My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Gavin Wren is a founder, consultant, and content creator from London, helping the world learn more about food. His background in media has seen him photographing food around the world for the likes of National Geographic and writing in the national press.STORY: Gavin’s worst investments have been the relationships he’s put in a lot of effort and time to build, only to realize they weren’t beneficial for him.LEARNING: Don’t bend yourself out of shape for people. Learn to walk away from bad situations. “Don’t be a people pleaser. It doesn’t get you anywhere.”Gavin Wren Guest profileGavin Wren is a founder, consultant, and content creator from London, UK, helping the world learn more about food. His background in media has seen him photographing food around the world for the likes of National Geographic and writing in the national press. Today he helps organizations develop their strategy for the future of sustainable food whilst also creating content on TikTok, which reaches millions of people each month. He’s the founder of three businesses and a non-profit but loves nothing more than good pizza or strong espresso.Worst investment everGavin’s worst investment over the years has been investing in the wrong relationships. Spending months or years building relationships that weren’t beneficial to him has been worse than losing money. According to Gavin, one can get over financial losses quickly. You’ll be depressed for a few days or weeks, and then you get over it and move on. But the bad personal business relationships are pretty insidious, and you never quite recover from them.One instance Gavin recounts is this person with a lot of influence and power he badly wanted to work for. Gavin wanted to be part of their circle and work with them. He did everything he could, got close to the person, and started working with them. Gavin soon realized that there was a misalignment of values, and something just didn’t sit right with him about this person. But Gavin kept pushing because he knew he wanted to be associated with that person. A year later, Gavin was stuck, intensely stressed, and always anxious. Eventually, he stopped working for that person, which was the biggest relief ever because he didn’t get anything out of it. All he did was do a lot of work for very little money.Lessons learnedTrust your gut.If stress and anxiety arise around a person, question whether that relationship has a long-term benefit.Drop your ego and do the work that you want to do and that you enjoy. Not the work that you think someone else is going to enjoy.Don’t bend yourself out of shape for people.Speak your mind and be honest.Andrew’s takeawaysLearn to walk away from bad situations and just bite the bullet.Actionable adviceBefore forming bonds with people, ask questions to get more information and decide whether those are the right bonds.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsGavin’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to keep growing his TikTok account and find a way to start monetizing it.Parting words “Just keep trying to help people and learn in the process.”Gavin Wren [spp-transcript] Connect with Gavin WrenLinkedInTwitterInstagramTikTokAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

15 Risk Reduction Lessons from My GuestsIn this episode, Andrew Stotz explains the 15 risk reduction lessons he has learned from his guests.Download the The Investor's Risk Reduction Checklist.1 Get the power of compounding working for you now, and don’t interrupt it.Dan Solomon from Ep434:  The Time to Start Investing Is Now2 Do your own research before making any investment. Do not rely on others.Travis Watts from Ep381: Do Your Due Diligence and Keep Your Investment SimpleCurt Mercadante from Ep438: Not Every Home Is an InvestmentFurqan Aziz from Ep441: Validate Every Idea You Invest Time In3 Have a rigorous thought process when evaluating investments, and stick to that process.Shashank Randev from Ep352: There Is No Surefire Formula to Venture Capital Investing4 Expect long-term returns of about 8% and consider that investments above that could be “too good to be true.”Pete Alexander from Ep284: Pete Alexander – If the Real Estate Deal Sounds Too Good to Be True, It Is5 Build a network of experienced professionals who can give you input.Sarah Larbi from Ep177: Build a Network of Successful Role Models to Avoid this Real Estate Investing Mistake6 Always spend time considering the risk before investing.Furqan Aziz from Ep441: Validate Every Idea You Invest Time In7 Size your position according to your ability to handle a loss. If the risk is high, start small.Furqan Aziz from Ep441: Validate Every Idea You Invest Time InEric Rosenberg from Ep403: Start Investing by Making Regular Monthly ContributionsKittisak Kovintavewat from Ep432: Kittisak Kovintavewat – Be an Investor, Not a Speculator8 Consider the “unknowns” with any investment idea.Daniel Ramsey from Ep159: When Investing in Real Estate Take Your Time to Remove the Unknowns9 Invest in things that you can quickly exit. If you can’t, demand a very high return and deploy a small amount of your money.Pete Alexander from Ep284: Pete Alexander – If the Real Estate Deal Sounds Too Good to Be True, It Is10 Walk away from an investment as soon as you realize it’s not going to work.Furqan Aziz from Ep441: Validate Every Idea You Invest Time InShashank Randev from Ep352: There Is No Surefire Formula to Venture Capital Investing11 Remember that past success does not guarantee future success.Randy Mortensen from Ep444: Randy Mortensen – Past Success Doesn’t Guarantee Future Success12 When investing in a foreign country, consider the risks of both the asset and the currency.Santiago Iñiguez from Ep324: Sometimes Your Worst Investment Can Bring You the Most Joy13 Focus on company performance, not only stock price.Kittisak Kovintavewat from Ep432: Kittisak Kovintavewat – Be an Investor, Not a Speculator14 Invest in good quality companies rather than betting on poor companies turning around.Kittisak Kovintavewat from Ep432: Kittisak Kovintavewat – Be an Investor, Not a Speculator15 Expect that some of your investment ideas will fail; not every stock you pick will be a winner.Eric Rosenberg from Ep403: Start Investing by Making Regular Monthly Contributions Andrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

12 Steps to Financial IndependenceDownload the 12 Steps to Financial Independence cheat sheet.In this episode, Andrew Stotz explains the 12 steps to financial independence.1. Have no written financial plan2. Allow others to complicate your investing3. Think short term; start too late4. Want to get rich quick in the market5. Rely on others too much6. Make big mistakes early in life7. Do not save enough money8. Underestimate the impact of fees9. Take too much risk10. Ignore bonds in favor of stocks11. Trade too much12. Try to time the market Andrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Dr. Chris Stout is a licensed clinical psychologist and international humanitarian with a diverse background in various domains. He is the Founding Director of the top-ranked nonprofit Center for Global Initiatives.STORY: Two years after Chris started the Center for Global Initiatives, he met a couple who had a project for developmentally different children in orphanages in Ukraine. They wanted to collaborate with the center, and he said yes because the project looked good. Unfortunately, he realized that he couldn’t manage to take a week off every year to go to Ukraine. Chris had to back out of this project, which left him very emotional for not being able to help.LEARNING: Plan for the end so that you know what happens when things don’t go well. “Planning for the end will help you decide what happens when things don’t go well, and you need to make a pivot.”Dr. Chris Stout Guest profileDr. Chris Stout is a licensed clinical psychologist and international humanitarian with a diverse background in various domains. He is the Founding Director of the top-ranked nonprofit Center for Global Initiatives. He works as the Executive Producer and Host of the popular “Living a Life in Full” podcast, a top 5% show with an audience reach of 3 million+.He was a Fellow in the School of Public Health and a Full Professor in the Department of Psychiatry in the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Before that, he held an academic appointment at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.Worst investment everChris set out to summit all the Seven Summits, starting with Kilimanjaro. While at it, he met a seminarian, and they hit it off quickly. The two stayed in touch for years. At some point, the seminarian became the chaplain at two hospitals in Tanzania. Chris decided to help him and shipped several materials over for the kids for Christmas. The process cost him a fortune, and some materials got lost along the way.Chris talked to his mentor about his desire to keep helping the children in Tanzania and the hurdles he faced. The mentor advised him to start a nonprofit organization and have people donate to support his cause. Chris got in touch with the mentor’s wife, a lawyer dealing with nonprofits. She made the IRS application and other applications and got the approval. Chris constituted a board and went out to do great charity projects worldwide.In 2009, two years after he started the nonprofit, a couple from Ukraine came to him and told him they had a project they thought would be a good collaboration for his nonprofit. The project was to support developmentally different children in orphanages in Ukraine. The couple was applying for a grant from USAID, and one of the three-year grant requirements was a quarterly visit to Ukraine to assess the project. Chris was the one to be in charge of the projects. Unfortunately, he couldn’t take four weeks every year to attend to matters in Ukraine. Unfortunately, the nonprofit had to back out of this project which left Chris very emotional for not being able to help.Lessons learnedPlan for the end. Think about how what you’re getting into will end. Planning for the future will help you decide what happens when things don’t go well, and you need to make a pivot.Chris’s recommended resourcesCenter for Global Initiatives website has a tools and resources page for this interested in the nonprofit area. You’ll find tips, lectures, webinars, free downloadable books and articles, scientific articles, and more.The Living a Life in Full podcast for broader aspects such as startups, finance, travel, motorcycle art, and more.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsChris’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to have a better mindset of how to do what he feels he still needs to do with the remaining time. [spp-transcript] Connect with Dr. Chris StoutLinkedInTwitterFacebookYouTubePodcastBooksBlogWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Ron Baker is the founder of VeraSage Institute—the leading think tank dedicated to educating professionals internationally. He’s also a radio talk-show host of The Soul of Enterprise: Business in the Knowledge Economy on Voice America.STORY: Ron partnered with a group of friends and invested $70,000 to start a software company. All the partners had no experience or skills to run the business leading to its failure.LEARNING: Seek out successful people and try to learn from them. Learn from your losses. “When it comes to business, you’ve got to have your total skin in the game.”Ron Baker Guest profileRon Baker started his CPA career in 1984 with KPMG’s Private Business Advisory Services in San Francisco. Today, he is the founder of VeraSage Institute—the leading think tank dedicated to educating professionals internationally—a radio talk-show host on Voice America; the show is The Soul of Enterprise: Business in the Knowledge Economy.Ron has authored seven best-selling books, including The Firm of the Future; Pricing on Purpose; Measure What Matters to Customers; and Implementing Value Pricing. His forthcoming book, Time’s Up!: The Subscription Business Model for Professional Firms, will be published in November 2022.Worst investment everRon partnered with a couple of friends and started a software company. He invested about $70,000 into the company. The group wanted to write a software program to help firms value price. They hired a software engineer and spent a lot of money to get the program going.They were all delusional and believed they were sitting on top of something radical and innovative. Their most significant setback was their lack of skills and experience in building a software company. All the partners also had other jobs and were treating business as a side-hustle, not paying it the full attention it needed. Needless to say, the business wasn’t successful.Lessons learnedSeek out people who are successful and try to learn from them.Make sure that you have partners who have skin in the game.Andrew’s takeawaysLearn from your losses. If you lose money, at least make sure you gain knowledge from the experience.Never overlook the randomness of success and failure.Focus more on avoiding loss by reducing your risk as much as you focus on growth and success.Actionable adviceDon’t be delusional and go into business just to confirm your biases. Keep in mind that business is much more complicated than most people think.Ron’s recommended resourcesImplementing Value Pricing for anyone who wants to learn more about pricing.Time’s Up!: The Subscription Business Model for Professional Firms for anyone who wants to understand the subscription model. Ron believes that in five years, we’ll have the option to subscribe to everything, so now is the time to perfect your subscription business.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsRon’s next project is to get his upcoming book Time’s Up!: The Subscription Business Model for Professional Firms published and then go and speak and evangelize about it. [spp-transcript] Connect with Ron BakerLinkedInTwitterFacebookPodcastBooksAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

12 Barriers to Financial IndependenceDownload the 12 Barriers to Financial Independence cheat sheet.In this episode, Andrew Stotz explains the 12 barriers to financial independence.1. Have no written financial plan2. Allow others to complicate your investing3. Think short term; start too late4. Want to get rich quick in the market5. Rely on others too much6. Make big mistakes early in life7. Do not save enough money8. Underestimate the impact of fees9. Take too much risk10. Ignore bonds in favor of stocks11. Trade too much12. Try to time the market Andrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

10 Harsh Realities Shaping Our FutureDownload the 10 Harsh Realities cheat sheet.In this episode, Andrew Stotz identifies and explains 10 harsh realities shaping our future.Politicians created the mess we are inThe Fed is going to crash the marketEurope (esp. Germany) is destroying itselfIt’s a US-Russia, not a Russia-Ukraine showdownGov’ts pushed 100m people into poverty and starvationAmerica openly states that China is enemy #1The US, not China, is the biggest global threatWorld leaders are not nearly as wise as they may appearMass refugee influx is being used as a political tool to cause social disruptionGermany is rearming 77 years after WWII1. Politicians created the mess we are inThey kept interest rates too low for too long. They shut down global economies, destroying supply chains and reducing the supply of goods. They borrowed to finance massive spending, and they produced unparalleled money printing. They bailed out the bond market in 2020. They allowed the war in Ukraine to escalate, causing food shortages. 2. The Fed is going to crash the marketThe Fed pumped up the stock market with a decade of ultra-low interest rates. This low-interest rate policy incentivized borrowing, leading to corporate malinvestment. Now the Fed is raising rates into what looks to be a recession. 3. Europe (esp. Germany) is destroying itselfGermany and Europe had no reason to stop oil and gas from Russia. They had been improving commercial relationships (Remember: Trade brings peace). Germany’s transition to green energy didn’t produce the energy needed to replace its fossil fuel and nuclear power wind-down. Rising energy prices are crippling German industry and consumers. 4. It’s a US-Russia, not a Russia-Ukraine showdownThe US sees Russia as its arch-enemy and has been closing in on it since the 1991 break up of the Soviet Union. Since 2008, the US, through its proxy, NATO, has been trying to get on Russia’s borders by bringing Georgia and Ukraine into NATO. Don’t be deceived by US concern for Ukraine. Ukraine is just a means for the US to get at Russia.3 April 2008: Bucharest Summit Declaration, Paragraph 23: “NATO welcomes Ukraine’s and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO…Today we make clear that we support these countries’ applications for Membership Action Plan.” 5. Governments pushed 100 million people into poverty and starvationGlobal economy lockdowns were estimated to have pushed 100 million people into poverty. As many as 70 million of them are in India. Instead of negotiating peace, experts expect that the continued war in Ukraine will push 100 million people into starvation, most of them in Africa.All the while, the rich get richer at a faster pace. According to The Guardian, “The 400 richest Americans added $4.5tn to their wealth last year [2020], a 40% rise….” 6. America openly states that China is enemy #1China had considerable respect for America and US capitalism and benefits from being a friend, not an enemy of the US. The US Department of Defense now openly states that China is America’s #1 enemy, and you can expect the US to pursue this policy until it provokes a war with China.“The Department will act urgently to sustain and strengthen deterrence, with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as our most consequential strategic competitor….” – US Department of Defense 7. The US, not China, is the biggest global threatUS gov’t recognizes Taiwan as part of China. In January 1979, the US recognized the PRC as the sole legal gov’t of China and acknowledged, but did not endorse, that Taiwan is part of China.Hong Kong was forcibly taken and established as a colony of the British Empire in 1841 and eventually handed back to China.Since 1986, the US has participated and interfered in the replacement of foreign governments, e.g., Afghanistan, Bolivia, Bosnia, Croatia, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Yugoslavia, and Zaire (Congo). 8. World leaders are not nearly as wise as they may appearThe Greens of Germany got it wrong.US pharmaceutical regulators may have put the companies they regulate above the people they represent. Big Pharma spends massively on lobbying politicians and media. The regulators are captured; in Australia 96% of the regulator’s budgets are paid by Pharma, in Europe the number is 89%, in the UK 86%, in Japan 85%, and in the US 65%. The industry has been fined US$87bn since 2000.Fed officials aren’t as smart as they appear. Yellen and Powell both said inflation is transitory and now say that a recession isn’t coming. Econ 101 tells us that a reduction in the supply of goods and an increase in money supply both cause inflation. 9. Mass refugee influx is being used as a political tool to cause social disruptionEurope (mainly Germany) has been absorbing refugees fleeing mostly US conflicts. US Democrats are allowing massive migration across its southern border. In April 2022, more than 234,000 people entered the US illegally, the highest in a single month in recorded US history. A 1,376% increase from April 2020 under the Trump administration.And famine is likely to increase migration flows from Africa. 10. Germany is rearming 77 years after WWIIGermany was disarmed after WWI by the Treaty of Versailles. Then broken into four zones after WWII, led by Americans, British, French, and Soviets. From 1945 the Allies destroyed military equipment, armies, and industry capacity. In 2022, the German government approved a €100bn military defense budget, double 2021, making it the world’s 3rd largest military spender. To achieve this, they needed to amend its constitution and a two-thirds majority in both chambers of parliament.  Andrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassThe Become a Better Investor CommunityHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBest Business Book ClubBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Richard Moran is a Silicon Valley investment and operations veteran. He is General Partner at Tonic BioVentures, an early-stage life sciences venture firm.STORY: Richard was impressed by the success record of a young man, so much so that he got his company to invest $6 million to build a business. A few months later, the young man misbehaved in front of customers. Richard reprimanded him, but he did the same thing again and had to be fired. Richard’s company lost $6 million.LEARNING: Pay proper attention to the findings of the due diligence. Don’t be distracted by past track records. Be careful of key man risk where the success of your investment is hinged on one person. “Sometimes past performance is not an indicator of future performance in investing.”Richard Moran Guest profileRichard Moran is a Silicon Valley veteran in both investing and operations. He is General Partner at Tonic BioVentures, an early-stage life sciences venture firm. Previously, he was the President of Menlo College. His background includes serving as a Partner at Venrock, CEO at Accretive Solutions, Chairman of Portal Software, and a Managing Partner at Accenture. His track record includes successful exits in software, gaming, food, and life sciences. He is a  best-selling author with ten books to his credit.His latest book is Never Say Whatever to be published by McGraw-Hill. He has a syndicated show, “In the Workplace” on CBS Radio, and is an “Influencer” on LinkedIn where he is a regular contributor but never reads the comments.Worst investment everA young man, who had been very successful, wanted to start a new company and needed $6 million to start it. Richard was blinded by his success story and immediately got his company to invest in him. They gave the young man the $6 million he needed to build this company. The success of that company was all hinged on him because he was its core.A couple of months later, the young man behaved inappropriately at a trade show. The partners went to Richard about what to do. According to Richard, the partners had two options. One was to fire him, in which case, they’d lose $6 million. The second option was to coach him; in this case, he might change or ignore it; if he ignored it, no one would want to be involved in his company.Richard didn’t want to lose the $6 million, but he also didn’t want to keep him on. So he brought him into his office, yelled at him, and warned that he’d fire him if it happened again. The young man did something similar again. So he was fired, and Richard’s company lost $6 million.The sad part is that there were hints of the young man’s bad behavior during due diligence before Richard made the first investment. But he ignored it.Lessons learnedPay proper attention to the findings of the due diligence. Don’t be distracted by past track records.Sometimes past performance is not an indicator of future performance in investing.Whatever you do, know you’ll always get caught.Stay current.Andrew’s takeawaysBe careful of key man risk where the success of your investment is hinged on one person.Remember to talk to people who don’t like that company or have had a bad experience when you do your due diligence.Actionable adviceDon’t go after the shiny objects that everybody wants. When doing your due diligence, it’s not just about the person or the company but also about the market. Find out what’s happening in that category.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsRichard’s goal for the next 12 months is to stay healthy and continue to be an evangelist of common sense in the workplace.Parting words “Common sense in the workplace.”Richard Moran [spp-transcript] Connect with Richard MoranLinkedInTwitterFacebookBlogWebsiteBooksAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Amelia Sordell is a speaker, content creator, and Founder of Klowt, the first-of-its-kind personal brand marketing agency.STORY: Amelia lived all her life seeking external validation, and instead of making her happy, it left her very empty. She eventually decided to invest in herself and now is thriving.LEARNING: Selfishly invest in yourself before everyone. Always ask yourself if what you’re spending time on has any ROI. “You can’t serve people in the way that you’re meant to if you’re not first looking after yourself.”Amelia Sordell Guest profileAmelia Sordell is a speaker, content creator, and Founder of Klowt, the first-of-its-kind personal brand marketing agency.Her desire to oversee her career and live by her own rules led to launching her first business, a clothing brand, at the age of just 21. After the business failed, Amelia’s resilient attitude meant she pivoted her career to become a Tech Headhunter, where she quickly discovered the reach and positive power that an individual personal brand can have on the overall company.It wasn’t long before people outside the organization began to contact Amelia for her help in building their brands online. Now 31, Amelia has built a 6-figure personal branding agency - Klowt with a team of 7 during the middle of a pandemic, all off the back of her own personal brand.With a strong following on LinkedIn and with views of 40 million, Amelia and the agency have worked with Tech Startup Founders to FTSE Leadership teams, such as The National Lottery, on building personal brands that deliver actual results so they can scale their lead pipeline, generate more referrals to position themselves as an authority and accelerate their businesses growth.A strong leader and public speaker, Amelia also often comments on discussions around fairness, equal opportunities and pay, hiring and retaining great talent, the realities of running a startup, and women’s issues online.Worst investment everAs a 13-year-old girl, an incident happened, and Amelia suffered tremendous trauma. As a result, she constantly sought external validation from others, particularly men, in relationships, friendships, and online. Amelia was obsessed with how people perceived her looks to the point of losing a lot of weight and ended up with a bad case of bulimia. Amelia believed that if she could control the external narrative she was telling people, she wouldn’t have to deal with her internal feelings about how she felt herself. She just wanted people to like her.Amelia lived like this through to her 30s, and it affected her actions, behaviors, friendships, relationships, the jobs she took, etc. She finally got to a point where she realized she wasn’t happy. Not in her marriage, her home, her job, everything. She found herself constantly wondering what she was doing with her life.Amelia checked all the things she was spending her time on and realized she didn’t enjoy any of them. She loved her kids and loved spending time with them. But that was about it. There was nothing else in her life that was making her feel happy. She was at a harrowing point in her life. Amelia decided to look inward and invest in herself. She filed for divorce, quit her job, and started a business.Lessons learnedSelfishly invest in yourself before everyone.Always ask yourself if what you’re spending time on has any ROI. ROI doesn’t need to be cash. It could be happiness, fitness, good health, the overall sense of well-being, etc.You can’t serve people how you’re meant to serve them if you’re not first looking after yourself.Andrew’s takeawaysYou have a right and the ability to have everything in this life. But you’ve got to make a choice.Actionable adviceWrite down a list of the things that trigger you to feel unhappy, depressed, or trapped. Underneath that, you write down what makes you feel calm and happy. And then underneath that, write down a routine explicitly built around the things that make you feel good and completely ignore the things that trigger you.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsAmelia’s goal for the next 12 months is, first of all, to be the best mom she can be. The second goal is to grow her business to be known synonymously with personal branding. She wants Klowt to be known as THE (not a) personal branding agency in the world.Parting words “You’re the only person in your life that will be there for you unconditionally. So protect yourself at all costs.”Amelia Sordell [spp-transcript] Connect with Amelia SordelLinkedInTwitterInstagramBlogWebsitePodcastAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Ana Melikian, Ph.D., is an optimist who had to overcome two bouts with cancer to learn that pursuing happiness is a fallacy.STORY: When Ana started her online coach business, she was looking for the quickest way to find clients. This hunger made her fall for two marketing strategies that never worked. The first was a search engine that promised to be better than Google, and the other was publishing a chapter in a book.LEARNING: Marketing does not get you clients; building relationships does. Have both sales and marketing departments. “Marketing will not get you the client. Building relationships will.”Ana Melikian Guest profileAna Melikian, Ph.D., is an optimist who had to overcome two bouts with cancer to learn that pursuing happiness is a fallacy. To choose happiness is a much more powerful strategy to tap into our highest human potential.Either by working with leaders and their teams, or other coaches and consultants, Ana supports her clients to break through their mindset limitations and upgrade their psychological operating systems so that they achieve better results than ever in work and life while enjoying the process.Worst investment everWhen Ana moved to the United States from Portugal, she had to reinvent herself professionally. She decided to be an online coach, so she built a website hoping that people would find it. A salesperson contacted her and told her about this search engine that was going to be the next Google.The salesperson showed Ana these really cool and well-done features on the search engine. They did a demo for Ana and convinced her that if she invested in the search engine, she’d secure a permanent placement on page one of search results. Ana signed up believing she’d get more clients than she could handle. She didn’t get a single client.The same thing happened to Ana again. Someone else contacted her online with an idea to write and publish a book that would position her as an expert and get clients quickly. The company would just interview Ana, put everything together, and then publish a chapter in a book with her photo. Ana thought, okay, why not? So she put more money into it, and they fulfilled their promise and published her in an excellent chapter.But when Ana received the book, she realized that the other people featured were not the kind of people she wanted to be associated with. So the books stayed in a box somewhere in storage in Ana’s house.Lessons learnedMarketing does not get you clients. It’s a way of creating awareness.Focus on building relationships if you want to get clients.You need both marketing and sales departments.Andrew’s takeawaysYou will fail if you think that just doing marketing will bring you clients.The sales process (guiding a customer through the buying process) is different from marketing.Actionable adviceDon’t wait for people to come and work with you. Create opportunities to have conversations and build relationships.Ana’s recommended resourcesThe Mindset Zone Podcast is an excellent way of expanding your possibilities.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsAna’s goal for the next 12 months is to create a plan to market and sell the book.Parting words “Be gentle with yourself and keep moving forward.”Ana Melikian [spp-transcript] Connect with Ana MelikianLinkedInFacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeWebsitePodcastAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast