It's All About The Questions

Jan Deardorff is an inspiration to many. She started her Mary Kay business while a teacher and in five months made more than she did teaching. Many want that dream to come true when they start home-based businesses yet many never come close to her success. How has she accomplished so much in her 29 years with Mary Kay? How has she managed to weather many storms of uncertainty for her family and still come up on the positive side of situations? With the world turned upside down right now and business as usual not possible, Jan shares her secrets of resilience and growth and how she and her husband plan for the down even when things are on the up. Listen to the end and you will hear her tips on how she helps her team, or down-line as it is known in the world of Mary Kay and other business models like Mary Kay, plan from the start for success. Jan Deardorff is the Future Ex. Sr. Sales Director Mary Kay, Inc. and believes that if you, "Help enough people get what they want and you will live the life of your dream

Lisbeth Tanz has been editing and ghostwriting for a long time now and gets asked many questions about the process. Here are a few of the questions she is often asked. Is a ghostwritten book equal to a self-written book, do we need to listen to everything an editor tells us? How do I pick an editor? What is a ghostwriter anyway? And so many more. If you have ever thought about writing a book but realize you might not have the best skills, this is the episode for you. Take a listen as Lisbeth shares the ins and outs of hiring a ghostwriter or editor and what it takes to write a book. Lisbeth Tanz, a nonfiction book ghostwriter, editor, author coach, and book-writing educator, works with female coaches, speakers, and entrepreneurs who have a transformational message. Lis' passion is helping her clients see themselves through her eyes and encouraging them to reveal those authentic truths and compelling stories that will move, inspire, and enlighten their audiences. She guides authors striving to make a positive

Data, data, data. Now considered a more valuable resource in some circles than gold or diamonds. But what does all that data mean and how do you access and use it? Rick Francart loves all things data and helps his clients harness their data for more than just sales and marketing. Data is a living, breathing thing and the way you use it can make your business thrive or fail. So how can you use your data? Access your data? Make your data living thing for your business? Take a listen to this March 10, 2020 episode as Rick Francart discusses data and your business. Rick Francart is the Founder & CEO of Five Opportunities, a next generation business partner that recognizes no two businesses are alike, and the way we conducted business in the past is not going to work in the future. For decades, Rick has been assisting commercial and government organizations of all sizes navigate their digital transformation journey. Rick is an expert at connecting Business, Technology, and People, while maintaining the fragile

As an entrepreneur your worst fear is often what happens to your  business if you get sick. You might ask yourself, "How do I continue until I am better? What will happen to my staff? What happens if my illness lingers a long time? What if I am not the issue but a key team member is ill?" Joe Petroski asked himself those questions, and many more, when he was hospitalized and wasn't sure he was going to make it. Now these questions are being asked even more in the world right now with the world crisis. (This episode was done on March 3 and I am just posting it as I had some tech issues. No laughing. Geeks have tech issues too!) The episode is even more relevant today than it was on March 3rd. Take a listen as Joe shares how he had to accept he could not heal himself, how he learned to ask and most of all, how he is setting his business and life up for success if it ever happens again. Joe Petroski is CEO and Founder Profound Power Inc. A certified master healer in Chinese Energetics, Spiritual Teacher and prof

Ted Pankiewicz created For the Love of Paws in 2014 after a devastating loss. Their mission is to help seniors who can no longer take care of their beloved pets. They provide food, to seniors and their pets, care, foster placement and more. That more is where it gets even more interesting. What started as a singular vision has grown as they realized the needs of their clients has expanded. There are 1.5 million non-profits in the U.S.  According to Forbes 50% will fail or stall within the first few years due to lack of leadership, vision and even funding. So how does Ted Pankiewicz and his family manage to provide over 10,000 pounds of pet food every month. provide supplemental food for home-bound seniors and foster and place pets who have lost their owners? Take a listen as Ted shares how he created and grows his non-profit, takes care of his beloved community and listen as he shares how you can grow a successful non-profit too. Ted Pankiewicz was born in New Jersey and served in the military and on police f

Ashlyn Szilva says that demographics are no more when it comes to selling and marketing to your clients. If you are not thinking about culturegraphics then you are missing out on clients. If you want to do business in the world today you have to be able to move fast and respond to, and capitalize on, trends on a daily basis.  Convenience is key to marketing to more and more people. They want to do business with companies that don't define them by their traditional demographics of gender, race, income group. They buy based on their likes and current beliefs. Culture, like gender is becoming more fluid. Watch Twitter and observe the hashtags that are trending and who is using them and you will see that the old ways of doing business just will not survive much longer. A great example is the Oscar win of Parasite over other films thought to be shoe-ins. Listen to this episode and get a crash course in culturegraphics from Ashlyn Szilva on how and why we should be using culturegraphics versus demographics in more

Lisa Cummings has been a road warrior her whole career as the leading consulting firm for helping businesses Lead With Strength using the Strength Finder model. Most of her year was spent travelling to and from clients to run live workshops. One day she asked herself, "Can I do what I do without all the travel?" Two years after she asked herself that question her business went from 80 percent travel to 20 percent travel with no loss of revenue. How did she do that? Can you do that too? Take a listen as Lisa Cummings share how she transformed her business without changing the impact her work has on her clients. We also take about how you can find and use your strengths to create and transform your business too. Lisa Cummings has delivered events to over 11,500 people in 14 countries. In her signature program, Notice What Works, she helps leaders improve performance on their teams by tapping into each person's strengths. You can see her featured in places like Harvard Business Publishing, Training Magazine, and

On this episode Maura Nevel Thomas explains why attention management is more powerful than time management. Time management is over and done with. Forget it. Throw those thoughts away and focus on where you put your attention. According to Maura, if you spend your time focusing on where you pay attention, then you can maximize your time and minimize your time to achieve your goals. By breaking free of the idea that you can manage time, you become available to focus on what is important. Maura shares questions to ask for figuring out what to pay attention to and what not to pay attention to and much more. We also discuss how to "manage where your head is", how to stay on task by not staying on task and Maura also shares the 4 Quadrants of Attention Management from her book, Attention Management: How to Create Success and Gain Productivity Every Day. Maura Nevel Thomas is an award-winning international speaker and trainer on individual and corporate productivity and work-life balance, and the most widely-cited

Did you know that you should never charge your phone at a communal charging station? Did you know you should be careful where that charging cable for your phone or other smart device came from or how you can protect yourself while using public WiFi? These and other questions are answered by my guest, Alexis Perdereaux-Weekes. He is a cybersecurity professional with over 20 years of extensive experience mitigating risks for his clients when it comes to cyber threats. If you think you do not need to worry about cybersecurity, this episode will open your eyes to how everything from your health records to your mobile phone are increasingly under threat. And, we talk about how you can easily begin protecting yourself with a few simple steps and a few important questions you need to ask. Alexis Perdereaux-Weekes is a senior Business Leader with over 20 years of Information Technology and Assurance experience, with extensive experience working on a broad range of corporate IT initiatives where he helps businesses id

Be kind. Remember the Golden Rule. Treat others as you want to be treated. Every heard those phrases? Growing up my parents and grandparents always said to me, "be kind, you never know what someone is going through." Nathan Caldwell has been studying kindness for a long time now and all his research shows that building a business where kindness is the foundation stone of everything you do wins every time. But how do you hire for kindness? How do you fire with kindness? Can you empower kindness and still make money? In a world where everyone has a camera and everyone can post a comment on social media, kindness is not always the lead. Yet, the most viral videos tend to be the ones showing one person's kindness towards a person or an animal. Why is kindness good for your business? Can you build kindness into your staff? Take a listen as Nathan Caldwell shares how living a life of kindness not only makes you happier but can increase your bottom line if you are authentic in how you live it. Nathan Caldwell has sp

Terry Whalin has been in publishing for over three decades on both sides of the aisle. He has seen the industry change and has also seen authors change. Over the course of his career what has not changed are the myths around publishing, being an author and money. Enter his latest book, 10 Publishing Myths - Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed.  How does one succeed as an author? By understanding publishing and what you, as an author, need to do to push your success forward. During this episode Terry Whalin shares several of the myths and the actions you can take today to begin selling more books, get published, make money as a writer and understand the business of being an author. Because face it, the days of, "if you write it they will come," are gone. You need to market yourself and your book even before the first word has been written. Terry Whalin has loved books since his mother read And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (the first Dr. Seuss book). He has worked both sides of the editorial des

What is the point of writing a book if you cannot get it in the hands of the people who can benefit from your message and wisdom you have learned? All too often writers write a book and, if they manage to publish it, have boxes sitting in their garage or basement with less than 100 books sold. How do you sell books to more than your family and make a business out of writing? Michael Ebeling has been a literary agent for over two decades and has been helping authors get published and get sold even years after their books have been out in the marketplace. In a world with over a million books on Amazon alone, that says a lot to me about his skills and he is my agent! On this episode Michael shares how you can create a real funnel that sells your books and builds your business at the same time. If you are an author, or want to be an author, take a listen to this episode. Michael Ebeling brings over 20 years of publishing, consulting, book promotion and author business management experience to Ebeling & Associ

Holidays are not just joy and light for those who are dealing with loss of any kind. It can be a nightmare to navigate all the happy, happy, joy, joy that is dished out if you have lost someone you love. Even friends and family don't really know how to include those who are grieving. So how do you navigate your grief or the grief of others during the holiday season? My guest, for the 3rd time this year, is Dr. Joan Rosenberg. On this episode we talk about how to honor your grief while everyone else is having a party, how you can support someone who is grieving today and other days and how you can begin building new traditions by sharing the old ones you had with missing loved ones with those around you. During the show I share how grieving hit me like a 100 foot wave while baking my grandma's Christmas butter cookies. Dr Joan and I talk honestly about moving through it to the other side. If you are grieving, or know someone who is, take a listen and share this post please. Know you are not alone. Best-selling

Brian Kurtz has been in direct response marketing for close to four decades. He's learned from the best and is the best when it comes to understanding, and implementing, marketing that gets your  prospect to buy, subscribe, share and use the products and services you are are selling. Direct marketing is not a dirty word and Brian says we all need to embrace our products and services and share them with the right people. We must "Overdeliver" if we want to make a difference for our clients and our prospective clients. On this episode Brian shares why a list isn't just a list and how you can turn a compiled list into a response list. He also shares why the long game is more important than the short game and what the Lifetime Value of a client means to your bottom line. Listen to the end and find out how you can win a copy of his latest book, Overdeliver. Brian Kurtz has been a serial direct marketer for almost 40 years and never met a medium he didn't like...and while he's had much success, he also must admit t

Is that the best you can do? A common question if you've even negotiated a purchase of a new car but have you ever thought of asking that question of yourself in all aspects of your life and business? Kevin Hunter has applied that question to every action he takes and it has transformed his life and the lives of his clients. He wrote the book on that topic and it is life changing.  During this interview Kevin Hunter shares how to get out of your rut, stopped being trapped by your own mind and the how OAR and BED are the best ways to know if you are doing the best you can do and find the thirsty horses that want to purchase your services and drink your products and services over and over and over again. Kevin Hunter grew up in a very entrepreneurial family, and spent a majority of his professional life being self-employed. He got into media in 1999 broadcasting business talk radio. Moved into the online video broadcasting business in 2009, and by 2012 knew there was a serious future in publishing educational a

Lori Ruff, the original LinkedIn Diva herself, and Joe Frankie III discuss how to succeed with LinkedIn in 5 minutes/day. They call it a 5 minute drill. I call it simple to do every day. What is LinkedIn and why should you care? If you are in business today LinkedIn can help your find clients, source vendors, find employees, get that new career you've always dreamed about, connect to like-minded people, get booked on podcasts and media and so much more. They key though is using it effectively to meet your goals. During this episode Lori Ruff and Joe Frankie III share the key steps to take each day to make your profile be one people are looking at, how using their "Sword, Sabre and Scalpel" approach to using LinkedIn can rapidly focus your efforts and how, in just 5 minutes a day, you can use LinkedIn to achieve your goals. Lori Ruff believes the magic of genuine human connection occurs when people behave authentically. As a notable "professional brand" thought leader, Lori has written multiple books, spoken

Conflict resolution seems to be especially difficult around the holidays, well really all the time for most folks. I mean just think what is happening today around business, politics, religion. sexual definition and more. Most parents told us if you want to have an enjoyable meal with someone don't discuss politics or religion at the dinner table. With social media and a 24/7/365 news cycle the world is always on the brink of something or other and tensions run high. My guest, Mari Frank, has spent decades as a lawyer and family law mediator handling some of the toughest conflicts most people will ever encounter. How does she stay cool under rapidly escalating conflict? how does she diffuse the seemingly unresolvable so that everyone walks away from the table with more ease than when they sat down? Take a listen as Mari shares how H.A.R.D. L.O.V.E. can convert conflict into collaboration and how it only takes one person to stop a conflict. She also shares how asking yourself, "What do I need to do to be OK le

When I look back at the songs that influenced my life, that inspired me when I was down and that are always there when I need to express an emotion, I realized that Thomas Bahler invariably had a hand in the creation or production of the song. We met at a conference years ago and he helped me pick a song to bring me on stage for my keynote. he just seemed to know who I am via song. On this episode, Thomas Bahler, who wrote or produced for Michael Jackson, Cher, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Quincy Jones, The Partridge Family, Bobby Sherman, Steve Spielberg and many more, talks about what inspired him, how he learned to ask questions, how his many decades long career took him in directions he never imagined but was open to and what inspires him to continue creating soundtracks for our lives. Thomas Bähler has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the entertainment industry. He composed music for Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Cher, directors Steven Spielberg and Barry Levinson, magicians Siegfried and Ro

Pat Grillo shares how a vendor decision cost his 35 year company over 10 million dollars in sales and how it changed his business and life for the better. Did that get your attention? It can happen to any entrepreneur. You choose a vendor partner that has products that your clients can use and you enter into a relationship with them that allows you to provide better pricing to your clients and higher margins to you. Over the years you build trust together and you have an increasing amount of your business that is built off that stream of revenue. But what happens when that vendor you trusted for years cuts you out of the picture and starts selling directly to the client at a lower price and then cancels your relationship with you so you can no longer sell their product? Think this is a rare occurrence in the world of business? It is not. Take a listen and learn what Pat Grillo and his team learned and did and what they had in place before the floor fell out that has enabled them to grow their business to a di

Negotiations happen every day and not just in business. We negotiate with our families, at work, with vendors and more. Negotiation is not about win-win or win-lose. Rather according to Mari Frank it is about finding the sweet spot where each party knows their needs and can express them so results happen without anyone feeling like a loser. Mari Frank reveals how she uses negotiation as a legal mediator and attorney and shares her 5 key tips to walking into and away from your negotiations with strength. There was so much she had to share around negotiation that she is coming back on the show. Mari Frank is an attorney, mediator, author (5 books), professional speaker, professor, and radio host of two shows (since 2005) airing on KUCI 88.9 FM in Irvine CA. For 3 decades, she's expertly been using her unique "solutioneering" tools to resolve conflicts and transform adversity into opportunity for her clients, and audiences. Unlike a shark, her dolphin approach, gentle yet powerful, transforms disputes between pe