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Building To Scale

Building To Scale

Author: Jeff Chastain | Admentus Inc.

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Building and scaling an entrepreneurial business is not as easy as it might seem. In the early days, it was fun. Today, it feels more like a daily grind and a job than a business.

You can see your dreams and your goals on the other side of the chasm, but the investment in attempting to build a bridge to reach them is just burning you out.

Our mission is to help entrepreneurial business leaders find clarity in what is really holding them back in their business today and to guide them to build a more profitable, scalable, and ultimately saleable business.

It is our belief that as a small business entrepreneur, you will never be able to achieve the life you want or the goals you have for either your business or yourself if you do not systematize your business.

Each episode of the Building to Scale podcast brings actionable tactics and strategies to help you, the small business entrepreneur build a more profitable, scalable, and ultimately saleable business ... all while working less.

For more information, find us at https://www.buildingtoscale.com and join the community at https://www.buildingtoscale.com/group/.
67 Episodes
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Did you check out the Dallas Cowboy’s game yesterday? Or, if you are not a Cowboy’s fan, imagine going to a game for your favorite sports team for a minute. You spent way too much money on your tickets, then walked into the stadium and sat down. But when you looked around, something was missing. They took the scoreboard out?!?!? Imagine sitting through the game without knowing the score and without knowing how much time was left. Kinda takes away from the game, right? But now, put yourself in the player’s position. What would it feel like if you were playing the game without knowing the score or the time? What if we took that one step further and you did not even know the rules – only the coach knew the rules and just gave you the little bit of information they thought you needed. Sounds rather ridiculous, right? Yet this is the way we run our businesses … In today’s episode, I talk about this idea of doing business as if you were playing a game. Check it out and let me know your thoughts! Then, if you have questions after listening to today’s episode, I invite you to join us in the Building to Scale community today. Jump over to https://www.BuildingToScale.com/group (https://www.BuildingToScale.com/group) and request an invite to the community.
When you go on a vacation (assuming you can remember the last one), are you the type that plans every last minute, or are you the type that just goes without a plan, and what happens happens? Thomas Edison had a great quote that went like this … “Vision without execution is just a hallucination.” For the last several weeks, we have been talking about strategy, and I absolutely believe that you must have a strategic plan even as a small business. At the same time, if you cannot execute that strategy, then it is not worth the paper (real or digital) that it is written on. In today’s episode, I break down the four stages of execution planning that I work with clients to build once they have their strategy laid out. Stealing a line from Goldilocks, it is not too hot and not too cold … or in this case, it has just the “right” level of detail to ensure that you and your team know what is ahead, yet not so rigid that you cannot adapt and evaluate new opportunities. Let’s talk about small business execution planning for a few minutes. Then, if you have questions after listening to today’s episode, I invite you to join us in the Building to Scale community today. Jump over to https://www.BuildingToScale.com/group (https://www.BuildingToScale.com/group) and request an invite to the community.
When you hear the term “brand,” what comes to mind? Probably the idea of a logo or a color scheme, right? In today’s episode, we bring in the “brand boss” with a much deeper approach to branding and the overall messaging strategy when it comes to your business. In her words, you should be focusing on the identity of your business – not just the logo – and making sure that you know what the identity of your business is and thus how to best communicate and connect with your audience. Join me in welcoming Rachel Jenks, the “Brand Boss” of The Brand Boss Studio, and the Brand Boss Podcast! If you have questions after listening to today’s episode, I invite you to join us in the Building to Scale community today. Jump over to https://www.BuildingToScale.com/group (https://www.BuildingToScale.com/group) and request an invite to the community. Rachel Jenks is the Founder, Owner, and proclaimed “Brand Boss.” With more than 22 years of experience working in public communications, including 16+ years in graphic design, Rachel’s passion is empowering business owners to rock YOUR brand like a Boss. “I’m tired of seeing business owners and entrepreneurs taken advantage of ... or feeling pressured to keep up with every marketing trend out there ... rather than being true to who you are as a company and bringing real solutions to the people you serve. At the end of the day, there’s nothing more powerful. Trust comes before transactions. When you can create that kind of experience for people, you build an unstoppable brand.” Rachel’s off-the-beaten-path career journey has spanned multiple roles in various countries, four cities, and three states – including professional ballet, management, event production, business strategy, national and international public relations, graphic design, and marketing. She’s had the opportunity to work with organizations of all sizes and industries to amplify the power of their brands through brand strategy, brand experience consulting, brand development, brand content, brand packaging, UI/UX brand strategy, brand design, multi-media, advertising, marketing, live event production, e-learning, 3D animation, video, photography, and art direction. Rachel is also the host of The Brand Boss Show podcast and YouTube channel, an author, and an in-demand public speaker. When not strategizing powerful brand experiences and coaching business owners, Rachel can be found off on an adventure or savoring the moment with those she loves - including her Studio Managers, Podcat and Lady Podcat. The Brand Boss Studio - https://brandbossstudio.com/ (https://brandbossstudio.com/) The Brand Boss Show - https://brandbossstudio.com/the-brand-boss-show/ (https://brandbossstudio.com/the-brand-boss-show/) Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thebrandbossstudio/ (https://www.facebook.com/thebrandbossstudio/) LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrandboss/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrandboss/) Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thebrandbossstudio/ (https://www.instagram.com/thebrandbossstudio/) YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvoWYjE3KJqJ9d8qGrsibRA (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvoWYjE3KJqJ9d8qGrsibRA)
We have all seen the stats regarding the “survival” rates of small entrepreneurial businesses. What is not quite as clear is the number of entrepreneurs – specialists in their field – working long hours day in and day out, with little to show for their efforts. Technically, you have a business, and you are a business owner in title. The challenge is that you are wearing hats on top of hats … 50 or 60 in the words of a guest in season one. However, there is one hat that most entrepreneurs forget to put on. In today’s episode, I talk specifically about some of the challenges a client of mine is facing in turning his small (and I mean small) business into something bigger while trying to stave off burnout. Hopefully, you have this all figured out and are living your dreams. If not, and you are struggling to reach your dreams, the good news is that you have lots of company. The even better news is that we are building a community of people just like you with the sole purpose of being able to help each other out. So, if you have questions after listening to today’s episode - or you simply need some accountability - I invite you to join us in the Building to Scale community today. Jump over to https://www.buildingtoscale.com/group (https://www.BuildingToScale.com/group) and request an invite to the community.
Welcome to the re-launch of the Building to Scale podcast! This is episode 1 of season 2 and I and my team are really excited to be putting a renewed focus on our mission to help entrepreneurial business leaders find clarity in what is really happening in their business today and to guide them through a plan to build a more profitable, scalable, and ultimately saleable business. You see, it is my belief that as a small business entrepreneur, you will never be able to achieve the life you want or the goals you have for either your business or yourself if you do not systematize your business. So how do you do that? In today’s episode, I talk about the idea of a Pinnacle … your overarching goal for the next 10-15 years that gets your team all pulling in the same direction, energizes and excites them, and scares your competitor. It also serves as a measuring stick as new opportunities and challenges arise in your business. What makes up a good Pinnacle goal? There are five things, but you will have to listen to today’s episode to find out. Also, make sure to listen as we outline the Pinnacle for the Building to Scale brand. Then, join us in our new Building to Scale community at https://BuildingToScale.com/Group (https://BuildingToScale.com/Group) and give us your feedback. Does our Pinnacle meet the five criteria?
I am still not sure how we are wrapping up August and Q3 already … On the one hand, 2021 has been a long year, and on the other side, it has flown by. And, as if 2020 needed to be topped, this has been a challenging year for many small businesses. Many face financial trials dealing with the effects of the shutdowns, while others deal with the challenges involved with unplanned growth explosions depending upon the industry and their location. One of the strategies we work with entrepreneurial business leaders on is having a Pinnacle goal and a roadmap to reach that goal. Along the way, you have milestones where you stop, assess, and adjust before moving out on the next leg of your climb on the way to your Pinnacle. When it comes to the Building to Scale brand, this is one of those milestones. https://youtu.be/zM0Zj13BTcU Today’s episode marks the end of Season 1 and the announcement of changes coming in Season 2. Make sure you subscribe to the podcast today in your favorite player to receive notice of season 2. You can also check out https://buildingtoscale.com/Launch (https://BuildingToScale.com/Launch) to sign up for notifications for the new season and a lot of additional new resources we are rolling out at the same time.
As a retired Air Force officer, Axel Meierhoefer started his first company in 2005, focusing on consulting, employee skill development, and program management. These areas remain in place and have now grown internationally. As a business owner, Axel had an eye on the long-term picture – specifically his own. He began to investigate ways to apply profits towards retirement, and research indicated that owning tangible assets would be the best way. It was also the path that the government supports the most, which led him to develop a residential real estate portfolio worth about $1.5 Million. The portfolio is still growing, and the experience has provided many lessons learned that he now teaches, coaches, and mentors other people with. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4U23uU1pCY Key Takeaway: Scaling does not mean simply working more hours. Successfully scaling requires making critical strategic decisions in building and developing a business. The overarching strategy and decisions should be made focusing on the long-term picture – the eventual exit and your long-term legacy. Lessons Learned: Focus on building a legacy that serves your family and the next generation instead of focusing on the here and now. Develop a mindset to overcome the nagging fear of dealing with life-changing decisions. When it comes to property investment – finding, buying, and investing in the right properties – partner with an experienced advisor or coach and do not go it alone. For More Information: Ideal Wealth Grower @ http://idealwealthgrower.com/ (http://idealwealthgrower.com/) LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/company/ideal-wealth-grower/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/ideal-wealth-grower/) Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/idealwealthgrower/ (https://www.facebook.com/idealwealthgrower/) Twitter @ https://twitter.com/IdealGrower/ (https://twitter.com/IdealGrower/)
In 2001, Chris launched a start-up in his spare time – a marketing company called Farotech. What started primarily as a web design firm quickly grew into a comprehensive digital marketing agency specializing in helping clients in the healthcare, orthopedics, SaaS, and cybersecurity fields see explosive growth through a proven marketing system. Today, the Farotech team is proud to be known by the clients they serve— Penn Medicine, Rothman Institute, and Philadelphia Insurance Company, to name a few of their marquee partners. Now featured as the fastest growing marketing strategy agency in Philadelphia, Chris has created a unique blend of art and science to build visibility for his clients and helping them reach their strategic goals. https://youtu.be/W2dJug0sRPI Key Takeaway: If you went into the doctor’s office and without asking any questions or looking at your history, the doctor set you up for open-heart surgery, would you do it? As Chris talks about, this is the approach of too many businesses – we have the solution for whatever your problem might be. Lessons Learned: Focus on the Systems, Not the Solutions – Build systems, not solutions, to identify and solve issues for your customers. Marketing Starts with a Great Story – Develop learned a proven, systematic approach to telling your story that will help you generate leads, nurture leads, convert leads into clients, and convert clients into raving fans who understand your vision, brand, and message. For More Information: Farotech : https://farotech.com/ (https://farotech.com/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/farotech/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/farotech/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/farotechmarketing/ (https://www.facebook.com/farotechmarketing/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/Farotech (https://twitter.com/Farotech) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-carr-84b1a02/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-carr-84b1a02/) Thought Leaders Magazine: https://thoughtleadermagazine.org/ (https://thoughtleadermagazine.org/)
Courtney Lukitsch is the principal and founder of Gotham PR, founded in 2002, and is a boutique Marketing PR firm based in New York and London, with a roster of high-profile clients in 30 global markets and on every continent in the world. Courtney started her career working for USAID in development, transitioned to academia abroad, and then to retail technology with Zara in Spain. Back in New York, she joined Rubenstein Public Relations, the country’s first and oldest PR firm, as the VP for business development and strategy. Just after 9/11, the entrepreneurial bug struck, and she ventured out on her own to start Gotham PR, growing it to a global footprint over the last 20 years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BwWh4xogaY Key Takeaway: As Courtney outlines, the way to building a successful, lasting business is by surrounding yourself with experts – a great lawyer, a great accountant, a great writer, a great coach. While this is not something new, in her experience, most business leaders come to this realization too late. Lessons Learned: Deal with Challenging Clients – Offload your more challenging clients sooner rather than later. You can't solve every problem, and the high-demand clients take more than their share of your energy. Surround Yourself with Experts – Cultivate a network of experts around you that you can turn to when you have questions and work to benefit both sides of the relationship by referring people to your network. Minimize the Overhead – With the proliferation of co-working spaces and fractional resources, hold off on overhead expenses for as long as possible. For More Information: Gotham PR @ http://gothampr.com/ (http://gothampr.com/) LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/company/gotham-public-relations-inc-gotham-pr-new-york-gotham-pr-/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/gotham-public-relations-inc-gotham-pr-new-york-gotham-pr-/) LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneylukitsch/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneylukitsch/)
Michelle Seiler Tucker is the Founder and CEO of Seiler Tucker Incorporated. She holds the M&AMI (Mergers & Acquisitions Master Intermediary) title, as well as Certified Mergers and Acquisitions Professional (CM&AP) and Certified Senior Business Analyst (CSBA). As a 20-year veteran in the M&A industry, she is regarded as the leading authority on buying, selling, fixing, and growing businesses. She and her firm have sold over a thousand businesses in almost every vertical and have a remarkable track record of success. As Michelle describes it, most business owners do not think about selling their business until it is too late to truly maximize their business value. Too often, they are running their business as a job, not as a sellable asset that extends beyond themselves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFTGvq-sQQE Key Takeaway: Build your Business with the End in Mind – the idea of selling your business should not come to you a few months before you want to exit. It should be part of your plan from day one, and you should be building your business with that in mind. For More Information: Seiler Tucker: http://www.seilertucker.com/ (http://www.seilertucker.com/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/seiler-tucker/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/seiler-tucker/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michele.seilertucker/ (https://www.facebook.com/michele.seilertucker/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleseiler/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleseiler/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSeilerTucker/ (https://twitter.com/MSeilerTucker/)
Ann Brennan is the owner of ASMM Digital Marketing and host of the Small Business Connections podcast, demonstrating her passion for marketing. Ann was the “accidental entrepreneur” who took her talents in social media and marketing and started a side hustle while searching for a “real job.” Before long, however, the side hustle turned into a full digital marketing agency that Ann has now led for the past 5+ years. In today’s episode, Ann shares more about her background in launching and building her company and delving into topics like the importance of building partnerships, understanding personalities and how people fit together to build teams, and the importance of processes and systems. https://youtu.be/AnEml3_OMcQ Key Takeaway: Process is key for growth – and coming from a creative background, process and creativity can still go hand in hand. As Ann describes, building processes allows you the flexibility to switch hats, cover roles when people are out, and ultimately delegate to new resources when you can afford to hire – all while maintaining flexibility and creativity. Lessons Learned: Marketing isn’t one thing. It’s everything. It’s finding the right combination of digital, traditional, and guerilla marketing. It’s about how you make them feel. In real life and online. Make your content work for you. Creating marketing content and posting it once is not the answer to growth. For More Information: ASMM Digital Media @ https://asmmdigital.com/ (https://asmmdigital.com/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asmmdigital/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/asmmdigital/) Facebook: https://facebook.com/ASMMDigital/ (https://facebook.com/ASMMDigital/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brennanannie/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brennanannie/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrennanAnnie/ (https://twitter.com/BrennanAnnie/)
In this episode, Aimy Steadman of Future Proof shares the journey she and her business partners went through in building Future Proof and BeatBox Beverages. From college incubator to Shark Tank, and now on to a growing beverage brand founded on the belief that future generations will continue to demand products that authentically connect with their lifestyle, Aimy has been through quite a journey. Outside of her day-to-day responsibilities as COO of Future Proof, Aimy is also a board member with Naturally Network, Naturally Austin, EO, Beam Founders, and several other organizations. In other words, she is a big believer in community and giving back! In our conversation, Aimy shared many insights that will resonate with entrepreneurs today, including the value of outside mentors, building and running your business in a systematic manner, and staying true to the future you are building. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4m2HqGRiZs Key Takeaway: As Aimy states, "Be the Change" you want to see in your industry and culture. Culture can either be something you build intentionally in your business or something that develops on its own. One path allows you to control and direct that culture. Lessons Learned: Community is your superpower as an entrepreneur. Network and join groups to surround yourself with best-in-class thinkers in your industry. My close entrepreneur community in Austin helps me navigate through the tough times, and they are also who I celebrate my wins with. I owe a lot of my success to learning early on that I love my business, and it's a huge part of me, but it's not my entire identity. That perspective helps me handle the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur in a healthier way. Taking on the "woman founder" title means not only standing for your company but the vision for inclusive leadership worldwide. Women founders have the unique opportunity to change their industries to be more inclusive of women or non-binary leaders and founders from diverse backgrounds – race and physical abilities included. As a female founder, I love being able to change the game, and I’ve realized my "gentle" leadership style is actually incredibly effective. I don't have to take on a different masculine persona to get things done. For More Information: Future Proof: https://futureprf.com/ (https://futureprf.com/) BeatBox Beverages: https://beatboxbeverages.com/ (https://beatboxbeverages.com/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-proof-atx/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-proof-atx/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeatboxBeverages/ (https://www.facebook.com/BeatboxBeverages/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aimysteadman/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/aimysteadman/)
Guest Jim Traister has a passion for helping small businesses drive sales. He is CEO of The Digital Navigator, a full-service digital agency that drives sales for independent businesses in three verticals: course providers, hospitality, and small business. In this episode, Traister shares his background as a college instructor turned entrepreneur and how starting his own business came with making mistakes but also fed his love of learning and his passion for helping others. Listen to find out what mistakes most businesses make when it comes to metrics and how it should not cost more than $500 to get enough data to optimize an ad campaign and make predictions about returns on investment. Traister also details how sales and lead generation are like dating and why no matter what changes technology may bring, relationships and creating goodwill are the real key to success in any business. Time adding value for others is never wasted; just be sure to systemize anything that is not value-added. https://youtu.be/SM5puXToKWM (https://youtu.be/SM5puXToKWM) Key Takeaway: Business starts with the heart! Regardless of how technology changes in business, building relationships is the most crucial step to success in any company. Serving your clients well also includes finding the right metrics to look at for the desired results. Measuring matters. Lessons Learned: Take care of your current client base. Always remember that it is people who make the difference. Never stop selling. For More Information: The Digital Navigator: https://www.thedigitalnavigator.com/ (https://www.thedigitalnavigator.com/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thedigitalnavigator/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/thedigitalnavigator/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedigitalnavigator/ (https://www.facebook.com/thedigitalnavigator/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimtraister/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimtraister/)
Recently, our own Jeff Chastain met an individual whom, together with a business partner, had what appeared from the outside to be a very successful marketing agency. They had a good, solid client base and a good, albeit somewhat uneven, revenue flow coming in. In other words, most of us would look at this business and say this is one that we would want. Why was it that this individual was thinking about quitting the business? In today's episode of the Building to Scale Podcast, Jeff Chastain breaks down the differences between having an entrepreneurial business and simply building yourself a job where you are boss, employee, and janitor all in one! He also talks about the new book "Buyable" from fellow Pinnacle Business Guide Steve Preda and how the same concepts that go into building a growth-oriented, scalable business also apply to creating a "buyable" business. If your business feels more like a job where you are working too many hours fighting fires, feeling somewhat out of control with your business, lacking direction, or simply just worn out, don't miss our upcoming workshop entitled: The 4 Keys to Successfully Growing a Small Entrepreneurial Business Learn more and register @ https://BuildingToScale.com/mastermind/workshop
Tim Szczygiel is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the computer software industry. In this episode of the Building to Scale podcast, Szczygiel talks about the dichotomy of the pandemic in his business, SalesChain, LLC. While the company enjoyed a very profitable 2020 due to the trend toward remote work, Szczygiel also believes working in person is highly beneficial for employees to learn the culture of the company and share ideas, as well as leaders to keep a pulse on the business. Learn why there is no substitution for being in the same room with someone when it comes to business, and how using data to make decisions can make all the difference when it comes to company culture, not just in decision-making. SalesChain is the leading sales and business management software for office equipment dealers. As Szczygiel discusses in the podcast, “There’s no more valuable a tool than a magnifying glass for your business.” Seeing problems as an outsider allows Szczygiel to help businesses achieve greater organization through actionable data and powerful automation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJThZYBAM_o&feature=youtu.be Key Takeaway:  While remote work is here to stay, there is no substitute for the spontaneous creativity and culture that comes from working with others in person. Working in person also allows leaders to keep a pulse on the business and for employees to grow and evolve by learning from their coworkers. Lessons Learned: Managing data is absolutely critical to business in 2021. Every business in every industry is going virtual to some degree, and virtual-only works when information is complete, accurate, and correct. Going 10 times bigger with an idea may take 10 times the effort, but going 100 times bigger rarely takes 100 times the effort. Your customers are your greatest advocates. As a software provider, you might think our largest department, in terms of the sheer number of staff, would be in marketing or development, but it is actually our help desk. That front-line interface to our users determines how well our product is used and how well it is perceived. That impression sets us apart from big-box software and has helped us succeed. For More Information: Website: http://www.saleschain.com/ (http://www.saleschain.com/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/saleschain-llc/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/saleschain-llc/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-szczygiel-06865828/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-szczygiel-06865828/)
If you were to walk around your office today (virtually or in-person), would you find your team working on the most important things efficiently? In continuing our discussion about the 4 Ps - the four critical components necessary to successfully scale an entrepreneurial business ... it does not matter if you have the right people in the right seats (people), that you have a shared mission that everybody is bought into (purpose), or that you have a proven playbook that everybody is working from ... if your team cannot execute in a highly efficient and performant manner, it is all a dream. As owners and managers of a small business, we must have transparency and clarity into what is going on within the business to know if everything is on track or not. Then, everybody needs to understand what the most important projects are and their responsibilities within those projects to execute in a consistent, efficient, and performance manner. In today's episode of the Building to Scale podcast, our own Jeff Chastain walks through some of the tools for building a highly performant team that is always executing consistently on the most important tasks each and every day. For questions or more information, reach out to Jeff at https://www.admentus.com/gain-clarity/. He is happy to chat with business owners who are simply trying to take that next leap forward.
In our modern world, acquiring a knowledge base can be done in many ways, which is why Laurie Stach believes that education should be more about the entrepreneurial mindset, including skills like grit, collaboration and adaptation. In this episode of the building to scale podcast, Stach talks about finding purpose in her work, educating the next generation of entrepreneurs, and lessons she’s learned while running her own company. As a mechanical engineer, it was natural to want a “right answer”, but after graduating from MIT, she quickly realized that in real life there is no real right answer, a lesson she works to instill in her students. Her company, LaunchX, is an entrepreneurial summer program that taps the potential of ambitious high school students and supports them in launching an actual startup. Students of the program have gone on to generate significant revenue, do fundraising, sell their companies, launch other companies and even appear on Shark Tank. Stach holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and has worked at MIT's entrepreneurship center building their maker space and creating their Intro to Making class. She created a top EdX course in entrepreneurship and has an entrepreneurship workbook on Amazon. The LaunchX program was previously held at top universities such as MIT, UPenn, UMich, and Northwestern University, bringing students from around the world to start their companies each summer, while during the pandemic is being run online with continued success. https://youtu.be/KJc1UzC9PGY Key Takeaway: As in life, in business, there are often no clear right or wrong answers. The entrepreneurs of tomorrow need to learn to gather and measure the data to guide them while realizing that over the course of time, they will face many ups and downs. Skills like perseverance, collaboration and adaptation are imperative. Lessons Learned: Know when to DIY, when to use tools, and when to outsource - it comes down to a calculation of the value of your time. Have great employee onboarding and feedback processes - ensure you understand the professional goals of your employees, and do check-ins with employees at 1 month after their start, plus quarterly thereafter (direct reports). Know the metrics that matter and what 'enough' is - there are always a million things to get done in a company and you'll always get pulled in a million directions. For More Information: LaunchX Entrepreneurship Program: https://launchx.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/launchxed/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/launchx LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriestach/
If you are watching a football (American) game and the quarterback and the receiver are not in sync, what happens? The announcers often refer to it as the players not being on the same page of the playbook and at best, it results in an incomplete pass and a loss of an opportunity. This is no different in business. Too often we hear that small entrepreneurial businesses can't find good talent. In most cases, though it is not a matter of "good talent" but simply the fact that the employee and manager are simply not on the same page of the playbook. Creating a playbook for how you go about all of the tasks involved in delivering your product or service to the customer consistently and repeatable is absolutely key to building value in and scaling your business. In today's episode of the Building to Scale podcast, our own Jeff Chastain walks through the idea of building an entrepreneurial playbook for your business. Why do you need a playbook for a small entrepreneurial business? What do strategy and a playbook have to do with each other? How do you even go about getting started building a playbook? Check out today's episode to find the answers to these questions and more. For questions or more information, reach out to Jeff at https://www.admentus.com/gain-clarity/ (https://www.admentus.com/gain-clarity/). He is happy to chat with business owners who are simply trying to take that next leap forward.
In this episode of the Building to Scale podcast, Mark Ainley delves into important lessons he’s learned in his entrepreneurial journey in the real estate sector, particularly as it pertains to hiring the right people. Getting started in his business, he and his partners tended to hire too late, and often used a “gut feeling" or personality as a barometer to find a good fit. Ainley talks about the pitfalls of this practice, and the ways he has adapted and the methods he now uses to find the “right people for the right seats”. Mark Ainley is an investor, managing broker, and property manager with nearly two decades of experience in real estate. The co-founder of GC Realty & Development, a full-service real estate brokerage, property management, and real estate investment firm in the Chicago Market, Ainley consults with both local and out-of-state investors on the acquisition, stabilization, and management of their rental property portfolio. Ainley loves to give feedback to beginners, out-of-state investors, or less experienced entrepreneurs on what steps to avoid in growing a business. His extensive experience allows him to share his knowledge on many topics like property management, scaling a business, rehabbing and flipping, out-of-state investing, asset stabilization, market analysis, and more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHNuoFsRuuA&feature=youtu.be Key Takeaway: Getting the right people into the right seats in business can be the difference between success and failure. It’s important to realize that there’s a person who can help with anything you don’t know. Often, it’s much cheaper, faster, and more efficient to invest in hiring a person who already has a skill rather than trying to learn it yourself. Lessons Learned: Hire Sooner - Instead of trying to learn everything yourself, hire people who are experts in their field and let them help you. Hire Smarter - Find the right people to fill the right seats in your business using a predictive index rather than a gut feeling Process, Process, Process - Record processes for everything so that you can hand over projects and empower employees with the knowledge needed to complete them. For More Information: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gc-realty-&-development-inc./ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/gc-realty-&-development-inc./) Twitter: https://twitter.com/gcrealtyinvestLinkedIn (https://twitter.com/gcrealtyinvest) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-ainley-216a007/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-ainley-216a007/) Facebook: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-ainley-216a007/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-ainley-216a007/)
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