Making Business Happen Podcast - Whiteboard Business Partners

What does "Lifestyle Design" really mean for our businesses? We all have a certain vision of what perfect is for our own lives. Lifestyle design brings the elements of work and life together to create an integrated picture of life. Work and life are not balanced as much as they are integrated. Dave Wellman from The Wellman Group joins me for Session 7 of Making Business Happen Radio. Dave is a long-time entrepreneur and minister who has built a number of different businesses while continuing to serve in his faith. Dave specializes in helping entrepreneurs, especially Baby Boomers, identify their ideal lifestyle design and how to build a business around that design. Dave and I discuss the following topics in Session 7. What exactly do we mean by lifestyle design? Discussion of others' lifestyle design and how that works with your business planning Core tenant of lifestyle design - working in your strengths How do we do that? How comfortable are we delegating or partnering with others? We see a lot of lifestyle design questions coming up with baby boomers. Why are you seeing this happening with the population today? When you’re thinking about lifestyle design, what are some of the key aspects to consider? Monetary considerations Location freedom Time freedom Variety of work Resources that cover lifestyle design Discussion of the next session of Discover, Design, and Deliver beginning on September 18th, 2012  

What questions do you have for your own business? Session #6 of Making Business Happen Radio focuses on questions and answers. Once a month, I will take listener questions and answer them on the show. For questions I do not answer on the show, I promise to incorporate as many as I can into future blog posts and articles. Questions answered during Making Business Happen Radio Session #6 What is that one key thing which a budding entrepreneur would want to look at from an on-line resource like a website, blog, community etc.. to help him or her in the venture? Do you think everything is already available on-line ? Is it enough or is it that there an overflow of information? I'm leaving my full time corporate cushy job. What should be on my first 30 day checklist? Questions about the right accounting software to use. Preferably one that does not use accounting "jargon" I have over 5,000 website hits in the last month. What suggestions do you have to get people to buy from the online store? Questions related to pricing packages and how to target a specific market niche. Questions about how to properly start a Kickstarter campaign. Resources mentioned during Session #6 of Making Business Happen Radio Social Network - LinkedIn Answers Social Network - 48Days.net Book - "Platform" by Michael Hyatt (affiliate link) Xero Accounting Software LessAccounting Software Kashoo Accounting Software Blog post - Four Steps to Creating an On-purpose Business Plan At the Whiteboard Video - Discover Your Ideal Client At the Whiteboard Video - How do you deliver value? Website - www.halfpintnutrition.com Website - www.whitneysparks.net Website - www.synergyforministry.com Kickstarter website - Crowdfunding

How has networking changed in the world of social media? For many years, our business development focused on networking face to face. We would meet over coffee, for lunch, or at networking events. Web 2.0 arrived, and we then retreated behind our computers. However, marketing always focuses on getting our target market to know, like, and trust us. We still must embrace networking. Bob Calamai has the answers for networking Bob is the assistant director of New York University's Masters in Leadership offered through NYU's School of Continuing Studies. Bob is a recognized expert on how networking impacts our leadership and professional responsibilities. Bob and I covered the following topics during our conversation. Social media has become so prevalent today. How has this impacted the breadth and depth of business relationships? What are some of the best practices you are seeing in leveraging social media networking today? How can entrepreneurs adopt these practices? What are some examples of poor networking using social media? How can entrepreneurs avoid these? Questions related to Bob’s three points Be responsive Why has lack of responsiveness become so prevalent? What is the generally accepted timeframe for replying? How does this change relative to the medium (i.e. Twitter, e-mail) Respect your contacts How common sense is this? Why have we neglected this so much? Stephen Covey and Michael Hyatt have talked a lot about the “emotional bank account”. What is the optimal mix in your mind? If you are “just saying hi”, what are some good practices to follow? Being direct, but not pushy We’ve all experienced the “hard sell”. How can we balance our own needs to get things done with maintaining a relationship? What is the best way nurture a relationship in today’s networking world? For entrepreneurs in today’s world, what is the best piece of advice you can give to network more effectively? How can you use networking to make your business happen? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

I welcome Joe Lalonde to Session 4 of Making Business Happen Radio. Joe is a leadership expert, church youth leader, and community leader for Michael Hyatt's extremely successful blog. Joe and I discussed a great post on his own site from June 2012 highlighting three qualities of a successful leader. We covered the following topics. Why is it so difficult for people to delegate? How can leaders make sure they focus on what they are doing best? How can we make sure we work in our strengths more effectively? Why do leaders need great relationships to succeed? How can you build an effective community? What is it like as a community leader for Michael Hyatt's tribe? This is an insightful interview from a young leader with much to share with us about making your business happen! If you are enjoying the podcasts on Making Business Happen Radio, please leave a review on iTunes. This will help the show become more visible and allow others to learn more about achieving their business goals.   Don't forget to sign up for the free "Which Half of Your Marketing is REALLY working?" from noon-1 PM on Monday, July 30. Learn more about the webinar here, or sign up immediately.

Making business happen requires all of us working together. My guest on Session 3 of the Making Business Happen podcast is Kevin Kruse. Kevin is the founder of the Kruse Group and a leading expert on workplace productivity and employee relations. Kevin is the co-author of the best-selling book "We" with Rudy Karsan of Kenexa (affiliate link). Kevin and I cover the following questions in this interview. Employee questions Why don’t more people take responsibility for their own careers as a CEO takes responsibility for a company? How does a career advisory board impact one’s outlook on a career? I took the Archetype test, and I’m a Revolutionary. However, I work in a job and company where my personality isn’t the greatest fit. What is one tip you can give me to apply my archetype to my current position to boost performance? What advice would you give me in terms of long-term career growth? What other advice would you give people who recognize they don’t have a good fit on their Archetype? Why are “slash” careers (see my blog post on this topic) becoming so popular today? Discuss the importance of a brand for both an employee and a self-employed individual. What is the most important factor in a good personal brand? Employer questions Has anyone called you or Rudy to ask about culture like you outlined in your book? What is more important - engagement or alignment, and why? You talk about how “complainers” can be a force for good in a company. How can companies harness the power of complainers? What should employers do to ensure a potential hire fits its organization during the interview process? You talk a lot about how employers need to show their employees the results of their work. What is one thing a supervisor or manager could do right now to demonstrate that to their employees? In your opinion, which of the three pillars should GReAT managers start doing first - Growth, Recognition, or Trust? How can a good employer work on helping employees take more responsibility for their careers? What examples (both good and bad) are you currently seeing?

My friend and co-host AJ Perisho from Better Business Growth Faster joins me for Session 002 of the Making Business Happen podcast. AJ is a certified Duct Tape Marketing coach and marketing expert, and we have shared many ideas and brainstorms over the years. AJ and I discuss the following topics on this session. Why the "spaghetti theory" of marketing (i.e. throw it against the wall and see what sticks) does not work. We dissect the famous John Wanamaker quote, "Half of my advertising doesn't work. The problem is I don't know which half." A discussion of why people mistake strategy for tactics in marketing. How you need to identify your target market as a part of your marketing strategy. A sneak peek at a webinar AJ and I are co-hosting on Monday, July 30.

Welcome to Session 1 of the Making Business Happen Podcast! Every two weeks, I will submit a podcast to help you make your own small business happen. The first episode of this show is an introduction to the podcast, Whiteboard Business Partners, and me. Summary of topics covered in Session 1 Introducing myself - Dallon Christensen, President and Creative Director of Whiteboard Business Partners and your host for the podcast. Giving my background and the source of my "awakening" to make the Great Corporate Escape and start my own business full-time in May 2012. An introduction to why Whiteboard Business Partners exists and how it helps you make your business happen. An outline of the podcast schedule and format. I will initially publish podcasts every two weeks. Each podcast will last between 20 and 25 minutes. I will rotate between interviews with small business thought leaders and entrepreneurs making their own businesses happen and a rotating panel of co-hosts to cover specific small business topics in-depth. Resources discussed in Session 1 (all links are affiliate links to the Whiteboard Business Amazon site) Free Agent Nation by Daniel Pink Platform by Michael Hyatt No More Dreaded Mondays by Dan Miller