Small Business Answer Man

Dane Espegard is a culture consultant who teaches, assists, and executes the implementation of a Culture within companies centered around Dream Achieving, emphasizing the development and personal lives of team members. Dane brings a successful people-oriented method to market in his latest book, The Dream Machine.

1. What problem do you solve?
   • Dane will be focusing on the topic of engagement. Connecting work life to personal life- how to engage employees outside of work and promote work/life balance

Show Notes:

• Culture can be hard to talk about because it's hard to quantify.
• Culture is the reason a person stays at a company.
• As leaders, we have to be very intentional.
• Dane uses a Dreams concept as the center of their culture.
  • Quote: "When there's hope in the future, there's power in the present."
  • Dreams of the future can create a member that's much more alive and engaged.
• Dane would rather have someone that is with him and fully engaged for 1 year, than someone who is with him for several years but is not engaged.
• Talking about dreams helps people stretch themselves more than talking about setting goals.
• Creating a list of things a team member dreams about outside of work can help them be engaged at work. They can realize their performance can help them achieve their dreams outside of work.
• "When we set goals, we set them with the mentality that they should be achievable; we like to set goals that we know are within reach. With dreams, we're able to break away from the commitment and obligation of what we think we can do and instead can focus on what we're EXCITED about."
• Dane has a Dreams workshop available.
• Dane discusses how to improve your company culture:
  • Identify what the true culture is right now – get feedback from your employees (current and outgoing)
  • Determine what your vision for your culture is.
  • Make sure your leadership team is fully bought into living the culture.
• You can impact a lot of people with your company culture.
• The Dreams model helps your team live on purpose. Living on purpose keeps them from focusing on self only.

Dane Espegard's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? A morning routine of exercising and reading.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? The way he handled his finances early on as he got out of college. If he had a dreams list at an early age he could have had more investments.

Connect with Dane:

Dane Espegard's website: daneespegard.com

Access Your Free Copy of Dane's book: daneespegard.com/freegift

LinkedIn

Facebook

Instagram

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

Get your Daily Dose of Positive at SimplePositiveActions.com

Introducing Bill Ringle

I'd like to welcome Bill Ringle, a former Apple exec who founded GrowBusinessNow.com.

Bill works with leaders of privately held high-tech companies to work more effectively and serve a larger client base, without the drama, frustration, misunderstandings, chaos, and stress that is often the norm. He has dedicated his professional career to helping overwhelmed managers become admired leaders who can help grow and scale companies.

Bill is the author of the upcoming book titled, Grow Business Now, and he hosts My Quest for the Best, the podcast for ambitious small business leaders, with more than 400 episodes with top published thought leaders like Dan Pink, Nir Eyal, Doug Conant, Whitney Johnson, John Lee Dumas, and Dorie Clark sharing their stories, strategies, and tools with listeners.

Bill travels from Philadelphia and can be found playing tennis, playing Wordle, or hiking with his border collie when not working.

1. What problem do you solve?
   • How to make your delegation better whatever your industry or where you are.

Show Notes:

• People typically like to dump or pass off their least favorite jobs.
• Delegation has three aspects that make it effective
  • You are getting more done than you could on your own without spending more time.
  • You are involving others.
  • You are building bench strength throughout the organization.
• When you hit those 3 marks you are doing the job of someone who can be trusted in the organization.
• A sign that delegation is not going well is that the manager says they don't have time to delegate.
  • It's a sign that they need to teach others.
• Also, consider where you are adding the most value and where it is not adding value that you do it.
  • If it's not adding value that you do it, it is a job that you need to delegate.
• When you don't share responsibility, you lose access to very talented people.
• Envision the end result and communicate clearly and precisely what you want to the right people.
• Give credit so that you get the best results the next time you delegate as well.
• You have to be able to overcome your "control monster".
• Have a review process to make sure the result that you envisioned is accomplished. This allows for feedback without criticism.
• Your ability to delegate is what managers look at to promote you.
• Steps to become a better delegator:
  • Plan.
  • Hire people that are different than you with different skills.
  • Know who on your team has which skills.
  • Make lists of things you do best.
  • Know the things you should never be doing.
  • Use a virtual assistant if needed
  • Communicate the status of the work you are doing.

Bill Ringle's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? To be prepared.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? He tries to embrace mistakes as learning opportunities. However, if he were to do things over he would do things sooner. Reach out for help sooner, ask questions sooner. He makes a policy to have his team reach out for help after trying to solve things on their own for 15 minutes.

Connect with Bill:

Bill Ringle's website/delegation assessment: growbusinessnow.com/charge

LinkedIn

Twitter

Instagram

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

Get your Daily Dose of Positive at SimplePositiveActions.com

Eric has a varied background as a successful entrepreneur and real estate CEO, but his real passion is merging business and mindfulness. Throughout his career, Eric learned that delegating and trusting others was the key to their growth and his freedom, leading him to found Living In The Gap, a program that teaches business professionals, entrepreneurs, and CEOs principles of leadership and business growth anchored in mindfulness practices.

1. What problem do you solve?
   • Eric is offering mindfulness or mindset habits that will help you reduce stress to increase your focus and the bottom line in your business.

Show Notes:

• We can use mindfulness to move us out of divisiveness by using focus. Are we really listening or do we already have our own conversation going on with our thoughts already in place?
• Show people you care and that you don't see them as just a vehicle to get something.
• Employers are waking up to the fact that remote workers need to know you care. When the company cares, the employee is less likely to leave
• Mindfulness can also be explained as focus.
• Focus (mindfulness) means you can get more done in less time and with less distraction and less stress and more production.
• We have so much coming at us today that we've stopped thinking about things. We are losing our focus.
• Service is gratitude in action. Putting your mind into a gratitude mindset is of great benefit.
• Being of service makes a positive difference and people notice and it connects you in the community.
• Start small with mindfulness and grow from there.
• People are more excited about their workplace if there is a greater purpose.
• Success is a mindset, not a destination.

Eric Holsapple's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? Being mindful!
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? If he had discovered mindfulness earlier, he would have been a better employer earlier.

Connect with Dr. Eric Holsapple:

Dr. Eric Holsapple's website: livinginthegap.org

LinkedIn

Facebook

Youtube

Instagram

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

Get your Daily Dose of Positive at SimplePositiveActions.com

Introducing Zander Sprague

Zander Sprague is the author of three books, including his newly published bestseller, EPIC Begins With 1 Step Forward: How To Plan, Achieve and Enjoy the Journey. Zander loves speaking to audiences around the world. Nicknamed the "God of Enthusiasm" because of his contagious energy and passion, he is a popular speaker, trainer, and podcast host. He is here today to help you plan, achieve, and enjoy the journey!

Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or listen here:

1. What problem do you solve?
   • Helping people make epic choices to have that epic life they've always dreamed of.
2. What three questions will you answer for our listeners?
   1. How one small step can make a huge difference in the long term.
   2. What 2 magic words will dramatically boost your success.
   3. What the 97/3 rule is.

Show Notes:

• When we have epic plans and desires, we can keep from being overwhelmed by making that first step
• Take steps and create structure and everything becomes easier
• Two magic words are "not yet". It contains hope and optimism. Not yet shows you are on the way.
• "No" is a lot more mentally defeating than "Not Yet."
• Zander was on an epic journey to become a licensed counselor and it was interrupted by the pandemic. It gave him time to reflect and realize that everything begins with a first step and then another.
• Zander is also a proponent of being structured. It makes everything easier.
• Zander believes that 97% of our day is good and maybe 3% isn't. We need to not focus so much on the 3%.
• In baseball, hall of fame athletes have a batting average of somewhere in the 300s. This is getting it right a third of the time. We usually get it right more than 1/3 of the time in our lives.
• Keep things in perspective. If the majority of your day is good you should be focusing on that.
• Don't ignore all the good things going on.
• Enjoy the journey.

Zander Sprague's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? Creating structure.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? He would have gone to graduate school early and leaned into his passion for helping people sooner.

Connect with Zander:

Zander's website: ZanderSprague.com

LinkedIn

Youtube

Instagram

Twitter

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

Get your Daily Dose of Positive at SimplePositiveActions.com

Introducing Paul Edwards

Paul Edwards is the Founder and CEO of The Reluctant Thought Leader - messages that matter, for people who need to read them. Authentically channeling the voice of the impact-driven speaker, coach, executive or entrepreneur in print.

He is: Husband, father, mentor to young adults, follower of the Messiah, amateur bodybuilder and author of "Influencer Networking Secrets."

1. What problem do you solve?
   • Helping people understand the difference between writing something and spreading a message. You need to be very specific about how you communicate your message.

Show Notes:

• Paul grew up being a mimic. He was also obsessed with words.
• Writing is demanded in the marketplace. When writing for someone else you need to learn how to write to sound like the other person wrote it.
• Paul works to capture his client's voice and convey it to the world.
• A good content strategist will make the written word sound like it is coming from you. They save you time.
• To beat writer's block, Paul suggests you realize there are breaks.
  • Do an outline then take a break
  • Let your mind take a break
  • Write the content take a break
  • Edit
• Paul recommends being specific with the title of your blog so that people will know exactly what your article will be about.
  • Start off with a summary telling people what you'll be talking about.
  • Point out why the article will help them.
  • Tell people how. Give them some practical steps.
• Paul finds value in a mastermind because he's always found that when he's in a group of like-minded individuals, he gets good stuff out of the interactions.

Paul Edwards' Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? Slowing down what most people do at breakneck speed and journaling.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? How he interprets failure. He now interprets failures as success. It causes him less pain.

Connect with Paul:

Paul's website: ReluctantThoughtLeader.com

Paul's pdf writing success tool kit: Get Your Book Moving

LinkedIn

Facebook

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

Get your Daily Dose of Positive at SimplePositiveActions.com

Katie provides Leadership & Culture transformation for mature startups — helping leaders create inclusive cultures, build emotional intelligence, and work through their assumptions & biases so they can actually connect with and get the MOST out of their teams. She does this all through interactive, experiential, theatre-based exercises. Her bias for action is HIGH so attendees to her sessions always leave with at least one action item to immediately do to shift something in your behavior, relationships, and company. Working with Katie, you benefit from the powerhouse combo of her theatre background and over 15 years in the heart of business strategy, organizational development, and change management.

Introducing Paul Glover

Paul Glover is the No B.S. Workforce Development Coach, a "recovering trial lawyer", an ex-felon, an unabashed Starbucks addict, a Chicago Bears fanatic, the author of WorkQuake™, an online course creator, a speaker on business and leadership topics, and a Member of the Forbes Coaching Council.

1. What problem do you solve?
   • Why they should have a fool in their lives.
2. What three questions do you answer?
   1. Are you an empathetic listener?
   2. Are you perpetually curious?
   3. Are you embracing your failures?

Show Notes:

• We need to go from transactional relationships to relationship building.
• We have to know the other person and how they are feeling.
  • We have to move from 'how are you doing' which is translated into what are you doing
• It's no longer about pay.
• If you want a relationship to succeed and prosper you need Paul's 3 A's.
  • Attraction - this has to do with the positive energy you put out to the world
  • Attention - are you paying attention to your people
    • Training
    • Promotion
    • Engagement
  • Appreciation - Say Thank you!
    • Thank you for hanging in there
    • Thank you for achieving the goals
    • Etc.
• Previous generations want this as well. They were just taught they couldn't have it.
• We need to get over the fact that the needs of the workforce have changed.
• Psychological safety is important.
  • This is a safe place to tell the truth.
  • You need to be present where your employees are.
• Leaders seem to think they are beyond reproach.
  • They fail to be authentic
• For a future together we need to be willing to accept others' shortcomings.
• It's essential for leaders to be storytellers.
  • They need to tell the Hero's journey.
  • They need to talk about adversity and overcoming it
• Paul's book, Work Quake, talks about operational improvement that comes about with employee engagement.

Paul Glover's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? Morning Gratitude. It sets your day up positively.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? Paul would have had a 'fool' in his life sooner -- He spent over 5 years in jail with over 2 of it with revenge on his mind before he realized he was the one that made the mistake. He now relies on a trusted advisor to help him with blind spots.

Connect with Paul:

Paul's website: paulglovercoaching.com

The link to - Everyone Needs a Fool in Their Life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqNIecHTvL8

LinkedIn

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

Get your Daily Dose of Positive at SimplePositiveActions.com

Amy Anderson's 28-year marketing career led her to branch out and open her own small consulting firm, Wild Coffee Marketing. She shares her entrepreneurial journey with other women, how she selected her business partner, tips for business branding, and marketing mistakes to avoid.

Introducing Amy Anderson

1. What problem do you solve?
   • Maintaining engagement and a strong culture with distributed (remote) teams.
2. What three questions do you answer?
   1. What is your approach to managing a distributed team?
   2. What is your philosophy about client management?
   3. What role does culture play in your company and why is it important?

Show Notes:

• Amy's company started in 2016-2017 when people were starting to get used to working from home.
  • They asked:
    • How do you keep employees engaged?
    • How do you create a culture of accountability?
    • How to keep them motivated.
  • You have to be intentional.
  • You have to create systems and processes
• When you start to grow a company you need to think as a big company, not a small company. You have to consider things you will want in place as the company grows.
• Consider updating your processes as your company grows.
• Also, consider you may need to update them over time.
• You'll have team members with the strength to document processes. Utilize their strengths.
• Be sure to be repetitive to help remote team members absorb the information.
• Amy's company addresses their customers as partners to create the right culture.
  • It helps them realize they are in it together.
  • It helps them listen and really understand.
• They really ask their partners about their place in the marketplace to determine where they need to go.
• Creating a company culture within is important to be successful.
  • There needs to be a higher purpose.
  • They need to know their why. -- their mission and values
  • Everything they do should move around this.
• They review goals and do a 90-day review. It is a discussion where they can openly talk.
• They rate their energy.
  • If they are not at a 10 they try to determine why and what can change.
• Give feedback immediately. This gives an opportunity to redirect immediately.
  • Do truth with compassion.
• Approaching people with compassion and kindness gets the best work.
• Employees want to know their employer cares!
• If you're not always selling then you don't have a business.
• Always understand your finances.
  • Bring in expertise.

Amy Anderson's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? Absolute, unrelenting consistency.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? Pricing services right and focusing on the value and having confidence going out into the market.

Connect with Amy:

Amy's website: www.wildcoffeemarketing.com

LinkedIn

Facebook

Twitter

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

Get your Daily Dose of Positive at SimplePositiveActions.com

Accomplishing Goals For The Next Quarter

• Are you accomplishing the goals you set for yourself?
• Gary shares what he's learned about goal accomplishment
• • What is your game plan
  • Are you doing what's most important
• Gary sets yearly goals but then breaks them down into quarterly chunks
• Gary feels a written plan helps you attain your goals
• Review your yearly goal
• Decide on 1 to 3 goals professionally and personally you want to achieve in the next quarter (these come from your yearly goal)
• Write them out in the SMARTER method
• • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Actionable
  • Relevant
  • Time-bound
  • Exciting
  • Realistic
• Next Create and Review your Daily Rituals which are: Morning Ritual, Workday startup ritual, Workday shutdown ritual, and Evening ritual. Make changes or set up each ritual for the next quarter.
• Review and decide on your Ideal Week. Block time on your calendar for what matters the most to you.
• Gary has an upcoming class in October

Find your Full Focus Planner at https://fullfocusstore.com?aff=511

If you are interested in participating in our upcoming class, send an email to [email protected] and we'll send you more information.

Ken "Magma" Marshall is the Chief Growth Officer and Managing Partner at RevenueZen. Ken is an endlessly curious person with a cliche coffee addiction and a burning desire to encourage and empower others to pursue meaningful lives. Throughout his 7 year experience, he has learned to help those achieve their goals and solve their business problems. Ken would be delighted to share all his insights with you and your audience.

Introducing Ken Marshall

1. What problem do you solve?
   • How to grow through organic and attraction-based marketing and demand generation.
2. What three questions do you answer?
   1. How to get past all the noise of what SEO actually is and what it used to be and how to actually use it.
   2. How to use your personal brand, particularly as a business owner/founder/CEO on platforms like LinkedIn.
   3. How we can grow as people and how to help understand more through behavioral psychology.

Show Notes:

• Start with best practices and the easy things you can do.
  • Set up your Google profile - it'll only take the weekend.
  • As a B2B, put your services and pricing on your website to prequalify your customers.
  • Be sure to talk about things on the website that you would talk about in the sales process.
• Be authentic.
• Know who you are as a company and know how you are different.
  • This helps you know who your target customer is.
• How do you know what platform?
  • It depends on what you are trying to do.
  • Who you are selling to?
  • Where are they hanging out?
• Create assets for your customers.
  • Share knowledge, offer worksheets, and provide free tools.
  • Work on it over time
  • Don't wait for it to be perfect and 100% complete.
  • Do send it out regularly.
• SAS (Software As Service) companies are impacting our lives.
  • These are services that automate things for us.
  • It's a niche of Ken's.
• Ken's journey started in a marketing firm before he started on his entrepreneurial journey.
  • He is energized by creating things.
• Ken outlines how to help with your SEO and create warm leads
  • Answer who you are selling to and then answer what their 10 pain points/problems are.
  • Then, make a sheet that shows what you offer to solve their problems.
  • Next, make a column that actually answers how that solves their pain.
  • After that, use your website to educate them and offer them something incredible to start helping them.
  • Create a page on your website for each of your solutions.
  • Be sure to put down information about who you are and what you believe.
  • Make it easy for them to get in touch with you.

Ken Marshall's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? Having a morning routine gives him perspective, energy and focus for the rest of the day. It includes hydrating, quiet time, exercise, and looking at his day ahead.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? He has a heart to help people that are underserved and he used to do that but hasn't as much anymore. He wants to get back to that.

Connect with Ken:

Ken's' website: revenuezen.com

Ken's social selling intelligence software product: https://revenuezen.com/aware/

LinkedIn

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/