This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Tori Dunlap. Tori is the millennial founder of HerFirst100k.com – a company dedicated to giving millennial women financial and career advice to help them succeed…and sock away their first 100k. And Tori is proof that it is possible, she’s not even 25 and is on track to save more than $100k before then. Tori’s been featured everywhere from CNBC, MarketWatch, Business Insider, to Yahoo Finance. She started her first business at 9, no joke – a vending machine business that she grew to over 15 vending machines which taught her how to save, invest, and negotiate.

What I love about Tori is that she has built this business, while at the same time working a full-time position as head of marketing at a global security company – because she likes what she does. She is a great example of how to build your business or side hustle while still succeeding in the corporate space – and that is just one of the things I want to speak with her about in this episode.

www.HerFirst100k.com

Tori says she was lucky to have a great financial education growing up. Her father came home one day with a vending machine he had got from one of his clients and asked her if she wanted to start a business. She said yes. She learned how to run a business, P&L, checking and savings, writing checks, how to pitch herself, starting at 9 years old. She used the profits from her vending business to fund her college.

Tori ran the business and grew it to 15 vending machines by the time she was a junior in college and ended up selling it to a 10-year like her that wanted to do the same things.

Tori has a degree in organization communication and theatre. She works in marketing, but never thought she would be teaching and promoting financial literacy to millennial women.

She thought everyone had at least some base financial knowledge. It wasn’t the case. In fact, Tori was the one all of her friends came to for money advice. So she started a blog in late 2016 on how to manage your money and career for millennials. This led to HerFirst100k.com

• What are the biggest lessons you learned in building the vending machine business that you use to succeed today?
• How to pitch yourself.
• We cannot wait for people or customers to come to us.
• Every opportunity needs to be sought out and you have to go after it.
• You have to be able to not only sell yourself, but sell your story.
• You have to get comfortable with no and being vulnerable…and keep going.

At the 14 min mark, Tori talks about building her business while working full time…

• It is hard. Period.
• Tori doesn’t “time block.” Instead, she follows her energy and takes advantage of it. Whenever she has the energy, she puts it into the business.
• You are your business. You are your product. You must take care of yourself first– sleep, exercise, good nutrition, etc.
• You must be self-aware as to how you best operate and how to take the best care of yourself.

Tell us about HerFirst100k.com

• It is less of a blog now. It is a business.
• She ran it for 2 years under another name.
• It was inspired by her goal to save $100k by the time she was 25 and to help bring about financial equality.
• On average women make less money, invest it at slower rates of growth, but live 7 years longer than men. Tori’s mission is to help women prepare, make more money, grow it at higher rates and set themselves up for success in retirement.

Why don’t we teach financial education in schools?

• Rich people want to stay rich.
• Things have been made more complicated than they need to be.
• There is a lack of understanding of how much it really matters in the real world.
• Because of that, there is lack of awareness of what is needed to financially succeed.

Tell us about your unique budgeting method…

• We have made it harder than it needs to be.
• Your budget should be working for you instead of you working for it.
• Tori teaches the “3 Bucket Budget”
• Bucket 1 are your expenses to eat, sleep, breath, and live. The things you cannot cut.
• Bucket 2 is your goals. Things like saving for retirement, a house, giving, etc.
• Bucket 3 is everything fun. There should be 3 value categories where your money gives the best ROI in this area. Maybe it’s travel or dining out, etc.
• Using this method, you can customize things to your own life and how you operate instead of it being the other way around.

Best negotiating tips?

• Negotiations are collaborations, not conflicts.
• Most people walk in to a negotiation thinking it is a battle.
• You need to have your points backed by data or real information that you can point to.
• Realize that you are going to compromise, so what you ask for more than where you want to be.
• You can negotiate other things like a better title in your salary negotiations. Stock, other perks, etc.
• Women do better in negotiations when they think they are doing it on behalf of someone else. This has been proven. So, putting yourself in the right state is important to help you succeed.
• At the minimum, ask for what you want.

One of the best places you can negotiate is on your recurring bills. Phone, insurance, credit card, cable, etc. can all be negotiated.

• At the 37 min mark, Tori shares how she gets clients without spending anything on paid advertising..
• Tori spent two years serving before she sold. She spent time giving value and figuring out the needs for her clients.
• She primarily gets clients from Instagram – over 90%.
• She puts her energy into Instagram and doesn’t spend as much time on other platforms.
• The key is to be on the platform where your market is most.
• Consistency and being genuine is a must.
• You have to give a ton of value to stand out.

Other marketing secrets?

• Reporters are on twitter
• You can create twitter lists for those you want to connect with.

Best Quote: You need to find your “why.” You do this by following your passion and your curiosity. You must have a personal stake in what you are doing. You must deeply care about the mission.

Tori's Misfit 3:

1. Serve before you sell...
2. Take a stance. Be a little controversial. Don’t try and serve everybody.
3. Quit your 9-5 when YOU are ready.

Gino took his entrepreneurial leap at 21 years old. At 25 he took over the family business and brought it out of debt and got it growing again. He ran it for 7 years and then successfully sold it. Through the experience, he got involved in the young entrepreneur’s organization or EO. It was there that he had his “light-bulb moment.” He felt that his calling was to help these other entrepreneurs. Over 5 years, he developed the Entrepreneur Operating System (EOS) and over 15 years, he built it up to thousands of companies as clients around the world. He then sold a majority stake in EOS in 2018 and started his newest project, LEAP.

LEAP is all about helping entrepreneur’s in the making get a huge jump-start on making the entrepreneurial leap.

Of everything you’ve learned, taught, and done in your career, what is the single most important lesson you’ve learned?

• Passion
• The ones that really know their passion and set out to pursue that passion succeed.
• The best lesson is to discover, pursue, and stay focused on your passion.

Define an entrepreneur…

• An entrepreneur is someone who sees a need or opportunity and then takes a risk to start a business to fulfill that need or opportunity by either creating something or improving upon something that already exists.

What is an EIM?

• It’s an entrepreneur in the making.
• It’s anyone that exhibits the traits defined as an entrepreneur that has not yet made the leap.

Your book and methodology LEAP is broken into 3 parts: Confirm, Glimpse, and Path. Explain what confirm is and the 6 essential traits you speak about.

• Confirm is about confirming that you are really a true entrepreneur
• An entrepreneur has 6 essential traits
  • Visionary
  • Passionate
  • Problem Solver
  • Driven
  • Risk Taker
  • Responsible
• There is no easy business. Being an entrepreneur is hard. Those 6 traits are needed to succeed over the long term and endure.

At the 12 min mark, we discuss the “long game and 10 year thinking…”

Let’s break down the 6 traits….

• Visionary: A person who has a lot of ideas. They see the world different than most people. Someone either is visionary per the definition or is not.
• Passionate: Passion for the product or service. You have a strong belief and no one can take it away from you. Passion is vital to the success of an entrepreneur. It is almost irrational and that is why entrepreneurs are different.
• Problem Solver: People that lean into problems and are optimists by nature and see opportunities in every setback. They are energized by problems.
• Driven: Driven has nothing to do with the business or product or service. It is something that has been in you as long as you can remember. It is a fire, self-motivation, a will to win. A sense of urgency.
• Risk Taker: People that are willing to take risks and don’t freeze when it is time to make the decision. They are willing to fail and know it is part of the process.
• Responsible: You blame no one. You look in the mirror and take ownership for your problems and for your life and your business.

If someone starts a business for the sole purpose to make money and don’t have the passion, they are missing the ridiculous obsessive passion that is needed to truly succeed.

Gino explains Glimpse in more detail….

• Seeing clearly what life looks like as an entrepreneur
• Understanding what the day in the life of an entrepreneur looks like
• It is also understanding the options for what type of business may be the best fit for them.
• Every entrepreneur cannot succeed in every business. You have to know the best business for your skill set and passion.

What are the 8 critical mistakes entrepreneurs make?

• Not having a vision.  You need to have a clear vision of the outcome.
• Hiring the wrong people. Throwing people at problems that are not a good fit.
• Not spending time with your people and communicating consistently.
• Not knowing who your customer really is. Trying to be all things to all people.
• Not charging enough.
• Not staying true to your core.
• Not knowing your numbers
• Not crystalizing roles and responsibilities.

The last area of LEAP is Path and covers the 9 stages of building a business. Can you walk us through them?

• Generating cash. You have to generate cash first and foremost. Nothing is more important.
• Hiring an integrator. Every entrepreneur needs to be counterbalance with an integrator who runs the day to day of the business.
• Discovering your core values. You have to know who you are at your core to hire your first employee as you will want to hire those with those values.
• Holding yourself accountable. Know your most important 3 numbers. Typically sales and marketing oriented.
• Communicating frequently with your employees. Weekly, quarterly. 1:1 if needed and give feedback.
• Have a plan B, C, and D.
• Staying in your personal sweet spot. Entrepreneurs are visionaries. Delegate and elevate and stay focused as the entrepreneur.
• Preventing your business from getting away from you. The more successful you are, the more the business can get away from you. Make sure the business is what you want.
• Capitalize on coaching, training, mentoring.

Free assessment to help confirm you have entrepreneur DNA: www.E-Leap.com

Best Quote: “Don’t forget about the other people in your life. Your time is shared, if you realize it or not – and it is important to not lose sight of that.”

Gino's Misfit 3:

• Find and discover your true passion. Where the needs of the world and your passion cross, there you will find your calling.
• Be you. Be real. Be authentic. Be what your soul wants you to be.
• Save 15% of everything you earn

Sarah grew up in Tasmania. And after finishing school, she knew she wanted to go into business. She studied HR and Business Psychology. She took the standard path, got a good job, and started to climb the corporate ladder. She had some great success. She had a family, a good job, etc. She realized that everything she had done in work had really stemmed from her head and not her heart and this put her on the path to open a new chapter for herself which lead to everything she has done and helping other people find their purpose in life. Steve had the exact opposite journey.

Steve grew up in New Zealand and moved early to the Cook Islands. Steve’s parents pushed him to be an academic, but he was more content climbing trees. He was always intrigued with what was possible and at 15 had a goal to one day write himself a million dollar check. He also was a star athlete and even go to compete for his country. He had 4 successful exits before 30 years old. He had a family, 3 kids, but, he was not fulfilled at all and at one point, he hit rock bottom. Picking himself up and getting out of this was how he and Sarah realized what it truly means to wonder and wander in life.

Steve, you went through a time or burnout in your entrepreneur and athletic journey that you overcame. What was your biggest lesson that you took from the experience?

• We all try and push through it vs. taking the time to go through and even grieve.
• Most people never sit with it and process it – spending time to learn and move forward in a healthier way.
• The 4 F’s – Fear Failure, Forgiveness, Freedom. Forgiveness being the most important and the one needed to gain freedom. You will have to forgive yourself to grow.
• Sarah experienced burnout in her corporate days. Learning from that and taking it to when she went into being an entrepreneur has helped her to create a better path as an entrepreneur.
• Focus on the little wins – they add up. Make them daily priorities.

How do you put the practice of little wins into your daily life? Is there a system or set of principles you’ve developed?

• We get too focused on the big milestones.
• The little wins do add up and you need to celebrate them.
• Every day, Steve and Sarah start the day with 5 deep breaths face to face or over the phone.
• Meditation is important.
• Every day, they set intention – it is not always the same, but the intentions are sent.
• Do a “to done” list and when it is accomplished – don’t go looking for more. Find a way to stop.
• Don’t forget about the other people in your life. Your time is shared, if you realize it or not – and it is important to not lose sight of that.

What have you learned about how to work well together as a couple in business?

• Marriage comes before work
• You must built boundaries between what is work and what is play
• Planning is very important.
• Clear communication is important.
• You have to learn to work through things together.
• You must also take the time to really understand each other using tools like DISC, the Love Languages, etc.
• Be willing to have conscious, courageous, conversations.

At the 23 min mark, we talk in depth about self-awareness…

• Self-awareness is the most powerful frontier that most have not explored.
• When you are aware and can take responsibility, you are in the pilot seat.
• You go from things happening to you, to things happening for you and with you – and through you and by you.
• Asking “why” in your life, your conversations helps lead to self-discovery and better understanding. Go 10 levels deep on why…
• The real work is, once you’ve asked why and learned why you do what you do, to make the changes to go to your next level.
• As humans, we have the ability to upgrade ourselves, but also help others upgrade themselves.

What are the keys to building a great a business?

• Understanding your superpower.
• Finding the best people to compliment your superpower.
• Great partnerships are important to success.
• Infect people with your vision.

What is one thing that you believe every entrepreneur should know, but most don’t?

• Lean into curiosity. Beware of having fixed mindset.
• Take time to wonder and wander.
• Every business should be innovating every day.
• The numbers are one thing, but the energy is another. Make sure you have the energy and fortitude to go forward and the numbers will come.

At the 38 min mark, we have a great discussion on what happens when you play the long game… What should people know about how to create an amazing event?

• Listen to the calling if you have one.
• Try not to make it commercial too quickly.
• Start small. Host a gathering and go from there.
• Give yourself extra runway to account for any issues or mistakes.
• Understand what type of business you are in.

Tips to get the word out?

• Create sizzle with videos and imagery.
• Your event needs an identity.
• Make sure people know what they will get out of it.
• You need a good intention for the event.
• Share it with 10 or so others early on and infect them with the vision.

Sarah, can you explain what a Mompreneur is?

• Entrepreneurship is a way or working and way of life.
• The mom piece has to come first
• Mompreneurs involve their loved ones and make them part of the journey. ​

Steve, what is your favorite place you’ve traveled to?

• The journey to the destination is the favorite part. Not the destination.

Best Quote:  "Don't forget about the other people in your life.  Your time is shared, if you realize it or not - and it is important to not lose sight of that.

Steve and Sarah's Misfit 3:

Steve

1. Fear – Understand if you are living in a state of being fearless or fearful
2. Failure – Failure is inevitable and part of the journey. Hold a space for it to learn and grow with it.
3. Forgiveness and Freedom – Forgive yourself and others. On the other side of forgiveness is freedom

Sarah

1. When to comes to work, life, love – do all the stuff you love. Don’t wait for dessert.
2. Wonder. If you live with wonder, you will find more
3. If there is only one thing you can focus on in your day, every day – choose love. It is one of the most powerful energies that you can bring

This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jason Pohl. Jason is a former wealth management entrepreneur turned professional athlete, specifically Ironman Racing. As many of you know, I race Ironmans and have a real love for the sport and what it takes just to finish one of these races.

But, Jason takes it to a whole other level. He races internationally all over the world and has been featured everywhere from Running Magazine to Impact Magazine. He trains 7 days a week for 7-8 hours per day and has finished Top 5 in many Ironmans around the world, as well as qualifying for the world championships in Kona. Additionally, he coaches other athletes on training and nutritional programs.

There are so many parallels between Ironman racing and entrepreneurship and I wanted to have Jason on to share his thoughts and what it was like to take the leap of faith and sell everything to pursue his dream.

Instagram @jason.pohl

www.Jason-Pohl.com

Jason was an elite hockey player for 16 years into college. After school he was looking for the next challenge and got into triathlon. He thought because he was an elite hockey player, he would be good, but was quickly humbled by the sport and what it takes to really compete.

2014 was his first amateur season for Ironman at 22 years old. After his first Ironman, he found out that he qualified for the world championships in Kona, HI. He still didn’t know much about what he was doing. He raced Kona and ended up in the hospital because he didn’t understand nutrition and did not take care of his body during the race. It was in the hospital that he made the decision to go after it as a career.

2015 was his first year going toward pro and after 2 years, became a pro with 2017 as his first season.

Tell us what it was like to make the leap and leave your business and become a pro…

• It is scary.
• You can’t serve two masters
• Jason was training 30+ hours a week and running his business
• It was a hard decision that took a lot of deep soul searching and brutal honesty.
• Ultimately, he had to go with what was truly aligned with his purpose and his heart which was racing.
• He sold off everything and took the leap.
• It’s been a year and things are starting to click with his sponsors, speaking, and racing.

What advice would you give people that are in the position you were in to help them make their leap?

• Take time for a lot of reflection.
• Be completely honest with yourself which is hard to do.
• The opportunity lies in the toughness of being honest to your core. That is where breakthroughs happen.
• The hardest thing to do is to be really honest with yourself.

Can you explain Ironman and what it takes for you to do what you do at your level?

• Ironman is the world’s most challenging single day endurance sports. It is a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, and then a full marathon.
• At the professional level is takes between 8-8.5 hours
• Jason trains for 35 hours a week and the has different therapies
• On top of that is the business with sponsors, marketing, etc.
• Its 70+ hours a week, 7 days a week.

Tell us more about the business around being a professional athlete…

• A lot of it is on the performance side with prize money and bonuses.
• Then you have sponsors which is no different than client acquisitions and really pay for the travel and gear needed to compete.
• You treat sponsors as your price possession. They are your clients.
• It is not an easy road and no different than building a business – you try things, adjust, put processes in place, and never stop working on it.
• You must have a dream and a goal to push you.

How do you get and hold onto sponsors?

• First, you have to get your mindset right.
• High energy, high passion, and knowing your why is very important.
• Be present when meeting with anyone you are trying to do business with – listen intently and really understand how you can help them succeed.
• Ultimately, it is a relationship and you both are impacting each other.

How does training and competing in Ironman’s relate to business and entrepreneurship?

• It can be presented as very glamorous and glorious, but it is no different than building a business.
• It is hard work that you have to grind out.
• You have days where don’t have it and are tired and don’t want to train or get rejections from sponsors.
• With any success in life it boils down to the consistency and discipline.
• If you take a day off, your competitors are out working you and it will impact you in races – just like in the business world. You have to do the mundane things you don’t want to do every day.
• You have show up every day.

At the 27-minute mark, Jason talks about persistence and his hardest time in Ironman…

• Get clear on your dream and real life and commitments, it is easier to persistent.
• This comes through in your business interactions as well.
• His hardest time was going into his second season as he came off a great first season. He got mano and when he was recovered, got into a bike crash, got a concussion, then had to drop out of the next race because wasn’t healed enough. Later in the season, he go into another bike crash. He ended up 3 races out of the top 10 with an unfinished race.
  • He made very little money as he did not place and went through self-doubt.
  • His coach helped him get through it.

Talk to us about the power and importance of mindset and the mental game…

• It is everything. It is the difference between being world class and not.
• What you believe is a direct reflection in your outer life.
• It all comes down to your inner belief and mindset.
• The first thing to know is that you can define the feelings you have. For example, you can redefine anxiety as your power to be ready to go.
• You can change you mind in an instant. It is hard in a low energy state where negative thoughts creep in. But you can change it. You can use a phrase or something that changes your physiological state – a trigger.
• At the 39:30 mark, Jason talks about “anchors”
  • Anchors are movements or power phrases

Best Quote: “Get clear on your goals and commitments. When you get clear on why you are doing what you are doing, everything will fall into place as you connect into your purpose."

Jason's Misfit 3:

1. You are the author of your external life which is a direct reflection of your internal life.
2. Enjoy the journey. Live your life backwards.
3. Connect to your mortality. Reflect on the last day of your life and ask how you want to be remembered? Who do you need to become to be this person?