Business Owners & Entrepreneurs Podcast With Peter Boolkah | Business Coach | The Transition Guy®

 Why is it that despite being in the same industry, adapting to change in business has been harder for some businesses than others? As you may already know first-hand, business adaptability is especially critical today, in the middle of a pandemic, with an unprecedented and continuously changing business environment. In today’s episode, I’m joined by mental health and psychology expert Kyran O’Neill. We take a look at a trend that’s making its rounds in the world that I like to call "same storm different boats". The pandemic has touched everyone. However, its effects have been different on different people, with some people feeling it more, and others less. We’ve seen this phenomenon during this global crisis where business owners in the same industry have had very different reactions to pandemic conditions. The only way to explain these differences in level of business adaptability is by looking into the psychology behind them. People interpret their environments differently. They may get the same

If you want to begin really growing your business, you have to start embracing and mastering marketing. In this conversation with GreenPal CEO and founder Bryan Clayton, we discuss the various hats that a business owner has to wear, and why marketing is one that is absolutely indispensable. Why is marketing so important? As Bryan Clayton explains, marketing has to be a core competency of the business in order for it to thrive. It has to be baked into the company and ingrained in its DNA from the very beginning. After all, your customers will get to know your business through your marketing. And this means that as a business owner, you need to take ownership of your marketing. Mastering marketing is crucial to growing your business, and you should NEVER abdicate that responsibility. Marketing will allow you to discover the growth engine of your business. But only if you’re guiding the process. For more advice on building and growing your business, watch this entire conversation with Bryan Clayton. I hope you f

In today’s video, I speak to trauma and performance expert Dr. Don Wood about Covid-19's impact on business executives and owners. Over the last 18 months, many changes have occurred that may have been quite traumatic to most of us, whether we're conscious of it or not. Today, we talk about how the pandemic affected businesses and their leaders, and the effects of trauma that this pandemic has caused on performance. The pandemic has been a huge game-changer and can really be a trigger for trauma. If there’s one thing that humans fear the most, it’s uncertainty. In our lifetime, there’s never been a greater period of uncertainty than now. So you can only imagine how the trauma from this pandemic affected business leaders, as much as it's affected a lot of other people. The trauma that accumulates over our lifetime affects the way we act and make decisions. Everyone's familiar with our human fight-or-flight response to stressful situations, but there's actually 3 possible effects of tra

 In this conversation with Ross Kimbarovsky, founder of Crowdspring, we discuss the future of freelance, self employed jobs, and how businesses can adapt to a changing world. The thing is, the number of freelance jobs is on the rise. But remote work isn't for everyone either. Some people need the structure of a physical office space, while others thrive when they have the flexibility to work independently. For businesses wanting to create strong teams in the middle of these changes we face in the workforce, hiring is going to be a critical component. Ross Kimbarovsky shares that he doesn't just look at resumes anymore. To him, communication is the most important quality and so he evaluates a candidate’s ability to communicate through writing.  The future of freelance work is going to change the way businesses operate. But beyond the increase in self employed jobs and changes in the workforce, businesses will also have to change their messaging to reflect consumer expectations during this post-pandem

Preventing burnout at work is something that requires attention. Especially with the pandemic easing up, it’s perhaps more important than ever that we learn how to avoid work burnout. In this conversation with Sarah Dawn, we discuss the myth of making up for lost time, and how you can regain your lost income without burning out. The thing is, when you try to make up for all the time you lost at work or in your business during the lockdowns, there are side effects - namely, burnout. It's true that you need to regain lost income, but you don't necessarily need to regain lost time. By doubling the amount of time you work, you'll simply prolong the pain that you’re experiencing because it’s not sustainable. You need a strategy. Specifically, I’m talking about automating and delegating. Tech tools are an easy and cheap way to save you hours in your business. Unfortunately, people are reluctant to change. They’d rather resign themselves to the pain of work burnout than try something that could actual

When society goes through a major change like this global pandemic we're experiencing now, there's a lot of pain that comes with it. But there are also opportunities for career transformation and career changes. In today’s episode, career educator and entrepreneur Misha Rubin shares some insights on how you can build a meaningful career with the unprecedented number of career possibilities that exist now.  With all the information we're taught throughout our lifetime, no one really teaches us how to search for fulfilling and meaningful careers. In the past, it was common for people to have just one career throughout their entire lives, but that’s changing. It's now quite unlikely that one person will stick to one career throughout their life. Some careers even disappear or become irrelevant through time. For this reason, it's become increasingly important to know how to embrace career transformation, and carve out a meaningful career path for yourself. It’s been a painful and grueling

Management in the industrial age meant having to see a person physically present, and being or “looking” productive. Measuring productivity was rather archaic. But employee time management has changed a lot with the post-pandemic blended working environment. As business owners and leaders, we'll have to do a better job at managing employees remotely, focusing less on standardization, and encouraging employee autonomy.If you do a simple Google search, you’ll find a whole lot of content about productivity.With working from home, homeschooling, household responsibilities, and balancing everything in between, productivity can get really hampered. So what can we do to actually get our time back, and do the things we want to do? Employers and managers now need to allow employees to manage their own time as an entrepreneur would, to whatever degree is realistic. In managing employees remotely, since managers don't necessarily see employees, it's easy to fall into a tendency to micromanage. But microma

Pre-pandemic, many entrepreneurs and employees found themselves caught in a hamster wheel, always hustling and unable to think - time normally passed by so quickly. But post-pandemic, things seem to have slowed down, enough to let people reevaluate their situation. People have started to question their purpose. And now, a lot of us are slowly realizing that the true measure of success is having that ability to carve your own path, figure out who you want to be, and know what you want to do to create real meaningful impact in this world. Climbing the Right Mountain by Tony Martignetti aims to inspire people to do just that. Don't panic and have hope. You can and you will create meaningful impact by climbing the right mountain. As you're navigating through life, just remember to take action, and start to narrow your focus on the things that will help YOU feel fulfilled.To reach Tony and learn more about his work, you can visit his website at https://www.inspiredpurposecoach.com or find him on LinkedIn

The pandemic has caught everyone off guard, especially with the sudden need to shift to digital communication. A lot of us haven't necessarily been used to this, but what if we could close the gap between online communication and in-person interaction using a simple method? Digital Persuasion by Erin King is the ultimate guide for breaking through the restrictions of digital communication by learning a more effective communication style. Many people already struggled with communication pre-pandemic, and those difficulties have been highlighted even more since the move to digital communication. The world has changed, and it likely won't be returning to the way it was. We then need to learn how to bridge the gap between being our in-person self and our digital self. In this video, we tackle how we can address this with Erin King.Erin has been running 2 eCommerce companies and 1 social media agency. She's spent a lot of time working with sales and marketing organizations, helping them figure out h

Building rapport with clients is essential for client attraction and client retention, especially during this pandemic when we're beginning to transition into a blending workspace and environment. So how can we enhance selling relationships to equip us to work within today's context? Today I speak to Kathleen Cutler, a high ticket closer, about how best we can bridge the gap between traditional sales techniques and the virtual space to build and keep client relationships.If you’re waiting for things to go back to “normal”, it’s just not likely to happen anytime soon. So, we need to change our mindset and skill up in preparation for the move. With the advent of artificial intelligence in the past 10 years, we’ve become lazy with client relationships. We’ve become automated and unblended in our approach when it comes to building rapport with clients. But the lockdown has just highlighted even more the importance and value of forming selling relationships. Despite the movement to virtual, it's imp

Although the pandemic has changed the way businesses operate, many companies have not updated the way they hire employees. In today's episode, I share a conversation with Ira Wolfe, author of the best-selling book Recruiting At The Age Of Googlization. We talk about the several things that you should keep in mind when hiring staff so you can keep up with our fast-changing world.Finding people with the right skills and attitude is not as easy as some may think. There are a lot of people out there, but less of the people are suited to performing at the level you expect them to. What does it take to perform in today’s rapidly evolving companies? First of all, people need to be able to embrace change. Grit and perseverance are useful, but they don’t help you adapt when circumstances require it. When you hire employees, look for people who are willing to adjust the way they operate.When hiring staff, you should also look for mental flexibility. The ability to hold two opposing ideas in your mind at the same t

In today's video, I talk to Tracey Bissett, financial coach and the CEO and CFO of Bissett Financial Fitness Inc. We chat about financial fitness heading into a growth economy, the importance of financial literacy and strengthening financial acumen for entrepreneurs, and how to build a reliable financial foundation to achieve financial stability. Generous handouts were given to businesses in countries like the UK and Canada over the course of this pandemic, and they needed to be there for our industries to survive. But with economies starting to open up, danger has been coming up with subsidies beginning to wind back. While some companies remain to be in a strong financial position despite the pandemic, there are a number that have had to rely on subsidies for financial stability. And now that governments are slowly cutting on support for businesses, only those able to stay on top of their numbers and watch over their financial fitness can quickly pivot to make changes so that their businesses adapt. Fin

What does it mean to future proof your career and company? As humans, we are naturally inclined to deal with the most immediate and pressing of needs. But, according to Maulik Parekh, for leaders and CEOs, future proofing careers and businesses means having to focus on imperative factors like embracing artificial intelligence, digital transformation and the gig economy. Maulik Parekh was inspired to write his book, Futureproof Your Career And Company, after realizing the extent to which everyone was focused on surviving the pandemic vs looking long-term. So many leaders took their eyes off the horizon, forgetting the growing trends of artificial intelligence, digital natives, and the gig economy. The business landscape has changed, and it continues to change. So, as a business leader, if you don’t prepare for them, you may come to experience a different kind of pandemic in the next 10 years. Businesses that have managed to embrace the internet have undoubtedly emerged victorious during this pandemic. But some

 The thing is, as business owners, we all want financial freedom. However, unless we find a way to get our money working for us, we risk creating a job rather than a business.  Wealth mentor Jackson Millan talks about how he grew up watching his parents working hard without truly being able to generate wealth for themselves, and how this early experience made him want to teach people the language of money - something that is not taught in school. When his job as a financial advisor didn’t feel quite right to him, he decided to carve out his own space teaching people how to have financial freedom.  When it comes to COVID, most small business owners were grossly underprepared. One of the biggest problems was that people didn't have an emergency fund that they could draw upon. One thing Jackson teaches as a wealth mentor is that there will always be another potential disaster. In order to have financial freedom and generate wealth, you need to be prepared for that possibility.  At the core of Jackson’s work

Getting clear on what Jim Collins calls your Profit per X - that is, the economic engine that drives your business - is going to help you achieve your 3HAG and BHAG goals down the line. However, many entrepreneurs put off this critical planning until quite late in their development process. For Shannon Susko, planning out your Profit per X right away has enormous benefits. First of all, Profit per X comes from the Hedgehog Concept of Jim Collins. The Hedgehog Concept, which allows your business to transform from 'Good to Great', comes about from answering these 3 key questions: 1) What are you deeply passionate about? (Knowing your Business Purpose) 2) What can you be the best in the world at? (Knowing your Core Business) 3) Can you make money doing it? (Knowing your economic engine or Profit per X) Putting the answers side-by-side with the Key Function Flow Map of your business will allow you and your team to get a clear idea of the non-fiscal elements of your business, and how they contribute to y

In this enlightening interview with Shannon Susko, she describes the origins and meaning of Metronomics and why alignment in business is the key to long-term success. The word, Metronomics, was created by looking at what goes into building up a system in business. Shannon Susko realized early on that systems allow businesses to grow faster because they take away much of the day-to-day struggle that entrepreneurs often grapple with. But a good system is more than just a plan. In order to truly achieve alignment in business, you need to build a team that is fully behind your goals and objectives - which is one of the keys to Metronomics. It is important to understand that Metronomics is a progression. Shannon Susko emphasizes that it is a regimen that is practical and adjustable. Just as a health regimen helps us to get our bodies in shape, this is a prescribed approach that will really get your business going in the right direction. One important aspect of this is connecting a culturally-strong, cohesive team

With “Metronomics,” Shannon Susko has created a proven system that helps accelerate business growth plans. In this conversation, she breaks down what this system entails and why it is so impactful. As she mentions, everyone wants to focus on the 3HAG systems because they're tangible. But there are four other systems that are equally (if not more) important. There's a cultural system, a cohesive system, a human system, and a coaching system. Unfortunately, many business owners pay little attention to these other systems because they are not as obvious as things like strategy, execution, and cash. With “Metronomics,” Shannon Susko adds to those crucial 3HAG areas and offers a prescriptive approach that any business owner can follow. At its core, a business is a team. And what do all successful teams have in common? They have a repeatable system, a high level of openness and cohesiveness, and an expert coach who can remove blind spots. Whether it’s in sports or in business, these elements are the keys

There are always going to be challenges faced by entrepreneurs. What often separates the successful businesses from those that fail is how adept they are at dealing with adversity. In this conversation with Mitch Russo, he describes the challenges that he faced while building an eight-figure business, and how he was able to overcome them. One of the key principles that Mitch adhered to from the beginning was to sell a quality product to the right people. Once you figure out who to target, it makes marketing a whole lot easier. You can orient your marketing to match precisely the people who will be interested in your product. One of the biggest challenges faced by entrepreneurs is recession. But as Mitch explains, he has a unique way of dealing with adversity. When he experienced the last recession, he decided that he was in a period of expansion. Just because the economy is suffering as a whole doesn’t mean that you have to suffer along with it. The final piece of advice that Mitch offers is to make sure you

Is fear holding you back? Fear in business is a lack of certainty about what the future holds. But what matters is not whether or not you feel fear; rather, it’s how you choose to deal with it. This past year has been tough for many entrepreneurs. Yet, some people have found ways to thrive. What often makes the difference between failure and success is one’s relationship to fear and uncertainty.  The key is to not focus on things that are out of your control. Take the pandemic, for example. There were many things that were out of our control. In order to feel comfortable again, many people chose to watch more TV or eat more junk food. But if there’s fear holding you back, you need to focus on taking control of your situation. Rather than succumbing to the fear in business, look for new opportunities. Ask yourself what kinds of doors your situation has opened for you.  This is what Brian Lovegrove helps his clients with on a daily basis. He frees them from their fears by showing them how to take action and av

How can you double a business during a recession? The answer lies in pivoting your business, increasing advertising spend, and taking calculated risks. Ad Lab is an excellent example of a business that has managed to double itself, seeing exponential business growth throughout the recession.  Lockdown has been rough on many businesses. Some businesses responded to the uncertainty in the market by reducing business costs for fear of revenue loss, but unfortunately, many of them have still suffered significant losses.  Other businesses have done the opposite, choosing instead to invest more resources in advertising and take more risks. That has definitely paid off.  One such business is Ad Lab (The Advertising Lab).  So how did David Newman manage to double his business during the lockdown? David is the founder and managing director of Ad Lab. His company has positioned itself as a specialist in Magento websites, helping companies grow their sales online. During the lockdown, his business intensified its adver