This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ken Burke. Ken is a serial entrepreneur who built a massive enterprise software company and sold it for over $100 million. He then went on to create Entrepreneur NOW, a company that provides over 160 eLearning courses designed for entrepreneurs to help them start, grow and run their business. EntrepreneurNOW courses are also distributed all over the world on over 40 major eLearning sites. Ken has been featured on the INC 500, been named Entrepreneur of the Year, and has authored multiple books, most recently the best-seller, Prosper, 5 Steps to Thriving in Business and Life.

Needless to say, Ken has a wealth of experience and knowledge on how to succeed as an entrepreneur, and I’ve brought him to squeeze every bit I can out of him.

www.EntrepreneurNow.com

www.KenBurke.com

Entrepreneurship is in Ken’s blood. It’s all he knows. It started 25 years ago when he started MarketLive and rode the E-commerce wave. It took 4-5 years before it took off, but they became one of the major players in enterprise e-commerce software. Ken learned a lot through the experience and honed his skills. As things grew, he had to go through the ups and downs of growing and scaling a large business. Sequoia Capital was their large investor and at one point, Ken had his “Steve Jobs” moment where he was replaced as CEO. He was moved to the chairman role and the new “more experienced” CEO was brought in. It was a miserable failure. Ken came back in after 4 years and built things back up and made it very successful selling on a high to a large software conglomerate.

He then started EntrepreneurNOW and is at it again and as he says, it having to learn a lot of things all over again. It’s never the same path.

At the 8 min mark, we talk about how it is different the second time around and just because he was successful once doesn’t mean the same things will work in the next venture.

Talk to us about the state of entrepreneurship as you see it…

• The latest batch of entrepreneurs has experienced another crash.
• Entrepreneurs have had to get a healthy dose of persistence and are learning that the notion of having a startup that maxes value in 3-4 years and the founders cash out is not a reality.
• The VC/Equity money is drying up.
• The cost of capital is much higher, and inflation is causing a lot of issues across the board.

At the 13 min mark, we discuss persistence and Ken’s thoughts.

• “You have to be in the game the win the game.” A lot of entrepreneurs take themselves off the field because they are not willing to persist through the major barriers they encounter.
• Don’t expect things to always go as planned.

Thoughts on the entrepreneur mindset?

• Ken wrote Prosper to help entrepreneurs in this area.
• It is impossible to fail because we are here to learn, grow, and develop.
• Challenges are part of the growth process.
• There is a lot of “You” in the business, so you must build a structure in the business that allows others to come up and help build the business and learn, grow, and develop. Do not let your ego get in the way.
• Be careful not to hamper the ability for your business to grow by injecting yourself too much in the business or letting limiting beliefs stop progress.

Prosper: 5 Steps to Thriving in Business and Life. Can you take us through the 5 steps?

• You take you wherever you go. All your baggage comes with you into business or personal life.
• The healthier you are as a person, the better you are in business and life.
• Step 1: You must accept yourself. Don’t self-sabotage.
• Step 2: Manage your ego. Your identity is not things, money, success, etc., it is internal.
• Step 3: Clarity. You need to know exactly where you are going and have a clear vision.
• Step 4: Take action. It comes down to consistent action. Fear is usually the #1 roadblock.
• Step 5: Gratitude. Serve and live with gratitude for all those around you and part of your journey.
• You must practice these things daily.

What should entrepreneurs know about how to prepare themselves and their business for a sale and what did you learn through your process?

• It starts at the very beginning.
• Covet thy equity. Protect every ounce of equity that you have.
• Never give more than you have to give up when it comes to equity. Stair-step your investment. Take a little bit more at each step to bring your business 18 months into the future at a time.
• Be prepared for a “down round.”
• Manage your board and investor as if they are employees otherwise, they will manage you.
• They must know you are the leader and are in charge.
• Do not have a “parent-child” relationship with your board or investors.
• In the end, you are 100% accountable for everything in your business.
• When going to sell, you must prepare at least 1 year in advance.
• Think about how to maximize every aspect of value.
• Try to find a strategy investor and partner with them ahead of time.

Anything you have seen that has worked for you consistently in building businesses?

• The bigger the problem, the more successful you can be. Start with the problem and find the solution.
• Finances. 3-5 year financial forecast and reviewing it each quarter keeps you on pace and helps to ensure you are on the right path.
• 5 clear, key initiatives per year that you are working toward that everyone knows in the business.
• Focus is widely important. Land and expand. Own a niche first and expand from there.

Best advice for an entrepreneur just starting out?

• Focus. Focus. Focus.
• Master, then move on.
• Take action. Action creates momentum.

Best Quote: You have to be in the game the win the game. A lot of entrepreneurs take themselves off the field because they are not willing to persist through the major barriers they encounter.

Ken's Misfit 3:

1. Practice the idea of fulfillment, joy, and happiness on a daily basis.
2. Leave your ego at the door. Avoid the judgement of yourself and those around you.
3. Know that it is impossible to fail. Growth is at the center of what you do.

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p>Hello Misfit Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Lessons for Hannah!" Many years ago, I introduced a new format that alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life….even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of "Lessons for Hannah," I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.

Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I want to talk to you about the Bible. It is truly an amazing book – not just because it is God’s word and the story of our Christian faith, but because it offers such incredible wisdom for living your life in the best ways possible. I am particularly a big fan of proverbs as each proverb offers wonderful, practical wisdom for living from health to relationships to money, and much more.

A lot of people don’t realize how much the bible has an impact on our lives. In fact, many everyday sayings that people use, whether they are religious or not, originated in the Bible.

Here are just a few examples. ​

• Let there be light
• Forbidden fruit
• By the sweat of your brow
• Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
• Fire and brimstone
• Land of milk and honey
• Of biblical proportions
• An eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth
• Golden calf
• Scapegoat
• Apple of my eye
• A man after my own heart
• How the mighty have fallen
• Put words in one’s mouth
• Be a man
• Put your house in order
• Nothing but skin and bones
• By the skin of your teeth
• The root of the matter
• Broken heart
• Bite the dust
• Wits’ end
• Spare the rod, spoil the child
• Pride comes before a fall
• There’s nothing new under the sun
• Eat, drink, and be merry
• Fly in the ointment
• A little birdie told me
• Four corners of the earth
• Drop in a bucket
• See eye to eye
• No rest for the wicked
• Rise and shine
• Like a lamb led to the slaughter
• Sour grapes
• Writing is on the wall
• Salt of the earth
• Go the extra mile
• The love of money is the root of all evil
• Fight the good fight

I could have gone on and on, but I think you get the point. The Bible has much more of an impact on you, your life, culture, and the world on a daily basis than most people realize.

Now, imagine if you actually read the Bible and took the time to learn from it? What if you read a little bit every day? How much could you learn? How much wisdom could you gain from centuries of human experience? I know that it would be a lot. I take just a few minutes to read each day and I learn something every time I do.

Hannah, make the Bible part of your life, if not on a daily, on a weekly basis and take time to learn from it. One great place to start is with Proverbs. They are short, easy to read and understand, and will help you become a better, more rounded person. I can promise you, if you do, you will find that incorporating reading the Bible into your life will make a huge difference in your life and your success.

I love you,

Dad

Best Quote: Imagine if you actually read the Bible and took the time to learn from it? What if you read a little bit every day? How much could you learn? How much wisdom could you gain from centuries of human experience?

Misfit 3:

1. Whether you are religious our not, the Bible can teach you and help you gain wisdom.
2. Proverbs is a great place to state for every day practical wisdom from the Bible.
3. Reading the Bible every day will make a big difference in your life an success.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Tracy Lamourie. Tracy is a high-profile international award-winning publicist and the Founder and Managing Director of Lamourie Media Inc. Tracy has been Featured in Rolling Stone Magazine, The Hollywood Times, NBC TV, and other major media. She works across borders and across industries from major entertainment projects to small businesses.

There is a big difference between marketing and PR. And most people don’t understand it. So, I’ve asked Tracy to come on share the secrets of successful PR and how to maximize PR and marketing together.

https://www.lamouriemedia.com/​

Tracey wrote her first PR release when she was 28. It was for activist work to help an innocent man get off death row. That kicked off her career and a 20-year journey resulting in the release of the man after his conviction was overturned. During this time, she saw that she could use her skills in gaining press and attention to help businesses grow. She helps to make sure business are telling their stories in the best way and in the right places to help them stay ahead of their competition. She strategically uses media on a global scale and has never purchased an ad.

What is the difference between marketing and PR?

• Here’s an analogy: “If a young man how amazing he is, successful, and handsome he is – that is advertising. If he tells her how beautiful and intelligent she is - that is marketing. If someone else tells that man’s date how amazing, successful, and handsome he is – that is PR.”
• Everyone can create a beautiful deck and say great things about themselves, but where things really matter is when someone goes and searches a business or person, do they find a lot of what others say about them, where they are quoted, etc.
• Public relations fills the component to get you the earned media that you cannot buy.
• PR builds the 3rd party credibility necessary for validation and success.

What are the elements of a successful PR strategy?

• It elevates and celebrates the business or person.
• It positions the business or person as an expert.
• It provides 3rd party validation.
• It uses media to bring a business or person to a bigger stage.

Most effective mediums for PR?

• It varies based on the business or person.
• Tracey starts with traditional media. Radio, TV, Magazines, Podcast, etc.
• Tracey figures out the best places to showcase the client’s expertise.

Tips for gaining attention?

• Use podcast matchmaker services for podcasts.
• The #1 key is to understand the pitch. It is not your bio or ad for your company. It is your compelling story that grabs attention.
• At the 16 min mark, Tracey gives a good example of a compelling pitch she uses to gain attention.
• Think in terms of what will help them with a good story or angle.
• Use HARO (Help a Reporter Out) to get your pitch out to reporters looking for stories.
• A PR specialist will search and find all the best opportunities for their clients and pitch them.

What are the elements of a great pitch?

• Step 1 is to find resources at places like HARO.
• Whenever you reach out to an editor, remember they are not in the business of giving you free advertising – you are someone who give them great information for their audience.
• At the 25 min, Tracey gives an example of what not to do when pitching reporter/editor.
• You will need to tailor your pitch for each pitch you do so that is resonates with the reporter/editor you are sending it to.

How can an entrepreneur ensure they are maximizing their marketing and PR together?

• Don’t be afraid to go big or wide.
• Go beyond typical marketing/PR and go for rewards or speaking engagements.
• Look for local awards and publications to help get some visibility to start. They are easier.
• Anything you can bring your knowledge to and present yourself as a thought-leader/expert you should pitch to.

At the 32 min mark Tracey talks about the campaign to free a man from death row and lessons learned from their success.

• When Tracey met her husband, he had a radio show that focused on local issues and needs.
• They decided to get on the internet and start publishing links to what they were interested in (it was the early days of the internet).
• While searching for stories and links that interested them, they learned about the case of a man named Jimmy Dennis who claimed he was wrongly accused and was innocent.
• Jimmy had paid for a listing online that asked people to help find justice.
• They reached out and asked to learn more and Jimmy responded with 28 pages of details and court documents that showed he did not commit the crime and there were issues with his trial.
• They decided to take up the cause and share it on their site in 1998.
• 2 years later, a law firm saw what they had put out and got involved and over 18 years worked for free to help Jimmy get his freedom. ​

Anything else we should know about PR/Marketing?

• Authenticity – make sure you are authentic and show as you are. Do it.
• Don’t be afraid to get out there.

Best Quote: Don’t dream it. Be it. Don’t leave regrets. Give it a shot

Tracy's Misfit 3:

1. Learn to better manage your time between your business and personal life. We all have the same amount of time. It is critical make sure we use it in the best ways.
2. Don’t dream it. Be it. Don’t leave regrets. Give it a shot.
3. We didn’t get this far to only get this far. Don’t quit. Keep pushing to your next level.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Chris Heller. Chris is the former CEO of Keller Williams Realty International. Chris has been a driving force and innovator in the real estate industry for over 3 decades and personally has sold over 3400 homes and ranked top 10 in the USA year after year. He’s currently the Chief Real Estate Officer of OJO Labs, where he is shaping partner strategies, creating a cohesive structure and adoption between real estate professionals, consumers, and OJO.

But I didn’t ask Chris on to talk about how to sell homes, although we may get into some topics around that. No, I asked him to come on to discuss how he built his incredible businesses and to discuss his best-selling book, Dominant Thoughts – Things Grow Where Our Minds Go. ​

https://chrisheller.co/

When Chris was a sophomore in college, his dad called him up and told he was going to get his real estate license and work selling time shares in Lake Tahoe for the summer. He was super introverted. He was thrown into the deep end, but he quickly became very good at it. He then moved to San Diego where he bought his first real estate. He got burned out going to school part-time working 7 days a week selling time-shares. He then got into working in marketing. Eventually, he started a company with his roommate. Within 6 months, he had 40 employees. They were growing fast and moved into an office space. Within 6 months of that, they were out of business? His roommate/business partner had gotten into drugs and became an addict. It was dysfunctional and Chris had to get out. He did. It was 1989 and a real-estate broker whom he had met previously reached out to see if he wanted to sell homes. He took to gig and ended up being rookie of the year and never looked back. He went on to become one of Top 10 agents in the country out of 30,000+. He then went to Keller Williams and became a top agent there. He moved into leadership building out their international business. He didn’t know what he was doing but figured it out and made it successful. They then asked him to be CEO of the company, which he did. He left in 2017.

He met another self-made billionaire, the founder of Loan Depot and after meeting with him multiple times, he was asked to be the CEO of a new company funded by Loan Depot. He started on the board at OJO Labs and eventually moved over to be CEO.

You recently published Dominant Thoughts. Talk to us about our conditioning and the way we think determining our results…

• 90% of what it takes to be successful is how we think, how we approach things, and how we react to things.
• The strength of your mind is critical to succeed in life.

Rules for Winning and Rules for Life – can you give us some of those?

• Under promise and over deliver. When you do this, you set yourself and the client up for success.
• Do the RIGHT thing. In all areas of life, even when it is painful, hard, or not what everyone else is doing.
• Find the joy in everything you do.
• Do not worry what others think. Do not let what others think take you off your path or keep you from doing the right thing.

Best advice on how to train the brain and develop thought patterns to handle adversity?

• Chris used affirmations and visualizations to train his mind.
• “I’m never down. I’m either up or getting up.”
• Nothing forges steel like fire. Adversity and getting through prepares you and helps you to handle more of it.
• We all have fear. The issue is whether we let it control us or not. Move through your fear very fast. Acknowledge it, feel, but then move through it to the other side.
• The stronger the mindset, the better we are.
• How do you develop a strong mindset? Minimize negative inputs and maximize positive inputs.
• Don’t spend time with people who are negative or sap energy from you. Spend as much time as possible with those that challenge you and make you better and fill you with energy.
• Strong body, strong mind. When we are physically in a good place, we are better equipped to deal with adversity.
• Be proud to earn your stripes.

You talk about the one thing you can control to make the biggest difference in success, what is it?

• The honest answer is that there is more than one thing, but it is most important to show up mentally and emotionally prepared to take on the things you need to take on.
• Being present and not letting your mind be run by fears or insecurities.
• You also must develop discipline. Discipline is a muscle to be built. Your ability to follow a schedule and be disciplined day in and out helps to achieve mastery.
• The more discipline we are in area of life, the better that are of life.

Principles for making decisions. What should people consider?

• 2 pieces.
• The first is why are we making the decision?
• The second is what are we getting out of it?
• You have to think through what the best outcome is for all involved.
• It is also importantly how quickly we can learn to make good decisions.
• Learning to make quick decisions and deal with potential consequences, is important. There typically never a “perfect decision.”

What are some of the principles you’ve used to build great businesses?

• Lead by example.
• Being authentic and true to yourself.
• People appreciate the truth – whether is good or bad news.
• Help your people and don’t be afraid to stretch them to help develop them. Empower them – even when they don’t think they are capable.

Where do you see the real estate market going over the next 2 years and what opportunities do you see that people should look for?

• Markets always go through cycles.
• The next cycle is a downward trend after a 10-year uptrend with the last 2 years being almost turbocharged.
• In the next stage, there be more inventory, the velocity of sales will slow and there will be price pressure to go down. This creates opportunities for buyers and sellers. But where we have been in a seller’s market, things will shift.
• Things are relative. If a seller is selling their house for less, then they are buying a new house for less, etc.
• No one knows how much things will adjust, but we must be prepared for things to change and look for opportunities.

Best Quote: 90% of what it takes to be successful is how we think, how we approach things, and how we react to things...

Chris's Misfit 3:

1. Don't be emotionally attached to the outcome. Be committed.
2. Tell the truth. Simple, but important for all areas of life. There is never a good reason not to do it. Keep your integrity.
3. Always be working on your “2 E’s,” your effectiveness and efficiency. Where can you be more effective and more efficient.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Rob Cressy. You have probably heard of Rob, either from his top-rated podcast, Best Year Ever, or maybe have even seen him speak. Rob is an entrepreneur, prolific creator, and mastery coach. He is known as the happiest person earth. For over a decade, Rob has helped millions of people through his messages, businesses, podcasts, and content.

He is one of the best in helping people learn self-mastery and unlocking the next level of possibility for themselves in their lives and business.

If you listened to this show for a little while, you know how much I love to talk about the topics of mindset, reaching our true potential, and breaking the limits of our own human performance - so I’m excited to get into all of this in this episode.

www.RobCressy.com

Rob was deliberate in his path and designed where he wanted to go, but that is not how it started. When he graduated college, his dream was to work in ad agency in marketing, but found himself unemployed for 18 months, dead-broke living off credit cards. He finally got a job 5/3 Bank in a call center selling home equity loans making $10/hr. It was the complete opposite of where he wanted to go or be. For the next 10 years, he was in inside sales and was good at it, but not happy. He looked at his life and did not want the next 10 years to be at all like the last 10 – so he gave his dreams a shot. He went all in on himself as a creator and coach.

Two things happened. He became self-aware and he adopted a growth mindset. He realized that every day is an opportunity to make that day better than yesterday and that he was in control of his thoughts to his actions.

Let’s start with the foundation. You have 8 core values. Take us through them.

• Core values are the epitome of who you are.
• Without them, how can you know how to live your life?
• Rob’s 8 core values:
  • Radiate positivity
  • Always learning
  • Extreme ownership
  • Yes, and…
  • Live in action
  • Be relentless
  • Do what’s right
  • Talk with candor

This tells people how Rob will show up. How did you narrow down these 8?

• He decided what he wanted live into.
• Each value is something he lives every day.
• You have to brainstorm what is foundational to who you are? What is really important? This is how you find them.
• Core Values are DNA – you shouldn’t have to think about them. They are who you are.

Explain what it means to create the right mindset and how people can become their best…

• It is a “get to” not a “have to.”
• We all get to control the story that we tell ourselves.
• When we wake up in the morning, what do we tell ourselves? What are we thinking?
• We live in a world that is designed to put other people’s thoughts and actions in your mind.
• Email, News, TV, Netflix, Social Media, etc. are all someone else’s agenda. This is default.
• But we must live by design, not by default.
• Every day, you get to show up as the best version of yourself.
• To do it you must have your core values and then you must decide the story you are going to tell yourself from the moment you wake up every day.

At the 11 min mark, Rob gives an analogy of booting up a computer as it relates to your mindset.

• Every single day, you can boot up to your best version.
• The story you tell yourself will create your actions and your actions will create your results.
• It is the discipline to do this every day.

What do you personally do to boot yourself up each day?

• You must be intentional.
• 1 action is better than taking 0 actions.
• Change can happen one moment at a time.
• The way you start your day sets the tone for how the rest will go.
• Rob starts out by speaking “Today is going to be a great day.”
• While Rob brushes his teeth (trigger), he thinks of 3 things he is grateful thankful for.
• Next he reads for 30 mins first thing in the morning. For Rob this is game changing, and he has done it for over a decade.
• The average CEO reads 60 books a year. Success leaves clues – follow them.

Self-talk how do we use it to persist and power through…

• “I am that I never get tired.” Speak what you are into existence.
• Control your thoughts and mind.
• Rob has a document of what he is that speaks out loud every day.
• Examples include “I am infinite love.” “I am fearless…” “I am a champion for everyone”
• Self-limiting beliefs, fears, etc. will happen, but is our job through our routine and habits to prepare ourselves to overcome them through designing who we are.

Explain what it means to turn desires/judgement into gold…

• So many have self-limiting beliefs, and it is inevitable that there will be obstacles.
• We must design ourselves to be a person that overcomes adversity.
• Turn your fears, judgement, or obstacles into gold through using them as an opportunity to become better.
• Doing this becomes part of your story.
• It comes from being self-ware to recognize when these things are happening and change our self-talk to be what we are and who we are to overcome the obstacle, fear, judgment, etc.

At the 27 min mark, Rob talks about doing what you love and why it is a secret ingredient.

• We have the ability to create in our lives, but very few tap into this power.
• Remember, “No means yes.”
• When your mind is telling you no and you meet resistance internally, that is the time to push through and say yes.

What does it mean to be a prolific creator?

• Every single day, the second thing Rob states is “I am constant creation of who I am.”
• It is internal and external.
• You create who you want to be on the inside and then have the vision to create what you are and what you want externally.

Why are habits and routines so important and what are some of the most important one’s people should have to level up?

• If you are going to design your life and success, you must be consistent.
• Showing up as your best self every day requires a set of routines done day in and day out.
• 4 must have routines:
  • Morning routine: Be in control of how you start your day.
  • Evening routine: Tomorrow’s success starts today. Write down your wins for the day and visualize your success. Planning your day ahead is also a key element.
  • Reading routine: 30 mins a day
  • Shower routine: Things you do every day that can be a trigger to design growth. A shower is one of those. Brushing your teeth, etc. What can you do during these everyday routines to help yourself?

Bachelor party sponsored by Nascar?

• Rob got married when he was in his early 30’s and wanted to be creative for his bachelor party.
• At the time, he was in the sports business and had a contact a Nascar.
• He thought it would be great to do his bachelor party with Nascar and he pitched it as idea to show how fun and accessible Nascar is to the average sports fan. They loved it. Rob and 15 guys went to the Coca Cola 600 with VIP treatment.
• He documented everything as the day went and it was a great experience for him and Nascar.

Best Quote: We all get to control the story that we tell ourselves. You must decide the story you are going to tell yourself from the moment you wake up every day.

Rob's Misfit 3:

1. What is the first thought you have that you design every day? The first thing you say every day helps determine your day.
2. What is something new you are adding to your life? Newness is where life comes from.
3. Ask yourself, what is your default relationship to time story? Most people think about time and come from a place of “lack of time.” Create a new story of relationship to time.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Yuri Elkaim. Yuri built Healthpreneur to over $200 million from scratch. No following, no pre-existing client base. Totally from scratch. Over the last 6 years, Yuri and his team have helped more than 1,200 health professionals get more clients and scale their coaching businesses online with a very simple business model that eliminates overwhelm and produces 5-7 years of business growth in just 12 months. And the best part is that the process can be applied to most businesses.

If that is not enough, Yuri is a former pro-athlete, had been featured everywhere from Entrepreneur to Forbes and CNBC, and is New York Time best-selling author multiple times over. He’s even been highlighted on Dr. Oz. Needless to say, Yuri has a wealth of entrepreneur experience and lessons that he can teach you and I’m excited for him to do so.

www.YuriElkaim.com

Yuri grew up as a competitive athlete. He was very fit, but he wasn’t healthy. In fact, he lost all his hair to an autoimmune disease at 17 years old. Within about 6 weeks, he lost all the hair on his body. This prompted him to get more immersed into studying health and start to study nutrition. He ended up playing professional soccer for a few years, but as he learned more about nutrition, he put it into practice changed his health – even growing back his hair.

One of the things he realized going through nutrition school was that there so much he just didn’t know. And he knows that if he didn’t know these things, so many others didn’t either, so it lit a fire under him to share the message of clean eating with as many people as possible.

He did find that working one on one with clients was burning him out, so in 2005, he launched his first products online. As he says, he didn’t know what he was doing. No one found his stuff and basically lived at the poverty level for 3 years. In 2010, he hired his first coach, and everything changed. He built his first business and then sold it. Along the way, he had a lot of people come to him and ask what he they were doing to be so successful in his companies and it was realizing that there was a gap that needed filled for people that spawned Healthpreneur.

What was the difference in getting a coach that put you on the trajectory to success?

• We don’t know what we don’t know.
• If you haven’t done what you want to do – how do you expect to get there?
• To be a great goalkeeper in soccer – Yuri had a number of coaches that he worked with every day. He realized he needed to do this in business.
• Getting a business coach helped give him direction and focus and opened his eyes to many things he did not understand about business systems, client acquisition, etc.
• Yuri was somewhat delusional thinking he knew everything to make a business succeed without any experience and a lot of entrepreneurs fall into that trap.

Simple business model that eliminates overwhelm and created a successful business in 12 months – what is the model?

• Yuri has done just about every business model online that you can imagine.
• In creating Healthpreneur, he wanted to simplify and focus on the best model that works most consistently.
• Webinars proved to be the best model.
• Evergreen webinar that you record once, and it runs over and over online as the main education and conversion tool.
• Organic growth is very hard. Yuri and his team focus on paid traffic on Facebook. They teach their clients Facebook ads and how to do them masterfully.
• They then have clients fill out an application for a phone call meeting.
• 4 Steps: Facebook ad to webinar to application to phone meeting.
• The phone call is “coach to close.” It is about assessing fit and making sure you can help the client. If there is a fit, then you discuss next steps and move forward.
• This model is more focused on higher ticket items.

Does this model scale down to lower ticket items?

• Yes, it can. You would just take out the application to phone call. It changes to giving the client the offer after the webinar.
• The model does work best with high ticket coaching or programs.
• With lower ticket items, you have to know your items very well because of the costs to drive traffic.

Is there a formula or structure that works best for getting webinars to convert?

• Think of a webinar as a documentary.
• The purpose of a webinar is the share your point of view or philosophy to introduce a new way of thinking around a topic.
• It is either going to challenge beliefs or confirm suspicions.
• The additional purpose of the webinar is not to give the “how to” but to give clarity to the prospect.
• It must be centered around the perfect client. You have to know them better than they know themselves.
• Everything must be backed up with logic and proof. Think of yourself like a lawyer making a case in court with evidence.

What holds back or constrains businesses the most?

• They don’t understand what their #1 constraint is.
• It is like a kink in a hose. No matter what you do, until that kink is unwound, no water is coming out of the hose.
• So, what is the #1 constraint that opens the floodgates for your business?
• This is an area where a coach can help in a big way.

At the 34-minute mark, Yuri talks about where he sees constraints the most.

Two important, but overlooked decisions that can make or break a business?

• Who are you serving? Who is your target market?
• Delivery of product/business model.
• If you serve a single target market with focus, it is easy to deliver.
• If you serve a bunch of markets, then it becomes a lot harder.

Four unpopular mindsets entrepreneurs need to succeed.

• Delusional optimism. You have to believe you can come back and succeed.
• Balance of setting intentions for things to be easy but expecting them to be hard.
• Greatness has help. You will need to collaborate with others and build a team to succeed.
• Be willing to pay to play. ​

What is important for entrepreneurs to perform at their best in health?

• The biggest bottleneck for any business is the entrepreneur and their health.
• Your health directly impacts your physical capacity. The energy, stamina, and focus needed to succeed are directly tied to your health.
• If we take care of ourselves, we can take care of others and have a better business.

Best Quote: Greatness has help. You will need to collaborate with others and build a team to succeed.

Yuri's Misfit 3:

1. Take 100% responsibility for everything that happens to you and for you in your life.
2. Never compromise your health for success.
3. Never do anything that will tarnish your reputation. Make decisions with a long-term perspective.

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Hello Misfit Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Lessons for Hannah!" Many years ago, I introduced a new format that alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life….even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of "Lessons for Hannah," I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.

Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

Hannah,

I want to share some lessons from Nature. As I write this, we are traveling through Alaska, and I am sitting in the café of the Grande Denali Hotel looking out over the amazing expanse of land and snow-covered mountains. It’s a beautiful sunny day with a chill in the air. The temp is about 30 degrees, but the crisp mountain air feels wonderful. It truly a breathtaking sight that I hope you remember vividly for the rest of your life.

As I sit here, I cannot help but think of the great lessons that nature teaches us. We have been in the state for about a week after my Ironman even in Juneau and have been traveling up north with another few days of excursions and taking in the beautiful country of Alaska. Along the way I have been taking note of things and wanted to share some of them with you.

The first lesson is that nature, or really God, arranges things to operate in perfect harmony so that all life can function. It is amazing to see the salmon run to their eventual death, climbing rivers, waterfalls, etc. But, out of their death comes life in the new eggs that they lay. And even more important is how critical it is for them to go through this cycle for the eco-system to survive. While they live fairly short lives and ultimately die after spawning, they provide an indispensable food source for much of the wildlife that keeps the whole system going. Without them, many animals would die off. If you stop and think about it, everything in the universe has to work in perfect order for you to be sitting here right now. One little change in the course of history and you may not even exist. It truly is a spectacular, amazing, awe-inspiring orchestration that makes everything work at every level from the cells in our bodies to sun heating our planet and keeping us alive. Cherish every moment you have in this life.

The second lesson is the nature does not discriminate. As I hit the 80th mile on my 112-mile bike in the Ironman, the rain had intensified to a miserable driving downpour (it rained the whole race, but this stretch was particularly bad), I won’t lie, I cursed it a few times. But, in that moment, it occurred to me that all of us competing had to go through the same conditions and even more so, every living thing in nature has to live through those conditions every day and fight for survival. Nature doesn’t treat any creature different from another – everyone is on the same boat. And some creatures are food for others, like the salmon making the eco-system go, and still others are like a beetle that we were told about actually kill off trees that then die and allow for the forest growth to continue and new trees to grow. As I noted earlier, everything works in a beautiful harmony. But, nature treats everyone and everything the same and that is a great lesson for life. You should do the same – treat everyone with the same love and respect and not discriminate against others for any reason.

The third lesson is the nature is an entrepreneur and fosters entrepreneurship. I mentioned at the start of this lesson that I am sitting in café of the Grande Denali lodge that offers a breathtaking 360-degree view of the entire range. The hotel sits on the top of a plateau that is literally just big enough to fit the hotel. The edge of the hotel is on the edge of the cliff. Nature created the conditions to make this happen. It created the incredible mountain range and countryside that fills this area which drew humans to it for its beauty and everything the land offers. And at some point, someone took a look at the plateau the Grande now sits on from a thousand or so feet below and said, “That would be a great place to put a hotel for the best views in this area.” They then proceeded to make it a reality, cutting the curving winding road up the mountain, figuring out how to make the land work to accommodate a large lodge and hotel, and then everything needed to create the business and make it go. But it all started with nature creating the pull for people to explore and come here. Nature may be the ultimate entrepreneur for the reasons I have already stated, but also for the abundance of opportunity it creates. And the big lesson from nature is that there is opportunity all around you all the time. Once you learn to see it, it is abundant. ​

Hannah, nature offers so many lessons, I could go on for hours, but if you can take the time to understand the few that I’ve shared and keep them forefront in your life – they will help you live well. If you cherish every day, respect the world around you, and see the abundance of opportunity that exists for you; you will enjoy a great life and help others to do the same. And if you ever need a reminder, just look at a few pictures of your trip through Alaska!

I love you,

Dad

Best Quote: If you cherish every day, respect the world around you, and see the abundance of opportunity that exists for you; you will enjoy a great life and help others to do the same

Misfit 3:

Nature, or really God, arranges things to operate in perfect harmony so that all life can function.

Nature does not discriminate. You should follow it's example. Treat everyone with the same love and respect and not discriminate against others for any reason.

Nature is the ultimate entrepreneur and creates an abundance of opportunities all around us.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ryan Goral. Ryan is the Founder of G-Spire Group, a company focused on helping entrepreneurs, executives and small business owners acquire companies. Ryan has over 15 years of experience focused on working with small businesses. In addition to providing creative financing solutions, Ryan’s expertise is centered in adding value to entrepreneurs and executives with all aspects of executing their organization’s growth and mergers and acquisitions strategies. Ryan has an MBA in Entrepreneurship and is credentialed with just about all the top M&A organizations out there.

I asked him to come on the show because of his unique expertise in helping companies BUY other businesses. Many times, we talk about selling your business, but some of the best opportunities to grow your business or further its success come in the form of acquiring and it requires a different skillset and understanding to do it right – and that’s where Ryan can really help.

www.GspireGroup.com

Ryan grew up in Colorado and played division 1 basketball at University of Denver. When he graduated, all he knew is he liked business and went through a few roles. He gravitated toward sales. He had a real interest in the buying and selling of businesses after seeing how things went when his dad sold his business. He wanted to find a way to help companies grow and build sustainable businesses to sell. He went into investment banking lending into mergers and acquisitions to get a good base. He got his MBA and then launched his first business, but it failed. He went back into M&A, and it became very clear that there was huge gap in smaller to lower middle cap businesses that have great operators needing the expertise of what the large businesses could afford. Ryan decided he would become a fractional M&A advisory to small and mid-sized businesses.

Why should business owners consider buying other businesses to help them scale and grow?

• It’s not right for every company.
• There is a process to understand when buying is a fit.
• For companies that would benefit from an acquisition, there are a couple things in play:
  • Some companies need more or specific types of labor.
  • Some may want to open a new market and buy there.
  • Some may want to add on a synergistic product.
  • The other thing is the lifestyle decision. For operators that have a business that can produce enough cashflow, they can hire an operator to run the business and create a better lifestyle.

What does a good candidate to buy look like?

• It does depend on the buyer.
• The buyer must be ready and have their organization ready to manage and successfully complete and acquisition.
• At the 13 min mark, Ryan gives some examples of readiness and what makes a company attractive to buyers.
• Typically, clients are looking to enhance cashflow, add strategic management, grow their customer base, growth potential that is untapped, and products that compliment theirs.

At the 15 min mark, we talk about the up-front work prior to doing an acquisition.

What should a business do to make sure they are in the best position to succeed in completing and after an acquisition?

• The things people miss the most is preparing operations of the business to integrate and take on the additional demand.
• You need to make sure all your systems and processes are tested and in good working orders.
• Buyers overestimate the capacity that their team has and need to mindful of what their current teams can actually take on.
• It is very important to assess your team/human resource capacity as you strategize and plan for an acquisition.

Talk to us about what is most important in setting up a deal and the structure for an acquisition…

• Structure may be more important than price.
• There are ways to structure a deal that addresses certain risks in a transaction.
• Ryan gives examples of scenarios and different structures.
• It is more about risk management than max leverage.

What are some of the risks? Where are the mistakes made?

• Human resource capacity assumptions vs. reality.
• Leaving room for error/cushion in bringing more equity vs. leverage (debt).
• Buyers need to create a scenario where they have cash on hand just in case things don’t go as planned.
• Make sure you understand the why and that it is good one – not just because you want to buy a business. Buyers must check their ego.
• If your why isn’t aligned with the acquisition, then do not do it.
• Change is hard for both sides, so you have to be prepared for change management.

Where do deals breakdown?

• If things are going right, deals breakdown before they become a deal.
• One in LOI, deals will breakdown toward the end because of diligence or not finding common ground on the purchase agreement.
• Things that are not expected by either side blow up deals.
• Not having your team or employees in a good place can derail a deal if a key employee threatens to leave, etc.

At the 31 min mark, Ryan shares some other insights and tips. Entrepreneurs should strive to become an owner vs. an operator.

Big lessons from your entrepreneur journey?

• Not having a focused, crystal-clear vision is something that derails entrepreneurs.
• There is a time and place to buy and sell a business. Timing is key.

​Any big lessons from playing sports at a high level that you’ve used in your entrepreneur journey?

• Ryan wasn’t the most gifted athlete but had to work really hard.
• He expects it to be hard and is prepared for it.
• Business and sports parallel each other. In sports, you need to execute role well to help the team be successful. Business is the same.
• Great organizations become great when everyone is working together and executing their role at the highest level.
• Finding ways to work together and communicate are critical as well.

Best Quote: Entrepreneurs should strive to become an owner vs. an operator.

Ryan's Misfit 3:

1. Growth and adapting are a necessary part of life.
2. Growth requires courage. Pursuing excellence takes time and focus. It doesn’t come easy.
3. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Enjoy the journey.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Maat Petrova. Maat has an incredible story. She went from having nothing and being on welfare to creating a multi-million-dollar business in just a few years. The business is called FemMagic and is a luxury feminine hygiene company. As she has grown the company, she has expanded to teaching and empowering women to accomplish their true potential.

Now, I am not someone who can sit back and discuss feminine hygiene products. That’s definitely not my area, but I can spot a unique entrepreneur that’s harnessed their misfit side and made the most of it. And that’s why I’ve asked Maat to come on today – to tell her story and share the lessons she learned going from essentially poverty to millions in a short few years.

www.Femmagic.com​

Maat started off in New York as a single mom with 3 daughters who could barely pay her rent. She moved to Georgia after completing her graduate degree. What she thought would work in Georgia as services for holistic health, did not. So, she pivoted and went online in 2015. She started with online course she had worked on I grad school for self-care. A year later, she launched her first feminine hygiene product. In the span of just a few years, she went from making nothing to millions selling and making products from her kitchen table.

What was the catalyst that turned things for you and put you on the path to success?

• It was the moment when she moved to Atlanta thinking she would have support and didn’t have any.
• She had to put things on credit card to make things works.
• She had to make it work. She went back to NYC and hammered out a marketing campaign for her first program with the help of a few friends.
• She was charging $500/mo and just wanted 5 people.
• 10 people ended up signing up, so in one month she went from not being able to pay her rent to being able to pay rent and take care of her kids.

Talk to us about mindset. How did you learn to think differently and not give up?

• It started with her first acknowledging her negative mindset, her darkness and traits that were counter to her desire.
• Most people find it hard to accept or look at their dark mindset and negative character traits. Their counter-productive mindset.
• When Maat was in grad school and working 2 jobs, she chose to use the last bit of her time to take a self-improvement course.
• The first question she was asked was “Are you happy?” She broke down in tears. She was not happy. She had not had a moment to stop and think in her life with everything she was doing and responsible for.
• Maat was angry. As the weeks went on, she learned about being proactive instead of reactive. How to harness her mind to stop emotional reactions.

At the 13 min mark, she shares a story of how this came to use one day when she was running late with her kids, etc.

At the 14 min mark, we have a discussion on changing mindset.

You went through a big change in your teens that really changed you. Can you tell us about it?

• She grew up in an abusive household.
• This continued into her teen years.
• She created a identity for herself in her teens that was negative.
• She was 235 lbs., overweight, dressed baggy name-brand clothes which really couldn’t afford, and was in the party scene.
• She had a step father who started having her watch positive videos and messages.
• It didn’t have an immediate effect as she would watch a video and then go run the streets drinking and doing drugs with friends.
• She had no self-worth. The videos and audios seeped into her mind to a point where she started seeking those types of things our on her own.
• This led her to changing her life in high school to eating healthy, exercising, dressing who she was and being her true self.
• This helped to prepare her for the success she had years later.

You’ve built your brand organically to multi-millions in just a few years. How did you do it?

• The way she started her business stemmed from her change in high school.
• The first product was an all-natural PH balancer for feminine hygiene to help women get in balance. She had the problem when she was pregnant with her first child and the same solution worked for her. So, she thought others could benefit.
• She shared it online without even having a website. Women started asking if they could buy it – so she started taking orders manually through PayPal. She had created a presence online with her showing herself being healthy and focusing on her well-being and that initial following was who began buying from her.
• She started the business at home. They still are to this day and are hand-made. She does use a fulfillment center where she sends the products for distribution.
• She has multiple employees, and her children are involved.

Talk about how you market and drive traffic….

• Maat started off with Facebook.
• She then created a business page. She wasn’t sure it would work.
• She grew the business page to over 40k in just a few months.
• She then moved to Instagram, and this became the hub for her business, both for her personal and the brand.
• She kept the business page private and promoted it on her personal page. People had to ask her to be a follower.
• She was truly authentic and herself online.

Best tips to sell online?

• Testimonials and reviews are critical to success online.
• Having honest 3rd party proof that your offerings are good is a huge different maker.
• The honest opinion and feedback also helps you to improve your offerings.
• As far as social media, make sure pics are clear and crisp. Imagery is cheap, do it well.
• Make sure to have your brand colors as part of your imagery. Color in general is good.

Best Quote: Most people find it hard to accept or look at their dark mindset and negative character traits. Their counter-productive mindset.

Maat's Misfit 3:

1. Testimonials are key to success and validation of your business making you and your products more trustworthy. Make sure you have a strategy to collect them.
2. Have a great product that meets a real need that is consistently needed. Find something that people need no matter what.
3. Create an easy streamline process for customers. Give them an easy straightforward way to purchase from you.
4. Bonus: Build an audience with the 80/20 rule. Maat gave a free service for an hour for 5 months and then charged for it. She had a waiting client base and instantly had a large business.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Mike Smerklo. Mike is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Next Coast Ventures, a unique venture capital firm that focuses on emerging companies heling them in the critical stage to hyper growth. After working in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, Mike was then recruited by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz to one of their new startups. In 2003, Mike purchased ServiceSource, a 30-person tech services startup and over the next 12 years grew it to a 3000 person publicly traded company with over $300 million in revenue and a market value of $1 billion.

After exiting the company, he founded Next Coast, investing in over 40 startups to date and recently wrote the best-seller, Mr. Monkey and Me.

Needless to say, Mike has a wealth of experience as an owner/operator and investor, and I am excited for him to share it with you.

www.MikeSmerklo.com

Mike grew in a rough part of Toledo, Ohio. He was raised by a single mom and had a simple goal which was to just get out. His mom focused him on education as no one had to gone to college in the family. He listened and ended up going to Miami of Ohio. After college, he went to E&Y as an auditor and found quickly he hated it. He then went to Lehman Brothers in investment banking. It sucked the life out of him, but he learned a lot before going to business school and then eventually out to Silicon Valley. He worked for Andreessen Horowitz, bought and ran ServiceSource until he sold it and the “retired” to Austin, Texas. Retirement didn’t last long before he started Next Coast.

What makes a great business?

• The short answer is “Do you do something for your customer that is a differentiating approach?”
• Do you bring a different and unique experience to the customer that they are willing to pay for once or multiple times?
• We overcomplicate things in our lives, especially business.

You wrote Mr. Monkey and Me as a story of your journey with ServiceSource and lessons learned. Take us through the different lessons you learned.

• The goal was to write a book that got to the mental aspect of entrepreneurship.
• He not only drew on his experience, but also interviewed top entrepreneurs.
• The “monkey” is the voice in entrepreneur’s heads that holds them back,
• The core of the book is the SHAPE formula.
  • Self-Awareness
  • Help
  • Authenticity
  • Persistence
  • Expectations

Take us through each element of the shape formula and define them.

• Self-Awareness: The ability to understand strengths and weaknesses and what the entrepreneur should focus energy on to improve.
• Help: Seeking mentors and coaching to help improve, but also finding those that are better in areas to help in the business.
• Authenticity: Finding your inner voice. How do you show up as the leader that you want to be and is natural?
• Persistence: Playing the long game and having the will to continue.
• Expectations: Thinking about the beginning, middle, and end of the journey and the different expectations needed at each stage.

At the 14 min mark, we talk more about SHAPE and persistence more in depth.

Lessons from working with Andreessen Horowitz that have really helped in your success?

• Each of them taught him different things. It was also early in their days in 1999.
• It felt a little like chaos.
• From Mark, Mike learned the power of thinking big and not taking half-measures.
• Ben taught Mike a lot about management.
• The best “how to be a manager book” is Management by Objectives by Andy Grove.
• Ben also shared that the first 25 employees hired in a company is all that matters. If you get those right, the culture, ethos, etc. will be set by those first 25.

40+ investments at Next Coast. Talk to us about your model and what you look for when investing a company.

• Market size is a factor.
• Does the solution differentiate and are customers willing to pay for it? Will they see real value?
• What do the economics look like and do they make sense?
• But 90% of it comes down to the entrepreneur.
• They use a term called “glass-eater.” Which is asking “Is the entrepreneur willing to do anything and everything, legally and ethically, to make the business a success building a real business – and do they know what it takes to do it?”
• Next Coast looks at over 1000 companies a year to find just a few.
• Things that get overlooked are that entrepreneurs have to be able to sell and have to be good at telling the story.
• “Great entrepreneurs can’t imagine the world without their solution.”
• At the same time, entrepreneurs have to be willing to take feedback and advice.
• Entrepreneurs also overlook substitutes and inertia as competition.Things that are not direct competitors but are taking customers attention.

What are market trends and things that are upcoming that entrepreneurs should be focused on?

• Each year, Next Coast does a lot of work to understand where the world is going.
• Future of work is still a strong theme. Work continues to be redefined.
• There is a still a lot of opportunity in the changing game of retail.
• Software is another good place.
• Healthcare hacking is big. Consumers taking more control over their health.
• Education is another place that is at the start of a big shift.

Where do you see the future of work and the changes that will happen?

• Figuring out what a physical presence looks like.
• Great talent is everywhere and not having to have a complete physical presence makes it easier to get it.
• Challenges are managing in a hybrid work environment.
• Creating a cohesive culture in this new environment.
• Things are being reshaped.

Another big trend is monetizing data.

What is software 3.0 and how it is changing growth models… 

• It is still very early for software.
• It has gotten much easier to write software.
• Software 3.0 is no code, APIs, businesses that have software becoming a much bigger part of it.
• Enterprise is more saturated but using software in all aspects of life is just beginning.
• Next Coast invested in Everlywell which is healthcare hacking software which allows you to take a test a home on over 30 different things and then get results through software online.

What do you think is most important for entrepreneurs to focus on in their business?

• The customer – they are everything.
• The entrepreneur must focus on their health – mental and physical.

Best advice for entrepreneurs just starting out?

• Self-awareness is the cornerstone. Understand what you are good and not good at.
• It is better to play to your strengths than correct your weaknesses.

Best Quote: Great entrepreneurs can’t imagine the world without their solution.

Mike's Misfit 3:

1. Be nice. The world needs it now more than ever.
2. Comparison is the thief of joy. Envy wastes emotion and drains you.
3. It is easy to live a hard life. It is hard to live an easy life.

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