Entrepreneur

Todays guest solopreneur is someone who might at first glance be thought of as a minority group.

He believes that sales is a honourable profession.

Wait I hear you say...surely I didn't hear the words Sales and honourable in the same sentence?

But our guest has since 2000 focused his time, passions and energy's in the world of Insurance Brokerage, and has come out the other end hardened by the work that he has performed.

As he says he was bloodied, bruised, kicked in the teeth, chewed-up, and spit-out.

But instead of becoming cynical to this work, he has instead developed a passion for helping others learn from his successes, mistakes and backstory.

The owner of Empowering Sales, and founder of “The Insurance Coach.” he loves bringing value to salespeople, teams, and business owners through writing, speaking, classroom, and online training.

Focusing on four main areas, Sales training, Attitude, Connections and Loyalty.

So how has he remained true to his values?

How does he break down the perception of old style sales techniques and reputations?

And being a father, husband and full time employee too, how does he find the time to bring it all together?

Well lets find out as we bring onto the show, to start joining up dots, the one and only Brent Kelly.

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Todays guest, joining us on the Join Up Dots podcast interview is Mr Simon Knapp, a man who can literally fly to heights that we can only dream about.

A commercial airline pilot, he has for the last few years travelled the world transporting businessman, holiday makers, and screaming children to destinations across the globe.

All the while planning other ventures, businesses and the ability to provide a fair deal to the world of freelance work.

After realising that a vast proportion of the fee charged by a freelance agency did not go the person doing the work, but instead into their own coffers for what seemed minimal effort, Simon Knapp knew he was onto something.

So along with his wife, Simon created “Cherished Ideas”, where freelancers can virtually sit in the same room with potential employers and sell their wares, with no commission passing hands.

A real bonus to all concerned.

So how did this Englishman first manage to get into the rarefied world of commercial airlines, and why does he seem so focused on building a life away from it?

What was the moment when the business opportunity first raised its head, and was it the first venture he tried?

And with a plane at his disposal where does he truly call home?

Well let’s bring onto the show to start joining up dots, as we discuss the words of Steve Jobs with the one and only Mr Simon Knapp.

Links:

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Todays guest, joining us on the Join Up Dots podcast interview is Dina Proctor, a lady who has been on a harrowing journey of hitting absolute rock bottom, and finding her way back to the top.

At the end of 2008, her life had spiralled out of control as she battled everyday with alcohol addiction, food issues and suicidal depression.

She was in a mess and could not have been lower.

Trying everything Dina Proctor possibly could to pull herself up and get herself going, she fell time and time again. Nothing worked for her, and she was lost.

But by unintentional action she created her own salvation, as she began an amazing transformational programme called “3×3 Mediation” which has changed her life and the lives of her clients time and time again.

From weight loss and banishing addictive cravings to reconstructing relationships, this easy and yet incredibly effective method has caught the attention and support of Jack Canfield and Bruce Lipton among others, and the media.

Now with a day filled with writing, public speaking, coaching and being madly happy, I am delighted to have her on the show today.

But how did she change her life so dramatically, on something apparently so simple?

How did Dina thankfully not enter in to suicidal actions that would have meant that the world would not have got the gifts that we now have from her.

Well let’s bring onto the show to start joining up dots, as we discuss the words of Steve Jobs with the one and only Dina Proctor

Links:

itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/join-up-dots-1-entrepreneur/id866951968?mt=2

Click to view: show page on Awesound

Todays guest is a lady that from an early age knew that she was driven to prove her talents to the world, and of course prove to herself what she could achieve.

From being born in Bavaria, and then moving to South Africa as a young girl, she recalls her childhood as a time of endless joy and adventure, and it was when she discovered for the first time the inspiring leadership qualities of nature.

But instead of staying in this idyllic situation she made the brave decision to jump across the world and start working for an American corporation that was to be the beginning of the American Dream that she wanted so much.

But the dream didn't last too long, as after two years she realised her true passion was to inspire people across the world, with her focus on leadership, change and excellence.

From creating a company, to selling that company, to becoming the first and youngest ever Female president of the German DMA, to writing seven books and even excelling in television, she learnt, developed and conquered environments across the business spectrum

So when does she feel that her real self was born?

When did she realise that the leap of faith from corporate America was about to happen, and was she scared of the thought or invigorated by the upcoming challenges?

And what would she do differently if she got the chance?

Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start Joining Up Dots with the one and only Kerstin Plehwe.

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Todays guest is a lady who has been showing the businesses of the world how to get unstuck and prosper in a turbulent world.

Since being nominated by the U.S. Small Business Administration this year for outstanding achievement, she was in the perfect position to deliver to the world the book Putting Together the Entrepreneurial Puzzle: The Ten Pieces Every Business Needs to Succeed

As she says “I like putting things together, figuring things out, for me it’s the puzzle aspect that I enjoy most about business,”

But her own life has been a bit of a puzzle too, and isn’t that what makes a life?

Originally she entered business as the manager of a family owned scuba diving shop in Oregon.

She was 23, and had no business training in any shape or form. You might say she was wet to business.

Or she was out of her depth……you see what I did there?

And added to the mix the issues that come when raising children, going through a divorce and struggling for money, she had one thing that pulled her through.

And that was her determination to make her life a success.

So role on 30 years, and with awards, a successful business and a history of helping other do the same, what are the talents that she has which she feels are lacking across the globe?

And how did she keep going on the dark nights when everything seemed to be going in the wrong direction?

Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots, the one and only, Mary Marshall.

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Todays guest is a man with not just a unusual name, but a fascinating tale of how he has reached a place in his life where he seems totally at ease and loving everyday.

Growing up in a tiny little town called Seven Points in East Texas for the first few years of his adult life he hadn't got into first gear.

Studying Graphic Design at college, he didn't start setting the world alight.

In fact I'm sure the only thing that he considered setting alight was the college.

It didn't suit him, and he hated every minute.

But he did what he had to do, and graduated before getting a job quickly in an advertising agency in Dallas.

And looking back I am assuming he hated college as in many ways it supressed his free spirit.

His desire to do things his own way.

His need to be creative on his own terms.

So fast forward to the evenings and like Bruce Wayne and his alter ego The Dark knight, our guest slipped effortless into his other role. That of guitar strutting rock god.

Yes, he worked hard with his band, toured nationally, playing festivals, getting on the radio, and sharing stage space with some of the biggest bands of the day. And then it came to an end.

His music career was no more.

So what do you do when everything you have worked for comes to an end.

Where do you go when you are at a crossroads in your life, and the dots that have led you to this point stop, and you are left with just your own vision of what life will be?

Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots, with todays solopreneur, the one and only AJ Amyx

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Most of us on the planet have a desire to be rich, so we can buy a big house, have lovely holidays and generally have a kickass life.

But how would you feel if overnight your family went the opposite way and went from being multi-millionaires to poor.

That is a hard thing to get over.

Well our guest has had a life intertwined with the paths of the rich and not so rich right since the early days, and like we see time and time again on Join Up Dots its the ability to reflect and start asking the right questions at the right time that can lead to finding the path that is right.

The path that our guest was made to live.

Whilst being a financial advisor, he was paid a visit by a client whose business was going under.

The man had worked hard to achieve financial freedom and the results of his efforts had left him with nothing.

He was distressed obviously and didn't know what to do

So what could our guest do to help?

How he could he help him get back on his feet, and most importantly make sure that it didn't happen again?

Well instead of thinking of just helping that single individual, our guest planned to help the world and set off on an odyssey to spend the next five years of his life studying the lives of both rich people and poor people.

He managed to segment out what he calls "rich habits" and "poverty habits," meaning the tendencies of those who fit in each group.

As he explains, everyone has some rich habits and some poverty habits. "The key is to get more than 50% to be rich habits," he says.

And now with his second book Rich Kids: How to Raise Our Children to Be Happy and Successful in Life just released he is once again showing us the way to prosperity.

Well let's waste no more time as we bring onto the show, not to simply join up the dots of his life, but also to find out more about this 50%, the one and only Mr Tom Corley

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Todays guest is a man who quite simply knows how to get things done.

The master non-procrastinator.

The king of batching, the prince of the 80/20 principle,and Lord of my favourite law too...Parkinsons Law.He is the owner of the blog and podcast Beyond The To Do List and shows us all how we are wasting so much time doing stuff that quite simply will not push us onto doing the great stuff that we have to do.

Yes, Facebook is fun. Twitter is useful. And Youtube is wildly entertaining.

But none of them should be used when they do not have a need to be used.

If they are keeping us away from what we should be doing, then stop it.

But how do we do that? How do we beat the addiction that checking our emails 50 times a day seems to have on all of us?

And how did he manage to walk boldly into an area that we all struggle with...is he a recovering addict?

Well lets find out and not waste anymore time, you see I'm being productive

Its my pleasure to bring onto the show to start joining up dots, the one and only solopreneur Mr Erik Fisher.

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Todays guest is a lady who quite simply is probably the fittest person that we have ever had on the show.

Just reading her bio exhausted me, but wow....she is packing a lot into her day.

As a professional golfer and fitness guru she believes that all of us have a responsibility to develop our fitness programmes into our daily worklife.

It doesn't matter if it means that we do it whilst commuting, walking the dog, or watching the latest edition of "Breaking Bad" she shows us the ways to do it.

By making informative, and slightly unusal videos that have gone viral on the web, she demonstrates that this isn't just a theory its actionable advice.

You can hang on a lamp post, swing on a door frame, or just push againt a wall whilst juggling your daily tasks...there is no excuse.

And this idea has really taken on, and now with numerous appearances on tv shows and other media, she is highly sought after to spread her message.

So did this focus on fitness and the teaching of it come naturally to her, or was she an overweight person who had the apithany to change?

Does she see a desire in the world to take on her advice, or are we all more interested in a night in with Netflix and a huge bag of Doritos?

Well lets find out, as we bring onto the show the creater of the smartest sexiest workout videos ever, the one and only Andia Winslow

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Todays guest is a man who is simply brilliant at knowing how to build relationships in business.

Instead of doing what every other person does when they try to build connections, and valued connections, our guest knew that he had to step away from the crowd and do things a little differently.

He started his entrepreneurial life whilst attending Malone University, when he started selling world famous Cutco Cutlery.

And for him it was a job that he was good at, but it took a chance request by a father of a girl he was dating that exploded his success.

Her Dad asked if he could engrave his name on a knife, which took a standard knife and turned it into something more persoanable, different and valued by the recipient.

This one action showed him the power of giving value to building relationships.

In five short years, he then went on to break nearly every sales record for Cutco distributors and landed himself in a different hall of fame – the Cutco Hall of Fame.

He did it all before graduating and is now Cutco’s No. 1 distributor of all time, out of over 1,000,000 distributors in the company’s 60 year history.

And with success breeds success and with the confidence achieved of doing things his own way, he then created as co-owner of Ruhlin Partners, a small private equity firm with interests in various companies (including Ruhlin Promotion Group).

He is the co-author of the best-selling book "Cutting Edge Sales", a husband, a father and is a sought after speaker on the topic of relationship development and strategic gift giving.

So had he planned to go this route when he started out, or did he have different dreams of what he wanted to achieve?

Did he have people around him that supported his efforts, or was it all down to himself?

Well lets find out as we bring onto the show, to start joining up dots, with the one and only Mr John Ruhlin.

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