Fail Fast Podcast

Shelley Willingham a successful business strategist and entrepreneur.

She founded Vision and Passion International, LLC (VPI) in 2017 to focus on projects that simply set her soul on fire. Within the VPI portfolio are Douglas Alexandra, a digital marketing and brand activation firm and Pretty & Powerful, a movement for women set to launch 2021.

Recently, she joined The Diversity Movement to lead their business strategy efforts.

Shelley is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her master’s degree at Northeastern University. She started her corporate sales and marketing career at Pitney Bowes before starting her own marketing and sales consulting firm, Creative Strategies Unlimited, Inc., based in Raleigh, NC in 2000.

In addition to her entrepreneurial pursuits, she served as the first Managing Director in Charlotte, NC for eWomenNetwork, a resource for connecting women-owned businesses worldwide.

She also developed a seminar for Duke University’s Nonprofit Management Certificate Program entitled, Purpose-Driven Marketing for the Nonprofit.

In 2003, Shelley founded the National Organization for Diversity in Sales and Marketing (NODSM), a company focused on helping corporate America recognize the increasing purchasing power of diverse segments.

Additionally, NODSM helped organizations effectively market to these groups without using stereotypes or being offensive.

Some of her clients included Merrill Lynch, Young & Rubicam, Allstate Insurance, American Family Insurance and Turner Broadcasting.

Because of her success in the multicultural space, Shelley was asked to partner with FORTUNE Magazine on a special diversity section in 2006.

In 2007, when the market turned, her business started to struggle. One of her major clients was acquired by another company and the contract was not renewed. In 2011, she made the difficult decision to close the doors of the very company that got her featured in FORTUNE. She lost it all, but through this loss found her true calling and a new beginning.

Today, Shelley shares her expertise by coaching entrepreneurs and small business owners, speaking at various non-profit and business events and facilitating sales trainings, marketing workshops and leadership conferences. She’s also a frequent on-air contributor to CNBC.

She’s been a featured presenter at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University as well as the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

She’s delivered presentations to several flagship organizations including, Allstate Insurance, Merrill Lynch, GE Healthcare, Met Life, Radio One and various women’s business groups and leadership summits.

Shelley is very active in the community as a board member and major gifts colonel for the Alexander YMCA, a member and chair of the fundraising committee for the Raleigh-Wake Chapter of Jack and Jill of America and she is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Shelley is passionate about supporting entrepreneurs in their business pursuits. Through private coaching, group coaching programs, masterminds, and luxury retreats, she helps entrepreneurs build high-growth businesses.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/shelleywillinghamh

IG @shelley_willingham

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelleywillinghambusinessstrategist

Clubhouse: @shelleywillingh

China Sourcing With Serial Entrepreneur David Hoffmann

* David is a serial entrepreneur building multi-million dollar companies* He has led the international trade powerhouse Global Regency as CEO for over 15 years* he is considered an expert in China sourcing, supply chain, private label, and brand licensing.* In 2016 David launched GlobalTQM.com under the Global Regency umbrella, to assist SMEs, start-ups, and entrepreneurs with quality management issues and sourcing from China with a range of educational and mentoring programs and actual done-for-you services with his resources of +57 people in China* David left the corporate world working for public companies opening retail stores around the country while overseeing buying, and marketing as a director, to pursue entrepreneurship,* * . and left for Hong Kong in 2002, where he remains.

Questions/Topics:

* When did you know you wanted to take an entrepreneurial path?* What have you taken from your early working experience to your startup career?* What are some hidden risks of importing from China?* Can you discuss success stories of business migrating to China manufacturing, and the pro’s and con’s of such a move?* Biggest challenges of sourcing from China* Navigating trade shows and suppliers* Intellectual property protection* 10 rules to do business in China* What does it take to do business in China?

Company:

GlobalTQM – Your Team, Your Office & Your Expertise On The Ground In China.

Links:

www.globaltqm.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/globaltqm/

https://www.facebook.com/GLOBALTQM/

Todd Palmer, From Suck to Success: a Guide to Extraordinary EntrepreneurshipIf you missed that episode, Todd was $600K in debt, and from that, he ended up climbing out to making the inc 5000 list 6 times!So that book title does have a huge meaning. (From Suck to Success)

Tod is the CEO of Extraordinary Advisors

*  Welcome back Tod* Congrats on the new book, I love the lemon on the cover, that is genius* The first couple of times I read the title I read Stuck instead of Suck* Was the book being worked on before 2020 or is this written during Covid?* How long did it take to make a Bestseller list on Amazon?* How has covid affected you?* What was the biggest or best pivot you have seen?* What is IKIGAI?* How did you hockey stick your business?* What is your biggest business frustration?* It’s happening for you, not to you

The book is a collection of concepts & stories, including many 2020 covid pivots, that helped leaders deal with chaos & crisis.

* The first half of the book addresses mindset issues, that help people get unstuck. * The 2nd half of the book is a collection of strategic & tactical best practices to grow both the readers personal life & business.  *

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https://extraordinaryadvisors.com/

Todd Palmer went from being a struggling entrepreneur with $600,000 in debt to making the INC 5000 (a record total of 6 times!) as one of America’s fastest-growing companies.Today, as a collaborative business advisor and CEO of Extraordinary Advisors, Todd helps his clients ditch their comfort zone, dive into their “failures,” and re-frame their mindset to be more authentic, transparent, and vulnerable to affect real change along the path to success.

Todd Palmer

His company, Diversified Industrial staffing, has been featured in:o INC Magazineo Detroit Newso CORP! Magazineo Crains Detroit

* author of the popular book The Job Search Process: Find & Land a GreatJob in 6 Weeks or Less.* you made it 6 times to inc 5000, that is impressive. was that a competition,or simply a goal?* Todd you are in Detroit still?* has Michigan come back from the auto recession?* I read that you were teaching entrepreneurship to people in prison

https://extraordiranyadvdors.com

Amit Rosenthal CEO of an 84 year international logistics company

* How long have you been in logistics?* When did you realize Amazon was a big opportunity for logistic services?* What services do you offer, do you actually do the transport or mediate it?* 700 clients* what if I have products that can’t be exposed to extremely cold temperatures?* Since most Amazon sellers are inexperienced in international shipping is DDP the best solution?* Can you explain what is DDP (Door to door)* I see you listed on Amazon SPN Service Providers Network) does that give you high exposure?*  I don’t know anything about incoterms customs regulations, duties* like in any industry when something starts to boom you always see the inexperienced fly by night companies startup. Have you seen that too in your field?

https://www.ros-ecom.com/

https://www.ros-il.com/en/

Dee Deng is the co-founder and CEO of Right Hook Digital – an eCommerce growth & performance marketing agency; managing millions in ad spend for their growth clients across Australia and the USA.

Obsessed over ‘delivering wow’ – Dee leads his agency team of 50+ while sharing his team’s learnings & insights; educating brand owners on how to scale profitably and sustainably.

Most recently, Right Hook has been listed as one of Australia’s Fastest Growing Companies of 2019/2020 by the Australian Financial Review.

Questions for Dee Deng

* How did you get into marketing* Zen mind beginner mind book* Team of 50 how hard or easy is it to manage* What did you learn from your first failed venture that landed you broke in 2016?* What’s it like building & running a 50+ person, international team?* Right hook name where did it come from* Why should entrepreneurs seek to understand principles over tactics/hacks?* How should you scale up your operations without the wheels falling off?* What is the eCommerce Revenue Engine and why does it matter?

Links for Dee Deng

https://instagram.com/realdoseofdeehttps://linkedin.com/in/deedenghttps://righthokkdigital.com

Alice Vaughn is the famous creator of Offensive Crayons, an adults-only box of crayons.With names like Boner Bill Blue, Miscarriage Maroon, and Privilege (White), the inappropriately- named crayons have been banned from Amazon for “insulting children and Caucasians”.

Vaughn is also the co-host and producer of the popular comedy sex positive podcast, Two Girls One Mic: The Porncast, where they review the holes and plot holes of your favorite porn.

* How does someone get into the crayon business?* What the heck is offensive crayons?* How did you find your manufacturers and designers?* I searched Amazon and your brand name as big organic demand, but your brand is not there… and I see many opportunistic sellers trying something similar* Where else are you banned from?* What are some things that have made you viral?* You posted the “bad press” on the banner of your home page??* What do you think it is that makes a product go viral?* How have you overcome being banned from multiple platforms and still sell over six figures?* What’s the deal with Amazon?* You used to work in trademark* What do people NOT know about trademarks that they should know?* Any issues with Shopify?* Tell me about your podcast

www.instagram.com/offensivecrayonswww.twogirlsonemic.comwww.offensivecrayons.com/

Guillem Macia, Founder, and CEO of W2C, a Real Estate Investments management firm based in Barcelona, Spain. Guillem helps international investors to invest in the Spanish real estate market through any kind of Real estate investments (residential, hotels, etc).Guillem is 30 years old, he has a law degree and two master’s degrees. Entrepreneur, positive mindset.

Questions for Guillem Macia

* Guillem you are in Barcelona right now, hows the situation there?* So you are a Catalan? ( Andorra)* What is my business about?* Why and how did you start in Real Estate?* Challenges of being an entrepreneur* Spanish Real Estate market and covid.* What was the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?* Positive mindset what does it mean to you?* What does an international buyer need to buy a house in Spain?* Normally do buyers fly over to have a look at the properties?* Do we get credit with a Spanish bank or our own?* what are the mortgage terms there, is there a 5% down mandatory like here?* What is one of the resources you use the most often?* Guillem If you were to do this over again, what is the first thing you would do?

Company Will To Capital

www.willtocapital.com

www.linkedin.com/in/guillemmacia

Sarah Noll WilsonToday’s guest has a master’s degree in leadership development, has been working for over 15 years in Leadership development.She is certified in Co-Active Coaching, Conversational Intelligence, and is a frequent guest lecturer at universities.

So,When leaders need change, they go to  Sarah Noll Wilson to get the tools to steer their own ship.

* Sarah is an in-demand Keynote Speaker, Researcher, soon to be Author* Sarah, also has a BA in Theatre Performance and Theatre Education – no wonder clients love the energy she brings to their teams!* everyone knows this!* What made you over 15 years ago pick leadership development?* What was the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?* What do you love most about working with leaders?* What makes a human-centered organization?* What does it mean to be chronically curious?

You dont know what you dont know

* Why is empathy important in organizations and leaders?* When is the book coming out, Sarah?* What is the best thing that has happened to you since you started?* When you encounter someone who thinks they are a leader, but nobody wants to follow what is the first thing you do?* There are many strong leaders out there today. (Ellon Musk, Bezos, Simon Sinek) What leaders do you follow if any?

http://sararhnollwilson.comhttps://www.instagram.com/sarahnollwilsonhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahnollwilson/

Alasdair McLean-Foreman founder and CEO of Teikametrics AI company optimizing ~4% of Amazon’s total sales for 6K+ brands).

Harvard graduate, who built its first million-dollar business from the dorm room the eCommerce sports brand HDO Sport, that became HDO Group.

Alasdair was in Harvard at the same time as Mark

Zuckerberg and even asked him to work on a project, but Mark was busy building “something”

Questions for Alasdair

* When you merged HDO Sport with Clever, you grew sales from 1.5 M to $5 mil in less than 2 years, can you explain the strategy* Then we get to 2006 and you launch yet another fitness-related company Traineo, can you talk about it?* Why the name Teikametrics?* What is the flywheel?* Can you give a quick overview of what a seller can get from Teikametrics?* Do you have or will have anything for Walmart sellers?* bids are done by the hour?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alasdairmcleanforeman/https://www.teikametrics.com/