The Entrepreneur Ethos

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Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Betsy Graziani Fasbinder, an author, writing coach, speaker, and public-speaking trainer.

Betsy started out as a teacher, then became a therapist, and is now a published author and public-speaking trainer. The common thread she sees behind her various forays is storytelling. Whether it’s trying to get your kid to do a chore or explaining your company’s latest gadget, storytelling needs to be at the core of your communications.

While Betsy’s latest book is about public speaking for authors, public speaking did not come naturally to her. In this episode she shares that she actually had a phobia of public speaking and would get physically ill before having to speak. When she started writing and publishing books, she realized she would have to acquire some skills in speaking in order to better promote herself and her work. She shares the skills and strategies she learned in her book From Page to Stage: Inspiration, Tools and Public Speaking Tips for Writers. She shares some of these insights in this episode.

Now, let’s get better together.

• Creation “is only half the story.” Whether you’re an author promoting a book or an entrepreneur selling a product, how you share that creation with the world is critical, and the key to getting people to listen is using story.
• While some people come more naturally to public speaking than others, a large part of it is a skill that can be learned. And like any skill, it requires practice.
• Use empathy to create connections, especially with people who ask challenging questions. Listening first, and showing empathy, are important to maintaining control and creating authentic connections.

• Betsy Graziani Fasbinder on LinkedIn
• Betsy Graziani Fasbinder Website
• Book: From Page to Stage

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Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Asha Wilkerson.

Asha is a lawyer and entrepreneur in the Bay Area who helps people open and run their business. She sees her work as teaching at its heart, and that’s what gives her joy. Her mother was in education, and she always saw herself there, too, but then decided to pursue law. She practiced employment law for several years before burning out. She shifted to teaching and running a program for paralegals, and eventually found her way back to practicing law, but this time by combining her love of teaching with helping new entrepreneurs navigate the legal terrain of setting up a business.

As a legal advisor, Asha has a lot of insight into all sorts of aspects of business. She stresses the importance of forming a legal business entity, no matter how small you are, in order to protect yourself and to be able to access advantages like business loans or taking investment.

Now let’s get better together.

• First things first: form an LLC or corporation. Educate yourself about what’s best for your business and consult an attorney about the pros and cons of each.
• Stay in your zone - and ask for help and advice from others for those areas that are outside of it. You don’t have to figure it all out on your own. Find the right people to mentor you, advise you, and cheer you on.
• Embrace change. Don’t stick with one path just for the sake of sticking with it. If you feel called to make a turn, don’t be afraid to follow it.
• Do business with who you feel good about doing business with. This will go a long way toward avoiding expensive and time-consuming litigation in the future.

• Asha Wilkerson on LinkedIn
• http://www.ashawilkerson.com

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Summary

Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Kehan Zhou, founder of Terrascope, an AI-driven platform that helps buyers find rural properties.

Kehan was born in China and came to the U.S. to study economics at Wesleyan University. After college he went to work on Wall Street and became a municipal bond trader, learning skills in portfolio and risk management. After a few years of doing that, he felt the pull to pursue his own business, wanting the freedom it offers. Like so many entrepreneurs, he went to work trying to solve a problem. In his case, the problem he’s trying to solve is helping potential buyers find rural properties.

Having gone through this process myself, I know firsthand how challenging looking for - and buying - a rural property can be. It’s much more complicated than simply buying a house or condo in the city. Kehan has been able to put his finger on what’s not working in the current process and has developed an online platform that uses AI to help people more effectively filter out potential properties based on various factors. Right now Terrascope serves five states and has had over 30,000 users but hopes to expand to all of the U.S. as well as ultimately be the go-to resource for rural property owners.

Now, let’s get better together.

Actionable Insights

• In order to solve a problem, study what works and what doesn’t. Terrascope looks at what’s not working with existing tools and applies what does work - how real estate agents interact with potential buyers - to building their AI tool. They continue to hone and develop the tool based on user feedback.
• Start with one piece of the puzzle, and expand from there. Kehan and Terrascope are focused right now on helping people buy rural properties, but he hopes one day to build that out and be the “ecosystem” for people who buy properties, offering an array of services and resources.

Links to Explore Further

• Terrascope
• Kehan Zhou on LinkedIn

Keep In Touch

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Summary

Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Allen Adamson, cofounder of Metaforce, the “special forces” of marketing, and author of several books on branding and marketing.

Allen studied filmmaking in college but realized he didn’t have the drive for making films he saw in others. This realization - that you need to have both passion and talent for what you spend your life doing - has been a guiding principle. After earning an MBA at NYU’s Stern School, he went to work in advertising, starting with Unilever, then moving into agency work and eventually leading Landor Associates, a global branding firm. Allen made the leap to entrepreneurship six years ago when he decided to write his next book.

At Metaforce, Allen seeks first to listen and understand what his clients’ problems are, and then work with them on finding a solution, rather than simply offering a service that may or may not be effective. As someone who has worked for years in advertising and marketing, Allen has found himself at the intersection of creativity and business, straddling the line between offering innovative solutions but also recognizing the constraints of budgets and deadlines. Key to succeeding in this area, Allen says, is embracing non-linear thinking. In writing his books, Allen has found he connects naturally with a community of colleagues and potential clients while also learning and then sharing what he’s learned.

Now, let’s get better together.

Actionable Insights

• First, seek to understand. Listen to what your client or customer is struggling with before starting to figure out solutions. Another key factor is company culture. A consensus-driven, risk-averse company culture is not usually going to embrace anything cutting-edge.
• Allen recommends that businesses focus on those one or two areas they do well to stand out, rather than trying to do it all. This means focusing on the marketing strategies that you do well, rather than trying to spread yourself too thin.
• Allen’s recommendations for young entrepreneurs:
• Don’t wait too long. Spend some time in your industry learning “on someone else’s dime,” but after five or so years, strike out before it gets too comfortable. This will also give you time to try and fail, which is inevitable for most entrepreneurs.
• Be honest with what you’re good at and what you like doing. If you’re not thinking about your business in the shower or on a run, then you probably don’t have the passion to see it through.

Links to Explore Further

• Metaforce
• Allen Adamson on LinkedIn
• Allen Adamson’s Column in Forbes

Keep In Touch

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Summary

Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest for today, Carlyn Montes De Oca, author of Dog as My Doctor, Cat as My Nurse: An Animal Lover’s Guide to a Healthy, Happy, and Extraordinary Life.

Carlyn had previous careers as a film editor and then as an acupuncturist and nutritional consultant. While these were satisfying jobs, she kept having a nagging feeling that there was something else she was supposed to be doing - namely, writing. So one day, she finally decided to hire a coach to help and she started writing.

Carlyn has embraced the concept of the authorpreneur.* In addition to making time for writing, she schedules in time for marketing and for learning as much as she can about the craft of writing, marketing and promotion. She didn’t just leave the promotion for her book up to her publicist; instead, she and the publicist split up the country. As a result, Carlyn got herself out there, by talking to as many people and organizations as she could and presenting at conferences and giving a TedX talk.

Now, let’s get better together.

Actionable Insights

• Don’t ignore that voice inside you. Carlyn says she “spent a lot of years not doing what she really wanted to do.” However, she takes what she learned in those experiences, like being really organized and self-disciplined, to keep her on track.
• Be of service. Carlyn has connected with numerous animal welfare organizations and given back a portion of the proceeds from her book to help animals. The connections she’s made has also given her a network to tap into for speaking engagements and events.
• Strive for balance and joy. Find other ways to be creative and be physically active. This can help you get out of your own head and come up with ideas and solutions you might not get to otherwise as well as help keep things in perspective.

Links to Explore Further

• Carlyn’s Website
• Carlyn Montes De Oca on LinkedIn
• Carlyn’s TedX talk

*For more about being an authorpreneur, see my conversation with Joanna Penn.

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