John Bliss is the founding principal of BlissPR. This story is part of a longer interview from 2010. John states that hiring experienced people was much more risky than "growing your own," and provides two examples. You can listen to the story here (3:30).

John Bliss is the founding principal of BlissPR. This story is part of a longer interview from 2010. John talks about the risks of going downmarket to get clients when the economy turns bad. UPDATE: Fixed broken link You can listen to the story here (1:48).

Monica Gould is the president of Strategic Consulting Partners. In this story, she talks about her early days in consulting, when she fell prey to a common mistake of consultants (I can tell you from experience): the temptation to say you can solve any problem. Download the story here (1min 57sec).

I love this story, recorded during our longer interview with Monica from 2010. It felt to me, as she was relating it, that she was discovering and analyze this situation in the moment; as if, in fact, she was coming to terms with her feelings about it just as we were talking. She argues with herself a bit: "I'm not sure it was a mistake... [but] it's just not a fruitful use of time..." just like we do when we are evaluating something that isn't working out as we'd planned. Magic! Download "Monica Gould - realizing a strategic opportunity is actually a waste of time" (2:21)

Sue Pera and her husband Al own the Cornerstone Coffeehouse in Camp Hill, PA (where I live). Sue was very gracious to sit down and talk about an important mistake they made while considering expansion and what they learned from it. Download: Sue Pera Mistake Bank Podcast (4:36) To find other podcasts in this series, please visit http://mistakebank.com. If you are an entrepreneur or know an entrepreneur who should be interviewed for this podcast series, please email me at john (at) caddellinsightgroup (dot) com. Thank you!

#5 in our series of interviews with successful entrepreneurs in which they talk about the mistakes that helped shape their careers. Our guest is Monica Gould, who founded her business, Strategic Consulting Partners, after a successful career at MCI, and has sustained it for more than 10 years. Monica, like so many of the entrepreneurs I've talked to, is very candid and self-reflective, and willing to talk about mistakes, to teach others and to ensure they themselves learn from them. I was struck by Monica's sense of humor when she discussed the cobbler's kids dilemma - while she helped companies improve their planning she tended to neglect planning for her own business (something I've experienced myself). I'm sure you'll enjoy the interview. Monica Gould podcast (31:24) Content: 0:30 How she got started 11:10 An early mistake...the "we can help you with anything" brand 13:30 Consequences of a consultant losing focus 15:15 A more recent mistake: how long to try to break into a new market? 17:10 "Time is your biggest commodity" 18:50 A difficult situation with a subcontractor 23:45 A final thought on planning... (audio content copyright 2010 John Caddell) If you are interested in contacting Monica , please visit her website. Previous podcasts can be found here.

In our inaugural Silicon Pasture podcast, we talk to Harrisburg-based Jason Kichline, developer of the OnSong iPad application that helps musicians and bands manage chordsheets. My favorite part of the interview is when Jason, when asked why he was able to succeed in building his own business developing websites, credited good timing rather than his own brilliance. Good for you, Jason! Highlights: 0:35 How he got started 2:45 How can you build a sustainable business out of a hobby? 4:07 The idea for OnSong 7:05 What the app does 9:13 What's happened since the product's release 12:30 Marketing OnSong 14:45 On new computing form factors You can download the podcast here: Silicon Pasture Podcast - Jason Kichline. [A collection of other Silicon Pasture posts.] Theme music: "Odyssey" by Woolfy.

Here's another in our series of interviews with successful entrepreneurs in which they talk about the mistakes that helped shape their careers. Our guest is Tim Berry, a co-founder of Borland Software and founder of Palo Alto Software the publisher of Business Plan Pro and Marketing Plan Pro, among other titles. Tim has shared many other great mistake stories on his blog. Tim Berry Mistake Bank Podcast Content: 0:40 The making of an entrepreneur 5:10 An early mistake - with serendipitous results 10:10 "Adjusting the aim" when evaluating people 15:16 Believing the hype of the dot-com era 19:12 The importance of killing mediocre products (audio content copyright 2010 John Caddell) Previous podcasts can be found here.

Here's our second podcast focusing on the mistake stories of successful entrepreneurs. Our guest is Charlie Crystle, who founded Chilisoft, a web infrastructure provider which in 1999 was sold to Cobalt Networks for $70 million. He and two partners later started Mission Research, which offers low-cost business software to support nonprofits. Now he is working on a new venture and advising startups. Download the Charlie Crystle podcast (28:27). Content: 1:10 Investing in someone else's dream 4:00 On breaking up with a business partner 5:53 "Lessons learned doesn't necessarily mean lessons applied." 7:40 Personnel mistakes 12:50 Knowing when to step aside 16:45 On mistakes by your employees 20:00 Consequences of a culture of withholding information 21:00 "Startups have a lot to do with learning along the way" (audio content copyright 2010 John Caddell)

Welcome to the first in a series of podcasts in which we explore learning from mistakes with successful entrepreneurs. First up, John Bliss, founder of Bliss PR, discusses starting out working for the family business, then going out on his own, and what he learned along the way. Download the John Bliss podcast Content: 0:45 A brief history of Bliss PR 4:35 When you're starting out, you'll take any business you have 6:55 A mistake - sharing equity with a business partner 10:00 Another mistake - losing focus 12:20 A few hiring mistakes 15:30 Going downmarket in bad times 17:15 Learning from mistakes my dad made 19:40 "It's a 'we' business" (Thanks to John, and also to Elizabeth Sosnow for connecting us.) (audio content copyright 2010 John Caddell)