My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

BIO: Mark McNally is a serial entrepreneur with broad experience scaling companies from startups to multinational establishments. A passionate product and marketing strategist, Mark is one of the original innovators in the e-commerce space, rapidly expanding online buying internationally since the ’90s.STORY: Mark lost almost his entire net worth when a startup he had invested in his mid-twenties experienced a 94% stock price drop.LEARNING: Don’t confuse a person’s financial scorecard for who they are as a human being. Trust only happens over time as you see people’s reactions to serious adverse events. “Upside return is only realized investment if you take money off the table.”Mark McNally Guest profileMark McNally is a serial entrepreneur with broad experience scaling companies from startups to multinational establishments. A passionate product and marketing strategist, Mark is one of the original innovators in the e-commerce space, rapidly expanding online buying internationally since the ’90s.Mark’s journey has crossed 14 startups that have raised over $300 million and have seen over $5 billion in exits. These startups pioneered their days from machine learning and e-commerce to healthcare and consumer products.He continues in that spirit as the Founder and Chief Nobody at Nobody Studios, founded in 2020.Worst investment everMark got involved in his first startup when he came out of the military. A couple of guys had this idea that they could connect buyers and suppliers on this new thing called the internet. This was back in 1996. Mark was in the upper five executives of the company when it went public on the NASDAQ in 1999.The startup got to almost a $5 billion market cap, and Mark was living his dreams. A couple of years later, the market corrected itself, and the company’s stock fell 94%. Mark lost almost his entire net worth, which was at eight figures.Lessons learnedBe very careful of dealing with manipulative type personalities.Don’t confuse a person’s financial scorecard for who they are as a human being.The sky is the limit if you get the why and the execution right.Andrew’s takeawaysTrust only happens over time as you see people’s reactions to serious adverse events.Don’t think that the people behind the scenes are wise guys thinking things through. They’re going on a roller coaster ride and often believe that they’re doing the right thing by bringing you along.Actionable adviceWhen running a business, put rules in place to take the emotions out of it as much as possible.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsMark’s goal for the next 12 months is to continue building his core team and getting funding to launch 15 companies. [spp-transcript] Connect with Mark McNallyLinkedInFacebookTwitterYouTubeWebsiteAndrew’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: International Radio and TV host, bestselling co-author, author, speaker, and visionary Toni Lontis quietly entered the entrepreneurial world in 2019, post-publication of her memoir, Resilience, about her healing and self-discovery journey from dysfunction and trauma to helping heal others through her words.STORY: Toni was born with a preauricular sinus, and she let this condition hold her back for years. She regrets waiting until she was in her 50s to start investing in herself.LEARNING: Start investing in yourself now. Overcome fear through little consistent actions. “Embrace who you are because you are uniquely you with your own sets of dreams, values, and inspirations.”Toni Lontis Guest profileInternational Radio and TV host, bestselling co-author, author, speaker, and visionary Toni Lontis quietly entered the entrepreneurial world in 2019, post-publication of her memoir, Resilience, about her healing and self-discovery journey from dysfunction and trauma to helping heal others through her words.A “chance” conversation led to a meeting with an American Media company, and Radio Toni was born. Toni now has multiple live streaming TV shows and a series of co-hosted business shows on different platforms based in the US and broadcasting to the world.2022 sees her launching Everyday Women’s Network (Netflix for women), a global TV network led by women, for women everywhere.Worst investment everToni was born with a preauricular sinus, a congenital facial defect, and after the three surgeries, she was left with left-sided facial palsy. So in her younger life, she couldn’t smile, eat properly, or close her mouth correctly.Toni carried the shame of this defect until much later in life. She never invested in herself, her growth, or her healing until midlife. For Toni, her worst investment was waiting until her 50s to discover who she was and what she had to offer the world.Lessons learnedLearn to support yourself in terms of your emotional needs and believe in yourself.You can do and create anything that you set your mind to.Learn that you are a unique creative being, and you’ll do amazing, phenomenal, and immense things across your life.Fear is only a thought and a feeling. It’s not an actual thing and only takes root if we allow it to.Andrew’s takeawaysOvercome fear through little consistent actions.Start now, start today.Don’t compare your insides to other people’s outsides.Actionable adviceBelieve in yourself even when no one else believes in you or feels like you don’t have support. You’re a unique and valuable human being who has been given extraordinary dreams, values, and thoughts. So start believing in yourself and keep going one step at a time, even when in the depths of the worst, darkest, most horrible period of your life.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsToni’s goal for the next 12 months is to launch Everyday Women’s Network, which will be a network for women and the men that support them. Underneath the network will be fantastic channels filled with information that will inspire and empower, educate and help its audiences. She also hopes to have 25,000 subscribers on the network by the end of 2022. [spp-transcript] Connect with Toni LontisLinkedInFacebookTwitterInstagramPodcastYouTubeBlogBookAndrew’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 PodcastFurther reading mentionedEckhart Tolle (September 2001) Practicing the Power of Now: Essential Teachings, Meditations, and Exercises From The Power of Now

BIO: Barry O’Reilly is an entrepreneur, business advisor, and author who has pioneered the intersection of business model innovation, product development, organizational design, and culture transformation.STORY: One of Barry’s oldest friends sent him a video about investing in Ethereum. He watched the video but didn’t understand it, so he didn’t invest. The investment turned out to be a success, and Barry missed out on the opportunity.LEARNING: Trust your curiosity, especially in venture building. Don’t focus too much on that missed opportunity. Learn from it. “Keep improving your system. Identify the things that went the way you hoped and mitigate the ones that didn’t.” Guest profileBarry O’Reilly is an entrepreneur, business advisor, and author who has pioneered the intersection of business model innovation, product development, organizational design, and culture transformation.Barry is the co-founder of Nobody Studios, a crowd-infused, high-velocity venture studio with the mission to create 100 compelling companies over the next 5 years.Barry is the author of two international bestsellers, Lean Enterprise and Unlearn.Worst investment everIn 2015, one of Barry’s oldest best friends sent him a video he was convinced he had to watch and was going to change his life. The video was of a young guy talking about an idea called Ethereum. This unique technology was going to transform the way people interact and transact.Barry watched the video seven times, and he didn’t get it every single time. So he didn’t invest. His friend invested and made millions from the investment.Lessons learnedTrust your curiosity, especially in venture building.Take small steps to get started and learn your way through new ideas.Be very conscious about how you invest your energy, capacity, and focus.Andrew’s takeawaysDon’t focus too much on that missed opportunity. Learn from it.Start small and build up your investment portfolio as you gain more experience.When you’re investing in startups, invest in many, knowing that some of them will fail, some will succeed, but you’re going to learn from all of them.Actionable adviceKeep improving your system. Identify the things that went the way you hoped and mitigate those that didn’t.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsBarry’s goal for the next 12 months is to be the first venture to ever offer equity crowdfunding.Parting words “Just keep up the great work Andrew.”Barry O’Reilly [spp-transcript] Connect with Barry O’ReillyLinkedInFacebookTwitterYouTubeBooksPodcastBlogWebsiteAndrew’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: Dr. Panu Boonsombat is a personal branding professional and the owner of Dr. Oppa Facebook page, Instagram page, and TikTok account with almost 300,000 followers, 52 million views (without dancing or wearing a bikini), and over 3 million likes.STORY: Panu built an airport hotel with rental space despite elderly locals warning him that this location was not ideal for business. He is still struggling to make the retail space work over 10 years later.LEARNING: Listen to the wisdom of your elders. “That one little thing you don’t think it’s going to be a big deal could be the reason why things don’t go according to plan.”Panu Boonsombat Guest profileDr. Panu Boonsombat is a personal branding professional and the owner of Dr. Oppa Facebook page, Instagram page, and TikTok account with almost 300,000 followers, 52 million views (without dancing or wearing a bikini), and over 3 million likes.Worst investment everPanu purchased a piece of land in 2010 near the Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok, Thailand, and built a hotel with retail space for restaurants, cafes, and other social amenities for tourists using the airport.The people who were native to that particular area warned Panu that the zone was not lucrative for the kind of business he was trying to do. They told him they’d been here for about three generations already, and no hotel owner had succeeded there. Panu ignored their advice since they were not property experts.Once the premises opened shop, Panu noticed immediately that the foot traffic seemed to be a bit off. The hotel did okay, but the retail space couldn’t survive. He’s still having problems filling up the retail space.Lessons learnedListen to the elders; they have a lot of wisdom from their experiences.Don’t be overconfident in your investments.Andrew’s takeawaysStatistics is just one way of getting the information we need to decide; it’s not the only way.Actionable adviceSeek advice from neutral people who will direct you using facts and not emotions.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsPanu’s goal for the next 12 months is to try to get to his hotel to full capacity. Connect with Panu BoonsombatLinkedInFacebookTikTokInstagramAndrew’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: Ashutosh Garg founded Guardian Pharmacy in India in 2003 and grew it to the second-largest pharmacy chain in India with over 200 stores. Now, he is a certified Business and Executive Coach and mentors several CEOs worldwide.STORY: Ashutosh invested in three investments at the height of the Dotcom boom. He didn’t do any research before investing and was just carried away by the hype at the time. All three investments went bust in 18 months.LEARNING: Don’t invest just because you have money. Reduce risks by understanding and learning from your mistakes. “Don’t be impulsive and make investments simply because you have money available to invest.”Ashutosh Garg Guest profileAshutosh Garg founded Guardian Pharmacy in India in 2003 and grew it to the second-largest pharmacy chain in India with over 200 stores. Now, he is a certified Business and Executive Coach and mentors several CEOs around the world on business matters, governance, strategic planning, succession planning, personal accountability, people and culture issues. He has also written 8 highly acclaimed bestsellers.Ashutosh in his new role as a storyteller hosts a very successful video and podcast titled “The Brand Called You”, bringing stories of successful entrepreneurs, professionals, and senior corporate leaders to thousands of listeners. He has interviewed over 1,000 people from around the World.Worst investment everIn 2000 when the Dotcom boom happened, Ashutosh was in senior management earning a pretty decent salary. It was also a time when get-rich-quick schemes were popular, and people were investing all over the world. Ashutosh would get messages from friends in Silicon Valley and New York about their investments, turning them into millionaires in just one month.At this point, Ashutosh’s greed was running way ahead of his logic. He decided to put money into three different investments; a retail company in the US, a software company in India, and a portal being developed in another part of the world. One of the investments made it to the Forbes list of best investments ever. Ashutosh was feeling very good about the investments. Over about 18 months, all three investments went under.Lessons learnedDon’t be impulsive and make investments simply because you have money available to invest.Be a little more discerning about where you want to invest.Don’t trust anybody blindly, especially with your investments.When you invest, make sure you’re involved somehow in that investment. At least make sure that you get weekly, fortnightly, monthly reports to keep you abreast of what is going on in that investment.When you make a mistake, don’t beat yourself up so much. Mistakes are normal. Learn from those mistakes and carry on.Andrew’s takeawaysThe best way to reduce risk is to understand and learn from your past mistakes.Common mistakes people make when investing:Failing to do their researchFailing to assess and manage risk properlyBeing driven by emotion or flawed thinkingMisplaced trustFailing to monitor their investmentInvesting in a startup companyActionable adviceOne, make sure you research your investment instrument. Two, talk to the startup founder and understand whether they have understood what the customer wants. Three, keep a close eye on the performance and funding of that organization.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsAshutosh’s goal for the next 12 months is to finish writing his new book Management Lessons from Hindu Scriptures and give it in for public publication.Parting words “Be careful of your investments.”Ashutosh Garg [spp-transcript] Connect with Ashutosh GargLinkedInTwitterInstagramFacebookWebsitePodcastAndrew’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: Nattaphol Vimolchalao is the Chief Executive Officer of Siam Rajathanee Public Company Limited, an outsourcing service.STORY: Nattaphol thought that hiring an executive from a world-class medical device company to run his startup was the way to make it succeed. However, though experienced, the executive had zero experience running a startup. The company went under within no time.LEARNING: You need more than experience to run a startup. Just because someone has experience managing a multinational company doesn’t mean they’ll be good at running a startup. “You may be successful in managing one type of business, but that doesn’t mean that you will be successful at managing another.”Nattaphol Vimolchalao Guest profileNattaphol Vimolchalao is the Chief Executive Officer of Siam Rajathanee Public Company Limited, an outsourcing service. The company started as an agricultural business and later expanded to outsourcing services. Now, it is the leading outsourcing service company in Thailand.Nattaphol has a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Manchester. He finished his Master’s degree in Technology Policy Micro and Nanotechnology Enterprise from the University of Cambridge.Worst investment everAfter university, Nattaphol started a medical device trading firm and invested 10 million baht. He didn’t have experience running a business, but he thought he would be able to make it because he went to one of the best schools in the world.Nattaphol did everything from marketing, sales, and even hiring the first employee who happened to be an executive from a world-class medical device company. The employee had never worked in a small startup, and the way she went about running Nattaphol’s business was wrong. She spent a lot of resources hiring unnecessary employees, not understanding that the startup didn’t have a substantial human resource budget as a big company would.Cash flow was a problem from the beginning, and because Nattaphol didn’t keep track of the finances, the business was out of money within no time.Lessons learnedManaging a startup, a midsized company, a listed company, or a multinational company is different. You may be successful in managing one type of business, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll succeed at managing another.Andrew’s takeawaysWhen setting up a business, be careful about partnering with people who have experience running a big company because they may not be suitable for running a startup.It would help if you had more than brains and expertise to succeed in business. It’s a combination of how you work with people, the products you choose, how you build out a sales team, etc.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsNattaphol’s goal for the next 12 months is to scale his company’s technology divisions to have a sizable income.Parting words “Don’t give up. To be honest, like, my worst failure is the thing that drives me forward now.”Nattaphol Vimolchalao [spp-transcript] Connect with Nattaphol VimolchalaoLinkedInWebsiteAndrew’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: Geoffrey Moore is an author, speaker, and advisor who splits his consulting time between start-up companies in the Wildcat Venture Partners portfolio and established high-tech enterprises.STORY: Geoffrey was a venture partner in an investment firm that decided to delve into computer storage. The company, against Geoffrey's advice, decided to expand the project but didn't have enough capacity to get the product to market.LEARNING: Think about a venture portfolio as an exercise in 10-year liquidity. Some things are better suited to incremental change. “Think realistically about time to liquidity instead of just thinking about dominating the market.”Geoffrey Moore Guest profileGeoffrey Moore is an author, speaker, and advisor who splits his consulting time between start-up companies in the Wildcat Venture Partners portfolio and established high-tech enterprises.Moore’s life’s work has focused on the market dynamics surrounding disruptive innovations. His first book, Crossing the Chasm, focuses on the challenges start-up companies face transitioning from early adoption to mainstream customers.Worst investment everIn 1998, an investment firm asked Geoffrey to join as a venture partner. To which he agrees. The venture then brought in an excellent professor from a prestigious technical university who had an idea about computer storage. Geoffrey and everyone else thought this was a brilliant idea. It turns out implementing the concept was a lot harder than anybody thought. There were just too many variables making it hard to turn the concept into an actual realizable product.But the team believed in the idea, and they pushed on and had early market success. Investors wanted to go big, but Geoffrey thought they should take it slow. They ignored his advice and even changed management and brought in a leading personal computer firm guy.Huge market risks marred the project expansion from the start. The company spent a lot of money on marketing and sales forces. The sales cycles would take forever. Eventually, the company gave up trying to market the product. They asked Geoffrey to help, but the product didn’t have enough differentiation to get it to the finish line.Lessons learnedThink about a venture portfolio as an exercise in 10-year liquidity.You can’t transition from a complex systems business model to a volume operations business model in either direction. These two models are radically different; you must never try to combine them.Get a team that is fit for the transition.If you’re going to be disruptive, you’re going to be on a timer, so make sure you establish your business before the present catches up to you.Andrew’s takeawaysSome things are better suited to incremental change.Ensure you have enough runway and resources for the venture to take off before the competitors do or before a solution comes out.Actionable adviceThink realistically about time to liquidity instead of just thinking about dominating the market.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsGeoffrey’s goal for the next 12 months is to promote his new book, The Infinite Staircase.Parting words “Risk-adjusted returns is the key idea, not just returns.”Geoffrey Moore [spp-transcript] Connect with Geoffrey MooreLinkedInTwitterYouTubeWebsiteBookAndrew’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: Brenda Bence is one of the world’s top executive leadership coaches and motivational keynote speakers.STORY: Brenda’s worst investment ever was pulling out of an investment to safeguard the funds she needed to fund her new business.LEARNING: Think long-term, even in the face of heightened risk. Don’t let emotions, primarily fear, impact your investment decisions. Diversify your portfolio. “Don’t let fear impact your investment decisions.”Brenda Bence Guest profileBrenda Bence is one of the world’s top executive leadership coaches and motivational keynote speakers. Recognized by both Thinkers50 and Global Gurus as an expert in her field, Brenda earned her MBA from Harvard Business School and authored 11 award-winning books on leadership, coaching, and branding.Brenda left the corporate world after a successful career managing megabrands for Fortune 100 companies. She is successfully running her own business out of offices in both Singapore and the US – an experience that has given her ample opportunity to make plenty of mistakes!Brenda’s latest book, The Forgotten Choice: Shift Your Inner Mindset, Shape Your Outer World, is available for sale. As a gift to listeners, Brenda has agreed to offer a complimentary copy of the Companion Guide to The Forgotten Choice – a workbook full of exercises to coach you through the book’s core topics and deepen your self-awareness. To receive your free fillable PDF copy of the Companion Guide, email a receipt of your purchase of The Forgotten Choice book to books@brendabence.com.Worst investment everAfter 9/11, Brenda realized that she was not happy with her corporate job even though she was pulling in a very nice six-figure salary plus generous bonuses every single year. She told her husband she wanted to start her own company.Just months after starting the business, Brenda convinced her husband to get out of the market to safeguard the funds they needed to fund her new business. The couple went primarily into cash and sold over 90% of their equity investments. In 2003, the market went up 28%, and in 2004 it went over 10%. So the market was going up, but they didn’t get back into investing for about three years. Brenda and her husband lost all those growth opportunities.Lessons learnedYou have to think long-term, even in the face of heightened risk.Don’t let emotions, primarily fear, impact your investment decisions.Andrew’s takeawaysOne of the most complex parts of investing is adding to your investment at the bottom of the market because everything looks terrible.Think long-term and diversify your portfolio.Actionable adviceWatch how you’re thinking about things because we have self-limiting beliefs that drive just about everything we do.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsBrenda’s goal for the next 12 months is to build more passive income through content that will add value.Parting words “Enjoy, have fun, and let go of fear.”Brenda Bence [spp-transcript] Connect with Brenda BenceLinkedInFacebookInstagramYouTubeWebsiteBookAndrew’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: Nik Kennett and his wife Allie are a US-based couple with a love of travel and adventure currently on a self-funded 6-month sabbatical through Europe and Asia.STORY: Nik stopped by a gas station in Croatia and assumed that a green handle on the fuel pump indicated diesel as it does in the US. This assumption made him put petrol in a diesel car. This rookie mistake almost cost them their well-planned 6-months long trip.LEARNING: Create space in your life to focus on what’s important. Always have travel insurance. “Create space in your life to focus on what’s important.”Nik Kennett Guest profileNik Kennett and his wife Allie are a US-based couple with a love of travel and adventure currently on a self-funded 6-month sabbatical through Europe and Asia. They attribute much of their success to financial planning and the accumulation of over 1.7 million credit card points and miles.Nik and Allie believe in the transformative power of travel and that an intentional sabbatical or gap year can be an incredible form of personal development and a great way to forge lasting bonds as a family or couple.That is why they have committed to documenting their journey and providing valuable tips and advice around how to plan and afford travel through ‘Away Together,’ their site, and YouTube channel.Worst investment everNik has made a few mistakes while he and his wife traveled through Europe and Asia while on a 6-month sabbatical. These mistakes have taught him a lot about traveling safely and smartly. One notable mistake was when traveling from Croatia to Italy. Before entering Italy, they needed some gas, so Nik stopped by a fuel station, grabbed the pump, and fueled their car. After driving off for a few meters, the car just suddenly stopped. It took him a while to realize the problem. He had put petrol in a diesel car.Nik had grabbed the fuel pump with a green handle at the gas station, assuming that the green handle indicated diesel as in the US. This rookie mistake set the couple back a lot of hours and money. It almost made them cancel their trip.Lessons learnedKeep a journal so you can document what you’re doing.Andrew’s takeawaysAlways buy travel insurance.Actionable adviceCreate space in your life to focus on what’s important.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsNik’s goal for the next 12 months is to use their experience and adventure to help other people travel more and create bonds with their loved ones.Parting words “Think about what you want, write it down and work like crazy to make it happen.”Nik Kennett [spp-transcript] Connect with Nik KennettLinkedInFacebookInstagramYouTubeWebsiteBookAndrew’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: Richard Bliss is the founder of BlissPoint Consulting, a social media consulting company that helps improve executives’ online communications and sales teams’ social selling behaviors.STORY: Richard got a cash gift of $500,000 from his employer. After paying 50% tax, he spent the rest to pay his student loans bought a new car, a house, and some furniture. He regrets not investing what remained after paying his debts.LEARNING: Small, incremental investments over time are more important than large lump sums. Find ways to make money and then invest in the stock market to turn that money into wealth. “Focus on the consistent, timely, small, incremental steps to growing wealth rather than trying to go hit the home run.”Richard Bliss Guest profileRichard Bliss is the founder of BlissPoint Consulting, a social media consulting company that helps improve executives’ online communications and sales teams’ social selling behaviors.A LinkedIn Top Voices Influencer, experienced executive communications manager, and social media coach, Richard has helped thousands of people master social media tools and become fluent in social conversations, building their platforms and confidence to reach their audience and define their brand effectively.Worst investment everRichard was part of a company that had a huge windfall, and the owner of the company felt that he had made an enormous contribution. So he gifted Richard $500,000 cash as a thank you.Richard was left with $250,000 after paying 50% in taxes. He used the balance to pay off his debts and bought a new car, house, and furniture. Richard even bought furniture for some of his relatives. In about eight months, he had zero money in his bank account. Richard regrets having so much cash and not investing it.Lessons learnedSmall, incremental investments over time are more important than large lump sums.Focus on the consistent, timely, small, incremental steps to growing wealth and growing success, rather than trying to hit the home run.Andrew’s takeawaysDon’t invest in the stock market if you want to get rich. The stock market is where you grow your wealth.Focus on creating a cash flow machine and then use the stock market to grow it.Actionable adviceWhen a windfall comes in, pay off your debts and then take whatever’s left and invest it so that it’s not part of your living expenses.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsRichard’s goal for the next 12 months is to double his company’s revenue again just like last year and continue this trajectory of growth. [spp-transcript] Connect with Richard BlissLinkedInFacebookWebsiteBookAndrew’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