Entrepreneur Network Podcast

When it comes to selling a luxury product, it’s important to cultivate a relationship with your consumer and understand their motivations. Vivanna Langhoff, owner of Adornment & Theory, a jewelry shop in downtown Chicago, shares how she created five pillars for her and her staff to live by. Yelp reviewer, Shelby F., saw these pillars come to life in her numerous experiences with the business and shares why it’s so important to focus on a meaningful customer relationship, rather than the sale. Adornment & Theory: https://www.yelp.com/biz/adornment-and-theory-chicago Ali Schwartz: https://linktr.ee/alischwar Meserole Sound:

Guest Liesl Bernard is the founder and CEO of CannabizTeam, the world’s largest executive search and staffing firm focused specifically on the cannabis industry. Her team has placed thousands of candidates at executive and management levels in all verticals of the cannabis industry across the world.

While Alex Rodriguez is best know for being an MLB All Star, most people don't know about his accomplishments off the field. It started with Alex starting A-Rod Corp in 2003 on the theory that investing his MLB earnings wisely would protect him from the kinds of financial struggles that afflict too many professional athletes. Today, A-Rod Corp is a massive business with multiple verticals investing in a variety of sectors. Alex discusses his drive to continue working and building every day. 

Behavioral analysis expert Robin Dreeke discusses the key takeaways of his book 'Sizing People Up: A Veteran FBI Agent's User Manual for Behavior Prediction'.

When you're maxed out, and your business relies entirely upon you, what can you do? In this episode, business coach Estie Rand explains how she overcame this problem for herself—and how you can rethink the value you offer your clients, relax your schedule, and make more money in the process.

Got some burning questions about cannabis? Who you gonna call? Guests Jennifer Axcell and Katherine Golden are the co-founders of Leaf411, a free cannabis-trained nurse hotline. Leaf411s mission is to provide education and directional support to the general public about the safe use of legal cannabis.

Being a great leader doesn’t come naturally to many - however, as a business owner you are thrown into a leadership role. Josh Campbell, owner of Rescue Air Heating & Cooling in Richardson, TX, gives his all to becoming a great leader - and it pays off. His staff follows his example & his customers notice. Yelp reviewer, Jennifer W., shared her experience with the company, which started out with a late-night Yelp conversation over a broken AC unit. Hear from Josh about what it takes to succeed. Rescue Air Heating and Cooling: https://www.yelp.com/biz/rescue-air-heating-and-cooling-richardson-4 Ali Schwartz: https://linktr.ee/alischwar Meserole Sound: https://www.meserolesound.nyc/

 David Meltzer - Co-Founder of Sports 1 Marketing, Author, Speaker and Entrepreneur joins Alan as they talk about how they are usually together right now in Las Vegas for CES. David says his show Elevator Pitch, which is going on it's 6th Season, can teach you the critical skill of how to properly pitch something.  He says we all need to figure out what our frequency is for people who like our business or product and then to zero in on it. Consistency is one of the most important things in business and happiness. Alan continues his day with Steve Koenig - VP of research at the Consumer Technology Association (CES). Steve talks about how CES had to pivot and do a digital show this year and partnering with Microsoft to make the event happen. They talk about how important technology is for businesses now, to promote and to introduce new products.  You can’t expect the customer to come to you, that you need to go to them and engage them where they are, Steve chimes that CES is a great place to get caught up on all of the latest technology trends that can help grow your business.  5G soon to be in your neck of the woods and how CES is a great way for new businesses to get noticed. [00:00:00] Elevator Pitch, with David Meltzer [00:05:44] Finding the Right Frequency [00:11:30] Happiness is Being Consistent [00:18:20] Going Digital with Microsoft says Steve Koenig [00:25:48] Engage, Don't Expect! [00:33:22] Move Over, Here Comes 5G

People in 1921 made big, bold predictions for what would happen in 2021... and many of them were surprisingly accurate. We explore what they said, what it all means, and how it can inspire us to build even greater things tomorrow.

Alan is visited by Cynthia Spraggs - The CEO and Founder of Virtira.  Cynthia talks about how early on she knew that she didn’t want to work a regular job. She says that in order to be able to work effectively virtually you really have to be able to communicate well.  Some companies are doing a hybrid of working from home and the office. There are a lot of offices recently available because of companies working remotely. She says that if you are working from home you have to figure out how to limit your bandwidth to deal with the influx of internet usage. Alan says don't overload yourself either or you will crash just like a modem  They talk about how servicing equipment at people’s home offices is a booming business right now.  Alan speaks with Shelly Brander - Founder and CEO of Loops Productions. Shelly talks about her new book, Move the Needle: Yarns from an Unlikely Entrepreneur. She says you need to make your hobby your jobby. She opened a yarn store despite everyone telling her she was crazy, but she pushed ahead and succeeded. Putting a price tag on creativity is hard. Alan says that being creative is a currency. Shelly  believes everyone needs a mentor to help guide them, especially when first starting out. She also says that you should hire help as soon as you can, because it is like putting gas on a fire and just makes your business expand all the faster.  [00:00:00] No Regular Job with Cynthia Spraggs [00:06:02] Hybrid Working [00:11:30] System Overload [00:18:21] Hobby Jobby with Shelly Brander [00:27:58] Creativity Empowers [00:33:25] Having a Mentor and Help Adds Fuel

Alan is joined by Aaron Hageman - CEO of Delivery Drivers, Inc. DDI is a third-party HR firm specializing in the last-mile and gig-economy. Everything from food and groceries, to auto parts and medical-courier products. Aaron says that they are in a great spot in the market to help support companies as they need to pivot. He goes on to talk about working remotely and how having faith in his team works.  Aaron shares his thoughts about how entrepreneurs are very rare and only a small percentage really succeed with their business. It's like being in a Marathon and in order for your business to succeed you have to make sure you take care of yourself. Never stop learning. You can go far alone but you can go farther together. Alan closed out with Drew Manning - NY Times best selling author of Fit2fat2fit.  Drew talks about his journey of going from 181 pounds, 8% body fat to 244 pounds, 26.2% body fat over the course of 4 months. This is not the first time that he has gained a lot of weight and then lost it. Alan is joining Drew on his weight loss journey and committing to lose weight also. Drew talks about how junk food doesn’t just make you gain weight but it affects your mood and your whole life.  He shares that his  journey begins with a cold shower and making his bed mentally sets his day up for a win and that if you can be mentally disciplined in these 2 things then it carries over into you preparing healthy meals, eating right and exercising. Keto diet is what he follows.  Being overweight puts him apart from other personal trainers who are in amazing shape and have been their whole life. He understands how hard it is to give up bad food habits.   [00:00:00] Delivery Drivers Inc. with Aaron Hageman [00:06:06] Providing the Necessities for Success [00:11:30] Marathon of Entrepreneurs [00:18:20] Ups and Downs with Drew Manning [00:26:55] Preparing for the Day in 2 Steps [00:33:22] Two Types of Trainers

Alan is accompanied by Christian Schauf - Founder and CEO of Uncharted Supply Co - and they talk about how 17% of all small businesses in America are closed for good, because of the pandemic. Alan is seeing survival prepping meals at multiple stores right now, because people want to be prepared for a worse case scenario. Christian goes onto talk about how when he moved from Wisconsin to California he noticed that whole towns would shut down for 2 inches of snow and it made him think about what would happen during an actual emergency situation. Christian then started his company so that others would always have the supplies they need and be prepared incase of emergencies. Christian talks about how 90% of the time a crisis is resolved in 72 hours, so he resolved to make a kit to get you through that amount of time with detailed instructions on what to do. They talk about how everyone needs to have an emergency plan in place, like the 72 hour survival kit. We can’t wait until something happens and then try and get supplies. They talk about how being an entrepreneur is liking trying to survive and not knowing if you are going to be ok or not. Entrepreneurs need to always be looking ahead and be prepared for emergencies. Alan continues his day with Kevin Shulman - A Certified Sandler trainer and author of Goal Setting Book Camp - They talk about how it is the height of goal setting season right now because this is the time of the year where we reflect on the year that is ending, what we have and have not accomplished, and we start to think about what we would like to do next year. Kevin talks about seeing restaurants, almost overnight, shift from being dining only to take out only. This immediate shift is what saved companies and the ones who didn’t went under. Alan talks about having a gym and since he can’t have it open, he is going to build some apartments out of it. Kevin says that you have to be willing to pivot with your business or else you will get stuck. Alan says that sometimes you have to stop keeping score, but Kevin says that it’s not worth playing if you aren’t keeping score. Kevin talks about how every person in a company knows exactly where they stand and who is doing better than them.  Kevin believes that goal setting is serious business, it’s not something to do casually. Most people spend more time planning a two week vacation than they do the rest of their lives. When you don’t spend a lot of time planning out a goal, it usually doesn’t get accomplished. Goals should be written down. Nothing feels better when you write down some goals and then achieve them. [00:00:00] Survival Meals with Alan and Christian Schauf  [00:05:49] 72 Hours in Crisis [00:11:30] Survival Kits with Instructions [00:18:21] Goal Setting 101 with Kevin Shulman [00:26:35] Knowing Where You Stand [00:33:23] Accomplish and Achieve Feels Good

Monica Lewis - Director of Product Management at LinkedIn joins Alan as they talk about the very high unemployment rates around the world right now because of coronavirus. LinkedIn did a survey and 84% of those surveyed said that they feel there is stigma around being unemployed and ⅔ of them think that stigma is impacting them getting hired to a new job. They talk about how LinkedIn is a great source for finding mentors who can help you find the job you are looking for or help you overcome some problem you are having with your company. Monica explains how Linkedln has a tool that can help you figure out the steps in getting the job or career that you are looking for. If you are wanting to hire people, you can signal on your LinkedIn profile that you are searching for new employees.  Monica says how great it is that LinkedIn is a social networking site that is able to focus on businesses, being professional and being a safe community. They have seen a huge increase in traffic on their site, due to the pandemic.  Alan dives right in with Scott Schilling - Executive Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for Bee Konnected. They talk about how Scott’s company, Bee Konnected, is all about making connections and new opportunities. They talk about how Scott’s site uses algorithms, like on dating sites, to match you up with people who can help you the most. Scott talks about how they are hearing a lot of great success stories right now, because more and more people are working remotely and using the site to connect with other people and to learn from them.  They discuss various training programs on the site that can train you for a new career or retrain you in how to excel at your current job. They talk about a great webinar service that they offer through the site for a small subscription fee. They talk about how the pandemic has affected nonprofit organizations. Scott talks about how fear is something that has to be manufactured. In order to get into fear, you have to get out of your present, and get into an imagined future. He says that faith is the reverse of fear. You have to have faith in a better future. Scott says that we need to be physically distant from others right now but not socially distant.  [00:00:00] Unemployment Stigma with Monica Lewis [00:06:18] Linkedin a Great Source for Help [00:11:30] Linkedin Professional and Safe [00:18:20] Scott Shilling Making Konnections [00:25:57] Retrain to Excel [00:33:24] Jura Coffee; Physically Distant Not Socially Distant

Alan has a visit with Craig Greiwe - Craig says that social media is really just an advertising platform and is bad for you, so just delete it. You think you are on there to reconnect with an old friend or family member, but the site is just using them to be able to show you advertisements. They talk about how ads used to be high quality, generalized ads, but now they are using shock trooper tactics to get you to click on the ad. We could have a lot better content on these sites, if we were able to focus on exactly what people want. There is too much content out there right now and it clutters up target advertising. Craig talks about how investing in your house isn’t a good financial plan anymore. You should be investing your money in the stock market instead of your house. We need social media platforms that aren’t driven by making money off of advertising. We also need to restrict access so that way it is full of just people. Craig says that companies need to be careful who they politically support and to make sure that they promote good qualities over a specific group. Alan thinks it’s a slippery slope when companies support politicians.  Alan is graced once again with Ruth King - President of Business Ventures Corporation and author of Profit or Wealth. They talk about how to deal with mean bosses. Sometimes you need to adjust your career and find a place where you will thrive. Ruth says that if a boss yells or is angry towards employees that they are then going to act the same way to customers. Don’t publicly chew someone out and don’t blame a whole group of people for one person’s mistake.  Alan says that being yelled at can cause you to have some PTSD, so it should not be allowed in the workplace. Bad bosses think that you should be able to read their minds. Good bosses write down policies and procedures, so that way there can be no confusion. He says that sometimes you just have to walk away from an angry boss.  Ruth suggest that before you fire an employee you should give them a career adjustment program as an option. Sometimes bosses yell at you because they are simply having a bad day. The next day, after your boss has calmed down, you can talk to them about what happened.   [00:00:00] Social Media is Bad for You Says Craig Greiwe [00:05:16] Shock Tactics Get Your Attention [00:11:32] Who You Support Politically is a Slipper Slope [00:18:22] Career Adjustment with Ruth King [00:26:10] Bad Bosses vs Good Bosses [00:33:24] Career Adjustment or Let Them Go?

Alan speaks with Brian Chung and Bryan Ye-Chung - Co-founders of Alabaster Co. have taken the Bible, separated it by books and added some beautiful artwork to the pages. They talk about how they made a Kickstarter and made over $60,000.00.  They say as their business grows, they are able to produce the books faster. All 3speak on how the new colorful Bible is a great way to get younger people interested in it.  Brian and Bryan shared their experience on how they had to learn how best to work with each other.  Prioritize listening to their customers and their needs is a vital part of their success. Alan and Bill Higgs - Authority on Corporate Culture and best selling author of Culture Code Champions: 7 Steps to Scale & Succeed in Your Business, chat about how well Bill's business has done. Success is due to the culture his partners and him created. The  want to change people’s lives, not just make money. Bill is trying to give back by writing this book and showing others what made him so successful. Bill says that leaders have to create a culture that others want to be a part of.  Higgs says to be smart when starting a business and don’t sign a long term lease.  He says for your company to be successful you need to open up communication from top to bottom. You need to create the team that everyone wants to join. You need to establish a repeatable process. Never start from scratch. Never stop selling, even if you are overloaded. [00:00:00] The Bible "A Work of Art" [00:06:46] Kickstart your Start [00:11:30] Work With Each Other Not Against Each Other [00:18:20] We Want To Give, Not Just Make says Bill Higgs [00:25:15] Be Smart, Don't Sign [00:33:19] Communication is Success!