The Thoughtful Entrepreneur

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks with the co-founder and CEO of Very Big Things, Chris Stegner. Very Big Things is a leading high-end software design development ideation and strategy firm. If your company needs very well polished and intuitive mobile device applications, they’d be a company you might work with. Very Big Things can work through any mobile medium to bring your exceptional digital business idea to life. Chris shares a quote by Stephen Hawking that inspired the creative naming behind the firm: “ We are very, very small, but we are profoundly capable of very, very big things.” They wanted to start something that seemed impossible. You have to be one of the best players in the world to make it, and they have performed exceptionally well in their space. Chris and Josh explore what types of companies work best when they collaborate with Very Big Things. Companies that offer a truly exceptional product are great fits for what they do. A start-up that has raised 5 million dollars or more in funding is a good fit, or an enterprise looking to improve their product and bring more exceptionality to the digital medium. Your product and app truly needs to surpass what most mainstream competitors offer in order to begin standing out, Chris shares. Very Big Things works with enterprises at their level to meet their individual needs. Very Big Things loves helping clients along with the ideation process. Innovative creation is a longer process than just having the idea itself, obviously. There are various layers and ways to implement the idea, and this is where Chris and his team shines. Their work is intuitive, polished, developed, and constantly evolving. They help their clients with the entire journey of implementing their new ideas and technology. If you want to find out if you’re the right fit to work with Very Big Things, Chris shares this: if you’re looking to do something amazing in a digital format, know you only get a few attempts at such an endeavor. If you wish to do something ambitious, game-changing, and exceptional, then your company is a fit to work with them. They want start-ups that seek to disrupt or enterprises that seek to regroup and innovate to disrupt. If you’re interested in reaching out to someone on the Very Big Things team, go to their website and scroll to the bottom of their homepage to find out more. Check out Very Big Things at https://verybigthings.com/. Check out Chris Stegner on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-stegner-30175825/. Check out Very Big Things on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/very-big-things-inc/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge talks to the founder and CEO of Thrv, Jay Haynes.Thrv is an enterprise product management software application. In essence, they build software that helps teams build better products. They have some amazing customers, too – Microsoft, American Express, eBay, Twitter, and more. Josh and Jay explore where Thrv fits in operationally for businesses – they are on the extreme front end of innovation. If you want to know what your customer wants, this is the route for you. There’s a ton of work this software can do to mitigate your risks when you begin the development of a product. Once you build this product, you’re spending money. You only earn revenue once the market starts to buy. Jay shares that you really need to know about what your customer really wants – at the end of the day, they don’t necessarily love your widget, but they love what it does. Your products need to be solution-focused and actually solve a problem in the market. Jay also talks about why certain endeavors fail when you’re copying competitors. The problem is that these companies often copy the products themselves, not what their competitors are doing. The problem with this logic is that it doesn’t account for innovation or actually seeking to improve upon a previous technological iteration. Don’t focus on what your competitors are doing – focus on what your customers need. Jay shares that Thrv works with enterprises as well as small to medium sized businesses and start-ups. He says they want to work with teams that are innovation-focused and are going to be well integrated into your team and business. This will put your customer front and center. If you put the customer’s struggles first, it increases product development, which boosts sales. Everything you do should be to improve the customer experience. At the end of the day, if you put your customers and the market first, you will see innovation take center stage. Josh shares an insight that he believes is tried and true; you aren’t smarter than the market. Future-proof and anticipate what your next solution needs to be. Assume your current solution will become irrelevant, so always plan for the next version of what you will bring to the market. Jay shares that Thrv has plenty of resources on their website, including an ebook, blog, free demo, and more. Check out Thrv’s ebook at https://www.thrv.com/app/ Check out Thrv at https://www.thrv.com/ Check out Jay Haynes on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayhaynes/. Check out Thrv on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/thrv-com/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks with Mike Malatesta.Mike is an entrepreneur, author, and coach and has seen great success in the waste management industry. He got into space accidentally, and it began when he drove a garbage truck in college. Not only did he enjoy the work, but he really liked the industry. He trained and became a manager at a large waste management company and went on to become the company’s youngest divisional vice president. This all came to a shocking end when he was let go suddenly. He didn’t have a network or large support group. This led him to start his own business with an old coworker. Six months later, he owned a waste management company himself that he successfully ran and operated. Josh and Mike explore the opportunity in working in these trade industries. There’s an abundance of opportunities for entrepreneurs because these spaces aren’t celebrated or recognized enough. Mike shares that there is glitziness in waste management. He didn’t want to work in a space dominated by big players – there is space for start-ups in trades and it can be a good move if you have a good lay of the industry. If you’re able to differentiate yourself and offer new solutions in a space such as this, you can see some great success. Mike also shares how he started building his client base in this space. One of their first clients was a metal processing facility. He shared his story honestly and explained the solutions and differentiating factors their company addressed – and the facility took a chance on them. Sometimes, it takes a leap of faith, honesty and transparency, and a genuine authenticity in approaching your first set of customers. It can be difficult building your client base starting out, but be resilient, take advantage of your whole network, and continue building it even when you get discouraged. A humble grassroots beginning takes time, but if you’re consistent and don’t give up, you’ll see the fruits of your labor.  Mike shares that the combination of his business’s grit, his dedication to making it work, and his authenticity when approaching leads are the steps to how he grew his business. Josh also explores company culture in trades, and Mike shares that the waste management space is very people-centric. Don’t just look at an industry for what it is – look at it for what it does. This industry keeps things clean and orderly and it’s a noble, service-based pursuit. This is how trades should be considered, especially by business owners. Check out Mike’s book, Owner Shift at https://mikemalatesta.com/owner-shift-book-by-mike-malatesta/. Listen to Mike’s podcast, How’d It Happen?  https://mikemalatesta.com/howd-it-happen-podcast/. Check out Mike Malatesta’s website at https://mikemalatesta.com/. Check out Mike Malatesta on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemalatesta/.  Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to attorney at law, Mohaimina Haque, PLLC. Mohaimina’s law firm is a general practice firm located in Washington D.C. They represent both individuals and companies and they’re a one-stop-shop and work in various legal practice areas. Mohaimina and Josh talk about how entrepreneurs, specifically franchise owners, need to protect themselves legally. It’s a heavily regulated space and before you can expand into franchising, you need to legally protect your brand and IP. Do you have your trademarks filed? In the US, you have to make sure the trademark is filed domestically and internationally. You also need to be aware of both federal and state regulatory requirements. There are many legal steps and audits involved with franchising, so prepare to seek out an attorney and check these boxes before you jump in. Business owners need to make sure they are registered properly in their home state and any states their businesses operate in. They also need to understand franchising disclosures. It sounds like a lot of work, and it might be for some, but this puts in place a system that protects franchises and business owners. Putting a slight barrier in place also means those entering the space really understand both the opportunities associated with franchising as well as the obstacles and logistical challenges. Mohaimina also shares that you should consult with a trademark lawyer. There are franchise disclosure laws in the US and in foreign countries and they’re not the same from place to place. Consulting a dedicated trademark attorney is one of the best ways to navigate these complex legalities. One way to protect yourself in the legal sense when it comes to your employees – have an employee handbook available to them so everyone knows what the expectations are. Employee handbooks are also a great place to educate your employees about how they’re protected by certain laws – and to educate your management team and yourself.Mohaimina also shares what she and her firm have been up to in recent months and how her work has changed over the course of the pandemic. She also plans on entering the franchising space herself and continues to offer legal support to franchise owners through her firm. She wants her clients to feel they have a trusted attorney by their side when she works with them, and she makes it easier than ever to work with her and reach her when she’s needed. Interested in learning more about Mohaimina’s work? Contact the Law Office of Mohaimina Haque, PLLC at https://www.attorneymina.com/contact-us. Check out the Law Office of Mohaimina Haque, PLLC at https://www.attorneymina.com/. Check out Mohaimina Haque, PLLC on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/minahaque/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge talks to the CEO of Commercial Investors Group and author of the book Commercial Real Estate Investing, Mike Sowers. Mike shares that within his company are 3 divisions; the commercial division, the franchising division, and their fund. Josh and Mike explore the advantages of commercial investing over residential. Mike shares his insights about how he realized he couldn’t scale the way he wanted in the residential market. He shares that residential investing is also harder because it’s competitive in most major markets. You have to strategize hard to find deals. Mike shares part of why he loves working in commercial real estate; you’re usually dealing with entrepreneurs, go-getters, and like-minded business people in the space. To him, this is more exciting than working in residential real estate. Not to mention that you’re usually only contacted by your tenants during business hours – not weekends and holidays. Mike shares that his company watches trends, but nothing changes his company’s ability to find deals. Mike has seen all of the recent real estate swings, and shares that they usually get better deals during harder times because there are less buyers on the market. He also shares that there's a discrepancy between perceived risks and true risks – always play things by the numbers and look at data analytics, don’t just follow the media’s trends. Mike talks about how he scores amazing deals in times of inflation and economic hardship. Mike is excited to share the value-add investing strategy at his company. He only buys underperforming properties – assets that have net-income that's depressed for some reasons. There are 2 types of problems with these properties: people problems and property problems. “People problems” can be with owners, tenants, etc. “Property problems” are issues with building maintenance, etc. Mike shares he doesn’t invest in properties that are businesses within the real estate vertical. If it’s a niche property, like mobile homes, mini-storage, or what have you, you need to be proficient within those niches to be successful. Mike’s company also pushes creating an amazing online experience for buyers. Images should be professionally taken, there should be a solid and succinct sales processes, leases should work digitally with e-signatures, and more. If you alleviate the inconveniences of leasing by having an amazing digital system, you start to alleviate the vacancy issues. Learn more about Mike’s book, Commercial Real Estate Investing at https://www.commercialinvestingmastery.com/book-offer-page. Check out Commercial Investors Group at https://www.commercialinvestorsgroup.com/. Check out Mike Sowers on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikesowers/. Check out Commercial Investors Group on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/commercial-investors-group/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to author and founder of RLVNT Media, Tina Wells. Tina Wells started her first business as a marketing agency when she was only 16. This led her to become a product reviewer, which then led her to a career in market research. For over 20 years, she passionately ran a millennial-focused marketing firm. During this time, she became a bestselling tween author. Honing in on this creativity led Tina to found RLVNT Media and become an author on a new content venture. Josh and Tina also discuss how marketing is one of the only industries you could break into as a young person and become as successful as Tina has. Tina’s advice to young people today looking to follow the same path – just do it. Just start, make mistakes, learn lessons, and embrace failure. Learn from your failures and apply those lessons. This is a lot easier when you’re young, Tina shares. Tina works with business owners today by focusing on how to bring business ideas to life. She assesses what needs to change and be pivoted and shares that she enjoys the creative process of working directly with her clients. Tina shares she learns a lot from her clients, too, and this is part of why she truly loves her work. Tina talks about where newer businesses can get stuck. Do a small business check up or diagnostic. What’s working and what’s not? Take a hard, unbiased look at your systems, processes, and customer journey. Tina shares that she sees people thinking things in their business are working without pausing – and missing mistakes they would have caught had they done so. If you take pauses, you can better assess and predict. Future proofing is just as important as the day to day grind, to take the time to deeply and unbiasedly assess your business. Tina explained how she was able to dedicate her time to her creative passions at the same time that she ran a marketing agency. She treated her creative project like a client – she dedicated a little time to it every day. You have to be disciplined and actually set aside that time each day. Self development CAN create income – if you work on it consistently. Tina shares that entrepreneurs who see their challenges and want to formulate a plan are great fits for her work. Tina can help plan and execute a team-wide solution. Her ideologies can save you time and money as you try to grow your business for the better. Learn more about Tina Wells at her website at https://tinawells.com/. Check out RLVNT Media at https://rlvntmedia.com/. Check out Tina Wells on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinawells/. Check out RLVNT Media on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/rlvnt-media/about/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks with CEO and founder of SMALIK Enterprises, Stephynie Malik. Stephynie is a global business consultant who does high-impact performance coaching for her clients. She helps executives oversee massive teams become more refined and better business leaders. Josh and Stephynie explore leadership “blind spots” and how to be more cognizant of them. Stephynie shares that it depends on the executive. How open are you? How well do you listen? These are the questions to ask when looking for your own blind spots. Listen with everything, not just your ears. How does your team engage with you as you walk around the office? Do you engage with them, or do you keep your eyes on your phone? Stephynie shares that you should engage and talk with your team more often to form better leadership relationships. Josh also shares that there are some pretty incredible consequences if you’re not self-reflective as a leader. Stephynie shares that it’s much harder to coach executives and leaders who don’t see their own issues at all. It’s a long road and takes deep human behavioral changes to improve as leaders. Stephynie shares that in order to change, you have to be willing to work. There has to be real stakes and you need to prioritize improvement truly and deeply in order to succeed. Change yourself before you ever try to change your systems or team and always set goals and visions for what success looks like. You and your team work towards the same greater good, so build off of that foundation. Josh and Stephynie also talk about the “don’ts” of leadership. Stephynie explored some tools that she prefers over others; personality tests and analytics tools are nice, but that’s only a piece of things. Be willing to talk to your team in an “outside of the office” sense. Treat them like human beings with lives outside of their job and take an interest in their development. Ask them mindful questions during reviews and conversations and be as invested in their growth as they are. Stephynie shares that at the end of the day, it’s not about how you get all of this information… It’s about how you handle your team, it’s about what you do with that information. Treat your team like they matter, pay attention to what their needs are, and choose your professional family with unprecedented accuracy. Stephynie shares that she meets SMB owners where they are. She wants to deeply understand where they are personally and professionally to help them see these issues and grow as leaders. Check out Stephynie’s Thoughtful Entrepreneur offer! Contact them using the word ‘THOUGHTFUL’ and get 30% off Group Coaching and 20% off One on One Coaching. Go to https://www.stephyniemalik.com/contact to reach them. Learn more about Stephynie at her website https://www.stephyniemalik.com/. Check out Stephynie Mailk on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephyniemalik/.  Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge talks to personal brand strategist and the CEO and founder of the Claire Bahn Group, Claire Bahn. Claire works with both concierge clients and she also coaches individually and in groups. She typically works with angel investors, entrepreneurs in the high 6 to 7 figure range, and executives. Claire and Josh explore what brands should be doing right now in her space. For one thing, she believes in an omnichannel approach when it comes to social media. She also advises that you take a hard look at your website. You could likely be doing more to improve your SEO, and this is where many entrepreneurs fall short. Branding today compounds upwards. The more you improve and add to your brand, the more you own your story and push your brand’s message forward. Claire shares some trends she’s seen that you should avoid – for one thing, there’s not enough consistent content. You need to consistently share and create content that helps and serves your audience in order to really show people that you love to serve. This expedites the know, like, and trust process. She sees too much focus on sales sales and not enough on giving in the coaching space. It needs to be insanely easy to get to know you as a person – so create content to share this with your audience. PR is also changing. Right now, it’s about utilizing someone else’s platform to give your knowledge in an act of service – all the while, you’re engaging with new audience members. Claire shares that ultimately, you need to give more than you get and more than you ask. You need to be generous and altruistic at heart. At the end of the day, you also need to truly be an expert. You can’t just say you can do something – you have to show your audience that you can through valuable and consistent content. Claire also shares that social media, branding, and marketing aren’t overnight processes. It takes consistency because it takes time. You have to give great information consistently with your content and do it all the time. It’s not going to get you millions of followers overnight, but if you show up and deliver with that consistency, you absolutely will see the results. Networking is also key. You have to work to increase the visibility of your peers so that they are willing to increase yours. There always has to be a ‘give’ first – serve your network and your network will take care of you. Learn more about the Claire Bahn Group at their website https://clairebahn.com/. Check out Claire Bahn on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairebahn/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks with Isaac Ho. Isaac’s areas of expertise are helping entrepreneurs increase cash flow and helping them outsource work they want to delegate so they can improve their quality of life. He shares there's only two ways to make more money in business – raise your prices or sell more. To dig in and improve that process, you also have to improve your own quality of life.Issac shares that in the beginning, he strived for success due to his own feelings of inadequacies. He eventually hit a point of extreme burnout and he became quite ill. This forced him to take a good look at his business and his health. His poor health resulted in his inability to grow his business for two months. He shares that you have to love yourself enough to want to give yourself a good quality of life. Josh and Issac dive deeper into this. Be willing to love yourself, even if sometimes it’s not the most logical thing to do. Be kind and generous to yourself by, at times, giving yourself what you desire and loving yourself enough to do that without remorse. Josh also shares that there is value in giving yourself nice, emotionally abundant things so you can experience the success you’ve earned. This can also translate to business investments, though, Issac explains. He shares that you should ask yourself the same question in business; are you going to be kind enough to yourself to hire someone to delegate work to? Are you going to love yourself and your business enough to invest in your growth? Learning new skill sets and pivoting towards better patterns are the fastest and most sustainable ways to grow yourself and your business. Issac also shares that in order to have a breakthrough, you have to love yourself enough to take on the risk of failure. He tells you to ask yourself what your pattern is for NOT succeeding. If you’re the common variable, accept that, forgive yourself, and find a better pattern to adopt. Don’t keep repeating the same process over and over without changing things if you don’t find success. Love yourself enough to do the legwork to better yourself and your business. Josh and Issac also talk about how sometimes entrepreneurs get caught up in their own subconscious and they aren’t always coachable. Sometimes, it takes hard breakthroughs, self searching, and an honest look in the mirror. You can only succeed here if you have enough self-love to do it, so be willing to put forth the effort to grow. Text 'AND' to 66866 to find out more about Issac's work.Learn more about Issac Ho and his business online at https://www.isaachocoaching.com/. Check out Issac Ho on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/isaac-ho-coaching/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to the founder, President, and CEO of Engagency, Jason Perry. Engagency is a company that creates a personalized marketing experience that actually works for large corporations. Josh and Jason explore what works well in customer engagement today. Jason shares that what works well is creating a user experience that is the ‘path of least resistance’ for all of your market. Now matter what field you’re competing in, your end goal is keeping your customers engaged for the lifetime of your relationship with them. You need to organize the user experience so that it shaves off annoying extras and things that detract from the experience for consumers. There’s also been massive progress when it comes to market testing and experimentation. These studies help companies discover why their audience buys and how to engage with them more. Jason also shares that “engaging” is really just a matter of staying relevant and top of mind to your audience.Jason also explores some consumer trends and how businesses engage today with their audiences. The most obvious trend right now is personalization marketing, which is very popular. Jason shares that artificial intelligence is coming into play for marketing firms, too. The work that goes into correlating data points for market research manually is both expensive and extensive, but companies that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to sort this data are ahead of the curve. Jason predicts that in the future, A.I. will be able to create images and ads on its own (maybe in real time!) His hope is that the future of artificial intelligence and personalization marketing will benefit the consumer and create positive business relationships for companies. Engagency tends to work with enterprises and companies that average over a billion dollars in revenue annually, with a large customer base. They come in,clean up, and organize these companies and the end result is a complete digital transformation. Engagency puts their clients at ease and gets things working and functional. Jason also shares some best practices on how to engage better with your customers. First of all, make a phone call to a good, reputable hosting company. You want to invest in good online performance early on so that it’s not an obstacle as you grow. You also want to invest in a security suite, especially if you’re in a regulated industry. Keep it simple, protected, and responsive. Keeping it simple is the play right now, so don’t overthink the engagement process. Hire a great designer who captures your vision and start with these few best practices to pave the way for the future. Learn more about Engagency at their website https://www.engagency.com/.  Check out Engagency on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/engagency/. Check out Jason Perry on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpengagency/.  Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.