The Hot Mic @ Arch DevOps

I met fellow podcast host Laurent not too long ago and learned about his venture as a business coach. Turns out he and I have a ton in common. During the episode I asked him some key questions about major challenges he'd faced, and was honestly floored how similar his challenges were to mine. If you're a frequent listener to this podcast, you already know that building a business is probably one of the hardest things you'll ever undertake. It's comforting knowing I'm not the only one who ugly cries once in awhile! Laurent decided on business coaching because again and again, he kept running into situations where he was foisted into an entrepreneurial role and made to figure things out. And he kept succeeding enough that he decided to become an actual entrepreneur, and help his fellows on the journey. The title of this episode is, 'In the Middle of a Challenge, There is Opportunity', which is his life motto. And it's good enough I might make it mine too. He's got some great tips today, and if you want to reach out to him, head over to his website at laurentnotin.com or find him on LinkedIn. Let's join in now 

Frederick had some events happen in life that hit him hard, right in the mental health. But instead of letting it get him down, he used it to fuel his mission. Soon after recovery he realized: there needed to be someone that could advocate for people who struggle in the same way, and -in- a way that resonates with them. None of this high flying double talk and putting on airs of superiority, it's deep connecting with people and letting them know: hey I've been there too. He started The Message LLC as a public speaker, talking with schools about why America is unhealthy, and more recently, how the pandemic has uncovered things about how we handle mental health that society can't sweep under the rug. When stigma outweighs education, destigmatizing this subject is the key to change. Frederick does that. If you're concerned about mental health, find out more about his mission by visiting themessagellc.com, or finding him on LinkedIn and Instagram. Let's listen to the journey now. 

There's been a high concentration of Toronto residents on the show these days. Not complaining or anything, Canadians are awesome and always polite. Today's guest is Chantelle Quow, founder of CQ Business Coach. And we talked about why businesses need a business plan not just for how to operate, but what to do when things blow up in a good way. Some people would say that being too successful is a good problem to have, but if you don't have a plan for when that happens? Well that could be a bad problem. She helps with that. Over the years of being an entrepreneur multiple times, she's found that she has a 'can't stop won't stop' attitude that she wasn't fully aware of until she had situations requiring her to dig deep. A lot of entrepreneurs have that--you probably do too. We talked about work-life balance, good mindset and surrounding yourself with the right tribe of people. And we hit on some really good advice at the end for people who are just starting their entrepreneurial journey. After listening, if you feel like you need to get a handle on your business plan, find Chantelle under the handle @cqbusinesscoach all over social media and her website, cqbusinesscoach.com. Chantelle Quow will make you go 'Wow!' But first: this podcast. 

You know, Vinnie and I started off the conversation talking about the nature of busy-ness and how Hustle Porn seems to be eating up how many of us do work. There's a type of work that enriches and energizes you, and there's a type that just drains you of energy. I think we've both figured out what the right kind of work is and how to do the most of that so we can hit the sack and get a good night's sleep. But with the rest of the conversation, we got deep into the nature of building a business, how to get out of your own way, correcting self-talk and how going through struggles really gives you an awesome mindset to tackle all kinds of challenges. This is a fast paced, high energy conversation that you'll learn a lot about. Vinnie's got a free book offer over at fullyaccountable.com/hotmic, and there's a link in the show notes. Learn from that, and from this episode. Let's get going. 

I've only known Sanjeev for... well, officially 36 minutes as of this recording. But already I've found him to be an amazingly sharp guy, always willing to share what he's learned about entrepreneurship. There are some key things in here that every new entrepreneur needs to know about before they run out and build their thing. See, there's a reason why most businesses fail. It's because people largely keep making the same mistakes. It's part of the human condition. But there's a scientific way to go about building business that greatly increases your chances of success, and Sanjeev's got it figured out. Four things to keep in mind: is the market confused about what it wants? Do you bring a unique differentiation to the table? Is there a large market for what you do? And do you have the team or capabilities yourself to make it happen? If the answer to all four is 'yes' then you're on the right track. And if not, now you have some areas for improvement. Yeah! Science! You can build a business in a measurable way. After listening to Sanjeev's wisdom, check the show notes for how to learn more about him and his new book coming out in Q1 2021. Let's get going. 

Oh boy. I never know when I'm getting ready to talk to a CPA how the conversation's gonna go. Is it gonna be dry and boring? Well of course not, not on this podcast! Today's guest is Charles Read, retired Marine and an incredibly experienced CPA who started GetPayroll awhile ago. He and his wife originally started up the business and built it into a family-centric company that's serving a bunch of peoples' tax needs. We got to talk about why taxes seem scary, why tax law is as complex as it is, and why CPAs are the ones we should turn to when we need someone to go to bat for us. Some of the challenges he's faced during his journey are simply keeping up with technology and managing time. Near the end, he shared five really powerful insights about entrepreneurship that I don't want to spoil for you here in the intro, but it's well worth hearing. If you need advice about taxes or have questions about compliance, contact Charles anytime. Head over to getpayroll.com, email him at [email protected] or even call him at 972-353-0000. Let's jump into the show now. 

Craig Inzana and I met awhile back when both of us were entrepreneurs, and things ended up changing on his end. Turns out it was for the better. He's now working at a marketing agency where he's able to bring everything he learned about business and himself, to the table. Over the last couple years, he's learned that it's really easy to go down rabbit holes and take on different challenges rapidly. That's kinda how the entrepreneurial brain works! But when trying to build a company of employees and foster stability, that approach doesn't work so hot. I was kinda concerned about bringing up the topic of business ownership today and made sure he was cool talking about it, and he was. And this episode is full of great advice. One day we'll get him back, and when that happens he's got a plan to rebuild the right way, and rock socks. Find Craig all over social media, and in particular on LinkedIn. For now, enjoy the listen and the learning. 

Today's guest is Dustin Miller, Polyinnovator, and this is one high energy guy. His excitement is contagious. We got to chat about the nature of habit building and knowing how to push yourself harder. But sometimes, that self-awareness shows us that maybe we *shouldn't* be pushing harder. Sometimes we need to listen to ourselves and honor our limits, so we can always be at our best. This is the second time I've talked with Dustin across all our podcasts and he's just a cool guy who's poised to make a big impact. And he's got some cool stuff to share with you today. If you want to talk with Dustin about how to manage your content and find more about how he's doing it, find him literally anywhere online under the handle @polyinnovator, or his website, polyinnovator.space. Let's jump in now. 

From an early age, today's guest was just built different. As a kid, Steve Pereira found great value in experimentation and process improvement. While other kids would spend their time goofing off, Steve found ways to spend less time cleaning his room. It's carried forward to now, where his business focuses on helping software companies deliver faster and at higher quality. It turns out that he's found that problems in corporate technology companies aren't tech-related at all. They're people-related. And coming up with processes and flows for people to dial into and do amazing things helps decrease stress and increase productivity. Don't worry about a couple of nerds being together on the same podcast, we don't get technical at all in this show. But you'll learn some neat stuff that you can apply to your own day-to-day. Find Steve at visible.is, or email him at [email protected]. Now jump and see what these two Completed Nerds are chatting about. 

*sniff* You smell that? Well probably not, because you're listening to this. But if the technology were available, smell would be a great way to enjoy this episode. Got the change to talk with Ashlee Dozier today about Anuket Luxury Apothecary. Named for an Egyptian goddess, she shared the story about how she started off working in the public health space, and after some big life challenges, decided to pack everything in storage and travel the world. One of the places she happened to end up was Egypt. And one of the places the guide happened to bring her to was a small family-owned perfumery. And one of the scents they happened to specialize in was Papyrus. It smelled so good, she bought a good amount of it to send home. Turns out that people here in the US loved the fragrance so much they convinced her to start a business. The rest is history. Funny how that happens! Although she's a fairly new business owner, she's already carved out a deep niche as one of the only suppliers of this essential oil in the US, and is helping support that small perfumery back in her second home of Egypt. This is a really good conversation that will give you some neat insights in the world of apothecary, supply chain and entrepreneurship. If you're looking to change how you smell, Ashlee is all over social media under the handle @anuketluxury. Check out the website at anuketluxury.com or email her directly at [email protected]. She's always down to talk shop, smells and stuff. Let's listen in now.