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Women Growing Businesses: Where and How Do You Get Help? By Marcia Zidle

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Women Growing Businesses: Where and How Do You Get Help? By Marcia Zidle

Men are not the only ones who don’t like to ask for directions. Women business owners often also don’t want to admit what they don’t know, or aren’t confident in their ability to do. Yet there are many, many resources around the country to guide women through all kinds of opportunities and dilemmas. Here’s what’s out there for entrepreneurs

My guest on this episode of The Business Edge is Dr. Patricia Greene, Professor of Entrepreneurship at Babson College and academic director for Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and 10,000 Women. She shares her vast knowledge about types of resources to start or grow your business: how to find them, how to evaluate them, and what to do with them once you have them.

Listen to this podcast and learn: The reasons for the surge of women entrepreneurs and some challenges;
The top 3 types of resources for business startups and then for business growth
Where to go for advice, what to do after you get advice, how to deal with conflicting advice
How do you decide on the best resources for you and your business and whether to pay or not
Why you must expand your understanding and utilization of resources: it’s ideas, people, opportunities.

The key take away: Don’t just sit there…do something! Successful business entrepreneurs are both intentional and action oriented! After you have received assistance and advice, develop an action plan with next steps, timelines and potential obstacles you need to overcome. Most importantly, FOLLOW THROUGH! Also find a mentor or coach or peer group for support, accountability as well as opportunities.

Business – Its An Ever Moving Story! What Makes a Great Customer Experience? By Marcia Zidle

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Business – Its An Ever Moving Story! What Makes a Great Customer Experience? By Marcia Zidle

Business – like life is always changing. When your business is dealing with customers’ life changes, for example moving them from one place to another whether it’s across town or across the world, you need to keep a cool head, a caring heart and project management hands.

My guest on this episode of The Business Edge is Francey Beall, one of the owners of Fantastic Moves. Francey knows each customer’s move represents a significant transition in their life. She tells how she and her management team have built a culture that truly cares about the customer’s experience. Here moto is Happy Employees = Satisfied Customers….but really we want them to say it was Fantastic …not just satisfied.

Listen to this podcast and learn: How her motto is translated daily in doing business the “fantastic” way;why marketplace changes lead to the rebranding of their business that was doing well; their hiring method: Selecting employees who are both skilled and have the right attitude; the way to build a culture that truly cares about the customer’s experience: I can attest to that because I was a recent customer; and how the three owners work as a team aligning priorities and responsibilities which results in a better work environment and a better bottom line.

The key take away: Take care of the employee who will take care of the customer. Make sure employees are in positive frame of mind especially if they are the interface between the customer and the company. If a valued employee comes in worried about a water bill that’s due today and they don’t have the money, pay it for them. Discuss later how they may pay you back. What you want is an employee who is totally focused on satisfying the customer not on his or her problems

Success, will I achieve the success I want?

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Success, will I achieve the success I want?

Many of us wonder as we wander through our daily business routines: Am I going in the right direction? Am I doing the things that matter? Will I achieve the success I want? Is there a check list to follow? The answer to these questions: Know the five key factors or soft skills all successful leaders practice every day. What Are the to Follow? My guest on this episode of The Business Edge is Ed Gideon, a successful business owner and valued advisor to CEOs nationwide who helps us answer those questions in order to be fully committed to the path we need to seek. He says each of us seeks our own level of Success. To get there we face challenges in four areas that he will decode: Motivation, Attitude, Productivity, and Working Smarter. He is also the author of Breakthroughs for Success: Nineteen Examples of Success Achieved by Real People. Listen to this podcast and learn: The five skills you need to develop for the path to success; how this formula D x V x F > helps you as a leader deal with change; why you must listen to Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”; the important of knowing the difference between attitude and personality in leading others; why great ideas are like apples: You have to shake the tree and search for the best ones The key take away: If you want to make things happen in your company, especially getting a new initiative off the ground, know and build relationships with the informal influencers – those people who have credibility with the front line and will be responsible for the success or failure of that initiative. Catch up on The Business Edge with Marcia Zidle NOW HERE! 

The Business Edge

Friday at 12 Noon Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Business Channel

 

 

Preparing for What’s Next: Leveraging Your Company’s Life Cycle By Marcia Zidle

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Preparing for What’s Next: Leveraging Your Company’s Life Cycle By Marcia Zidle

Here’s one of those simple, but profound questions, entrepreneurs need to regularly ask: What am I focusing on now vs. what should I be focusing on NOW? After a successful launch, entrepreneurs have a choice. They can sit back and continue doing what they have done so far or they can recognize the need to prepare for what comes next. Too often entrepreneurs make the wrong choice to stay the course using the logic “why mess with success.”

Why You Should Mess With Success!

My guest on this episode of The Business Edge is Dr Mary Lippttt, author of Brilliant or Blunder: 6 Ways Leaders Navigate Uncertainty, Opportunity and Complexity. As an internationally recognized leader in strategic thinking and executing change, Mary tells why there’s good reason for entrepreneurs to refocus their priorities based on changing realities. And one of those realities is that 50% of new businesses fail. Therefore, successful entrepreneurs must change what they do and how they do to have sustainable growth.

Listen to this podcast and learn: Why knowing your company’s life cycle helps you focus on what’s important; the six result-driven mindsets and how they impact an entrepreneurs decision making; how to avoid leadership blind spots and distractions to make smarter strategic decisions; how to use specific mindsets to build an aligned and committed team that’s ready for change; when to use your gut and when not when dealing with uncertainty, opportunity or complexity.

The key takeaway: To prevent getting stuck with a single viewpoint, your leadership should encourage diversity of thought and openness to new perspectives. Therefore build a team that can tap into the six different mindsets especially in uncertain and complex situations. Don’t fall back on the tried and true.  Mess with Success!

Over/Under: A Story of One Entrepreneur’s Journey with Two Tech Startups by Marcia Zidle

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Over/Under: A Story of One Entrepreneur’s Journey with Two Tech Startups by Marcia Zidle

What is Over / Under? It’s a metaphor for two companies, one that was over-funded and the other under-funded. The results aren’t what you would think. Why would a start-up, with a 100 page business plan and with 4.2 Million raised from top tier ventures firms, fail spectacularly, despite having a product, a top tier list of customers and a reasonable revenue base?

My guest on this episode of The Business Edge is Charlie Alsmiller, CEO of Appterra, his second tech star-up. , Charlie took a different approach. He had no business plan, no customers, no products and no capital. Rather, he set out to listen to the market and the market told him how to build his business. Today, 11 years later, his company is one of the top Business-to-Business integration firms, supporting some of the largest companies in their mission critical processes.
Listen to this podcast and learn:: The importance of having a plan A, B, C, D as a funding strategy; what contributes to the life or death as a start-up…and it’s not money; why the ability to say “yes” or “no” is most satisfying being an entrepreneur; how parenting is like running a business – different stages require different expectations and involvement; and the reason he says: The only thing I know about a business plan when I write it, is that it’s probably wrong.”

The key takeaway: You’ll be more effective the less you do.  Build repeatable processes and train the proper people in your business. When you do that, your role changes dramatically. You become the carrier of the cultural flag….and get to push the business in new directions. Work ON your business not IN your business guides everything I do. It can be really easy to just want to jump in and do everything – but at the end of the day, that doesn’t create value nor grow your business.

The House Call Returns…With a Modern Twist by Marcia Zidle

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The House Call Returns…With a Modern Twist by Marcia Zidle

When you need medical treatment do you go to a doctor’s office or clinic? Or would you prefer the doctor come to you in your home, office or even hotel? If yes, then imagine applying the best qualities of a service like Lyft or Uber to healthcare… convenience, mobile accessibility, personalized service and price transparency.

Make Health Care Convenient and Affordable for Everyone
My guest on this episode of The Business Edge is Dr Jonathan Clarke telling how his start-up, Mend, is improving the patient experience by delivering on-demand healthcare directly to people where they are. In other words, he and his medical team come to you! Dr Clarke is a board certified in emergency medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. As a decorated veteran, he served in the US Navy for over 14 years, with wartime tours as a physician in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Listen to This Podcast and Learn:
1. Why emotional intelligence is one of the best traits for leadership success;.
2. What it takes to challenge and overcome the status quo – we’ve always done it (health care) this way
3. How he is combining the best practices of patient care with technology resulting in more satisfied customers.
4. The procedures to insure distributed teams are focused on and aligned with the company’s mission and goals
5. How he follows Jim Collin’s advice: Get the right people in the right seats on the bus and the wrong people off.

Take Away: Sometimes You Have to Unlearn What You Learned
The leadership style that served him well in the military – command and control – is not the style that works well with highly skilled employees who work autonomously. And it won’t work with the younger generation. So he now leads by example, by ongoing communication and getting and valuing feedback. That’s why emotional intelligence is so important.

360 Wraps: How They Are Building a Culture That Attracts Top Talent! by Marcia Zidle

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360 Wraps: How They Are Building a Culture That Attracts Top Talent! by Marcia Zidle

Did you know that attracting the right people to your team is more than a cleverly crafted ‘help wanted’ ad on Craigslist? And once they’re on board, how do you retain skilled workers, who are courted by other companies, with more than money?  What keeps them committed and loyal? It’s The Culture! It’s Your Brand!
My guest on this episode of The Business Edge, Angie Strader, is owner & CEO of 360 Wraps, Inc. – a family-owned business that began in 2007 and is one of the most nationally recognized brands in the vehicle wrap industry. She has over 20 years of military and corporate management experience and eleven years as an entrepreneur.  Angie will share real life examples of building a team that’s committed to the success of a company and how 360 Wraps’s unique and positive culture has helped attract and retained the right people to her team.

Listen to This Podcast and Learn: The top three traits of successful entrepreneurs: It may surprise you; how Team 360 Wraps works: find out what the saying “bleed blue” mean; when adding employees and locations, ways to prevent the dreaded disease “siloitis”; and why it’s crucial to hire for fit first; skills second; and their interview process to get the right talent;

The key takeaway: Be a Duck on Water. You set the tone everyday with your staff, customers, vendors, and everyone you interact with. Every entrepreneur experiencing stress. One day it can be cash flow; another a customer that didn’t come through; another you name it. But you have to stay calm and focused. How does she do it? Remind yourself to be like a duck gliding through the water. Underneath it’s paddling like hell but on top it appears serene!

Millennial’s Entrepreneur Says: You Shouldn’t Be the Smartest One In the Room by Marcia Zidle

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Millennial’s Entrepreneur Says: You Shouldn’t Be the Smartest One In the Room by Marcia Zidle

As entrepreneurs and small business owners, many of us have that “can do anything” mentality. Regardless how skilled and motivated you may be, trying to grow a business while running it is a struggle many startups face. The solution, according to is to find people that are better at somethings than you and hire them. So if you are the smartest one in the room you failed!

The Entrepreneurial Spirit and Journey of a Millennial!

My guest On The Business Edge is Daniel Moore, a real estate investor and creator of a software service company. In 2008, at the age of 23, Daniel bought his first investment property, and by the age of 28 became a full time real estate investor after being inducted into Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Hall of Fame. Daniel has accumulated extensive first-hand, real world knowledge on the “how-to’s” of real estate investing as well as building a business gives him the lifestyle he wants for his family and freedom to give back to his community.

Listen to this podcast and learn: Why culture fit is important especially, even it’s your first hire; how to manage a remote team of professionals across the US and the world; why giving people room to fail is part of his leadership style and why it works; his formula for scaling his business: Hire Right! Systematize and Automate! Let Go!;   his # 1 challenge: Every day focus on the high payoff tasks, generating income, and how he’s trained himself to do that.

The key takeaway: Leverage other people’s time and skills. That’s why it’s important to not be the smartest one in the room. Do what you do best and then contract or hire those who can do it better, faster than you. Remember your time is money! Use it wisely.

Millennial’s Entrepreneur Says: You Shouldn’t Be the Smartest One In the Room

Posted by Editor on
0
Business
Millennial’s Entrepreneur Says: You Shouldn’t Be the Smartest One In the Room

As entrepreneurs and small business owners, many of us have that “can do anything” mentality. Regardless how skilled and motivated you may be, trying to grow a business while running it is a struggle many startups face. The solution, according to is to find people that are better at somethings than you and hire them. So if you are the smartest one in the room you failed!

The Entrepreneurial Spirit and Journey of a Millennial!

My guest On The Business Edge is Daniel Moore, a real estate investor and creator of a software service company. In 2008, at the age of 23, Daniel bought his first investment property, and by the age of 28 became a full time real estate investor after being inducted into Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Hall of Fame. Daniel has accumulated extensive first-hand, real world knowledge on the “how-to’s” of real estate investing as well as building a business gives him the lifestyle he wants for his family and freedom to give back to his community.

Listen to this podcast and learn: Why culture fit is important especially, even it’s your first hire; how to manage a remote team of professionals across the US and the world; why giving people room to fail is part of his leadership style and why it works; his formula for scaling his business: Hire Right! Systematize and Automate! Let Go!;   his # 1 challenge: Every day focus on the high payoff tasks, generating income, and how he’s trained himself to do that.

The key takeaway: Leverage other people’s time and skills. That’s why it’s important to not be the smartest one in the room. Do what you do best and then contract or hire those who can do it better, faster than you. Remember your time is money! Use it wisely.

Why Diversity Makes Sense In Our Global Economy! by Marcia Zidle

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Business
Why Diversity Makes Sense In Our Global Economy! by Marcia Zidle

Diversity has to be more than a moral business imperative, but a catalyst to achieving business objectives. Not only are we in a global market where we must compete with people of different cultures and backgrounds. We must also recognize that the United States is now highly diverse and many of these groups have considerable economic power. The real question leaders and business owners have to ask is:

How can we leverage the intellectual and creative ability of our diverse talent? Only then does diversity make sense.

On this episode of The Business Edge, my guest Telvin Jefferies, answers that crucial question and many others about benefits and challenges of a managing a highly diverse workforce.  As a global chief Human Resources Officer, he has driven change in large companies and now is the CEO and Founder of Careergistics™
Listen to This Podcast and Learn: The new definition of diversity; it’s more inclusive and perceived as more fair; How to embrace diversity in the workplace without changing the way you operate your business; Current best practices in diversity that can be employed without added cost that will lead to big dividends; Why a well thought out diversity strategy is not just for big companies but also for start-ups and small companies; and the impact of generational differences, especially millennials, in your talent management and customer service initiatives.

The key take away: Tap the brain power of all your employees. Regularly bringing a mix of people together (different age groups, different departments, different lengths of service, etc.) to focus on a current business problem. Realize that differences in experiences, thinking and approaches can lead to better solutions. If you feed them, appreciate them and recognize them you’ll be amazed at what results you’ll get. Maybe they’ll come up with your next profitable product or service …like the famous post-it notes.

Tune in Every Friday at noon PST to The Business Edge with Marcia Zidle, The Smart Moves Coach and Speaker. You will meet savvy, street smart entrepreneurs and business leaders who share their stories of success and even missteps as well as practical solutions to the unique challenges faced by growing companies.

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