In this Episode of Enlightened Entrepreneur Podcast, Yeukai interviews Mary Bartnikowski, a well-renowned Author, Award-winning Photographer, and Founder and CEO of a flourishing business. Having had 50 year’s worth of experience in the business world, Mary has graciously shared a few important things she’s learned that ultimately contributed to her longevity in the industry. She also gave emphasis on the common mistakes that start-up business owners make and how they can best avoid them to ensure better and lasting results.

Key Questions Asked:

What were the early days like for Mary when she was just starting out in her business? What kept Mary going forward during the hard times? What advice would Mary give to somebody who is looking to get started with his or her own business? Other than referrals, what other things Mary did that sustained her business, especially in the early years? Would she consider herself to be born with the right entrepreneurial skill set or did she have to learn them? What is Mary’s stand on the whole concept of mentoring? If Mary were to start all over again, what would be the key area to spend money on and what are the other areas that she wouldn’t spend money on? What sort of things to look out for when going into partnership with somebody?

Highlights of Lessons Learned:

Speaking From Experience 

You don’t always need to get a formal education but you do need to spend a lot of time on whatever it is that you’re doing before you start your business. You have to strive to be better than anyone else. Even when you know that what you’re offering is unique, you have to deliver excellent work. As you grow your business, you have to ask yourself what is it that you really want to learn and what is it that you can pay someone to do that you don’t want to do. Mentorship is like a marriage, it has to work for both sides.

Mistakes to Avoid

People spend too much time on building their online presence to the point of almost neglecting the value of going out and really establishing relationships with other people. Mary recommends that business owners should not focus too much on the technical side of the business. It also pays to go out and develop good relationships. Startup business owners should also make sure they don’t overspend on things that they don’t need yet. According to her, when you don’t have much working capital, it’s better not to go into credit if you can possibly help it. One thing that Mary would do if she were to start all over again is nurture relationships even sooner than she did. She also said she would’ve hired people sooner. When it comes to making the decision to go into partnership, Mary suggested that you should look for a partner with different strengths than yours. You may offer work for free, but do exercise that with caution.

In this episode of Enlightened Entrepreneur Podcast, Janine Ellenberger reveals three common myths and misconceptions as well as other vital tips in starting your own business. Janine is the founder of GR8SKN products, a medical professional with over 20 years of experience in the aesthetic and anti-aging industries. After moving to the US with her young family, Janine discovered her passion for business and started on a path that led to her success today.

Key questions asked:

What challenges did she face during the early years of moving to the US? At what point did Janine decide to go into business after arriving in the US? What were the challenges she faced during the process of developing your product up to the time she launched it to the market? How does Janine find interns and how does she communicate with them? What would Janine do differently that could have sped the process up to where you want it to be? What advice would Janine give to somebody who might be thinking that overnight success is possible? What would be the number one myth that Janine has observed among business owners? What are other misconceptions that business owners have about owning a business? What would she say to somebody who has believed those misconceptions for a long time and is beginning to feel disillusioned?

Highlights of Lessons Learned:

Tips and Tricks

The more you put yourself out there, the more people you meet who are interested in helping you. Janine believes that skilled interns can be employed to work on perfecting your website. She also believes that it’s good for start-up business owners to have a mentor who will help you along the way.

Myths Debunked

The number one myth business owners normally believe is that they are their own boss. Another misconception is the thought that they will be generating income anytime soon. The thought that you have to bring in big investors at an early stage is sometimes a misconception.

Start-up Facts

The biggest challenges Janine faced in the early days of her business were money and lack of knowledge in the business aspect. To grow organically is not necessarily a bad thing. Try to make your company undiluted for as long as possible for as long as possible. Given the chance to start all over again, Janine would have gone to the market earlier, employed people earlier and concentrated more on sales a lot earlier as well.

In this episode of Enlightened Entrepreneur Podcast, Jon Novak, a well-known business expert, talks about simple techniques and strategies that all business owners can benefit from, especially those that are just starting out in the industry. Jon shares a few tips on getting more clients and building an excellent business strategy.

Key Questions Asked:

What is Jon’s background and how did he start with his business? What roadblocks did he face and what did he do to overcome them? How does Jon manage his time? What change in mindset has happened when Jon was starting out his business? Knowing what he knows now about business, what would Jon have done differently at the beginning? What would he do more of if he is to start all over again? How does Jon develop an authentic relationship with people?

Highlights of Lessons Learned:

The biggest challenge Jon has faced when he was starting out was working with credit. Jon has discovered that starting the day early allows him to get more time to accomplish everything he needed to get done. All entrepreneurs must realize the importance of having an expanding network to leverage your connections and use it to your benefit. Networking can make your sales a lot easier and expedite your growth. Building rapport is necessary for developing an authentic relationship with people, and this includes being yourself and being likable.

Wide scope influence ranging from website project management and product development (web, mobile) through to digital marketing (SEO, Online PR, Social Media). An internet entrepreneur through and through which means I have a remote workforce and I can work from anywhere.

Key Questions Asked:

Background and experience

During those early years when you were starting your own business, did you face any roadblocks at all? How did you overcome that particular roadblock? What was the thing that pushed you to go into business, given that you didn’t have a background in business? Looking back from when you got started, what has surprised you the most about business? You were working with a mentor especially when you were working as a project manager in your previous company, how important was that in your career development? What sort of mindset does a business owner need to have if they’re going to succeed? What are the rules for success? For somebody who is getting started? Why is this so important?

Highlights of Lessons Learned:

Pure fear, with putting everything you have on the table in terms of finance and in terms of your friends and your family. It’s a big responsibility to take and it’s a huge emotional undertaking as well as physical and mental undertaking. So basically the preparation involved is the only thing that’s going to set your mind at ease and ensure that’s going to ensure that you’re able to successfully maintain the business and be successful is preparing. The next step is to take that idea and get some feedback from people on whether or not that’s a good idea, and once you’ve gotten that feedback (positive) and you’ve spoken to enough people, that will give you the confidence that you need to take that step. And if you don’t go out there and validate the idea that you do have, chances are you’re never going to take the dive because you’re never going to build the confidence that you need to actually do it. Compared to having a job, owning a business is just as difficult but more rewarding. It’s a huge part of the puzzle, having someone there that you can talk to, that you can get advice and guidance from whether it’s a family member or someone that you just admire, so someone that you reach out to, having a mentor is both inspiring and is practically incredibly useful. Two parts: the confidence, positivity and being able to see the glass as half full. Having a positive mindset combined with confidence. A little bit of paranoia as well isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you want to build confidence and you walk the walk, eventually everything else will fall into place as long as you’re working hard and you’re being smart about it. First rule: focus on validating your idea and focusing on giving someone else a positive experience through your product or service. Building a product or service that people actually want.

In this episode of Enlightened Entrepreneur Podcast, Danijel Velicki shares important details of his past which propelled him to achieve success in all his endeavors. He also talks about his passion for teaching, his desire to empower and provide active service to his clients, using his experience and education in assisting them with their finance and other needs.

Key Questions Asked:

How did Danijel’s background and experience help him to get to where he is today? How did he manage to stay focused and build his life despite the challenges he faced? What advice would Danijel say to somebody who is in a difficult situation in their business right now? What were the daily routines that Danijel did at the beginning which kept him going? What role did mentors play in Danijel’s success as a business owner? What are the most important skills business owners need to have when it comes to managing or dealing with finances? What is the perfect mindset for start-up business owners who are just beginning to operate?

Highlights of Lessons Learned:

Early Days

The work ethic that Danijel developed during the early days propelled him to where he is today. Danijel’s drive and passion come from his love for people and his desire to help them. One of the marks of entrepreneurs is being able to recognize opportunities within their own needs.

Measure of Success

Success requires consistent work, consistent sacrifice, passion and drive, and ambition. Quitting is a lifelong thing and working through is temporary. Money is not a driver and money is not a goal. Although in the beginning, money is important because it allows us to pay our bills and pay our staff and grow, if money is the driver for your business then you’re doing it for the wrong reason. Life will beat you down, business will beat you down and it will spit you out and you have to go over them collect yourself and wake up tomorrow and be stronger, better faster, more resilient and go at it again and again and again.

Building your Business

One of the most important parts of any anybody’s life when it comes to building a business is seeking out mentors. If the business is strong, valuable, viable, look for investors, look for people that can propel you and help you grow. A stronger team is going to propel you faster than trying to fill every gap yourself. Therefore, as a business owner, you have to be open to delegating tasks to other people.

In this episode of Enlightened Entrepreneur Podcast, Candice Galek, founder, and CEO of Bikini Luxe talks about her journey in building the highest paying swimwear and affiliate program in the industry. Candice shares what it takes to make her passion the center of her company and what she is doing to continue to grow it.

Key Questions Asked:

What is Candice’s background in terms of education and experience? What triggered her to finally make the decision to build her own business? What were the necessary steps that she took from that point onward? What is the role of mentors in her success? Where did Candice get her strong work ethic from? What major roadblocks did Candice face during the early years of running a business and how did she overcome them? What important skills every business owner must develop in order to be successful in bringing a product or a service out in the market? How does Candace manage her time? Why did Candice agree to do a podcast for Enlightened Entrepreneur? How does Candace employ and develop creativity? If Candice is to do it all over again, what would she do differently?

Highlights of Lessons Learned:

Key Factors

Candice shares that business owners must keep an open mind and learn everything possible about his or her industry. Candice’s strong work ethic helped pushed her business to where it is today. One of the major roadblocks Candice had to face was the difficulty in learning how to manage inventory.

Must Remember

Every business owner must learn and continuously develop excellent time management, they also need to allocate a certain time to set goals. Before delegating tasks to other people, you have to make sure you have a general understanding of what is happening in that area of your business. Podcasts are important because they provide an insider point of view of what it’s like to grow a business. Another skill business owners must have in order to be successful bringing their passion and ideas to the marketplace is creativity.

In this Episode of Enlightened Entrepreneur Podcast, Adi Bittan, co-founder, and CEO of OwnerListens talks about important points of her entrepreneurial journey and the lessons she learned along the way. Adi also shares advice and tips to be successful in the online industry, as well as some of the mistakes she had made early on and how other business owners can avoid them.

Key Questions Asked:

How did Adi get to where she is today? What major mistakes did she make when she was first starting out as a business owner and how can other business owners avoid them? What advice would she give to business owners who are thinking about having a co-founder? What is the best way to part with a co-founder? What is the role of mentors in Adi’s entrepreneurial journey, especially in the early days of her business career? If she is to start all over again, what would she do differently? What is the perfect mindset business owners must have in order to achieve their goal faster? Where does Adi see business owners wasting a lot of time on when it comes to starting a business? How does Adi go about hiring people?

Highlights of Lessons Learned:

Important Tips

Mentors are extremely important, find a mentor that inspires you and you look up to. The one thing business owners can always do more of is to find every opportunity to talk to customers and potential customers. If you are a founder and a business owner, you have to believe in what you are doing. You also have to be focused and have control with your time.

Mistakes to Avoid

It is important for co-founders to be able to talk to each other and really determine whether they can make decisions together even when disagreeing. It also helps to have some sort of agreement beforehand. Business owners must be diligent in their cash management. A lot of business owners waste their time on hiring and firing. However, it is also not wise to hire someone too quickly.

In this episode of Enlightened Entrepreneur Podcast, President of Accessibility Partners, Dana Marlowe, shares interesting details about how she had let her passion guide her in starting her own business and choosing a niche that she cares a lot about. Seeing a particular need that she believed she could find a solution to, Dana moved forward and aimed for success, one step at a time. In this interview, you will learn about the three important skills every business owner must develop, as well as other tips necessary for building a business for the first time.

Key Questions Asked:

What were Dana’s background and experience and how did she become an entrepreneur? What advice would Dana give to somebody who is looking to identify which industry to go into? What necessary skills should a business owner have and develop in order to be successful in starting up a business? What is the perfect mindset that every business owner must have? What strategies did Dana have to come up with to reduce the cost of her business and keep it low, especially in the beginning?

Highlights of Lessons Learned:

Selecting a Niche

Dana’s passion to serve and her desire to help others is what propelled her to start her own company. According to Dana, as a person progresses in career and in life, it becomes easy to identify different characteristics that have always stuck out for him or her. When it comes to choosing a niche, look for something that you do care about because it is an easier recipe for success.

Things to Consider 

Dana was very familiar with her industry, the niches involved, as well as what the needs were, and because of that knowledge base, she knew exactly how to go after things. In starting a business, entrepreneurs must have these three important skills: never give up, master communication, research and familiarize the landscape you are in. The concept of work-life balance is very tricky and is something that business owners need to really consider. Another valuable skill set for business owners is flexibility and being able to adapt easily.

In this episode of Enlightened Entrepreneur Podcast, Caleb Beal, a well-known expert in the subject of product development, shares his experience with building his own business and overcoming obstacles along the way. He and Yeukai discuss the important qualities of a successful entrepreneur and what you can do today to follow that path of success.

Key Questions Asked:

What is Caleb’s background and experience in product development and creative writing? What did Caleb do to pursue his goal with his “One Story Road” project? What roadblocks did he face earlier on and how did he overcome them? What advice would Caleb give to someone who is a bit skeptical about outsourcing or working with people remotely? What tools did Caleb use in developing his idea and making it available to the market? What was the role of mentors in Caleb’s business? What was his first major breakthrough in his business? If he is to start all over again with developing his platform for creative writers, what specific steps would he take and what would he do differently? What would he do less of if he is to start over again in creating his platform? What tips can Caleb give when it comes to time management in developing a product? How does Caleb keep himself motivated? What is his product all about and how can people know more about it?

Highlights of Lessons Learned:

Who to Hire

One of the major roadblocks that Caleb faced was building a website. In the end, he has resolved to look for experts who could successfully accomplish the job for him. In looking for people to work with, Caleb recommends that you do your research and find the individuals or the company that believes in your project and wants to see it come together.

Expert’s Advice

If he is to do it all over again, Caleb shares that he would’ve allotted his first project the right amount of money, and also that as he goes along, he would’ve shaped his business model more based on the feedback he gets from his customers. In terms of time management, Caleb advises business owners to be wise in using your energy and not to work too hard on one thing because eventually, it makes people less productive. Caleb also believes that in order to be successful in your business, you have to do what you love and make sure that you’re doing something that you really believe in.

In this episode of Enlightened Entrepreneur Podcast, musical pairing expert Barbara Werner shares how her unique idea for business was conceived, how she worked on that idea from the initial stage up to the point when she was finally able to take it into the market and present it as a full-blown product, which, especially in the case of her business, people have received overwhelmingly well.

Key Questions Asked:

What is Barbara’s background and how she got started in business? How did she come up with the idea of musical pairing and what is that all about? What roadblocks did Barbara face during the development stages of her business? What was the role of mentors in Barbara’s business? How does Barbara go about reaching out to mentors? If he was to start all over again with getting an idea and putting it out in today’s world, what would you see differently? What would she do more of to speed the process? Where should business owners focus their attention to if they want to succeed in both short term and long term with their business? How does Barbara manage her time?

Highlights of Lessons Learned:

You and Your Business

As a start-up business owner, you must rely on your experiences and if you don’t have the skill needed in a particular area of your business, the solution is to go out and find an expert in that area. You also have to be aware of your finances, and if you’re not good with money, find an expert who can help you manage it. You have to hire somebody you can trust because trust is such a huge thing when doing business. Mentors are important, and many successful people today are more than willing to help fellow entrepreneurs who are just starting out in the industry.

Must Remember

One advice Barbara shares with entrepreneurs are to make sure you have an elevator pitch ready, a short synopsis of your business or your product that you can pitch whenever you need to. Barbara had cited the importance of hiring more people sooner, explaining that it would have sped up the growth of her business. When you’re owning a business, you have to constantly be watching and making sure that everyone in your team is doing what they’re supposed to.

Keys to Success

For short-term success, entrepreneurs must have a very focused financial plan and also expect and be prepared for change. For long-term success, entrepreneurs must constantly change their product, learn about technology and social media, and if you don’t have the time or you don’t really grasp the necessary skills for these changes, then hire people who do. As an entrepreneur, you’ve got to focus on the things that are important to you, especially those that make you happy.