Maximize Your Podcast Listening: Use Interviews to Learn from Virtual Mentors
The Podcast Discoveries Series
by Case Lane
Life in the Internet Age is really two lives.
One is online where you now engage with family, friends, colleagues, and strangers through screens providing a heightened literal face-to-face communication confrontation.
When that harrowing ordeal is over, you check your phone for texts, images, emojis and videos conveying accompanying messages – as vital as your grandmother’s health report, to as trivial as a bird on a giraffe’s back – with the same flat, rapid, flash of presentation.
Sliding over to your social feeds, you post a few images about your delicious meal, new shoes, or child’s messy face, and then stare jealously at your friends’ more delicious meal, hipper shoes and cuter child.
With heightened reluctance you switch off the screen to tend to your other life…the real one.
Your physical life is the one of private discussion, gentle cries, confusion, fear and misunderstanding.
And never more so has this mood stood out than now, when you face a world where you have to learn to operate in crisis and disruption.
Sadly you know no one who has ever faced this type of turmoil.
Neither does anyone you know.
The knowledge circle that used to come from experiences of extended family, teachers or community leaders is closed.
Your chance to extract information has disappeared, and perhaps your opportunity to be successful, and have the comfortable life you expect, has gone with them.
Where do you turn?
To the fastest rising information, education and communication platform in the world…podcasts.
The Surprise Behind the Mic
If you thought podcasts were only for big name stars, provocative politics or senseless comedy, you may have missed the extraordinary bucket of information burgeoning from the 99.99% of podcasts that create most of the content.
Across all categories from activists to educators to professionals, non-profits, entrepreneurs and health practionners, podcasters are having the conversations you used to hear in your living room.
The conversations once offered by mentors, community leaders, and instructors in limited circles, and behind closed doors, are now offered to everyone within earshot of a connected device.
If you are a professional seeking to hear detailed information about how to grow your career; or a college student wondering how life in the ‘real world’ really plays out; or a concerned citizen who is uncertain how best to contribute to building a better society; or an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to understand how to really get a business going…there is a podcast conversation waiting for you and your notepad.
But how do you find this treasure trove of knowledge and information in the massive sea of options presented on your smartphone?
You start here.
How to Find Your Relevant Podcasts
This post highlights what you should know about extracting valuable information from podcasts available right now for your listening pleasure.
But instead of passively absorbing the conversation, this post recommends you take the guidance you hear to the next level, and apply the knowledge to your career path, education or entrepreneurial decisions going forward.
The purpose of a podcast interview is to give the listener new insights to absorb and implement. The opportunity for you is to take the advice and run with it.
Present at the Beginning
Podcasting is a fairly new industry with no formal structures or established reference resources. Podcasts are hosted by dozens of platforms, and listed in dozens more directories.
But most directories limit search results to the most ‘relevant.’ This presents the top podcasts with unlimited search result real estate, and all the rest lost behind algorithms designed to ignore them.
A podcast capturing valuable specific interview content for a young professional, rising business owner or college student could be ranked from #101 to #1,000,000, and effectively be ‘undiscoverable.’
But if you are that person who wants that information, the question is: how can find the 99.99%?
And when you do…what should you do with the information?
The Value of Virtual Mentors
Most people do not have the information they need to be successful. The schools do not teach the personal development and self-help ideologies, that tens of millions of adults will go on to purchase in later life.
And the majority will fail to learn that some people are successful not because of demographics or wealth or education, but simply because they get great information they understand early enough to apply it to their life choices.
In a world built on democracy and free enterprise, there’s a belief that people operate on a leveling playing field – that the society by virtue of its success values will encourage anyone to be successful.
But in reality, success often comes to those who have the right information.
Rich Dad Poor Dad and The Information Privilege
In Robert Kiyosaki’s best selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, he explained this reality. You get the right information by either having a ‘Rich Dad’ who will impart it to you, or by knowing you are missing out, and finding where you can learn what you need.
A ‘Rich Dad’ is any human who pro-actively teaches or demonstrates how to maximize your resources to grow for success; and ‘Poor Dad’ teaches nothing but following the status quo.
The most effective ‘Rich Dads’ provide not only the knowledge, but the life skills to understand how to apply what you have learned for the long-term. ‘Poor Dad’ is rarely economically poor, yet leads a life where decisions are driven by earning a salary to pay monthly bills, and scrimping and saving for retirement.
People who grow up with ‘Poor Dad’ often believe they are doing everything right, and to society, they are, until they hit financial concerns. ‘Poor Dad’ learners are the ones who are shocked by financial crises, rising mortgage rates, equity market swings, and the interest rates on their car loans, student loans and credit card debt.
Following ‘Poor Dad’s’ example means spending on the items you believe you should buy like a house and car, and being worried that you cannot afford those same items whenever there is a crisis.
Even the ‘Poor Dads’ who teach frugality, and end up with a couple million dollars in the bank at retirement, don’t seem to be having a good time. They have never learned how to spend money for enjoyment, and are constantly managing to the last penny in fear of ‘running out.’
For those who are interested in entrepreneurship and starting a business, ‘Poor Dads’ caution and insecurity is discouraging. Entrepreneurial ideas go untested because of fear, and the inability to break habits from the past.
But those same people, maybe even you, know about ‘Rich Dad,’ and maybe are watching, wondering and asking, how do you have a great life now?
Find a Virtual Mentor
If a potential ‘Rich Dad’ is not within your reach, you can find one as a virtual mentor who will give you the guidance and wisdom you need to ensure your life meets your expectations.
Since financial education is not taught in schools, you have to be exposed to ‘Rich Dad’ in some other form.
But if you don’t have a ‘Rich Dad,’ and you know you are missing out on the information you need, and you are ready, willing and able to implement good advice, you can discover these valuable mentors for yourself by absorbing and applying the lessons being taught…in podcasts.
You can make yourself information privileged by finding the podcasts that are having conversations with people who have the knowledge you need.
How to Find Your Podcast
Podcasts grow by word of mouth, which means the most successful podcasts are those that have been recommended. And the interview podcasts tend to be successful for the same reason. Interviewers speak to a finite rotating list of A-name stars who tell the same stories over and over again.
Even on podcasts that purport to offer a different perspective, or unique angle, the same story is being told by the same people.
To break away from these familiar conversations, and find podcasts you can use to advance your life, you have to become more creative in your podcast search.
If those in your circle are not interested in enhancing their lives, they will not be the ones to recommend the podcasts you should be listening to. You will have to find these shows on your own.
Search by Keyword
The podcast description is the main location where podcasters state the nature of their content. But a podcaster can state this information in a variety of different forms.
A keyword you are searching for may not appear in the podcast title or description, yet be valid for the type of content provided. You will have to assess each description as you see fit.
Some podcasters also have episode descriptions that state the episode features, and expert or specialist interview content. But this information varies by podcast.
When using keywords to search for podcasts:
- Search for your unique podcasts by using Google or another search engine for [your keyword] podcasts to see a list of possibilities.
- Read the descriptions to see if the information sounds valuable to you.
- Since your search topic may cover more than one area, try different categories and keywords around broad subjects. For example, entrepreneurs can look for: ‘entrepreneur,’ ‘entrepreneurship,’ ‘business,’ ‘success,’ ‘startup,’ ‘side hustle,’ ‘action,’ ‘boss,’ and all variations of ‘boss lady.’
- If you are aware of experts in your field such as professors, researchers, and organizers search [their name] podcast – the person’s name with the word ‘podcast’ written after it – to see if you can find their appearances on different shows. When you find the appearance of someone you admire, you may find others who have appeared on the same podcast, and discussed similar topics.
- You can stop when you have at least 100 podcasts to research. Avoid trying to find every possible category, every type of podcast may be lurking in. Once you begin by searching one or two categories the results will lead you on to more.
Social Media
Searching social media hashtags and keywords can also help discover previously unknown podcasts. However, social media generally takes more time, and does not often provide additional information about the show.
Social media may be more valuable AFTER you have listened to an interview, and want to learn more about your virtual mentor.
How to Listen to the Interview
When you discover a podcast with interviews with people whose advice you may wish to add to your ‘Rich Dad’ information library, listen to the conversation as if that person were providing the details directly to you.
If your hands are free, take notes on important points you may want to clarify or research later.
For example, if you want to be an entrepreneur, and listen to entrepreneur interviews on podcasts, you could be considering:
- How the entrepreneur got started
- Where their opportunities came from
- How they made money.
For example, on the Trailblazers Impact podcast, ‘Financial Diva’ Victoria Woods, the CEO of ChappelWoods Financial Services spoke about her rise.
An aspiring entrepreneur listening to this interview may realize:
- You have to keep your eyes open for opportunities to make money, like babysitting 6 kids at a time, instead of one
How can you enhance your existing work right now to earn more money?
- You maintain your opportunity by being responsible, organized and reliable
Do you need to improve in any of these areas?
- You should be productive with your free time, for example take an accounting class or other continuous learning. You may be surprised to discover a subject you love that is also a career opportunity
What subject could you be studying right now to add to your skills?
- Accept no limits – use your energy and effort
Are you feeling strong and capable, or do you need to improve your energy and motivation?
- Follow the trails of those who have done it before
Who are the successful people around you? Who should you be following online to better understand the road to success?
- Stay open for new opportunities
What have people told you lately or what have you seen that could lead to an opportunity for you?
- Find the right partner by making sure your goals and lifestyle are aligned
Are you aligned with your partner on your goals? If not, what can you do to fix the situation?
- Always ask why a customer decided to work with you, why were they motivated to call you. You can learn from what you’re doing right
If you have a business now, how often do you communicate with customers outside of transactions, and what do you say?
- Decide where you are and where you want to be, then fill in the blanks about how you want to get there
Write down your goals and your envisioned future. Document the blanks and what you need to do to fill them.
- Don’t take advice from broke people – physically, financially or spiritually
When somebody offers you advice, ask yourself if you would like to have that person’s life, if the answer is ‘no,’ you know what to do with the advice!
If you had this information imparted directly to you over coffee or dinner, what would you do with it?
Use the Knowledge to Build your Life Going Forward
Use the information you hear in podcast interviews to begin building a store of knowledge that can help you design your life to ensure you accomplish your goals, without waiting for circumstances to take you in another direction.
Unlike generations past when good advice was kept among families or scholars, the average person now has the information freely available, and ready for use.
If you are serious about having the life you really want, being proactive about your choices, and making your own success, use quality podcast interviews – beyond the top 100 – to get your share of the information privilege you are unlikely to receive anywhere else.
Let the podcast world provide you with an additional education, grounded in realities that you will not hear about from those around you.
This is an exciting time to be a participant in the new economy, now you can adapt the possibilities to your own ends.
Conclusion
Why should you be listening to podcasts?
For the information, knowledge, entertainment and news.
But why should you try and find the #101 to #1,000,000 ranked podcasts?
Because in the interviews and information of the 99.99% of podcasts lies a layer of wisdom that would otherwise be completely inaccessible to you.
The manor door has been left wide-open, you can slip in, and absorb the next level of higher living that comes not from money, but from information, heard, absorbed and used to repeat success, not let it fall away.
Take advantage of this moment while you can, by taking a step beyond the obvious, and making your podcast listening count for more.
More Information
The best part about researching 1,117 podcasts was being accepted as a guest on so many awesome shows! You can find links to all of those fabulous podcasts here.
The second best part was my new found insight into the podcast industry.
This research was so eye-opening that this post is one of five about what I learned about the podcast industry from researching 1,117 podcasts.
Here are the links to all of the posts in the Podcast Discoveries Series:
Introduction to the Podcast Discoveries Series
How to Become A Guest on a Podcast
How to be a Welcoming Podcast Interview Host: The Best and Worst Practices
How to be a Valued Podcast Interview Guest: The Best and Worst Practices
Maximize Your Podcast Listening: Use Interviews to learn from Virtual Mentors
Additional Resources
Research Checklist: Podcast Guests: If you would like a free checklist for how to research and find the right podcast for you. Click here to download.
Podcast Directories: If you would like to get your own copy of the podcast directory listing and instructions based on my research click here (coming soon)
Podcast Guest Interview Blueprint Package (the ultimate course for podcast guests): Podcast Guests: If you would like the comprehensive guide to finding and contacting podcasts that are right for you, including as bonuses the Interview Checklist and the Directories List. Click here for this special offer.
Podcast Discoveries Book: Readers: If you would like the entire story of this epic research journey to discover and contact podcasts for guest interviews. Click here to download at Amazon.com. NOTE: the book is also available at Apple Bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and other popular sites where ebooks are sold.
Research Report: To purchase, the entire research report click here (coming soon)
Podcast Discoveries on the Ready Entrepreneur Podcast: This information will be explained in upcoming episodes of The Ready Entrepreneur Podcast. Subscribe at Apple Podcasts to stay up to date.
Podcast Discoveries on YouTube: To watch videos explaining the Podcast Discoveries process for finding your new favorite podcasts, click here (coming soon)
Disclosure: Links to Amazon.com and related companies are affiliate links that earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you.
by Case Lane
In the delightful comedy W1A about management life at the BBC, one of the characters has the useless corporate title, Director of Better.
No one, least of all the holder of the title, knows exactly what the title means nor what the role is supposed to do. The show is a continuous standup play on the triumph of bureaucracy in maintaining employment for well-meaning, educated professionals who essentially do…nothing.
But as uncomfortably true as the antics may be, the laughs will not last.
Even before a global pandemic, those who keep an eye on the economy were already documenting how technology and access to the global market were changing the future of work, and the expectations of society.
The value of every mythological line in the American dream was under scrutiny, and lifelong ideas about the ‘right’ thing to do with one’s life were being unmercifully contested.
In the midst of this, the often questionable journey for the entrepreneur continued to expand online, and created not only a new category of businesses, but an entirely renewed way to view the entire profession.
No longer the dominant road only for status-quo-defying risk-takers, online entrepreneurship opened up to anyone who was willing to do the work, to transform their speculative idea into a product or service for the global marketplace.
The result has been an up-leveled opportunity for anyone to take their place in the global economy through electronic means. This realization changes the game for all those who thought there was no room for them on the Internet money train.
For these reasons you should become an online entrepreneur:
- The Need for Solutions
- The Opportunity to Deliver Value
- You Can Have Any Idea
- You Can Operate in Any Niche
- You Do Not Have to Be an Expert
- You Do Have to Do the Work
- The Reality May Not Meet Your Expectations
- There is Money to Be Made
- There Are People Making Money
The Need
Surfing the Internet is another way to say searching the Internet. People are online looking for…everything…to satisfy their desires across a range of wants related to the most demanded, and most obscure, human needs.
This endless searching has allowed the major internet companies to gather data on consumer desires. And this data is for sale.
While business people have always attempted to ‘know their customer,’ now they can extract that information based on the customer’s own requests demonstrated by their typing, clicking, searching, reading, listening and viewing all day.
This demand-driven activity has not stopped entrepreneurs from considering the innovations people did not think to ask for. But they can just as easily assess demand by creating introductory products, service instructions, or even spin-offs of existing products or services for those who can never find exactly what they seem to want.
In fact, the online entrepreneur does not have to create anything new at all. A promotional video, deftly worded advertisement, or ten minute podcast generates enough data to understand consumer demand for a directed product or service designed to meet the expected need.
And the bottom line is…there is an endless stream of unmet needs across all consumer demographics all over the world.
The Opportunity
Anyone watching internet surfers continuously looking to be fulfilled, can see an opening that presents an opportunity to deliver a product or service to these desperate consumers.
An aspiring entrepreneur can target potential customers through the search engines like Google, social media platforms like Facebook, or their own proprietary e-mail lists, with advertisements, promotions, stories, images, audio and videos designed to encourage a connection.
Any Idea
A person who recognizes gaps in the economy…and fills it…is the entrepreneur. And more often than not the gap is related to an unserved demographic frustrated with never finding products or services that are aimed at them.
The ability to deliver products or services to this specific niche is the cornerstone of the online entrepreneurship opportunity.
The ‘mass’ market is on the decline. Consumers are searching for products or services designed specifically for their exact desires. They want a business that hears their voice, and meets their needs. And the intrepid entrepreneur is often one of the potential customers who has grown tired of waiting for someone else to invent the product or service they keep searching for.
All Niches
Decades of marketing practices aimed at the ‘mass’ market has left a wide-open field for entrepreneurs who are willing to deliver for those who do not currently receive.
An aspiring entrepreneur can immediately be the automatic leader in their field by delivering a product or service from their unique perspective, and using their singular approach.
The nutrition, diet and fitness market presents the typical example of how this works. Until everyone on earth finds a food plan they enjoy, and a health routine they can maintain, for the ideal look they aspire to…there is an opportunity for an entrepreneur to deliver a new nutrition, diet or fitness product.
The entrepreneur only needs to determine how best to deliver the product or service to those potential customers who will become their pampered community.
Not the Talent
For any idea the entrepreneur wants to develop there is an opportunity to approach almost anyone in the world who may be interested. In the most successful scenarios, the entrepreneur builds a community around their product or service, and continues to nurture and cultivate their fans.
But the entrepreneur has to first find these fans, ideally, through the online platform where they are most comfortable.
If you prefer writing, you can become a blogger, and seek to attract your audience by delivering value in the form of interesting articles.
If you prefer to talk, you can start a podcast and organize your value in a discussion or interview, which showcases the product or service you want to deliver.
Similar options exist for using images or being on video.
And if you do not like any of those options, and you just want to be an executive or manager, you can outsource the work to a content creation team based anywhere in the world.
Not an expert
Online entrepreneurs are creators, writers, instructors, influencers, marketers, store owners, coaches, consultants, developers, artists, speakers, photographers, organizers, and some…are experts in a particular field.
As noted in the next paragraph, to be successful, the only expertise one needs is the amount that is generated relative to the work the entrepreneur is willing to do.
The online entrepreneurship field is one devoid of formal credentials. The magic is in understanding the target consumers’ needs and, literally, speaking their language, then working persistently to deliver such sufficient value that these dream customers tell all their friends.
The Work
To create an online business, the aspiring entrepreneur picks an idea, a niche and a platform, and then delivers lasting value. The challenge is…how?
The number of entrepreneurs who have created one product, and took it to immediate success in the market without any changes is probably zero. By default, the entrepreneur must be prepared to adapt and change to consumer demand. The ‘big’ idea typically needs to be refined and molded until consumers respond.
The same is true for the distribution or marketing. A great idea poorly delivered will not find its intended base.
A good product poorly marketed will not find its audience.
A typical entrepreneur is likely to try dozens, perhaps hundreds, of iterations changing one segment after another of the product or service to find the ‘hit’ lurking just over the horizon.
This is where the statistics about entrepreneurship success and failure begin to play out. Those that actually make it are the ones who have the resources to keep trying until one version of their idea survives.
Those who can no longer hang on…fall by the wayside.
The Reality
Entrepreneurship is no walk in the park. Not because the work is particularly difficult, not because the potential consumers are missing, not because the idea is bad…but because the aspiring entrepreneur has no idea what is going to work.
The online entrepreneur has to be prepared to try and try again. From changing a headline on a landing page, to adding just one more email, to responding to every comment on social, to posting a question they never thought to ask before…the key to the game is perseverance.
Many successful entrepreneurs will tell you about the ideas that flopped. But each one led the entrepreneur to try something new, to watch for any signs from the market that the idea was resonating, and to scale rapidly when the most recent fix appeared to be a hit.
The question is: will you be successful before your energy or money runs out?
For those who keep their 9-to-5 while working on their side hustle, the question becomes: will you be successful before you really can’t stand your regular job anymore?
Either way, the only successful players are the ones who are persistent, and do not give up.
The Monetization
Where does online money come from…here’s a short list:
- Advertising and affiliate links on websites
- Private Coaching
- Private Consulting
- Advertising and sponsorships on podcasts and videos
- Direct digital product sales of books, videos, audio, courses and software
- Percentage of affiliate sales from joint ventures selling other people’s products
- Speaker fees
- Physical product sales of t-shirts, coffee mugs, pens, books and more
- Masterminds and conferences
How is the money made from these products?
By marketing to potential customers, and convincing them that the product or service you have to offer, in the form you offer it, will meet their needs.
This is the part where many aspiring entrepreneurs fall short. After locating a potential customer base, and confirming they are searching for the product or service you have to offer, you still have to be able to close the sale.
You have to get them to buy.
So aspiring entrepreneurs must create an incentive for potential customers to look at what they have to offer, make a purchase, spread the word, and come back for more.
The options for encouraging this path are as equally endless as the money spigots…
- Build a social media following by consistently posting online
- Start a blog, podcast or YouTube channel full of interesting content
- Create a website loaded with compelling content, and allow ads and affiliate banners
- Align with existing entrepreneurs in a joint venture (if you have something to offer them)
- Write and promote a book, course or app
- Create and promote other digital products
- Apply as a paid speaker, after volunteering to speak for free and building a reputation
- Set-up an online store and use social media to promote the products
- Tell everyone who will listen what you are doing, and convince them, even if they’re not interested, to tell others…
The Survivors
The Internet is littered with millionaires who are not afraid to tell you about their success. Many webinars begin before breathing to recount the host’s great successes from zero-to-million-dollar paydays, to zero to million follower social feeds, to total domination by learning the ‘one true way’ to do…whatever they purport to do.
They can deliver dozens of testimonials, endless words of public praise, and smiling and delighted successes at every turn. The presentations are slick, beautiful, and hyped for mind-control returns.
These are the successes.
The people behind these numbers are often exactly who they say they are, whether or not the ‘one true method’ they teach is repeatable and can work for others. And any way you slice their story – they have managed to at least get to the point where they can display a life of bling, and get you to listen to them talk about it.
Something went right.
In many cases, the successes did one thing legitimately and consistently correct…they did the work.
They posted every day, talked to everyone they knew, pushed through imposter syndrome, overcame fears, chanted affirmations, read every book, took every course, and continuously applied their learnings until their message clicked.
Keeping in mind all of the above, the aspiring entrepreneur can select any one of those models to emulate, or try to forge a new road. Either way, the fundamentals will not change.
If you have an idea that fills a gap, delivering a product or service to a niche consumer base that wants or needs what you have to offer; through an approach they can find; and you are willing to keep working until your dream customers find you and respond…you will have your business.
You just have to get started.
Case Lane’s latest book Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Practical Guide to Getting Started with an Online Business is available now at Amazon.com
The book details the first ten actions to take when getting started online.
Disclosure: Links. to Amazon.com are affiliate links which earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you.
What is an Aspiring Entrepreneur?
The two words ‘aspiring entrepreneur’ have their roots in Latin.
Aspire comes from aspirare – ad- ‘to’ + spirare ‘breathe’. The root of the English word ‘aspire’ is to breath. Yet we have come to associate aspire with ambition, dreaming and hoping for an accomplishment.
The idea of being aspirational often refers to the indefinite, those with their head in the clouds. In fact, we even say lofty heights of buildings are aspiring into the sky.
Image by Daniel Reche from Pixabay
A word meaning breathing, the act we need for life, has ended up as a reference to lofty dreams that can be celebrated or ignored. From a root tied to actually staying alive, we have derived a hopeful sensibility to achieve something you desire.
The word entrepreneur, comes from the French, entreprendre which means to undertake. The Latin root is prendere, which means to take.
Would this mean the term ‘aspiring entrepreneur’ refers to a breathing taker – or the breather who seeks to undertake?
Two Words for One Intention
A friend of mine once told me he studied Latin to avoid needing a dictionary. When you look up words, you often find the Latin root, which if you know the definition, means you can define the word.
When it comes to the concept of an aspiring entrepreneur, the Latin root appears to betray a less serious qualifier on the action-oriented French intention ‘to undertake.’
Maybe aspiration alone is not enough.
Entrepreneurs also need ambition, drive and perseverance.
The aspiring entrepreneur who ‘undertakes’ is more likely to transform dreams into actual action. A fact which brings the term ‘aspiring entrepreneur’ full circle.
The entrepreneur part of an aspiring entrepreneur undertakes to get things done. The aspiration part is knowing you can make it happen. The dreaming – breathing part of the definition is the vision needed to ensure a business idea gets into the global marketplace.
An aspiring entrepreneur, who stays aspiring, is the ‘almost’ entrepreneur who has not yet found a path to business success that will work. To get beyond aspiring that entrepreneur has to keep going until the correct road is identified.
Follow Examples
In Wild Company, Mel and Patricia Ziegler’s awesome book about building the Banana Republic stores, they knew they wanted to have a business even if they did not have a specific idea which one. They went out looking for a business that would work for them.
The titans of the early 20th century like Rockefeller capitalized on opportunities they saw growing around them in new technologies for steel and oil.
The titans of the 21st century like Jeff Bezos used the capabilities of technology and the reach of the Internet to build new businesses.
Are You Aspiring?
An entrepreneur who has yet to create a business must decide if activities reflect: Continuous aspiring? Searching for visible opportunities? Or preparing to create something new?
Begin first by considering where you have been. What makes you believe you are an entrepreneur? If it’s the idea that you want to have your own business, that you have a product or service you believe could be of value, or you know you want an independent professional life, then you are set. You are already in the entrepreneurial space.
If you want to be an entrepreneur for the ‘bling’, the money, house, car and publicity, but you do not have a valuable product or service attached to your vision, then you may be stuck in aspiration for some time to come.
It is much easier to pursue your dream and work on it every day, if you believe in it and you care about results and the outcome. You have a great chance to actually have a business if your passion for your product or service is also the fuel that prompts you to put the time and money in to making the passion a business.
It is a lot harder to commit to a plan if you really just see it as a ticket to…nowhere.
Actions for Moving Beyond Aspiration
To get beyond aspiring, make a commitment to a business idea that you can move forward into a business.
Take the time to research your idea, find your niche and community.
Determine where you can add value, and the product or service needs of the community.
And put your research in to action.
Forever aspiring means never doing.
You want to see the results of your dream not just having the dream.
An aspiring entrepreneur is the person who focuses on the hope and dream of entrepreneurship. You can start aspiring, but must transition to actual action to be considered an entrepreneur.
Summary: To Transition to Action:
- Research your idea – determine who wants or needs the product or service you would like to offer
- Talk to people who have done it before
- Identify the value you can add – your niche
- Put your research into action
Take your vision past aspiration, and on to implementation.
Disclosure: Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links. I earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you.
How to Gently Dump Someone so You can Get On with Your New Business
by Case Lane
Ending a relationship is never an easy conversation. But it’s necessary.
A bad boyfriend or girlfriend needs to be removed so you can move on and find someone new. Ending a marriage is more dramatic and typically requires third parties to finish the process, but the reasoning is the same – both sides must be permitted to move on.
But when it comes to toxic friends and family, many aspiring entrepreneurs remain aspiring because you feel obligated to remain among those you have always have in your life. Even when you have made an effort to improve your personal development or began researching how to execute on your business idea, you play along to get along with the people who are in your life.
Define ‘why’
You want to start your own business and spend time on the product or service idea you have developed, but maybe you are married, or with someone or have other family obligations, or a lot of friends who expect you at parties and events, or you feel you must be wherever they are.
That’s your first mistake. You are holding yourself back. By discovering and reading this article, you have already declared your intention to start your own business. If the people around you do not want to move forward to the next level, you need to breakoff the relationship.
But how do you get away…gently?
Consider dumping toxic people – your friends, maybe your family too, and definitely your colleagues at work – is all for a good cause, your personal lifelong dream to start your own business.
Identify your Supporters
You don’t have to dump anyone if they are all on your side. But unfortunately for many aspiring entrepreneurs no one is cheering them on. And to break away and really do what you want to do, you have to practice some tough love.
Recognize Your Contribution
You have done everything you were supposed to do – college, professional life, family relationships, and connection with friends. You do everything the way you’re supposed to do it – you go to every birthday party and wedding, you ‘like’ every Facebook post, you stay on the phone for an hour, or more while someone goes on about some guy who just left or the girl who just showed up – and that’s your life.
At work, you attend all the right meetings, fill out the mandated reports, and smile politely and engage in idle chatter with everyone with a title.
But during those birthday parties, and phone conversations and meetings, you are thinking about your business idea, marketing for the product or service, plans for your website – and you find that thinking along those lines makes you happier than the other activities.
But you feel guilty. After all, you have dutifully gone along with all the friends and family and colleague rituals for years. You’ve laughed, cried and hugged everyone. No one would ever suspect that the whole time, you were trying to figure out how to gracefully dump everyone so you could concentrate on the real passion of your life.
Recognize Your Actions
Every day you think about your business, you also feel more and more drawn to getting started. You listen to the Ready Entrepreneur podcast, read books about entrepreneurs, and research your business idea and target industry.
In fact, in reading books about entrepreneurs, you notice a common pattern. The most successful people never settle for ‘regular’ lives. They were able to roll right into starting their own business without holding back and clinging to all those old relationship ties.
The 19th century moguls – Carnegie and Morgan – were all business, all the time. Bill Gates dropped out of college to go work on his business, so did Mark Zuckerberg. Patricia and Mel Ziegler who founded Banana Republic were both working at a newspaper and left together to start their business. Sir Richard Branson was always involved in some entrepreneurial venture right out of school.
So it seems at least as the writers tell the story, these famous entrepreneurs never had to figure out a way to sneak away. In fact, from the beginning they found friends who were also business partners, like Gates and Paul Allen, and built their business together.
So what should you do?
Strategies for Gently Dumping People from Your Life
One huge caveat: people who are married or who have minor children will probably not be able to just walk away, and should to reach an amicable solution with those to whom they are legally obligated.
For aspiring entrepreneurs who are trying to gently remove people from their present lives who do not reflect their future, your task is going to be to take these strategies and wedge them into your life.
Communicate
You do not owe everyone an explanation, but there may be people in your life who you are particularly active with and therefore you need to explain what you are doing when you decide to back away.
Tell them you are starting a business and see how they react. The people who want to laugh at you or tell you you can’t do it are the first people you can walk away from without feeling guilty.
For the people who are supportive, you won’t have to worry about stepping away. They will understand.
Start Saying ‘No’
You need to start saying ‘no.‘ For once-in-a-lifetime events like weddings and funerals, you can say yes,’ especially when you know it’s easier to say ‘yes’ than to explain why you were not there.
But for the regular occurrences of parties and dinner, saying ‘no’ is going to be difficult at first. People are going to be insulted and angry by your indifference. But you have to make time for your business and for the plans you have.
Remember you are becoming an entrepreneur because you have an idea for a product or service that will add value for people who want or need your product. You are going to be helping many people with your solution. Your new community is waiting for you. If the old one does not understand, you will have to move on.
Roll out your ‘no’s’ slowly. Start with the least important events while making sure you let your existing community know you are committed to the big events.
Be Present When You Do Attend
When you are with people, be your old self. Engage with them and let them tell you their stories. Learn to be a listener. You will be attending fewer and fewer events so these few hours when you make the effort may be tedious and boring, but limited on your agenda.
At the office, focus on the work over idle gossip. Recognizing that every office is different, and the dynamics of your situation will dictate your behavior, but the idea is to use the time at the office to your advantage.
If you’re still at the office, use the time to learn as much as you can about business operations or administration that you could use in your business. Talk to people you have never spoken to about their work, and let them teach you information you can use. You can learn what not to do, and the activities you think are good or trivial.
Once you know you’re going to leave to start your own business, stop joining in the office gossip, and going out to lunch. If anyone is in your confidence, you can tell them what you’re doing, otherwise just make your excuses. Soon your colleagues will stop asking you to join them and your time will be free.
Schedule Text and Social Media Time
You are going to have to slowly wean yourself off of texting and social media with friends and family. Schedule the time when you will look at your phone for social reasons, for example at 9 am, 3 pm and 8 pm – or something similar. Turn off the buzzer on your phone, and turn off all social media notifications.
If your work and personal phone are the same, try not to look at the personal posts and emails. You will not be able to get on with your business if you are trying to get to your phone every minute.
Those closest to you will call if there is an emergency.
Summary: How to Gently Dump Someone so You can get on with Your New Business
These simple behaviors are designed to give you the time to focus on starting your business, and moving your life towards your goal of lifestyle freedom. You are doing this to have purpose and fulfillment in your life.
Some people may not support your intent, but those that do will be with you on this gloriously fun entrepreneurship journey.
- If you have already done everything you are supposed to do, then you likely have a life of family, friends and colleagues who expect you to participate in their social interactions and casual banter just when you want to work on your business
- To move away from them – communicate – with the ones closest to you so they know what you are doing
- Start saying ‘no’ to the least important events, and work your way up until you have to say ‘yes’ to the once-in-a-lifetime events
- Be present when you attend functions and events. If you still want to be with everyone, let them know you still care
- If you’re at work, use the time to understand business concepts. If appropriate, speak to people about their work to learn information you may be able to use in your business
- Say ‘no’ to gossiping and social lunches – soon your colleagues will stop asking you to join them, and it will be easier to walk away
- Schedule text and social media time, outside of work to limit the hours when you will check for texts and social media
If you implement these tips, hopefully you can have a graceful exit from the past and a triumphant entry into your new future.
Keep Your Dreams When the World Changes
by Case Lane
When the New Year’s celebrations lit up the world on January 1, 2020, most people were bracing for an exciting year. The Olympics, elections, a growing economy, lots of travel, weddings, graduations – all round celebrations and good times…just like normal.
As an aspiring entrepreneur you may have been planning your big breakthrough – the changes that would take you to the next level.
You could have guessed a financial or operational issue might have thrown you off for a day or two, but you had no reason to believe you would end up living in a completely different world.
For the first few months of 2020, as a global pandemic spread around the world, and governments made the unprecedented decision to shutdown all movement – you found yourself stuck, literally – with the greatest question of your life so far – what are you going to do next?
Lessons from 1890
Unless you are over 102 years old and remember the last global plague, you are living in a world you never knew could exist. Unlike during a war when commerce and socializing continues, this disruption has forced fundamental changes in how we live, and how we view the world.
Suddenly when all the sports activities were canceled, you could feel sorry for the athletes losing their income, but also recognize the insignificance of the game in the face of thousands dying.
When the schools were closed, you could be challenged by the idea of trying to help your kids at home, but not really aware of those who would not have your resources.
As conferences were postponed, hotels shuttered, and restaurants operating only through the delivery window, you could develop an entirely new perspective on the idea of an economy. The people you debated tipping became your lifeline.
Those with professional positions mostly went to their now at-home offices to wait out the shutdown with their families, worried only about getting enough toilet paper to last for a few weeks. But those in non-essential, non-professional positions stared at bills to pay, and promises that could not be kept, and wondered what they could do.
For the first time, the people who always work, always find a job somewhere, had nowhere to go to stay independent, self-sufficient and free.
And those deemed essential – from doctors and nurses, police and fire, to delivery drivers, mail sorters, grocery store cashiers and customer service operators – found themselves with extended hours, no breaks, no vacations, and the daily threat to their lives.
The air is cleaner, you can clearly hear birds chirping, you can ride your bicycle down Las Vegas Boulevard or the Champ d’Elysee. And yet behind closed doors, an unimaginable level of suffering has been unleashed on a population that may never recover.
The Entrepreneur’s Dilemma
So where does that leave you, the aspiring entrepreneur?
If your bold pronouncements of going your own way and starting your own business fell on skeptical ears before the pandemic, how are you sounding now? Are you afraid to face the scorn of those who told you to stop being selfish, and get a real job – if you can find one?
Are you considering making yourself essential by offering to work at a warehouse, fast food restaurant or security desk – just to participate in the greatest economic upheaval of our time? Are you afraid to mention an interest in making money, adding a new product or service to the marketplace or delivering value?
If you’re saying yes, yes, yes…ask yourself once again why you want to be an entrepreneur.
Your Dream is Alive
Your life dream to be one of the risk takers who fills a gap in the economy by working day and night to deliver value for those who want or need your product or service has not ended because of the shutdown.
Your dream cannot end. In fact, it’s the opposite. People need the ambition, drive, vision, innovation and penchant for risk that entrepreneurs deliver more than they ever have before. Can you just not feel the ringing desire for someone – anyone – to come up with better solutions to our current problems?
Who but the entrepreneur can even think about what needs to be done. The failure of government in many countries has never been more acute. And the indomitable spirit of ingenious individuals has never been more pronounced.
It is not too outrageous to claim that the global visionary thinking of entrepreneurs may just get us out of this mess. From the labs that are racing to a cure, to the retooling of factories for essential goods, to the rapid adaptation of businesses from offices to home-based, entrepreneurs the world over are looking for new and innovative ways to make this world, as it exists right now, work.
Your dream to be among the entrepreneurs actually has to be stronger than ever before, and your determination to be a person who takes risks and delivers value must be galvanized at this moment.
Your Next Act
What you need to be doing is not lamenting loss, but thinking about opportunity. And not exploitive opportunity, but real value ,and real possibilities that move the world forward.
If you are that person who has always had business ideas in your head, and you wanted others to respect your vision and plans, then show now that your desire to be an entrepreneur is not just a passing fancy where you plan on earning a million bucks, living in a mansion and driving a Rolls-Royce.
Use this time – this tough economic, social and personal time – to show that your commitment to entrepreneurship is about who you are as a person.
A person who delivers value.
A person of ideas.
A contributor.
And someone who is ready to adapt and to lead.
Use this time to improve on every level, read more, research your ideas, learn new skills, enhance your business knowledge, and be part of the solution.
This is not the time for you – the forward thinking participant in the economy – to bail out in despair. You can set the example for others by doubling down on the situation you see around you to come out stronger on the other side.
How do you keep your entrepreneurial dreams when the world changes around you?
You take action. You keep moving through your plan to create your own business. And you make it happen.
The nature of being an entrepreneur and thinking as an entrepreneur means you hang on and move forward through turbulent times.
Your vision, your ideas, your perseverance are all needed more than ever.
Find a way to contribute.
Bring your value forward.
And make your impact.
