Conversations With a Genius- Fun Small Business Talk

Today’s genius is Todd Tresidder. Todd is a former hedge fund manager who “retired” at age 35… 18 years ago. He’s the author of 5 books on personal finance and loves playing the money game like a kid loves playing Monopoly. His specialty is advanced retirement planning and advanced investment strategy to build wealth.

In today's conversation we discuss:

• What is the one thing that predicts health, wealth and happiness
• How changing your thoughts can make you wealthy
• What do the debt ridden do differently than the wealthy
• Find out why investing is about the process, not just the investment
• How to get rich as an unemployable person

Today's Genius is Matt Miller, he spent the first 9 years of his career as an Air Force pilot, before entering the corporate world to work at both Abbott Laboratories and Valassis. While a top performer for both companies, his long term desire was to start a business and be his own boss.  A good friend one day mentioned the gum ball machines he and his young daughters owned, and that conversation began a 10 year business quest that has brought Matt's company, School Spirit Vending, to the cutting edge of both the vending and school fundraising industries.  Today, School Spirit Vending's Hassle-Free fundraising program is helping schools across the country raise money in it's own unique way.

In today's conversation we discuss:

• What you need to know to be your own boss
• The road to success is a marathon not a sprint
• Get the right people to hear about your business
• Make your dreams come true by helping others live their dreams
• What would happen if you Stopped thinking about it and just did it

Today's Genius is businessman and Life Coach, Aaron T. Walker Aaron has inspired many through his leadership, mentorship, and consistent pursuit of excellence. He enjoys helping others and believes experience is a great teacher. 35 years of entrepreneurship and marriage have given Aaron a wealth of experience. Aaron continues to reach new heights and broaden his perspective of the terrain by examining his experiences and growing from them.

In today's Conversation we discuss:

• Why you need to learn to embrace the tension
• How do you know if you have balance in your life
• The 3 key ingredients to success
• The importance of delaying your gratification in your success
• How to select the right people for your mastermind group

Today's Genius is John Gardner.  With almost 30 years in the industry, John says his most productive moment of insight was when he made the connection between furniture and office culture. John is also the host of BE Culture Radio, a weekly podcast exploring how office culture and leadership lead to success.

In today's Conversation we discuss:

• The importance of a client-centric business model
• How John built his 10 Million Dollar company from nothing
• The difference between selling a lifestyle and selling a commodity
• How to be a one of one

Today's Genius is Valerie Shoopman. Valerie is a Facebook Marketing Expert and Business Strategist. She helps entrepreneurs learn how to leverage the power of Facebook Ads to gain greater brand exposure, attract quality leads, and convert targeted prospects into paying clients.

In today's Conversation we discuss:

• How to capture names and emails from Facebook ads
• The 3 most important components to your Facebook ad
• What kind of images work best at attracting your target customer's attention
• The difference between a like campaign and pay per click and when to use them

Today's Genius is Judy Robinett is the author of How to Be a Power Connector. She is a business thought leader profiled in Forbes, Huffington Post, and Bloomberg as a “super connectors” who uses their 30 years entrepreneurial experience and connections to accelerate growth and enhance profitability of public and private businesses.

In today's Conversation we discuss:

• How to network to raise capitol
• How to get speaking engagements
• Why a diamond designer contacted Judy instead of Oprah to get into China
• How to surround yourself with the right people
• How to create your own luck
• What kind of people to avoid when you network and why

Today's Genius is Roger Whitney. Over the past 24 years Roger has dedicated his professional life to helping people Plan Well and Invest Wisely for retirement.He’s worked with countless families to develop and implement plans to work towards their goals, but most importantly, he’s been there to help them adjust as their life unfolded.

In today's Conversation we discuss: 

• What you need to know before you make the BIG decisions in life
• What you may think you know about retirement could hurt you
• How to balance living well today without sacrificing tommorrow
• How not to budget yourself to death
• The sweet spot age for investing
• The best way to determine the value of your products

Today's guest is Joseph Williams, founder, president and CEO of InDev Capital, a real estate investment advisory firm that specializes in emerging markets in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Joseph is an entrepreneur with experience in investment banking and was the founder of a residential supply company serving developers in the U.S. and Canada.  He  has lived in Brazil for the last five years while studying the marketplace and building his firm. He holds an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School and speaks and reads Portuguese and Japanese.

In today's conversation we discuss:

• How Joseph Williams sticks out in a crowd
• What rain, internet and emerging markets have to do with one another
• where Joseph says half the world's capitol is
• How Vonage allows you to work in a foreign country on the cheap
• Hear how JW overcame "working for the family business" when there was no "family business"
• How spite for Goldman Sachs triggered JW to move to Japan
• How far will Chinese interns bike along a freeway to save money after a night of drinking
• Harvard Credit Card Roulette
• How a Harvard MBA graduate ends up delivering meat for Cowboys pride
• How head trash can be so dangerous
• How lacking money provides clarity
• The power of asking
• Hear how JW leveraged a relationship for a 180 million dollar deal
• How big people revolve around big things
• How it's easier to raise $100M than $2M
• Why you should ask what pain can you solve?

Today's guest is Dorie Clark, a former presidential campaign spokeswoman, she is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Entrepreneur, and the World Economic Forum blog. Recognized as a “branding expert” by the Associated Press, Fortune, and Inc. magazine, Dorie is a marketing strategy consultant and speaker for clients including Google, Microsoft, Yale University, and the like.

An Adjunct Professor of Business Administration at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business Dori has guest lectured at Harvard Business School, Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, Wharton, MIT Sloan School of Management, and more. She is a frequent guest on MSNBC and appears in worldwide media including NPR, the Wall Street Journal, and the BBC.

In today's conversation we discuss:

• How to use blogging the right way
• Why creating your own narrative is so crucial to your marketing
• What can you outsource and what you should invest time in learning yourself

Today's guest is Jessica Rhodes,  the founder and President of Entrepreneur Support Services, a virtual assistant firm offering a variety of client support and graphic design services to busy entrepreneurs. ESS is the parent company to the wildly popular podcast guest booking firm, Interview Connections. Jessica is also host of the hit weekly web TV show, Interview Connections TV and has her very own podcast, Rhodes to Success

In today's conversation we discuss:

• The importance of leveraging relationships
• How to start and nurture those relationships
• How to identify opportunities you already have available to you