The Entrepreneur Next Door 🏡

Buckle up and get the popcorn ready; it's a longer podcast worth listening to every minute.

When your guest opens the conversation with a profound quote from Confucius - "We have two lives; the second begins when we realize we only have one" - you know you're in for a deeply personal conversation.

Rui Boom grew up in Portugal and wanted to become an international soccer player. However, he followed his parents' wishes and pursued a more conventional path as a Finance major. What happens next? He takes a leap of faith, "embraces the unknown" and moved to another country.

Here are key insights from Rui's journey:

1. Why did Rui abandon his Finance college degree and trade it for sales and marketing with Unilever? Hint, Rui quotes Mark Twain, "I have never let schooling interfere with my education.”
2. Who was the person who changed Rui's life forever? He still doesn't know.  
3. What does Rui mean when he says, "I was 27, but it felt like I was a baby again?"
4. What happened within five minutes of Rui landing in Japan?
5. What is the most critical aspect of early-stage start-ups? 
6. Learn about the dynamics of mentoring start-up founders and what they must have in order to benefit from the engagement.
7.  "The best way to become an entrepreneur is to be an entrepreneur."
8.  What does Rui mean by "Profit is F$^% Money?"
9. "Older players understand there's no such thing as...."

Connect with Rui here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rui-bom/

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Vernon grew up in an entrepreneurial family: His father ran a hotel, and his mother was an artist. His introduction to running a business started when his father told him, "I'm done mowing the lawn; it's your job now." 

Vernon and his wife "bet the farm" and took the plunge into entrepreneurship. They own a media company that helps authors and publishers to connect with more readers, a tough problem in a  challenging industry. Their mission was to offer authors an effective, reliable channel for book marketing at a time when other book promoters  often "took advantage of authors' hopes and dreams by promising them the world."

Their solution is self-service and done-for-you book promotion, where authors manage their book promotion at a budget they can afford. 

But, as Vernon explains, to be a successful book publisher, authors must understand the concept of "the lifetime value of a reader" so their art can become a commercially viable product. 

Listen to find answers to the following: 

• The biggest lesson Vernon learned mowing lawns
• What did he mean by "I didn't know how good I had it?"
• What kind of a job do you get with a Classical Civilization degree?
• The difference between art and design
• What did Vernon say when he chose entrepreneurship, and why is this the last thing any entrepreneur ought to say or think about 
• What is entrepreneurial inertia? 
• What is the #1 reason why business (nonfiction) book authors fail?
• "The one thing we missed that everyone leaping into entrepreneurship must recognize and prepare for."
  
  

Connect with Vernon and learn more about his services:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ferol/
https://www.freebooksy.com/for-the-authors/

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Chris Hennessy is a "sweets guy" always looking for a snack (chocolate preferred). He has a golden voice and an upbeat personality. Not what you would expect when you listen to his story. 

In his early years, Chris aspired to be a vet, worked at a jail, and did some construction jobs.  But, in his 20s, his life took a downward spiral, as he, in his words, "went crazy" and ended up in prison.

Chris reveals his experience living in a confined and hard environment, something few of us can relate to. Being isolated from society and surrounded each day by men with criminal backgrounds ] had a profound impact on Chris; it changed his perspective on life and helped him reconnect with religion.

• Chris' biggest revelation while serving a long sentence in prison
• How did Chris wind up choosing to coach as his new career?
• Why does Chris take the bold move of working with "Christian coaches?"
• The biggest advice Chris received
• What does Chris mean by "I want it so bad I can't think of not doing it?"

P.S. I forgot to ask Chris how long it takes him each morning to get his beard ready for a day filled with video coaching. 

Connect with Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hipproductions/

Newly created intro gingle to get you in the mood about my intimate yet exciting conversation with my guest. 

Brenden's competitive drive was fueled by a father that told him he would never be successful.

Fast forward to college when Brenden signs up for "case competitions," where students present to large corporations and nail a position if they do well. The odds? 300 presenters, 70 get picked.

Find out how Brenden was able to shortcut 40 years of knowledge into four by perfecting and winning case competitions. Then, you ask yourself, "Wow, he scratched the winning lotto ticket [a to-die-for career opportunity with IBM) and  walked away?"

The secret to Brenden's success? "I won because I worked on my communication tools. At 20, I'm presenting to the Board of Walmart, and my goal is to present in a way that is way better than their executives. "

"If you present 20% better, you'll stand up 100% of the time."

Other highlights of my conversation with this talented and dynamic young entrepreneur: 

• What was the game-winning question Brendend was asked that changed his life?
• The insanely simple way Brenden discovered YouTube
• One observation Brenden made after watching speaking coaches for hours
• Why storytelling is NOT the key to communications success 
• The biggest mistake people make on YouTube
• Brendenden's formula for attracting massive (30K) followers

You can learn more and connect with Brenden below:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendenkumarasamy/

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At 12, Dominick cleaned his neighbor's backyard to save money to buy one $30 share of Disney, unlike what the average boy his age would be doing. Growing up in Brooklyn and watching everyone around him struggle financially motivated him to "change" things.

Next came starting a nonprofit for the homeless as an Eagle Scout.

Entrepreneurship was like jumping into the pool and saying, "wow, the water is cold."

In 1995, way ahead of its time, Dominick started an online blogging news site called the Celebrity Cafe (similar to today's Buzzfeed). At its peak, it had over 30 million readers and impressive revenue from paid advertising.

Celebrity Cafe was jumping into the pool of entrepreneurship, learning how to code (Content Management System, CMS), and realizing he was now responsible for employees.

Spoiler alert! While building the Celebrity Cafe, Dominick gets a full-time job on Wall Street,  an education on hustling, and learning how to use technology to improve and make money.

 Listen to Dominick's success story and how he openly reflects on his life and accomplishments, especially the definition of success.

You can connect with Dominick here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miserandino/

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"I wanted to have enough money to live comfortably by age 50. I didn't know how to do it, but I knew I would do it." 

What's the connection between writing action-thriller novels (my favorites) and entrepreneurship?  On this podcast, Steve Braker takes us through his journey as he transitioned from being a successful business owner to the highly competitive world of book publishing. 

Steve opened his first serious business, an English language school in Leicester Square in the UK. He built it from one room above a Chinese restaurant to a four-story building with fifteen classrooms.

In 2000, Steve visited Mombasa, Kenya, and fell in love with the continent. He moved his family and started a few businesses, including becoming a PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors®) dive instructor, taking divers out to the local reefs and wrecks. 

Listen to Steve's adventurous journey and get a rare inside perspective on what it takes to become a successful author. 

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Many people take podcasting too seriously. Of course, if I'm asking you to spend an hour listening, you want and deserve a return on your investment. 

Well, here's an hour plus of what we call "edutainment" - educational entertainment. A journey of a brilliant, genuine, and fun woman with an impressively large following (26,000 on Linked) and, most importantly, someone who loves to laugh while making a difference.  

A clue to this podcast's treat  is in Zineb's photo: That big smile means, "I work my butt off but laughing and having fun is never optional." 

Listen to Zineb's journey from studying applied mathematics to wanting to be a doctor to finding happiness as a  creative marketer. She's committed to helping entrepreneurs use video as a marketing tool and how to use it to maximize the power and impact that video offers.  

"I struggled with left vs. right brain." 

Listen to which part initially won Zineb's attention and why (spoiler alert, we all initially want to please our parents.)  At some point, many of us get to the inevitable crossroad of pleasing others vs. making the tough decision to focus on our true calling and what makes us happy. 

In Zineb's case, she inherits mathematical genes from her Dad and the courageously intuitive challenge-seeking drive from her Mom. Wow, talk about a winning combination.  

How about starting a new job in an area you know nothing about and doing it in a new country? How about being tested as a newbie in a new company? Mom says, "let go," they load up the car and move to Spain. 

Podcasting is about storytelling, and this is my longest podcast episode. I chose not to edit sections out to make it shorter; that would have been an injustice to the wonderful and engaging Zineb. 

Enjoy. 

Newly created intro gingle to get you in the mood about my intimate yet exciting conversation with my guest. 

The measure of a true business is answering the question: What happens when you die?  If you die and the business dies, that was a nice job, not a business. 

Buckle up for a fun hour listening to an experienced, passionate, opinionated, successful entrepreneur. Some of the topics we discuss are:

• What happened when Chris was nine-years-old that put him on an entrepreneurship trajectory?
• Are leaders born or made?
• How did Chris turn torturous daily 200-300 cold calls into productive selling?
•  Why a philosophy of  "you never kill a bad idea" is fundamental for success
• Why every company, at its core, is a marketing company
• Why companies that are created with a 'linear concept' will be slaughtered by companies with employees that have a vested interest in the success of their business
• The disruptive approach to business start-ups behind Gusher
• Why odds are a game-changer if you understand where they originated and what they mean
• Why fighting within a company is positive

To find Chris go to: www.gusher.co

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Every one of us goes through "What am I going to do next? What makes me happy?" While some entrepreneurs find their calling quickly, for others, like my guest Sharon Sciammas, it has taken a few side trips and explorations before reaching his destination. 

You can hear the energy and excitement in Sharon Sciammas when he speaks about his childhood wanting to become an Israeli fighter pilot, an astronaut, or a Prime Minister. 

Sharon's early years, after he serves in the Israeli army, take him on a wild ride from cycling semi-professionally to door-to-door selling to IT and the complex world of Big Data. 

Like many of my guests, you can hear the pain, passion, and excitement in his voice as he speaks about his mission and purpose. Sharon points out that the pandemic hit us hard because "we've been focused on buying stuff without a sense of community which left us lonely and depressed."

A recurring theme in Sharon's life is his search for happiness, not for himself but for others. His turning point? The Pandemic and realizing that any business venture that doesn't involve interacting with customers doesn't align with his search for happiness. He digs deep into "What brings us together as human beings" and focuses his life's work and career on building communities. 

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I waited to release this podcast before the Holidays because my guest is so inspiring. You'll be drawn into Maria's energy, genuine care for people, fierce independence, and insatiable curiosity about the world and giving back.

Maria grew up in a small town in Russia. From a young age, she aspired to be a journalist, travel the world, and share what she experienced outside her home country. 

At sixteen, she moved to Moscow on a full scholarship and studied international journalism, only to realize that it might not be a 'safe' career in her homeland.  She and learn a new language; initially, she is assigned to German but wants to step outside her comfort zone decides to step outside and insists on switching to Arabic, followed by living for one year in Jordan. 

While in school, Maria started an educational abroad consulting agency in the dorm with two fellow students.   "We had no idea what we were doing." We built an ugly website and offered our services at a very low price. Their company helped students study abroad and later expanded to become an educational tour operator with five offices around the country. 

Even though she's a natural-born entrepreneur, Maria dabbles with a few "jobs" that (not surprisingly) align with her views and passion. She works for  Greenpeace, starts a nonprofit in Russia for an orphanage, and works on an educational project for the U.N. in Nigeria. 

While running her company remotely from different countries, Maria realized she had to decide between getting a serious job or doubling down and focusing on entrepreneurship.  "I am such a bad employee, and I should stop trying." She picks business. 

Maria was moving around the world while managing her business between 2008-2014.  While moving around the world, a practice that is not conducive to developing relationships,  she "meets a guy in Capetown and ends up marrying him."

Maria is pursuing an MBA in Madrid, Spain, and settled in Lisbon with her husband.

Maria's current company is an eLearning platform called Art Heroes; it combines content with high-end mentorship for professional artists. 

We speak about different aspects of entrepreneurship when Maria courageously reveals a personal aspect of her life that she's never shared before. 

If you're a business owner and have never asked yourself, "what is my disaster recovery plan?" you need to listen to Maria's raw, genuine and inspiring revelation. 

Newly created intro gingle to get you in the mood about my intimate yet exciting conversation with my guest.