Peer Effect

What do you do when you can no longer ignore the signs?

Sean had been in partnership for over 2 years. Both of his co-founders were close friends, but one of them wasn’t a good fit. 

The truth was, he never had been.

He was scared of the impact of making a rash gut decision. But the reality was, things had gotten way worse by leaving them as they were. 

Sean is aware of his tendency to see the good in people and want the best out of the situation. But his faith is not always compatible with a person’s ability.

In this episode, Sean and I talk more about the symptoms of this issue and how he can reach these decisions faster.

We explore how

• This approach to decision-making affected his personal relationships
• Having a person who was compatible with him helped to make decisions
• Getting a coach has helped Sean identify the blind spots

Sean’s story is one that every founder can relate to when it comes to interpersonal relationships that don’t always work out for the best.

Tune in for more tips on how to deal with that in this episode.

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Running a business isn't easy at the best of times. When you're running a business and fundraising, the threat of burnout is all too real and ever present.  Today, I'm talking about this exact issue, burnout, and how to avoid it while managing the formidable challenge that is fundraising for your business.

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When you’ve faced near burnout several times, what do you consider going too far? 

Alex was basically doing 3 full-time jobs at the same time. One of them was being the only person to manage a rolling fundraising strategy. 

And it wasn’t until he woke up one morning unable to move, that he realised he was dealing with burnout. 

In our conversation, Alex reflects on this time with honesty. He discusses his learnings, and why he now thinks that fundraising is like prepping for a marathon.

He shares

• The important signs that indicate you're dealing with burnout
• How he used vices as a coping mechanism, and what he does now
• A rough 12-week plan that would have been a more healthy option

Alex is very honest about how he handled a difficult situation, and offers lots of practical advice in this episode, for new and well-seasoned founders.

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On last week's episode, Tara, the founder of BuyMeOnce, shared her own experience with the sunk cost trap. Today, we're gonna drill down into what it is, why we fall into it and how to avoid it when you've already plowed time, money, effort, blood, sweat, and tears into a business project that just isn't working.

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Joining me in the coaching time machine this week is a founder whose story many of you will relate to. Tara Button’s company Buy Me Once had outgrown v1 of her site as well as the platform she originally launched on. It’s a problem first time founders hope to have.

Tara knew she had to rebuild and relaunch in order to scale. But this is not a conversation about mistakes she made along the way. Because, as you’ll hear in this episode, Tara did nearly everything right. She outsourced talent to make up for the areas she lacked expertise, she used her network to vet her developers, she set a deliverable and a timeline. It should have been a successful launch and it wasn’t. So why is that?

In this episode, we talk about the notion of sunk cost fallacy and why certain deeply help beliefs and fears influenced Tara’s decisions in her journey.

If you want to see how future fit you are then take 3 minutes to find out your Peer Score at www.peer-effect.com/peerscore

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Today I'm joined by Jack Dyrhauge who is the Founder of Neuropool. He is an ADHD, Autistic entrepreneur on a mission the change employment odds for Neurodiverse job seekers

We speak about would you do what you do for free and how there can still be personal consequences even if you love it. Plus some great tips on how to improve the neurodiversity of your business

Key Takeaways

• To survive and truly enjoy the journey plan for business AND personal
• Take the time to figure out what you’re rushing towards and if that truly is success.
• When approaching neurodiversity start with asking all your existing staff for ideas on what you can do better

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Today I'm joined by Lizet Zayas who is the Founder of Successfully. She is currently helping people truly define what success means to them and sharing inspirational stories via a new book; “Stories of passion from around the world”

We speak about finding your authentic self and the influence of those around you

Key Takeaways

• We can be forced into changes by collapse or choice to make changes on our terms
• You don’t need to go all-in because change doesn’t happen overnight
• The people we surround ourselves with influence who we are going to be

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Today I'm joined by Sarah Mason who is the Chief People Office of Foxton’s and my personal go to on anything HR. She is an expert in both HR and psychology and led some rapid scaling journeys.

We speak about what HR really is and how founders can best use it to help them scale their businesses

Key Takeaways

• HR is simply how do you get the right workforce for your company objectives
• The shift from “command and control” to “involve and engage” and what that means for companies
• The 4Bs when it comes to workforce - Buy, Borrow, Build or Bot!
• Use data to identify that the real business need that HR should be prioritising

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Today I'm joined by Stephen Hunt who is the founder of Hunt Hospitality and was the NSW Business Leader of the Year 2021. He started in 2008 and has grown from one pub to 6 brands and 250 employees. His new book “Find Build Sell” will be out in March.

We speak about always putting yourself in the right room and listening for the one nugget

Key Takeaways

• Find the right people who can help you find the answers
• Put yourself in groups that feel a little bit out of your league. Keep on upgrading those groups as you develop.
• Avoid the trojan horse! Only take money from investors that you trust and want to work with long term.
• If you’re going to write a book give yourself a lot longer than you’d think!

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