Evolvepreneur® (After Hours)

EPS07:058 [Jeff Skipper] ​​​​​​​Relevance, Resilience, and Revenue

Welcome to the Evolvepreneur (After Hours) Show I am your Special Host Richard Wray Join me today where we dig deep with our guests and get you the best concepts and strategies to fast-track your business. My very special guest today is Jeff Skipper ... Jeff Skipper is a consultant who helps organizations change and transform through improving employee performance. He discussed how he transitioned to being an independent consultant after 25+ years working with major companies. An interesting anecdote was how he helped the Salvation Army implement a new system by getting employees comfortable with change. Skipper emphasized the importance of establishing trust with clients and delivering value in order to get referrals and continue working with customers long-term. He also stressed the significance of developing thought leadership through writing to both attract new clients and fuel ongoing business. Read more

EPS07:057 [Angel Anderson] ​​​​​​​Embrace Shift, Thrive in Transformation

Welcome to the Evolvepreneur (After Hours) Show I am your Special Host Richard Wray Join me today where we dig deep with our guests and get you the best concepts and strategies to fast-track your business. My very special guest today is Angel Anderson ... In this episode, Angel (Carlton) Anderson discusses her work helping people embrace change and transformation. She started by creating youth leadership programs for her son's school. This evolved into corporate programs and books to guide people through the 6 stages of transformation: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and resurrection. Her process helps people understand their purpose and undo self-sabotaging beliefs. Angel shared how being kind to oneself is important during times of change. She also discussed the importance of grieving and releasing relationships or environments that do not support one's goals. Angel's work aims to help people heal and live the life they dreamed of by sharing their gifts with others. Read more

EPS07:059 [Jem Fuller] The Best Is Yet To Come

Welcome to the Evolvepreneur (After Hours) Show I am your Special Host Richard Wray Join me today where we dig deep with our guests and get you the best concepts and strategies to fast-track your business. My very special guest today is Jem Fuller ... Jem Fuller discussed his colorful global life experiences, including living in different countries and running an executive coaching practice and retreat company in locations like the Himalayas and Bali. He believes having an optimistic mindset of thinking the best is yet to come can help people get better results and feel happier. Jem's favorite part of his work is running mindfulness meditation retreats, where participants have profound experiences relaxing into the present moment without expectations. Practicing mindfulness can help people observe their thoughts and emotions without judgment. Jem shared an exercise for beginners to try mindfulness meditation for 5 minutes a day. He also discussed helping a business owner transform her life by overcoming trauma from her past. Read more

EPS07:056 [Pete Lord] ​​​​​​​Believe Me, The Pain Is Worth It

Welcome to the Evolvepreneur (After Hours) Show I am your Special Host Richard Wray Join me today where we dig deep with our guests and get you the best concepts and strategies to fast-track your business. My very special guest today is Pete Lord ... Pete is a serial entrepreneur who started his career at a bank and has since founded multiple companies, including a successful finance app called MoneyBrilliant that was sold for over $9 million. He discusses his journey of successes and failures in starting various businesses focused on helping people improve their financial literacy and savings habits. Pete believes in failing fast with startups and notes the importance of meditation and stress management from his practice of Qigong in helping him persist through challenging periods. His networking from previous ventures has also opened doors to new opportunities. Read more

EPS07:055 [Scott Montgomery] ​​​​​​​How Unconventional Success Can Be Yours Too

Welcome to the Evolvepreneur (After Hours) Show I am your Special Host Richard Wray Join me today where we dig deep with our guests and get you the best concepts and strategies to fast-track your business. My very special guest today is Scott Montgomery ... In this episode, Scott Montgomery discusses his unconventional path to success in building his company Worldgate, which now has over 100 employees. He did not have a traditional education but found opportunities by partnering with others and building trust. His relationships with mentors and customers helped his business grow organically over time. Scott emphasizes the importance of having a supportive partner and knowing your customers' needs before launching a business. While he struggled in school, Scott was able to leverage his self-awareness and people skills to create success unconventionally. He has now written a book capturing lessons learned and wants to pay forward guidance to help others pursuing entrepreneurship. Key Moments: Scott found unconventional success through relationships and trusting partnerships, despite not having a traditional educational background. He started in real estate but was drawn into corporate consulting through connections, leading to the founding of his company Worldgate. Worldgate supports school districts by implementing business systems and providing staffing/project support. Scott attributes much of his success to the people he surrounded himself with and trusting relationships where they learned and grew together. His book outlines lessons from his unconventional path to success, focusing on relationships, partnerships, and self-awareness. Scott sees value in "paying it forward" through coaching and mentoring others now in his career. Having ADHD was initially challenging but taught him self-awareness that helped him succeed professionally. Strong partnership with his wife was also important, including in raising their family. Common mistakes of entrepreneurs is assuming people automatically want what they're offering without testing interest first. It's important to have some customers and product viability tested before fully launching a business. Read more

EPS07:054 [Katherine Pomerantz] ​​​​​​​How Your Big Idea Can Change the World

Welcome to the Evolvepreneur (After Hours) Show I am your Special Host Richard Wray Join me today where we dig deep with our guests and get you the best concepts and strategies to fast-track your business. My very special guest today is Katherine Pomerantz ... Katherine started her career as an actress but found it difficult to pursue her creative passions living in rural Oklahoma. She realized she had a talent for accounting and helping others understand personal finances. Katherine created the Money Storyteller Method to make financial conversations more accessible and fun by linking them to the power of storytelling. She helps clients examine their underlying beliefs about money in order to support their values-driven goals and ideas. Katherine discussed how shame around money success can be overcome by understanding one's motivations. Her approach has helped many creative business owners gain financial stability while staying true to their missions. Read more

EPS07:053 [Nicholas Kemp] ​​​​​​​Dealing with Impostor Syndrome

Welcome to the Evolvepreneur (After Hours) Show I am your Special Host Richard Wray Join me today where we dig deep with our guests and get you the best concepts and strategies to fast-track your business. My very special guest today is Nicholas Kemp ... Nick Kemp is the author of a book on ikigai, a Japanese concept meaning a reason for living. He discusses how ikigai is misunderstood in the West and explores its true meaning of finding things that make life worth living. Kemp talks about dealing with imposter syndrome and how living in different countries gives perspective. An interesting case study is discussed of a woman who combined her careers in psychology and modeling to help others' body image. Kemp advises listening to your intuition over others' opinions when making important decisions. The takeaway message is that finding ikigai is not about being the best version of yourself but focusing on what you care about. Read more

EPS07:052 [Chris Anderson] ​​​​​​​No Plan 'B'

Welcome to the Evolvepreneur (After Hours) Show I am your Special Host Richard Wray Join me today where we dig deep with our guests and get you the best concepts and strategies to fast-track your business. My very special guest today is Chris Anderson ... Chris Anderson started his company Elevate Media Group after leaving his job in 2020 with just savings and no other income. He helps businesses grow through video podcasting and content creation services. Anderson discusses his journey of taking the leap of faith to become an entrepreneur. He also provides advice on getting support from mentors rather than trying to convince skeptical family members. As an example of success, Anderson mentions a client who has gained 3-4 new clients each month through their podcast. Elevate Media works to fast track their clients' skills in podcasting and public speaking so they can build confidence and see business growth. Read more

EPS07:051 [Amy Cook] Weathering The Storm - Being A Small Business

Welcome to the Evolvepreneur (After Hours) Show I am your Special Host Richard Wray Join me today where we dig deep with our guests and get you the best concepts and strategies to fast-track your business. My very special guest today is Amy Cook ... Amy Cook, founder of Stage Marketing, discusses how her agency helps businesses with full-funnel marketing, digital strategies, and experiential marketing. She emphasizes the importance of understanding customer data and not getting distracted by hype around new technologies. While AI tools can help with efficiency, Amy notes that human creativity and personal touches are still needed to build strong connections with customers. Small businesses are discussed, with advice about carefully managing budgets, researching industry benchmarks, and avoiding too-rapid expansion. Amy also talks about how her agency assists healthcare companies in acquiring new facilities to help them grow while maintaining their mission of improving patient outcomes. Read more

EPS07:050 [Paul Daniels] Leaders Are Learners Too!

Welcome to the Evolvepreneur (After Hours) Show I am your Special Host Richard Wray Join me today where we dig deep with our guests and get you the best concepts and strategies to fast-track your business. My very special guest today is Paul Daniels ... Paul Daniels is an international speaker and author who discusses his concept of peripheral thinking, which involves drawing insights and ideas from outside one's industry or area of expertise. He talks about how leaders should learn from others and not think their company is unique. Paul also shares lessons from his experience working with companies like GE and IBM. As someone with dyslexia, he discusses how he came up with innovative ideas and now teaches others to think like innovators. Paul advocates for leaders to understand their strengths and weaknesses, as well as their employees', in order to get the best from everyone. He is currently working on a project to launch a knowledge-sharing platform in 2024 based on collecting wisdom from organizations around solving problems. Read more