The Entrepreneur Ethos

By Blue Wire, Jarie BolanderBusiness Entrepreneurship Education Self-Improvement

The Entrepreneur Ethos episodes

March 28, 2022Art and Opportunities with Craig Doig
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Summary
Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Craig Doig, cofounder of Markee, a new communications platform for companies to communicate and collaborate under their own brand.
Craig is now on his seventh startup. He started out wanting to be an artist and earning a degree in animation. This was partially motivated, he says, by wanting to rebel against his father’s more “boots on the ground” worldview. Craig was soon tapped for management and soon moved into founding his first company working in the film business in operational consulting.
When his future wife got a job in Delaware, Craig moved with her from L.A., where by chance he ran into one of his previous co-founders, who invited him to work with him in his current company. Craig was soon helming a spin-off company specializing in digital signage. When COVID hit, though, he had to pivot. Markee was born as a way to to provide more secure ways for teams to communicate online. After obtaining venture-capital funding, Markee has been figuring out its path to growth, at first by trying to enter a variety of markets. Craig believes right now focusing on a niche - telehealth - is the way to go because of what Markee can offer that industry.
Now, let’s get better together.
Actionable Insights
While Craig didn’t end up being an artist as he’d first imagined, he believes his initial time around artists and creatives has given him the perspective to better understand the creative process, key for developing products as an entrepreneur.
Craig recommends taking some time to get to know the people creating the product in your company. Understand how you can best support them and give them what they need to flourish.
Passion for what you’re doing can come from unexpected places. Craig finds satisfaction in helping his customers solve problems and the “little wins” in his day-to-day.
Links to Explore Further
Markee.io
Markee on Twitter
Craig Doig on LinkedIn
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58 min
March 21, 2022Finding the Hidden Gems with Kehan Zhou
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Summary
Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Kehan Zhou, founder of Terrascope, an AI-driven platform that helps buyers find rural properties.
Kehan was born in China and came to the U.S. to study economics at Wesleyan University. After college he went to work on Wall Street and became a municipal bond trader, learning skills in portfolio and risk management. After a few years of doing that, he felt the pull to pursue his own business, wanting the freedom it offers. Like so many entrepreneurs, he went to work trying to solve a problem. In his case, the problem he’s trying to solve is helping potential buyers find rural properties.
Having gone through this process myself, I know firsthand how challenging looking for - and buying - a rural property can be. It’s much more complicated than simply buying a house or condo in the city. Kehan has been able to put his finger on what’s not working in the current process and has developed an online platform that uses AI to help people more effectively filter out potential properties based on various factors. Right now Terrascope serves five states and has had over 30,000 users but hopes to expand to all of the U.S. as well as ultimately be the go-to resource for rural property owners.
Now, let’s get better together.
Actionable Insights
In order to solve a problem, study what works and what doesn’t. Terrascope looks at what’s not working with existing tools and applies what does work - how real estate agents interact with potential buyers - to building their AI tool. They continue to hone and develop the tool based on user feedback.
Start with one piece of the puzzle, and expand from there. Kehan and Terrascope are focused right now on helping people buy rural properties, but he hopes one day to build that out and be the “ecosystem” for people who buy properties, offering an array of services and resources.
Links to Explore Further
Terrascope
Kehan Zhou on LinkedIn
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55 min
March 14, 2022How To Handle Jerks with Louise Carnachan
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Summary
Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Louise Carnachan, an expert on workplace communications and author of the forthcoming book, Work Jerks: How To Cope With Difficult Bosses and Colleagues.
Louise came of age in the “Mad Men” era when options for women were limited. Interested in what makes people tick, she majored in psychology and graduated from college intending to work with children with autism in an institution. But, beginning a pattern she would encounter again and again throughout her life, she had to go in another direction.
She moved to Seattle from California, taking a job as a waitress and eventually earning a master’s. Her career trajectory took another turn when she was again shut out from doing what she intended, but she took a job with a team that was training school staff to work with developmentally delayed children. Through this work she found her calling in helping teams work together more effectively.
From there Louise went on to work at a hospital and eventually started her own business. When the recession hit, she turned back to being an employee, getting hired in her late 50s but continuing to grow her skills in helping people work together and communicate more effectively.
Louise’s book helps people work with difficult supervisors and coworkers by encouraging them to focus on their own behavior and communication skills. She also talks about the importance of understanding cultural differences, whether those differences are caused by work environment or identity, and how we can all handle our own inner “jerks.”
Now let’s get better together.
Actionable Insights
Louise says that there are two main questions to ask yourself: How do I manage myself? How do I manage my interactions with others? More effective relationships rest on good management in both areas.
It is possible to interrupt those moments when we find ourselves going into “fight” mode by stopping and taking deep breaths and also knowing what your triggers are and coming up with tactics before they happen. If you have to, walking away is nearly always an option.
Understand the culture. Whether you’re the leader of a company or you are working with people from different cultural backgrounds, cultural differences and the environment we work together in can have an effect on how people interact. Leaders who invite honesty and respond well to it will have employees who are unafraid to tell the truth.
Links to Explore Further
Louise Carnachan Website
Work Jerks book site
Louise Carnachan on LinkedIn
Louise Carnachan on Facebook
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55 min
March 07, 2022Become the Person You Need To Be with Perry Zheng
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Summary
Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Perry Zheng, founder and CEO of Cash Flow Portal.
Perry started working as a software engineer in 2010, working for fast-growing companies like Twitter and Lyft. Five years into his career, having reached the position of engineering manager, he started investing in real estate. First he bought a house and lived in it, renting out the other bedrooms. He repeated this a few times and gradually accumulated more properties.
Ultimately he decided to take a bigger step of investing in a multi-unit property, which required bringing on other investors. He found, however, the process of basic tasks like obtaining signatures and transferring money was inefficient. This led him to hire a team to develop a software program that people like himself could use, ending up with Cash Flow Portal.
Perry didn’t dive head-first into being an entrepreneur. As a manager at Lyft, he could afford to invest in the company and pay employees while continuing to work. He bootstrapped the company for the first year and a half until he saw that he had a viable product. Once he started to work on attracting investors in order to grow his company, he decided it was time to become a full-time entrepreneur, and he now has a clear vision of where he and his company are headed.
Now let’s get better together.
Actionable Insights
Perry had funds to finance his startup, but he waited until he saw it could be a viable business to quit his job. This might not be an option available to everyone, but he found this strategy enabled him to start the company without the immediate pressure of having to find and satisfy investors.
Perry notes that by working at both a job and his company, he sacrificed emotional stability for financial stability. What kept him going was passion to the point of obsession for making his idea a reality.
In order to achieve your goal, you will need to become someone different than what you are. This doesn’t mean necessarily sacrificing your values, but it does mean recognizing that you may have to learn and acquire new skills to be successful. In short, move out of your comfort zone; if you fail, take the lessons you learned and move on.
Links to Explore Further
CashFlowPortal.com
Perry Zheng on LinkedIn
CashFlowPortal on Facebook
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49 min
February 28, 2022Numbers Tell a Story with Mike Lingle
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Summary
Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Mike Lingle, a tech entrepreneur and creator of Rocket Pro Forma, a tool to help entrepreneurs get a handle on their financial picture and help draw investors.
Mike has always been interested in linking engineering and design. Early on he started pursuing architecture, but moved into learning to code to build 3-D models. He developed a presentation software for companies to use in sales.
After 15 years, his company was acquired and he took a couple of years off to pursue his interests in music - during which time he met and married his wife and started a family. He figured out that music wasn’t his future, so he returned to tech, mainly advising and teaching entrepreneurs.
Mike reflects on his first experience having a company, when he realized after his partner left that the company wasn’t financially stable. He realized he needed to better understand the numbers and now believes this skill is essential for a business and business owner to be able to make good decisions for your company.
Rocket Pro Forma is the result of his desire to help entrepreneurs with their financial decision-making and, while his customers usually come to him for a tool to help with presentations for potential investors, he hopes that it will help them in running their business, too.
Now, let’s get better together.
Actionable Insight
“You have to radically change your behavior in order to radically change your circumstance,” Mike says, noting that he had to learn a new skill in order to be able to get a hold on the finances of his business.
Putting together a financial plan is important to set up and draw investment into your business, but it’s also vital so you can run your business effectively. Mike says having this plan gives him “a map in his head” to follow for making decisions for his business.
Own your story, and use numbers to tell the story. While you can get help and outsource tools, ultimately you have to have a clear vision of your story, and be able to tell it effectively.
Links to Explore Further
Rocket Pro Forma
Mike Lingle on LinkedIn
Mike Lingle on Twitter
Keep In Touch
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55 min
February 21, 2022Owning Her Destiny with Kelley Holland
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Summary
Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Kelley Holland, a financial empowerment coach for women and author of the forthcoming book You Are Worthy, a guidebook for women to help women take charge of their own money.
Like many entrepreneurs, Kelley struggled with the problem she helps others solve. She was for a long time a reporter focusing on business and money. More recently she began writing about personal finance and started seeing how many women have struggled with money, leaving otherwise successful women feeling incompetent or ashamed. Kelley recounts her own struggles with money when she was in her 20s and what motivated her to take charge and confront the barriers holding her back. The services and programs she offers are what she wished she’d had at that time of her life.
Because she only recently became a coach, Kelley has learned the art of the pivot as she’s confronted the realities of having to offer her services during COVID. While she’s had training in speaking and coaching, she’s been limited in what she can do, so she’s going back to her roots as a writer to help spread her message. She now offers a six-week program in both a virtual group format and individually.
Now, let’s get better together.
Actionable Insights
While acknowledging the need for societal change, Kelley focuses on where she can help: that is, helping women remove their internal barriers around managing money. Whether it’s for yourself and for those you’re serving, identifying what emotional hurdles need to be overcome is a critical step toward transformation.
Watch your words. Language can be powerful shapers of thought. Kelley gives the example of how different thinking about money might be for women if, for example, they thought of “knitting” a portfolio rather than “building” one. Sometimes tweaking a word or phrase can make a big difference.
Don’t fall in love with the product. Keep your eyes on the end goal and pivot until you find products that work.
Links to Explore Further
Own Your Destiny Coaching
Kelley Holland on LinkedIn
Keep In Touch
Book or Blog or Twitter or LinkedIn or JSYPR

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51 min
February 16, 2022Finding the Shoe that Fits with Michelle Douglas
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Summary
Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Michelle Douglas, a brand and marketing consultant and author of the forthcoming book, Don’t Wear Shoes You Can’t Walk In: A Field Guide for Your Twenties.
Michelle worked for several years as a brand and marketing manager for an athletic sportswear company. One day on her long commute she started asking herself two key questions: “What did you do today, and how did it do good in the world?” While she found some satisfaction in her job, she realized it wasn’t enough and decided to take the leap into founding her own agency, Ladder, where she works with nonprofits and small businesses. She also decided to write a book based on her daily journaling to help others figure out their own way in the world.
Michelle’s focus in her business and in the book is helping others articulate their mission, vision, and values. The litmus test for seeing if something is in alignment, she says, is to check your gut and look for a rallying cry - a sense of excitement. As a marketing and brand consultant, Michelle is excited to be applying all she knows to marketing her own book, due to be published in April of 2022.
Now, let’s get better together.
Actionable Insights
The springboard for Michelle’s book was a daily journaling practice where she reflects on what happened and what she learned that day. She recommends it as an invaluable tool for processing your life and for ensuring you carry lessons forward into the next day.
In trying to clarify values and check for alignment with mission and vision, Michelle asks her clients to do “a gut check” and look for a “rallying cry.” Does it feel right? Does it feel exciting?
If you want to share a “lesson learned,” be sure to include details about what was going on and what it meant. Michelle’s original vision for the book was simply to share the lessons learned, but she realized she had to add these elements in order to communicate her message more effectively.
Links to Explore Further
Michelle Douglas on LinkedIn
Ladder
Don’t Wear Shoes You Can’t Walk In from She Writes Press
Keep In Touch
Book or Blog or Twitter or LinkedIn or JSYPR

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49 min
February 14, 2022Secrets of the Network with Matthew Hunt
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Summary
Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Matthew Hunt, founder and CEO of AutomationWolf, which helps B2B businesses increase leads through strategic content.
Matthew founded AutomationWolf after selling his previous marketing company and taking some time off to decide what he wanted to do next. Ultimately he focused on trying to solve the problem of how to help businesses and entrepreneurs leverage their time with more impact while also building their network. The result? He developed a strategy for creating a month of LinkedIn content in 1 ½ hours.
Matthew drives home the point that success in business comes about from building relationships and creating community by earning trust. Ultimately, sales and marketing should be a long game, but one that can be done with minimal time and money while making a big impact. Matthew thinks of marketing as happening in three tiers: one, through short-from content, two, through long-form content, where you demonstrate your skills, and third, through a controlled form, where you provide the structure to engage with potential clients and build relationships. Matthew shares his own unique networking strategy for bringing people together and sharing ideas.
Now, let’s get better together.
Actionable Insights
You don’t need a big advertising budget to sell, nor do you need to rely solely on referrals. Instead, focus on ways to build relationships and community by offering help, being of service, and providing spaces where people can problem-solve together.
Encourage input from team members who may be low in rank but may be able to provide perspective and ideas that might otherwise be overlooked or unheard.
Matthew encourages entrepreneurs to focus on being of service by posting thoughtful comments and content in social media instead of engaging in cold outreach strategies: get yourself seen by having something valuable to offer.
Links to Explore Further
AutomationWolf.com
Matthew Hunt on LinkedIn
Matthew Hunt on YouTube
Mentioned: Gift•ology by John Ruhlin
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56 min
February 09, 2022After the Crash with Rachel Michelberg on Writing Her Truth
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Summary
Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Rachel Michelberg, author of the book Crash: How I Became a Reluctant Caregiver.
Rachel was an actor, singer, mother of two, and in a troubled marriage when her husband suffered a plane crash that left him severely diabled. Crash is a memoir about the choices she made when faced with no choice - she thought - about having to become a full-time caregiver, a story that she found needed to be told.
In this intimate talk, Rachel and I share reflections on the difficult experience of becoming caregiver to a spouse, the vital need for caring for oneself first, and practicing compassion for even the harshest critics.
Rachel also relates her journey of learning to run a business, first as a voice teacher when she had to leave performing behind, and then as an author promoting her book, and the vital necessity of learning to value yourself.
Now, let’s get better together.
Actionable Insights
Rachel observes that taking care of yourself is “the most unselfish” thing you can do. Once you take care of yourself, you can truly give to your family, your business, or anything else that needs your attention.
Learn to value your offerings and your time. Rachel identifies this as key to building a business and becoming better at what she does.
Everyone carries a burden, whether it’s obvious or not. Compassion is key to building better relationships while also protecting your own peace.
Links to Explore Further
Rachel Michelberg
Rachel Michelberg on Facebook
Rachel Michelberg on Instagram
Crash from SheWrites Press
Keep In Touch
Book or Blog or Twitter or LinkedIn or JSYPR

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49 min
February 07, 2022An Uncommon Creative with Paul Fairweather on Doing It All
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Summary
Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Paul Fairweather, co-host of The Common Creative podcast, author, architect, artist, and more.
Paul exemplifies living a multi-dimensional creative life. He’s had a successful career as an award-winning architect; has been a painter for much of his life; has done stand-up comedy and hosted TedX talks; been a property developer; and now divides his time among co-hosting a podcast on creativity and business, writing books, speaking, and pursuing his art.
Paul defies the maxim of “jack of all trades, master of none.” Instead, you can create a life of multiple interests,though, he cautions, you still have to impose limits, boundaries, and discipline to your craft, whatever it is you’re doing at the time.
Paul’s experiences and the lessons he provides are wide-ranging as he reflects on leaving his successful career as an architect behind, discovering almost by accident that he could write, and exploring performance, including what happened when he tried to tell a joke to Robin Williams.
Now, let’s get better together.
Actionable Insights
Paul believes success can be defined as not just being one of the best in one field - you can define success as the freedom to pursue multiple interests. He is able to find focus partly by finding a common theme among his different activities.
Paul learned as a writer to “murder your darlings,” a concept that can be applied to business, too. Be willing to let go of words or ideas that aren’t working, no matter how attached you might be to them.
Get curious. Paul shares how one serial entrepreneur struck up a conversation with someone at a party, which inspired him down a road that led to a successful business solving the problem of coconut depletion.
Links to Explore Further
Paul Fairweather
Paul Fairweather on LinkedIn
The Common Creative Podcast

Keep In Touch
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49 min

About The Entrepreneur Ethos

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The Entrepreneur Ethos Podcast, hosted by entrepreneur and author Jarie Bolander, will dig deep into the traits, values, and beliefs that drive entrepreneurs to create an independent life that…

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