You'll feel jazzed and inspired when you listen to these interviews from entrepreneurs who are thriving in the housing market, delivering surprises, exploring the Amish business model for success, and dispensing humor with Jewish style.
June 29: Mortgage Consultant Tyler Osby of The Tyler Osby Teamhas helped clients prepare and find the right loan for their home.
July 6: Tania Luna of Surprise Industriesis one of three woman who founded and delivers the unexpected to individuals and business. We'll discover how astonishing people makes for a terrific business.
July 20:Aisha Syed of Iowa Realtytalks about her business as a realtor, her connection with community and unique marketing style.
July 27: If you're feeling like yelling a big Oy Vey! of despair, catch this interview with Dan and Diane Brown who are the brains behind The Jewish Funny Bone.
Tyler's adept understanding of the mortgage world and his general clarity of thinking shine through in this interview. Tyler shares how he has built his business as a mortgage planner in the past six years, debunks a few myths about mortgage lending, and the lessons he has learned in building relationships and business with a big picture plan. You'll enjoy getting to know Tyler. Check out his great blog, too.
(02:03) Explain what you do as a certified mortgage planner.
(05:30) Share your background story and how you came to be an entrepreneur.
(11:03) How does your day break down so that you get so many things done?
(14:20) Where can people find you on the web?
(16:33) Who is your customer and what are they hoping to achieve?
(18:29) Are there a couple of myths you can speak to that you find people still believe?
(22:26) You point out that you try to help your clients finance their mortgage and consider it as an overall piece of their financial plan?
(23:27) How should a person go about finding the right mortgage planner for them?
(29:44) Are you going to be offering workshops in the future?
Are you losing your vantage of your forest due to those clumped together trees in life? In this interview, meet Lori Vande Krol of A Life Made Simple and learn how she is helping businesses and individuals organize their lives for more clarity and productivity. Lori shares some tips and ideas to get your creativity kicked in, and her own experience on building a business that cultivates order.
(02:09) Provide an overview of what you do.
(04:21) What “type” of person are you . . . type A? You must be very organized to help others become more productive. What’s your background?
(06:30) How long has A Life Made Simple been in existence?
(07:13) How did you come up with the title of your business? You have a partner?
(09:21) Who is your customer both on the business and personal side?
(11:14) Share a story of a client that has benefited from your service.
(14:38) What are some of the major hurdles for people to deal with in order to get organized?
(15:60) What should a person or business expect to get started when they contact you?
(17:27) Do you help people organize their computer?
(20:57) Are you using social media? What marketing works for your type of business?
(23:33) What have you learned about yourself since owning a business?
(25:52) What keeps you going when times are tough?
This is the perfect entrepreneurial love story with all elements . . .
an exciting product
an untapped audience that desires the product
reasonable pricing
and technology that creates a new way to bring product and customer together.
Do you hear the Love Story theme playing? This really is a love story of success with an inspiring rather than sappy finish.
For those who want art for their walls this is an interview to meet David Sasson and learn why more customers are finding their way to Overstock Art. If you're an entrepreneur, there are insights on what it takes to make your website a work of art for your customer.
(01:52) Where are you based, somewhere in the Midwest?
(02:10) Overstock Art is an internet business so most of your sales are via the web.
(02:40) Describe what Overstock Art provides to consumers.
(04:00) What is your background and how did you come to decide to create Overstock Art?
(05:28) You’ve had a significant increase in growth since you began?
(06:37) How did you come to discover that people wanted hand-painted reproductions of famous paintings?
(09:02) What is the difference with having a reproduction that is hand-painted versus simply having a poster of a famous painting?
(10:29) Who is your customer, and what are they trying to accomplish when they come to Overstock Art?
(13:22) People seem happy to own something that they know and love already.
(14:50) Were there specific issues you felt you needed to addressvia your website since you’re selling art on line?
(18:18) That’s a nugget of wisdom you share David. It is important to make an experience on your website that the shopper can’t experience anywhere else.
(20:00) Share the newest experience a consumer can have on Overstock and take us on a tour of the website.
(28:33) Have you been using and found social media helpful? What other marketing works well for your type of business?
(33:57) How do you balance your business life with your personal life?
(35:27) What keeps you motivated and passionate about what you do?
Whether it is for baking, confections or crafts Zanda Pandaspeciality molds will help ANYONE look like a creative pro. That was the vision for Sandra Lira who realized the potential of silicon to create unique and detailed molds. She used her expertise to fashion designs that can be used in numerous ways to bake and craft. In this interview, Sandra explains how she launched her vision, did her homework, selected a manufacturer and formed a business.
(01:55)Provide an overview of what you do and offer at Zanda Panda.
(02:39) Where can people find you and more about your decorative molds?
(03:10) How did you get started making these molds and what is your background?
(04:22) Explain the silicon substance and why it’s so useful for your molds.
(05:25) What made you decide to create molds for bake ware?
(08:35) How did you go from creating your designs to selecting a manufacturer?
(09:53) What tips can you offer for selecting a manufacturer?
(10:44) Did you decide from the beginning that your molds would be used for both crafts and baking?
(11:09)Take us on a tour of your website Zanda Panda.
(13:35)How did you come up with the name Zanda Panda?
(14:03)How long has Zanda Panda been in business?
(14:38) How did you go from being a artist to deciding to starting and running a business?
(15:34) Do you enjoy the business side of your business as well as the creative side?
(16:43)Who is your customer? What kinds of things are they interested in achieving when they come to Zanda Panda?
(19:49)It sounds like your audience is a large group of types, i.e. bakers, crafters, children. Does that make it harder to target your information to your customers?
(22:55) Did you discover new things about yourself in the process of owning a business?
(23:58) What have you learned about other people in the process of owning your business?
(26:14) Success . . . slow and steady or a hit right out of the gate?
Terri Lonier was visionary about the needs of the entrepreneur back when there were not many resources to help people build a business on their own. A successful book that reached thousands turned into the useful and FREE website called Working Solo. With her expertise established, she has gone on to consult for an impressive roster of corporations who work to provide services and products to entrepreneurs and help companies encourage entrepreneurial thinking within. In this interview, we speak with Terri about her experiences and some tips and resources such as Master Mind Magic that she recommends to help new and established business owners.
(01:28) What is the purpose behind Working Solo?
(02:26) You’ve been doing this for some time.
(03:19) Working Solo is more pertinent these days with the change in the economy?
(03:59) What is your background and education?
(06:00) Who is your audience and customers?
(08:43) Are entrepreneurs a growing population of the workforce to focus on for products and services?
(11:27) Corporations are not going to hire like they did in the past. Do people need to reconsider their relationship with corporations as an employee?
(12:52) What are the resources available on your website? Is the book available?
(14:35) What are some of the qualities one needs to be an entrepreneur?
(17:08) Is it okay to stay a solo entrepreneur as opposed to growing your business and adding on employees?
(19:06) Can you recommend a few resources for those who have had a business for awhile and need help with focus and ideas?
(21:05)What are the issues facing a solo-preneur versus someone who owns a brick-and-mortar business with employees?
(23:18) Are you still a solo entrepreneur?
(23:29) What are some of the best things you’ve learned from being an entrepreneur?
(24:45) How do you stay optimistic when it gets tough? What have you learned about others in the process of being an entrepreneur?
(27:07) Share one of your favorite epiphanies.
(28:40) Where can they find you and more about Master Mind Magic, Working Solo, and Working Solo Minute?
(29:10) Share a favorite success story.
(31:04) What do you do to stay motivated when things are tough?
