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In This Episode Dale Miller Shares:   That he was a successful lawyer before inventing Chin-Up Strips.   His wife had always complained about his snoring but it wasn't until he had a case where a man had a fatal accident that he recognized that his difficulty sleeping could be deadly.   He had a Sleep study done and it confirmed that he had Sleep Apnea.  He was prescribed a CPAP machine which he said changed his life but he still had a problem with mouth breathing at night.  His doctor told him that if he could "find a comfortable solution to having your mouth breathing at night probably you would sell millions" so that is what he set out to do.   Dale invented Chinup-Strips which are simple medical tape that you simply put on before you go to bed to prevent mouth breathing with your CPAP device.  You no longer have dry mouth, lower CPAP pressure, and you can use the little nasal pillows Instead of having to wear a big mask.   Dale credits growing up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin for his can-do attitude.   Dale was surprised at the amount of opposition from the Medical devices and ENT community regarding his invention.   Selling Chin-Up Strips and making a huge difference in his customer's sleep has been immensely satisfying for Dale.   Dale advises people to pay attention to your sleep patterns, pay attention that you're dreaming. Pay attention that you're not mouth breathing and snoring. If you are, get medial help!   To learn more about Chin-Up Strips, visit Chin-Up Strip (chinupstrip.com)

In This Episode Chef Dennis Shares: That he has had several mentors throughout his career that have helped him become the Chef that he is today. He has had two carpal tunnel surgeries on his hand. How he started a culinary program for teen girls that was one of the schools points of excellence. What prompted him to create a blog and how it didn't initially function like he thought that it would. How many hours a week he works in 'retirement.' That he was Philadelphia's Power User for Google Plus. His attitude towards competitors and competition. How the President of Media Vine helped him set his blog up for ads. How much he made last year. The effect that COVID has had on his business. The number of people that make up his Ask Chef Dennis team and some of their roles. What got him in to Travel blogging. What he considers the secret to successful blogging. The effect that an SEO audit had on his site.        

In this episode Bob shares: That originally he wanted to be a lawyer until he met some.   Accounting for Bob was initially just a course to keep his GPA up in college and not something he wanted to specialize in. Accounting allows him the freedom and opportunity to pursue creative outlets. Bob shares that his girlfriend at the time got him his first job out of college as a Controller for a hotel. Bob was one of the first people in his college to actually use a computer in the work force. Bob sees a lot of people that compare themselves unfavorably to their friends and colleagues perceived financial situations and despairing because of it. Like al lot of us, Bob's parents did not prepare him financially with good habits because they did not know any better themselves. Emotions play a larger role than many might think when it comes to financial decisions and beliefs.  Bob finds that Fear is a huge driver when it comes to money. People are often afraid of what they don't know about money coming back to hurt them. Others believe that they are 'imposters' because their financial journey hasn't been as difficult as others.  Bob views a healthy relationship with money as being one where he is comfortable with the money that he as and the ability to live within his means. Bob reiterates that not all debt is bad. Debt can be very helpful when starting a new venture. It is when debt is used inappropriately (like a blank check) that it becomes a problem. Bob advises giving oneself a 24 hour waiting period on major purchases and/or using someone else as a sort of gatekeeper to have to run major decisions by, even if that is not the case.

In this episode Dan shares: That  he developed his Social Media On Steroids course after someone pointed out that DrumTalk TV was achieving 900% more online reach and engagement than its competitors. Dan considers himself an introvert which I found surprising. Dan preaches that "There's a lot of people who are forever learners with no action. With learning and no action, the knowledge is worthless without application of the knowledge. There's no progress, and without progress, it's all for naught.  Just put it out there and do it!" Dan has been playing the drums for 52 years. "If you're 1% better for a hundred days and you do it once a day, guess what? You'll be a hundred percent, in about three months.  That's an amazing leap." Dan used to want to be an oceanographer but Dan's dad ruined that for him when he took Dan to see Led Zeppelin in concert. Dan doesn't follow the herd mentality in life or in marketing. Dan mirrors the legendary Zig Ziglar's philosophy when he explains, "If you give people more of what they want, you'll get more of what you want." Dan loves teaching and sharing wisdom. Dan credits the NSA (National Speakers Association) with helping him realize that he could apply his methods to other industries. Dan says that before you can find your tribe you first have to find who you are and what you can offer them.  " I encourage people to take a piece of paper or they could do this on the computer and draw three circles that intersect in the middle.  So you get that sliver like this and in those three circles, and one of them, you write skills in one of them, you write opportunity. And in the other one, you write desire and your skills are, that's kind of obvious your attributes. What you're good at your opportunity is who are you connected with? Who are you connected with?  That's those are opportunities. Your desire is what do you really love to do? What makes you happy? And when you fill some things in those three circles where those three circles intersect with that sliver, that's what you should do." Dan encourages others to take an almost brutal look at their businesses and ask people that are NOT their friends to evaluate them.  Friends are less likely to give you the objective feedback that you need. Dan dislikes the term 'avatar' and prefers 'persona' instead as he believes it more accurately represents a potential tribe member. He also beleives that you can have more than one target avatar or persona as people's experiences can vary widely.  There's age ranges, there's genders, there's culture, there's race.  There's social strata, economic and political mindsets. Dan credits his parents with helping him to develop his own positive mindset.  He came from a very loving family and it wasn't until he reached high school that he realized that was not necessarily the norm for everyone. His Mom originally wanted Dan to be a drummer but to her credit (almost a year had gone by since he announced that he wanted to be a drummer instead) she helped him find his first paid touring gig when he was 15. Dan went on tour opening for bands like Blue Oyster Cult, Styx, Heart, and others, all at the age of 15.

In this episode Cathy shares: That she gave a TED talk on the wonderful world of worms.   Why she is an advocate for worms and worm composting.   How her business is ultimately an education business.   How a trade deal with the US that closed her local landfill spurred her to take action.   The number one main objection to worm composting   How she dispels the myth that someone needs a yard of their own to grow food.   How to do vermicomposting.   How to get rid of fruit flies even if you do not have worms!   What the worms like to eat.   The recipe for making worm tea.   That anyone can grow sprouts if they try!   What Laughter Yoga is and the benefits of it.      

Dana Knowles discusses:   How her invention 'The Hanging Shower Caddy' came about.     That the book "One Simple Idea" by Stephen Key introduced her to the world of licensing.   What a good example of a royalty percentage is.   Chris Klesh talks about:   What got him out of retirement and in to being a travel guru.   How his son is the perfect example of being able to work remotely in a vacation setting.   Victoria Wieck shares:   How the typical MBA program's curriculum does not serve the small business owner well.   How a small business can compete in the Marketing realm with giants.   Shawn Moye explains:   Why he started working on his invention, The E-Sports Trainer.   How he validated the idea and moved it forward.   How he views continuous improvement as being integral to his product.   Catherine Kirk talks about:    How she went from prototype to product with the Coffee Bullet.   The name that she wished had been available for her product.      

Joe Pulizzi discusses: The seven steps of starting a business using the Content, Inc model.   What the term Content Tilt means and how to use it to differentiate your business.   How a Content, Inc business is one that must be in it for the long haul.   Zev Asch talks about:   How marketing is based on 100% human behavior.   What Marketing Chutzpah is and how Jet Blue is a great example of it.   Brian Fried shares:   How he comes up with an idea and commercializes it with regard to inventing.   That a patent is not always necessary.   Some of the common mistakes that he sees inventors make.   Sara Crique explains:   What motivates her to keep moving forward in her Entrepreneurial journey.   How her business operates now and what she envisions for her future.   Alan Beckley talks about:    The importance of validating your idea before going too far with it.   What the life of a patent is.   The steps he would take to bring an idea to fruition.    

In this episode Larae shares: That her family goes back four generations living in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.   How she came from a mixed family and that her maternal Grandfather fought for the social justice issues of his day.   Her first business was selling oxygen canisters in Aspen Colorado to combat altitude sickness.   Though she wanted to source her product locally, the best that she could find at the time was a manufacturer in New Jersey.  She still was able to keep the product from being manufactured in China which she opposed due to personal reasons.   Her next business was a Limousine service that grew out of her knowledge of the service business in Aspen.  Hher limousine drivers were also able to deliver the oxygen concentrators as needed.   This also introduced her to the demand for a private jet valet service at the Aspen Airport (ASE).  Her company was the only one allowed to take the luggage to the waiting jets on the tarmac.  As she was the first point of contact for arriving and departing guests she was able to increase her company's cash flow by adding on ala carte services.   Since her daughters have gone off to college, she has become involved with modeling and is currently a model for the Wilhelmina agency.  She credits modeling with giving her the opportunity for more introspective self reflection and the confidence to be on camera.   Modeling was not a career path that she ever saw coming and is excited to see where it takes her.   She believes that the greatest book today is still her Bible and she encourages people to dive in to what sets their soul on fire.   She has come to realize that not everyone has the same life experiences and that as we get older we tend to get stuck in that mindset.  She tries to remind herself every single day to think differently or take a different action that she wouldn't ordinarily take, or, just let her mind go with a different thought process that she might not even have.              

In this episode Ann shares: That she got in to radio news because of the numerous injuries that she had suffered as a modern dancer.   How she had to have a very regimented morning routine due to how early she got up in the morning to go to work.   She left working in the radio industry to become a PR consultant.   She started her own theatre company in Sacramento that focused on either world or Sacramento premieres.   That she had to augment her ticket sales with additional funding such as donations and foundation grants.   That working as a radio announcer helped her to be able to write good press releases and make editorial decisions in her business.   Theatre also taught her how to plan for future events by working backwards from the events deadline and setting up interim goals.   She is donating the proceeds from the sale of prints from "Flowers of Ukraine" to United Help Ukraine.   She advises not to quit your day job when pursuing your artistic endeavors as there is a very small percentage of artists that are financially successful from sales of their art alone.   Ann recommends reading Business and Marketing books with regards to being able to make sales in your craft.   That the Imposter syndrome seems to occur more in artists than in other professions.   That Bob the Cat is 21 years old!    

In this episode Andrea shares: That even before she made the leap in to entrepreneurship her clients were almost begging her to start her own firm to better serve them.   What she does as a PR Manager to help her clients increase their media exposure.   The unfortunate event that happened in the previous agency that she worked for and how it propelled her to start her own firm.   How her biggest mistake centered around a form that she thought needed to be more complicated than it was and how that initially turned off prospective clients.   How she views society as a whole regarding consuming content and what that means for us entrepreneurs.   What she means when she describes herself as a 'P.I. for P.R.'   How she initially defined her customer avatar and why it does not include huge firms.   Why having a Public Relations firm represent you instantly makes your business appear to be bigger.   The mistakes that she sees firms make when it comes to Public Relations and how she helps them correct it.   How a business should prepare to move forward when they engage a Public Relations firm.   That she represents a wide range of clients including authors and inventors.  In fact, Andrea is on the board of The United Inventors Association of America!   How she was an early adopter of working remotely.   That good things can come out of bad publicity and how she has helped other s before do just that.      

In this episode Karen shares: How losing her Mother caused her to re-examine her life and make changes. How volunteering for a friend helped her to find her niche in Social Media. That she now considers herself unemployable. How a musical theatre event provided the perfect name for her business. The mistake most people make by trying to target everyone for their business and how that it backfires. That in addition to real estate professionals, another target market of her business is authors. Her connection to the Hatfield and McCoy feud. How each platform's goal of keeping people on it for as long as they possibly can, can lead to a 'creepy' internet experience where you are being targeted in very specific items across multiple sites. The exercise that she instructs clients to do to find their ideal avatar. How she discovered that she wasn't really serving her clients in the best possible manner when she tried to provide services that she did not specialize in to them and how that applies to us as well. That it is OK to 'fire' a customer if you determine that it is not a good fit. How once you become clear on who your ideal client is and how it ripples out and expands your businesses visibility. Why she advocates for organic reach and not paid advertising so much. Why having a separate business account is beneficial to your business even though you may be getting more engagement on your personal account. That businesses can feed the information that they want know about their business to the various platform's algorithms. The unique opportunity that she is offering other marketing firms to white-label her flagship product and customize it for their various markets. How and why she feels that focus is the key to business success and how the shiny object syndrome can sabotage our efforts.