone tell you that you cannot do something. You've got a dream, you've got to protect it. When people cannot do something themselves, they are going to tell you that you can't do it. You want something; you go get it. Period.” – Will Smith in Pursuit of Happyness Our guests are Boni and John Wagner-Stafford, co-founders of Ingenium Books, a hybrid publishing company – an alternative to both traditional publishing and self-publishing. After downsizing their lives, and packing up all their belongings, they left Canada with 4 suitcases, their 2 cats, and a guitar. Since then, Boni and John have been running their business while also traveling and living the life they want to live. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Juliet loves the part of the show when Steve calls her the Smarter Woman. “Do what you do best. Outsource the rest.” You're not in competition with others in your industry. “We work together. We're not in competition. I can only help so many people, and another person can only help so many people.” You don't have to use a Virtual Assistant every day, or even every week. “That's the nice thing about a Virtual Assistant – it's when you need them.” “It'll be better to have a Canadian Virtual Assistant, because they'll understand the culture, they understand how corporations work here in Canada. An Indian VA, even though they may be cheaper, you're still going to have to train them on some of the subtleties of your corporation, the culture, and other things.” Salma was able to go on an extended road trip, while keeping her clients and working with them virtually. “For one of my clients, he was looking to hire a warehouse person, so I did interviews with people on my phone while I was on the beach in Texas.” Somehow, Salma and her husband were able to buy a 50-acre property, with a 100-year old farmhouse, for $40,000. There are things that every entrepreneur should consider outsourcing. “The first thing you should outsource is your bookkeeping.” Social Media. Email management. “Sometimes you have a lot of email, and if you give them access to your email, they could tidy it up for you.” “Entrepreneurs tend to want to put things out when they're perfect. Just do it, and if there's a mistake, you can always update stuff. Nothing is ever perfect. Our stuff is imperfect, and it's always a work in progress.” “Always plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.” Our guest is Salma Burney, Virtual Assistant, Computer Instructor, Social Media Coach, and founder of Virtual Girl Friday. While VAs in general have only recently become more widely recognized, Salma has been working as a VA for the past 16 years, with clients in industries including Business Development, Goods Distribution, Graphic Design, Literature, Nutrition, and Industrial Safety, to name a few. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “Sometimes when you're young and in business, you're a bit naïve to the whole process of starting up a business and how difficult it is to win customers.” “Try to recognize your strengths, and play on your strengths. If you know you don't do something well, then get someone else to do that, and you focus on what you do well.” “Sometimes things don't go according to the way you plan, so you need to be able to adapt, move, and pivot.” “Those entrepreneurs that experience success recognize that you must play the long game. There are times when you do have to change – you do have to survive and pay the bills, but you can never lose sight of playing the long game.” “As we're still going through this terrible Covid period, we just have to remain strong, keep the big vision that we have in our heads, take small steps each day towards that, and don't get disheartened too quickly because there are some exciting things coming out of Covid. We just have to embrace it and keep trying.” “After every winter comes spring.” – Jim Rohn “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” – John F. Kennedy Our guest is Nicole Santer, Founder of EventBuzz360. Since 1998, she has built up an impressive portfolio, having worked with many large companies such as Amazon and LinkedIn.  EventBuzz360 has become known as the world's most powerful search engine for the events industry and, especially during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, Nicole hopes to expand it to serve as a platform to connect businesses and individuals in the industry. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “When you are business partners, it's almost like you're married. You're both trying to grow something together.” On running a business remotely: “It's not for everybody, and it's not just a matter of technology. In terms of being successful, one of the biggest things is operationalizing asynchronous communication.” – Mike “Look at all the key operations and key functions in your company, and put together a playbook for that. Having a repository of playbooks and instructional videos that employees can go to, as a remote worker, is so critical.” – Gaby “What many companies will do is they will try to take their existing in-office experience and try to adapt it to the virtual experience. It doesn't work. You have to start from scratch.” Analogy: “You have the bumpers in the bowling alley. Not every bowler needs the bumpers, but if you have them there, you know that you're going to end up realigning, and hopefully getting a strike or a spare.” “We're going to provide the bumpers, the pins are there, you are the bowling ball – go.” “In the U.S., there are 1.4 million husband and wife owned businesses. Seemingly, it's a fairly large audience, but interestingly, because of the situation, it's fairly isolating.” Steve reckons that Juliet loves being on podcasts. Sorry Steve, she doesn't. “Be so good they cannot ignore you.” – Steve Martin Our guests are husband and wife business owners, Mike and Gaby Grinberg. They are the co-owners of Proofpoint Marketing, and co-hosts of the Mixing Business with Pleasure podcast. Their entrepreneurial journey was kickstarted in 2015 when their daughter was born at just 24 weeks, with added medical issues, and simultaneously losing their jobs. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: In a partnership, you have to make sure that your partner brings something to the table that you don't have. “When you go into business together, it's a marriage and it's for the long haul.” “The biggest lesson is, we did not wait. I think that's a big differentiator for any entrepreneur who's getting by to thriving. We didn't wait. We didn't over-plan. We just went for it.” “At the end of the day, you could have a really basic room full of people, but it's really about the people that are in there that makes it great.” “In order to succeed as an entrepreneur, one of the skills you have to learn is the skill of asking for help.” Steve has been telling Juliet for years that his ‘weird' is very good for their partnership. Entrepreneurs often become paralyzed by overthinking, planning, and ‘what ifs'. “There's never going to be a good time. If this is something you really want to do, just go for it.” “You just have to trust yourself enough to just do it.” The best part about entrepreneurship is that you can just change things. “If you have a new business idea, go for it, run with it, and try it out.” “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams Our guests are Victoria Marshman and Dani Kagan, co-founders of City Moguls, Inc. Their mission is to create unique networking experiences for entrepreneurs to connect, share, learn, and gain support from one another. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “A bucket list is a tangible life plan, where our career or business plan should fit in to our life plan – not the other way around.” “What is the point of having a bucket list if we're not going to try to do some of it?” “There is no someday. There is no perfect time. We don't know how long we have left. What are you waiting for?” “It's about having people experience more of what brings them meaning, purpose, and fulfilment, before they get given a use-by date.” “A business should provide you with two things; and two things only: The cash-flow, and the time-flow.” “At the end of the day, we've got to separate our daily to-do list from our bucket list.” “Write goals down. You'll have a 42% more likelihood of manifesting it. Worry about the ‘what' and the ‘why', not about the ‘how'.” “If the ‘why' is strong enough, the ‘how' will work itself out.” “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from that safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain Our guest is Travis “The Bucket List Guy” Bell, keynote speaker, podcaster, blogger, and Certified Bucket List Coach. Travis has been doing the things on his bucket list since the age of 18, and he dedicates his life to getting others to wake up and prioritize their bucket list before it's too late. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “You don't have to be a millionaire to be wealthy.” Entrepreneurs need to find the balance between income and impact. “Learn and help learn.” Rebecca went through the learning process herself, learnt from it, and experienced it, and she is now helping others go through that transformation as well. Many entrepreneurs are in a fixed mindset where they compare themselves to others, are afraid of losing money and customers, and give themselves labels. “You know you've made serious growth when you're able to teach people what you have done, and use your story as a launchpad.” “I look at success not as the size of my bank account, or how many clients I have. Success is: did I make a contribution today?” Rebecca shares a valuable lesson with entrepreneurs about consistency and how the compound effect of that effort will guarantee results. Many entrepreneurs have misconceptions about hiring business coaches, and have the mindset that they need to work harder for longer hours to get where they want to go. “The most successful people know how to do one thing exceptionally well: they ask.” “If your belief system is counter to what you're trying to achieve, you cannot move ahead.” “Beliefs are thoughts thought often enough.” If we become used to thinking negatively about ourselves, we create habits that reinforce the feeling of failure. The one message that cannot be said enough is “you're enough.” “There's no such thing as an entrepreneurial deficiency. There is only entrepreneurial learning and training that needs to happen, and it cannot be done alone.” “Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be.” – Wayne Dyer   Our guest is Rebecca Mountain, digital marketing consultant, certified high performance coach, and best-selling author of Think Again. Rebecca's goal is to help as many people as possible live happier, wealthier, and more fulfilled lives. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Many entrepreneurs think that because they haven't been to college that they can't be successful. It's the grit and the belief more than anything else that will get you to where you want to be. David facilitates executive teams with his HSDO (High School Drop Out) designation. David isn't interested in studying your competitors and understanding what they're doing. “When you're going in to help a client, you don't care what their competitors are doing.” The fundamental flaw in the branding industry is that they think you know who you are, and you think they'll figure you out. Neither of those are true. It's important for business owners to reflect on their core values. When you leave your beliefs out of the business, you're leaving yourself out, and you're on your way to being a commodity. “Every product that you make, and everything you do, is a deep reflection of your values.” The mistake people make is they listen to people who are ahead of them, and they start adopting traits from other people that don't natively exist within themselves. “What do you do that nobody else can do?” Steve says Juliet is an awesome co-host because he forgot to ask David a question. “If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to gather wood, divide the work, and give out orders; instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Our guest is David Anthony Childs, Living Blueprint's integrative thinker and lead facilitator, and co-author of Monster: Your Billion Dollar Ideology. David helps companies realize their vision by focusing on their core values and fostering meaningful connections with their target audience. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: We are all misled about what the real definition of success and happiness is. The truly happy and successful people are those who are content with how much they have. They're great leaders, and they inspire others. Many people go through life, get to the finish line, and realize it's the wrong finish line – that everything they worked toward, and thought they wanted or needed in their lives, is not what they really wanted or needed. Laura gives some advice to young entrepreneurs, and she briefly describes the six habits from her book. Most, if not all, our listeners will relate to at least one of the six habits. “I can tell you what the 6 habits are, but knowing something and applying the wisdom of it are two very different things.” We don't truly admire people for their toys; it's because of who they are. We need to understand that it's not about the stuff, the achievements, or the wallet size - it's their ability to be the master of their habits, themselves, and their lives. “We are the story we tell ourselves.” Laura's parents taught her tenacity. “If you fall on your face - too bad. Wipe the dirt off your face, get up, and keep going.” Her dad also taught her to swear like a trucker. Laura disagrees that greed and money are the root of all evil. She says the root of all the “evil” that we see in the world is insecurity. “There's only one thing you can control in your life - your own effort.” – Mark Cuban “You are capable of creating the life you want. It begins within. Everything you're looking for is not in the fancy car, and not in what you've been taught it is. You deserve to find it, and you're capable of finding it. It won't be easy, but this will be the noblest work you ever do that will unlock everything you ever wanted.” Steve congratulates Laura for making Juliet speechless. There's recorded evidence of it, too. “Your current habits are what got you to where you are now. If you want more, or better, you have to be better first.” – Laura DiBenedetto   Our guest is Laura DiBenedetto, founder of Vision Advertising, bestselling author, TEDx speaker, blogger, and business and lifestyle educator. After retiring at the age of 37, she set out to research and attain genuine happiness. This resulted in her first book, “The Six Habits”, written to empower other people to master their habits and find happiness.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: “If you never ask the question, the answer will always be ‘no', and if you never knock on the door, it will never open.” If you're looking for a venture capitalist or an investor, it's important to not only focus on the monetary side of what they can offer you, but also the resources in their network that could add to your business. Grace tells us the three things that investors look for in a business. If you're a good entrepreneur, the idea doesn't matter as much as the team that will be executing that idea. If you have an A-Level team and a B-Level idea, you have a better chance of executing that idea well than if it was the other way around. Too often, entrepreneurs fall in love with a product or service, without considering whether their service solves a problem that is a real problem. People often want to help, but you also need to demonstrate why they should be helping you. If you want to achieve a certain level of growth, you need to learn from someone who has already done so. It's difficult, if not impossible, to know what the world is going to need in 10 years' time. But what we'll always need are people providing value. You have to understand what you're trying to do instead of just creating a business for profit. Steve likes the idea of “Smarter Man”. Juliet does not. So, the show's name will not be changing. “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin Our guest is Grace Gong, former Investment Manager, and host of the Smart Venture Podcast. She's helping investors and businesses by sharing what she has learnt from some of the top investors in Silicon Valley.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: The art of presentation is always fundamental to business owners. The first step to mastering public speaking is to shift the conversation about why the fear of public speaking exists. We've been conditioned to view public speaking as a responsibility, a chore, and as something we don't enjoy, as opposed to using public speaking to make an impact and to scale ideas that matter to us. The greatest speakers present the same presentation hundreds of times. You can have an unlimited number of passions, but you only have a limited number of decisions. Brenden talks about a 3-step framework that we can use to improve the foundations of our public speaking skills. “If we're only going to live one life, how about we do something interesting with it.” A great exercise to put things in perspective is to write your own eulogy. How will people remember you when you're gone? Steve tries to change a question, and Juliet puts her foot down. “Communicate the weird things that you do on a daily basis to everyone else around you, that is not illegal, and it will help remind you that you are different and you're meant to be doing different things.” “Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools speak because they have to say something.” - Plato Our guest is Brenden Kumarasamy, founder of MasterTalk. He's setting out to help people overcome their fears and master the art of public speaking in order to scale their ideas and become successful.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Juliet, the smarter woman, used the word “lawyerly”, and Steve remembers getting into trouble for using the term. They're going to have to resolve this off air. Andrew says you need a team. It's not about you. The culture of an organization matters. Culture is not easily transferable, or purchased. You can't just take it off a shelf. You're going to be more successful when you can focus on the result that your services are bringing. “Your kids don't need your money, when they're young they just need your time.” It is important to discuss the elephant in the room. “A truly wise person knows that they know nothing.” Andrew tells us why we, as entrepreneurs, need to have two wills. As entrepreneurs, it's beneficial to think about where the business is going, and when it will end. Andrew emphasizes the importance of educational growth, and about the business contingency planning toolkit. “If it all goes down tomorrow, I've done everything that I can.” Steve and Andrew agree that engineering only makes sense to engineers. “There is no such thing as work-life balance. It is all life. The balance has to be within you.” - Sadhguru   Our guest is Andrew Brown, the Chief Visionary of Brown Lawyers. His mission is to change the way people feel about lawyers, by building a business that improves the lives of the community, and encourages personal growth.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Jeff's experience around the world includes social media, marketing conferences (including digital), and influencer conferences How organic growth is going to be at the whims of an algorithm and the algorithms could be a Google SEO algorithm. The trend that organic reach of social media is becoming very low. The need to build landing pages where you give away something for free, like an e-book or a webinar. Why we are facing the battle of the algorithm and what we can do about it. How many people may benefit playing the long game. Jeff is the owner of jeffbullas.com. Forbes calls him a top influencer of Chief Marketing Officers and the world's top social marketing talent. Entrepreneur lists him among 50 online marketing influencers to watch. Inc.com has him on the list of 20 digital marketing experts to follow on Twitter. Oanalytica named him #1 Global Content Marketing Influencer. BizHUMM ranks him as the world's #1 business blogger.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Easy and Powerful Steps to Branding Your Company The way to conceptualize and create the best ever online platform Easy Ways to Create Video Content and How to Share It. Essential ways to get your business online especially in the age of COVID19 Essential, Powerful Tips to Maximize LinkedIn For Business Elaine Slatter is passionate about working with entrepreneurs to achieve their goals. With over 30 years of experience in marketing, sales, customer service & small business ownership she understands the challenges facing business people today. She can help small businesses get started with planning, branding, web design and social media integration. Their goal is to make small business as self-sufficient as possible with easy to understand marketing strategies that our customers can implement on their own terms.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Appreciating the opportunity to serve the community and meet with so many different people and successful business owners is a blessing. The level of independence would be someplace that be lot more comfortable Women tend to much more create collective groups of other women. So it's easier to ask for help. How Christel was one of the very first assistant directors as they call them, then who had been a member who was a member of BNI.The universe is sending us a message. One of the exciting things is behavioral styles and networking is kind of a side interest The fundamental difference for business owners to be aware of when they are out there network.   Christel Wintels is a Business by referral expert. She is executive director and franchise owner of BNI Golden Horseshoe - BNI or Business Network International is a global business networking organization founded in 1985 with over 270,000 members.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: A lot of people don't plan on doing a certain entrepreneurship. It just drops into your lap. Appreciating the opportunity to serve the community and meet with so many different people and successful business owners is a blessing. Mentors love to help you.The importance in dealing with the questions that we usually don't think about because of the business in running businesses. Women tend to much more create collective groups of other women. So it's easier to ask for help. Understand that collaboration is a key thing in business. The universe is sending us a message. It's repeating it, usually you pick up when you hear it, the first time you pick right up on it. Have the courage to step out of your boundary and try something new and some entrepreneurs go full hundred, they will actually quit their job.   Charles Matthews Jr. is the owner of CMJ Entertainment an event planning and production company in Toronto - Host of the Charles Matthew Show podcast - a TV Talk show host and radio personality   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Being an entrepreneur is great because you often do have control of your time and your actions. Appreciating the opportunity to serve the community and meet with so many different people and successful business owners is a blessing. Why Rick's focus is on wealth and risk management planning for business owners, including doctors and dentists. The importance in dealing with the questions that we usually don't think about because of the business in running businesses. Understand that to enter the world of an entrepreneur involves many different things, managing of your team, recruiting your team, managing the team, your marketing, and your social media presence and your cashflow and the risks that you have to deal with. The reality that we underestimate the fact when business owners start out and they're on their own. How it makes sense for business owners to address the risk of premature death in a meaningful way   For more than 30 years as a wealth advisor, he has learned that one of the most important aspects of his role is offering peace of mind and confidence when it comes to your financial future. It starts with a strategic roadmap that clarifies your current needs and future goals to ensure you're looked after at every step of the way. Each personalized plan has a wealth and risk management strategy that is carefully constructed to find the right solutions at the right time for you, your family and your business. Rick also work hard to ensure there's a comprehensive estate plan for your family, that leaves the lasting generational security you want, a retirement income plan for comfortable living and a charitable giving plan for an impactful legacy.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: When building a team, your new team member should be someone that you would invite over to your house for dinner. Just because you've heard someone say something previously, doesn't mean if you hear them say it 10 months from now that it won't resonate with you. You can get something different out of it because you're in a different place. Steve has set his goal to finish his coffee table quote book this year. An entrepreneur should never love a product or service, they should love problems and solving them. In order to be a successful entrepreneur, someone has to buy your product or service, otherwise it's just a hobby. Juliet said Steve was right. Hire a business coach. Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer in the world, and he has a coach. Just because you're doing well doesn't mean that you don't need a coach. Every decision that you make is either moving you towards your goal or away from your goal. The most successful entrepreneurs are those who are never afraid to say “I don't know,” and then go and ask somebody to help them. As entrepreneurs, our pride can get in the way, and there's a lot of value in saying “I don't know that” to yourself and others. The best book to read is the one that's closest to you, and read everything you can. When it's working right, a family business can be the greatest thing, but when it's not working it really doesn't work. 70% of all businesses that fail were profitable when they went out of business. Most entrepreneurs only deal with one facet of their industry, product, or service. If you're looking for something different to do and you are already familiar with one industry, it doesn't mean that you have to jump into a new industry to start something new.   Today, co-hosts become guests and reflect on the interesting conversations that have happened during the first 11 episodes on the Smart Man Smarter Woman Podcast. Ten years of being persistent in business and life together, to winning awards, and launching Kninja (the “K” is silent) to writing the book “The Kninja Way – Our Journey to the Firm of the Future,” and the journey is still far from over.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: When you're running a business, as shallow as it sounds, you need to look at the financials. You've got to keep trying new things and pick yourself up, brush yourself down and just get on with the next project. You're not ready to go fully and start your own podcast to begin with appearing as a guest or an expert on other podcasts is a great way to kind of dip your toes and see if it's for you Every guest you interviewed generally will share it with their audience too. So it's a good way of spreading the word about your business. If you're guesting on other people's podcasts, you're pushing, pushing yourself in front of audiences who perhaps wouldn't have had exposure to you or you, or your product or service. When it comes to cash flow knowing is always better than not knowing because not knowing is not going to save your business.   Our guest is James Mulvany, a UK based entrepreneur responsible for launching more than five internet companies. All doing interesting things with incredible teams in the online media/broadcasting & content spaces.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: All the analytics in the world cannot tell you what to do when you're trying to sell something, and yet the market is buying something else. I think that sometimes when we get stuck it's because we have learned either in school or through experience to look at that problem in one way and one way only, and sometimes just having a little creativity can help you look at it in a different way that inspires you to come up with a solution. Creativity is something that we're all born with that we've kind of forgotten along the way. We were all kids and we were all creative and somewhere along the way, we lost touch with solving problems.   Our guest is Nir Bashan, CEO and founder of The Creator Mindset. He is also a world recognized creativity expert. He has taught thousands of leaders and individuals all around the world how to harness the power of creativity to improve profitability, increase sales, and ultimately create more meaning in your work. His company produces workshops, consulting, he does some coaching, keynote speaking, and travels all around the world and has quite a list of clients, including Microsoft, AT&T, and the NFL Network.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: Businesses need to understand where they're going, understand their numbers, keep an eye on things, and get help from pros like you guys, that is how you can thrive long-term and how you can make decisions that make sense. Growth is one of the most dangerous times for a business, extreme growth, especially, because you have to have capital there. You have to be able to build. You have to be able to grow, and it can be honestly out of control, and businesses can run out of cash so quickly. 70% of businesses, well over half, that fail were profitable when they went out of business. Every business needs to know the length of its runway - the amount of time until they run out of cash. When it comes to cash flow knowing is always better than not knowing because not knowing is not going to save your business. Our guest is Blaine Bertsch, the co-founder and CEO of Dryrun, which is a cash flow management software, he's also the author of the book, The Pandemic Cash Flow, a book designed to help people understand the concept of cash flow, but, more importantly, perhaps how to avoid the pitfalls and the challenges of managing cash flow.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets The best job you can have in your life may be working for mom and dad, but the toughest job you're probably going to have in your life is working for mom or dad. In order for a family business to succeed, you must plan with the family, not for the family.  If the family can unite and build a shared vision that everybody contributes to, the business benefits, the ownership team benefits. So by default, the employees, the community. The trickle-down effect is tremendous when that family is rowing in the same direction.   Our guest, Vincent Valeri is a Family enterprise advisor, wealth coach and speaker.    Vincent brings a unique perspective on the entrepreneurial journey as he works exclusively with family-owned businesses.    Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

You don't need a lot of resources to start your entrepreneurial journey. You can literally start with nothing. Your desire to succeed must be self-created. It will not be given to you. Facing adversity is a strength in your life, and so we shouldn't spend our lives trying to get that adversity to go away. Our guest, Michael Ly, is a serial entrepreneur. He is the founder of Reconciled, an online bookkeeping and accounting service, Humanly, which provides on-demand HR solutions for entrepreneurs and Saasable, an online app for business owners to help them keep track of their recurring revenue metrics.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets It's not about the answer. It's about the process. If you don't nurture your network you're not going to survive. The best book to read is the one closest to you. Read everything you can Our guest, Bob Izsak, Founder of Izsak Consulting, a 20-year-old boutique consulting firm that helps to build and grow professional services firms.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets It is not enough to be passionate and do what you love. The world must also want what you are offering. Entrepreneurship is about helping others by adding value or creating value where there was none before. Everything we do has a price. It is either moving you towards your goal or away from it. If you are open to hearing and listening, there will always be something that will impact you in some way. Our guest, Clayton Oates, Founder of QA Business in Australia is a twenty-year entrepreneur and self-professed “small business enthusiast. During our conversation, you'll discover how to stay relevant in the most difficult of times, how to build a business while designing the life that you want, the importance of being kind to ourselves and knowing our purpose and why passion is not enough for success. To learn more about Clayton, visit http://www.qabusiness.com.au/index.php   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets You need to ask yourself, how can I give value, use my intellect and help people The entrepreneurs that are most successful are the ones that if they don't know the answer, they at least are vulnerable enough to say “I don't know, but let me ask somebody.” Don't do the stuff you hate to do. Get somebody else to do that, because there is someone else that loves to do that and would do a better job than you and probably spend less time doing it. Our guest, Rachel Fisch, Product Evangelist at Sage has an entrepreneurial journey different from most of our guests - she started in the corporate world, then opened her own business, became an entrepreneur only to return back to the corporate world that she was missing.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0

Gold Nuggets For many business owners, it's like the duck on the pond. Everything looks smooth on the surface, but below the feet are paddling like crazy. Whatever challenges we are going through now, once they get solved there will be a new set coming at you because that is how we grow. A business is a collection of systems run by great people. Our guest, Dan Holstein is a Business Coach with Kaizen Performance. During our conversation, we discuss Dan's entrepreneurial journey, what made him get into business coaching, the importance of continuing to learn, the definition of what a business really is, how to start thinking like a business owner and make yourself the least important person in your business and learning how to build the right team.   Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0