Have you thought about writing a book?

A lot of entrepreneurs look at writing books as a way to get the word out about them and to, in their minds, get more business.

What goes into writing a book though and what about getting to a #1 Bestseller status?

That's where my guest, Doug Crowe, comes in.

In this episode, Doug and I discuss different areas that you want to focus on as you begin researching and writing your book - all the way to releasing the book and getting people excited about the work. We talk about the actual content in the book, ways to market the book, and more in this exciting episode that is sure to help you in your next venture at writing a book!

Want to know more how you can get your book done? Reach out to Doug at https://authoryourbrand.com/go where you can get an assessment on your book  idea - a value of $1,000!

About Doug: Doug Crowe is an author, speaker, and business growth strategist. He's passionate about helping businesses implement modern growth strategies that build brand awareness and increase revenue.   His flagship company, Author Your Brand, helps CEO’s create their book…without writing a word.

Connect with Doug on Facebook, LinkedIn, and on the web at https://authoryourbrand.com

What does it mean to live, eat and work for the future?

To some, this may mean that we need to pay attention to what we are doing today and how it impacts our future selves.

But it could also be about how we address the environmental and ecological issues of what we do today that could have a broad impact on our collective tomorrows.  As my guest, Donna Maltz, put it: if we don't address the disposable nature of today, we won't have a good tomorrow.

Sure, there are certain ways that every now and then we all need plastics and disposable containers.  But can we limit how much we consume of those materials?

The more we can focus on the future while we live, eat and work today, we may see a better future ahead.

Donna is happy to provide us with her "Soil to Soul Blueprint" when you go to https://donnamaltz.kartra.com/page/FREEGIFT

About my guest: Donna Maltz is a bestselling author, TEDx speaker, talk show host, and professional Nature photographer. Since 1980, she has been a serial eco-entrepreneur and a certified health coach for over a decade. After falling hard 20 years ago, she cracked the code to help herself and others prioritize success. She learned the key to true success is knowing that; Health is your greatest wealth, time is your most meaningful currency, and that by prioritizing health, family, and business – in that order, you will succeed. Donna offers holistic retreats and culinary classes at her farmstead kitchen on the Big Island of Hawaii. She also offers live virtual cooking classes. Donna is actively writing, teaching, and coaching others to gain health, lose toxins, and build a life they can be proud of by living, eating, and working like the future matters, being a SOULutionest. Her books, coaching, and mentorship have inspired thousands of eco-entrepreneurs. She lives on the Big Island of Hawaii with her sweet hubby and a bevy of animals on a beautiful farmstead retreat.  Her motto is "Why Retire When I can Inspire."

Connect with Donna on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and on the web at https://donnamaltz.com. You can also check out Donna's podcast at https://anchor.fm/donnamaltz.

What's the difference between a referral partner and a champion in business networking? 

A champion is more intentional and helps a business grow in a more consistent way than a regular referral partner, who helps based on timing and opportunity. 

For someone starting out in business and new to networking, they should focus on being prepared and intentional at networking events. They should make a list of 2-3 people they really want to meet at the event, who could help with their business such as insurance agents, mortgage brokers, or business coaches.

The champion training process is a unique feature offered to members, which allows them to build champions. The process is what sets the organization apart in the market.

We highlight the importance of having champions in your network, who can help you find ideal clients. We also discuss how focusing on relationships instead of outcomes makes outcomes more predictable. Having these partnerships doesn't have to cost a lot and can be done in a way that holds the bottom line while maximizing profit. Finding and connecting with the people who need your services is where it makes the most sense.

About my guest: Clayton Hicks is an entrepreneur with a portfolio of 5 different companies, an author, a speaker, and a trainer on professional relationships. Clay Hicks founded H7 Network in 2008 with the hopes of positively impacting the many under-served entrepreneurs and sales professionals. His vision is to globally revolutionize the way business professionals "Connect" first, "Serve" with purpose, and "Ask" of their peers. H7 Network is a national B2B networking platform, In-person and Virtual, for professionals to build their own audience and develop champions for their business.

Connect with Clay on Facebook, LinkedIn and on the web at https://www.h7network.com/

How many times have you forgotten about the joy in what you do?  Or being authentic in business? What about learning from mentors and your failures (if any) to help you do better?

In this episode, I talk with Rod Bourn about many of these types of issues and how Rod went about finding a mentor to improve himself in various aspects of life, such as being a better spouse, parent, professional, etc. Rod suggests that it is important to find someone who is better than oneself in a specific area, and then to ask them for advice and guidance. This is a way to improve oneself and reach a higher level of success. He also notes that it can be difficult to initiate this kind of conversation, but it is a valuable way to learn and grow.

We also touch on what to look for in a mentor, how to work with them and how to really get back to doing what we love.

About Rod: With a passion to improve people and organizations, Rod has worked in organizational development and leadership programming positions in a variety of industries including manufacturing, services, and higher education.

Rod is the founder and Lead Ninja of Down, Set, Lead; a strategic consulting group focused on helping organizations grow their business and people through coaching, training and mentoring programs, and leadership retreats. He is also the Project Director for Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses program in Baltimore.

Connect with Rod on Facebook, LinkedIn, and on the web at https://downsetlead.com/

It is important for entrepreneurs to understand their target audience and tailor their messaging and approach to effectively communicate with them. Focusing on the buyer's journey and identifying ways to help them succeed can help to build trust and establish a stronger connection with potential customers. This can ultimately lead to more opportunities and potential sales.

My guest on this episode, Lois Gray, helps us break it all down and gives us some points to pay attention to as we move through the buyer's journey with our prospects and how to talk to our exact avatars.

About Lois: Lois Gray is a Certified Management Consultant with over three decades of experience providing business advisory services to small business owners, helping innovative high-growth companies to develop their businesses in the areas of technology commercialization planning, business development, marketing and communications,  and fundraising.

Connect with Lois on LinkedIn and on the web at https://loisgraycoaching.com/

Whether you work in the for-profit world or the non-profit sector, there are a lot of truths involved in how you run your organization and the people that you have on your team.

In this episode, I sit down with Ryan Hyman and we talk about some of the ways that non-profit organizations function and some interesting stories of boards that sometimes may not connect the dots and those that get the point and can find ways to connect with their constituents - donors/investors, community leaders and more.

About Ryan: Ryan Hyman was born in South Africa but has now lived in the New York area, except for a five-year stint on the West Coast, for most of his life. After graduating college, Ryan embarked on the beginning of his not-for-profit journey, before being wooed away to the world of commercial real estate finance for a decade. But the not-for-profit world kept whispering in his ear, "come back, come back!" So Ryan returned to the not-for-profit world where he created the first development department at a local school and has occupied several positions building his skills in the fundraising realm. In 2016, Ryan created rh Strategic as a side gig to help organizations that approached him for help on occasion. Today, rh Strategic helps diverse not-for-profit clients across the United States as a full-service consulting firm.

Connect with Ryan on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and on the web at http://www.rhstrategic.net

How much are you focused on your own personal and professional development?

How much do you pay attention to your own needs when you're looking at how you may need to grow? Are you actively investing in training, programs, self-care, and more to focus on what you need or are you letting the world tell you what to be doing next?

If you're not focused on what you need to know, you're going to lose many opportunities and more.

On this episode, I sit down with Greg Chapman, where we talk about personal and professional development and some of the ways that Greg has come to recognize what it was that he needed to focus on as he transitioned from one career to another in the midst of a global pandemic.

In this new role, Greg is focused on the adaptogenic mushroom industry where he believes that the supplements he has been taking have been helping give him more focus among other benefits. Of course, should you wish to explore the mushrooms yourself, please consult with your own healthcare provider before undertaking any supplement.  

To help you with learning more about the mushrooms if you'd like to get started, go to www.divanamushrooms.com and use promo code MOJO4LIFE to get 25% off your first order.

About Greg: Greg Chapman has a background in small business development, helping many to start and grow their own businesses. For the last couple of years, Greg has been building a business of his own in the adaptogenic mushroom industry. Through this company, Greg educates and helps his clients to reach their best selves from the inside out.

Connect with Greg on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and on the web at https://www.divanamushrooms.com

What does it mean to have a hobby business and how would one go about moving from a hobby business to a thriving full-time business? 

Early on in a business's life cycle, there are many decisions that need to be made and thoughts about how to generate interest.  If any of these pieces are not done, it may end up being a severe threat to your business's ultimate success.

And once we're in business, there are even more issues on how we go about selling, how we talk to prospective people that we want to work with and more that continue the journey to get people wanting to work with us and being successful. 

In this episode, I talk with Christine Campbell Rapin about how she works with female professionals looking to stop working themselves to the ground for little to no profit and how small changes can make a big impact in their business's success.

Listen in and please tell us what you think of these shows - are we hitting the mark with our guests and topics? We really want to know!

About Christine: Christine Campbell Rapin is a Business Success Coach and Lifestyle Strategist and is the owner of CLEAR Acceleration Inc. She helps female service-based business owners reach 6 figures & beyond through her coaching, mentoring, and consulting services. Christine works with those women who are looking to accelerate the growth of their business and has an action bias focused around 3 core strategies to fuel growth: speaking, networking and hosting events.

Connect with Christine on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and on the web at http://www.christinecampbellrapin.com

For many people, the thought of getting old is scary, but in reality, it doesn't have to be. As the saying goes, "age is just a number" can really apply here IF we are focused on what it is that we need to be doing.  

My guest, Christine A Smith, talks about her new book, "The Act of Aging" and the prompts that she includes in the book to help us deal with the challenges that we may face at some point later in our lives and how we can deal with those challenges and tough conversations NOW when we are fully capable of handling those concerns.

Nobody prepares you for how you're going to feel in the THIRD third of your life. There is plenty of help for financial, retirement, and estate planning. What we need are instructions for pre-planning healthy emotions and relationships.

About Christine: Christine A. Smith has spent hours…and years…in many private residences. She has served alongside hundreds of family caregivers in these homes. Loved ones of her clients confided concerns for their own future aging. Those relatives, associates, and friends ALSO described successful pre-planning.

Christine’s concept started with a SIGH. Not just that ‘sigh of regret’, but SIGHS OF RELIEF. These are the sounds in the voices of people who are facing their futures. Between work shifts, Christine wrote The Act of Aging book, scribble scraps of ideas for the Aging Better Network website, and created the PreAct Your Age VERY Prompted Journal.

Connect with Christine on LinkedIn and on the web at https://www.preactyourage.com

Did you know that as an author that has a podcast too, you can potentially dramatically increase your reach? 

That's what we talk about on this show - and how you can have a little bit of fun while you're doing your shows too with the "king of Dad jokes!"

A few years back, I had the privilege of being a guest on Dominick (Dom) Brightmon's show, the "Going North Podcast" where Dom and I talked about my new book at the time, "It's the Bottom Line That Matters: Quick Tips & Strategies You Can Use Right Now to Grow Your Business in the Next 12-Months" and how some of the strategies that I cover in the book can help business owners grow their businesses.  We also talked about a rainbow unicorn that we mention in this episode too as a means of showing how humor can impact a podcast/interview or any other business meeting.

Listen in and find out why you should be thinking about having your own show or writing a book too!

About my guest: Dominique “Dom” Brightmon, DTM is a certified trainer with the Maxwell Leadership Team, bestselling author, and host of the Going North Podcast, a podcast committed to featuring authors from around the world to promote the power of the written word and inspire listeners to publish books of their own. His mantra is Advance others to advance yourself.

Connect with Dom on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube. and on the web at https://www.dombrightmon.com