Making It: How to Be a Successful Online Entrepreneur

Welcome to Making It! This weekly show explores the lives and stories of entrepreneurs as they share their unique perspectives on their success and the path to making it.

David Riklan is an author, coach, speaker, and the founder of SelfGrowth.com, one of the most visited self-improvement websites in the world.

“That was probably the biggest thing for me — to have this impact and constantly help people improve their lives in one way, shape, or form.”

– David Riklan

David Riklan is the founder of SelfGrowth.com, one of the top self-improvement websites on the Internet, which has received more than 100 million unique visitors since it was created in 1995. He is also the co-founder of the Joint Venture Directory, a top resource for finding joint ventures, affiliates, and partnerships in the self-improvement industry.

He is an author, coach, and speaker who has written numerous books on self-improvement, health, marketing, and sales. Two of his books, Mastering the World of Selling and Mastering the World of Marketing were published through one of the top publishing companies in the world, John Wiley & Sons.

Resources or websites mentioned in this episode:

Mirasee

SelfGrowth.com

The Joint Venture Directory

Credits:

Guest: David Riklan

Co-Producers: Danny Bermant and Geoff Govertsen

Supervising Producer: Cynthia Lamb

Executive Producer: Danny Iny

Audio Post Supervisors: Evan Miles and Christopher Martin

Audio Post Production: Post Office Sound

Music Soundscape: Chad Michael Snavely

Making our hosts sound great: Home Brew Audio

Music credits:

Track Title: The Sunniest Kids

Artist Name: Rhythm Scott

Writer Name: Scott Roush

Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Track Title: Make Believe

Artist Name: Cody Martin

Writer Name: Cody Kurtz Martin

Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Track Title: Sweet Loving Waltz
Artist Name(s): Sounds Like Sander
Writer Name: S.L.J. Kalmeijer
Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Episode transcript: Impact Is Everything (David Riklan) Coming soon.

~~~~~

Lisa Bloom is a storyteller and author who’s passionate about the art and business of storytelling. She runs a business called The Story Coach and helps entrepreneurs to de-stress their marketing and find their unique success stories. After traveling the world and working a variety of jobs, she settled down in Israel, where she lives with her husband and sons. From there, she built up her Story Coaching business, developed Narrative Based Leadership Programs, and delivered many global conference keynotes and workshops. She is also the manager of Mirasee's ACES (Accountability, Coaching & Community, Expertise, and Service) program.

In this episode, Lisa shares what making it means to her. She starts by describing her Irish-Jewish background which, she says jokingly, predisposed her to become a storyteller. Lisa then goes on to explain the way her life adventures and storytelling abilities helped her build a successful business that's meaningful, adds value, and is of service to others.

“I wanted to empower others to be able to understand the power of story and tell their own stories. And that's when it shifted into a business.” – Lisa Bloom

Guest Bio: Following a successful corporate career, Lisa became an entrepreneur, author, speaker and coach. She built a global business Story Coach Ltd., supporting corporates, entrepreneurs and coaches with speaking mastery, leadership capability and marketing impact. Lisa is the author of the bestsellers, The Story Advantage and Cinderella and the Coach.

Lisa joined Mirasee to support entrepreneurs in the ACES Program, to achieve outstanding results in the growth of their business through results orientation and student support systems. As the Director of ACES, she is responsible for the ACES student experience — creating the infrastructure and the success team that our students need to accelerate business growth.

There’s nothing Lisa loves more than to spend time with her partner and their 4 sons, walk her dog, travel, read and share stories.

Resources or websites mentioned in this episode:

• Mirasee
• The Story-coach
• Lisa Bloom’s book - The Story Advantage
• Credits:
• Guest – Lisa Bloom
• Associate producer – Danny Bermant
• Producer – Cynthia Lamb
• Executive producer – Danny Iny
• Assembled by – Geoff Govertsen
• Audio Post Supervisor: Evan Miles, Christopher Martin
• Audio Post Production by Post Office Sound
• Music soundscape: Chad Michael Snavely

If you don't want to miss future episodes of Making It, please subscribe to Apple podcasts or Spotify or wherever you're listening right now. And if you liked the show, please leave us a starred review. It's the best way to help us get these ideas to more people.

If you have a question for Making It, put the show title in the subject line and send it to [email protected].

Music and SFX credits

1. Track Title: Finnegan's Lament

Artist Name(s): Caleb Etheridge

Writer Name: Caleb Etheridge

Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

2. Track Title: Morning In Belfast

Artist Name(s): Third Age

Writer Name: Stephen Keech

Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

3. Track Title: Sweet Loving Waltz

Artist Name(s): Sounds Like Sander

Writer Name: S.L.J. Kalmeijer

Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

4. Track Title: The Sunniest Kids

Artist Name(s): Rhythm Scott

Writer Name: Scott Roush

Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

• Episode transcript: It’s All About the Story (Lisa Bloom)

[00:00:03] Lisa Bloom: Some years ago, I was at a conference and a woman came up to me and she started talking to me as if she knew me and I didn't know who she was. And eventually I said, you know, do I know you? And she said oh I'm sorry I'd be on your list for years. And then I said, oh thank you. And we started talking and then she said to me, you know, I have to tell you, she put her hand on my shoulders, that I have to tell y...

Welcome to Making It! This weekly show explores the lives and stories of entrepreneurs as they share their unique perspectives on their success and the path to making it.

In

When Shawn's biggest competitor copied 200 of his products and offered them for one dollar less, Shawn could have quit business entirely. Instead, he concluded that his business model wasn’t innovative and disruptive enough, and he needed to change the way he did things.

Fortunately, he shares his hard-earned wisdom with his clients and with us on Making It. He teaches us to look at four main areas and create a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) for each of them. He also advises us to ask this question: Will your business flinch if you were gone for a month or even three months? He believes that entrepreneurs should build their businesses to sell, even if they don’t end up selling; they have to separate themselves from their business so they can walk away at any time.

In this episode of Making It, Shawn shares that, to him, “making it” means one word: freedom.

“I could probably be gone for a month, two months, maybe even three months, and the business wouldn't flinch. And to be honest with you, that was the point at which I decided to pursue a new calling. Being able to leave your own business, I think, is the ultimate sign that you've made it. ”

– Shawn Johal

Shawn Johal

Guest bio: Shawn Johal, the CEO and Business Growth Coach at Elevation Leaders, launched his business growth coaching practice to inspire entrepreneurs and their teams to achieve happiness and success. He has spent the last few years expanding his Scaling Up system to help entrepreneurs and business leaders reach their most audacious goals while finding personal balance.

Shawn is a certified implementer of Scaling Up methodology, working with companies from $5M to $200M in revenue in industries as diverse as tech, manufacturing, marketing, services, and beyond. He also leads numerous leadership-focused workshops and gives talks to amazing organizations across Canada.

Shawn is the best-selling author of The Happy Leader: A Leadership Fable about Transformation in Business and in Life. It's a life-changing story about human transformation—from the triumph over grief, despair, and frustration to the powerful healing brought on by forgiveness.

He is obsessed with high performance, the pursuit of happiness, and the power of mindset to fuel a successful life, and he’s committed to bringing his message to the world.

Resources or websites mentioned in this episode:

1. Mirasee
2. Shawn’s website
3. Shawn’s LinkedIn
4. Shawn’s book

Credits:

• Guest: Shawn Johal
• Associate producer: Danny Bermant
• Producer: Cynthia Lamb
• Assembled by: Geoff Govertsen
• Executive producer: Danny Iny
• Audio Post Supervisor: Evan Miles, Christopher Martin
• Audio Post Production: Post Office Sound
• Music soundscape: Chad Michael Snavely

If you don't want to miss future episodes of Making It, please subscribe to Apple podcasts or Spotify or wherever you're listening right now. And if you liked the show, please leave us a starred review. It's the best way to help us get these ideas to more people.

If you have a question for Making It, put the show title in the subject line and send it to [email protected]

Music and SFX credits:

• Track Title: Sweet Loving Waltz

Artist Name(s): Sounds Like Sander

Writer Name: S.L.J. Kalmeijer

Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

• Track Title: The Sunniest Kids

Artist Name(s): Rhythm Scott

Writer Name: Scott Roush

Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

• Track Title: Emeralds

Artist Name(s): Hale

Writer Name: Cory Hale Williams

Publisher Name: BOSS SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONS

• Track Title: Travel The Emerald

Artist Name(s): Alsever Lake

Writer Name: Adrian Dominic Walther

Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

• Track Title: Ha...

Welcome to Making It! This weekly show explores the lives and stories of entrepreneurs as they share their unique perspectives on their success and the path to making it.

Episode summary: The world-renowned business consultant Michael Zipursky is our podcast guest for this episode. He’s a successful entrepreneur who runs a business called Consulting Success and approaches business with a spirit of adventure. “The main thing I've learned through this process is to test things, to try things. Let the marketplace really guide where you make your investments and where you focus”, he says.

In this episode, Michael encourages listeners to resist viewing things as mistakes but to instead look at them as learning experiences. He also emphasizes focusing on what is meaningful to you, because if your life lacks meaning and purpose, it doesn’t matter how successful or wealthy you are. Michael is an eager traveler and finds immersing himself in cultures helps him understand each country’s people and history—and allows him to better serve people and businesses wherever they are. After all, he says, “making it isn’t about the destination, but the journey.”

“I've learned over the years that a mistake is not a bad thing; a mistake is probably one of the best things that can happen to you.” – Michael Zipursky

Michael Zipursky is the CEO of Consulting Success® and is one of the world's top authorities on growing a consulting business. Michael has been building consulting businesses for over two decades, has started several companies, and has sold a couple of small businesses. He’s an in-demand speaker and the author of 5 books including Consulting Success System: How to Become a Successful Consultant. Financial Times, Dow Jones, RBC, Omron, Sumitomo are companies on his client list, and he helped Panasonic launch new products into global markets. But more importantly, he's helped over 450 consultants from around the world in over 75 industries add six and seven figures to their annual revenues.

Michael speaks English and Japanese and loves traveling, music, wines, and foods of the world, and most of all spending time with his wife and two daughters.

His company Consulting Success® is the worldwide leader in coaching and training for entrepreneurial consultants. Consulting Success is the most comprehensive learning platform for serious consultants and skilled professionals who want to grow a stable and reliable consulting practice that attracts high-value clients time and time again.

Resources or websites mentioned in this episode:

1. Mirasee
2. You can follow Michael on Twitter (@MichaelZipursky) and LinkedIn (Michael Zipursky).
3. Consulting Success
4. Michael Zipurksy’s books

Credits:

• Guest – Michael Zipursky
• Associate producer: Danny Bermant
• Produced: Cynthia Lamb
• Assembled by Geoff Govertsen
• Executive producer: Danny Iny
• Audio Post Supervisor: Evan Miles, Christopher Martin
• Audio Post Production by Post Office Sound
• Music soundscape: Chad Michael Snavely

If you don't want to miss future episodes of Making It, please subscribe to Apple podcasts or Spotify or wherever you're listening right now. And if you liked the show, please leave us a starred review. It's the best way to help us get these ideas to more people.

If you have a question for Making It, put the show title in the subject line and send it to [email protected].

Music and SFX credits:

Track Title: Onwards

Artist Name(s): Matteo Galesi

Writer Name: Matteo Galesi

Publisher Name: BOSS SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONS

Track Title: The Sunniest Kids

Artist Name(s): Rhythm Scott

Writer Name: Scott Roush

Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Track Title: The Edge of The Sea

Artist Name(s): Cody Martin

Writer Name: Cody Kurtz Martin

Publisher Name: BOSS SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONS

Track Title: Sweet Loving Waltz

Artist Name(s): Sounds Like Sander

Writer Name: S.L.J. Kalmeijer

Publisher Name: