ADVANCE: Take Your Next Step with Mike Acker

As an entrepreneur, "losing" is a risky word. But though victory is enthralling, it's also fleeting; there'll always be another mountain to climb. Failure teaches you something new every time. This is why failures shouldn't bother you so much; it is never about winning or losing; it's about winning or learning, as Nelson Mandela once said.

In this episode, Mike is joined by Serial Entrepreneur Jonathan Shroyer. Jonathan shares all about building successful businesses, learning from failures, and building your company atop solid foundational principles. He also talks about ideating, how he assesses the multiple ideas that cross his mind and scaling your business by implementing structure.

Tune in to catch a win-or-learn mentality to scale your business to greater heights.

EPISODE 3 SUMMARY & HIGHLIGHTS

Why is it important to start a business that answers a need? What are the critical steps to building a business?

 4:45

1. Start with a need or demand.

5:12

2. Create a unique solution to address the need or solve the problem at hand.

5:20

3. Assess your solution – Think if it can scale over time.

5:27

4. Ask yourself if you have the passion, grit, resilience, and willingness to get through the inherent differences when they arise.

06:13

5. In addition to the initial steps, it’s essential also to ask yourself how to scale your business, what your team should look like, what skills or competencies you have or need to acquire and when to acquire them.

What are Jonathan’s company’s guiding values?

How do you scale your business?

How did Jonathan develop the skill of ideation?

How do you assess an idea?

Closing advice from Jonathan.

26:51

Believe in yourself and write down your goals. If you don’t write it down, it will only remain in your thoughts.

RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST

●      Book: Lead With No Fear by Mike Acker

●      Book: Mindset: The New Psychology Of Success by Carol Dweck

CONNECT WITH JONATHAN SHROYER

LinkedIn | Twitter | Website

CONNECT WITH MIKE

LinkedIn

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(Full show notes & more resources visit connect.stepstoadvance.com) 

Check out the YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/ADVANCEwithMikeAcker 

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To book Mike Acker to speak to your group or facilitate a specific workshop, email:
[email protected]
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The world is full of naysayers, and often, the things we say to ourselves are just as bad. But the question is if you don't believe in yourself, who will? Holding yourself back from success is the easy route, but no one will care more about your success than you. Jeff Wright started an exploding business by just believing in himself, and success came calling.

In this episode, Jeff sits with Mike to explore his path to success, including how he got started and overcame the challenges. He also talks about the importance of building a lasting client relationship, integrity, perseverance, and open communication in setting up a successful business.

Tune in to learn first-hand the process behind setting up a product-based business!

EPISODE 2 SUMMARY & HIGHLIGHTS

How do build a company that brings in exploding growth?

14:17

Of the many important things involved in building a growing business is integrity. Jeff explains that you need to have integrity in your distributing partners. It’s essential to figure out a way to work with them collaboratively to develop a solution that would allow you to maintain cash flow.

How do you build a lasting client relationship?

17:15

Show your clients commitment. Have difficult conversations with them when necessary; be available for them.

What are some lessons to learn from Jeff’s success?

18:34

Innovation, perseverance, and a great team could be transformative to the growth of your business. Success comes naturally when you have a team that strives for the same thing.

Advice for executives to advance in their careers.

20:04

Build a culture of open communication with your team. Challenge ideas, work collaboratively to come up with better ideas.

How do you stay grounded in yourself and your professional success?

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(Full show notes & more resources visit connect.stepstoadvance.com)

Check out the YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/ADVANCEwithMikeAcker

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To book Mike Acker to speak to your group or facilitate a specific workshop, email:
[email protected]
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What is your definition of success? How do you plan on achieving it? 

In this episode, Mike shows you the five different drivers of success. These include education, expertise and experience, emotional intelligence, communication, and work ethics.

Tune in to learn the skills in detail.

 
EPISODE 1 SUMMARY & HIGHLIGHTS

What are the five drivers of success?

02:49 

1. Education

What type of success do you want? Does it require formal education, or does self-education help? Success is no longer about the number of degrees you have or the college you went to.

04:31

     2. Expertise and experience

Most often, what people look for is the skills, sometimes, not even the experience. There is a correlation between the two, but not necessarily a causation. Some people have done the same thing for a long time and still are not experts. Some people have invested themselves, put in the targeted time, and become experts, even without years of experience.

06:09

     3. Emotional intelligence (perhaps the most important driver of success)

Unless you understand yourself and the people around you, it's difficult to reach a certain level of success. Emotional intelligence is necessary.

12:59

    4. Communication

Assertive communication is an important determinant of success.  

20:41

  5. Your work ethic

Lastly, your grit, determination, and hard work are what lead you to success.

How do you build emotional intelligence?

08:24

Building self-confidence starts with self-awareness. Start looking at yourself in the third person. Analyze your present state, assess and discover what you're doing well and can do better. 

Be aware of others the same way. A large part of it also involves empathy. Understand people and make sure to not react to situations, instead take the time to assess them and respond. 

What is the difference between aggressive communication, passive communication, passive-aggressive communication, and assertive communication?

13:27

Aggressive communication – Aggressive communication indicates that you're only running over people. It's when you act in an aggressive, fighter-type stance, and you're focussed on the task alone. Aggressive personalities are more prone to fights.

14:10

Passive communication – Passive communication is when you are too agreeable; you let people decide everything. You might attribute it to introvertism, which isn't the case. There are passive introverts and passive extroverts. 

14:41

Passive-aggressive – Most people are passive-aggressive in their communication. They passively say things. For example, Mike explains that if he were to talk to his wife and say, 'Hey, it's gonna be a long day, and I just really wish I didn't have to come home to dirty dishes in the sink,' that would be passive communication. He isn't directly asking his wife to do anything, but he's passively, aggressively implying that she gets it done.  

15:43

Assertive communication -- This type of communication is where you say what you mean and mean what you say. Many of our verbal and nonverbal aspects need to be taken care of when communicating this way.

What are the three different areas to focus on for assertive communication?

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(Full show notes & more resources visit connect.stepstoadvance.com) 

Check out the YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/ADVANCEwithMikeAcker 

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To book Mike Acker to speak to your group or facilitate a specific workshop, email:
[email protected]
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FREE BOOK OFFER!

https://learn.self-publishingschool.com/published-relaunch?relaunch_partner=Mike%20Acker

INTRODUCTION TO EPISODE 46

Perhaps you've been musing over your idea for a book for years now. Maybe you've spent a couple of months writing down your ideas, or you've even attempted to write the whole thing. But something is always getting in the way. When you're supposed to be writing it, you're busy with work; when you have free time, you can't find the motivation to focus. And sometimes, you don't know what to write the next chapter about. What are you going to do? How do you get your book finally on paper?

Chandler Bolt, Founder and CEO of Self-Publishing School, joins Mike in this episode of the Advance Podcast. In a treat for all aspiring authors out here, he breaks down the common roadblocks to writing or ideating a book and turns them around to create actionable steps you could follow to rid yourself of them, starting right now. He shares how to discover what to write about, why your first draft is the most significant part of the process, the benefits of writing a book for entrepreneurs and business owners, and why your book is your weapon of authority and trust.

If you think you can never go for the massive commitment of completing a book, then this episode could be your first step to breaking free of that assumption. Tune in!

EPISODE 46 SUMMARY & HIGHLIGHTS

How do you finally start writing your book?

8:47

There are three kinds of writers among us all. One group that's still thinking about whether to write a book, another group that has published a book before and doesn't consider it complicated and a third group that wants to write a book to grow their business. To those who haven't started yet, there are three steps to follow for help:

9:28

1. Be clear on what you want to write about

10:06

      2. The second step, or the More Writing Method, involves outlining and rough draft editing for creating a mind map.

11:03

      3. The next step is the Rough Draft Phase. It is where you start writing your book in chapters, outline them one at a time, and take it from there.

How do you decide what to write about?

11:49

Discover what your passion or field of expertise is. If you’re an entrepreneur, think of the many conversations you’ve had with your customers over time. Within those would lie the idea for your book. Narrow in on an idea or two and then mind map for about 15 mins to see if it could materialize.

(Full show notes are available at https://connect.mikeacker.com)

RESOURCED MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST

●      All Books written by Mike Acker

●      Check out the Free Resources Chandler’s offered exclusively for Advance listeners here.

CONNECT WITH CHANDLER

Website | LinkedIn 

CONNECT WITH MIKE

LinkedIn

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(Full show notes & more resources visit connect.stepstoadvance.com) 

Check out the YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/ADVANCEwithMikeAcker 

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To book Mike Acker to speak to your group or facilitate a specific workshop, email:
[email protected]
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INTRODUCTION TO EPISODE 45

Marketing is more than just advertising. Though anyone can advertise their product, it takes skill to generate interest, create brand awareness and sell products and services. How do you do that?

In part 2 of Mike’s conversation with Tim Fitzpatrick, we learn in detail about marketing fundamentals and how to put them into action. Tim talks about the free resources he’s offering for our listeners at the Advance podcast and how you can make the best use of them!

For exclusive resources from Tim Fitzpatrick
https://www.rialtomarketing.com/advance-with-mike-acker

EPISODE 45 SUMMARY & HIGHLIGHTS

Can you break down the marketing fundamentals quickly?

Here’s a quick description of the marketing fundamentals-

1:59
Understand who you're going to serve and how you're going to serve those people.

02:09
Work on your messaging -- which is what you say to those people, how you talk about the value you offer, and how you say that in a way that grabs attention and springs action. 

02:42
Plan on how to get your message in front of the people.

Can you elaborate on storytelling for marketing messaging?

05:50

For marketing messaging, it is best to use a storytelling framework. It helps people focus on your message and not on you. Your customers can thus know what they receive from your product or service. 

Storytelling enables us to communicate clearly what we do and what we have to offer in a short period.

Do you think storytelling amounts to manipulation?

14:13

It does not. Storytelling is about communicating with people in a way that resonates with them. You speak in their language to connect with them better.

Can you talk about the steps to planning?

21:46
The first step to planning is identifying your target market. Your target market needs to be specific, measurable, and time-bound. 

22:43
Next, you need to know where you intend to go without getting too attached to it. 

23:23
Thirdly, you need to identify your budget and resources to get an idea of who you want to work with. 

23:49
The fourth step is identifying your current plan -- to get a baseline of where to start. 

25:32
Identify what you’re going to focus on in the next 90 days with your marketing.

Can you talk about the three phases of the marketing evolution index checklist?

RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST

●      Right To Speak by Mike Acker

●      Check out the Free Resources Tim’s offered for Advance listeners here.

CONNECT WITH TIM

Website | LinkedIn 

CONNECT WITH MIKE

LinkedIn

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(Full show notes & more resources visit connect.stepstoadvance.com) 

Check out the YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/ADVANCEwithMikeAcker 

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To book Mike Acker to speak to your group or facilitate a specific workshop, email:
[email protected]
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INTRODUCTION TO EPISODE 44

It’s rare to find someone who isn’t aware of the importance of marketing today -- be it their brand, message, business, or even themselves. But how informed are we when it comes to discovering, growing or expanding our target audience?

Tim Fitzpatrick joins Mike in this episode of the Advance Podcast to provide actionable insight for businesses or entrepreneurs to find, understand, and work with their target audiences. We’ll explore marketing fundamentals, how to find our unique selling point, and ways to scale our business to a significant measure. Listen in!

For exclusive resources from Tim Fitzpatrick
https://www.rialtomarketing.com/advance-with-mike-acker

EPISODE 44 SUMMARY & HIGHLIGHTS

What is meant by the target market?

6:19

The target market refers to the people you're going to serve. The vast majority of us work with clients who're not a good fit for us, which is not only not fun but is also not profitable in the long run. The broader your client base, the greater the chances of getting the wrong clients. That is why it's essential to narrow down and be specific about the people you market.

Any suggestions for people who cannot choose to be specific about their clients?

13:43

It might not be possible for everyone to have a filtered client base. But not being specific has its drawbacks -- you run into problems more often. In any case, it’s essential to measure your non-negotiables before figuring out whether to move forward or not.

How can people discover their unique selling point?

16:15

To discover their unique selling point, people need to find out what they’re good at. They also need to see what problem they’re helping their client solve.

How do entrepreneurs and business people start with marketing?

19:46

Start with your current and past customer base and ask yourself three questions:

●      Who do you enjoy working with?

●      Who are your most profitable customers?

●      Who do you do your best work for?

It will help you have a subgroup of current and past class customers you love working with who are profitable and help you get great results. Your most ideal clients reside within these.

How do you target the people to work with?

24:15

Once you've figured the group of customers that you've served that check off the three boxes suggested above, you can start to dig into the psychographics, demographics and how they behave. Their actions, behavior, commonalities, and interests will help you discover your target audience.

How do you grow your target audience?

29:10

RESOURCED MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST

●      Speak With No Fear by Mike Acker

●      Check out the Free Resources Tim’s offered for Advance listeners here.

CONNECT WITH TIM

Website | LinkedIn 

CONNECT WITH MIKE

LinkedIn

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(Full show notes & more resources visit connect.stepstoadvance.com) 

Check out the YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/ADVANCEwithMikeAcker 

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To book Mike Acker to speak to your group or facilitate a specific workshop, email:
[email protected]
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Check out Sriram's Keynotes at www.audacityspeakers.com
Or invite him to speak - [email protected]

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INTRODUCTION TO EPISODE 43

Storytelling is at the heart of everything we do - it's how we communicate, it's how we build relationships, and most importantly, it's how we entertain each other. Of late, business teams are starting to understand the power of this art to try to bridge this distinction between arts and management. 

In this episode of the Advance Podcast, Mike interviews Sriram Emani, Founder of IndianRaga, one of the largest global social media platforms for Indian Performing Arts. He is a 2015 Global Fellow with the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA), where he was the only Indian out of 52 Fellows from across the world!

Sriram shares his thoughts on arts and science and how they work in unison to create better things for society. He also talks about his passion for storytelling, the value points from his Ted Talk about the importance of being imprecise, his thoughts on uniting different cultures, the challenges faced, and how to use art to power innovation.

EPISODE 43 SUMMARY & HIGHLIGHTS

How do you differentiate art and science?

4:34

When you have an established practice, a protocol, process, or formula, you call it science, but when it's still new, and there are different interpretations possible, you call it art. Art gives us a multitude of perspectives and backgrounds for us to learn from. 

What are your lessons from doing things nobody has ever done before (like living as a nomad with 50 families)?

7:11

While I was doing my MBA from MIT, I kept hearing people talk about market research. I learned that people might give you answers, but they don’t always know what they want. So even if you ask a lot of questions, you get stereotypical answers, and that's detrimental to innovation because you're not really getting what you want. 

Over the years, I’ve also learned what globalization of culture really means. It's a way of really one generation talking to another or expressing. 

Where do you think storytelling holds the most significance today?

14:05

Storytelling holds significance almost everywhere. It doesn't matter if it's a data analytics company, entertainment company, consulting firm, finance company - metaphors, analogies, and stories are the most powerful tools to convince and analyze your audience. It helps you engage with your audience and build a connection with them. 

Why do you think traditional boxes are important?

17:12

I learned that there always is a role and will be a role for history in our lives. It can help you draw a parallel between the then and now. Traditional boxes are essential because sometimes you want to build on a body of work. And for that, you need all individual boxes and components that you can draw from to get to a certain level. Then you build on top of that. So you need all of the innovation and creativity that come in from these individual boxes - they're always going to be very important.

What do you think the Eastern and Western civilizations can learn from each other? What can the audience learn from the integration of those?

24:54

Can you give us a snapshot of your Ted talk where you talk about the value of being imprecise?

30:20

(FULL SHOW NOTES FOR FREE:  https://connect.stepstoadvance.com)

KEY QUOTES:

3:31-3:54

5:30-5:36

17:12-17:41

CONNECT WITH SRIRAM

LinkedIn 

CONNECT WITH MIKE

LinkedIn

Check out Rosalie's Keynotes at www.audacityspeakers.com
Or invite her to speak - [email protected]

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INTRODUCTION TO EPISODE 42

What makes communication so tricky in conflicted and diverse settings? Why do we get awkward or angry? Why do we get easily threatened and frustrated? What can we do about it? 

To answer these questions (and much more!), Rosalie Fisher joins Mike on this episode of Advance Podcast. Dr. Rosalie Fisher is a professor at Arizona State University and has done training and events worldwide, including several organizations and communities. Rosalie discusses how to connect art and engagement, communicating effectively amid diversity, and her work with the National Conflict Resolution Center. 

Tune in to learn the golden nuggets to effective communication from Rosalie Fisher!

EPISODE 42 SUMMARY & HIGHLIGHTS

How do you connect art and social engagement?

4:15

I've taken my background in art and used it as a catalyst for stimulating more engagement, more community dialogue events, and studying the impact that dialogue has on human behavior, human perspectives, and their perception of others. I think something for me, what embodies the artistic experience, is how it differentiates itself from what we've gotten used to with the internet. The internet has had a lot of damaging consequences on us. 

You've heard probably everywhere about the echo chamber effect - that says when we have a certain perspective and we share it on the internet, it causes that same perspective to come back at us, whether it's in the form of the news we take in, or the communication, the groups and the forums we're a part of or the things we're reading. So we've gotten away from that ability to communicate face to face, communicate through differences, and despite disagreements, see that human aspect of communication that has been hidden behind the screen. 

Merging the artists' performances, films, and other things can bring people together in conversation - when they have different perspectives, have different lived experiences, and learn that communication does not have to equate to conflict or that differences do not have to equate to hostility. We're bringing humility back to communication.

What led you to work with the National Conflict Resolution Center?

8:57

What are some key communication strategies we can have when we get into a conflict?

13:08

Can you talk a little about diversity training?

For comprehensive SHOW NOTES visit connect.stepstoadvance.com

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FIND PAMELA & OTHER AUDACITY SPEAKERS AT
www.audacityspeakers.com

▶️  WHY AUDACITY SPEAKERS? 

Because powerful speakers have one thing in common. It’s not a particular style, but firm confidence that they have a message to share and value to provide. We call that audacity.  

From a bestselling author to a TEDx speaker to the founder of a nonprofit that has matched over 22,000 volunteer hours with needs around the world, our speakers do have something to say—something that will impact your company or event for years to come—and the authority to say it.

Even with incredible speakers, we are not just in the business of booking events; we build valuable relationships. We have been organizing, consulting, and speaking for over twenty years. And we bring this experience to engage your audience and add value to your event.

Find Speakers with Something to Say - www.audacityspeakers.com

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To request Mike Acker or another speaker to address your group or facilitate a specific workshop, email: [email protected]

Check out Bart's Keynotes at www.audacityspeakers.com
Or invite him to speak - [email protected]

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INTRODUCTION TO EPISODE 41

Hospitality is an increasingly competitive field, with success almost entirely dependent on human connection. If you want to know how to achieve success in this field, this episode is for you.

Today, Mike interviews Bart Berkey, the winner of the 2021 best luxury hospitality award, keynote speaker and host of the podcast, Most People Don't, But You Do. Bart shares his experience working and soaring in the industry, the importance of developing empathy, accountability, ability to prioritize, and flexibility. He also shares his latest book, Most People Don't (And Why You Should), which currently resides in the top 1% of book sales on Amazon!

EPISODE 41 SUMMARY & HIGHLIGHTS

What does it mean to be incredible in hospitality?

3:19

To do well in the hospitality sector requires you to be empathetic. It's always about the customer, the client, the guests - you have to make others feel comfortable. In a study done previously, it was found that approximately 80% of people are not predisposed to being empathetic. To be able to get into the mindset of doing things for other people is a great trait you need to have if you want to be successful in the business.

If you’re someone rising through and want to make gains, how do you start shifting the culture to one more of customer service and hospitality?

7:43

Be empathetic to others - it's going to make you feel good, and it's going to make the recipient feel good. The same thing happens when you're creating this culture within an organization. If you’re doing good for your customers, you feel good about it and they receive it well. It will spread positivity throughout the organization. It will also lead to more engagement, customer loyalty, and revenue. 

Can you unpack some of your life principles?

14:39

I believe that it’s important to differentiate yourself from others always. If you can do what most people are not doing, it's going to differentiate you.

Secondly, you need to take action. You can remain unfocused and unmotivated tomorrow by doing absolutely nothing. But if you want to become fit, if you want to become motivated, you need to take steps to get better, which requires doing. 

Three other important principles I talk about are accountability, priority, and flexibility. You need to have these to be successful. 

How do you find balance in the middle of doing?

20:56

Is there anything else that you want to share with us today?

30:08

For comprehensive SHOW NOTES visit connect.stepstoadvance.com

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FIND BART & OTHER AUDACITY SPEAKERS AT
www.audacityspeakers.com

▶️  WHY AUDACITY SPEAKERS? 

Because powerful speakers have one thing in common. It’s not a particular style, but firm confidence that they have a message to share and value to provide. We call that audacity.  

From a bestselling author to a TEDx speaker to the founder of a nonprofit that has matched over 22,000 volunteer hours with needs around the world, our speakers do have something to say—something that will impact your company or event for years to come—and the authority to say it.

Even with incredible speakers, we are not just in the business of booking events; we build valuable relationships. We have been organizing, consulting, and speaking for over twenty years. And we bring this experience to engage your audience and add value to your event.

Find Speakers with Something to Say - www.audacityspeakers.com

----------
To request Mike Acker or another speaker to address your group or facilitate a specific workshop, email: [email protected]

How would you advise young entrepreneurs wanting to start amid the disruptive changes in the world today?
8:24

How do you tie gender equality to climate justice?
11:15

Tell us about gender stereotyping in workplaces.
16:48

Closing words of advice from Ina.
22:40