Starting Advantage - Practical tips on how to start a business for the new entrepreneur

Public relations, or PR, is a helpful tool that founders can use as a force multiplier to build credibility and increase their reach.What does it mean to have a force multiplier for your business? Find out in this podcast episode. You will hear from, you will hear from a public relations expert, Jonathon Narvey, about his entrepreneurial journey and how to grow your business faster through PR strategies, whether you have the budget to hire a PR firm or want to find DIY inspiration.Jonathon Narvey is the Founder & CEO of Mind Meld PR Inc. As a reporter covering the tech scene, he learned the craft of storytelling. Now in PR, Jonathon and his team use those skills to earn media coverage for innovative tech companies.Mind Meld PR is a Public Relations Agency in Vancouver, B.C., serving clients in the USA and Canada. They work with innovative startups and scale-ups in SaaS, AI, EdTech, HealthTech, CleanTech, FinTech, and more."Public Relations is a subset of marketing that is a force multiplier for your overall marketing. So actually PR is not, absolutely not, the first thing that your company would invest in ... Once you've got some traction, you got some money ... now you can throw money at PR and this is going to be the force multiplier. It's the pouring gas on the fire that you've already lit and helping you scale up quicker." - Jonathon NarveyWe discuss in this episode with Jonathon:Why Jonathon believes there are two reasons why people become entrepreneurs and why he chose entrepreneurship. (4:31) How Jonathon started his entrepreneurial journey by relying on key relationships and people in his life. (6:28)How a touch technique from Star Trek became a metaphor for Jonathon's business. (8:36)Why it’s important to go after a niche and how Jonathon found his for Mind Meld PR. (10:29)What public relations involve. (12:25)The business benefits of PR. (14:24)The difference between marketing, advertising, and PR. (15:03)How social media fits into a PR strategy. (16:46)How to choose stories about your business if you want DIY PR. (18:26)Jonathan’s advice on what you can do right now to make your business stand out. (21:11)Why PR remains an effective strategy despite a growing trend to mistrust the media. (24:53)How a shift from the big players in the media to alternative media opens up more opportunities for founders. (27:12)What Jonathon predicts for the future of PR post-pandemic. (28:07)Jonathan’s tips on having conversations and managing expectations with clients. (30:34)The communication habits Jonathon and his team use to connect, plan and improve. (33:11)What Jonathon has observed after years of interviewing successful tech entrepreneurs. (35:13)Full show notes, the transcript, resources, and how you can connect with Jonathon, can be found here: https://www.startingadvantage.com/Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you do as a new entrepreneur with self-critical thoughts that make achieving success hard and keep you feeling stuck?Terry Boyle McDougall is an Executive & Career Coach and CEO of Terry B. McDougall Coaching. She helps high-achieving professionals remove obstacles that keep them stuck so they can enjoy more success and satisfaction in their lives and careers. Before becoming a coach, Terry was a long-time corporate marketing executive where she led teams, developed strategies, and advised senior leaders to drive business results. "I think that all of us have that voice in our head that says, 'Oh, you need to do this or you need to do that and if you don't something bad is going to happen. I call it a gremlin, that voice in the head. A lot of times the gremlin is very harsh with us, right. It's critical. It's perfectionistic. It sometimes catastrophizes about, 'Oh, if you don't do this, you're going to get fired or you're gonna lose your house', or whatever. And it's very important, number one, to recognize that the gremlin is there to try to keep us safe, but the gremlin has no nuances." - Terry McDougallIn this episode with Terry:Why Terry decided to become an entrepreneur in 2017 after 30 years of corporate business experience. (3:23) Why Terry made the decision to go from being a marketing consultant to an executive coach. (5:31)Why Terry believes coaching and helping others succeed is her higher calling. (8:40)How Terry’s family members responded when she shared her entrepreneurial plans. (10:34)Advice on how to have conversations about your business or plans with loved ones so that they can understand your vision and be more likely to be supportive. (12:58)Why you should think of your inner critic as a gremlin that is trying to protect you. (15:48)Why you should think that success doesn’t have to be hard and how to cultivate this mindset. (18:28)Why the first step to doing anything new is believing that it’s possible. (22:28)How Terry is using skills from her past to build and enhance her current business. (24:47)Why it is smart to hire people to help with your business instead of trying to do everything yourself. (26:24)The top skills that you should focus on putting time into developing as an entrepreneur. (28:40)Something that most high-achievers struggle with that can support you in staying realistic about your progress. (30:05)How Terry celebrates her wins as a habit. (32:28)How Terry supports people in identifying if they should work towards career goals in their current position or if they should rather start their own business. (33:00)How a mastermind group supported Terry in reaching for entrepreneurial success. (36:19)The mindset Terry believes gives her the advantage to manage her inner talk and inner critic. (37:13)Common fears and challenges entrepreneurs have based on her coaching experience and the research she did for her best-selling book. (39:11)Why you shouldn't compare yourself to very successful entrepreneurs you see in the media (and should always take care to manage your taxes). (40:42)Full show notes, the transcript, resources, and how you can connect with Terry, can be found here: https://www.startingadvantage.com/Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every business has a company culture. Culture impacts everything from employee performance and engagement to how your company is perceived by your customers.Johanna Lyman is the Principal Consultant and Practice Leader for Culture and Inclusion at Kadabra. She helps small companies get to their next level of success, build a culture that supports sustainable profitability, and develop their teams to their highest potential. She has helped thousands of people all over the world build the business of their dreams and step into being the leader they’ve been called to be. She is a certified coach and business development expert with more than fifteen years of experience helping executives, consultants, and business owners build and develop successful businesses.Prior to starting her own business in January 2005, Johanna was a CFP(R) at Merrill Lynch, a Divisional Vice President of Sales at Warnaco during the peak of their success, and she had a 10-year career working up the corporate ladder at Filene’s Department Stores, a division of May Co. She’s a Certified Change Management Specialist and Six Sigma Lean Professional (Green Belt).And people don't always realize this, but culture is going to happen in an organization, whether you plan it or not. But when you don't plan for it, it ends up being one of those companies that I worked with that I had to escape from, because it's not good. It's not values aligned. People don't feel respected. They don't feel appreciated. They don't feel like they belong." - Johanna LymanIn this episode with Johanna:How Johanna's story of belonging is what drives her to help leaders build inclusive cultures for companies. (3:45) Why Johanna decided to become an entrepreneur. (9:17)A different view on Maslow's hierarchy of needs with belonging at the bottom of the needs pyramid. (10:36)Advice on how entrepreneurs can find a like-minded community for support using values alignment. (15:03)What conscious capitalism means and what it looks like for business owners. (16:30)Why culture happens in an organization whether you plan for it or not. (17:58)Why knowing your purpose, or why, matters. (19:00)The role of self-awareness when building culture and how to measure if you're actually being self-aware as a leader. (21:51)How self-awareness grows with self-reflection. (23:08)What it means for a business to have a brave culture and why it's a must for a purpose-driven company. (24:29)Tips on how you can start to be more inclusive as a business owner. (25:57)The most challenging part for entrepreneurs during this process is to become more conscious. (27:54)How to connect your core values with specific action steps in your company. (29:02)How to measure the effectiveness of your company culture and its values with a scorecard. (30:28)How COVID-19 is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to make collaborative decisions with team members and employees. (31:47)The mindsets Johanna believes give her the advantage to do meaningful work that creates a positive impact. (35:10)Full show notes, the transcript, resources, and how you can connect with Johanna, can be found here: https://www.startingadvantage.com/Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finding opportunities to help your business grow can be strongly influenced by your chosen mindset.Founder, Arjun Rai, has successfully used mindset and equity crowdfunding to grow his business quickly. He is an NYC-based entrepreneur who is on a mission to support small businesses with the power of visualized data science and artificial intelligence for digital marketing at HelloWoofy.com. A firm believer that every SMB should have an unfair advantage to compete against unlimited marketing budgets. He has raised from professional investors and personally invested nearly $500,000 in pre-seed VC funding as well as obtained corporate partners (including Fortune 500 companies, such as Microsoft and Google) resulting in over $135,000 in strategic resources.HelloWoofy is an AI-enabled digital marketing tool that helps you save time and optimize your social media strategy using visual data science."One of the things that we've been allowing our customers to do is actually invest in the company. So while we have a goal to build the biggest company in the world, helping the smallest, something new that I encourage every founder and every entrepreneur take a look at is equity crowdfunding ... to build a company for your customer, with the customer itself, beyond just having a discovery group or a customer discovery group and feedback loop, actually bringing them in and saying here, come on our Cap Table, own a piece of our company as a thank you to believing in us early on. " - Arjun RaiIn this episode with Arjun:When Arjun first decided to make it his mission to make data-driven technology affordable. (5:57) How Arjun had entrepreneurial goals from a young age. (8:25)Why you should double down and let everyone else around you know if you believe your calling is to be an entrepreneur. (9:51)How your mindset can help you to build a company for your customer with your customer & why Arjun recommends that every founder looks into equity crowdfunding. (12:10)How to think about building your confidence as a new entrepreneur. (14:28)What Arjun believes is the key to HelloWoofy’s success. (15:07)How to build a strong company culture if you’ve got a global team. (16:03)How listening and being obsessed with your customers' needs and wants can lead to building a successful MVP. (16:50)How HelloWoofy was able to build the world's first smart speaker scheduler. (18:24)How to avoid scope creep when building your MVP. (19:10)Find out if there’s a real dog on which the brand name HelloWoofy is based. (19:49)Arjun’s prediction for the future of digital and content marketing and how to have a competitive advantage. (20:55)Why you should include emojis in your social media marketing. 😀👌🔥 (22:47)How to communicate with authenticity with your customers. (26:46)Why Arjun includes himself as a real person within his business’ brand online. (28:17)What it means to have values-driven marketing. (29:14)How Arjun creates a work-life balance. (31:55)The mindset Arjun believes everyone should have. (34:26)Full show notes, the transcript, resources, and how you can connect with Arjun, can be found here: https://www.startingadvantage.com/Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Being intentional about taking imperfect action can support you in gaining the clarity you need to become a successful entrepreneur. Founder, Lydia Lee, learned to take intentional imperfect action into entrepreneurship and now guides others to do the same. She is the Work Reinvention Coach and Freedom Instigator at Screw The Cubicle. Since 2013, she's helped hundreds of people transition out of the golden corporate handcuffs and build meaningful businesses that support them in living the life they want. She believes in intentionally creating purposeful work with our strengths, values, and personality in mind, so that we’re building a business we love, and want to keep for years to come."If I don't get started in what I know for right now, I'll never get started. We need to take imperfect action. We need to trust what we know with what we have as assets and knowledge at the moment, and give ourselves permission to evolve that body of work and not embrace such permanence to our decisions in business." - Lydia LeeIn this episode with Lydia:Why Lydia started her first entrepreneurial project part-time while working full-time for an employer. (5:11)How Lydia realized that starting her own business instead of changing jobs or industries was the right decision for her. (9:02)What the sweet spot for creating meaningful work is and how to start to find yours. (10:57)Why you shouldn’t ever undervalue your current network and how to think about social equity in an empowering way. (14:45)A simple mindset shift to overcome the fear of taking action. (20:12)Lydia’s thoughtful advice for first-time entrepreneurs on how to approach loved ones that might have concerns about your decision to be an entrepreneur. (23:21)How to find the thing to build a business around if you’re unsure of what type of business to start. (28:24)How to know the difference between experiencing challenges or whether your business type is not a good fit for you. (32:31)How taking calculated risks can create a sense of safety and lead to meaningful work. (36:58)What aligned action looks like versus hustle action. (41:30)How to access Lydia’s free workshop on how to launch a business designed from your strengths, values, and personality. (43:12)How to connect with Lydia. (47:23)Full show notes, the transcript, resources, and how you can connect with Lydia, can be found here: https://www.startingadvantage.com/Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most entrepreneurs have to pivot their dreams in order to achieve business success.Entrepreneur, Joshua Littlejohn, learned to pivot his dreams to achieve business success. You'll hear advice on his success strategies, habits, and mindsets, including insights on networking, being deliberate when it comes to skill development and the benefits of running your business so that it looks like a large corporation.Joshua Littlejohn is a Canadian entrepreneur, marketer, and author. In January of 2017, he launched Norgress, an Edmonton- based technology company where he currently serves as the chief executive officer. He is also the author of "The Marketing Fallacy: How Any Small Business Can Look Like A Large Corporation, Without The Large Costs". Joshua believes any small business can look like a large corporation without the large costs to experience the benefits that go along with it."It's funny, the older you get, you really do pivot on your dreams. Whether it's a case where you realize, okay, it's just not going to work. Or somewhere along the line, you lose motivation." - Joshua LittlejohnIn this episode with Joshua:Joshua's passion for social upliftment and progressive ideals and values. (4:20)Benefits Joshua has experienced by running his company so that it looks like a large corporation. (7:16)Why there are businesses that will see their best milestones during COVID-19. (8:41)What inspired Joshua's work ethic and passion for community upliftment. (10:19)Joshua's advice on how to know if you should focus on building the brand of your business or your personal brand. (12:06)What Joshua found challenging in becoming an entrepreneur. (14:07)How Joshua managed to grow his company Norgress into the success that it is today. (15:43)How Joshua started to pivot for his dreams. (18:14)How to approach networking to build relationships like Joshua does. (20:27)How Joshua was deliberate from a young age to challenge himself to step outside his comfort zone. (23:15)The habits Joshua has to manage his health and energy. (25:37)A mindset Joshua recommends for whatever habits you choose to have. (26:44)How Joshua uses his values in his hiring strategy and to select partners or team members. (27:53)How to get a free copy of Joshua's book, The Marketing Fallacy' - the ebook and the audiobook. (30:00)Full show notes, the transcript, resources, and how you can connect with Joshua, can be found here: https://www.startingadvantage.com/Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s more to being a frugal entrepreneur than how you spend your money.In this podcast episode, you will hear about what it means to have a frugal entrepreneurial mindset from an entrepreneur who shows others how to launch and manage an online business on a budget.Sarah St John has created several startups throughout her entrepreneurial career of over a decade. She is an entrepreneur, podcaster, and author and describes herself as an animal lover and world traveller. Sarah currently owns a podcast production agency called PodSeam and she is also the podcast host of “Frugalpreneur: Building a Business on a Bootstrapped Budget”."You could do like I did and try different things out. But at a certain point you do need to pick that one thing and focus on that one thing, because I learned that when your hand is in a bunch of different things, it gets overwhelming. If you're putting 20% of your energy and focus into five different things instead of a 100% into one thing, none of them are going to be that successful." - Sarah St JohnIn this episode with Sarah:How Sarah (with the benefit of hindsight) knows that she has always been an entrepreneur at heart. (5:03)The internal struggle of finding an entrepreneurial identity. (8:09)The main reason why Sarah believes some of her earlier businesses failed. (10:46)How Sarah found financial peace and inspiration for her brand Frugalpreneur. (13:46)How to get started with an online business affordably on a budget. (14:40)The most common mistake entrepreneurs make when it comes to their financial mindset. (18:20)How much time you'll likely need to spend on your online business per week when starting out. (19:20)Why Sarah predicts that most businesses will soon have a podcast. (21:05)About Sarah's Preneur Series ebooks for online entrepreneurs and how you can get access to it for free. (24:02)How to be frugal with your time. (25:02)How to build relationships with like-minded entrepreneurs online. (26:20)Full show notes, the transcript, resources and how you can connect with Sarah, can be found here: https://www.startingadvantage.com/Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finding or creating opportunities to build strong customer relationships, as we navigate through a time of change, starts with perspective.Patti Mara is an expert on perspective whose passion is helping people find the perspective that will enable them to generate extraordinary results. She has spent nearly 20 years helping companies and individuals take a fresh look at the way they operate and has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurial-owned and operated businesses to reposition them for success and dramatically increase their growth, customer retention, and profit. Patti is a popular speaker to groups from diverse industries, ranging from finance and commercial real estate to restoration and cleaning, restaurants, and independent pharmacies. She has also been a featured speaker to North American women’s and entrepreneurs’ groups. She is the founder of Maranet Inc. and the creator of The Profit Generator Program*, which takes business owners through a process of developing the ability to see through their customers’ eyes. She also created the Breaking Through Barriers Program*, which helps business owners identify and eliminate the bottlenecks that impede growth and success. She is the author of UpSolutions – Turning Your Team into Heroes and Customers into Ravings Fans."We have buying patterns and everything's been interrupted right now. For businesses that are going out there and engaging in increasing accessibility and trust and building relationship and providing confidence, this is the biggest opportunity you'll ever have to create really strong customer relationships." - Patti MaraIn this episode with Patti:The opportunity in change and challenge for entrepreneurs. (4:53)What is key for businesses to provide to their customers to be successful in 2021 and beyond. (09:58)How Patti found her way into entrepreneurship during university (which was during a time of change and challenge too). (13:21)Why entrepreneurs need to shift their business model from sales to solutions. (16:16]What an entrepreneur can do to identify the unique value their business offers. (19:12)How to approach customer engagements so that it leads to value and stronger customer relations. (21:10)Patti's customer Touchpoint Scorecard and how you can get access to it for free. (24:12)Why you need to prioritize rest and work-life balance. (27:06)A quick and easy way to cultivate gratitude daily. (30:02)Patti's top strategy for building strong relationships as an entrepreneur. (33:31)Full show notes, transcripts, resources, and how you can connect with Patti, can be found here: https://www.startingadvantage.com/Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Becoming purposeful about your productivity can give you a competitive advantage in your business and in life.In this podcast episode, you will hear one of the world's leading experts on productivity and high-performance share advice on how entrepreneurs can become purposefully productive.Matt East is one of the world's leading experts on productivity and high performance. Matt’s books, podcasts, and coaching teach you how to plan your day so you can spend more time on the projects, activities, and relationships that are most important and meaningful to you. He's best known for his one-on-one coaching, where he's been lucky enough to work with many brilliant creatives, entrepreneurs, and business professionals. Matt is the author of The Purposeful Planning Method: How to Plan Your Day, Beat Procrastination, and Regain Control of Your Time. And hosts two popular podcasts, The Goal Achievement Podcast and the Better Humans Podcast.If you start making progress, just incremental progress, day after day, magic can start to happen. You can start to feel like, 'hey, I'm actually doing it; I'm actually doing the things that I'm setting out to do'. - Matt EastIn this episode with Matt:Why all of us struggle with being purposefully productive at times. (3:49)Why clarity matters and what you can do to find it. (7:11)How Matt became an entrepreneur and developed his business model. (9:30)How top priorities each day increases overall productivity. (17:17)The most common productivity challenge among entrepreneurs. (20:08)One thing you can do that can help you maintain a productivity mindset during challenging times like COVID-19. (29:19)Matt's views on entrepreneurship as a team sport. (35:45)Full show notes, transcripts, and resources and how you can connect with Matt can be found here: https://www.startingadvantage.comEnjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having a mentor to turn to is one thing many successful entrepreneurs have in common. But how do you find a more experienced entrepreneur to mentor you, especially if you're a new entrepreneur?In this podcast episode, you will hear about best practices on how to find a mentor; especially if you want to try mentorship for the first time.We discuss in this episode:How a good mentor can support you. (3:17)How to have realistic expectations. (4:11)How to know if you're ready for mentoring. (4:57)3 tips for finding a mentor. (7:46)Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://www.startupadvantagepodcast.com/26 Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One thing many successful entrepreneurs have in common is a close relationship with a mentor. However, many entrepreneurs (especially new founders) do not seek out a mentor as a trusted advisor as hard as they try to find a co-founder, partner, or investor; likely because they don’t understand the value of mentorship.In this podcast episode, you will hear about what entrepreneurship mentorship is briefly (as host Tania can talk about it for hours); you will also hear about what a mentor does and doesn't do in a mentoring relationship.We discuss in this episode:What mentoring means. (3:18)The benefits of mentorship for entrepreneurs. (4:48)The role of a mentor. (6:50)The goal of mentoring. (9:22)Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://www.startupadvantagepodcast.com/25Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the past month, have you experienced any of the following:Feelings of self-doubt?Harshly criticized yourself about your business decisions?Excessive fear that you won't live up to expectations in starting/running your business? If you did, you share some of the common signs among entrepreneurs of imposter syndrome.In this podcast episode, you'll hear about what you can do to start working through feelings of imposter syndrome.We discuss in this episode:Common signs of imposter syndrome. (3:21)What imposter syndrome means and how it's defined. (6:21)Why it's important to manage imposter syndrome to maintain good mental health. (10:37)Reasons for imposter syndrome among entrepreneurs. (12:23)How to start working through imposter syndrome. (15:28) Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://www.startupadvantagepodcast.com/24Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

COVID-19 has impacted entrepreneurs in unpredictable ways and while some are thriving, many others are struggling to stay motivated. Do you need some encouragement? And some advice on how to keep moving forward when you don’t feel motivated? This is what this episode will support you with.In this podcast, you will hear about three steps that you can take to find motivation in taking action.We discuss in this episode:Why motivation is not a feeling. (3:02)Why taking action isn't always the effect of motivation. (6:17)Why you should use the five-second rule. (8:40)The three-step process to get motivated through action. (11:11)Why celebrating your wins is an important part of staying motivated. (14:29)Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://www.startupadvantagepodcast.com/23Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Putting thought behind how you approach a co-founder search can support you in finding a strong fit for you and your business. By taking the time to get to know potential founders first, you're more likely to find a partner that will be someone who will help you build your startup from the ground up through good and bad times.But how do you know when you’ve found a good co-founder match?In this podcast episode, you will hear about how asking purposeful questions can help you during your co-founder dating phase to identify a good match.We discuss in this episode:Why co-founder dating and asking planned questions can help you make strategic partnering decisions. (4:09)Why you should consider having a standard draft of questions as a guide for conversations. (8:25)What you should do first before you draft your questions for your meetings. (9:12)Three categories of question types will help to ensure a basic personality and interest match. (12:11)Why behavioural type questions are a good tool you can use. (17:12)Guidance on how long to take before you make a decision on who to partner with. (20:25)Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://www.startupadvantagepodcast.com/22Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Each co-founder relationship is unique, but there are things any founder (including you) can do right from the start to ensure you are in agreement with your co-founder from the get-go on the important aspects of your working relationship. It's important to have purposeful conversations and the necessary written documents in place to start working together on a strong foundation of agreement.In this podcast episode, you will hear about what you can do at the beginning of your relationship to help get you and your co-founder on the same (legal) page. We discuss in this episode:What a co-founders agreement is. (7:27)Why you need a written agreement with your co-founder(s). (8:50)What an agreement usually includes. (10:49)How to create an agreement. (21:47)Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://www.startupadvantagepodcast.com/21Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favourite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’ve decided you need a co-founder for the many benefits it offers OR if you just don’t like working alone and for that reason are exploring options of finding someone to help you build your business, you're likely wondering: where do I start looking for a co-founder? How do I go about looking for a co-founder?In this podcast episode, you'll be guided on how to identify where to start looking for a co-founder or partner if you’re feeling a bit lost on how or where to start.We discuss in this episode:Why it's important to be clear on what you're looking for in a co-founder. (3:22)3 resources you can use when looking for a co-founder. (5:59)The value of your personal network. (6:25)About founder matchmaking/dating sites. (8:41)Why creating a shortlist can help during the process. (14:00)  Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://www.startupadvantagepodcast.com/20Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favorite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you're considering adding a co-founder to your business, or are actively looking for a co-founder, you will have a lot of questions about what to look for in a new partnership.Strong co-founder relationships are rooted in alignment.In this podcast episode, you'll hear tips on what to look for in a co-founder that will help you determine if they'll align with you and your business mission so that you can function together just like a well-practiced sports team would. We discuss in this episode:The key to a strong co-founder relationship. (4:11)What business alignment means for a co-founding pair. (4:25)3 key things you can look for in a co-founder. (7:58)Why you should look for complementary skills in a partner (8:36)The value of values alignment. (13:58)Why your mission matters when choosing a co-founder. (17:09) Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://www.startupadvantagepodcast.com/19Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favorite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Starting and growing a business is a lot of work and takes commitment. Having a co-founder or business partner can help you gain momentum or help you grow faster than on your own, but it's not necessarily the best solution for every founder. That’s what we’ll talk about.In this podcast episode, Tania helps you to identify if you would benefit from having a co-founder or a business partner for the stage you're at, and shares a few alternatives to consider if partnering up is not right for you right now. We discuss in this episode:Benefits of partnering with others. (3:25)Basic definitions of what it means to work with a co-founder or in a partnership. (4:17)The difference between a co-founder and a partner. (6:25)How to identify if you would benefit from having a co-founder or partner. (9:06)Why you always have options. (13:35)Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://www.startupadvantagepodcast.com/18Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favorite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As an entrepreneur, you are in a unique and powerful position to choose who you want to work with or not. When choosing who you work with, whether it's co-founders, business partners, mentors, coaches, or employees, research shows it works best for all parties involved when your values are aligned.In this podcast episode, you'll start to identify your core values (and the values of others) so that you can choose working relationships that work.We discuss in this episode:Why it is important to choose your working relationships strategically. (3:09)What you can do to help you identify potentially good working relationships. (5:30)An easy way to start identifying your core values. (7:57)How to start identifying the core values of others. (11:54)Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://www.startupadvantagepodcast.com/17Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favorite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you heard of business being compared to sports before? If you’ve listened to previous episodes of this podcast, you have heard me say that we approach entrepreneurship as a team sport here and that it’s a mindset that will be an advantage for your startup.In this podcast episode, you'll hear about why it matters to be relationship-focused as an entrepreneur.We discuss in this episode:Why business is often compared to sports. (2:35)Why the most successful entrepreneurs value teamwork. (5:00)Three advantages of approaching entrepreneurship as a team sport. (8:30)Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://www.startupadvantagepodcast.com/16Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review to support the show on your favorite podcast player.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.