The Business of You with Rachel Gogos

Alexandra Nicole Nolan didn’t mean to become an influencer. But she created a six-figure brand from thin air with sheer determination, creative thinking and resilience. 

Now on The Business of You, Alexandra shares some of her hard-earned lessons on the power of influencer marketing and unconventional entrepreneurship!

Alexandra, featured on Yahoo’s Most Inspiring Influencers list, is a self-made digital entrepreneur, Founder of City Chic Living Blog and The UE Academy, and mother of three boys. She obtained her MBA from the University of Memphis, studied International Business Studies at Bournemouth University in England, is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Marketing, and has appeared in Forbes, as well as many other notable national publications. 

Through her passion as a women empowerment speaker and mentor to many small business owners, Alexandra is paving the way for aspiring entrepreneurs all over the world. 

Today, Alexandra shares some of the funniest, wildest and most fascinating stories behind her brand. 

Surprise, you’re on the Superbowl! When Alexandra was asked to make a video review for Everlywell, she was on board. She used the at-home testing kits for gut health, hormone testing and more. A while after submitting her video, she received a littany of texts from her friends - “Hey, do you know you’re on the Superbowl?!”

She was surprised and amused to see that she was front and center in an Everlywell ad during the Superbowl, giving them a rave review. Many people would be annoyed that their video rights were open for use at any time - but Alexandra took this as an important lesson. Now, she laughs about it as she tells the story. She reads her contracts thoroughly or consults her husband, who is a Contract Attorney. Through lessons like these, she learns the ins and outs of her chosen business and how to successfully partner with big brands.

Personal branding wins and knee-scrapes

When it comes to her brands, Alexandra has had some big wins. She has also experienced what she calls knee-scrapes…things that serve as lessons for later. 

Now pursuing her Ph.D. in Marketing, Alexandra jokes about her crash-course in business as she launched, grew and sold multiple highly successful brands in fashion and beauty. From what to name your business to understanding your competition, Alexandra gets real about what worked and what didn’t.

How do Influencers get paid?

Alexandra breaks down some of the most common ways Influencers make their money - helping us understand why Influencer marketing is so powerful. 

Thinking of leveraging your audience and growing your brand? You can make money through paid posts, paid Instastories, blog and newsletter promos, making video recommendations, affiliate links, hosting events, and ads…the list goes on! During this episode, Alexandra shares her main sources of income and how she balances paid posts with her own personal content. 

Quotes

“I didn’t aspire to be an influencer. I just had no money to market my store! I started a blog taking selfie pictures in my clothes. I shared makeup looks. Brands started noticing and reaching out.”

“You have family on one side of the scale, and work on the other, and it has to be balanced. And if it’s not, it has to be more family than anything. It’s an exciting thing to live in your work-life passion. But it can overtake you, as an entrepreneur. I would be up at the store until three in the morning, unboxing stuff and listening to music. But family time was suffering.”

“The world has changed so much. Everything’s digital. You have to jump on that train, pivot and be flexible.”

“Pinterest is a bomb waiting to explode. That’s where it’s at. It’s so affordable to run ads on Pinterest. The number one driver to my blog is Pinterest, over Instagram.”

“It’s 100% branding. I have to be very protective. Not only of my brand and keeping the image that I have and promoting things my audience will like…but I don’t want them to think I’m just selling. I find balance. The way influencers get paid is based on engagements and insights. They want to see your audience. I’m very particular and strategic.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit Alexandra Nicole Nolan’s website at https://www.alexandranicolenolan.com/ 

Get DIY tips, lifestyle advice and shop clothing and beauty on the City Chic Living website at https://citychicliving.com/ 

Buy Alexandra’s book, The Unconventional Entrepreneur: Your Blueprint to Becoming Your Own Boss at https://main-hill-630.myflodesk.com/ 

Follow Alexandra on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/alexandra.nicole/ 

Follow Alexandra’s Facebook at Https://www.facebook.com/alexandranicolenolan 

Connect with Alexandra Nicole Nolan on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-nolan-601755b1

When Pawan Gupta observed supply chain gaps in fashion manufacturing, he decided to design something entirely new: Production technology that solves problems and creates a more sustainable future.

Pawan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Fashinza, an AI-driven B2B marketplace and tech-enabled global supply chain platform for fashion brands, retailers and manufacturers. 

Fashinza is more than just manufacturing technology. They predict future fashion trends, help retailers modify and order designs, and connect with manufacturers to get timely delivery. By going thought-to-shelf in just 2-4 months, Fashinza helps deliver trends to consumers where, when, and how they want them.

Fashinza helps eliminate unsold stock by giving consumers more of what they want and none of what they don’t. Their impact on the environment has been substantial, fulfilling Pawan’s mission to reduce the impact of the fashion industry globally. 

Over the past 12 months, Pawan has led Fashinza through a period of 10x growth, surpassing $150 million an annualized GMV run rate while increasing the Company's global footprint. As a serial entrepreneur for nearly a decade, Pawan co-founded and successfully led Curofy, India’s largest network of doctors to an all-cash acquisition by Seattle-based Edifecs. Prior to Curofy, he was an analyst at Deutsche Bank in London where he was involved in structuring derivative products and proprietary credit indices in emerging markets. 

Pawan is a mission-driven entrepreneur who believes that technology has the power to change the lives of the most vulnerable for the better. At Fashinza, he is improving the lives and working conditions of workers throughout the fashion supply chain while striving to bring sustainable design and increase efficiency.

Pawan Gupta was part of Forbes India's 30 under 30 in 2018, Rising Stars by Bloomberg TV, and Young Turks by CNBC. He has also written guest columns in leading publications and has spoken at global events.

To grow a brand, identify a need

After the acquisition of his second successful company, Pawan was spending a lot of time at his parents’ house. He got an idea. 

Inspired by his father’s decades of experience in manufacturing, he saw a major gap: Retailers, producers and customers were largely disconnected. He saw their frustration in dealing with middlemen, who made their jobs more difficult and ate into their profit margins. He identified a need. 

By researching the gaps in the fashion supply chain, Pawan got to work with his friends and Co-founders to design something the industry had never used before: Technology that helps them predict trends, choose designs, order from manufacturers and get timely deliveries. Fashinza launched and they experienced explosive growth. 

Successful entrepreneurs get crystal clear

Pawan’s advice to any young entrepreneur is this: Don’t start a business until you get clear on what your goals are! 

While your reasons might be different from everyone else’s, you need to identify your true driving force in order to create the type of company you actually want. Whether you want to create a massive impact, make more money, retire early or launch a family business, approach this question with no judgment and complete clarity. Understanding your business goals helps you decide what steps to take as you launch, grow and scale your company. 

Enjoy this fascinating conversation with Pawan Gupta on The Business of You.

Quotes

“We don’t just accelerate the manufacturing process - we also help brands make a decision on what to manufacture and what kind of designs to launch, so that the industry only produces stuff the customers want! We are solving the problem of dead stock and overproduction, making fashion more sustainable.”

“I got super excited. How can we take these small manufacturing units and connect them with customers across the world?” 

“We value the integration of technology and how we could change the fragmented supply chain. It’s really challenging but the solution was really needed as well.”

“Be very clear on why you want to start a company. No judgment! It’s entirely your call, but be very clear on exactly what it is that you want to do. Don’t get swayed by propaganda. Not everyone does a job for the same reason. Your reasons could be personal. And your answer affects how you build your own company, as well.”

“We believe in providing absolute freedom and autonomy, and trusting that you do the right thing. This is exactly what our hiring and internal management philosophy is.”

“I want to make something super big. I care about the impact and what it brings to the supply partners and customers. I care about what it brings to society and millions of workers. This is the most important exciting part of our business.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Learn all about Fashinza on their company website at https://www.fashinza.com/en-us 

Connect directly with Pawan Gupta on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/pawaniitd/ 

Read Pawan Gupta’s interview in Medium Magazine at https://medium.com/authority-magazine/pawan-gupta-of-fashinza-on-the-supply-chain-and-the-future-of-retail-e68781e7e862 

Before Dirk Doebler, there was no such thing as paid parental leave insurance. Now, Dirk is changing the lives of millions by offering a unique program that is changing the way Americans live and work.

Dirk Doebler is the founder and CEO of Parento. Parento is employers’ all-in-one solution for working families. With its insurance-based parental leave & support program, Parento enables companies to retain and elevate working parents, particularly working mothers. 

This unprecedented brand is transforming the landscape for employers and making increased retention and engagement of parents a reality. Parento is proving that investing in working parents is good for business.  Headquartered in New York, Parento recently completed the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator and its policies are backed by A-rated reinsurers.

Dirk is committed to helping businesses capture the missing $12 trillion in global growth (McKinsey) by reducing the 43% of highly-skilled women who leave the workforce after becoming a mother. Prior to founding Parento, Dirk held roles in the finance and the consumer wellness industries, serving as CFO at the women-founded Dame Products. During his time at Dame, he played a key role in strategy development and execution to grow annual revenue 10x and achieve profitability with minimal outside equity. Prior to Dame Products, Dirk worked at Barclays and in Analytics at Sikorsky. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with degrees in Economics and Finance.

Build the world you want to live in

Dirk Doebler was working at Dame Products when he noticed a disturbing trend: Their ads were constantly being rejected because their products are marketed towards women. In stark contrast, male-focused brands such as Trojan, Viagra and Roman were flying past ad censorship. 

Dirk realized that there was an undiscussed societal bias against companies created for and by women. He began digging into inequalities in the world of finance and marketing and investigated a major gap in the industry: Paid Family Leave. Realizing that a lack of paid family leave is keeping women out of the workforce or permanently stalling their careers, he identified a need for an unprecedented new company.

Look to the future, not the present

When founding Parento, Dirk did not use other insurance companies as an example. After all, they didn’t provide the type of insurance he was working to create - and constantly disappointed their consumers. 

Instead, Dirk focused on reforming the entire experience of paid parental leave. He interviewed finance experts, collected data to prove that paid parental leave helps both families and companies, and discussed issues with both human resources and company finance departments. He even evaluated luxury brands and the type of customer experiences they offer their clients. 

An unprecedented brand requires visionary leadership

While approaching the issue of paid parental leave, Dirk encountered cultural challenges, archaic ideas and technical obstacles. But none of that slowed him down. 

Currently, most companies do not offer paid parental leave at all - much less a plan that entices top talent. Employees were feeling unappreciated and even disrespected by the companies they were working for, which often expected them to act like nothing had changed after their leave had passed.

He also found that paid parental leave is usually only offered to women who are giving birth - leaving out fathers, adoptive parents and foster families. This leaves ample room for inequity in households. Women therefore become significantly more likely to leave the workforce or experience career plateaus.

Dirk sought to build a plan that offered more than just basic insurance - it provided ongoing support and coaching on work-life integration. By caring for employees and eliminating sources of inequity and stress, Parento helps parents return to work feeling inspired and motivated.

Quotes

“Ignore the negative things people say about starting a company. Sure, you have to work hard and it takes a lot of time. But don’t let that sway you. Only really listen to what your users and customers are saying.”

“This is a program that did not exist. No one had paid parental leave insurance. We had to create it from the ground up.”

“I was trying to offer paid parental leave to my employees. Being in finance, I understood the challenges of trying to budget for that - How to mitigate the risk, and how to make sure employees are coming back after you pay them not to work for three or four months because that’s a concern for a lot of organizations. That led me to talk to dozens of finance leaders and I discovered that they don’t know how to budget for parental leave. They don’t know what the ROI is, if there’s going to be one.”

“The most important thing is, it’s gender-neutral. It’s going to cover parents whether they’re giving birth, adopting or fostering. We actually don’t really care about the parent’s gender or how that child gains a home, we just want to know that the employee is bonding with a new child.”

“We provide a support system. Employees have access to unlimited emotional support, and even parenting advice before, during, and after leave. Most employees use 12-14 hours of support with our coaches during their leave. There’s someone helping them manage their anxiety, stress, how to get their baby to sleep, and then work-life integration. We help them manage their calendar, and make sure that they are adjusting back to work.”

“We can build analysis for companies. We can determine how many women they have likely lost over the years due to parenthood. We can put a price tag on that for organizations. We make it transparent to companies, not just intended to sell. The ability to bridge the divide between HR and finance is huge.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Learn all about Parento, the world’s only paid parental leave insurance company at    https://www.parentoleave.com/ 

Follow Parento on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ParentoLeave 

Connect with Dirk Doebler on LinkedIn at  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ddoebler/ 

Read Medium’s article interviewing Dirk Doebler on their website at https://medium.com/authority-magazine/working-well-dirk-doebler-of-parento-on-how-companies-are-creating-cultures-that-support-sustain-75f78d6ee56a

Danny Popescu is a passionate visionary in the world of wealth management. In this episode of The Business of You, Danny shares some of his guidance on finance, being a great employer and making an impact. 

In 2013, Danny Popescu founded Harbourfront, an independent wealth management firm. Danny launched Harbourfront with an $11 million personal investment and within 9 years, established a $425 million enterprise value when Boston-based Private Equity firm, Audax Group bought a stake in the firm. With roughly 250 employees in 25 branches across Canada, Harbourfront is one of the fastest growing independent dealers now on track to establish a $1.5 - $2 billion enterprise value by 2027. At 46, Danny was named one of Canada’s Top 50 Industry Leaders of 2021 by Wealth Professionals.

As CEO, Danny oversees the operations of Harbourfront Wealth Holdings' four underlying businesses including its Investment Dealer, Asset Management Firm, and US investment arm. Danny also created the Harbourfront Gives Foundation which raises money for a number of Canadian charities. The Harbourfront Gives Foundation has donated over $300,000 to 54 charities as of July 2022.

Thinking outside the box

Before Harbourfront, the large majority of investment advisors across Canada were limited to investing their clients’ dollars the old way – exclusively in publicly traded securities, with no allocation to private investments. 

Danny and a group of seasoned wealth advisors strategized a solution to the investment limitations in Canada. At Harbourfront, seasoned wealth management professionals offer harmonized advice that intricately weave defensive portfolio construction, income planning and projecting, tax minimization planning, estate preservation, and trust management, all with a continuous focus on the management of risk. It’s unlike anything that existed in Canada before.

Using psychology to connect with employees and clients

When asked about his ability to connect with clients and staff, Danny cites his secret to success - human psychology. By assessing the way people think, he can advise his clients to build a lasting and meaningful financial legacy. 

Danny encourages his clients to consider nontraditional methods of building wealth - also minimizing their risk and protecting their life savings. By focusing on diversifying portfolios and offering alternatives to publicly traded securities, Danny ensures that his clients build a future for themselves and their families. 

Quotes

“I am fortunate to be a good generalist. I have decent knowledge of marketing to sales, business development, organizational skills and interpersonal skills. I think psychology is really important when you’re working with people.”

“I don’t gamble. If I don’t see how something will unfold, I don’t make a move on that initiative.”

“I understood the psychology of decision-making and human beings. It was helpful in learning how advisors think.”

“When I am hiring people, I don’t put too much focus on where they went to school. We’re making an investment in them. We say hey, can this person fit in here and essentially provide a return on investment of hiring them? We put far more stock in their personalities, work ethic, ambition and communication skills.”

“Your employees need to understand why they’re doing what they’re doing. We teach them how they fit into the overall goal, and why their roles are valuable to the organization. We also try to speak to the end goal and vision, how they are benefitting the consumer.”

“The ethics that we have towards our employees, I think that translates towards clients. People feel that they work at an organization that treats them fairly, and treats them with respect.”

“Money is not just made by investing in businesses in the stock market. You can invest in private businesses looking to invest capital. You have a lot more available in the pool of companies in the private space. Don’t be limited to public securities.”

“Most clients are not just looking to get rich overnight - they are looking to protect their life savings. A balanced approach between multiple asset clients is what they like.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Learn more about Harbourfront Wealth Management by visiting their website at www.Harbourfrontwealth.com     

Connect with Danny Popescu on LinkedIn at  https://www.linkedin.com/in/popescugroup/ 

Read about the Harbourfront Gives Foundation at https://harbourfrontgives.org/

In this provocative conversation with Ella Magers, you’ll discover that rebooting your business begins when you reprogram yourself.

Ella Magers, MSW is the world’s leading voice for revolutionary transformation in the wellness industry. Ella is the Founder of Sexy Fit Vegan and 22Reboot, a 22-Day holistic transformation system. She offers entrepreneurs and thought leaders the tools, support, and guidance they need to ultimately develop lasting healthy habits, claim optimal wellness, and live longer, more fulfilling lives. 

Ella’s deepest gift is her ability to shatter patterns that no longer serve. Through visionary writing, inspiring talks, and compassionate coaching, she empowers her followers to align their behaviors with their beliefs and stand tall in their personal truths. Ella is also an inspiring speaker, author, podcast host and holistic health coach. She has been featured in Well+Good, CanvasRebel Magazine, CNN, Vegan Food & Living, Healthification, Medium, LiveKindly, Healthy Magazine, and SevenSeas Media.

With fierce compassion, Ella shows people that there are alternatives to crash diets, excessive workout regimens, and lives packed with stressors. She’s on a mission to prove that plant-based living is the quickest path to holistic health and that true and lasting wellness is achievable for everyone.

Ella has been vegan for 25+ years. She is a visionary who stands for the rights of animals, empowerment of people, and survival of the Planet.

Reboot your life by standing in your truth

Before creating the 22Reboot program, Ella Magers had a secret: She was struggling with an eating disorder. After studying nutrition and competing as a bodybuilder, Ella found herself controlling everything she consumed. She wanted to become the perfect vegan, a shining example of a plant-based lifestyle, and a beacon of hope for those struggling to break away from their animal-centric diets. But perfectionism had a price.

Ella’s desire for excellence spiraled into shame and isolation as she followed a restrictive diet, binge eating alone after bodybuilding competitions. 

Finally, she took brave and transformative action. Sick and tired of degrading herself, she frantically penned a blog post telling the world what she was going through. Holding her cursor over the publish button, she felt a wave of freedom - She felt like she was standing in her truth for the first time in forever. 

Create what the world needs

Ella decided to reboot her identity - embracing the reality that she is a perfectly imperfect human being. She realized that by forcing herself into an impossible mold, she was setting an impossible example. Ella decided that her program needed to reflect her own inner transformation. 

She went back to school and earned her Master’s degree in Social Work in order to deepen her skills as a coach and mentor. 22Reboot was redesigned to honor the four essential components of a holistically healthy lifestyle: Nutrition, movement, mindfulness and sleep.

Detox from your addiction to doing

Later, things were going well in Ella’s businesses - but she was exhausted. She was feeling burnt out and lackluster. As entrepreneurs, it can be tempting to ride the wave of success and abandon self-care completely - but Ella knew better!

Feeling out of touch spiritually and creatively, she embarked on a journey to reconnect with herself. She turned off her phone, powered off her laptop and even stopped eating flavorful foods during a wellness retreat in Peru. With zero emails, no texts, no blue light and no addictive foods, she was able to hear her own intuitive voice again. 

Upon returning from her voyage, Ella Magers was more inspired than she had ever been! Doing “nothing” gave Ella her mission back and reminded her of what she cares about most: People, animals, and the planet. 

Now, she shares her mission with us and inspires us to reboot our lives, whatever it takes.

Quotes

“I was a perfectionist - I wanted to be a shining example. I wanted people to come up to me and ask me about what I was doing, so that I could share about plant-based eating - which was not well known or well received at the time. I put a lot of pressure on myself. I knew a lot about nutrition and I was very restrictive with my food. I would binge at night sometimes! I won first place in bodybuilding competitions. But I was suffering inside.”

“It took a really long time to be able to say hey - It’s okay that you’re not perfect. People are not going to respect you less because you’re sharing. I created a blog post where I put it all out there. I put my clicker on the publish button and I was like, it’s time to be proud of myself. I can’t do that if I keep hiding. It was a huge moment for me.”

“When I got to that place of just loving, appreciating and respecting myself, my whole program changed. And that was a big turning point.”

“Just because you have a thought, doesn’t make it true. We believe these thoughts and beliefs are truth but they’re not even ours! They were given to us. They were programmed into us when we were children. It really limits us. It limits our health, ability to succeed in our lives and our businesses.”

“I have a lot of trust in the universe. I work on connecting with my being, passion and mission in life.”

“Success is freedom. It’s about fulfilling my mission to help other people, animals and the planet. The money is a side effect, and it allows me freedom as well. I make money to donate to animal sanctuaries and donate to causes that I care about.”

“We have intrinsic value, just for being on this earth. We don’t have to be doing to be worthy of being. That’s hard for entrepreneurs and professionals who are dedicated.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit Ella Mager’s coaching and speaking website at www.ellamagers.com 

Explore the 22Reboot Program at www.22reboot.com 

Follow Ella on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sexyfitvegan/ 

Follow Ella on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sexyfitvegan  

Connect with Ella Magers on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellamagers/ 

It doesn’t happen every day that a speaker begins their TedX presentation with the story of how they went to jail. But Will Samson does exactly that, using his impactful story to inspire, uplift and encourage others to create a life they’re proud to live. 

Will Samson is on a moonshot mission to disrupt the self-help industry and possibly alter the human operating system. He is a transformational mindset and change coach who guides tech companies, C-Suite executives, and entrepreneurs to amazing levels of growth. 

Will is the brains behind the T3 ecosystem, a collection of hackers, thinkers, activists, and dreamers who are sprouting new ideas, stories, and products based on the idea of interdependence. His story of rebooting his life was told to the TEDx audience in 2021. When he is not germinating the next wave of thought, he is a master home chef and a Spartan racer. Will’s T3 model creates lasting change in his clients through transitions, transformation, and thriving. By focusing on a transformation of their core identity, Will teaches his clients to evolve into new people, able to overcome complex challenges and cast aside the limitations of their past.

An incredible origin story Will isn’t shy about the metamorphosis he himself had to undergo. It began when he was arrested for driving under the influence and had to spend several weeks in jail. As he admits, most people become surly and search for ways to blame others - but he didn’t do that. Will spent his time genuinely reflecting on the actions that got him there and came to terms with his need for change. 

In the courtroom standing in front of a judge, Will looked around to see a community of people who had shown up just to support him. The judge marveled at the amount of people present for the hearing, telling him that he’s a lucky man - and not to waste his second chance! 

Will went into recovery from his addiction with the troubling belief that he was alone. Ashamed and unable to fully accept himself, he was surprised to discover a group of people who welcomed him with open arms. This is when Will began researching the power of community for recovery, improving mental health and becoming the best version of yourself. 

Change begins with transformation

Change and transformation may seem like synonyms, but they can be fundamentally different. We can change our habits and revert right back when things get difficult! Instead, Will Samson chooses to focus on transformational coaching. 

By encouraging his clients to reinvent themselves, he helps them transform their lives from the inside out. In the early stages of coaching, Will helps them discover the parts of their identity that are holding them back and should be discarded - and the parts of themselves they should be leaning into. Will Samson helps people develop new identities based on the type of people and leaders they want to be. 

This can serve us in our own businesses. What aspects of your identity are serving you as you build your brand? Which parts of you are not? Will is here to help you lay it out on the table and build a life you’re excited to live.

Build your ultimate life team

Will Samson is in the business of teaching us that we can’t do it alone. He likes to say that it is “his mission to make interdependence cool.” In the process of his recovery, he designed a “life team” - a support system to help him along the way. 

Will now educates and inspires others to form their own life team. He recommends looking at your life as if it is a company and considering yourself the CEO of your own story. Who do you need in your corner to keep things running smoothly? 

This begins with fully knowing your strengths. Will coaches his clients through an intimate process of self-discovery to help them understand their role in their life, and the roles they should effectively fill. What are you great at - and what do you struggle with? What can you outsource to make your life better? Who can you collaborate with so that you bring out the best in one another? 

Will coaches his clients to create a life team, and he is also in the process of developing a Life Teams app. His mantra is simple - We’re supposed to rely on one another and build each other up. 

Quotes

“I’ve been trying to practice vulnerability, honesty, courage…and nothing’s going to do that like standing up in front of the audience giving a TedX talk and telling them about the time I went to jail.”

“My life purpose is to make interdependence cool.”

“I had burned down a lot of things around me. I had done a lot of the things that people with substance abuse disorder do. I had damaged my relationships, damaged my business, and there were dark things happening. I decided to enter the process of recovery. I always assumed that to address substance abuse, I’d have to do it on my own. What happened instead was that there were groups of people who said, ‘Let us love you until you can love yourself.’ Everything I do today is to repay the grace I received!”

“From the moment we wake up until we go to sleep at night, there’s a group of people keeping our world going…we just don’t remember to focus on them.”

“We need ways of remedying this toxic independence.”

“We celebrate these individual serial entrepreneurs, the Musks and the Bransons. But Richard Branson is a great example of what we’re talking about here. When Richard Branson was 23 years old he went bankrupt. His mom mortgaged her home to keep Virgin Record store in east London afloat! Now we all know the story of Richard Branson, this amazing self-made billionaire…because he ‘authored his own life’. But even these great success stories have stories of interdependence.”

“A lot of entrepreneurs are not the people who want to build to a massive scale to sell to Google or Facebook. They just want to solve a problem. The idea of the T3 ecosystem was born… What we’re hoping to do is to launch companies that can focus on social good and share administrative services.”

“Start with the question, what did I learn from that interaction? What did I miss?”

“We’re awash in self-help books and we’re awash in depression because we’re not sure how to create change in our life. Change is fleeting, but transformation means taking on a whole new identity.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit Will Samson’s website and learn more about his methodology at www.willsamson.com 

Follow Will on facebook for encouragement and words of wisdom at https://www.facebook.com/willsamsonchangecoach 

Connect with Will Samson on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/willsamsonchangecoach/ 

No matter what size your business is, eCommerce has leveled the playing field. That’s what Jake and Eulalie Cook teach: How to build a successful online brand using the transformative science of data.

Jake Cook is Co-founder and CEO of Tadpull, an eCommerce service and software solution for growing online brands. The team at Tadpull provides customized eCommerce growth plans, strategy and management, and software with predictive analytics to unlock online companies’ full potential. With an incredible remote team of data scientists, ecommerce strategists, software engineers, Tadpull has been growing and evolving since its inception in 2013.

While Jake has worked for large and established companies like Google and Microsoft, these days he is deeply passionate about helping mid-market companies compete smarter by harnessing their own disparate datasets to turn data into profit with the power of AI. 

Jake holds dual teaching appointments at Montana State University and the University of Montana while also guest lecturing at Harvard Business School on the topics of data science and ecommerce. He has open-sourced his course materials at ondigitalmarketing.com. He earned an undergraduate degree in physics and an MA in marketing from Drury University on a swimming scholarship.

Jake and Eulalie Cook, Ph.D. are data scientists, marketing professors and the Co-founders of Tadpull. For nearly a decade now, they have been creating and perfecting a proprietary software aptly named The Ecommerce Data Pond. This software is designed exclusively to serve mid-market companies, providing them with the same AI tools and domain expertise that the big tech firms have at their fingertips while reducing and even eliminating dependency on third-party players.

What can data tell us?

When people think of data for eCommerce, they might be thinking simply about profit margins. But before that, there is a vast range of information you can use to help you design a strategy for your business!

Tadpull helps companies master a simple flywheel that covers the 5C's of ecommerce: Capital, Customers, Campaigns, Catalog, and Culture. Their complex data gathering systems allow you to understand where to find the right customers, how to design campaigns that work, how to manage inventory, what consumers are likely to buy based on previous purchases, and how to deliver a great customer experience every time based on your unique business model. 

Jake Cook teaches about something he affectionately likes to call “non-creepy personalization”... That is, the act of making the customer experience highly personal but not to a degree that makes the person feel like they’re being watched. Tadpull has perfected the art of designing powerful and personal customer journeys. 

Important lessons on timing and entrepreneurship

Before Jake founded Tadpull with his wife Eulalie Cook, they started two other companies. Jake got his first taste of what it takes to bootstrap a new business when he bought a 3D printer and began building scale models of cities. The company did so well that it attracted unexpected attention!

After receiving a cryptic phone call from Google, Jake Cook was ready to dismiss it. After all, he assumed that they were getting sued for violating terms of service - or that it was a fluke. But in fact Google was reaching out to hire them to build a 3-dimensional scale model of their company headquarters! 

Jake was over the moon. Their company was steadily growing - until the recession of 2008 hit them hard. Rather than continue, they sold the 3D printer and decided to venture into something new. In this podcast episode, Jake shares some valuable insight with us into how he knew it was time to close that chapter and begin a new one. He suggests that we write down what our criteria are for being happy at work…or how we will know when it’s time to move on. What are the most important parts of your workplace happiness? Knowing his criteria for satisfaction, Jake knew when it was time to cut ties and begin a new business venture. 

In their second venture, Jake realized the importance of a shared vision between business partners. Although it ended amicably, his second business was thwarted by differences in long-term visions and ideas. This is a common conundrum when Founders embark on shared partnerships. 

In this episode of The Business of You, Jake shares some of the most common reasons businesses don’t work out and how you can set yourself up for success when your next big idea strikes!

How do you know who to work with?

Jake Cook has learned a lot about starting businesses and collaborating with a team. But he also shares a golden nugget of wisdom with us: Don’t work with people you don’t align with. 

In the early days of running Tadpull, Jake and his team took on several smaller projects. Now, he only works with businesses made up of conscientious, thoughtful and respectful collaborators, and we should too. Jake has some great advice for us on how to tell if someone is in it for the long haul or if they’re going to expect quick fixes and ask for unreasonable solutions. In his strategic sessions with clients, he works to set expectations for the results they’ll achieve together - based on factors like timeline, budget and input. 

During the 2-3 week research phase, the Tadpull team analyzes all the factors that could affect a brand’s online journey. Using their proprietary software, they can provide important hypotheses to their clients to suggest what outcomes would come to pass if their input changed. This allows for helpful conversations about timeline expectations, budget increases, or strategy shifts. 

Enjoy this fascinating conversation about the art of data for eCommerce businesses, and be sure to access Jake Cook’s open-source course material in the links below. This information could empower you to take your brand’s online future into your own hands!

Quotes

“Core values are something we look for when we hire. We can teach a lot of things but we can’t always teach empathy or hustle.”

“We try to reward people for trying, and for a growth mindset. The team is incredibly supportive.”

“Focus on what you can control. You can control how you prepare and how you work.”

“The modern monopolies are built on data. Customer data is how they’re able to do that. Google and Amazon have had that vision for a couple decades. The more data you have and the earlier you have it, you can identify patterns. You have to have a thesis on how to leverage the data or you have to pay a toll to Amazon or these other guys.”

“We comb through inventory data, website behavior data and financial data. We map it back to what they want to do and how fast they want to grow their business. From there, we have a sense for what’s reasonable.”

“What I really love is taking technology and mathematics and solving business problems with them. I’m not typically interested in TikTok follower count…I’m more interested in doing the work. And connecting with really sharp people who are interested in doing the work.”

“The reason eCommerce is so much fun is because it’s not just marketing - it’s got finance, it’s got operations, it’s got culture - it’s got all of these interdisciplinary areas. I’ve always found that when you cross disciplines like that, it gets to be really fascinating.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit Tadpull’s website at https://www.tadpull.com/   

Access Jake Cook’s open-source course material at https://ondigitalmarketing.com/learn/odm/ 

Connect with Jake Cook on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakecook/  

Read Jake and Eulalie Cook’s feature in Yahoo Finance at https://finance.yahoo.com/news/private-equity-leaders-converge-bozeman-150000196.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJZs5un1c-qDGjOUeMPQU2u9ygFs0atfrG4xpAWLxV95uztrRKmGc568b1y_kuhBy6hsMAkTORyywkfNnkNiKqxYrTol04EPB7H9J-gS5J3zo8xruvfS4SQsqvB96--E3tz0b1cRs9oAcFZkET7cwTE-Z2HJ5PweEXH9Zd_y-FYB 

Great stories begin in unexpected places. Trena White could not have foreseen the incredible journey she embarked on as she decided to build her brand. But now, a decade into being a Co-founder, Trena has many wonderful lessons about entrepreneurship to share.

Trena White is a veteran book publisher and co-founder of innovative book publishing firm Page Two, which publishes non-fiction books by leading industry experts. Page Two offers a faster path to market, more creative control, and deep engagement in authors’ launch strategies. Co-founders Trena and Jesse Finkelstein launched in 2013 to help thought leaders, subject matter experts, and organizations publish their contributions.

Page Two has published several books selling over a million copies and its authors have been translated into dozens of languages around the world. Trena is a nominee for the RBC Women of Influence Trailblazer Award. Before launching Page Two, she was publisher of Douglas & McIntyre and Greystone Books, Canada’s largest independent book publisher at the time; and an editor at McClelland & Stewart, now an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Page Two sets itself apart from other publishing companies by building more collaborative relationships with its authors. While traditional publishing focuses on retail sales, Page Two takes an in-depth look at how the book and its publishing strategy serve the greater needs of the client’s brand and eventual goals. The vision, methodology and niche of Page Two are all unique and fuel its success in the industry. 

Entrepreneurs look for opportunities

Before they founded Page Two, Trena and Jesse were in senior roles together at a publishing company that was in the process of going bankrupt. Bigger companies considered buying it, but first - they wanted to see the numbers! Trena had to create models to show buyers what was possible. 

All of this financial modeling gave Trena and Jesse an idea. What if they took what they had learned and created something entirely new? Not to be swayed from their big vision, they decided to launch Page Two while they were suddenly out of work and Trena was home with a brand new baby. Trena and Jesse were coworkers who respected one another's perspective - but this leap of faith turned them into both Co-founders and great friends.

They got to work collaborating, planning and building a publishing company different from all the rest. 

Action is better than perfection

Is there something in your own business you’re waiting to perfect before really getting started? Are you letting perfectionism hold you back? 

Trena recalls the grassroots nature of their launch in 2013, and it’ll inspire you to ditch perfectionism for good. Page Two began finding clients using good old-fashioned networking and word of mouth. They even started serving those clients without official templates or systems! 

Trena and Jesse didn’t have time to waste. They made plans and ran them past lawyers, branding experts and friends in publishing to make sure they held water. Page Two was a big dream that had to succeed, because the alternative was unthinkable. 

What does scaling your business look like?

Every brand is unique, and each has different requirements as they scale and grow. For Page Two, Trena discusses a process of deepening - Adding depth to their customer service and working more closely with their authors, rather than experiencing rapid growth. 

Rather than a plan to work with more authors, Trena reminds us of the importance of doing business with intention. At Page Two, they are becoming more and more selective about the authors they work with, leading to better outcomes through successful collaboration. Long-term, they’re appointing heads of each department so that they can step back and envision what’s next. 

Page Two rose out of a need for better relationships between thought leaders and the people who publish them. But it’s grown into a thriving brand that Trena and Jesse - and the authors who publish there - can truly be proud of.

Enjoy this story of the power of collaboration, leaps of faith and bold action.

Quotes

“In the traditional publishing model, there were a lot of constraints that made book publishing tricky for the kinds of people who had built a lot of intellectual property and had built businesses. Our vision was to start a new kind of publishing company where the author really partnered with us to develop their book in a way that made sense for them and their broader business goals.”

“We started to imagine, what would it look like if we took parts of this initial vision that we had created for someone else and ran with it our way? And created something new and different so that we could explore our idea of what publishing could look like for entrepreneurs and subject matter experts? That was the beginning of Page Two.”

“The clock was ticking. We didn’t have day jobs anymore! We had to make this work or…what? Neither of us wanted to leave book publishing. We both felt really inspired to create something new.”

“When we work with an author, we start at the very beginning about where their book fits into their other products and services. In most cases it’s meant to lift up the other services they’re offering as part of their company. We want to be careful that the book represents the company’s brand and it will support their other services meaningfully.”

“When we work with an author, we don’t license the rights to the book. This might sound technical but it’s critical. When you work in traditional publishing, you sign an agreement that says the publisher owns the rights to the copyright. We don’t do that. With Page Two, there are no constraints to what you do with the work. If an author publishes a book and you want to put three chapters in a workbook, you would be free to do that - and you wouldn’t normally be able to.”

“I was quite naive about what a business partnership would look like! Jesse and I had only worked together for a year. It could have gone so badly, but we have an amazing and really special partnership. Deep down, we have really similar values. When things get tricky and we’re debating a question of how to handle something, we have compatibility at quite a deep level that has carried us through.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit Page Two’s company website at www.pagetwo.com  

Follow Page Two on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pagetwo  

Follow Page Two on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pagetwo_books/  

Connect with Trena White on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/trenawhite

With over 18 years of recruiting experience, Carolyn Betts is an authority on hiring. She is sharing her valuable insights on The Business of You podcast, helping us to understand the dynamic nature of hiring and the art of employee retention. 

This conversation will motivate you to drastically improve your workplace culture. Whatever your current retention rates, prepare to watch them rise as you implement some of Carolyn Betts’ innovative retention ideas! 

Carolyn founded Betts Recruiting in 2010, and her knack for spotting top talent and pairing them with an ideal company has led to developing a trusted marketplace in the SaaS space. As part of this success, Carolyn has helped clients make key hires and navigate the ever-changing landscape brought on by the current Great Resignation movement.

Betts Recruiting is the go-to agency for companies looking to find sales, marketing and client services talent in the US. Featured in many publications including the the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, Betts Recruiting has built the reputation of leveraging new technology, current market trends, networking and old fashioned head-hunting techniques to find top talent for clients more efficiently.

Betts Recruiting has offices in both Austin, Texas and Manhattan. Their team can choose whether to report to their offices or work remotely. They also enjoy annual summits to discuss values, market movement and upcoming projects in person. Carolyn Betts makes it her mission to build a great place to work - and she will help you do the same!

Identify a problem and develop a solution

After graduating Harvard Business School, Carolyn Betts fell into the recruitment field. She quickly became aware of a major issue facing the industry - the fact that after posting a position, companies received thousands of resumés - and few of them were actually qualified for the job. 

It was laborious and time-consuming to evaluate floods of applications. At times it even felt like finding a needle in a haystack! She also noticed that a lot of recruiters prioritized closing the deal over long-term employee retention. Carolyn dreamt of a more personalized way to find talent for the tech industry, and the idea for Betts Recruiting was born in 2009. 

By getting to know hiring managers on a more personal level, Betts Recruiting can better deliver talent that fits available roles. Betts acts as a professional matchmaking service for tech-based companies, ensuring that the needs of the team are met with assessments of the candidates’ skills, personality, values, and vision.

Bring your authentic self to work

Carolyn Betts believes in professionalism - but she enthusiastically encourages us to bring our authentic selves to work. 

During the dissolution of her marriage, she grappled with how to present this information in the workplace. She disclosed the change to her team, not knowing what to expect - and received an outpouring of support. The team’s honesty with one another also helped them to collaborate more effectively on future projects. Carolyn wants to remind us that we’re people first and workers second, and that acknowledging our humanity can actually help us work harmoniously as a team. 

Build a better work culture

Carolyn Betts isn’t just invested in helping other companies increase their retention. She is also engaged in making sure that Betts Recruiting is an amazing place to work! 

After the pandemic hit, Carolyn could have lamented the transitions facing the growing company. Betts Recruiting was formerly a mostly in-person employer, and this was a major pivot. They had been steadily growing, with offices in several major US cities. There had been expectations that teams would be in-office at certain times and on certain days, ready to work. 

Carolyn approached the market trends with positivity and excitement. She cheerfully developed a new plan to usher Betts into a new era and come out winning. She decided to allow all employees to choose their own adventure: Come into the offices in Austin or Manhattan or work remotely. Betts strategically discarded the offices in other cities, instead deciding to invest in plans for the collaboration and satisfaction of their team. To bring people together, they would host annual summits. They would also invest in the wellness of their workers and pay for vacations including flights, hotels and experiences. Driven by the evolving workplace philosophies of millennials and Gen Z, Betts Recruiting modified their practices to support the desires of the tech industry’s budding talent.

Quotes

“I did some soul-searching. I thought, there must be a better way to build companies and teams! There can be a much more personalized approach.”

“When covid hit, our business was affected pretty dramatically. 90% of our clients froze hiring. As leases expired, we transitioned out of [in-person offices]. Now it’s choose-your-own-adventure. The people who choose to, the offices are open in Austin and Manhattan. Anyone who wants to be remote, can be remote! We also make an effort to bring everyone together in person for summits.”

“The talent pool is limited when you have to come into an office every day.”

“Have a value based culture - does everybody in your company understand what those values are?”

“Our leading value is people first. This generation wants to feel valued, like their work matters and that they are part of something bigger than themselves. These people are awesome!”

“A company that still has that old-school mentality of ‘you work here, this is your job’ - even with amazing training, without career development and growth and without them buying into what your company is doing and where you’re going - you’re going to have a huge turnover issue. People are not going to want to work there. And they’re not going to be a part of what you’re doing and where you’re going.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit the Betts Recruiting website at https://bettsrecruiting.com/ 

Read all of the Betts Recruiting press features at https://bettsrecruiting.com/press-coverage/ 

Follow Betts Recruiting on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BettsRecruiting 

Connect with Carolyn Betts on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynbetts 

Mike Gardon was a hardworking type-A professional trader and entrepreneur. But he found real fulfillment when he stopped making decisions with his head and began making them with his heart.

Now, he’s joining us for a frank conversation on the power of teaching our kids entrepreneurship, the importance of work-life balance, and how to live a life you’re proud of.

Mike Gardon is the founder of multiple successful businesses, an investor, a Digital Media Executive, and most importantly - a husband and father. He is currently the CEO of Rejoin Media, a holding company for digital brands and businesses. He is also the Executive Editor and Host of the acclaimed Careercloud Radio podcast. Mike is an advocate for remote work and intentional work-life integration. He runs his teams remotely from the beautiful (and affordable!) Midwest, where he resides with his wife and three young boys.

You can read Mike's writing and media mentions on investing, startups, life and work across the internet on these sites: The Simple Dollar, Reviews.com, The Huffington Post, Forbes, Business Insider, Yahoo News, GoBankingRates, Ask Men, Cosmopolitan, Discover Financial, The Penny Hoarder and Good Financial Cents.

Design your dream life

Things seemed like they were progressing in Mike’s life. He was a young futures trader in Chicago taking risks and learning a lot. But he describes his time in trading as mediocre - because his heart wasn’t in it. 

When he read The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin, he had a powerful realization that sometimes you have to take steps backward in order to propel yourself forward. Abandoning his expectations for a linear career path, Mike quit his trading job the very next day and got his MBA, beginning a career in content marketing. He eventually founded ReJoin Media to grow digital brands in a conscious and thoughtful way. He also hosts the Careercloud podcast, created to help listeners design the dream life and career of their choosing.

Early in his career Mike looked around him and didn’t feel aligned with the expectations of corporate America. Rigid and unforgiving, these positions often demanded a workaholic attitude and a neglect of the day-to-day activities of family life. He decided to envision a life he could be proud of and tailor his career to fit his personal goals. More and more entrepreneurs are choosing their career steps to complement an integration with work and life - and this trend is not going anywhere! Mike Gardon built multiple successful businesses around the importance of being present for his wife and his three sons.

The best ideas are inspired

In addition to his work in digital marketing and investing, Mike Gardon also founded Quotebook, a keepsake journal created out of a desire to preserve his own family’s memories. 

Early in his marriage to his wife Stephanie, Mike realized the importance of showing up. Stephanie attended Medical School and did her Residency while Mike’s career was taking off - leaving them exhausted and disconnected. They were collapsed on the couch after a long day when Stephanie blurted out something funny about the cheese balls they were snacking on. After Mike rushed to write it down, he conceived of the idea to write down the moments that matter. 

Now parents of three young boys, Mike and Dr. Stephanie Gardon write down the hilarious things their sons say, reading them aloud at bedtime. It helps them bond over the humor of everyday life. The boys even learn the power of entrepreneurship through helping Mike fulfill orders for Quotebook - mastering lessons about money, marketing, customer service and follow-through. The Gardons also donate part of the proceeds of Quotebook to fight the opioid crisis, giving opportunities for essential and life-saving services to those who need them.

The Quotebook journal is tailor-made to help other families remain close even when life gets rushed. When discussing Quotebook, Mike Gardon reminds us that the best business ideas connect us to our humanity!

Everything Mike does, he does with heart. After listening to this episode, you’ll be inspired to design a life you’re proud of!

Quotes

“I’m big on figuring out what type of life you want, and then figuring out how to build that.”

“I say ‘work life’, instead of ‘career’, because I think our work and our lives are really integrated.”

“I had to find what I didn’t want, and build a company that gave us flexibility and ease to be parents, husbands and wives, instead of our goal being to grow-grow-grow all the time.”

“I always have this battle between being aspirational and shooting for the moon, and finding balance. At the end of the day, what our people are after is flexibility and opportunity. If I can provide that, I’m pretty happy!”

“I’ve stopped being hyper-rational and thinking about the numbers. This doesn’t come naturally to me; I’ve worked with a coach on it. As I’ve led with the feeling, it’s led me in a good direction.”

“Quotebook was born out of something deeply personal. Before my wife and I were married, I was trading and she was in medical school. We came home and we were so tired. We could just collapse on the couch and inevitably someone would say something funny. Now, we read these funny things and get transported back to that moment. Now we have kids, three young boys, and they say funny things. We even read from it at bedtime.”

“I used Quotebook to teach my kids about entrepreneurship. You have to risk something, talk to people, get feedback and understand how people will use it. It’s been this cool mentorship path with my kids.”

“The funny moments are what we look back on and remember.”

“I don’t want [my kids] to think about how to be a success. I want them to think about, ‘how can I enjoy my life?’”

“Big decisions like what to do with your life - I don’t think you can just think your way through that.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit Mike Gardon’s personal website at https://www.michaelgardon.com 

Listen to Mike as he hosts the Careercloud radio podcast on their website: https://www.careercloud.com/careercloud-radio 

Contact ReJoin Media at https://www.rejoinmedia.com/ 

Learn more about the Quotebook journal on the website: https://quotebookjournal.com/ 

Connect with Mike Gardon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgardon/