Scott took a different path.  He grew up with parents that were big in education.  But Scott didn’t get along with education.  He left college in the middle of his sophomore year of college and asked to borrow $20k to start a pizza shop.  Needless to say, it didn’t happen and he ended up in Washington DC working in the news business and the Reagan administration.  But, he was just not an employee and wanted something more.  He left DC and started some businesses in printing, restaurant, home services, and some others. 

He got involved in a restaurant fast casual chain and had a lot of success brining him into the franchising space.  After about 10 years, left to start his consulting business to help people in their journey of entrepreneurship.

You left corporate America to pursue entrepreneurship.  What is your advice to people wanting to go out on their own and make the leap?

• You must be prepared for the risk/reward.
• In anything you do, there is a risk/reward with it.
• You need to plan it out and involved your family in the process.
• You do not want to “buy a job.”  You must understand why you want to open or own a business.

At the 8 min mark, Scott talks about the 2 types of entrepreneurs, the Visionary and Process entrepreneur.
 
Let’s talk about franchising.  Why does franchising make sense and why doesn’t it for people?

• The best analogy is if you loved food and always wanted your own restaurant.  If you bought a franchise, you have to serve the food they tell you to and do it their way.  As an independent, you get to choose what you serve in your restaurant. 
• What are you really good at?  Delegating to people to run the systems of a franchise or are you good at building the systems and have things done in your own way.

Take us through your process and steps to help people understand what they want…

• First, Scott wants to make sure the client has put themselves in a position where they want to learn and educate themselves.
• There is a lot more to franchising than the “golden arches.”
• Step 2 is knowing why you want to leave what you are doing and build the business – because you do have to build.  Understanding your why is the most important pieces.
• Step 3 is understanding the financials and returns on investment to see what is possible and makes sense for you.

How do you help people to best understand their why?

• The first question is “If we were to flash forward 5 years from now and in those 5 years you were a business owner, how would life be different?
• What are the differences/changes you would see?
• People want to get out of the “complacent optimist” position they are in and act, but need help to do so.
• Understanding the endgame and what it looks like is great way to back into the why.

“Franchises aren’t sold, they are awarded,” explain that….

• Just because you can afford it doesn’t mean you will get.
• Franchisors are kind of like pro sports scouts.
• As you are vetting them, they are vetting you for their team and making sure you are the best fit for them. 
• Franchisors care most about if you can follow the process and systems.

Which verticals of franchises are trending the best right now and why?

• People thought that home services would fall apart during the pandemic, but it is the opposite, the vertical is doing very well.
• Businesses that are need, not a want that have recurring revenue do well.  Things like the beauty industry like haircuts, nails, etc.
• The pet industry is doing well, especially for dogs.
• Automobile franchises are doing well. 
• The recession resistant brands that people need are always good.

What is the benefit of using a franchise consultant like you vs. working directly with the franchisor?

• Scott’s job is to educate on what the expectations are in the process and questions you should be asking of the franchisor.
• He helps streamline the process helping to focus on what is important to them and aligning that with the brands that fit.
• He is an advisor to help ensure the best outcome possible.

Can people negotiate with franchises?

• Yes, but it is on certain things.
• If you are buying multiple territories or units, you can negotiate on some items.
• Royalties and fees are not negotiable.

Anything else we should know?

• The royalty structure is how the franchisor earns their income,
• Things like marketing fees should not be money making for the franchisor, so it is something you want to watch.
• Franchising is highly regulated by the govt, which helps to ensure people are treated fairly.

What are some of the most important lessons and principles you’ve learned in your entrepreneur journey?

• It’s pretty easy to fail.  It takes a lot of hard work to be successful.
• You must be self-disciplined.
• People that think they know more than the franchisor or know better, typically fail.
• It is nice having a support system from the parent of a franchise.
• Being an entrepreneur allows you to get into multiple different things.

Anything you’ve learned on how to build support systems as a solopreneur?

• You cannot be afraid to ask for help.
• Do not let ego get in the way.
• Seek out people you can lean on and be honest and open with.
• You have to constantly be learning and growing.

​
Best advice for an entrepreneur just starting out?

• For someone who just invested in a franchise, rely on the support levels the franchisor offers.
• Get involved and meet other franchisors and learn from them.
• Ask, ask, ask.  Don’t let questions go.
• Get to know your people and listen to your employees.

Best Quote:  :Franchises aren’t sold, they are awarded..."

Scott's Misfit 3:

Having strong values is very important to be successful in life and business.

Be true to yourself and do not let ego get in the way.

Have fun.  Life is short and goes by fast.  Enjoy it!

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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.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah,

This Lessons for Hannah will not be a long one, but it is very important for the times we are in and for your future.  There is something that I have found that holds true time and time again.  Sometimes it takes a little while for it to take hold or sink it, but in the end, it holds true.  And that is, Reality always wins. 

Let me explain.  There are certain things that will hold true and be consistent no matter what.  No matter what people say.  No matter what experts say.  No matter how much they are said not to be true – they will win out.  Reality always wins. 

For example, gravity will always be gravity.  No matter what anyone says, you are not a bird and cannot fly.  If you jump off a building, gravity will win and you will not.  A more controversial topic these days is gender.  There are two genders in the laws of nature, male and female.  It is reality.  People can claim there are 100 different ones, but people are either born male or female in nature and that is reality.  Now, do I support their right given to them by the Constitution to say they are a gender other than male or female? Absolutely.  It doesn’t make it true, but they have the right to say these things and believe them about themselves.

Other examples include the laws of economics – supply and demand.  If something is in short supply and has demand, the price for it will go up.  If something is oversupplied and everyone has it, the demand will be less and it will come down in price.  Many times, the laws of economics get out of balance due to manipulation or short-term anomalies, but in the end, the laws win out.  We saw this during the pandemic with a number of goods and services.  Masks came into high demand and initially got expensive until more supply came on the market and then prices came down.  Now masks are super everywhere and super cheap because there is a ton of supply and not as much demand. 

In the end, reality always wins out.  There are universal laws of nature, nature’s God, economics, physics, and host of other things that cannot be broken.

Many people do not want to face reality because they may not like what they find.  They will have to face things that are true, that they may not want to admit are true about themselves, their life, and/or deal with.  But one of the biggest secrets to success and life is to face reality head on and accept it for what it is.  Respect it.  Learn to understand it and use it to your advantage.  Once you accept that there are some things that are bound by the laws of this world and universe and reality will win out, you will find some amazing things happen for you.  For example, I have been trading markets for over 20 years and I used to think I could beat reality in the markets and the laws of economics would not always hold true.  For example, markets may have a big run higher, and when they do, people will think they can just keep going up and sometimes it seems like they will never stop, but they do, and they fall back down.  Ask anyone who thought Bitcoin would never stop going higher in 2021.  Conversely, when markets fall a decent way, they typically turn around and go higher.  They can only go so far until they have gone too far.  I have made it a habit to work hard to understand this so that I can use it to my advantage, but I  had to learn some heard lessons losing money over the years before it truly understood and now I use the lessons learned to help me make money every month in the markets.  I faced reality and decided to use it to my advantage. 
​
Hannah, you will face a lot of different realties in your lifetime, don’t try and deny them or shy away from them.  Instead embrace them and look for how you can use them to build wisdom and help you in your life.  

I love you,

Dad

Best Quote:   There are certain things that will hold true and be consistent no matter what.  No matter what people say.  No matter what experts say.  No matter how much they are said not to be true – they will win out.  Reality always wins.

Misfit 3:

1. Reality always wins out over time.
2. There are universal laws of nature, nature’s God, economics, physics, and host of other things that cannot be broken.
3. One of the biggest secrets to success and life is to face reality head on and accept it for what it is.  Respect it.  Learn to understand it and use it to your advantage.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Deepak Ohri. Deepak grew up in a modest, a one-room flat in a lower middle-class area of New Delhi. Most would not have thought that he would grow up to be one of the most successful innovators in the luxury hotel industry founding Lebua Hotels and Resorts, creating Luxury Atelier Maison Happiness and the president of the World Foundation of Happiness.

Along his journey, he has been recognized as the Top 100 Most Powerful People in global hospitality, been sought after for his thought leadership by everyone from Bloomberg to CNBC and Forbes as well as regularly being a featured speaker at Harvard Business School, MIT, and Columbia to name a few.

But through it all, he never forgot his humble roots and recently penned the best-selling book, A Bridge Not too Far, Where Creativity Meets Innovation, which shares his best principles and lessons for success and wisdom he has learned on his journey.

www.DeepakOhri.com

Deepak did not know where he would end up. He grew up in a lower middle class neighborhood and got a glimpse of what the upper class had. He asked his parents what he needed to do to get where those people where. He started dreaming with “his eyes open” and never forgot his roots. He took his challenges as a way to learn and grow.

Luxury to him was a Coca Cola and since the first time he had it, it put him on the path to find the luxuries and enjoy life and be happy.

How did you get into the hospitality space?

• By default. He was not going to go the doctor or engineer route, so entrepreneurship was the way for him. What is happiness?
• It is very individual.
• The most important thing is to know yourself.
• We seem to know everyone in today’s world but ourselves.
• We need to not mistake joy for happiness.

At the 11 min mark, Deepak shares a few important things.

• He does not have FOPO, fear of people’s opinions.
• Instead, he has ROPO, respect of people’s opinions.
• Sharing knowledge is important to life and success.
• Rules are rules, but they are meant to be broken and challenged.
• But you should only break rules if you are following your principles.

What is the true meaning of luxury?

• It is an experience.
• Deepak shares the story of the first time people around him could afford toothpaste as an example.
• Luxury is expressive and an experience.
• So, each person needs to ask themselves what luxury is for them. What experiences truly enrich you.
• Happiness is used correctly, can actually increase the top and bottom line of any business.
• Deepak shares examples from Labua on how they do customer service and use happiness.

At the 17 min mark, Deepak talks about luxury marketing and what it is.

• Employees must be engaged and be able to tell the story.
• How you tell your story is more important than the story itself.
• To tell a great story you must be honest. You must understand who your listener and how you narrate the story to them to get their attention.
• Design and craft your story to resonate with your audience.

At the 21 min mark, Deepak tells the story of how he got one of his restaurants to be a main part of the movie, The Hangover 2.

You wrote “A Bridge Not Too Far.” Why did you name it that?

• There is a famous movie called a “Bridge too Far.”
• But, the bridge is not too far. You dream is not too far and you can cross your bridge.
• For Deepak, crossing the road from the lower middle-class side to the upper class side was crossing a bridge.
• It is also a metaphor for his life.

You state that all of your successes are built on failure, explain that.

• Deepak did not go to good schools and did not have an expertise/profession.
• He learned through uncovering his shortcomings and overcoming them. He did not blame them on anyone.
• He knew he did not know everything and admitted it.
• He then looked at his failures and realized that the difference between a failure and a success is a step or steps you have missed.
• If there is step you missed, you can figure it out and go from there.

What are the key principles that you live by in life and business?

• Look at things from others point of view, especially the customer.
• Use logic. Think logically.
• Treat everyone fairly, no matter who they are.
• Trust your employees and take great care of them.
• Make your employees part of the bigger vision…and your customers.

How do you ensure a business can succeed?

• First, look at the behavior pattern of the area where the business will be based.
• Second, study deeply the customers
• Third, figure out what you can give the customer that is different and creates an incredible experience.

What has surprised you most on your entrepreneur journey?

• People
• Deepak gives several examples of people reaching their potential and surprising.
• What can happen when you give someone a chance and/or get a chance yourself.

Time is more powerful than God? Explain that.

• A time well spent is a time well earned.
• Time keeps going. Even God cannot bring back time once it is lost.
• We have to learn to respect time and know the essence of it.

Best Quote: A time well spent is a time well earned.

Deepak's Misfit 3:

1. Know your roots and where you came from.
2. Just dream. God has gifted you with a mind that cane dream and create. Use it.
3. Never have FOPO, fear of people’s opinions. Have respect of their opinions instead

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Sharon Grossman. Sharon Grossman is a psychologist, success coach, and keynote speaker who’s an expert in Emotional Intelligence. She’s also the author of the best-selling book, the 7E Solution to Burnout and hosts the podcast, Decode Your Burnout.

She’s helped hundreds of high performing entrepreneurs learn to be more product and avoid or even recover from burnout. Through her simple and effective methodology she teaches how to have a competitive advantage that wins in business, minimizes stress, and helps you experience life on your terms because winning is non-negotiable.

Burnout and taking on too much affects most entrepreneurs at some point in their journey and I’ve been looking for an expert to come on and help us in learning to recognize it, better manage it, and if possible avoid while still making it happen for our businesses – so I was excited to get Sharon on.

www.DrSharonGrossman.com

Sharon is a clinically trained psychologist who practiced therapy for 20 years. She noticed a common theme with clients being highly stressed and started to do more research on burnout which is chronic stress. She listened to her clients with a different ear recognizing burnout. And in sharing this with them, it would create “aha moments” helping them to understand their challenges.

When we understand what we are experienced in life, it helps to diagnose it to help us solve challenges in front of us.

At the 6 min mark, Sharon tells a story about when she was grad student and hearing a speaker talking about solo practitioners burning out in the field. When she go into her own business, she remembered the talk and vowed not to be a statistic, so she set up her business around the life she wanted to have.

“You have to think about what you need in order to sustain yourself.” It is about mindset and believing it is important enough to make it happen when it comes to stopping burnout.

How does someone psychologically break out of their bad habits and “comfort” with the state of burnout that they live in?

• James Clear said, “We build habits to solve the repeated problems we have in life. And what do you think the odds are that the solutions we come up with are the optimal ones?” It’s unlikely.
• We get into patterns and so much of what we do in the world is on auto-pilot from our subconscious, but it comes back to our fundamental believes.
• These believes are shaped by our early life experiences and influences.
• If you find yourself in a loop or stuck, you really have to get under the hod, understanding what you believe and making meaningful changes to it to help yourself.
• You then have to start showing up and aligning with the identity you want to have. Even if it is just a little bit a day.
• You must state who you are. If you want to exercise more – you need to state that “I am a person who exercises for 30 mins daily.” And let’s say you have a day where you don’t want to do or you don’t have 30 mins – you still do 10 mins if that is all you have because “you are someone who exercises daily.”
• When you keep showing up day after day, you are reinforcing the identity.

At the 15 min market, Sharon and I have a discussion on our conditioning and subconscious.

• A lot of people like clarity and don’t know what they want.
• Many don’t know who they are.
• It starts with defining who you want to be and building the identity and habits that support that.

What should we know about burnout? What are the signs? 

• Burnout is chronic stress.
• The main thing is mental and emotional exhaustion.
• It is distinct from depression. When you are burned out, if you take time away from the source burning you out – you won’t be exhausted anymore. This versus being depressed is that when depressed, the change doesn’t make the difference.
• People who experience burnout not only feel it at work, but at home. It can compound between running a business, family, household, etc.
• Initially, you will notice exhaustion and less motivation. Productivity can then go down and then this can affect your confidence. It can be a snowball effect. 
• If it goes on long enough, the body can start to break down as well.
• You must listen to the signs when your body is talking to you.

3 Different Burnout Profiles. What are they? (Sharon give great detail, so it is good to listen)

• Burnout shows up for different reasons.
• The first type is the thinker. These are people who are very much in their heads and tend to overthink things. Their brain tends to worry.
• The second type are the feelers. These are people that tend to be people pleasers, have a hard time setting boundaries and even experience guilt because their underlying belief is that they need to serve other people and it is selfish to focus on themselves. They give away too much and then become resentful that they aren’t getting enough back in return.
• The third type are the do’ers. The type A, workaholic, super over-achievers. They don’t have much time for themselves and are very driven with a strong work ethic. They overload themselves both at work and at home.
• People can be more than one of these, or even all 3 in some instances.

Once we realize which of the types we are, what do we do about it?

• Once you understand your type, create customized solutions to help you.
• As an example, Thinkers might need to focus on letting go of the need to control and the fear of failure. They also need to increase their self-compassion and trust their instincts to make decisions.
• Self-compassion is where we are kind to ourselves instead of beating ourselves up. It is treating ourselves better…like we treat others.
• For all types, it is good to level set and ground themselves.
• Feelers have to be careful to create more boundaries and learn to shift their believe about their own importance. Additionally, learning to managing their emotions
• Do’ers equate their value with their productivity. They will work until they physically can’t because of burnout. They need to slow down, take time off, and tuning into themselves to understand when they are going too far.

In the end, you must change what you believe to truly make meaningful changes to help yourself. You wrote the 7-E Solution to Burnout. What are the 7 E’s?

• Emotional Intelligence. This is the most important one. You must take one step back and learn to manage your mind. There is a link between your thoughts and emotions.
• Empowerment. This is about your personal power and controlling your energy drains. It is becoming aware on what you need to empower yourself.
• Engagement. Engagement goes down when we are burned out. This can also create brain fog and less productivity. You get dis-engaged. People can also be burned out due to boredom and not being challenged.
• Self-Efficacy. Your belief in your ability to do your work. It’s how you respond the results you get. When you get results you want, it boosts self-efficacy, but if we get over-confident or don’t get the results we want or expect, it can build up and cause issue.
• Energy. Learning to recharge and removing the stress. Getting the mental obstacles to self-care out of the way. We know what to do and need to action doing it.
• Effort. This is about working smarter not harder and making the most of your efforts.
• Enlightenment. Lightening your load by looking at your mindset, getting our of your own way, and using practices to help you center your mind to be your best.

Best Quote: You must change what you believe to truly make meaningful changes to help yourself.

Misfit 3:

1. For thinkers. Trust yourself. Our minds can derail us.
2. For feelers. Self-care is not selfish. You must take care of yourself to be your best for those you want to serve.
3. Emotional intelligence is the #1 skill people must focus if they have negativity in their mind, stress, and burnout. Learn to navigate your thoughts and build better habits.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jay Haleem Washington. Jay went from working for $8.00 an hour at the Hampton Inn to earning 6 figures as a Commercial Photographer in just a few years. He was able to accomplish all this while being a convicted felon. While working for $8.00 an hour he developed his mantra #IWon’tStarve, which was the catalyst for him to leave his job after only one year. he has become pardoned, and now is a best-selling author 4 times over and motivational speaker.

Over his career, he’s been able to work with the following international brands, Nike, Save The Children Foundation, NFL, Amtrak, and The WNBA. He focuses on strategic development of public sector business, management and administration of client contracts, and client protection via compliance oversight, resulting in growth through government contracting.

But, it’s not so much what Jay does that was the reason I asked him to come on the show as much as it was his message of “I won’t Starve” and how he persisted through to success.

www.Iwontstarve.com

​ www.JHaleem.com

Jay says it was a long journey. He was raised in a crazy home in New Jersey with people on drugs, etc. He was raised by his grandmother and was on the streets early on in life. He got into a lot of trouble but was also a great student. He was smart but using it for the wrong things. He graduated with honors from college, but also committed a white-collar crime that was felony trying to make money in college. After graduating, he was unable to get a job because of his record, so entrepreneurship was the answer.

He started a successful cleaning business and did well, but during the 2008 recession, his wife lost her job on Capitol Hill, and he sold the business moving back down south to focus on raising their kids. He took an $8 job to have something, but new he could do much better and less than a year later started his commercial photography business. An in a short time the business climbed into 6-figures and then grew tremendously as he got into doing government contract work. He then started helping other minority businesses get approved for contracts and has now helped/consulted for over 600 helping them get contracts. He then went on to write his books, start speaking, etc.

What are some of the success principles you’ve learned to succeed in business?

• Early on, it is all about heart and having the guts to do what needs to be done.
• You must personally develop. You can learn to do anything, and you must constantly learn.
• You must learn about the different types of people and how to work with them. You have to take your skill set and match it with others to create a beautiful picture.
• Perseverance. Building a business requires flexibility, endurance, and going through the challenges, learning curve, and progression of building a business.

Talk to us about being persistent and what you learned about keeping going to succeed…

• Jay has seen a lot of people quit and decided it would not be him.
• Knowing he had good skillsets that no one could take away from him, that he could learn, and he was willing to hustle and do what was needed to succeed kept him going.
• Having children gave him the why he needed to continue driving forward.
• He also had seen what happened to people when they gave up and did not want that.

Tell us about I Won’t Starve. What does it mean?

• It came about from spending a lot of time being judged.
• Having to pay back 6-figures for his felony and the other costs made him have to hustle and find a way.
• When he made the decision to leave the $8/hr job, he basically said, “Screw it. I won’t starve.”
• He embodied and started preaching it to anyone who would listen and it resonated.
• “The platform you leap from is more important that the platform you land on.”
• If you build the right platform, you won’t starve!

You have a workshop called UWon’t Starve based on 5 principles, take us through them…

• #1: Hustle while you work. Strive to constantly learn from all those around and look for what you can use to help you succeed. Develop your skills. This works well if you are building a business on the side while working a job.
• #2: Market research. People jump into businesses all the time without understanding the market and how to succeed in it. Who needs your service? Where are they? How often are they buying? And so on. Take the time to have a decent understanding of the market before you leap. Start where you are, but be smart about it.
• #3: Be the one selling the cheese. This is metaphor. If you go to a wine festival, you will see some people like white wine and buy that, others buy only read, but both customers like to have cheese with their wine. Be the one selling the cheese, because then you get both customers instead of just one. Is your solution, the cheese?
• #4 and #5: Use strategic partnerships and JV’s to grow. Partnerships are a great way to grow because you can create scenarios where 1 + 1 = 3. You both can benefit in a larger way that just on your own.

Talk to us more about how to create great partnerships…

• We have to watch our egos are they can stop us from creating great partnerships.
• We can only get so far on our own.
• What does your business do that can complement other business’s needs? What are you willing to do that other businesses are not? How can you help others become more successful?
• The more you help others get what they want, you will find you will get what you want and more.
• Partnerships are a business strategy and should be treated and planned for as such.

What are some of the most consistent challenges you see entrepreneurs have and how do you help them overcome them?

• In the government contract space, it is paperwork and time. There is a lot of hoops to jump through and they don’t move fast.
• You have to find your way into their system and once you get in, you are in good shape. But, you have to break through that barrier to get your first contract.
• It is networking and getting in front of the right people.
• Additionally, you need to build the right systems and teams in your business, so you can focus on the bigger picture and work on the business – not in it.
• Businesses are like a baby. At some point most people have to get a babysitter or day care of their baby so they can go to work. That is what it is like when you build systems and a team – they are the babysitter for your business, so you can truly go to work on it.

Any other advice from your journey?

• Partner and teaming is the name of the game.
• Entrepreneurship is tough, so find others going through the same type of journey and network with them. Help each other.
• If it makes to have a partner in your business, do it.

Best Quote: The platform you leap from is more important that the platform you land on...

Jay's Misfit 3:

1. You don’t have as much time as you think, so go hard early going after what you want.
2. Find people that will support you whole-heartedly. People with support systems go so much further in life than those that don’t. Get your Amen Corner!
3. Be unapologetically authentic. It hurts being someone else. Be you.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jess Stewart. Jess was raised by a marine corps pilot on a cattle ranch where she learned the keys to running an entrepreneurial company; grit, hard work, and no complaining. Using her experience, years later, she grew up to create a massive medical billing company from her kitchen table that grew internationally. She sold the company for a 20x multiple allowing her to secure her financial freedom.

She now devotes her time to sharing what she’s learned with other entrepreneur and coaching companies to success. She was recently highlighted in Kevin Harrington’s book, Cracking the Rich Code.

I’ve asked her on to share how with no experience she built her company and to share how others can follow her footsteps as well her biggest lessons learned during her journey.

www.Jess-Stewart.com

Jess was raised on a cattle ranch and left when she was 18 to play Volleyball in college. She graduated and became a schoolteacher. But when she moved to a new town with her husband, she found there were no open teaching positions. So, she decided to start a business – a medical billing company out of her house. She didn’t know anything about medical billing, but she was good at solving problems, so she went to work learning. She grew for the first few years in her house, then opened her first office and things took off over the next 10 years growing nationally, then internationally until she sold the business.

At the 5 min minute mark, Jess explains why she chose to go into the medical billing space.

• Jess wanted to find a way to work from home and be with her family.
• She started the company with a few friends that were already going down the path. Ironically, 6 months in her partners could no longer continue and she was left to build it by herself.

What are some of the best lessons you learned growing up on a cattle ranch that helped you succeed as an entrepreneur?

• She had great parents and a great childhood.
• From the time she could walk, she worked on the ranch and was expected to pull her weight.
• The first lesson was grit. It’s not about how many times you fall, it’s about how you get back up and keep going.
• If were going to do the job it had to be done right. If it was not done right, it had to be redone until it was right.
• “Don’t just get it done, get it done right.”

Take us through the journey of how you took your business from your kitchen table to international and ultimately a 20x exit.

• It came down to differentiation. Medical billing is a red ocean. Fierce competition.
• She realized early on that there was more to offer the client because of the industry being antiquated. There was a lot of opportunity for technology.
• She decided that her company would offer a total solution instead of parts of the solution.
• The niche was to offer and host the full practice management solution. (Cloud didn’t exist at the time).
• She pioneered getting medical offices off of doing things on paper to using practice management software and doing things electronically.
• She borrowed $75k from her parents to buy servers and build the network to work point to point with medical offices.
• In doing this, she was able to offer a solution that no one else was doing and be a first to market.

At the 16 min mark, Jess talks about how she got to a point where she was tapped out and how to build a team and what she went through to do so.

• She learned a great lesson in that even though great talent may be making more elsewhere, they may not have what they want. This is how she got her first and most important employee. He left a job pay 3x more than she could offer because he was looking to build something and find true meaning in his work.
• As an entrepreneur, learn to ask for what you want and who you want on your team, then find/figure out a way to make it happen – because it can!
• Jess also shares how she created an advisory and got the help she needed to develop as a leader.

At the 28 min mark, Jess talks about how being ahead of the times put them in perfect position to be the solution when government mandates to go electronic came along.

• Jess shares how the growth was a blessing and a challenge, because things broke down and they had to figure out how to keep up and build their processes and systems to accommodate client needs and growth.
• She shares how she saw a new niche to help in and flew to Nashville to knock on hospital doors. She thought they would be excited about it, but was told no by every company, but one and they were skeptical.
• She left Nashville with no takers and later she got a call from the “one” who gave them a shot in a rural hospital. Jess did it basically for free and proved to be such a success, that she overwhelmed them.
• That company was the one that eventually came knocking on the door to buy her business at 22x! ​

At the 40 min mark, Jess and I discuss what it takes for entrepreneurs to endure and make things happen and how Jess how to deal with burnout and find an operating system for the business.

Best Quote: Don’t just get it done, get it done right.

Jess's Misfit 3:

Walk your own path and enjoy the journey.

Don’t hesitate. Follow your gut.

Never stop seeking mastery in education. Stay humble.

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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.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah,

It’s fitting that I start out the New Year with a Lessons for Hannah episode. It truly is amazing how fast time flies. You’ll be turning 11 years old in 2023 and heading off the 5th grade in the fall. It has been incredible to watch you grow and become the amazing daughter that you are. In this episode, I wanted to give you some of what I call “Dadisms.” These are little nuggets of life wisdom that I hope you remember and put to work for you throughout your life. You’ve heard me say some of these many, many times and hopefully they have stuck with you.

In this episode, I want to share 11 of my favorite “Dadisms” with you. Here they are.

1. How you do anything is how you do everything. ​

This one has become more and more important to me as I have aged. Your habits and ways of doing things affect all areas of your life. When you don’t give your best effort in one area, it affects other areas. And many times when you do something at a level that isn’t your best, you end up having to do it again or multiple times. I am not talking about pride with this as much as I talking about the discipline to do things well in all aspects of your life. In committing to do so, you will find yourself playing at a higher level.

2. The most important time to do something is when you don’t want to do it.

This one goes with the last in that the times when we are most at risk for sacrifice doing our best, are those times when we don’t want to something. Maybe we are tired, worn out, emotionally drained, etc. We know we need to do something but find an excuse not to or put it off. These are the times we need to push though and do it. A great example since we are at the beginning of the year, is when someone wants to lose weight. They get all excited and for a short time, maybe a couple weeks, they go to the gym. But anyone who has worked out for a while knows, that after the first few weeks in January, many of those new people at the gym are no longer there. Why? Because when they didn’t see results after just a couple weeks, they got discouraged, and even though they knew they needed to keep at it to see real results, they found excuses not to keep going and nothing changes for them. You see, for those people, the most important time to keep going is when they hit that first wall after a few weeks. If they can push through that and keep at it, they will more than likely stick with it and see real results and also build the habit that sticks.

3. The best things require great effort and time to achieve because they are meaningful.

This one builds on the last two. The things really worth doing and that have meaning in life take great effort and time to achieve. For example, building a habit of taking care of your health and regular exercise. All the work you did for several years to get your blackbelt was worth it and you now have skills you will use the rest of your life.

4. No dead raccoons. ​

And while we are talking about doing things right and taking the time, etc. I will remind of you of my no dead raccoons story. The moral of the story is that when you see something that needs done, don’t wait, do it and take care of it. Otherwise, it could end up messy for you.

5. What you focus on expands in your life and what you believe becomes your reality.

This is one of my favorites because it is wisdom that has literally been passed down throughout human history even from the bible where it states “What you gaze upon you become.” It is very simple what you put your time into will become dominant in your life and what you believe about yourself and your reality will be just that. If you are negative about yourself and think only bad things happen to you, guess what will happen – bad things because that is what you are focused on and what you believe. Conversely if believe you can overcome adversity and are focused on doing great, meaningful things, guess what will happen? You will find and achieve them. (Car example)

6. God, family, country in that order.

This one is straight forward. Your chances of being alive at 1 in 4 trillion, praise God for this gift daily. Your family will always be there for you through everything, treat them with respect, love, and never take them for granted. And lastly, country. You are fortunate to live in the greatest country in the history of the world because it was the first to put freedom ahead of power. Learn it’s history and understand the fundamental principles that created it and embody them as you go through life.

7. Cherish every day. This life is a gift and goes by fast. Give thanks every day when you wake up.

We never know when we will be gone. Life is a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things. Every day is a gift to cherish and make the most of. Don’t waste your days.

8. Choose your friends carefully. You will have many friends in your life, but only few real ones.

This is important because friends can have a great impact on your life. You will have many friends at different times in your life, but only a few will truly last and only a few will truly be there for you and you for them through the ups and downs of life. Choose them carefully.

9. Be careful not to prejudge others.

Along with choosing your friends carefully, also be careful not to prejudge others. I’ve learned this the hard way in life in that when I was younger I used to make a judgement about someone without really knowing them. Many times, I was proven wrong and finally got the message. Seek to know and understand others before forming an opinion on them. Keep an open mind.

10. Speak the truth and don’t be afraid.

In today’s world, speaking the truth is harder than it used to be. People are scorned, mocked, even physically threatened for speaking and sticking to the truth. And there is only one truth when it comes to things – not your truth or someone else’s. The truth is an absolute, so it is important to be sure you can back it up with evidence when you state it. If you can do that, then do not be afraid to speak it and stand by it.

11. Choose right over easy.

In today’s world where people to have everything instantly, it is hard not to take the easy way on many things. But taking the easy way does not mean it is the right way. Choose to do things the right way. This probably goes with the first Dadism of how you do anything is how you do everything, but it is a choice to do things right. Every day we go through a series of choices in our lives, do your best to chose wisely and choose right over easy.

Hannah, you know I could probably put a hundred of these in this episode and in future episodes I will give more, but it’s best not to eat the elephant all at once, but one bite at a time (ha, there’s another one). I hope you can learn from these and use them in your life to have them help guide you.

I love you,

Dad

Best Quote: I hope you can learn from these "Dadisms" and use them in your life to have them help guide you.

Misfit 3:

Use the "Dadisms" to help you in your life.

Do your best to learn from those around you and gain wisdom, instead of learning the "hard way."

Remember, you have a 1 in 4 Trillion chance of being alive. Cherish this gift every day.

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Misfit Nation! Welcome to the Misfit Entrepreneur 2022 year in review where each year I attempt to boil down all of the incredible, useful information, strategies, and tips that our guests have given on the show into less than one hour for you…with a few surprises thrown in. Now, it’s impossible for me to go over every single best piece of advice and that is why I urge you to take some time and go through the Misfit Archives to see which episodes resonate most with you, but in doing this episode, my goal is to spur ideas – to give you a lightning strike that propels you down a path of action to better improve yourself, your life, and your business or career in 2023!

That’s why I do this show – to not only provide a treasure trove of some of the best information to succeed in life and business for my daughter, Hannah, for when she grows up, but to give you a place where you know you can come each and every week to get inspired and find real, tried and tested tips, secrets, and strategies to succeed in all areas of life, and to share different perspectives from some of the highest performing entrepreneurs in the world with you. I truly believe that one great episode can change someone’s life and that’s what we set out to do each and every week. ​

But, before I begin I want to tell you something. I want to say “Thank YOU.” Thank you for listening. Thank you for your support of the show and thank you for sharing our message. Without you and the amazing feedback members of this audience give me every week, it would not be half of what it is. Because of you, this show has reached hundreds of thousands of people in over 150 countries. I am truly humbled and in awe at what we’ve done together and I am excited about having an even bigger impact with your help in 2023. So, from the bottom of my heart, Thank you, thank you, thank you!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, and I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did creating it for you! Show Sponsors

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jordan Schindler. Jordan is changing the game and leading and inventing a whole new category of clothing, Healthware. He is the founder and CEO of Nufabrix, the #1 fastest growing company in the region as named by Charlotte Business Journal, the Deloitte Fast 500 #2 Fastest Growing Pharmaceutical Company in North America, and INC. 5000 #50 Fastest Growing Company in America. If that’s not enough, Jordan was also a 2021 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist.

I love seeing entrepreneurs break through and create entirely new markets, true blue oceans and that is what Jordan is doing with Healthware. I’m excited for him to share his journey and lessons he’s learned on how to build a whole new market and succeed.

www.Nufabrix.com

Jordan has been an entrepreneur since he was a kid doing all kinds of things in Tucson, Arizona. He took a trip with his parents to China where he came across an MP3 player market and convinced his parents to let him buy 10 and bring them back to sell on eBay. This turned into a passion project in early High School.

He went to school in Seattle and after working around the area moved to North Carolina founding Nufabrix.

Tell us about the product and what you are doing with it and how you are creating new markets…

• He started Nufabrix to solve a personal problem. He had bad acne in college and learned about the link between your pillow case and bad skin where as you sleep dirt and oil builds up clogging pores.
• The dermatologist recommended to wash his pillow case 2-3 times per week which seemed a little ridiculous.
• It got him thinking about how it may be possible to deliver medication through fabrics with their skin touchpoint. With this, the idea for Nufabrix was born.
• The idea that instead of having to take a pill or put on a patch, what if you just had to get dressed in the morning and your clothing delivered a controlled release of medication or nutritional supplements, was intriguing and possible.
• At 7-minute market, Jordan talks more about the product line and its possibilities.

How do you get medication or supplements into the fabrics?

• It is like a transdermal patch.
• They took an active ingredient and invented a way to embed it into yarn.
• It can last through a number of washes and then the fabrics can be recycled.

You grew tremendously during the pandemic, what happened to cause this grow and how have you kept it going?

• They found a niche to help with PPE and facemasks in the pandemic. They converted one of their machines to make facemasks and had the facility to test and meet requirements onsite.
• They were one of the only suppliers that could meet demand on the timelines needed. In fact, the US Govt sent 3 Blackhawk helicopters to their facility to pick up 250,000 masks.
• They ended up being one of top 5 biggest producers of masks in the country with 6 employees!

What lessons did you take from the experience?

• “Next man up.” You never know when you can fill a need and your ability to meet a need quickly is where you can outcompete.
• The power of being willing to innovate.
• It was also a great lesson in making a decision and then taking action when an opportunity presents itself.
• It was also finding a way to help that leads to opportunity.

At the 17 min mark, we have a discussion about how we found ways to succeed in our businesses during the pandemic.

What’s your advice to go from idea to action and execution?

• Swim to the next buoy. Even if you take one small action, it can make a big difference.
• You do this enough and the world looks a lot different.
• There is something to be said about having some ignorance going into an idea. If you don’t know how hard it is, you are more likely to give it a shot and succeed.
• Focus on the things that are really going to make the most difference. What are the 1-2 or 3 things that if you just did those make the most difference in moving the needle.

At the 29 min mark, we talk about Stoicism and focusing on only what we can control.

Talk to us about raising money and what is like to keep up with the growth…

• They have taken a few rounds.
• A decent investment came from the Department of Defense.
• They went out and found the right individuals to help accelerate growth like family offices, angels, etc. in areas like pro-sports teams and former Walmart execs, etc. that had the knowledge and experience and can help them.
• It is important to stay true to what matters and build a business that can scale. If you need to take on investment to do so, do it, but do it smart and in a calculated way.

Anything you learned from securing investors that others should know?

• Treat an investor like a customer.
• Investors are consumers like anyone else and if they can themselves consuming your product, they are more likely to invest.
• Open communication is also very important. Don’t be afraid to overcommunicate.

Best advice for an entrepreneur just starting out?

• Learn and don’t re-invent the wheel.
• Get a mentor or advisor.
• Most everything you want to do or the challenges you have are not new and others have gone through them. Learn from them.
• Groups like Entrepreneur’s Organization are helpful as well.

Best Quote: “Next man up.” You never know when you can fill a need and your ability to meet a need quickly is where you can outcompete.

Jordan's Misfit 3:

1. Think of business like a conveyor belt of problems, challenges, and opportunities that keep coming at you. Pick up each challenge or problem or opportunity and put it on the conveyor belt. Each time you do this, you make progress.
2. All you can control is your reaction and your response. Don’t focus on things you cannot change or have an impact on.
3. As your company grows, you role must change, so take time regularly to assess what your role should be to ensure the company is on the right path.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Derek Lidow. Derek has had a unique entrepreneurial journey in that he was CEO of a large publicly traded semiconductor company, a founder and CEO of an innovative and valuable startup, and now as a teacher and scholar of entrepreneurship and innovation. Derek is a professor of the practice at the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education at Princeton University. He’s literally lived 3 very different entrepreneurial lives.

On top of all that he is the author multiple best-sellers including Startup Leadership: How Savvy Entrepreneurs Turn Their Ideas Into Successful Enterprises, Building on Bedrock: What Sam Walton, Walt Disney, and Other Great Self-Made Entrepreneurs Can Teach Us About Building Valuable Companies, and THE ENTREPRENEURS: The Relentless Quest for Value.

Derek is one of those guys, I could talk about every side of entrepreneurship with and we do just that.

www.DerekLidow.com

Derek thought he was going to be a scientist. During graduate school he found that it wasn’t for him. He finished his PhD, but then shocked everyone and went into the business world. He found success as a semi-conductor executive during the golden age of the industry. He contributed a lot to the industry and ultimately proved how to create great solutions saving the world billions in gigawatts in the power space. He was ultimately made CEO of a large global company and led it to be the leader in it’s vertical. After 5 years, he got the itch to start his own company. He retired from the corporate world and started a company from scratch. He built a data aggregation and visualization solution for the supply chain and with his previous experience was able to create a massive enterprise. The company kept finding success until a another company came along and had to buy them paying top dollar. Two weeks later he later he was recruited by Princeton to help create their entrepreneurial curriculum and teach.

For the last 10 years he has taught and immersed himself into studying entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is more of innate state for human beings, but so many stray from embracing it – why do you think that is?

• Derek has studied the origins of entrepreneurship and how it started and took hold.
• He realized he was under-appreciating the value of entrepreneurship.
• Entrepreneurs are responsible for virtually everything.
• We should understand better what they do and how they do that.

At the 14 min mark, Derek and I have a good discussion of whether everyone is meant to be an entrepreneur or not.

• Entrepreneurs are self-directed.
• They decide which rules to follow and which to not follow.
• Entrepreneurs typically have a skill that those around them covet and want them for.
• Entrepreneurs entice others to give them something in return for their skill. They are not afraid to ask for a sale.

We further discuss how everyone is selling something, but don’t see it like selling unless it is in a business context. But, everyone is in sales of some kind.

We also discuss the real challenge for people tapping into the entrepreneurial gene is the willingness to take risk.

You’ve said that we are focused on the wrong aspect of helping and regulating entrepreneurs. What does that mean?

• It is impossible for Govts to create effective regulations that allow entrepreneurs to innovate and create without causing entrepreneurs to go outside the rules and cause problems.
• Regulations have not been very effective as a whole as entrepreneurs find ways to maneuver around them if they are harmful.
• Entrepreneurs themselves are far more effective at regulating other entrepreneurs.

At the 24 min mark, we talk about the FTX scandal and how entrepreneurs would be better to manage it than Govt.

Derek uses an example of Vanderbilt to illustrate how entrepreneurs are better at keeping things in check with each other.

From your study or entrepreneurs and the history of entrepreneurship, what are some of the lessons you’ve taken that people should know and understand?

• Great entrepreneurs are great at enticing people to want things that we may not really need.
• People need to get educated from a consumer standpoint on how they are persuaded. This will help entrepreneurs better create products and services that are more valuable.

What is your most important message from your latest book, the Relentless Quest for Value?

• Pay more attention to entrepreneurs and respect them but help them by giving them better feedback to create more effective solutions.
• Support smaller businesses and their entrepreneur journey.
• Understand that entrepreneurs are best equipped to solve the world’s biggest challenges.

You dedicated the book to Arel and Tiel. Who are they?

• Derek’s sons that are both entrepreneurs.
• One son is in Silicon Valley, the other growing slow and steady in his business.
• They are modeling creating great businesses with integrity.

​ 2-3 of the best lessons you personally learned on your own entrepreneur journey?

• Know yourself so you can understand what you are capable of and where to ask for help.
• You must put yourself in the shoes of your customers and dedicate yourself to their happiness.
• Be selfishly selfless. It is ok, to be selfish to be selfless with those around you.

Best Quote: Know yourself so you can understand what you are capable of and where to ask for help.

Derek's Misfit 3:

1. Feel good about asking for help.
2. Empathize with others.
3. It is ok to be selfish to be selfless in helping others around you.

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