He is also the founder of high-end electric car brand AVA. AVA creates the world’s ultimate electric cars, with the world’s greatest car designers, so you can have a great car and help the planet at the same time.   

Resources:

https://www.coolplanet.io/ - Check out CoolPlanet

https://www.studioava.com/ - Check out Ava Cars

Actionable Take-aways:

1. To find a real billion dollar idea, find one that can make an impact on 1 billion people.

2. Share your ideas as soon as you can and do not be afraid of people copying your idea. People are too busy to copy your idea and if you are successful, people will copy your idea anyway.

3. No matter who you are, your health and how you lead others will shape how far you can go with your business.

Resources:

https://www.aquamarseafood.com/ - Check out Aquamar’s offerings!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. The way you brand your product will have a big impact on how others view it. If it no longer serves you, work towards a rebrand that showcases your product in a better light.

2. Different consumers have different needs. Make sure you cater to their palettes to maximize chances for success.

3. The best innovation pays close attention to what are the problems that consumers face.

Resources:

https://nadamoo.com/

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Success doesn’t come over night, like Daniel it can take up to 10 years. Focus on building your foundations so that you are ready for the explosive growth when it comes.

2. Understand who your core demographic of clients is and cater your message to them. You cannot cater to everyone and expect to resonate as strongly with them.

3. You don’t have to be a Founder to be a success entrepreneur.

From fear and imposter syndrome, to ripping out one’s identity and draining the swamp, Curtis shares his stories and walks us through how to apply the principles in his book in this interview.

Resources:

https://www.EntrepreneursParadox.com – Check out Curtis’s work       

https://www.entrepreneursparadox.com/SuccessFormula – Check out the success formula Curtis discussed in the interview

https://www.amazon.com/Curtis-Morley/e/B08L8G6WFJ?ref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share – Grab a copy of The Entrepreneur’s Paradox.

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Fear and imposter syndrome are common problems that all entrepreneurs face. Release yourself from these limiting emotions and beliefs by understanding that no one can be an expert at something new.

2. If you are always spending time on “wrestling alligators” by working on the day to day problems in your business instead of working on growing your business, you will be the limiting factor in your business.

3. Goals that are not tangible are not goals, but mere hopes and dreams instead. Find out your goal and whether it is reasonable with the help of the  success formula (how much, by when, for what and why).

On today’s business audio masterclass, Jordan shares the exact gap in the market he noticed and has filled with Hop Wtr, his process behind formulating and validating his new product and his best growth strategies.


https://hopwtr.com/ - Check out Hop Wtr.

 
Actionable Take-aways:

1. When conducting product surveys (especially with friends and family), avoid asking for feedback when you are directly in front of them to get more honest feedback (nobody likes to hurt your feelings!)

2. Creating digital assets early before your official product launch can not only allow you to start capturing the emails of customers who are interested and invested in your product, but can also help you fine tune your marketing and message for your official launch.

3. Running out of product is dangerous for any business. You may lose you customers and shelf space, and replacing any product on short notice will cost you more.

In today’s business audio masterclass, we cover tips on maximizing your M&A exit price and how this will differ depending on whether you are looking to make an exit in the short term or long term.

Resources:

https://www.dealroom.net/ - Check out Dealroom!

https://www.mascience.com/ - Check out M&A Science!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kisonpatel/ - Connect with Kison on LinkedIn!

Actionable Take-aways:

1.  To maximize your sale price when you are looking to exit with a long term view, put yourself out there and start communicating with potential buyers to get an understanding on what a potential exit may look like and navigate it to get your best price. 

2. If you are looking to sell with a short view, run a competitive process with investment banks to and choose one that is most experienced for achieving exits for your companies in similar industries and deal sizes as yours. Auction bids can help to also increase the sale price.

3. Entrepreneurs tend to neglect the integration process that comes after a sale. Avoid this by asking questions and getting clarity at the start of the negotiation process to make sure that there is a good fit between you and the buyer, especially if you want to see your company being acquired by someone who you can trust to grow it.

Resources:

https://www.publicityxchristina.com/ - Check out Christina’s Podcast Booking Agency.

https://publicityxchristina.mykajabi.com/services - Check out Christina’s services.

https://www.instagram.com/publicityxchristina/ - Connect with Christina on Instagram.

Actionable Take-aways:

1. To find out which podcast shows to appear on, talk to your current audience and ask them who do they listen to. Reach out to these hosts and start building a relationship with them. 

2. Systematize your podcast pitch by preparing a template. The first paragraph of your pitch should be personalized to the host you are pitching to. Next provide a paragraph of credibility markers so people can recognize they can understand that you know what you are talking about. Next add 4 to 6 solid topic ideas that you can speak about that will resonate with listeners and this makes it easy for the host to say yes.

3. Don’t let imposter syndrome or the fear of public speaking hold you back from speaking on podcasts. Shift your mindset to have an attitude of gratitude and look to provide service instead of promotion.

In today’s business audio masterclass, we learn what it means to be mindful and why this is important for any entrepreneur, and how Sara utilized social media to build the Mindful Movement into a successful online business.

Resources:

https://www.youtube.com/c/TheMindfulMovement - Check out the Mindful Movement’s Youtube Channel which has over 600,000 subscribers!

https://www.instagram.com/themindfulmovementpodcast/ - Check out the Mindful Movement’s Instagram page!

https://www.facebook.com/themindfulmovementpodcast- Check out the Mindful Movement’s Facebook page!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Being mindful means become aware of what your mind is thinking and what your body is feeling and connecting them. Connecting your mind and body will give you clarity in your thoughts to help you make better decisions.

2. One easy technique you can incorporate is intentional breathing. Take 30 to 60 seconds of slow and deep breathes when you are in a stressful situation before you react.

3. Anyone can grow on social media, but the best way to do so is to be consistent on one single platform before diversifying.

In today’s audio masterclass, Terry covers the importance of having a fast response time for your customers, why WPX Hosting has a “fixed for you policy”, and how WPX Hosting address the resistance its customers experience when it comes to changing hosting companies.

Resources:

https://wpx.net/ - Check out WPX Hosting! Key in the promo code TEDTEO for 50% off for the first month on all monthly plans + 30 day money back guarantee.

https://everydogmatters.eu/ - Check out Every Dog Matters EU

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Response time matters when it comes to providing a better customer service experience. The faster you get back to your customers, the faster you can help them solve their problems.

2. Customers want their problems to be solved, they don’t want to be told how it can be solved. 

3. To acquire new customers, it is important to identify what is causing resistance and to address that issue directly.

In today’s Business Audio Masterclass, Alan shares the importance on investing in ourselves, why we need to focus on our zone of genius, and how and why we should be tracking our critical numbers.

Resources:

https://www.nextleveluniverse.com/ - Check Out Next Level Universe and work with Alan!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. The first person we should focus on is ourselves. The more we invest in ourselves, the better we can lead our company. Don’t let yourself become the company’s bottleneck.

2. As a business owner you need to make sure that you are in your zone of genius to give your organization the best chance to succeed. Delegate when you need to.

3. It is important to know what your critical numbers are and track them to know whether you are on track to achieving your goals.

Show Notes:

[2.20] After a near death experience in a car accident at the age of 26, Alan decided to pursue his dreams as an entrepreneur and never looked back.

[11.00] Alan shares what he offers as a peak performance business coach.

[15.10] Pouring into yourself first is not selfish unless you are not a selfish person. You need to focus on yourself otherwise you will become the bottleneck in your organization.

[16.50] As a business owner you need to make sure that you are in your zone of genius to give your organization the best chance to succeed.

[20.20] It is important to know what are our critical numbers and track them. Alan’s number one critical number is the total number of coaching calls. Find out what are the critical numbers that matter to your mission and track down consistently to understand your progress.

[24.50] Instead of planning our days by weekends and weekdays, Alan recommends that you set up each day the same way to provide yourself with consistency and structure.

[28.20] Ted and Alan discuss the power of consistency and the compounding effect.

[37.30] The destination that you choose matters. If you don’t plan where your destination is in advance, you wont have the right goals and journeys to get to where you want to get to.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Join us as Luke he shares about the power of participatory budgeting in any organization, just how he managed to achieve an 80% to 100% participation from the students, and why he structured his company as a Benefit Corporation. 

Resources:

https://firstroot.co/ - Check out FirstRoot and its programs!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. The more you work, the more opportunities you create for yourself. Like Luke, you may find your next business idea from your existing business. Always be open to new ideas and challenge the status quo.

2. Allow your customers to have a bigger stake or a chance to be more involved in the business. When they see that their actions have a direct impact, they will become more loyal to you in the long run.

3. If you are looking to start a company that prioritizes doing good for the public and society, do some research or ask a lawyer as to what is the best corporate vehicle you should incorporate. Luke decided to incorporate FirstRoot as a Benefit Corporation and this has allowed him to prioritize the good he wants to do for society over maximizing profits. 

Join us as David shares about the pain points he experienced in the HR industry, why it’s important to solve these pain points, and why it’s important for employees to be able to easily access their benefits and entitlements.

Resources:

https://eppione.com/ - Check out Eppione! 

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Finding pain points that you personally experienced like David is a great way to start a business because it allows you to solve a problem that you are intimately aware of.

2. Be very clear on who are your customers and the respective stakeholders that your services are being provided for. By understanding their exact needs, you will be able to better provide solutions for them.

3. When growing a company, make sure that your employees are able to access the information relating to their benefits and entitlements as easily as possible. The happier your employees are, the more they will help you grow.

Show Notes:

[3.30] David shares about Eppione and how to solves an existing problem in the HR and benefits space for medium sized companies that are not able to afford one of the larger scale providers but still need a solution to manage their HR and benefits for their employees.

[5.00] David is a veteran of the insurance industry and employee benefits consultant. Over the years, he has worked with many employers who really struggled with pulling out the relevant information in relation to their employees’ data. It was so torturous that he finally decided to start a company to solve this problem.

[10.50] David shares that companies that are unable to afford bespoke software solutions tend to use spreadsheets to record their employees’ data and benefits and this is prone to error. In addition, it becomes hard for employees to understand their entitlements and benefits. Eppione provides an platform to collate everything under one platform and employees will be able to install the app on their own phone and get the information they need without having to reach out to the HR department. 

[16.35] Companies tend to use multiple softwares and services and provides their employees with the relevant information on the company’s intranet. This makes it hard for everyone to manage. By providing a one stop shop, Eppione allows the whole management process to be easy and efficient for everyone.

[18.30] Current solutions tend to be very siloed to a specific country because each country has their own laws and regulations. The problem arises when a company is based in multiple jurisdictions and a company has to engage different technology solutions in each jurisdiction. Eppione overcomes this problem by allowing companies to program the specific benefits and entitlements it provides its employees and it can therefore tailor the system to their own needs in each country.

[21.45] As Eppione deals with insurances, David made sure he is either appropriately licensed and regulated in the relevant jurisdictions or have the right partners who can represent them otherwise.

[27.40] David stresses the importance of using technology when growing a business, and to be able to give employees access to the information that they need. 

He is considered a leading expert on technology, consumer and business trends and his views have been published in periodicals like the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Inc. Magazine, CBI and many others. IHRSA named him one of 13 to watch in 2013 and he has been named one of the top 50 most influential entrepreneurs on twitter.

Bryan has contributed as an author to six published books with colleagues in the fitness sector and co-authored the 9 Partnership Principles on attributes necessary to achieving more by working with others. He is a popular keynote speaker and facilitator who has delivered inspiration and insights at industry conferences and organizational events on four continents.

Resources:

https://www.bryankorourke.com/ - Check out Bryan’s personal page

https://www.vedereventures.com/ - Check out Vedere Ventures

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Industries like the fitness industry are moving towards providing customers with an omnichannel experience where customers can interact with the business both inside and outside the gym. If you fail to adopt new technologies into your business, you may be failing to provide a better experience to customers and they may eventually move on to your competitors.

2. Despite the increasing presence of technology, technology will never fully replace humans and the key is still to provide a good customer experience. 

3. You cannot compete with everything. It is important to therefore understand what market niche you want to attack.

Join us as Josh shares about the importance of testing your product or service in the market, how he maximizes his customer retention rates and his framework to coming up with great business ideas.

Resources:

https://www.volleyapp.com/ - Check out the Volley App!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Always get your minimum viable product out into the market to test it as soon as you can. You can never fully predict how the market will react to your product or service and the only way is to test it.

2. Customer retention rates are as crucial as growing your customer base. Find out what behavorial patterns lead to higher retention rates and focus your efforts to maximize it to improve your retention rates.

3. The only way to come up with good ideas is to allow yourself to come up with bad ideas. Constantly train your brain to come up with business ideas and analyse them to give yourself the practice.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

David is also a frequent speaker on messaging technology and has presented for the Direct Marketing Association, South By Southwest, Advertising Research Foundation, and the National Restaurant Association. David has been featured on the front page of the Washington Post, and has been interviewed by Direct Marketing News, Crain’s Chicago Business, the American Express OPEN network, AMA's Marketing News, Bloomberg Radio, and others. He has been quoted in numerous articles, including The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, Variety, Startup Nation and US Banker Magazine. David also writes for Inc. Magazine with his column “Stepping Away from the Day to Day”.

Join us today as David shares about how he is bringing back the lost art of letter writing with technology, the pros and cons of filing a patent, and how he designed Handwrytten to be easily integrated into numerous CRM systems.

Resources:

https://www.handwrytten.com/ - Check out Handwrytten! Make sure you use the discount code “PODCAST” to get $5 off your first order!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Competition breeds results. Like David, you can have you different teams compete with each other to encourage innovation and better results.

2. When you file a patent, you have to declare exactly what goes behind your technology or process. If you are not willing to divulge the exact secrets behind your technology or process, make sure you enter into confidentiality agreements and non-disclosure agreements with whoever is aware of your proprietary knowledge.

3. Designing your platform to have the ability to be easily plugged into other systems gives you the benefit of easily being able to integrate your technology into numerous other systems and leveraging off their user bases.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Join us today as Daniel shares about the benefits of acquiring and scaling a business, the process he goes through when developing new sauces and the importance of doubling down on what makes your business unique. 

Resources:

https://bushwickkitchen.com/  

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Building a business from scratch is not the only way to start a business. Like Daniel, you can acquire a business that is already established and scale it. The ground work has already been done and you can hit the ground running.

2. When developing a new product, make sure that the product is one that you will personally give 5 stars upon release. Don’t be afraid to say no to something that you have been working on for months as a bad product can hurt your branding.

3. When you have a new and unique product, make sure you double down on it and find your superfans. Listen to them and involve them in your work and they will help you spread your business via word of mouth like crazy.

 
Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Join us today as Josh shares how he built his Amazon FBA empire, how he subsequently exited it at the best possible price, and how he is now help others achieve the same without charging them the steep 8% commission rates that brokers currently charge. 

Resources:

https://brandedseller.com/ - Check out Branded Seller and work with Josh!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. White labelling products is a great way to get started on ecommerce. Like Josh you can create over 200 products and sell the same on Amazon by engaging manufacturers and relying on Amazon’s distribution system.

2. Always have your accounts and documents in order. The same is necessary in order for you to achieve a successful exit and a good price.

3. While brokers can help make the relevant introductions and to close a deal, they will not likely be as invested as you are to achieve the best outcome for you. Be aware of the huge commission that they take. Consider alternatives like Josh did and see if you can contact any aggregators or industry players yourself.

Kyle and Eli have also joined forces to share their experiences from past and current ventures with their own podcast, the Biz Bros podcast.

Join us today as Kyle and Eli share the hilarious story of how they met, how they help their clients’ products succeed on a hyper competitive online market, and how the joys of podcasting. 

Resources:

https://www.resultsimagery.com/ - Check out Results Imagery if you need help bringing your product to life!

https://www.bizbros.io/ - Check out the Biz Bros podcast!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. When developing product photos and videos, don’t think of the product as just filming the product as the subject. Go one step further to think about how the photo or video will perform in terms of its ability to convert a potential customer. 

2. Customers shop with their eyes. A comprehensive product strategy will require solid photos of the product on a white background showcasing the product from all angles, lifestyle photos to humanize the product, a video showing how the product is used, and infographics on the product explaining its features and uses.

3. Podcasting is a unique experience that allows you to develop networks and create sales funnels for your business. If you are thinking of starting one, do it!

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Join us as Paul shares about how he exploded his business with a distributorship model, the incentives he built into the distributorship model to encourage his distributors to work with him in the long run at scale, and how Paul managed to secure co-ownership rights in the Wall Printer from his manufacturing partners.

Resources:

 https://thewallprinter.com/en/about-company/  - Check out the Wall Printer!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pbbaron/ - Get connected with Paul!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Unlike a franchise model where franchisee fees are charged and it forces your franchisees to follow a strict model from you, an exclusive distributorship model encourages your distributor partners to be creative and to grow more aggressively (because they don’t have to pay you a portion of their earnings). This allowed Paul to explode his business to be in over 90 territories in just 2 years.

2. Set a reasonable fee for your exclusive distributorship rights and provide your distributors with a discount on the product you are selling to them. By giving them the chance to recoup the fees they initially paid, they will be incentivised to partner with you for the long run and work with you at scale.

3. Patents are important for you to be able to protect your right in a certain product. Always seek to protect your intellectual property rights.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Join us today as Nicole shares about the important of listening to what your customers want from you, that selling is serving your customers and that the best ways to serve is through nurturing and developing relationships and providing your customers with customized solutions based on their needs, and that objections from your customers are actually a buying signal. 

Resources:

https://www.healthystepswithnicole.com/ - Work with Nicole over at her site!

https://www.healthystepswithnicole.com/33places - Grab Nicole’s "33 Places to find Clients Freebie"!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Listen to what your customers are constantly asking for from you. Like Nicole, she niched down further to become a sales coach for health coaches because her peers kept asking her for help and encouraged her to do it. Today Nicole’s practice as a sales coach is flourishing because she played to her strengths and is giving her customers exactly what they are asking for.

2. Selling is serving! Remember that you are there to help and serve your customers and that one of the best ways to serve is through nurturing and developing relationships and providing your customers with customized solutions based on their needs.

3. Objections are not personal. Objections are actually a buying signal. People who are not interested at all will give you a hard no. Your job is not to convince them to work with you, but to help them work through their doubts and fears.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Join us today as Anar shares about the importance of your reputation, the reason why it is crucial for companies who are scaling to adopt proper project management frameworks, and the benefits of the AGILE framework.

P.S. Anar is also a talented singer with her own Soundcloud page! Ask her about it!

Resources:

http://www.goprojectmanagement.com/ - Work with Anar at Go Project Management!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Your reputation follows you everywhere. Make sure you protect it.

2. Project management frameworks are crucial for any scaling business. The sooner you implement it, the sooner you can efficiently run your projects and align it with your strategy.

3. The AGILE framework runs on the principles of short cycles to allow you to quickly roll out features, to test them and to get feedback. Consider implementing this if you are looking your company is growing quickly and wants to be able to manage projects quickly.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Join us as Kehan shares about the pain points in the existing market that continue to exist even though rural properties form 20% of the property market in the United States of America, his best tips on how to build an efficient user interface, and why you should be obsessed with getting feedback from your customers.

Resources:

www.terrascope.io – Check out Terrascope if you are interested in a better way to purchase rural properties!

https://terrascope.io/blog - Check out Terrascope’s free resource on buying rural real estate and the rural lifestyle!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Find out the pain points in your life. If there are no good existing solutions in the market, there might just be an underserved market for you to create an impact.

2. There’s a reason why companies that rely on artificial intelligence are built on a simple yes and no feature for its users. This is the best way to get accurate and concrete data from them, so think about how you can integrate this into your own user interface or surveys. 

3. Be obsessed with getting feedback from your customers and developing your relationships with them. Not only will you be able to understand what they want better, they will also appreciate your efforts and become your advocates.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Join us as Aaron shares about how you should build your supply chain with 18 month plans, how you should build your supply chain around its bottlenecks to optimize it, and why you should find out the de minimis value for shipping goods in each country when planning your shipments.

Resources:

https://www.izba.co/ - Work with Izba Consulting! 

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Build your supply chain by planning it out in 18 months blocks and design it so that it can provide for what you need in the foreseeable future. Set out a sales and operations plan as well for the same time frame so you know whether you are on track in your sales and production pipeline and this will allow you to plan ahead with your manufacturers, warehouses and logistics companies for the support that you need.

2. Look at the bottleneck in the suppler chain and design your supply chain to make sure that it is built to make sure that the bottleneck does not stop and become a problem. 

3. Find out the de minimis value of each country which is the amount that you can ship without paying any taxes. It may be cheaper to ship your goods in batches below the de minis value as compared to shipping it via containers.

Join us as Riley shares about the importance of good sleep, active steps you can take to improve your sleep and the importance of not spreading yourself too thin.

Resources:

www.thesleepconsultant.com – Reach out to Riley for a free sleep assessment over at The Sleep Consultant! 

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Long term bad sleep can increase the risk of cancer, heart attacks, stroke, and obesity. Taking care of your health and sleep is essential for building a healthy life and long term business.

2. Reduce your caffeine intake, drink more water and avoid blue light 2 hours before you sleep to improve your sleep cycle. 

3. Focus on your energies on the business that you want to succeed the most. Avoid shiny object syndrome and commit to one key idea till you achieve success.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Join us today as Rick shares about the challenges he faced in his earlier years when his trainers and customers left, how that one incident has actually helped him evolve into the success that he has achieve today, and how he carved out his unique target audience to set himself apart from the competition.

Resources:

https://alloyfranchise.com/ - Interested in becoming a fitness franchisee with Rick? Find out more here!

https://www.rickmayo.com/ - Check out Rick’s personal website!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Building communities creates customer loyalty. Try to incorporate events and a sense of regularity in the customer experience that you provide to build up your community of loyal customers.

2. Create systems within your business to prevent yourself from the vulnerability of being overly dependent on any employee. Business systems also create a scalable business as you can replicate it as grow the business in new venues.

3. Franchising is a great way to increase the value of your business and its physical presence. With great systems in place, you can build a franchise and expand your business faster without the need to be in charge of every single branch as you expand.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Join us as Mark shares about his story and his work behind March.Health, his tips behind manufacturing and quality control, and how you should negotiate with your manufacturers. 

Resources:

https://march.health/ - Check out March.Health! 

Actionable Take-aways:

1. If you want to bring down the uptake price of your product or service so that you can onboard more customers, consider a subscription model with a lower entry price point instead of a high one off fee. While you may lose some revenue for customers who do not stick with the platform, the customers who do stay on may end up paying you more in the long run.

2. When dealing with your manufacturer, always have eyes on the ground to check the batches of products made.  Also make sure that they have the relevant expertise if your product is in industries such as healthcare like Mark.

3. Be upfront with your manufacturers on what you want the performance and lifespan of the product to be. If you only negotiate for the lowest manufacturing cost, they will likely use lower quality materials that will affect your product’s quality at the end of the day.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Join us as Raj shares about the difference between good content and advertisements, the different segments of the sales funnel and how you should approach it, and how to ensure that your content is resistant against Google’s algorithm changes.

Resources:

https://goodmanlantern.com/ - Check out Goodman Lantern and work with Raj!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. While advertisements are great for immediate attention, advertisements only work as long as you are paying for them, the moment you stop paying for them, the attention drops off. Good written content in contrast is a gift that keeps giving which can skyrocket your business in the long run. It is therefore important to have a long term branding strategy that incorporates both advertisements and written content.

2. Content writing should be approached in the form of a funnel. The top funnel is content which you create to attract people to your engine, product or service and is very high level with a focus on creating awareness about the industry in general. The middle of the funnel is about educating people about your service or product and why people should choose your company. The bottom of the funnel is about converting people into a paying customer. Don’t skip the top and middle funnel as it will result in lower conversion rates at the bottom of the funnel

3. When writing content, make sure that it is content that is written to resonate with a human being. It should not be written for robots and spiders that are trawling the internet. This has the benefit of preventing your content from being. This reduces vulnerability that may arise from Google’s algorithm changes.

To date, Vitruvia counts Tony Robbins, Red Sox legend David Ortiz and actor Danny Glover who is best known for starting in the Lethal Weapon movies alongside Mel Gibson.

Join us as Christian shares about his investment philosophies behind selecting startups to invest in, the challenges he faced growing his venture capital fund and Vitruvia, and the work he is doing by growing healthcare startups to help others.

Resources:

https://vitruvia.co/ - Check out Vitruvia

https://christianseale.com/ - Check out Christian’s personal web page

Actionable Take-aways:

1. As an entrepreneur, look out for investors who can play an active role in your company’s growth. They should be able to open new doors for your company and help you to grow in new market segments or acquire new clients.

2. When looking for a co-founder, avoid someone who is not committed to working on the business on a full-time basis with you because this probably a signal that they are not invested enough behind it for it to success. 

3. If your business idea is one that is new and novel, be prepared for a steeper adoption curve and the need to educate the market. While it is not impossible to succeed, be prepared that this may be an uphill battle at the start so try your best to win new clients over and turn them into your best advocates.

In today’s show, Meghana shares how she pivoted during Covid, how she fosters great relationships between her artisans and her customers and how she showcases her artisans and turns them into ambassadors for her company.

Resources:

https://www.letscurate.com/ - Check out Meghana’s and her artisans work!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Listen to your customers and what they want. Like Meghana, you may just find a whole new revenue stream by catering to their needs.

2. Unlike physical store fronts, ecommerce has a wider reach and helps reduce your vulnerability to foot traffic. Build up your ecommerce presence today and you will potentially even be able to get a global reach. 

3. Just because someone is not a good match for your business right now does not mean you will not be able to collaborate in the future. Always remain healthy relationships and great opportunities can always arise In the future.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Jeremy shares the importance of planning ahead for the end of year fourth quarter holiday sales, the challenges he faced with respect to regulatory compliance and how educational materials can help build brand loyalty and improve sale conversion rates.

Resources:

https://fsastore.com/ - Check out FSAstore.com

https://hsastore.com/ - Check out HSAstore.com

Actionable Take-aways:

1. The fourth quarter of any calendar year is usually the busiest for any retail business. Start planning ahead and determine what you need to have in place to get ready for the surge in business or risk losing precise sales to your competitors.

2. If your business idea is one which is in a highly regulated industry, make sure your business model is in compliance with applicable laws and has the relevant licences and that you stay up to date with any regulatory changes. Reach out to the relevant legal advisors for help if necessary.

3. Providing educational materials can be a great way to establish customer loyalty and improve sales conversion. Like any form of content that you produce, it will pay dividends in the long run so start investing in creating good content for your customers.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Steven was also a professional stand-up comic, cognitive psychology researcher, and taught Tai Chi and Zen Archery. Steven is also the creator of Scriptware, the industry-standard word processor for film and TV writers.

Join us as Steven shares about his journey with barefoot running, how he built a community of loyal fans, and his shark tank story.

Resources:

https://xeroshoes.com/ - Check out Xero Shoes!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Giving away your knowledge and best tips for free is a great way to build community, trust and goodwill with your customers. Don’t worry about people “stealing your ideas”. They can steal your ideas but they can never steal your brain.

2. The best way to ensure quality control is to have eyes on the ground. If you are manufacturing overseas, find or hire someone you can trust to make sure that the manufacturers are producing the goods to your required standard.

3. Whenever you are pitching to investors, it is important to know your numbers and to have a very clear range in their mind as to what you were willing to accept.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Join us as Scott shares about the key reasons that led to Brain Toniq’s failure, how he was able to recover and move on from the failure and how he is now applying the lessons he learnt with Cognition.

Resources:

https://synapticscientific.com/ - Check out Scott’s current venture

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Getting into brick and mortar shops like retail stores and supermarkets comes at a price. While you will be able to appear in front of more eyeballs, it does come at a price and your profit margins may be lowered to the point where you need to move a large amount of product volume to even break even. If this is a problem for you, consider moving towards e-commerce or another model where you have more control.

2. Don’t grow your business constantly even when you are loss making on the idea that someone will acquire your business at a later date like most technology firms. This is a dangerous game to play and you might just get burnt. Slow and steady wins the race.

3. Failure is a part of life and business. Be ready to go through the different stages of grief but ultimately it is acceptance that will help you overcome it.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Join us as Sam shares about the power of customer surveys and how you too can harness its power!

Resources:

https://www.sammcnerney.com/ - Get in touch with Sam at his website! 

Actionable Take-aways:

1. When choosing your niche, have a think as to where in the market you can make an impact. If there is a market that segment that cannot afford the fees of the larger incumbent players, targeting them will allow you to make an impact and start building your clientele.

2. Despite being low tech, surveys are still a great way to do customer research, especially when you are looking to actively test the way a customer would react to something new that you want to put out into the world. 

3. Good surveys should be concise and able to be completed within 1 minute. If it takes longer than that, the survey might not have been structured well enough to get the answer you are looking for.

Join us as Brian shares how he got started flipping macs, the challenges he faced as he grew Sellyourmac.com and one particularly painful lesson where he was cheated out of over $250,000.

Resources:

https://sellyourmac.com/ - Check out sellyourmac.com!

https://brianthemacman.com/ - Check out Brian’s personal website!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Flipping items are a great way to get started with entrepreneurship. Choose something you are passionate about and become and expert and you might just be able to build a multi-million dollar business like Brian did.

2. As an entrepreneur, it is important to know when to give up control and delegate responsibilities and choosing the right people in order to grow the business. While you might want to do everything yourself, you might just become a big limiting factor to your business.

3. While payment services like Paypal charge a transaction fee, they provide mechanisms which can protect you in the event your counterparty did not fulfil their end of the bargain and this can help prevent events of fraud.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Nidhi shares her journey, how she niched down earlier on when she started her business to provide a clear value proposition, and the importance of leveraging on social media and building a community.

Resources:

https://nidhi-belani.com/ - Check out Nidhi’s website and get in touch with her

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFt-yQpRMkE&t=314s – Check out Nidhi’s Youtube video where she shares some fundamental principles to how you can enhance your personal image as well as tips on how to dress in accordance to your body shape and style personality and get your Free MUST-HAVE Personal Image Interview Checklist specially designed so you can Dress-to-Impress!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. When starting a new business, it is important to choose a niche and make your value proposition clear to your customers. Like Nidhi if you can find a niche that allows your experience and skills to shine, it can really help you establish your authority and credibility quickly.

2. Youtube is a great tool to build your personal brand and is can be a very powerful lead magnet for your business. While it does take time to get it off the ground, once you have traction, it will continue to provide you value even during times when you are not always available to provide new content to your community.

3. Focus on building your community that will support you and your business. They are your greatest advocates and will provide you with the support and feedback you need to grow.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

On today’s episode, Alice shares her tips on how should explore new areas of interest through play to determine if it is something that one should commit to whether as a new career or business, the important of being able to listen, empathize and connect with your customer and the power of being able to educate yourself with the internet.

Alice works with women to rediscover what really excites them in life. She helps them reconnect and feel confident about who they are. Helping them find further fulfilment after successful careers. She increases people's confidence so they can go after what they really want in life. Book a call with Alice to find out more and click here join her newsletter for your weekly dose of motivation and practical tips.  

Resources:

https://alicegraves.com/ - Get in touch with Alice at her website!

https://alicegraves.com/contacts/ - Book a call with Alice!

https://alicegraves.com/join-our-newsletter/ - Join Alice’s newsletter!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Being able to empathise and to connect with customers is an important skill for any entrepreneur. Always understand who your customers are an what are their pain points to be able to better understand how you can help them.

2. The old school method of picking up your phone and reaching out to your contacts is still a great way to help grow your business and to help others be aware of the services you are offering. So don’t be afraid or shy to do so especially when you are first starting out your business and you should leave no stone unturned.

3. The internet has all the resources you need to learn practically any skill. So make full use of it and educate yourself on new skills. If you need more help there are always great coaches who can help you get to the next stage, but you should not really on them as your first port of call. By educating yourself, you will be able to save money, ask better questions and grow faster.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

On today’s episode, Luis speaks about why sales doesn’t have to be sleazy or pushy, how one can sell from the heart, and the power and benefits of using personalized videos to connect with potential customers.

Resources:

https://www.luisbaez.com/ - Get in touch with Luis!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. If you feel uncomfortable with the idea of selling because you think its sleazy or pushy, think about focusing on your customer instead of yourself. This will help you to start to feel a real sense of responsibility to help your customer find a solution and this can help shift your mindset. 

2. Using personalized video is a great way to quickly get connected with your potential customers as it helps you to show who you are, your emotions, frustrations and personality. So consider using platforms like Videoask instead of chatbots to connect with your customers. Like Luis, you may even get a very high engagement rate of 11%.

3. You don’t always have to work with every single potential customer, especially if you are not a good fit. You can always help your potential customer by referring them to someone who is better qualified to help them instead. This will be better for you and your business in the long run and the relationships that you build.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

As a university student studying Marketing, every internship Ben had attended expected him to be a Social Media Expert but learned nothing while in school! That was a lightbulb moment for Ben and he read every blog post, watched every YouTube video, and began conducting my his own experiments, growing Instagram pages and YouTube accounts.  After years of work and achieving personal success, Ben started is his own Social Media agency "Bunny Media” where he help his clients expand their reach and presence on social media.

On today’s episode, Ben shares his tips on growing on social media, why not all views are equal and the importance of working through the cringe when you first start producing content. 

Resources:

https://www.benleavitt.co/  - Check out Ben’s personal website

https://bunnymedia.co/youtube-growth/ - Check out Ben’s social media agency “Bunny Media”

https://www.youtube.com/c/BenLeavitt/featured - Check out Ben’s YouTube channel for all his best tips on growing your business on social media

Actionable Take-aways:

1. TikTok is currently still a great platform to start producing content on because it has predictable virality and business owners should take advantage of it. Get started on Tiktok if you are keen on growing your business on social media today.

2. Not all views are equal. Views on YouTube will be given more time and attention because a user actually chooses to click on your video to watch you. Ideally if you can do both, then strive for a balance of both long form and short form videos to have a strong video strategy. In order to grow your business on social media, you need to be able to convert the views into valid leads.

3. Everyone starts out dorky and nervous when they first start producing content. Work through the cringe and develop your skills and eventually you will feel comfortable talking to the camera and microphone.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

On today’s episode, Holly shares about the importance of PR and how you can get your company PR ready, and the power of affiliate marketing.

Holly is also the Co-Founder of Dorchester Brewing Company, a leading brewery in Boston Massachusetts that provides contract brewing facilities.

Resources:

https://www.littlebirdboston.com/ - Check out Little Bird Boston, Holly’s marketing and PR agency

https://www.dorchesterbrewing.com/ - Check out the Dorchester Brewing Company

Actionable Take-aways:

1.  Every business should think about improving their PR. Even startups would benefit greatly as PR can help improve their credibility and brand recognition and this can help to translate into higher sales and to help attract investors. 

2. Earned media is publicity or exposure gained without any money or compensation paid to the media outlet. Earned media has a higher level of credibility precisely because it lacks an element of compensation to the media outlet that is recommending you and it will come across as being more authentic to customers. Do therefore have a think about how you can increase your exposure on earned media.

3. Make sure that your company is PR ready as early as you can. Make sure that your website and social media profiles are set up, that your assets (such as founder photos and bios, and company logo) are ready, and that your company mission is clear so that it can come across well in the interviews.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

She’s also the founder of the MeeraKothand.Com, an award-winning site listed as one of the top 100 Sites for Solopreneurs three years in a row. Over the years, she has developed a reputation for making the most complex topics simple and smashing misconceptions about what you HAVE to do in order to be successful in business. Think of her as your “Minimum Viable–Maximum Impact Biz Evangelist.”

Through her best-selling books and marketing courses, Meera has taught over 80,000 students and readers, giving them the confidence to build super fans + sell out their digital products without sleaze, cringe, or “you’ve gotta haves” so they can build a community that’s obsessed with what they’re offering. 

Resources:

https://www.meerakothand.com/ - Get in touch with Meera and tap on all her free resources

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Start having an email list from day one. Don’t wait before you have more traffic because building your email list is what helps you build that traffic. 

2. While having a lead magnet is important, what is more important is the way you present it to convince someone to download and to give you their email address in the process. If a visitor to your website never downloads the lead magnet, they will never know how good the content you have provided is.

3. Email marketing has one of the highest returns of investment for ad spending today and protects you from cases where the platform that you have built your audience on (such as Youtube, Instagram or Facebook) decides to delete your account or to reduce your reach for reasons out of your control.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Brian shares about his business, which he calls “America’s Simplest Business”, his advice on how a small business owner can compete with larger incumbent companies and the importance of developing your business’s elevator pitch.

Resources:

https://cleanlots.com/ - Find out more about “America’s Simplest Business”

Actionable Take-aways:

1. In order to compete with larger incumbent players, try niching down and focus on making sure that the service you are providing is better in terms of quality and price so that the value proposition to your customers is clear.

2. Find ways to provide an extra service to your customers that can help build your relationship with them. Like Brian when he provides reports and updates to his customers, it can really help to impress and create an extra incentive for them to work with you on a long term basis.

3. Make sure you develop your elevator pitch so that you can clearly and quickly communicate your business and value proposition to your prospects. Practice your delivery until it is second nature so that you can deliver it smoothly and convincingly.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Kevin shares the benefits of outsourcing, how you can protect your business even when you do outsource your tasks to freelance consultants, and how you can build an entire business with outsourcing as the core feature of the business model.

Resources:

https://kevashcroft.com/ - Get in touch with Kevin on his personal webpage

https://www.blinkeredmedia.com/ - Need help with your online marketing? Reach out to Kevin’s media agency for help

https://www.wpsupportspecialists.com/ - Need help with your Wordpress website? Reach out to Kevin’s Wordpress support agency for help
 
 

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Outsourcing not only provides your business with flexibility, but it also ensures that your tasks are performed by specialists who are able to complete it in a more time efficient and cost efficient manner. 

2. Outsourcing may potentially lead to employee misclassification risks which may lead to tax liabilities and other regulatory concerns. Do talk to your legal and tax advisors to ensure that you are outsourcing work in a manner that is legally compliant. 

3. Protect your business by nurturing strong relationships with your clients to prevent them from being poached by your consultants or employees. Legal documents can also be relied upon to legally prevent them from doing so.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Dan shares how one can spot if there are leadership issues in a company, why it is important to provide a good system of communication for leaders as well, and the benefits of a top-down leadership approach.

Resources:

https://www.dannorenberg.com/ - Reach out to Dan at his website

https://www.amazon.com/Executive-Ownershift-Leadership-Management-Professionals/dp/3030358275/ref=sr_1_1?crid=4ND787XI5MVG&keywords=dan+norenberg&qid=1582894856&sprefix=dan+noren%2Caps%2C218&sr=8-1 – Grab a copy of “Executive Ownershift, Creating Highly Effective Leadership Teams” 

Actionable Take-aways:

1. To find out if there are issues in leadership within an organization, pay attention to how meetings are run, how people speak to one another and whether there is any confusion in the strategic direction of the company.

2. It’s lonely at the top, the higher you climb the lonelier it becomes. Effective leadership teams require good communication and having a good support system for leaders.

3. When building an effective leadership team, consider adopting a top-down leadership approach as opposed to a bottom-up approach where an organization’s leaders takes active steps to reflect upon themselves which will cause a cascading effect down the chain.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Joseph shares about his journey of self-discovery, the importance of getting repeat customers and the importance of managing expectations. 

Resources:

https://getsomeclass.com/ - Check out Joseph’s venture and find a team building event for your team today

Actionable Take-aways:

1. You don’t always have to reinvent the wheel. Instead of focusing on coming up with a new business idea, executing an existing business idea at a higher quality itself can also help you create a successful business and to set yourself apart from the competition.

2. Communication with your customers is key. Always communicate with your customers if there are issues and follow up with how you can solve the problem for them so that their experience will be a good one.

3. Repeat customers have a lower cost of customer acquisition than with new customers and this can lead to higher profits margins, so focus on happy your customers happy and give them reasons to come back to you.

On today’s episode, Ben shares about the external and internal benefits of corporate social responsibility programs for companies, how companies can do it better and the importance of tracking impact data.

Resources:

https://www.wehero.co/ - Check out MyHero

https://mycarbonhero.com/ - Check out CarbonHero

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Corporate Social Responsibility programs have external benefits and internal benefits for companies. Corporate Social Responsibility programs help companies have better brand recognition, and can potentially increase sales and customer loyalty. Corporate Social Responsibility programs also help with internal factors such as employee retention. Consider starting your company’s Corporate Social Responsibility program if you have not done so.

2. Companies tend to off load the task of running Corporate Social Responsibility programs to its administration departments, and they may not have the necessary skills or knowledge on how to run these Corporate Social Responsibility programs properly. Consider engaging a third party professional firm to help you get it right.

3. It is important to record the impact data from the Corporate Social Responsibility programs that you have conducted. This can help you justify your efforts with investors and customers and can also help with reporting on disclosure reports especially if your company is listed on a stock exchange.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Rob shares about the importance of always focusing on your cashflow, the importance of tracking your financial performance and the reason why you should always negotiate for shorter credit terms with your customers.

Resources:

https://financeinsightmatters.com/#home – Check out Insight Matters 

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity and cashflow is reality. Always focus on your cashflow, because without it, your business is as good as dead.

2. Always keep good records of your financial performance. This allows you to have a deeper understanding of what is going on in your business and this also makes it easier for you when tax season comes and you have the file for taxes with your tax authority.

3. Always try to negotiate shorter credit terms with your customers because you would otherwise be giving a loan to them for free. If you can insist on them paying upon completion of the project and take a deposit before you start your work. This helps to alleviate or improve your cashflow issues.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Ishveen shares how she spotted the gap in the sports sponsorship industry, her thought process from how she facilitated the connection between the brands and athletes to how she structured the dispute resolution mechanisms, and how brands can get the most out of the collaborations with the athletes.

Resources:

https://OpenSponsorship.com/ - Check out OpenSponsorship’s website

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Spot the gaps in a market and act to fill it. By doing so, Ishveen is able to serve the 99% of athletes who were traditionally left out sponsorship deals.

2. A great to get users to sign up to your platform is to allow them to sign up for free, but charge commissions. This means that they do not take any risk for signing up and only pay when they have benefitted from your service.

3. Reviews provide social proof. Consider how this affects your business and be pro-active with seeking positive reviews from your past clients.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Jon shares about his time in General Electric and Big Ass Fans, his book the Elephant’s Dilemma and how his experiences have provided him with the skillsets he needed to lead Truman’s.

Resources:

https://gridironcapital.com/ - Check out Gridiron Capital

https://www.amazon.com/Elephants-Dilemma-Break-Reimagine-Future/dp/1544509847 - Check out Jon’s new book

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonbostock/ – Get in touch with Jon over LinkedIn 

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Look out for the inefficiencies in your target industry. Just because something has always been done in a certain way does not mean it is the only way or best way to do it. If you can solve the inefficiency, you may just be disrupting the market.

2. Think about how your current business model is functioning and whether, for example, a direct to consumer model would work better. You could be reducing your supply chain costs and improving your profit margins.

3. Choose the right investors who are strategically aligned with your business when you are raising funds. A strategic investor should be able to help you open the right doors, provide you with the right advice and help you reach your goal. Avoid silent investors who have no strategic value.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Kris shares about the problem of the disconnect between vendors and buyers, how vendors can align themselves with their buyers, and ultimately convert them into paying customers.  

Resources:

https://winsights.co/ - Check out the Winsights webpage

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oimTQx7Iq5avDzeJF9kJ1ApWP9M1OUc2/view?usp=sharing – Check Out Kris’s free Revenue Growth Solutions Guide

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Don’t sell your product or service to your customers without first understanding what their pain points are. Be able to pinpoint their specific problems and show them how your product or service is able to solve this from them to stand out from the competition.

2. Don’t spread your resources too thin. Learn to focus on who are your strategic accounts/customers and provide direct one on one to them as they will have the largest impact on your business.

3. To make it easy for your customers to say yes, you need to first empathize and understand their problems, and to show them that you have the knowledge, experience and credibility to solve their problems for them.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Thomas speaks about servant leadership, the importance of having a cathedral vision for your company and the 4 keys to leadership success.

Resources:

 https://www.leadershipdisciples.com/ - Reach out to Thomas at Leadership Disciples

https://www.amazon.com/C-Suite-Beyond-Keys-Leadership-Success/dp/140022702X - Grab a copy of Thomas’s new book on Amazon

https://www.leadershipdisciples.com/contact/ - Fill in your contact details and get a free summary of Thomas’s new book

Actionable Take-aways:

1. A good leader serves his community and helps others succeed. Think about how you can benefit others and they will in turn give you’re their support. Ruling with authority does not build loyalty.

2. A company’s culture should be the shared values of a company. A janitor should be able to walk up to a CEO and tell him if something he is doing is not in line with the company’s culture. This will help ensure that everyone in the company is moving towards the same long term goal.

3. Learn how to prioritize tasks that are important to you and your business. Just because a task is urgent does not mean that it is always important to you.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Odile shares why cold calling is not dead, her key techniques on quickly establishing rapport with a prospective client, and her best advice on how to approach the cold call.

Resources:

https://www.udemy.com/course/kickstarting-client-conversations/ - Check out Odile’s Udemy course on Kickstarting Client Conversations.

https://www.odilefaludi.com.au/kick-starting-conversations-workshop/ - Want to work with Odile? Then book a Zoom workshop for your team via ZOOM with Odile Faludi

https://www.linkedin.com/in/odilefaludi/?originalSubdomain=au - Connect with Odile on LinkedIn 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgKVpzYC9Zgp4qmfFdndU3g - Follow Odile Faludi on Youtube 

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Cold calling when done well is still a powerful and relevant tool for your company’s sales pipeline. Do however be conscious as to how it should be used and do it in a professional and well thought out manner.

2. Research on your prospective client and use the information to quickly build rapport with them. Do not start a cold call without conveying to them that the call will be of value to them.

3. You should not aim to close a sale on a cold call. Instead aim to have a follow up appointment so that you can develop a long term relationship with the prospective clients.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

While he initially struggled as well, Tim eventually managed to build up a successful practice as a life coach and started noticing other life coaches reaching out to him for help. Today, Tim imparts his years of experiences to help other life coaches succeed in a hyper saturated market. As Tim shares, there seems to be more life coaches than people who need life coaches these days. As a testament to his dedication, Tim’s has authored 9 books and has written over 1,500 self-development articles with his work seen by over 3 million people to date.

In today’s episode, Tim shares the realities of becoming a life coach, the power of high quality content, and how one can build trust with prospective clients.

Resources:

https://adaringadventure.com/ - Check out Tim’s life coaching practice

https://coachthelifecoach.com/ - If you are a life coach in need of Tim’s help, get in touch with Tim here!

https://www.amazon.com/Clarity-Method-Motivates-Clients-Colleagues-ebook/dp/B07RW6784P - Check out The Clarity Method, which is an important tool for those who want to help coach employees, clients, or themselves, to get clarity on goals, overcome procrastination, make better choices, and find success utilizing the power of core values.

Actionable Take-aways:

1.  It is important to have a professional looking website because it is better to have no website than a website that is done badly. A bad website actually has a negative impact on your ability to convert clients. Consider using a freelancer from Fiverr or Upwork if you need help with your web design.

2. Quality content can generate leads for you for years. Blogging and guest blogging paired with search engine optimization can give you rewards for years to come. 

3. While reviews and testimonials are great ways to build trust for your prospective clients, you can also offer to let them speak to your existing or past clients and this is a great way for them to be sure that your reviews and testimonials are real, but to have a direct understanding as to what it is like working with you.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Seth shares the importance of communicating one’s value to one’s customers, what makes a slogan memorable, and various juicy facts and secrets on how our brains work.

Resources:

https://www.storifyagency.com/ - Check out the Storify Agency

https://www.storifyagency.com/ted - Grab a free copy of the first chapter of Seth’s new book “How To Hack Humans”

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Customers want to know how your product or service solves their problem and you have to be very clear about this. If you companies fail to communicate your value to your customers, they will not care about what you have to offer. So always focus on communicating your value well to them and how it solves their problems.

2. Add emotive words in your company’s slogan because emotions help to create long term memories.

3. Limit the number of words on your website’s main page to be no more than a few hundred words. Fewer words leads to greater impact because it is human nature to not want to read a big wall of text if the content is not something that the person is invested in.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Ryan shares his tips on how you can get booked to speak for a TEDx talk, why you should not worry about having a bad first draft and that having self doubt is normal.

Resources:

https://viralmessagelab.com/ - Check out Viral Message Lab and get in touch with Ryan

rmhildebrandt@gmail.com – Get in touch with Ryan over email

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Do your worst, create your best. When you first start out, your first draft of anything will probably be terrible, but it is important to understand that this is part of the process and work to improve on this to get better. Get your minimum viable product out and work your way from there.

2. In whatever you do, it is important to have a specific outcome in mind and, more importantly, to find a way to stand out. You must be able to stand out from the crowd to be able to be noticed.

3. Having self doubt when pursuing something challenging is normal. So don’t let that self doubt get in the way of you achieving your dreams.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Auzerais shares her culinary journey, why she set up Blondery as a virtual bakery and how she grew Blondery to be a bakery that even Mark Wahlberg himself is raving about.

Resources:

https://blondery.com/collections - Check out all of Auzerais’s amazing blondies! For listeners in the US, use the code “TEDTEO” to get $10 off your first purchase.

https://blondery.com/collections/shop-all/products/virtual-baking-demos - Learn how to bake with Auzerais with the Baking with Blondery Virtual Experience.

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Find a gap in the market like Auzerais did when she realized that blondies were a forgotten treat. Then make the best version of it you can and stand out from the competition.

2. If possible, consider structuring your business without a physical store front to avoid the high rental costs that will eat into your margins. With e-commerce and social media, it is possible to run even a bakery without a physical store.

3. Selling your goods in limit batches helps create hype around your product. This is a great way to structure your sales especially when you are just starting out.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Adam shares the realities of running a hobby gaming store, his tips for building a strong community, and why discounting a product is not the best way to push sales.

Resources:

https://www.alphaomegahobby.com/ - Check out Alpha Omega Hobby

https://www.alphaomegahobby.com/pages/contact - Get in touch with  Alpha Omega Hobby

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Focus on building your community and empower them to be involved with the business. This builds loyalty and will pay dividends in the long run.

2. The best way to build a strong community is to be transparent with your customers and just ask them what they need in order for them to become part of the community. Constantly check in with them and understand their needs from time to time.

3. Giving discounts to sell off inventory that is not performing well in terms of sales devalues the product. Running events and competitions and educating your customers about the product is a better way to move sales.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

On today’s episode, Luni  shares about how he grows impactful companies, his work with Fledge and Africa Eats (which is formed by the graduates of the Fledge program), and why storytelling is such an important skill for any entrepreneur.

Resources:          

https://lunarmobiscuit.com/ - Check out all of Luni’s resources 

https://www.lunarmobiscuit.com/the-next-step/ - The Next Step series of books written by Luni

https://www.lunarmobiscuit.com/podcasts/ - Check out Luni’s Podcast

Actionable Take-aways:

1. One can create impact with a company by embedding the mission into its products or solutions. Like Wholefoods, the mission to provide high quality organic food to people was built into its business model.

2. Learn to think outside the book with the limited resources you have. Great businesses are often built from the ingenuity of an entrepreneur who is able to make the most of what they have and to innovate something out of it.

3. Focus on being able to tell your company’s story. Good storytelling gets a higher level of engagement from customers and helps grow your business.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Michael’s actionable takeaways include the importance of being data driven with your marketing approach, how to rise above the current environment of content vomit, and his best tips on extending your reach such as influencer marketing and advocacy marketing.

Resources:

https://listeninnovategrow.com/ - Check Michael’s company Listen Innovate Grow

https://listeninnovategrow.com/mastermind/  - Check out Michael’s Mastermind group

https://listeninnovategrow.com/sme-playbook/ - Grab Michael’s free Ulimate SME CEO Business Client Acquisition and Retention Checklist

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-haynes-lig/ - Connect with Michael on LinkedIn

Actionable Take-aways:

1. It is important to have a data driven approach when marketing our businesses. Listen to your own goals, the market and your customers. Do not jump on to marketing tactics without a strategic understanding of your business, your offer and your customer’s needs or you may end up wasting a lot of money.

2. B2B buyers have been bombarded by content vomit since the start of the pandemic. Do your best to provide content that provides more sense making and road mapping, and is tied back to the needs of the particular customer and market.

3. Apart from focusing on your existing customers, tap into influencer marketing and advocacy marketing.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

With a simple user interface, Tiki users can decide not to share their personal data at all, or to share their personal data that has been anonymized and encrypted, and to be compensated at the same time. In short, Tiki allows its users to decide who gets access to their data, and get paid their fair share for it.

In today’s episode, Mike shares about the importance of data protection, his approach towards making Tiki as user friendly as possible, and the benefits of crowdfunding.

Resources:

https://mytiki.com/ - Check out Tiki and its mission to democratize the protection of personal data. 

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Always make your product or service as user friendly and intuitive as possible. You want your users to be able to easily understand your value proposition. 

2. Crowdfunding is a great way to get your company aligned with its user base and is very founder friendly, as opposed to raising funds from angel investors or venture capital firms that will have more control over your business. 

3. When raising funds, always think about the strategic alignment between your company and the investor. You want your investor to be in line with the direction that you want to take the company towards.

Connect with Ted on:

Ted's Website: https://tedteo.com/ 

Ted's Newsletter (where he shares his best actionable tips, tools and resources): https://tedteo.com/newsletter-sign-up-landing-page/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted.teo/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo 

1. To find a good business idea, think about the 4Ps (Product, price, promotion and place). The more factors a business idea can satisfy, the better it is.

2. After you have found a business idea you are excited about, build a minimum viable product and test it in the market as soon as you can. Do not get emotionally attached with your business ideas. If they are not feasible, be objective and be prepared to walk away. 

3. A subscription model helps build recurring revenue and cashflow for your business and is a great way to build and grow a business organically.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In this episode, Tariq shares how he attributes Rumie’s evolution over the years to be a result of always listening to the needs of his customers, why quality does not always equate to impact and his approach to finding the right local partners when he grew Rumie globally.

Resources:

https://learn.rumie.org/jR/bytes/welcome-to-rumie/ - Check out what exactly is Rumie (and what is a byte).

https://learn.rumie.org/jR/bytes/the-benefits-of-taking-handwritten-notes/ - Tariq’s favourite byte 

https://about.rumie.org/volunteer/ - Here is how you can volunteer with Rumie and help in Rumie’s mission.

https://about.rumie.org/contact-us/ - Rumie’s contact page if you want to get in touch.

Actionable Take-aways:

1. It is important to be listen to the needs of your customer and the tweak your business model as their needs and appetites change. 

2. Quality does not always equate to impact. It is equally important to pay attention to customer retention rates especially in the technology and edutech space.

3. When growing overseas, instead of knocking on every door to find the right key partner, another approach would be to spread the work that you are doing at key events such as conferences, and allowing the right people to reach out to you instead.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In this episode, Kris shares how we can avoid being a sufferpreneur and how it does not necessarily need to be expensive to start growing a team.

Resources:

https://www.winthehourwintheday.com/working-hard-sucks-masterclass - Check out Kris’s masterclass which shows you how to start creating your W.I.N Team (what is next) team so you can get your ideas to execution and make all your ambitions come alive. While this is a paid course, Kris has been very kind to provide this for free to the listeners of the show.

https://www.winthehourwintheday.com/- Check out Kris’s website

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/now-your-business/id1484859150- Check out Kris’s podcast

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Learn to grow your team and avoid being be a sufferpreneur. When you take it upon yourself to do everything, you will suffer from the 3 Ds - damaging overhead, delayed income, and diminished opportunity.

2. Hiring a team does not necessarily have to be expensive. Look out for virtual assistants who are specialized in the specific tasks you need help with. To keep costs manageable, consider starting by paying them on an hourly basis so you can pay as you go along.

3. The biggest mistake entrepreneurs tend to make in relation to team building is to not have a proper onboarding process set up.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Jan shares why one must incorporate both play and peace before we can find progress, the importance of finding the fruit loop moments in life and how she hustled to grow her business from scratch.

Resources:

www.JanHoath.com – Connect with Jan at her website

IG: JanHoath – Connect and with Jan over Instagram

FB: JanHoath - Connect and with Jan over Facebook 

FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LeadWithPlay/ - Join Jan’s Facebook group 

LinkedIn: JanHoath - Connect and with Jan over LinkedIn

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Do what you need to do to spread the business. Speak to your circle about it and offer to work for free or at a discounted rate at the start when you need help practicing your skills. Raise your prices as you get better and your clientele grows. Public speaking at schools, cafes and at events can also help you grow your exposure.

2. Find your fruit loop moments in life. It is important to take time out every day to do something that makes you happy as this will help put in the right state of mind to do your best work and be your best self.

3. You need peace to find clarity in order to make the right decisions for your business. When you feel overwhelmed, take a step back and find that clarity so that you can make the right decisions to bring your business forward.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In today’s episode, Grant shares a ton of actionable take-aways such as the dangers of bad leadership in a business, the importance of providing good customer service as an overall brand strategy, and how entrepreneurs tend to look at and solve the wrong problems in their business.

Resources:

https://waking-giants.com/how-we-work/ - Check out Waking Giant and get in touch if you need their help

https://courses.wakinggiantsacademy.com/courses/create-your-step-by-step-90-day-strategic-plan (Code free until end Sept) – Grant has very kindly provided us with a free discount code valid up till the end of September 2021. Just enter TEDTEO to gain access.

https://scalebystrategy.com/ - Check out Grant’s book “Scale by Strategy”

https://open.spotify.com/show/0Zu86mvtSJ8FRSyJE2GSqn?si=Dja3MaHOTb-LajBtM3s1VQ&dl_branch=1 – Check out Grant’s podcast “The Leadership Diaries”

https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantdifford/  - Get in touch with Grant on LinkedIn.

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Poor leadership leads to poor outcome. Business leaders tend to be the largest barriers of change in a business so look at your own business and yourself and evaluate if there are any hurdles that you may unintentionally be creating for your business.

2. Brand strategy is dependent on culture and customer experience. If you don’t live and breathe the culture, the brand strategy will not work. If you don’t have a good customer experience, you can’t build a strong brand as well.

3. A customer who had a bad experience can become your best advocate if you provide them with superb customer service, so encourage feedback from all customers, but follow up with them closely when they share that they had a negative experience. 

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

In this episode, Edwin’s actionable take-aways include why its important to consider the time and cost of the goals that you want to achieve, the benefits of daily video journaling and his 100 day challenges. 

Resources:

https://thebusinessleadership.com/contact/ - Check out the award-winning “Business Leadership” Podcast hosted by Edwin

Actionable Take-aways:

1. When setting goals, remember to also consider what it would cost and the time it will take so you can have a more complete and honest picture of what it will take for you to achieve them. This helps you to manage your expectations as you work towards your goals and gives you the ability to periodically take stock of your progress.

2. When facing a mental block, think of the reasons as to why you wanted to pursue your venture in the first place and what actions can lead you to the goals you want to achieve. Reach out to your support group (or even join a mastermind) to talk things through to overcome your mental block.

3. Regular journaling of your goals on social media and documentation of your progress can provide not only a form of positive affirmation for yourself, it may also allow others to be aware of your journey and extend their help along the way. 

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

On today’s episode, Liz shares what is a mastermind group and the benefits of joining one, tips on curating and running a good mastermind and how one can get the most out of it.

Resources:

www.Rethinkcentral.com/ted - Check out Liz’s 

Actionable Take-aways:

1)      A good mastermind group allows you to set goals and grow with like minded individuals, so do consider joining one if you would like to be exposed to new industries and perspectives and achieve these goals in a team setting.

2)      To make the most of your mastermind experience, you need to come in with a very clear question pay attention after. Do not hog the limelight so that everyone can maximize their time.

3)      Running a paid mastermind is very lucrative and time efficient, and can serve as an additional revenue stream for your business.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo
 Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/tedteo

Title Write-up:

Danna Olivo is a business growth strategist, serial entrepreneur, and public speaker who has over 35 years of experience in the architecture and construction business. After her near death experience after being hit by a bus in Rio De Janiero Brazil, Danna started getting approached by her friends who needed help solving issues in their business and this led her to start MarketAtomy.

In this Episode, Danna shares the 5 essential and sequential stages to any business and why each stage should not be skipped, tips on fundraising and structuring your shareholding, and how one can identify social sociopaths who may be detrimental to you and your business.

Resources:

https://www.marketatomy.com/ - Check out Danna’s website

https://www.marketatomy.com/bhc-beta/ - Check out Danna’s business health checklist

https://www.chargedupstudio.live/ - Check out Danna’s podcast  

Actionable Take-aways:

1. There are 5 essential and sequential stages to any business. See it, prove it, build it, fund it and grow it. Make sure you don’t skip any stage or you may end up wasting a lot of money targeting the wrong customer or working on the wrong business model.

2. Be very careful and thoughtful about how you structure your shareholding in your company. If possible, make sure that your shareholders all have strategic value and are not silent shareholders.

3. Just because you enjoy something as a hobby does not mean you will enjoy running it as a business. Try to work part-time or job shadow someone to know more about the business and industry if you can before taking the plunge.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com 
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/ 
 Instagram at: @ted.teo 

In today’s episode, Harlan shares his tips on ditching the chaos by simplifying, strategizing and systematizing what needs to be done, why its important to have systems in place in your business and a time tested framework on how to identify and solve the right issues.

Resources:

https://www.ib4e-coaching.com/ - Check out Harlan’s business coaching services.

https://www.ib4e-coaching.com/contact/ - Get in touch with Harlan.

https://www.ib4e-coaching.com/podinfo/ - Harlan’s podcast where he discusses and shares stories of courage, growth, and success from entrepreneurs, business leaders, and community leaders just like you.

https://www.amazon.com/Harlan-Hammack/e/B01MRGU6IQ%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share – Check out Harlan’s books

Actionable Take-aways:

1. When you find yourself overwhelmed, ditch the chaos by simplifying, strategizing and systematizing what needs to be done.

2. You need to have systems in place in your business. This way when something goes wrong, you can easily identify what went wrong and start fixing it.

3. When solving issues, apply the RSSCO system. Think about the results that will motivate you to get to the goal, and the strategies and systems needed to get there. Next, set your controls so you know how you can periodically track your progress, and think of the outcome of achieving that goal. Weight the outcome with the results to determine if you are on the right path, or whether you need to re-evaluate.

Connect with Ted on:
His Website at : www.tedteo.com
LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
Instagram at: @ted.teo

Resources:

https://digdates.com/ - Check out Dig Dates, the dating app for dog lovers

https://tabbydates.com/ -  Check out Tabby Dates, the dating app for cat lovers

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Events are great ways to grow both your user base and build relationships with other companies in your industry. Working on collaborations and oppornities for both segments to meet is a win-win situation.

2. When building relationships with corporations, remember that you speaking to a person at the end of the day. Remember to also come in on the basis that you are prepared to give something in return.

3. There are always sub-niches in each industry an each sub-niche has its own unique issues to be solved for its customers. Within the pet industry, dog lovers and cat lovers face different challenges. Within each pet segment, the breeds of the pet will also give rise to different personalities and lifestyles for its owners, and it is important to consider these nuances when building your product or service.

Connect with Ted on:
 His Website at : www.tedteo.com
 LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-teo/
 Instagram at: @ted.teo

In today’s episode, Charles’s tips include the benefits of hiring a payroll specialist, the common mistakes that entrepreneurs make in relation to payroll, and how one can avoid fraud being committed against their business.

Resources:

https://getpayroll.com/ - Need a payroll specialist? Why not get in touch with Charles at Get Payroll

https://thepayrollbook.com/ - For listeners in the United States, Charles will send you a free copy of his new book if you enter the code “TEDTEO” when checking out.

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Hiring a good payroll specialist can save you money by avoiding hefty financial penalties for late filings or misfilings. 

2. Watch out for misclassification risks for your independent contractors. Consult your legal advisor or tax advisor to make sure you are properly classifying them and that are not considered employees. 

3. Watch out for potential fraud that may be committed against your business. One way to reduce the occurrence fraud is to avoid using physical cheques and using an electronic direct deposit system for your payroll instead.

2. To craft an effective marketing plan, set a clear time limit and goal. Next set the budget and resources that you can commit to it. At the end of the time limit, look at what worked and what didn’t and recalibrate. 

3. Your website is your hub of your marketing. It sets the tone of the impression others will have one you so try you best to make it as professional as you can.

In this episode, Greig’s actionable take-aways include his strategies on how to approach product design and manufacturing, how to expand your business into new markets with his “village” strategy, and how one can turn an unhappy customer into your biggest fan ever.

Actionable Take-aways:

1. The amount of care, attention and accountability will have a direct impact on the relationship you build with the company of the years. Giving customers who have faced issues with your product with quality customer service can turn them from an unhappy customer to your biggest fan ever.

2. When expanding your business, consider employing the “village” strategy where you look out for areas which share a similar demographic with your existing sales markets that have done well to have a higher chance of succeeding.

3. When considering markets to enter, note that the bigger the market, the bigger the risk there is.  So don’t just look at the size of the market, but also consider where you can actually penetrate and make a difference.

1. Experimentation and pivoting are key skills for entrepreneurs. Be prepared to try new things and find out what does and does not work. Your first business idea may not be the one that you want to spend all your time and money on.

 2. Your business partner should be someone who has a different set of skills from you, and should be someone who you are comfortable confronting with there are issues and whom you trust. Just because someone is a good friend does not make them a good business partner, so the best way to find out is to work with them before committing to starting a company together.

 3. As a small company, be diligent with cataloguing your work as it can help build trust and credibility when you are approaching large corporates to convince them to work with you.

https://www.lighthousedancesg.com/#home-section – Check out Naomi’s dance studio!

Actionable Take-aways:

1)      When you take care of your customers and they know that your heart is in the business, they will in turn take care of you and your business.

2)      Pay attention to who are the different stakeholders in your business. If you are in the education industry, your customers are not just the students, but their parents as well.

3)      Find ways to provide a better experience for your customers on top of your core service to over deliver in value.

Show Notes:

[1:26] – Naomi shares why started her own dance studio (instead of using a shared space) during the Covid Pandemic. While it was a big risk to do so, she believed it was the right thing to do for her customers (i.e. the students and their parents) and her employees, because it would allow her to provide a safer environment for them.

·         Due to her philosophy of always placing her customers’ needs before her own and placing a huge emphasis on the character development of her students, the relationships that she built with her customers over the years (and the belief that they would follow her to her new dance studio) gave her the confidence to take the plunge.

[4:07] – Depending on the industry you are in, there may be various stakeholders to consider when considering who your customers are. As a dance instructor who is in the education niche, Naomi shares that she has to take care of the needs of her students and the parents. When you are sincere and you take care of the customers’ needs, this will help build loyalty and customer retention.

·         As an educator, your sincerity has a direct impact on the relationship you develop with your students. Ultimately, the goal is to play a part in the student’s character development and growth.

·         Parents will appreciate you for keeping them up to date with their child’s progress and ultimately want to know that their children are in good hands.

[7:08] Taking the time to build relationships with your customers not only helps with customer retention, your customer may also contribute to the growth of your business by joining the business as an employee one day.

[8:35] It is important to stay flexible and adapt in business. If you can adapt to the changing environment and create new experiences for your customers and employee, your business will be resilient. 

·         By organizing Zoom dance competitions, Naomi was able to keep her students engaged and supplement the income of her employees during the Covid lockdowns.

[13:33] By offering a pay as you wish model during the Covid lockdowns, Naomi was not only able to allow her students’ whose parents who had difficulty paying for the dance lessons to continue with their classes, she managed to do so without suffering a loss of income. 

·         Giving discounts on your goods and services in a way devalues what you are offering.

[17:03] Naomi’s one key take-away is that being sincere with your customers and when they know you have their interests at heart, they will in turn take care of you.