The Business of You with Rachel Gogos

Entrepreneurship is an epic adventure and no one illustrates that more effectively than Dr. Travis and Michelle Fox! 

Dr. Travis Fox and Michelle S. Fox are the Co-Founders behind Ultimate Business Quest, the #1 business tool for helping entrepreneurs discover the business hero within. Launched in May 2022, Ultimate Business Quest delivers business basics and practical coaching, presented in a world of immersive fantasy gameplay.

Do you truly know who you are in the workplace? Are you the courageous warrior or the cunning wizard? Are you the Bard always looking for your next performance? Or are you simply looking to free yourself from the shackles of society like the Jester? Find out by taking their quiz and embarking on your own Ultimate Business Quest.

Why use gameplay on your business journey?

By pulling us out of our day-to-day life and throwing us into an imaginary world, Ultimate Business Quest is designed to help us effectively overcome limiting beliefs, fear of failure or success, or even a fear of public speaking. 

Facing real-life business challenges feels easier after discovering your strengths and areas for growth within a game world. Ultimately positioning yourself as the hero of your own story, you have virtual opportunities to become an innovative leader in the real world!

What are the real-life outcomes for your brand?

Hundreds of entrepreneurs are raving about Ultimate Business Quest, sharing the positive effects the game has had in their real-life businesses. By helping you develop your business skills in a fantasy world, you access the determination and unshakeable self-confidence it takes to be a capable business owner! 

Whether you’re working to hone your public speaking skills, learning how to hire personalities that work harmoniously together or accessing the courage to overcome your own fears, Ultimate Business Quest will send you on a journey down the road to entrepreneurial self-discovery.  Are you up for the quest?

Quotes

“It’s like building a business. First you claim your map, you take the next step to build the foundation of your business before you expand your realm. Each of these are building blocks of a successful company.”

“The quest was, how do we create something that has guidelines to help you discover your own path in a fun way?”

“We get testimonials every day from people who say, I didn’t know that it could be this easy to apply these complex things!”

“We all have these fears that we go through as entrepreneurs. We sat down with the coding team and we created the Ultimate Business quest to take people through a journey. We have research that says that if we put you through an immersive space, in a fantastical realm, you learn instantaneously.”

“We want to take your entrepreneurship into an empire where you find your passion, purpose, your mission and vision so that you can live your legacy.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit the website for Ultimate Business Quest: https://ultimatebusinessquest.com/ 

Watch the official ad for Ultimate Business Quest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_VTBTR5pNA 

Download the Ultimate Business Quest app for FREE on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.businessempire  or on the Apple store  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/business-empire/id1596933808  

Follow Ultimate Business Quest on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mybusinessquest/?hl=en 

Connect personally with Dr. Travis Fox on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisfox 

Connect personally with Michelle S. Fox on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/questmastersilk 

Read Medium Magazine’s article on UBQ: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/lessons-from-a-thriving-power-couple-with-dr-travis-fox-and-michelle-s-fox-of-ultimate-business-4cd31cc6aa89 

Manisha Thakor is excited to help you achieve financial freedom. But unlike a lot of so-called financial gurus, she begins in an unexpected place: Your feelings around money. 

 Manisha believes that finance doesn’t have to be complicated-you can unpack your emotional barriers, simplify your life and ultimately pursue your life’s purpose using money. 

Manisha Thakor, CFA, CFP, is the founder of MoneyZen, a boutique financial wellbeing consultancy. A 25-year veteran of the financial services industry, her work has been featured in: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, CNBC, Womens Health and Real Simple. Manisha sits on the board of The National Endowment for Financial Education and has authored two personal finance books for young women. Manisha earned her MBA from Harvard Business School and her BA from Wellesley College.

Having worked for 25+ years in the predominantly (white) male financial services industry, Manisha has come to see firsthand how important it is to empower women to achieve financial wellbeing. She ardently believes that money gives women voices and choices.

What’s your money story?

Rather than just diving into your financial history, Manisha wants you to dig deeper into how you feel about money. How did your family discuss finances when you were growing up? What limiting beliefs might you have adopted about scarcity or wealth? The answers to these questions might shed new light on your journey with money as an adult and reveal the secrets to setting yourself financially free.

What is financial freedom?

To Manisha, financial freedom is all about choices. When you create financial freedom for yourself, you have the ability to explore your interests, protect your investments and avoid toxic situations. It all starts with your money story!

Quotes

“My mission is to help people fight through the abundance of information to help people arrive at calm, confidence and clarity around their personal finances.”

“The biggest tool I have found is your money stories, and your money history. I advise corporate clients to do something called money circles, where you get together around certain topics…mostly to talk about money feelings and what’s blocking you. People work through their gunk and are able to actually make decisions.”

“Emotional wealth comes down to simplicity, small joys and financial independence.”

“Financial independence is the ability to extract myself from any situation that is toxic to me.”

“The number one thing I get asked daily is, how can I find trustworthy guidance and advice for my situation?”

“Financial health doesn’t mean that you’re always chasing more, more, more. That gets you into a never-enough mindset.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Check out the MoneyZen website: https://moneyzen.com/ 

Connect with Manisha Thakor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manishathakor/ 

Follow Manisha on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ManishaThakor 

Manisha references Courtney Carver’s 333 method for simplifying for life. You can explore it here: https://bemorewithless.com/project-333/ 

Manisha discussed Jean Chatzky’s Her Money Media website. You can check it out here: https://hermoney.com/ 

She also highly recommends Carl Richards’ weekly newsletter, Behavior Gap (modeled after his book, Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money). You can receive it here: https://behaviorgap.com/

Early in Maxim Wheatley’s career, he wasn’t afraid to take risks. Years later, he credits those risks.

Maxim is an entrepreneur and startup executive who has scaled companies from five to fifty-plus employees. He has led and scaled remote teams for over seven years and is experienced in remote and distributed team building, operations, and leadership. 

Maxim is currently the Head of Product and Marketing at Merico, the next-generation code contribution analytics system, driving transparency and improvement. Their unique metrics and measurements bring fresh insights to enterprise engineering, HR teams, and open-source projects.  Once a startup entrepreneur and now an employee, Maxim shares his lessons learned from leading, following, and collaborating.

Don’t be afraid to face issues head-on.

Maxim used to channel his courage into risky endeavors in his company. But he soon found a new challenge: Having difficult conversations. Preferring to keep quiet and seem amiable, Maxim soon learned that the biggest risk is vulnerability-in conversations with consumers, employees and business partnerships. 

Quotes

“My life has revolved around taking risks with lots of conviction.”

“I would attribute a lot of my success to showing up authentically with great mentors. They have helped me feel capable and confident when things get tough. Create your personal advisory board.”

“I invest a good deal of my own mental energy into figuring out what questions I should be asking of myself, other people or the task at hand - and finding out how I will know whether I’m right or wrong.”

“I want to improve the quality of life for the people who touch whatever I’m doing.”

“We get [consumers] to give us insights about the things that are getting in the way of their success. It helps us figure out where the pain points are.”

“You can do all kinds of clever things, but there’s no getting around the value of having those direct conversations.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Check out Merico’s website here: https://www.merico.dev/

Connect with Maxim on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximwheatley/  

You can follow Maxim on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MaximWheatley

Raju Narisetti is optimistic about the future of journalism, and his reasons are compelling. 

In this discussion on media literacy and the power of sharing information online, Raju encourages us to keep an open mind and explore who is creating the information we’re consuming and how we can share it responsibly.

Raju Narisetti’s current role as Leader of Global Publishing at McKinsey & Company is the latest in a 32-year global career in media and publishing, during which he has created, reimagined and managed major media organizations in North America, Europe and Asia, as well as being on the frontlines of digital transformation challenges and new ventures in the publishing industry.

Raju has worked at The Wall Street Journal, Hindustan Times/Mint, The Washington Post, News Corp, Univision/Gizmodo Media Group and Columbia Journalism School. He was an essential part of the team that won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News for 9/11 coverage.

How do we use media to open gates and empower others?

Raju queries that rather than acting as gatekeepers for information, journalists should act in a role as a gate-opener, helping consumers navigate the sea of overwhelming information in this digital era. He gives suggestions for how publications can improve their click rates while empowering consumers.

Why is media literacy important?

Media literacy is the ability to interpret and understand written material…and how we discern the intentions of the writer. 

Raju talks in detail about how understanding where a piece of content is sourced from should influence how we should share it online. Before you share, ask yourself…who wrote this, and why? Raju discusses his belief that an emphasis on increased media literacy will shape the future of information sharing.

Quotes

“Our role as journalists should be as gate-openers. People say, ‘this person is helping me navigate the sea of information. I trust them.’ That is what brings people back to you!”

“I’m one of those people who remains very optimistic about journalism in 2022. People don’t realize, it was only in 2018 or 2019 that half of our planet was finally able to get the internet on a daily basis. The demand for what journalism can produce will be continuously growing.”

“We have struggled to communicate the fact that something is news or opinion.”

“A couple of generations are consuming content without necessarily thinking about where something is coming from, whether it’s the Washington Post or Daily Mail. Teaching young people about the value of sourcing is something the journalism industry forgot to do for many years, and now we’re figuring out how to regain that.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

You can see the MicKinsey and Company website at https://www.mckinsey.com/

Connect with Raju Narisetti on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajunarisetti

You can follow Raju on Twitter at https://twitter.com/raju?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Everything Susie deVille makes serves her ultimate mission: To empower entrepreneurs to access their inspiration and creativity. 

By developing workshops, offering coaching programs and writing her book, Susie is working to make the world of business a more joyous and innovative place!

In this episode, Susie deVille uses her own story to teach us the importance of casting aside perfectionism and taking confident action.

Susie is the founder and CEO of the Innovation & Creativity Institute. An author, coach, and business owner who built and sold a highly profitable real estate firm, she has been researching innovation and creativity since 2005. Her first book, Buoyant: The Entrepreneurs Guide to Becoming Wildly Successful, Creative, and Free, has been called The Artist's Way for entrepreneurs.

The secret to getting unstuck: Take bold action!

Susie teaches business owners to build small daily habits that free us up for more creative thinking-actions like journaling, sketching, and moving our bodies. Ultimately, these bold and messy exercises have a proven impact on our work.

By removing ourselves from details and the anxious trap of our thoughts, we free ourselves from limitation and see solutions that were previously unseen. Work, relationships, aspirations and ideas flow easily to us and we approach them with excitement and inspiration!

Think you don’t have time to play around? This is for you…

Susie faces a popular objection from her clients: “I don’t have time for these things! I have a job!” But studies about innovation paint an important picture about the value of play.

By carving out a few moments to mindlessly create, we unlock parts of our creative brain that will help us solve difficult challenges in our businesses. Small daily actions like Susie’s journaling and sketching prompts will send us down a path to becoming more inspired and innovative entrepreneurs.

Quotes

“My book is written for entrepreneurs who are painfully stuck and crave creativity and inspiration. They believe they have to be more, do more, have more discipline to achieve that. But the book shows us that it’s by tapping into that your unbridled creativity that you can access that flow that you’re seeking.”

“I help people have a whole-brain approach to life and work.”

“Once we get clear on our own instincts and strengths, we can leverage that in how we build business partnerships, how we work with our clients, and how we lead strategically.”

“When our imagination and intuition come online, something happens in our work that is robust and intoxicating.”

“I was experiencing self-doubt, writing a book about self-doubt. I was deep in the details and my perfectionist tendencies took the wheel. It shut off the lights in my brain. But I remembered the way out…I went to my sketchbook and did a 5-minute piece of art. I wasn’t thinking about design, I just went wild. I went for it! And I chiseled out the concrete of my self-doubt. I was back in the saddle of my true self.”

“There’s a reason you’re so attracted to entrepreneurship. You have a great idea! You have a desire to create, to serve, and put a positive dent into the universe. You can shape and create a business that serves the kind of life that you want to lead, not the other way around. Design your ultimate life and then shape your business to serve it.”

“When we get back into rhythm with our values and our joy, we realize that the magical marketing elixir is us.”

“Establish your healthy habits and rituals. Make them non-negotiable.”

“Our artistry and creativity give us the ability to get through any challenge.”

“Everything in my life was a disaster. But I started with very simple healthy habits and it fed my creativity.”

“We have everything we need for the journey already. Once you start moving, the universe sees that you’re in the game!”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Check out the website for the Innovation and Creativity Institute: https://innovationandcreativityinstitute.com

Purchase Susie deVille’s NEW book and hone your own creativity and inspiration: https://innovationandcreativityinstitute.com/book/ 

Become a coaching client of Susie deVille or purchase a course on her website: https://innovationandcreativityinstitute.com/work-with-susie/ 

Follow the Creativity and Innovation Institute on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/innovationandcreativityinstitute  

Connect with Susie deVille on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiedeville/ 

You can follow Susie on Twitter at @susiedeVille

Susie recommends the work of Lynda Barry in uncovering your own creativity. You can find her beloved book What it is here: https://www.amazon.com/What-Lynda-Barry/dp/1897299354

Creativity and inspiration cannot be bought, but they can be learned. Susie deVille is in the business of teaching entrepreneurs how to be more creative, innovative and inspired! Her methods have freed hundreds of business owners from perfectionism and turned them into unique, inventive leaders.

Susie is the founder and CEO of the Innovation & Creativity Institute. An author, coach, and business owner who built and sold a highly profitable real estate firm, she has been researching innovation and creativity since 2005. Her first book, Buoyant: The Entrepreneurs Guide to Becoming Wildly Successful, Creative, and Free, has been called The Artist's Way for entrepreneurs.

Why is creativity important for business?

Susie’s clients want to have better ideas, solve problems with ease and become exceptional leaders. 

All the skills that make up a great leader-The ability to think quickly when challenges arise, inventing new products and services, and ultimately serving clients more effectively-begin with our ability to be creative! 

By uncovering our own profound sense of inspiration and intuition, we become magnetic: People want to hire, invest in or work for us.

Creativity is a skill that anyone can develop!

If inspiration doesn’t strike, how do you find it? Susie has built her career around teaching solutions. 

Whether you feel like you’re not a creative person or you’re just feeling stuck lately, Susie has great advice for you: Stop trying to make “good” things and just focus on the act of making! 

In this episode, Susie deVille gives quality exercises for how you can become unstuck by embracing the messy, imperfect and exciting parts of the creative process.

Quotes

“Once we remember who we truly are, we become insanely attractive to the marketplace. People can feel us even before we speak.”

“This is a process of the archeology of the self. As we move through life, things accumulate which are not our true selves. They are the expectations of others, cultural messages and things told to us by parents, teachers and family members. Through my work with clients, we reconnect them with their innermost playful, joyful self. We then direct and shape how they build their businesses.”

“We have to tap into our inspired creativity. We need to breathe in what fills us. It can be absorbing or creating beautiful art, resting, or spending time in the park. Through these practices, we anchor ourselves in rituals that bring us back to ourselves.”

“When we begin focusing on inspiration instead of more productivity, we come home to ourselves. We begin to profoundly trust our own decision-making. It’s the direct result of making things.”

“Making something is the bridge across the river of self-doubt. It gives a sense of possibility.”

“Once we have our sacred inspirational energy back, we have to protect it and continue to fuel it. We set boundaries and become more mindful about scheduling things.”

“There is an addiction to the adrenaline of overdoing. We get a charge out of opening our planner and seeing all the stuff. It’s a socially-sanctioned way to hide out. Especially if we’re carrying some trauma, we load up that schedule.”

“My clients are often overachievers who believe that they can achieve their way to a sense of self and intrinsic value. But it’s a fool’s errand. You cannot give yourself intrinsic value by doing. You have to know that you have ‘value’ without achieving anything.”

“My clients push back on the joyful, easy path because it sounds frivolous! They think it’s for crafty people with time to kill, retired people or children. This is the hardest part of the process - we have to shift and undo this cultural training.”

“People believe that what you make has to be quote-on-quote ‘good’. We tend to believe that the product is what has value. But I’m more interested in what’s happening inside of my soul.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Check out the website for the Innovation and Creativity Institute: https://innovationandcreativityinstitute.com/

Purchase Susie deVille’s NEW book and hone your own creativity and inspiration: https://innovationandcreativityinstitute.com/book/ 

Become a coaching client of Susie deVille or purchase a course on her website: https://innovationandcreativityinstitute.com/work-with-susie/ 

Follow the Creativity and Innovation Institute on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/innovationandcreativityinstitute  

Connect with Susie deVille on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiedeville/ 

You can follow Susie on Twitter at @susiedeVille

Susie recommends the work of Lynda Barry in uncovering your own creativity. You can find her beloved book What it is here: https://www.amazon.com/What-Lynda-Barry/dp/1897299354

Ladi Goldwire believes that women’s innate skills are a valuable asset in typically male-dominated fields like construction.

Ladi Goldwire is a State licensed General Contractor and Building Code Administrator certified through the International Code Council. She is vigilant in her pursuit of those business and partnership opportunities which offer favorable and equitable positions for everyone, specifically persons of color.

Ladi has served as Principal for BrinMar Construction and Development Group Ltd, a full-service construction firm since its inception in 2008. She also is the owner of The Permit Ladi, a robust permit mitigation firm that serves the South Florida area. 

She has discovered a passion for hemp building materials as a means to more sustainable and economical construction.

After decades working within the framework of the construction industry, Ladi is focusing on advocacy work for building better buildings, cities, connections and communities. 

Know yourself to find your path.

Despite the push for her to attend college, Ladi Goldwire didn’t envision herself spending four years in a classroom. She wanted to get her hands dirty.

After watching her father work in construction, Ladi decided to explore a career in the construction industry. She understood that job experience and hands-on work were what truly excited her and pursued those experiences with dogged determination. Breaking away from the mold, Ladi set an example of what life can look like when we see beyond the expectations of others.

Women belong in trades.

Ladi is on a mission to encourage more women to go into trades. She makes the case that women’s mindfulness, attention to detail, compassion, futuristic thinking and conviction have the power to transform communities through work in trades. 

Quotes

“I learned from the bureau of labor and statistics that there are only 36,000 general contractors registered in the country. 9% of those 36,000 are women. And only 3% of that number are women of color. Effectively, there are only 97 of us operating at the capacity and level that I am.”

“There is space for women: The way we think and the way we do business.”

“We can create more seats at this phenomenal table.”

“Being able to establish my own business and my own hours, being able to call my own shots, that was the best gift of being able to work in a trade and vocation.”

“My goal right now is to encourage more women to join the ranks because we need them there. Desperately.”

“Most people don’t start a business from the sole standpoint of wanting to make money. They’re starting a business because they want to make a stamp on the world, some way, somehow.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

You can check out Brin Mar Construction here: https://brinmarconstruction.com/ 

Connect with Ladi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ladi-anita-march-goldwire-a45a9114/?trk=org-employees&originalSubdomain=il 

Follow Ladi Goldwire on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ladiamarch 

Read Ladi’s interview with Candice Georgiadis of Authority Magazine here: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/women-of-the-c-suite-ladi-goldwire-of-brinmar-construction-development-group-ltd-on-the-five-166933b77f4c 

Caring what people think is important as you build a business. And building your reputation is what Lida Citroën does best.

Lida Citroën is an award-winning branding and reputation management authority who designs and enhances the identities of executives, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders globally. As CEO and founder of LIDA360, LLC, Lida is sought-after for her knowledge of personal brand development, reputation management, leadership communication, and online positioning.

Lida's popular TEDx Talk, Talks at Google presentation, and multiple courses on LinkedIn Learning showcase her empowering delivery style and message. She regularly presents business workshops on reputation management, personal branding, executive presence, leadership communication, and using social media to self-promote, helping employees and leaders build a personal brand that supports the business. She also works to support military veterans as they make the transition from a military to a civilian career.

Lida is the author of 5 best-selling books on reputation management including her latest "Control the Narrative: The Executive's Guide to Building, Pivoting and Repairing Your Reputation," published in May 2021 from Kogan Page.

Why should you care about your reputation?

You have a personal brand. Even if you’re just now launching your business, you are already known for acting, interacting and dressing a certain way. How you treat people, how you present yourself and how you run your business has a deep impact on how others perceive you! Those perceptions affect whether people want to work with you in the future.

What can you do about it?

When you intend to have a big impact, your reputation gets bigger and the stakes get higher. Lida Citroën coaches entrepreneurs on how to build, reclaim or transform the way people perceive them. 

In this episode, Lida discusses accountability, public perception, and why your reputation can be the foundation for a strong and enduring business.

Quotes

“Everyone has a brand - by design or by default. You’re known for certain things - how you’ve been living your life and showing up. You’ve formed some type of reputation in the minds of people who interact with you. What I do is to help people take control of that, authentically.”

“One thing I help my clients do is separate reputation from fact. It’s hard when you’re being dragged. Separate what happened from what you feel about what happened. What are the short and long term implications? Has it actually damaged your career? I also help them decide who their audience is.”

“We have to know that someone’s perception of us is going to drive them to want to work with us…or not.”

“If people don’t see you and perceive you in the way that you want, you’re going to miss out on opportunities.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

You can navigate to Lida Citroën’s website here: www.lida360.com 

Watch Lida’s TedTalk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BloWnsJCRw 

Subscribe to Lida’s Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/LidaCitroen

Lida is very active on LinkedIn. Send her a connection request at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lida360/ 

Follow Lida on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LIDA360

Find Lida on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LIDAthreesixty

Purchase Lida’s books and enter your info to receive your FREE Elevator Pitch Download here: https://www.lida360.com/store/ 

What does the future look like for service industries? Michael Andreacchi’s award-winning waste removal company offers us an inspiring blueprint.

Michael is the CEO and Co-Founder of Junk King LLC, an international waste removal franchise with a focus on recycling, touted for being ‘North America's greenest junk removal service’. He is an innovative business leader in the junk removal industry with strong experience in franchising, high growth business expansion, environmental sustainability, and operational excellence.

Junk King was founded from a garage in 2005 by Michael and his friend in San Carlos, California. The idea was simple: Offer great customer service and recycle way, way more than their competitors. Today, Junk King is the #1 Rated junk removal service in North America, with 100+ locally-owned franchises in 37 states and Canada.

We have a lot to learn from Michael Andreacchi.

Begin with a strong mission.

Michael and his friend founded Junk King with a simple but powerful goal: Recycle the most, and do the best job at it. Michael and his Co-Founder Brian Reardon looked around and realized that there was a need in their area for a junk removal company that delivered faster, friendlier and more environmentally-conscious service. Because of their determination and commitment to excellence, Junk King now recycles up to 50% of all the debris they haul.

Stay open to change.

Michael spent time and energy observing opportunities for growth and change within the junk removal industry, implementing changes slowly until he had an award-winning combination of old-school customer service and new technology. 

With a customer-centric mindset, Junk King set out to use technology like easy junk pickup scheduling software, a progressive recycling system and modern methods of tracking labor costs. By remaining open to change, Junk King was able to move towards duplicability. 

Replication is the key to scaling your company.

Junk King created methods and guidelines for serving people in a warm, personal way using modern technology. Realizing they could create massive environmental change and thousands of jobs, they decided to expand by exploring a franchise model.

Now, Michael shares his lessons about franchising and maintaining company culture across state lines and national borders. 

Quotes

“Franchising is a great opportunity to start your own business because there’s so much support. You get that partner immediately built in that’s invested in the same goals as you. We can launch our franchises in 6-8 weeks. There’s a lot of value in buying an existing business or starting a franchise!”

“Our training is centered around, what is the culture you want to build for your franchise?”

“We’re collaborative. I always know what’s going on, but we’re very relaxed. We work hard and play hard, and everyone still hits deadlines and we scale the company.”

“Our software allows us to run the business efficiently. We’ve been building it since 2-3 years in. We started with scheduling software and it has evolved into a massive proprietary software that tracks every KPI… labor costs, dumping fees, a pricing estimator, finance, and a phone system. It’s a pretty robust system!”

“When we brought in a really good marketer, it helped the brand tremendously. Hire smart people!”

“Don’t be afraid to market. You have to spend money to make money, and we tried different marketing programs. You don’t know until you try…and you do have to build your brand!”

“You have to get more granular and more invested in your community. We ask, how can we do better at being involved in the community locally?”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Check out the Junk King website online at https://www.junk-king.com/ 

Explore franchise opportunities with Junk King and help make your area greener and cleaner by visiting their franchising page at https://franchising.junk-king.com/

View current careers at Junk King by visiting their hiring website at https://junk-king-careers.careerplug.com/jobs 

Read current articles about sustainability, recycling and the waste industry on the Junk King Blog at https://info.junk-king.com/ 

Subscribe to the Junk King newsletter to receive recycling info and helpful advice to help keep your items out of landfills and into the hands of the people who need them! https://signup.e2ma.net/signup/1958542/1943194/ 

Follow Junk King on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/junkking_corporate/?hl=en

When Liya Shuster-Bier was diagnosed with cancer, she immediately cut off her hair, froze her eggs, called her friends and prepared for a fight. But what she didn’t know was that she was about to go to battle for a better future for all cancer patients, everywhere. 

Liya Shuster-Bier is the founder and CEO of Alula, the first digital platform to help cancer patients and caregivers navigate the symptoms of cancer treatment and everyday clinical care outside of the hospital.

Before founding Alula, Liya began her career in community development and impact investing, starting out on the corporate currency derivatives team at Goldman Sachs. As a female CEO, cancer survivor and immigrant from Baku, Liya is proud to speak on the struggles of fundraising for women-owned businesses, and how her experience of facing down death has radically changed her style of leadership.

Beautiful ideas start with experiences.

Liya was undergoing chemotherapy and her friends were trying to help. After receiving several pink ribbon blankets in response to her diagnosis with non-hodgkin's lymphoma, she made a striking realization: Our communities desperately want to support us, but they don’t know how.

Liya founded Alula from her hospital bed. 

She set out to design a pseudo gift registry for cancer patients and ended up creating something much bigger: A service dedicated to supporting patients through cancer with products, advice, community and frank conversations. With Alula, Liya created the type of support she had wished for during her own treatment.

Who are you serving and how?

Creating a company starts with an idea, and it is sustained by passionately serving the people you founded it for. 

When listening to Liya’s incredible story, ask yourself: How can you expand and deepen your offers to provide services that improve the lives of your consumers? 

Quotes

“I feel fortunate to be able to lend my brain to something that makes life for others so much better.”

“Our big goal is to make life with cancer liveable.”

“We will become a clinical provider. Our goal is to have everything reimbursable by insurance, so we can democratize it.”

“I felt so much pressure to ‘Beat cancer’ and be a cancer survivor’ during my fight, in my battle - all these metaphors for cancer - and it had become such a new part of who I was. I wanted to ensure that our product was focused on navigability of cancer without a point of view on whether or not you survive. How do we support patients regardless of the outcome?”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Check out the Alula website at https://myalula.com/ 

Follow Alula on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ouralula/ 

Follow Alula on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ouralula/ 

Connect with the team at Alula by emailing [email protected]