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Have you looked at the executive team you've built for your business? Do they think just like you under pressure? As an entrepreneur, you need people to help you see your blind-spots. So says author and founder of Flourish Forums, Mike Maddock, who says the right forum can provide the kind of diverse thought that acts as your own growth advisory board. Listen in! Episode Notes Mike Maddock is an entrepreneur, a keynote speaker, an executive coach and a writer.   He calls himself an Idea Monkey because he loves to solve problems with disruptive ideas. This passion for problem solving led him to establish Maddock Douglas, Inc. in 1991.  Maddock Douglas has become an internationally recognized innovation consultancy that has helped more than 25% of the Fortune 100 create and launch new products, services and business models. Mike has launched seven successful businesses - most recently Flourish Forums.  Flourish Forums is an invite-only growth advisory board engineered to help company leaders respond to quickly changing business environments. A doodler, turned cartoonist, turned author, Mike has been using words and pictures to get laughs and build ideas his entire life. Today, Mike is a contributor to Forbes and author of four bestselling books: Free the Idea Monkey...to focus on what matters most!, Brand New: Solving the Innovation Paradox and Flirting With the Uninterested, Innovating in a Sold, Not Bought Category. And finally, Plan D––his latest book about Disruptors. He also co-chairs the Gathering of Titans Entrepreneurial Conclave at MIT, and he is past Chapter president of Entrepreneurs’ Organization and Young Presidents’ Organization, both chapters located in Chicago.   Websites and Handles: www.flourishforum.com  www.mike-maddock.com www.maddockdouglas.com

How many people can say they’ve never worked for anyone else? Selling eggs door-to-door at 14 years old began a lifetime of self-employment. As a speaker and small business consultant, Jeffrey Shaw helps self-employed and small business owners gain control of their business in what seems like otherwise uncontrollable circumstances. Drawing on his experience as a renowned portrait photographer, Jeffrey shows business owners how to see business through a different lens and strategies to compose the often-chaotic pieces of life and business into sustainable success. Jeffrey’s TEDxLincolnSquare talk is featured on TED.com and he’s the host of the top-rated podcast, The Self-Employed Life, author of The Self-Employed Life: Business and Personal Development Strategies That Create Sustainable Success and LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer’s Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible.

Today we have a fun episode for you where the team plays the Swedish conversation game called HYGGE. We have a round table discussion regarding religion, committing crimes, doing one thing again for the first time and if money makes you happier.  For all new interviews and episodes please go to www.MMPodcast.me and subscribe. Enjoy the show!  

Episode Summary Bess and Mike focus on her journey growing a business in the cannabis industry which is highly regulated and highly taxed all while the industry generates hundreds of millions of dollars a year in revenue. Topics include: -Taxation and regulation -Where the industry is headed -Censorship on social media -Opportunities for entrepreneurs -The best allocation of marijuana income   Episode Notes Bess Byers is the founder of Blaise Creative, a marketing company that does promotional marketing, amazing photography and social media for dispensaries and growers of marijuana. She has a background in PR and communication and lives in Seattle, WA. Websites & Handles: www.ImCannaBess.com @ImCannaBess on Instagram @BlaiseCreative on Instagram      

Thank you for being such a loyal listener! In order to support the needs of our audience we have created a new show called 'Mike Up In Your Business' or MUIYB for short. Go to www.MMPodcast.me to check it out! Right ow we are on spotify, apple, stitcher and more to come. The interviews are deeper, the topics are more current and the information is valuable for every business owner.

It's probably happened to you.  Someone's come through your door to answer your employment ad, and they seemed like the IDEAL candidate.  You like them personally, their resume blows you away, and they've got the energy you think you need to be your next great hire.  But in a short time, you're scratching your head and wondering how the same person could be giving you such  lackluster work.  Amber Hurdle joins us to explain the science behind hiring the right match to save you and your company the pain of ineffective recruiting. Welcome to a brand new bonus episode of Entrepreneurship Elevated.

As an entrepreneur running your own business, you're likely to have mountains of tasks that eat up your time and energies. What if there was one thing you could do that, by doing it, would make everything else you do, easier or unnecessary? Geoff Woods says this is your one thing, and shares just how to pinpoint that for you. Welcome to a brand new bonus episode of Entrepreneurship Elevated.

So you think you've got what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Gino Wickman, author of Entrepreneurial Leap,  is sharing what essential traits an entrepreneur needs  AND the 8 mistakes you need to avoid to make your entrepreneurial dreams come true. Welcome to a brand new bonus episode of Entrepreneurship Elevated.

Our very own Kelsey is in the spotlight as the team talks about her role as President of  Obsidian Launch, LLC., the Mike Michalowicz brand. As she navigates us through the challenges the pandemic presents, she's sharing her best practices in communication, hiring, and how she positively inspires the team to drive the business to new and higher ground. Welcome to a brand new bonus episode of Entrepreneurship Elevated.

What makes small businesses so special is the personal connection those small businesses have the potential to offer.  Ashley Alderson shares with us how to build community and get present in your marketing to help your business survive, on this bonus episode of Entrepreneurship Elevated.

Chris Reynolds joins us to discuss the neuroscience of your brain in business. How can we stay positive and block out negative thoughts? How does the body respond to stress? What is the best way to maximize Productivity? Chris answers all of these questions and more in this bonus episode of Entrepreneurship Elevated. Chris Reynolds is a lifestyle entrepreneur, high-performance tactician, international speaker & founder of The Business Method & Get Shit Done Live. The Business Method & Get Shit Done Live both help entrepreneurs scale their businesses rapidly using research driven high-performance productivity techniques. Chris has been a location-independent entrepreneur 9-years, living in multiple countries & traveling the world consistently during that time. Over the years, he has spoken in numerous different countries, created 10 business accelerators in Spain, Brazil & Thailand while interviewing more nearly 400 successful entrepreneurs on his podcast including people like Laird Hamilton, World’s Top Big Wave Surfer, Steven Kotler, NYTImes Best-Selling Author, Jim Rogers, one of the world’s most sought-out investors, & former partner of George Soros, John Lee Dumas, Top Business Podcaster, Casey Fenton, founder of CouchSurfing, & Ron Lynch the marketing mind that took GoPro from $600k to $600 million. Chris was an official juror of the Global Startup Awards in 2019, & currently, he focuses on helping entrepreneurs get to the top of their game in businesses & life through consulting, digital courses, & live events.   www.TheBusinessMethod.com

Can you imagine spending years traveling around the world with your children in tow, while running a business? Meet Ryan Langford, who, with his wife and 5 children, has been to 80 countries running multiple ventures.  He's here to tell us what brought him down this amazing path and the experiences (and freedom) it's provided to the entire family. Welcome to Episode 306 of The Entrepreneurship Elevated Podcast!

You've heard it here before: Different is better. Our guest Denise Blasevick says, as a business owner,  how well you differentiate your business is your competitive advantage and the key to improving your brand. How do you do it? Listen in! Welcome to Episode 305 of The Entrepreneurship Elevated Podcast!

In an economy where it's becoming ever more apparent that your business' health is contingent on how deeply you connect with your office team,  customers and your community, understanding how to have necessary conversations is incredibly important. David Wood teaches us how to have the tough conversations that are truly your path to up-leveling your life and your business. Welcome to Episode 304 of The Entrepreneurship Elevated Podcast!   Join the webinar to learn Mike's new marketing strategies for his next book: Mikeswebinar.com

In 2015, Steven Bousquet Pumpkin-Planned his landscape business and saw incredible growth. To support that growth, he fostered a culture among his employees that has really payed off. In fact, in 12 years time, only two have moved on to other careers, despite the hard work landscaping requires.  Steven is here to share the exceptional techniques implemented to build engaged, invested employee teams that you can use too.  Welcome to Episode 303 of The Entrepreneurship Elevated Podcast!

My new book has just released!  "Fix This Next" was written for businesses that are in crisis.  I've seen time and time again that the biggest challenge business owners have is knowing what their biggest challenge is. "Fix This Next" and this special podcast episode will introduce you to a simple model that shows why you stay stuck, the identification process to determine what to work on next, and the method to fix it.  Welcome to The Entrepreneurship Elevated Podcast!

Today we're talking about improving performance. As entrepreneurs, we're like the athletes of the business world: quick on our feet and determined to master our game.  Who better to coach us than Alan Stein Jr., who's worked with the world's most elite athletes and corporate teams, providing simple strategies to help your business win.  Welcome to Episode 302 of The Entrepreneurship Elevated Podcast!

In your efforts to grow your business, no doubt you've been led to believe that a strong marketing and sales game is how you'll get there.  But will it? Kirby Hasseman joins us to reveal how giving first with a servant-leader mindset is how you'll truly join the global "Give First Economy", and earn you long term-relationships with your customers that will make your business better.  Welcome to Episode 301 of The Entrepreneurship Elevated Podcast!

When you hear "rapid growth" in business,  do you believe that's just about hiring more staff? Maybe you're under the impression that it's just not possible in your industry.  Matthew Pollard is here to tell us how growth in your industry can be all about your profit, and reveals the path to it that even an introvert can walk. Welcome to Episode 300 of The Entrepreneurship Elevated Podcast!

Chris Guillebeau is a prolific author of great business non-fiction reads, and now has a brand new fiction book called The Money Tree.  It's a great story about finding fortune in your own back yard, and speaks to Chris' theme: "You don't have to live your life the way other people expect." Welcome to Episode 299 of The Entrepreneurship Elevated Podcast!