Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do

Steve Hughes is the President of Hit Your Stride, LLC, a communications company that helps people look and sound smart when they talk. He’s the author of the book Captivate: Presentations That Engage and Win Over Today’s Audiences and his speaking programs have been featured on NPR, BBC Radio, and CBS.A former owner of a 40-person ad agency, today Steve works with leading associations, Fortune 500 companies, and top universities with 85% of his annual revenue coming from repeat clients. He holds a BA in French Literature and European History from the University of Kansas and an MBA in Marketing from Washington University in St. Louis where he won the prestigious Olin Cup.This episode is a great example of how and why people matter if you want to build a business. http://www.hityourstride.comhttp://www.bekindtolawyers.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FSpeaker, author, entrepreneur and recovering academic Jill Schiefelbein is The Dynamic Communicator™. From analyzing classified documents obtained from military raids of terrorist camps to assess jihad messaging strategies, to starting and managing an online education office serving 60,000+ students, to her own entrepreneurial ventures, Jill successfully creates and executes communication strategies that help organizations acquire and retain clients.Jill is uniquely positioned to help you and your business utilize dynamic communication to accelerate results. She is co-author of Business and Professional Communication in the Global Workplace, is a contributing writer for Entrepreneur, and her first company, Impromptu Guru, is an official video partner with Entrepreneur Network. Learn more at http://thedynamiccommunicator.com and follow Jill on Twitter @dynamicjill.Listen as Thom and Jill chat about her journey as an entrepreneur and hear her sage advice for all who want to venture out on their own. Learn mo

On this short episode Thom Singer recaps his excitement about hosting the show and celebrates 150 episodes. He also talks about the meaning of Compounded Generosity and shares the details of the 9th annual fundraiser for the "Kate Singer Endowment for Cranio-Facial Research" http://www.CompoundedGenerosity.com"If you have ideas on how to make the next 150 shows even better, please reach out to Thom and share your thoughts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Customer Experience: Networking is not about collecting business cards or trying to use people. It is about creating long-term and mutually beneficial relationships. Often fail in business when it comes to their strategy about how to engage with others as they have a flawed idea of what it means to really be committed to relationships.How do people "feel" when they encounter you in a personal or professional setting. Too many people see life and business as a competition where they must "win". But if time after time you leave people feeling worse after spending time with you.... you will be the one who loses out.You cannot plan or map a relationship, so you will be judged on the little actions you take consistently. Your personal brand is a promise you have made via the actions you have taken up to this point. Make others experience a priority and ask yourself after each interaction "how did they feel after being in this conversation with me?" If the answer is unknown or negative you will not achieve your ful

Michelle Sahr grew up in a family that owned local retail stores, including a toy store. Today she and her husband own and operate two shops in historic downtown Kent, Ohio.... one is a toy store and the other is a cheese shop.Who didn't dream of owning a toy store as a kid? And Michelle gets to live this life every single day.Join in and listen to this interview as she shares her entrepreneurial journey and delivers excellent advice for entrepreneurs on running their own business. And is networking important for retail entrepreneurs? Yep. Michelle was not sure that being involved in the local community and "networking" would impact her stores, but her efforts to know others in her town has lead her to increased visibility, referrals and more business.She also is active in the trade associations around the cheese and toy industries. By being active in these groups she gains knowledge, spots business trends, and gets real ideas she can implement in her stores.Off The Wagon Toys - www.offthewagonshop.comKent Ch

Tah and Kole are a husband and wife team who are doing amazing things in the world of fitness and beyond.Kole Hansen was just named the top Beach Body instructor. With over 20,000 people leading Beach Body fitness, she is the first person to receive this prestigious designation. She has lived an eclectic life and has experienced careers in sales, communications, training, full time singer/songwriter, and as a fitness coach. Tah Whitey is a licensed healthcare professional with over 20 years of experience in the field of Emergency Medicine, which helps to fortify and expand upon his knowledge and expertise as a Certified Fitness Trainer with International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA). He is also a rapper and Beach Body trainer.In this episode they share their life and entrepreneurial journeys. They have both experienced ups and downs along the way, and together have found success for themselves and helping others. Beyond the body work they are helping people have breakthroughs and life changing realizati

Mary Baird-Wilcock is an experienced entrepreneur in the meetings industry. She has lead a successful events company, The Simplifiers, and has now taken her years of experience to start the Apprentice Program. She knows how to make internships successful for the intern and the hiring company, and is launching an amazing new offering.In this episode Mary talks about her company and shares her passion for interns managed the "right" way. We also hear her best advice for those wanting to start their own business. The Apprentice Program is a crowdsourced social network that helps small business entrepreneurs all over the globe better train their interns by giving them access to tap into a global network of mentors, training videos, eLearning tools and resources and more to simplify new hire training.They are the UBER of intern training in the events industry and beyond.Her company is running a Kickstarter right now to fund the next phase of the software build-out. They have raised $6569, 65% funded towards our 10

Getting around people who will inspire you and help you along your journey is key to any entrepreneur. It is more important if you are a solopreneur. Sometimes the people you are closest to in your life (fiends, co-workers, spouse, etc....) are not able to give you the right level of support and guidance. Thus you need to network to find your tribe.But networking gets a bad rap. Often people who are successful turn their back on "networking" as they are tired of random people and don't believe others can or will help them. These same people were usually helped on the way up, but their own prejudices cause them to isolate in public and to protect their time to much. Networking is simply the creation of long-term and mutually beneficial relationships where all involved can find more success. This means that choosing to be with people can have a meaningful impact on your business and career. Joining organizations, participating in community causes, taking up hobbies, and attending events are all great ways to di

Butch Bellah is the author or "Sales Management for Dummies" and "The 10 Essential Habits of Sales Superstars", and in this episode he shares his journey from a 21 year old commissioned sales person to owner of the company. Today Butch is an author, speaker and sales consultant. Butch and Thom discuss the importance of sales in the success of any entrepreneur. If you think a great product or service is enough to grow your company, you will fall short of reaching your goals. Selling is the oldest profession, and getting right with the idea of being a sales person is key to the success of anyone in business.www.butchbellah.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Has your year gotten off to the right start? Some people go into a new year with big hopes and dreams, but by the end of January they have fallen into the same ruts and routines that plagued them the year before.Thom Singer spends this episode talking about actions. He wants to ensure that everyone realizes that a false start does not mean the whole year has to be blah. The time is now to take small actions each week that will add up to amazing results over the long run. Thom shares three areas where he is being intentional to make changes, and by taking baby steps he is already seeing the pay off.Make 2016 the best year for your entrepreneurial journey. Become on of the people who takes ownership of their own destiny and who takes action. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Samuel Anderson is a guy on the move. He has several businesses including the popular "Mr Preneur TV" where he and two friends chronicle their lives as entrepreneurs.He is determined to make a difference in the lives of half a million people by being an example. Originally from Lynchburg, Va, he set out on a different path. While studying Business at Longwood University, he decided it was best to withdraw and embark on a new journey. A lifetime of building another's business was not in the cards. In this episode Sam shares the ups and downs of a career as a self made business mogul Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TJ Sullivan has seen the ups and downs of the lifelong entrepreneurial career in this episode we share stories of things that went well and things that went… Not so well. This is an important episode for anyone interested in creating their own path for career and life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brooke Muldoon (CEO) and Pete Smith (COO) from Bruks Bars are the guests on this episode of "Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do". They are young entrepreneurs who are growing a business creating delicious and healthy snacks.As passionate food lovers and fitness junkies, they live to snack. They have an active lifestyle, but always found it difficult to find nutrition bars that fit within their dietary needs — something gluten, dairy, soy and egg-free — on the go. They were tired of hunting, so they decided to make their own. It was a tall order to balance wholesome, allergen-friendly ingredients with crave-able flavor, but they were up for the challenge.Three years later they have a growing company and are creating a lifestyle that allows them to grow a business, impact the world, and live an adventurous lifestyle. www.bruksbars.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Charfen—entrepreneur, teacher, author, speaker—is on a mission.He has spent 3 decades on the front lines of entrepreneurship and business. His journey has taught him many things, but he believes he has discovered one key that could change everything for small business owners. He is the author of The Entrepreneurial Personality Type, and has spent years helping other entrepreneurs find success. If done right your network will mean everything.. but Alex Charfen does not believe in cold calling people to pick their brain.In this episode Alex shares his views on entrepreneurship. Society gives labels like ADD to those who can't sit still and want to change the status quo, but there are the people who are having the largest impact on business. Being an entrepreneur gives you options, and being opinionated lets you follow through .... Alex has a lot of opinions and this episode is a real experience. Download today!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first show of 2016 and Thom Singer gets real with his goals, challenges, and dealing with internal emotions, etc....This episode is about getting real in the new year and finding the direction you need to grow your career and life as an entrepreneur, solopreneur, or intrapreneur. You have to be intentional about where you want to go, and honest with yourself about any feelings and emotions that are limiting your progress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kelly Peacy is the senior vice president of education and meetings for the Professional Convention Managers Association. She has over 15 years with PCMA and is a great example of someone who is an "intrapreneur". In this episode we talk about her journey, but also about the Meetings Industry and how those who work in that business are often very entrepreneurial, even when working for other companies and associations. To be an effective meeting planner you have to have a strong work ethic and an eye for details. Most attendees never see all the work that goes on behind the scenes to create awesome events.This episode is being released just a few days before the 2016 PCMA Convening Leaders conference in Vancouver. Kelly and PCMA take pride in trying unique things to enhance the experience of their members who come to learn, network and find ideas for their own meetings. www.pcma.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sean Payne was following the regular career path, but early on he realized that living his parents dream was not going to fulfill his soul. After college, instead of taking a high tech job, he went to study Shakespeare in London. A chance meeting with another would-be actor lead him to moving to Los Angeles and starting a tech consulting business and a career as a professional actor. After just a few months he had more success than most people find in Hollywood in years.Sean Payne has what it takes to make it big in Hollywood, in business, and in life. You have to listen to this episode and hear his advice about following that voice inside of you that is calling you to go for your life's calling. He does promise on this episode that when he wins and Academy Award he will come back and let Thom Singer interview him again (no matter what his agent says... it will be the Today Show and Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do the morning after the awards show!!!)www.seanmajorpayne.com is his website. This guy is the real de

Christine Hassler left her successful job as a Hollywood agent at 25 to pursue a life she could be passionate about . . . but it did not come easily. After being inspired by her own unexpected challenges and experiences, she realized her journey was indeed her destination.Today Christine is a Life Coach with a counseling emphasis known for catalyzing radical self-reflection while offering practical direction. She is passionate about busting the myth that life is about living by a checklist and having it all figured out. Christine believes we all deserve and are capable of discovering our passion, pursuing our dreams, and making an impact on the world.Join us on this episode as she shares her ideas about entrepreneurship and gives real life examples from her personal journey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Faill works as the director of Greek Life at a University. Doesn't sound very entrepreneurial, but Dan is a person with an internal passion for finding new ways to do things. In this episode we chat about what he learned in college as a fraternity member, and how that can be like a start, and how to work in a job and fulfill your internal spark of entrepreneurship. Finally we talk about re-invention and starting over, and how you need to find the right people who will both support you and challenge you to be true to yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Delaney is the host of two nationally syndicated radio shows. She is an entrepreneur and media expert who enjoys forging her own path.Listen in as we talk about what it takes to be your own boss, the changes in the media, the importance of networking, and hear about how she gives back to the greater good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices